ICE has shot and killed another American.

"Federal agents shot and killed a 37-year-old Minneapolis resident on Saturday morning, the city’s police chief said. The shooting prompted clashes between law enforcement and hundreds of protesters, as Minnesota officials renewed demands that the Trump administration end its immigration crackdown, which has now resulted in two deaths. 

Videos analyzed by The New York Times contradict the accounts of Homeland Security officials, who said that the man approached Border Patrol agents with a handgun and the intent to 'massacre' them. Footage of the encounter shows the man was holding a phone in his hand, not a gun, when federal agents took him to the ground and shot him."

 

"But the stars burn on overhead, 

Unconscious of final ends, 

As I walk home to bed, 

Asking what judgment waits 

My person, all my friends,

And these United States." --W.H. Auden

TRUMP’s ICE THUGS THREATEN AMERICAN CITIZEN’S RIGHT.

FROM OCCUPY DEMOCRATS:

ICE agents are adding peaceful protestors — legally filming their violent actions — to a federal “domestic terrorist database.”

In what should chill every American to the bone, an ICE agent in Maine was caught on video doing the unthinkable: threatening a woman with placement in a “domestic terrorist database” for the crime of recording federal agents in public.

Yes — recording, an action that is a First Amendment right.

The video, posted by freelance reporter Nathan Bernard of the Maine Morning Star, shows an agent from Immigration and Customs Enforcement approaching a woman calmly filming their activity. She correctly notes that it’s not illegal to record law enforcement.

That’s when things turn dystopian. “Why are you taking my information down?” she asks.

“Because we have a nice little database,” the agent replies. “And now you’re considered a domestic terrorist.” 

Let that sink in.

The woman, who is a Passamaquoddy Native American, wasn’t interfering. Wasn’t threatening. Wasn’t protesting. She was holding up a phone. And for that, an armed federal agent casually suggested she’d be branded a terrorist.

Journalists and legal experts erupted.

Independent journalist Glenn Greenwald called it exactly what it is: a disgrace. Armed, masked federal agents roaming American streets, threatening citizens with secret databases for exercising constitutional rights. That’s not law enforcement — that’s intimidation. 

And it’s not an accident.

The incident aligns perfectly with a leaked joint memo from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Homeland Security, first reported by Ken Klippenstein, which quietly expanded the definition of “domestic violent extremists” to include people who “leverage First Amendment–protected activity.” Including — you guessed it — recording law enforcement.

Former MSNBC reporter and Breaking Points host Krystal Ball summed it up with three perfect words: “This is insane.”

Meanwhile, the data tells an even darker story. According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, real partisan political violence in America has surged — driven overwhelmingly by right-wing extremists and election deniers, not immigration protesters with smartphones.

Yet instead of targeting the actual threat, Trump’s government is building databases, blurring definitions, and pointing the terrorism label at citizens who dare to watch the watchers.

This isn’t about safety.

It’s about fear.

It’s about control.

And it’s about how fast a democracy can slide — when filming the government makes you the suspect.

GUEST POST BY DAVE MILLER

 

This is just what we all needed today after a tumultuous week! 

Thank you, Dave!

******************************

A recent post, from MsQ of the blog Wheeeee…..

 

DAVOS, TRUMP, GREENLAND——- TALK TO ME!

 

You lefty liberals didn’t think our great President TRUMP could do it. But he did, DIDN’T he??????

 

He flew across the Atlantic to That DAVOS Place and spoke our truth. The truth of AMERICA and what we need from Denmark. America stood tall and told the sissy European leaders how much we ARE BETTER than they are.

 

And then he explained, as I’ve always begged him to do, WHY America needs Denmark ——  It’s to protect us all, including EUROPE. Like we always do, since they can’t do it themselves. I was so proud yesterday of our President and America yesterday I had tears coming down my cheeks. America standing up for what WE need. Finally, a STRONG PRESIDENT PUT AMERICA FIRST IN FRONT OF THE WORLD, NOT APOLOGIZING AT ALL. JUST SPEAKING TRUTH.

 

AND WE GOT EVERYTHING WE WANTED IN DENMARK. ONCE OUR PRESIDENT TOLD THEM WHAT WE NEEDED, THEY CAVED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THANK YOU MR PRESIDENT. NOW IF THOSE NASTY LEFTIST PEOPLE IN OUR OWN COUNTRY WOULD JUST LISTEN TO YOU HERE, WE REALLY WOULD BE MAKING AMERICA GREAT AGAIN.

 

AND everybody thoughT our president was crazy with all this Denmark stuff. We got what we needed. Because of  our president!

 

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

What do you all think about yesterday at DAVOS??? And how our PRESIDENT handled it all?

 

 

From a reader named -RationalBlazeDubBB:

 

"Hello, hello… this is earth calling and I’ve got reality online too.

 

President Trump for weeks has been just short of belligerent in his repeated calls for Denmark to surrender Greenland to the US for the protection of the world and most importantly, the US. "The World is not secure unless we have Complete and Total Control of Greenland” of Greenland he said.

 

In Davos this week he jettisoned the “just short” of belligerent and openly mocked, chastised and insulted our most loyal allies, the people and countries who have supported America and her wars, especially after 9/11 for years. With their soldiers dying alongside ours.

 

But then, in some sort of miracle, Trump announced we had a deal, a concept of a deal, a framework of a deal, if you will. And you know what we got? Exactly what we had already. Exactly what’s in our treaty with Denmark we signed in both 1941 and 1951.

 

Let me put that in plain English for folks. The US, under President Trump, has spent weeks and months hammering Europe and specifically Denmark over Greenland. After Trump did not get the Nobel Peace Prize, he ramped that criticism up to record levels.

 

He then went to Davos and made it worse, causing the US financial markets to plunge. He scared US tech leaders who were there, listening to him from the front row. When Trump left the stage after his insulting rant, the markets immediately tanked. And the tech leaders and others told him he was causing worldwide financial chaos.

 

So what did the favored leader of MAGA do?

 

According to Brit Hume of FOX News, Trump caved and removed the threat of new tariffs on Europe. He announced a deal that never got the “complete and total” control he said we needed. In a video shown on CNBC, he completely admitted that, saying all we had was a framework of a deal. Not a deal. Not sovereignty, but everything else.

 

That everything else, includes nothing new. Not. At. All. Trump did all of this ranting and lunatic ranting for nothing. Except maybe his own ego.

 

What was the point of all of this? Trump trashed our relationship with Europe. Trump rattled world financial markets. Trump risked US financial security through the purchase of Greenland.

 

All to get what we already had.

 

Yes… thank you President Trump, for not making America great again. But instead, making us a pariah of embarrassment and mistrust with our closest allies."

 

The response from MsQ of the blog Wheeeee…..:

 

"OKAY Mr NASTY, I’m publishing your response only BECAUSE I want my readers to see how ugly you people are. YOUR worse than Ducky reincarnated and he was pretty bad. At least TRUMP does not lie like your hero Biden does? Like Mayorcas did every day along the border.

 

Our president went to DAVOS and spelled out what America NEEDED and we got it. And he did not embarrass AMERICA like that GOV Newscum did.

 

THAT”S IT! You’re gone to the Ducky Heap, God rest his soul, I assume.  We don’t like NASTY people like you here. And I SHOULD ban that BB too. He’s on the edge!

 

GOODBYE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

WSJ Admits Trump “needs therapy" and may be "flirting with cognitive decline."

"[Holman W. Jenkins, Jr.,] who has written for the conservative paper for 34 years, noted that Congress made it illegal for the U.S. to issue a “threat or use of force against the territorial integrity” of a nonoffending member of the United Nations, which Greenland’s protectorate, Denmark, is.

“This isn’t international law, MAGA types, it’s U.S. law,” writes Jenkins. “A Trump order to occupy an otherwise peaceful and unthreatened Greenland would likely be illegal six ways from Sunday. The U.S. military wouldn’t obey it. The Supreme Court would enjoin it.”

Jenkins added that Trump using force to seize Greenland will likely lead to a third impeachment. "--The Daily Beast

From Occupy Democrats:

"Prominent right-wing newspaper finally admits that Trump 'needs therapy' and is 'throwing his presidency away' over Greenland.

When even Rupert Murdoch’s Wall Street Journal starts whispering that Donald Trump might be “flirting with cognitive decline,” you know the Trump circus has gone from tragic to dangerous. For months, the president has been hell-bent on seizing Greenland — confusing diplomacy with real estate, and sovereign nations with beachfront condos. 

But this week, conservative editorial board member Holman W. Jenkins Jr. finally said the quiet part out loud: Trump “needs therapy more than the United States needs to own the island.”

“Mr. Trump’s preoccupation with owning Greenland, like his Nobel Prize obsession, would be best addressed elsewhere: in therapy,” Jenkins continued. “I’m perfectly serious. Once he started unburdening himself of his insecurities and traumas, he probably wouldn’t stop for a week. The world, and the U.S., would be better for it.”

Ouch.

But Jenkins didn’t stop there. He reminded MAGA diehards that you can’t just invade a NATO ally to settle a midlife crisis — Congress literally made it illegal. “This isn’t international law, MAGA types, it’s U.S. law,” he wrote, laying out how the military and Supreme Court would shut Trump down “six ways from Sunday” if he tried it. Oh, and it would likely trigger a third impeachment.

Meanwhile, Trump staggered into Davos like a “bear dragged from hibernation,” huffing, wobbling, and repeatedly calling Greenland ‘Iceland,’ and vice-versa — an international humiliation so cringe that even Fox News had to look away. At one point, the president claimed Iceland “called him Daddy.” Unsurprisingly, both Iceland and Greenland deny using any such term of endearment.

And here’s the kicker: the people Trump wants to “take over” want nothing to do with him. Polls show over 85% of Greenland opposes U.S. annexation, and Fox News’ own “Trump fan” from Nuuk turned out to be a serial criminal — because that’s what it takes to find a pro-Trump interview subject up there.

For over a year, the president has displayed bruised hands, swollen ankles, and a growing habit of dozing off during high-stakes meetings. His rambling, incoherent press conferences have become so alarming that even conservative media can’t pretend anymore. Murdoch’s empire isn’t exactly filled with Resistance liberals — so if they are sounding worried, buckle up.

The story isn’t just that Trump is losing it. It’s that Republicans, billionaires, and right-wing media have known for ages — and stayed silent as he tanks markets, shreds alliances, and threatens to start a war over an island that wants nothing to do with him.

But now the spell is breaking. And the question practically writes itself: If even Rupert Murdoch’s media can see the decline… what’s the Republican Party’s excuse?"

25TH AMENDMENT FOR TRUMP! STAT!

Trump made a fool of himself and America in front of the world at Davos today:

Trump confused Iceland and Greenland, when talking about recent declines in the stock market. “Our stock market took the first dip yesterday because of Iceland,” Trump said. “So Iceland’s already cost us a lot of money.” 

Trump on Greenland: "I'm helping NATO, and until the last few days when I told them about Iceland, they loved me—they called me daddy. A very smart man said he's our daddy. NATO is not there for us on Iceland. Our stock market took the first dip yesterday because of Iceland." 

Trump said the US “won’t use force” to take Greenland, (that's because may be the generals won't obey an illegal order for an unprovoked attack on an ally, or because Senate Republicans are vowing to block any effort by President Trump to seize Greenland by military force), but repeated that control of the territory was necessary for national and international security. He said he would be “appreciative” if the world acquiesced to his desire to take over the territory. “Or,” he added, “you can say no and we will remember.” 

(This is how mafia gangsters threaten those who do NOT "acquiesce.")

Trump shows the world that he knows nothing about WWII history -- in fact, he knows little to nothing about most things a POTUS should know because Trump is a functioning illiterate:

Trump: “After the war, we gave Greenland back to Denmark. How stupid were we to do that? But we did it. But how ungrateful are they now?" 

Denmark did not give us Greenland during the war. It allowed us to develop military bases/outposts on which it has already confirmed they would allow again. Someone should either tell the doddering fool the correct story, or shoo him off the stage. 

Denmark had previously sold islands to the United States. Virgin Islands, to be exact. In exchange, among other things, for unconditional recognition of its sovereignty over Greenland. 

(And among the islands sold was Little St. James, popularly known as Epstein Island.) 

Trump called out the "stupid people" who support wind energy in Davos: "China is smart. They make windmills, sell 'em for a fortune, and sell 'em to the STUPID PEOPLE that buy them!"  

"Windmills all over Europe, all over the place, and they are LOSERS. One thing I've learned: the more windmills a country has, the more money that country loses. China makes almost all the windmills, and yet I haven't been able to find any wind farms in China!" 

Trump showed the world, again, his crushing ignorance. China uses wind energy with massive wind turbine installations and leads the world in total capacity and deployment!

After watching Trump speak at Davos, the whole world will know and understand why we need the 25th Amendment now. His dementia is worsening, and he is an embarrassment to America. He is speaking before people who know history and the truth behind all his idiotic lies. 

From someone in Ireland:

"Dear citizens of the USA. I hope you are proud of yourselves. This is who you elected (a plurality of you this time) to be your representative on the global stage. As own-goals go, that’s a doozie. I’ll say this, Trump has brought about global unity; albeit against the USA."

King of the Dunning–Kruger Effect

"The generals think Trump's Greenland plan is crazy and illegal."

Rachel Hurley on Facebook:

So Trump ordered the military to invade Greenland, and the generals told him to fuck off.

Not hypothetically. He actually ordered it. The Joint Special Operations Command got the directive - draw up invasion plans for Greenland. And the Joint Chiefs of Staff said no. Because it’s illegal. Because Denmark is a NATO ally. Because you can’t just invade our friends.

The Daily Mail broke the story on January 11th. According to their sources: “The generals think Trump’s Greenland plan is crazy and illegal. So they are trying to deflect him with other major military operations. They say it’s like dealing with a five-year-old.”

They’re trying to distract the President with other wars. How about we intercept Russian ghost ships? Or hit Iran? Literally anything except invading Denmark.

This came after two weeks of escalating threats. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on January 6th that “utilizing the U.S. Military is always an option” for Greenland. Stephen Miller went on CNN and refused to rule out force. He said “nobody’s going to fight the United States militarily over the future of Greenland.”

Denmark said hold my beer.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen warned that a U.S. attack on Greenland would mean the end of NATO. Not a diplomatic strain. The end. “If the United States chooses to attack another NATO country militarily, then everything stops.”

And then eight European countries deployed troops. Germany, France, Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands, the UK, Finland - all sent forces for Operation Arctic Endurance. On January 19th, General Peter Boysen, Chief of the Royal Danish Army, arrived in Greenland with combat soldiers trained in Arctic warfare and announced he’s ready to defend the territory.

Trump’s response? Tariffs. On January 17th he announced 10% tariffs on all eight European allies, rising to 25% by June 1st, until “a Deal is reached for the Complete and Total purchase of Greenland.”

He’s threatening a trade war against NATO allies because they’re defending themselves against us.

Let’s talk about why the military said no.

The UN Charter prohibits the threat or use of force against any state’s territorial integrity. The NATO Treaty obligates us to defend Denmark. We have 21 bilateral defense agreements with Denmark since 1950.

An order to invade Greenland violates international law, domestic law, and seven decades of treaty obligations. The Uniform Code of Military Justice requires refusal of unlawful orders. Military members swear an oath to “support and defend the Constitution,” not obey the president unconditionally.

A Washington Post op-ed spelled it out: “Confronted with an order from President Trump and Secretary Hegseth to seize Greenland from a treaty ally with whom we are at peace, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine must reasonably and in good conscience decline to transmit, and relevant four-star combatant commanders refuse to execute, that order as illegal.”

Here’s what makes Venezuela different. On January 3rd, the U.S. captured Nicolás Maduro. That succeeded because Maduro had federal indictments, it was framed as law enforcement, and Venezuela isn’t a NATO ally.

Trump’s team thought that success meant they could keep going. Stephen Miller and other “policy hawks” pushed for immediate Greenland action “before Russia or China makes a move.”

Diplomatic cables describe a “worst-case scenario” where invasion leads to “the destruction of NATO from the inside.” Some European officials suspect that’s the actual goal. “Since Congress would not allow Trump to exit NATO, occupying Greenland could force the Europeans to abandon NATO.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson tried damage control. “We’re not at war with Greenland. I don’t think anybody’s seriously considering that.”

Except JSOC has the order. The Joint Chiefs are resisting. European troops are deploying. Denmark confirmed that under a 1952 standing order, Danish troops must “immediately take up the fight” if attacked. The government said Danish soldiers would shoot back if Greenland is invaded.

We’re in a situation where U.S. military leadership has concluded a presidential order is illegal, and NATO allies are preparing to defend themselves against the United States.

Trump said January 9th: “We are going to do something on Greenland whether they like it or not. I would like to make a deal, you know, the easy way. But if we don’t do it the easy way, we’re going to do it the hard way.”

Only 8% of Americans support invading Greenland. 73% oppose it. Members of Congress from both parties traveled to Copenhagen to support Denmark. Senator Ruben Gallego introduced a resolution to block Trump from invading. Congress warned that “any member of the military who takes part in the use of force against Greenland without congressional authorization would be carrying out illegal orders.”

The constitutional system is working as designed. The military’s duty is to the Constitution, not the president. When given an order that violates the law and treaty obligations, they’re required to refuse. The Joint Chiefs have done that.

But we’re still in a constitutional crisis. The president is actively trying to order an illegal invasion. He’s threatening economic warfare against allies defending themselves. He’s claiming he doesn’t need international law and might have to choose between seizing Greenland or preserving NATO.

The generals are trying to distract him with other military operations because they think his Greenland plan is “crazy and illegal” and it’s “like dealing with a five-year-old.”

The system is holding. For now. But the fact that it has to hold - that the Joint Chiefs are actively refusing presidential orders and trying to redirect him toward different wars - tells you everything about where we are.

"DON'T LET ANYONE TELL YOU THIS IS ABOUT IMMIGRATION."

 

We are no longer living in the America of our parents and grandparents. Trump's goons are in Minnesota, a blue state, which has many, many fewer undocumented immigrants than Texas and Florida, terrorizing and brutalizing anyone they suspect, including American citizens.

What happened to you America that made you accept what we've seen in the past perpetrated by authoritarian/fascist regimes?

h/t Dave Miller:

Where have we seen these unAmerican, unConstitutional tactics before:

Here:  The Captain of the Mother Ship admires a dictator/fascist:

HAVE ANY OF YOU HEARD OF EL SALVADOR’S PRESIDENT, NAYIB BUKELE?  I’ve been a fan since before he took office.   My house helper is Salvadoran, was just there, and says the people LOVE him and are trying to figure legislation to where he can stay in office past the legal limit!!!!!    He is a big Trump supporter, by the way.  Young, effective, puts his country first.

HOW THE HECK DO THEY GET RID OF CARTELS?  HOW DO THEY GET AS CLEAN AS BUKELE HAS MADE EL SALVADOR?

MAGA have given up all pretenses of believing in Constitutional rights and the law. As you can see above, they clearly admire a tyrant, just like they admire the tyrant who's taken up residence in the People's House: 

This is who they hope Trump emulates more than he already has. 

IMO, they are NOT Americans who hold dear what made us "The Shining City on the Hill." Trump and his MAGAs have destroyed that ideal and have made us international pariahs.

This is what they want for America:

"Bukele has heavily militarized Salvadoran society, sending the army and police into the streets and, in 2020, into the national legislature to intimidate opposition. 

State of Exception: Since 2022, a continuous "state of exception" has allowed for the arrest of tens of thousands without warrants, resulting in significant human rights abuses, including allegations of torture and illegal detentions. 

Consolidation of Power: Bukele has replaced Supreme Court judges and the attorney general with loyalists, and pushed through constitutional changes to allow for his own re-election, creating a one-party-dominated state. 

Authoritarian Rhetoric: He has self-described as the "world's coolest dictator," and uses social media to block critics and cultivate a cult of personality. 

Far-Right Alliances: Bukele has developed close ties with the American far-right and the MAGA movement, with observers noting similarities in their political strategies."

 

The Shame of America

 

Trump is so embarrassingly stupid:

Norway’s PM says that he has explained to Trump several times that the Norwegian government has no say in the Nobel Peace Prize.

“Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize … I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace, although it will always be predominant, but can now think about what is good and proper for the United States of America,” Trump’s message to Jonas Gahr Støre. “The World is not secure unless we have Complete and Total Control of Greenland.” 

Stocks sell off globally as traders digest Trump message saying he wants Greenland because ‘your Country decided not to give me the Nobel.’"