The Pentagon Won’t Track Troops Deployed on U.S. Soil. So We Will.

This is long.  Even long for a news nerd like me.  But it is well worth it if you want to see how the current administration is using the military in ways it was not designed to do and against the laws to make it easier for them to be used in civilian control to enforce the will of tRump should he again refuse to accept the fact he has to leave office or if he wants something a governor / state won’t give him.  The article shows how the military is tRump’s big stick to hit anyone who disagrees with him.  Hugs

The Pentagon Won’t Track Troops Deployed on U.S. Soil. So We Will.

 

The Pentagon says 20,000 federal troops have deployed to support ICE across the country. The real number may be markedly higher.

tRump sends a fixer to silence Maxwell before she testifies

When A Preacher Offers No Grace To Pregnant Congregant

Mid-Term Elections Finances News From Open Secrets

It’s all a lot of money. But one party doesn’t get the amounts of dark money that the other party receives; one party has access to the US Treasury through POTUS that the other party does not have, as well.

Who is leading the money race heading toward 2026?

By Brendan Glavin July 23, 2025

House and Senate candidates recently filed their fundraising reports covering the first six months of 2025. OpenSecrets analyzed the data to determine which candidates have raised the most money and which ones are sitting on the biggest piles of cash.

Let’s start with a look at Senate races. Jon Ossoff (D) is seeking reelection in Georgia, where he won his first term in the most expensive Senate race in history. (That record has since been broken). During the first half of this year, he raised more money than any other candidate running in 2026.

Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), who was fifth in fundraising, has the most cash on hand, with Ossoff running third after this big first-half haul.

As of today, the well-respected Cook Political Report has identified three tossup races that could determine control of the Senate in 2027: Georgia, Michigan and North Carolina. The Tar Heel State race just moved into that category because Sen. Thom Tillis (R) announced his retirement June 29, so the candidate field has not yet solidified.

The three most senior members of the House of Representatives rank among the top fundraisers this year, but they were dwarfed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), who raised $6.7 million more than Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.), the speaker of the House.

Ocasio-Cortez and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) raised the most among Democrats and also have two of the biggest stockpiles of campaign cash heading into the second half of the year. It remains to be seen whether Rep. Elise Stefanik (R) will stand for re-election to Congress or make a run for governor of New York in 2026. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) is running for an open Senate seat.

This article was originally published by OpenSecrets, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that tracks money in politics. View the original article. (The original includes pertinent charts that make the article make better sense. I recomment clicking through; I’m not sure why their republish code doesn’t include the charts. I tried to copy them separately to insert them, but copying was not allowed. -A.)

Interesting-

Not class warfare, just wondering. It’s Upworthiest, after all; no controversy here.

If the total amount of money held by Americans was distributed evenly, how much would you get?

What if you got an equal slice of the country’s wealth?

Tod Perry

Snippets:

The United States has more money held by private citizens than any other country in the world. According to the Federal ReserveU.S. households hold a total of $160.35 trillion, which is the value of each person’s assets minus their liabilities. However, many Americans are perplexed by the fact that, in a country with such wealth, so many people still struggle to make ends meet.

Although Americans hold the largest amount of privately held wealth in the world, many of us still struggle with financial stress. A recent report found that 68% don’t have enough money to retire, 56% are struggling to keep up with the cost of living, and 45% are worried about their debt levels. A significant reason is that a small number of people hold a large portion of the privately held wealth in the U.S..

Nearly two-thirds of America’s private wealth is held by the top 10% of people, leaving the remaining one-third to be divided among 90% of the population. (snip)

With so many people struggling in America, while a few at the top are unbelievably wealthy, what would happen if the money were magically divided evenly among the 340 million people who live in the United States? If everyone received a truly equal share of the American pie, every person would receive approximately $471,465. That’s $942,930 per couple and $1.89 million for those with two kids. (snip)

However, such a drastic redistribution of wealth would be cataclysmic for the economy, as people would have to liquidate their investments to give their assets to others. The sudden increase in wealth for many, without a corresponding increase in goods and services, would lead to incredibly high inflation. The dramatic reconfiguring of the economy would also disincentivize some from working and others from innovating. Some posit that if everyone were equal, in just a few months, those with wealth-generating skills would immediately begin rising to the top again, while others would fall behind. (snip)

Although it seems that a massive redistribution of wealth isn’t in the cards for many reasons, we do have some evidence from recent history on how programs that give people money can help lift them out of poverty. Government stimulus programs during the COVID-19 pandemic brought the U.S. poverty level to a record low of 7.8% in 2021. Child poverty was also helped by the American Rescue Plan’s Child Tax credit expansion, which drove child poverty to an all-time low of 5.2%. It’s also worth noting that the trillions in government stimulus had a downside, as it was partially responsible for a historic rise in inflation. (Note from A.: The hyperlink takes you to CNBC, which hastens to report this: “But the widespread rise in prices was mostly “a supply-side phenomenon” caused by the Covid-19 pandemic itself, Yellen told CNBC in an exit interview.”) (snip-a little MORE)

$ informative shorter clips from The Majority Report

Twits n Tw&ts on Trans Toilets

Very informative and heart felt.  Aron Ra is well known for his thought approach to atheism and science, delivering it in a way that a normal person can understand.  The things he says at the end and the pictures he shows makes clear that as he says this is not about protecting anyone but about enforcing bigotry.  Hugs

Some The Majority Report clips on ICE and the democrats

DHS Tells Police That Common Protest Activities Are ‘Violent Tactics’

That pesky thing called the US CONSTITUTION says that the people have a right to protest the government.  The last ten or more years the federal government has been trying to restrain the rights of the people to protest or have their voices heard.  This is another example.  Hugs

https://www.wired.com/story/dhs-tells-police-that-common-protest-activities-are-violent-tactics/

DHS is urging law enforcement to treat even skateboarding and livestreaming as signs of violent intent during a protest, turning everyday behavior into a pretext for police action.

The Department of Homeland Security is urging local police to consider a wide range of protest activity as violent tactics, including mundane acts like riding a bike or livestreaming a police encounter, WIRED has learned.

Threat bulletins issued during last month’s “No Kings” protests warn that the US government’s aggressive immigration raids are almost certain to accelerate domestic unrest, with DHS saying there’s a “high likeliness” more Americans will soon turn against the agency, which could trigger confrontations near federal sites.

Blaming intense media coverage and backlash to the US military deployment in Los Angeles, DHS expects the demonstrations to “continue and grow across the nation” as protesters focused on other issues shift to immigration, following a broad “embracement of anti-ICE messaging.”

The bulletins—first obtained by the national security nonprofit Property of the People through public records requests—warn that officers could face assaults with fireworks and improvised weapons: paint-filled fire extinguishers, smoke grenades, and projectiles like bottles and rocks.

At the same time, the guidance urges officers to consider a range of nonviolent behavior and common protest gear—like masks, flashlights, and cameras—as potential precursors to violence, telling officers to prepare “from the point of view of an adversary.”

Protesters on bicycles, skateboards, or even “on foot” are framed as potential “scouts” conducting reconnaissance or searching for “items to be used as weapons.” Livestreaming is listed alongside “doxxing” as a “tactic” for “threatening” police. Online posters are cast as ideological recruiters—or as participants in “surveillance sharing.”

One list of “violent tactics” shared by the Los Angeles–based Joint Regional Intelligence Center—part of a post-9/11 fusion network—includes both protesters’ attempts to avoid identification and efforts to identify police. The memo also alleges that face recognition, normally a tool of law enforcement, was used against officers.

Vera Eidelman, a senior staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union, says the government has no business treating constitutionally protected activities—like observing or documenting police—as threats.

DHS did not respond to a request for comment.

“Exercising those rights shouldn’t be justification for adverse action or suspicion by the government,” Eidelman says. Labeling something as harmless as skateboarding at a protest as a violent threat is “disturbing and dangerous,” she adds, and could “easily lead to excessive force against people who are simply exercising their First Amendment rights.”

“The DHS report repeatedly conflates basic protest, organizing, and journalism with terroristic violence, thereby justifying ever more authoritarian measures by law enforcement,” says Ryan Shapiro, executive director of Property of the People. “It should be sobering, if unsurprising, that the Trump regime’s response to mass criticism of its police state tactics is to escalate those tactics.”

Fusion centers like JRIC play a central role in how police understand protest movements. The intelligence they produce is rapidly disseminated and draws heavily on open-source data. It often reflects broad, risk-averse assumptions and includes fragmentary and unverified information. In the absence of concrete threats, bulletins often turn to ideological language and social media activity as evidence of emerging risks, even when tied to lawful expression.

DHS’s risk-based approach reflects a broader shift in US law enforcement shaped by post-9/11 security priorities—one that elevates perceived intent over demonstrable wrongdoing and uses behavior cues, affiliations, and other potentially predictive indicators to justify early intervention and expanded surveillance.

A year ago, DHS warned that immigration-related grievances were driving a spike in threats against judges, migrants, and law enforcement, predicting that new laws and high-profile crackdowns would further radicalize individuals. In February, another fusion center reported renewed calls for violence against police and government officials, citing backlash to perceived federal overreach and identifying then-upcoming protests and court rulings as likely triggers.

At times, the sprawling predictions may appear prescient, echoing real-world flashpoints: In Alvarado, Texas, an alleged coordinated ambush at a detention center this week drew ICE agents out with fireworks before gunfire erupted on July 4, leaving a police officer shot in the neck. (Nearly a dozen arrests have been made, at least 10 on charges of attempted murder.)

In advance of protests, agencies increasingly rely on intelligence forecasting to identify groups seen as ideologically subversive or tactically unpredictable. Demonstrators labeled “transgressive” may be monitored, detained without charges, or met with force.

Social movement scholars widely recognize the introduction of preemptive protest policing as a departure from late-20th century approaches that prioritized de-escalation, communication, and facilitation. In its place, authorities have increasingly emphasized control of demonstrations through early intervention, surveillance, and disruption—monitoring organizers, restricting public space, and responding proactively based on perceived risks rather than actual conduct.

Infrastructure initially designed to combat terrorism now often serves to monitor street-level protests, with virtual investigations units targeting demonstrators for scrutiny based on online expression. Fusion centers, funded through DHS grants, have increasingly issued bulletins flagging protest slogans, references to police brutality, and solidarity events as signs of possible violence—disseminating these assessments to law enforcement absent clear evidence of criminal intent.

Surveillance of protesters has included the construction of dossiers (known as “baseball cards”) with analysts using high-tech tools to compile subjects’ social media posts, affiliations, personal networks, and public statements critical of government policy.

Obtained exclusively by WIRED, a DHS dossier on Mahmoud Khalil, the former Columbia graduate student and anti-war activist, shows that analysts drew information from Canary Mission, a shadowy blacklist that anonymously profiles critics of Israeli military action and supporters of Palestinian rights.

In federal court Wednesday, a senior DHS official acknowledged that material from Canary Mission had been used to compile more than 100 dossiers on students and scholars, despite the site’s ideological slant, mysterious funding, and unverifiable sourcing.

Threat bulletins can also prime officers to anticipate conflict, shaping their posture and decisions on the ground. In the wake of violent 2020 protests, the San Jose Police Department in California cited the “numerous intelligence bulletins” it received from its local regional fusion center, DHS, and the FBI, among others, as central to understanding “the mindset of the officers in the days leading up to and throughout the civil unrest.”

Specific bulletins cited by the SJPD—whose protest response prompted a $620,000 settlement this month—framed the demonstrations as possible cover for “domestic terrorists,” warned of opportunistic attacks on law enforcement and promoted an “unconfirmed report” of U-Haul vans purportedly being used to ferry weapons and explosives.

Subsequent reporting in the wake of BlueLeaks—a 269-gigabyte dump of internal police documents obtained by a source identifying as the hacktivist group Anonymous and published by transparency group Distributed Denial of Secrets—found federal bulletins riddled with unverified claims, vague threat language, and outright misinformation, including alerts about a parody website that supposedly paid protesters and accepted bitcoin to set cars on fire, despite a clear banner labeling the site “FAKE.”

Threat alerts—unclassified and routinely accessible to the press—can help law enforcement shape public perception of protests before they begin, laying the groundwork to legitimize aggressive police responses. Unverified DHS warnings about domestic terrorists infiltrating demonstrations in 2020, publicly echoed by the agency’s acting secretary on Twitter, were widely circulated and amplified in media coverage.

Americans are generally opposed to aggressive protest crackdowns, but when they do support them, fear is often the driving force. Experimental research suggests that support for the use of coercive tactics hinges less on what protesters actually do than on how they’re portrayed—by officials, the media, and through racial and ideological frames.


Dell Cameron is an investigative reporter from Texas covering privacy and national security. He’s the recipient of multiple Society of Professional Journalists awards and is co-recipient of an Edward R. Murrow Award for Investigative Reporting. Previously, he was a senior reporter at Gizmodo and a staff writer for the Daily … Read More

YOU HAVE THE LEGAL AUTHORITY, F*****G USE IT

One voice was yelling he was a US citizen.  The conditions are horrible.  They get their drinking water from the toilet.   Maxwell Frost is a progressive treasure.  Hugs