https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/13/politics/biden-book-wheelchair-age?cid=ios_app
Best Wishes and Hugs,
Scottie
Month: May 2025
Let’s talk about Trump’s Air Force One problem….
A.I.
“We Want Beer” and More, in Peace & Justice History for 5/13
| May 13, 1888 Brazil, which had imported more African slaves than any other country (nearly 40% of the 11 million Africans shipped to the western hemisphere), abolished slavery. |
| May 13, 1932 “We Want Beer” marches were held in cities all over America, with 15,000 unionized workers demonstrating in Detroit. Prohibition (the 18th amendment to the U.S. Constitution barring “the manufacture, sale or transportation of intoxicating liquors”) was repealed the following year. |
| May 13, 1954 Natives of the Marshall Islands pleaded for an end to atmospheric H-Bomb testing in the south Pacific. A ground zero forgotten The Washington Post |
| May 13, 1958 During a goodwill trip through Latin America, Vice President Richard Nixon’s limousine was attacked with rocks and bottles by an angry crowd and nearly overturned while traveling through Caracas, Venezuela. The crowd was angered by U.S. Cold War policies and their effect on Latin America. Five days earlier in the trip, the Vice President had been shoved, stoned, booed, and spat upon by protesters in Peru. |
| May 13, 1967 250 Chicano students from Los Angeles colleges & universities met to form the United Mexican American Students (UMAS). |
May 13, 1968 “We are the power” Workers joined Paris students’ protest in a one-day general strike calling for the fall of the government and protesting police brutality. The protest by French students included occupation of The Sorbonne; by the end of the month over 10,000,000 French citizens had been involved in school and workplace occupations. View and read about the great poster art from Paris ‘68 |
| May 13, 1970 The Movement for a New Congress—to elect peace candidates—was founded at Princeton University. May 1968, month of intense protest and political organizing around the country |
| May 13, 1992 Ecuador’s government granted 148 native communities legal title to more than three million acres (slightly less than the size of the state of Washington) in the Amazon Basin. |
https://www.peacebuttons.info/E-News/peacehistorymay.htm#may13
Here’s A Useful Tool
from the Center for American Progress (remember them?) This gives us the info by congressional district, including the congresscritter’s names so we know just who to call about our concerns. There are options for pagination or a table.
2 From Clay Jones
Darth Hideous by Clay Jones
Trump is looking to suspect habeas corpus Read on Substack
The Trump regime is openly talking about suspending habeas corpus without the approval of Congress. This is the right to see a judge, challenge the government’s evidence against them, and present a defense if you are detained in the United States.
Why would the regime not want you to have that right?
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen “Baby Goebbels” Miller told reporters while hanging upside-down by his feet from a ceiling, “That’s an option we’re actively looking at.”
If Baby Goebbels is looking at it, then you know it’s the wrong idea.
Article 1 of the Constitution states, “the Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it.”
Senator Chris Murphy said at a Democratic rally in Sarasota, Florida, “The one power you cannot give the executive is the power to arbitrarily imprison people who oppose the regime. Today, it may be an El Salvadorian immigrant or a foreign student, but tomorrow it is you or me. The slope to despotism can be slippery and quick.” (snip-MORE)
Toon For Flagler by Clay Jones
Palm Coast has a paranoid mayor Read on Substack
This cartoon was drawn for Flagler Live in Palm Coast, Florida. Palm Coast has a weird mayor, and I blame Trump. Donald Trump has made it acceptable for politicians to spout of stupid crazy shit without concern for how ridiculous it sounds.
Want to know more? Read the column this cartoon accompanies.
Creative note: Flagler Live has been good to me. Not only are they a client, but they’re also paid subscribers to this Substack. So when I woke up to a request from the editor for a cartoon on a local subject, I wanted to give him what he wanted. I hate to say no to clients, even if it’s on a Saturday when I already have two deadlines. He was also very easy to work with.
The editor described the situation, sent me the column the cartoon would accompany, and sent photos of the mayor, his truck, and of city hall. He didn’t give me a hard time about the cartoon either. I sent two ideas, he picked his favorite, and he didn’t request any changes to the cartoon when it was completed.
I think I would kick a lot of ass if I lived in Florida and covered the subjects there. But ya know, it’s Florida. It’s full of Republicans and flying buzzy stingy things. (snip-MORE)
Oops!
AI-Powered Coca-Cola Ad Celebrating Authors Gets Basic Facts Wrong
Emanuel Maiberg ·May 12, 2025 at 9:00 AM
Snippet:
In April, Coca-Cola proudly launched a new ad campaign it called “Classic,” celebrating famous authors and the sugary drink’s omnipresence in culture by highlighting classic literary works that mention the brand. The firm that produced the ad campaign said it used AI to scan books for mentions of Coca-Cola, and then put viewers in the point of view of the author, typing that portion of the text on a typewriter. The only issue is that the AI got some very basic facts about the authors and their work entirely wrong.
One of the ads highlights the work of J.G. Ballard, the British author perhaps best known for his controversial masterpiece, Crash, and David Cronenberg’s film adaptation of the novel. In the ad, we get a first person perspective of someone typing a sentence from “Extreme Metaphors by J.G Ballard,” which according to the ad was written in 1967. When the sentence gets to the mention of “Coca-Cola,” the typeface changes from the generic typewriter font to Coca-Cola’s iconic red logo.
(snip-MORE)
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka arrested at ICE detention facility in NJ
https://pix11.com/news/local-news/newark-mayor-ras-baraka-taken-into-custody-by-ice-in-new-jersey/
This is selective persecution which is illegal. So if this ever goes to court he will have the charges dismissed. In the meantime the hate party cult of tRump just made him a front runner for the mayoral election. Hugs.
Posted:
Updated:
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested for allegedly trespassing at an ICE facility in New Jersey on Friday afternoon, authorities said.
“The Mayor of Newark, Ras Baraka, committed trespass and ignored multiple warnings from Homeland Security Investigations to remove himself from the ICE detention center in Newark, New Jersey this afternoon,” Alina Habba, the Interim U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, posted on X.
Baraka was taken to an ICE field office at 620 Frelinghuysen Ave. in Newark, according to his office. The charges have not been announced.
“We are actively monitoring and will provide more details as they become available,” his representatives said.
Witnesses said the arrest came after Baraka attempted to join a scheduled tour of the facility with three members of New Jersey’s congressional delegation, Reps. Robert Menendez, LaMonica McIver, and Bonnie Watson Coleman.
When federal officials blocked his entry, a heated argument broke out, according to Viri Martinez, an activist with the New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice. It continued even after Baraka returned to the public side of the gates.
In video of the altercation shared with The Associated Press, a federal official in a jacket with the logo of the Homeland Security Investigations can be heard telling Baraka he could not join a tour of the facility because “you are not a congress member.”
Baraka then left the secure area, rejoining protesters on the public side of the gate. Video showed him speaking through the gate to a man in a suit, who said: “They’re talking about coming back to arrest you.”
“I’m not on their property. They can’t come out on the street and arrest me,” Baraka replied.
Minutes later several ICE agents, some wearing face coverings, surrounded him and others on the public side. As protesters cried out, “Shame,” Baraka was dragged back through the security gate in handcuffs.
“The ICE personnel came out aggressively to arrest him and grab him,” said Julie Moreno, a New Jersey state captain of American Families United. “It didn’t make any sense why they chose that moment to grab him while he was outside the gates.”
The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that as a bus of detainees was entering the detention center, “a group of protestors, including two members of the U.S. House of Representatives, stormed the gate and broke into the detention facility.”
Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin was quoted in the statement as calling it “beyond a bizarre political stunt” and saying it put agents’ and detainees’ safety at risk.
“Members of Congress are not above the law and cannot illegally break into detention facilities. Had these members requested a tour, we would have facilitated a tour of the facility,” McLaughlin said.
The department said the facility has the proper permits and inspections have been cleared.
The Newark mayor was visiting Delaney Hall to conduct oversight after the building was turned into an ICE facility.
Delany Hall was leased for $63 million annually from a private prison group known as The GEO Group. The city of Newark is suing for more inspections, claiming ICE has not indicated how many detainees it has in the building – which can only house 1,000 people.
Baraka said on Monday that the issues at Delany Hall go beyond the lack of safety inspections and proper permits.
This is a developing story please check back for updates.
Dominique Jack is a digital content producer from Brooklyn with more than five years of experience covering news. She joined PIX11 in 2024. More of her work can be found here.
–Associated press material was used in this report.
USDA, DOGE demand states hand over personal data about food stamp recipients
https://www.npr.org/2025/05/09/nx-s1-5389952/usda-snap-doge-data-immigration
People shop in a supermarket in New York City on Feb. 20, 2025.
Charly Triballeau/AFP via Getty Images
The Department of Agriculture is demanding states hand over personal data of food assistance recipients — including Social Security numbers, addresses and, in at least one state, citizenship status, according to emails shared with NPR by an official who was not allowed to speak publicly.
The sweeping and unprecedented request comes as the Trump administration ramps up the collection and consolidation of Americans’ sensitive data, and as that data has been used to make misleading claims about people in the U.S. illegally accessing public benefits and committing fraud, and to build a greater capacity to deport them.
The emails obtained by NPR also show the nationwide directive regarding the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, follows a request by federal auditors for information that included citizenship data but not other data typically used to verify financial eligibility for the program.
In 2024, SNAP served an average of 42 million people each month, according to the Department of Agriculture, at a cost of $100 billion. Only some categories of lawfully present noncitizens are eligible to receive SNAP benefits, and those without legal status can never qualify. However, a noncitizen parent without legal status may apply for the assistance on behalf of their children who are U.S. citizens.
The latest data demands are “absolutely alarming,” and “reckless” and likely violate the Privacy Act and other statutes, said John Davisson, senior counsel and director of litigation at the nonprofit Electronic Privacy Information Center. He and other advocates warn the data could be used to enable deportation and mass surveillance efforts and would do little to address improper payments.
“It is an unprecedented extension of the administration’s campaign to consolidate personal data,” Davisson said.
USDA’s unusual data request
SNAP, formerly known as food stamps, is a federal program. Each state administers the program and enrolls participants based on eligibility determined by Congress. While the USDA and its Office of Inspector General can audit state SNAP programs, participants’ personal data typically remains under the state’s control.
In March, the USDA’s Office of Inspector General notified California, Florida, New York and Texas of inspections of their SNAP programs to see if the states were improperly using administrative funds to pay out benefits, the emails show.
That ultimately led to a request for detailed sensitive data — including citizenship status and addresses — of all SNAP participants in the previous year from at least one of the states.
A sign outside of a grocery store welcomes those on food assistance in a Brooklyn neighborhood that has a large immigrant and elderly population on Oct. 16, 2023 in New York City.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
An April 2 update the state received from the OIG’s office added a new objective: performing analytics on participant data to “evaluate its quality and integrity.” Yet the watchdog ultimately declined to request participants’ employment status or income — which are key for determining financial eligibility for food assistance and detecting possible fraud.
Instead, the request prioritized other data fields, including name, date of birth, address, contact information, Social Security number, citizenship status and information about household members, the emails show.
At an initial joint video conference, the states learned the inspections had been requested by Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, according to an official who attended the meeting but was not authorized to discuss the matter. Trump fired existing inspectors general across the federal government when he took office, including at the USDA where a new permanent leader of the office has yet to be confirmed.
Earlier this week, the USDA escalated its quest for data further.
In a May 6 letter to all states, an adviser for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services said the federal agency would be seeking personally identifiable information for SNAP applicants and recipients, including, but not limited to, “names, dates of birth, personal addresses used, and Social Security numbers” going back to Jan. 1, 2020. USDA did not answer NPR’s questions about the full extent of personal data it was requesting.
The letter said USDA is asking private contractors that process SNAP payments for states to turn over that data, and will use it to “ensure program integrity, including by verifying the eligibility of benefit recipients.” The directive comes as Republican lawmakers in Congress are proposing deep cuts to the food assistance program that would reduce the number of people who participate in it.
DOGE’s role
The May 6 letter cited President Donald Trump’s March 20 executive order, “Stopping Waste, Fraud, and Abuse by Eliminating Information Silos,” which calls on agencies to ensure the federal government “has unfettered access to comprehensive data from all state programs that receive federal funding “including from “third-party databases” in order to identify fraud and overpayments.
The ad hoc Department of Government Efficiency team, or DOGE, has been accessing sensitive data across the federal government in recent months and has been using allegations of wasteful and fraudulent spending to justify dismantling government agencies. Neither DOGE nor the White House responded to NPR’s requests for comment.
Fidelity Information Services, a vendor used by some states to process electronic bank transfer transactions for SNAP programs, told its state partners the day before USDA’s letter to states that the agency and its DOGE team contacted them in connection to the executive order, and that “no proprietary, confidential, or personally identifiable information” was shared, according to emails obtained by NPR.
A customer shops for eggs at a grocery store on March 12, 2025 in Chicago.
Scott Olson/Getty Images
“FIS values its close working relationship with both USDA and its state partners and is committed to supporting efforts to improve program efficiency and reduce fraud,” reads a statement the company provided to NPR. “As agreed with the USDA and in compliance with federal regulation, FIS has notified States of the USDA’s request and is working with both to determine the most efficient manner to respond with the requested information.”
Wired, the Washington Post and CNN have reported that DOGE is also combining sensitive data from across agencies, including Social Security Administration, Department of Homeland Security and the Internal Revenue Service, to create a data tool that can help the federal government track and arrest immigrants they want to remove.
More than a dozen federal lawsuits allege DOGE staffers have been illegally granted permission to view databases with personal and financial information the government maintains, and multiple federal judges have expressed concern about what information DOGE has accessed and why. Late last month, DHS announced a DOGE-led overhaul of its Systematic Alien Verification Entitlements (SAVE) database, making the system free for state and local governments to use and promising a “single, reliable source for verifying non-citizen status nationwide.”
Davisson, the privacy attorney, said the SNAP data being requested could be used to make exaggerated allegations of fraud, and that combining the information with other DOGE-obtained data could be used for immigration enforcement efforts.
“What they’re building is a surveillance weapon and it can be put to all sorts of adverse uses in the future,” said Davisson.
NPR asked the USDA if the agency would be following protocols outlined in the Privacy Act, such as publishing a privacy assessment and System of Records Notice for the new dataset. An unnamed spokesperson using a USDA press email account told NPR the agency’s general counsel is determining whether that is required.
“All personally identifiable information will comply with all privacy laws and regulations and will follow responsible data handling requirements,” the email said.
Fraud and abuse with SNAP benefits are rare
After Trump issued an executive order in February aimed at ensuring immigrants without legal status are not receiving federal benefits, Agriculture Secretary Rollins made combatting alleged mispayments to ineligible immigrants a focus.
“The days in which taxpayer dollars are used to subsidize illegal immigration are over,” Rollins said in a February press release.
In fiscal year 2023 about 11% of SNAP benefits distributed were considered improper over- or underpayments. Still, even fewer — about 1% of those — were attributed to state-level issues related to determining citizenship eligibility, according to USDA’s own data.
Most of the improper payments in 2022 were due to unintentional mistakes by state workers or households, rather than intentional fraud, according to an analysis of the data by the left-leaning Center for Budget and Policy Priorities.
Only 50% of eligible noncitizens (which includes refugees and green card holders) and 59% of eligible children living with noncitizen adults participated in SNAP in 2022, according to a USDA report. Overall, advocates said participation among those who are entitled to receive this benefit is low due to fears that it may have a negative impact on immigration proceedings.
A sign alerting customers about SNAP food stamps benefits is displayed in a Brooklyn grocery store on Dec. 5, 2019 in New York City.
Scott Heins/Getty Images
Even though immigrants without legal status are not eligible to receive SNAP or other federal benefits, SNAP data does include the names and addresses of people who could be subject to deportation now or in the future, or who share a household with people who could be.
Some legal immigrants who receive SNAP benefits may lose their legal status in the future given that the administration is trying to reverse Biden-era immigration programs that granted hundreds of thousands of people the ability to live and work in the U.S.
For years, advocates and state agencies have tried to reassure immigrant families that it is safe for them to sign up for assistance if they met the eligibility requirements.
“People seeking services need to know that their information will be used only to administer the program — and won’t put them or their family members at risk,” said Tanya Broder, an attorney with the National Immigration Law Center.
“But the federal government’s demand for ‘unfettered’ access to sensitive data across multiple agencies, and its aggressive pursuit of immigrants, raise serious privacy concerns and the potential that information will be weaponized against people who would go hungry without assistance.”
On an FAQ page to sign up for food assistance from California, the site currently says the state will not report applicants’ immigration status to authorities and information is used only to determine eligibility.
“Authorities cannot use this information to deport you unless there is a criminal violation,” the state website says.
New York’s website says: “Applying for or receiving SNAP will not affect your ability to remain in the United States.”
Advocates NPR spoke with said it is important for SNAP participants to understand that it is not yet known at this point how states will handle the USDA’s pending data requests.
Esther Reyes with Protecting Immigrant Families, a coalition of 700 groups across the country that help eligible immigrants access services, is urging states to check with their congressional delegations about whether the data requests are legal before responding.
As for people who may feel fearful about enrolling in SNAP given concerns over data, Reyes said, “We really encourage families and communities to talk to enrollment workers and the people that they trust before acting on that fear.”
NPR’s Ximena Bustillo contributed reporting.
Have information you want to share about SNAP, DOGE access to government databases and immigration? Reach out to these authors through encrypted communication on Signal. Stephen Fowler is at stphnfwlr.25, Jude Joffe-Block is at JudeJB.10 and Ximena Bustillo is at ximenabustillo.77. Please use a nonwork device.
Correction May 9, 2025
An earlier version of this story misspelled John Davisson’s name.
Scottie's Playtime 