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Week of February 1, 2026

High School kids protesting ICE across the street from the Los Angeles City Hall. Photo credit, Eric J. Smith

Ginger

2/8/20268 min read

Here goes...

1. There’s a measles outbreak at the ICE Detention Center in Dilley, TX where more than 400 CHILDREN are being held. Yes, FOUR HUNDRED children are being held at just one detention center. And yes, there is a MEASLES outbreak. What are we doing?

2. While I prefer the guy crashing his drum kit in the middle of the night outside the hotel where ICE was staying, this is pretty cool..

“Domestic terrorists” amiright?

3. ICE agents are using so much tear gas, pepper balls, and projectile munitions on peaceful protestors in Portland, OR that a judge has issued a restraining order. It isn’t getting as much coverage, but they are really going after Portland again.

4. From Conservative (though “Never Trumper”) commentator David Frum.

5. Trump calls for Republicans to “nationalize elections”. There is going to be more of this. Trump is terrified Republicans are going to lose in the midterms and that he will be impeached and convicted of… well...soooo many things are possible. He is absolutely going to try to mess with the election.

Also, Trump says he may not accept the result of the midterm elections “if Republicans lose control of Congress”. He says he’ll accept them if they are fair. We’ve see this movie many times before. He’ll claim before the election even happens that it’s not fair.

6. The DOJ did a lot of redacting in the Epstein files recently released. A lot of redacting of the perpetrator’s names, but failed to redact a lot of the victims’ names (weird, huh? No. Not at all.). Lawyers for the victims have filed an emergency request with judges in New York to take down the web site with the documents.

7. Deputy AG (and Trump’s personal attorney) Todd Blanche was asked if anyone who had sex with a minor on Epstein’s island will be prosecuted—and his response is, “It’s not a crime to party with Mr. Epstein.” “Party”?! Really?! And this monster has seen what is in the files. And side note, while I appreciate the reporter asking the question - "sex with a minor” is rape. A minor cannot "consent" and therefore it is rape and should be called such.

8. Also, immigration enforcement received gigantic budget increases from the embarrassingly named “Big Beautiful Bill”, but in the case of the Epstein files, DOJ was recently looking for VOLUNTEERS to do the redacting of the Epstein files.

9. Colorado Sen. John Hickenlooper reports ICE are leaving "death cards" in the vehicles of detained individuals. ““Death cards” refer historically to the Aces of Spades sometimes left by U.S. soldiers in the 1960s on deceased enemy bodies in Vietnam as psychological warfare to intimidate Viet Cong fighters.”

10. ICE is terrorizing a woman who they detained for 2 weeks, and a judge ordered her release. Turns out she came here legally. She lost her job and is now afraid of leaving her home because ICE agents keep driving by her house. This folks, is domestic terrorism. Spare me the “few bad apples” bullshit. The abuse is too widespread. Guys like these were recruited and then given almost no training.

11. Trump is going to close the Kennedy Center for renovations. Translation, no one wants to perform there since he put his stupid name on the front, so he has to destroy it. Oh, and by the way, a 250 million expansion/renovation was completed in 2019. So yeah, he’s just being an asshole.

12. A UAE investor secretly gave Trump $187 million and his top Middle East envoy $31 million. And then Trump gave that investor access to sensitive defense technology that broke decades of national security precedent.

13. Dr. Cornell West says it best here when he compares the Black experience in America to what the government is doing to people in Minneapolis, and Portland, etc.

14. A great friend and subscriber sent this excellent explanation for why many Black people are sitting these protests out.

15. When detainees are released from the Whipple ICE facility in Minneapolis it is often without a coat(!) or a way to get home (FFS). So the “domestic terrorists” in Minneapolis are giving them donated coats and providing them rides and food.

16. Aliya Rahman – you remember – the disabled U.S. citizen, on her way to a Dr. appointment, who was dragged from a car by ICE agents in Minnesota, was denied medical care and passed out, testified at a congressional hearing on DHS immigration enforcement tactics. Incredibly beave and moving. You know what is not brave? The fact that not a single Republican attended. Not one.

17. I’ve talked a lot in this blog about “dehumanization” and how that leads to all manner of atrocity. Look at this quote from Aliya Rahman’s testimony:

"Approaching the (ICE detention center), I saw black and brown bodies, shackled together, chained together, being marched by yelling agents outdoors. I continued to hear the word 'bodies' because that's the way agents refer to us...You have no reason to believe you will make it out alive when you are already being called a body"

With this kind of active dehumanization, you can expect a lot more atrocities.

18. Trump is suing the IRS for 10 billion dollars because someone there leaked his taxes. That’s our money. Ours. And if the case doesn’t look like it is going well, what is to stop him from just ordering the IRS to just settle the case for the amount in the lawsuit? Seriously. Also, remember, according to Republicans we can’t afford healthcare in this country.

19. In this week’s edition of Why is JD Vance Such an Asshole?, CNN reporter Kaitlin Collins questioned Trump about Epstein survivors. Trump got mad so of course he goes after the reporter – it’s so often the female reporters he goes after. Anyway, he essentially tells her she “should smile more”, one of the oldest, most obviously sexist, and favorite remarks by misogynistic sexists everywhere. And in this case, the audacity of being asked about sexual assault survivors and bringing out that old trope. But JD Vance thought he’d offer this gem,

“There was a moment in the Oval Office, I wasn't even in there, but Trump was talking to Kaitlan Collins. Trump says, 'Why don't you ever smile?' And it's actually, like, so perceptive. Have some fun.”

You guys, it was so perceptive. That’s what it was. Because Trump is really perceptive.

20. A Reagan-appointed judge, Judge William G. Young of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, just ruled Trump’s Energy Secretary illegally ran a secret panel of climate deniers to cook up a biased report and sabotage clean air rules. This should be a bigger story.

21. In the UK and France, and other countries people are losing jobs and titles due to their connection to Epstein. But here in the US, Trump, mentioned in the Epstein files thousands of times, was a speaker at the National Prayer breakfast. The link is here but I don’t recommend watching it. Unless you are interested in the part where he says “Religion is “hotter” that ever”, or where he mocks Speaker Johnson for saying grace before meals. Yep.

22. Donald Trump has demanded Dulles airport and Penn Station be named after him, otherwise he will not unfreeze $16B in federal funding the for the Gateway infrastructure project. In part, the project would connect New York City and New Jersey via tunnel and it has had already started.

23. In his ongoing mission to erase history and pretend racism doesn’t exist, Trump has ordered the National Park Service to edit visitor brochures from Medgar Evers' museum and remove references that call his murderer a “racist."

24. Which is a great segway for the story about Trump sharing a video that DEPICTED MICHELLE AND BARRACK OBAMA AS APES. KKKKaroline Leavitt immediately blames a staff person (if only pants really did burst ino flames when someone lies). But then Trump said he approved the post but hadn’t seen the bad part. They have since taken it down because Hell froze over when a few Republicans called him out for it.

Happy Black History Month y’all!

Twelve hours later Leavitt again says the staffer posted it “erroneously”.

“Erroneously”. As in, accidentally? Like, “oops, my bad”. Or like, “oh silly me.” Or like, “oh darn it, how does this computer thingy work?”. And also, “where is the picnic with the ‘strange fruit’ this week. I’m bringing macaroni salad”.

(If you don't understand the "strange fruit" reference look up the Nine Simone song. As far as the macaroni salad - I have it on good authority that only white people bring macaroni salad to the picnic (except perhaps some polynesians). Go ahead and tell me if you think I'm wrong)

25. In which the government tells us our constitutional rights are not guaranteed. They do not know the difference between a right and a privilege. Also, constitutional rights are extended to everyone, not just American citizens, as confirmed by that bleeding heart liberal, Justice Antonin Scalia.

I bet the NRA and 2nd amendmenters love the “surrender your firearms because I say so” part of the letter. And don't forget, they are doing this WITHOUT JUDICIAL WARRANTS. They are forcing their way into homes and confiscating guns - all without warrants.

26. A Jamaican born, lawful permanent resident and military veteran who has been in the country for 50 years, father of 6 and grandfather of 3, has been deported. “Worst of the worst” folks.

27. Since the Trump Administration is declaring war on our constitutional rights I thought I’d leave you with the actual Bill of Rights. I’m sure you’ve read it. Probably many times. Let’s do it again though.

Last week I told you I would share a list of what I have in my protest/rally/civil unrest/zombie apocalypse go bag. The list is here.