Trump is a big fan of free speech rights so long as they are exercised by protesters in Iran and not in, say, Los Angeles or Portland or Minneapolis. (Also, nothing would delegitimize the protesters in Iran more quickly than Trump "coming to their rescue.") www.nytimes.com/2026/01/02/w...

Read for a good new year’s cry.

New: We got an internal ICE document revealing its $100 million ad plan to bring in 14,000 new hires: deals with "tactical" influencers; ads to gun & military buffs; and geo-targeting phones around NASCAR races and gun shows. A "wartime recruitment" mode with paramilitary branding: wapo.st/44QrP5j

As we wrote in @columjournreview.bsky.social, the Orban playbook was to pressure media companies, find an ally to purchase them when that pressure made them financially vulnerable, then have the ally install loyalists to turn the outlet in regime propaganda. #BariWeiss www.cjr.org/analysis/ant...

“It turns out that banishing the slur from public discourse was, in fact, important. Because now it’s back and it turns out that it does matter when subtext becomes actual text, when terrible people enable open hatred and bigotry, encouraging others to emulate them, degrading us all.”

My story on the decision of CBS Editor in Chief Bari Weiss to pull a 60 Minutes story on alleged abuses of Venezuelan migrants sent to notorious Salvadoran Center. Updated with this morning's remarks from Weiss: www.npr.org/2025/12/22/g...

NEW: Bari Weiss addresses her decision to hold last night's CECOT story on the CBS News morning editorial call: "Our viewers come first, not a listing schedule or anything else..."

Worth noting, I guess, that inside of a year we've gone from administration officials taking selfies of themselves at CECOT and bragging about how it's hell on earth to now getting their horrible little media worms to kill stories about it

CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss pulled a 60 Minutes segment on allegations of abuses at an El Salvador detention center where the Trump administration sent hundreds of Venezuelan migrants. n.pr/4pagOTD

Per NY Times’s Michael Grynbaum on X, this is Sharyn Alfonsi’s email to her “60 Minutes” colleagues in full:

Woman comes to US at age 6. Graduates nursing school. Work permit. No criminal record. Snatched and imprisoned by ICE for 6 months now. About to be forced back to Honduras. A life destroyed and one less nurse. Merry Christmas. www.nola.com/news/educati...

From a focus group of Gen Z Republicans. (www.city-journal.org/article/manh...) Tell me again about how Zohran Mamdani is the big threat to Jewish thriving in the US today.

Well put. Thanks, @seth-stern.bsky.social and Clayton Weimars. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

LUHAN: Is the FCC an independent agency? CARR: I think th--- L: Yes or no C: There's a test for this in the la--- L: It's yes or no, Brendan! On your website, it simply says, man, 'the FCC is independent.' This isn't a trick question C: The FCC is not L: So is your website lying? C: Possibly

SCHATZ: You think you have jurisdiction over political satire? FCC CHAIR BRENDAN CARR: My positio--- SCHATZ: It's a yes or no BRENDAN CARR: We have jurisdiction with respect the broadcast airwaves to ensure their operations are int he public interest (That's a yes!)

Sen. Cruz's opening at today's FCC oversight hearing calls the news distortion rule the "wretched offspring" of the public interest standard, and says "it is long past time for Congress to pass reforms.” Glad to see him on board with the bipartisan consensus! protectdemocracy.org/work/fcc-new...

Today, Brendan Carr faces his first Senate oversight hearing, where he will testify about his first year as the Chairman of the FCC. Here are five key questions that senators should ask to hold Carr accountable and protect free speech. More here: https://protdem.org/3MIa01W

There's bipartisan agreement than Carr's actions as FCC chair aim to erode free speech in this country. Let's hope this hearing makes that consensus clear.

The US Administration has banned Americans from *adopting babies* from much of the African continent. Adopting. Babies. What trait do those babies have that, when they grow up as fully American adults, would make them a threat to our country in any form?

This is a harrowing account of city under siege www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

It is international law 101 that a military blockade is not just a violation of the UN Charter, but a crime of aggression. Unless that blockade is in response to an 'armed attack.' None of President's Trump's list of complaints come close to an armed attack. 1/

This isn’t enforcement. This is harassment. They’ve grabbed people off the street for how they look, separated families, and scarred communities with masked agents with guns. I encourage everyone to do as they have — peacefully protect your neighborhoods and neighbors.

This is extremely important

A million Muslims live in New York City. We belong here, as does every other New Yorker. This is vile Islamophobia from the Councilwoman and it has no place in our city.

On Dec. 4, DOJ labeled people who impede or "dox" ICE agents "domestic terrorists." I document how DHS believes following, recording, and protesting agents is "impeding," and has a policy of threatening & arresting ICE observers. That's unconstitutional. www.cato.org/blog/dhs-pol...

Happy Hanukkah x 1 חג אורים שמח Never let them steal your joy.

Happy Hanukkah to our friends who celebrate. Rachel Posner, a rabbi’s wife in Kiel, Germany, took this photograph in 1931 -- a potent reminder that fascism must be fought in every generation, even if it's wrapped in an American flag and a red hat.

When one thinks about everything that followed from this, for the Supreme Court in particular, it truly boggles the mind.

It’s been two weeks since ICE took Yuanxin Zheng from his father. He is six years old. He’s still not home. This has to end.

I think this is probably a new era of grand jury practice where there is communal awareness of abusive policing. The GJ just doesn't believe the state. I'm not an expert on the history of grand juries, but my sense is that this is the first time we are seeing that phenomenon at scale.

BREAKING Trump’s troops must get out of Los Angeles, a federal judge rules. (Ruling paused until Monday.) Look out for more coverage soon at All Rise News.

“I am so bored by AI. One of the things I love about the theatre is AI can’t do it.” Ethan Hawke is a dude 👌🏻

i read stuff like this and can genuinely angry at guys like jd vance who insist that this country belongs to some narrow vision of the "native born"

The management of Gray's Landing across from Portland's ICE facility want a judge to bar federal officers' use of tear gas, smoke grenades and chemical munitions, except if facing an imminent threat.

That is patently false: not only do immigrants score better than native-born Americans in tests, the mere presence of immigrants improve test scores for all students, when factoring in white flight sesp.northwestern.edu/news-events/...

This is awesome.

NEW — I put together a list of independent journalism subscriptions that would make great holiday gifts. From music to politics, astronomy to alcohol, tech to social justice, there’s something for [almost] everyone. Support indie media *and* surprise and delight your loved ones! My guide:

In a 24-hour span, Trump spouts vile racism about Somalis, SCOTUS reinstates Texas’s racially gerrymandered maps, the Pentagon murders more black or brown fishermen—makes you wonder whether there’s some ugly unifying principle at work here

“U.S. Border Patrol agents detained multiple people with work permits and American citizenship in the agency's "Catahoula Crunch" immigration sweeps so far, according to immigrant rights groups and attorneys representing one detainee.”

"Can we all calm down for a minute? It appears my command to take no prisoners, exterminate all traces of life, and torch any semblance of international law has been misinterpreted. You shouldn’t rush to conclusions until you have all the facts."

They're gonna keep losing. Here's how.

Were this 17-point swing to occur uniformly in every Congressional district as now drawn, the result would be approximately 264 D seats, 171 R seats, a 51-seat shift. TX gerrymandering gains would be limited to 2 seats; NC/MO, backfire. Not to say this will happen, just to illustrate the impact.

“The killing of the survivors by this moral slum of an administration should nauseate Americans. A nation incapable of shame is dangerous, not least to itself...” www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

This is the scandal. Trump isn’t targeting dangerous people. He’s targeting peaceful immigrants. Almost exclusively.

I am extremely excited to announce that PD is doing this hiring-- please share with your folks ASAP because we are moving as fast as the moment demands.

I am extremely excited to announce that PD is doing this hiring-- please share with your folks ASAP because we are moving as fast as the moment demands.

Listen to Mark Fowler, Reagan's FCC chair: www.wsj.com/opinion/put-...

We're hiring! Legislative & Advocacy Specialist to develop integrated advocacy approaches using policy & comms strategies. Seeking candidates with 3+ yrs of experience, at least 1 yr working on the Hill or fed legislative advocacy. Hybrid position based in D.C. Details: https://protdem.org/3LVQP4q

Tomorrow morning, the DC Circuit will consider whether Trump violated the First Amendment by ejecting @apnews.com from the White House press pool after it refused to call the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America. Very glad that the AP is fighting this. knightcolumbia.org/blog/the-fig...

THREAD: Judge Ellis is the first federal judge to review extensive body cam video of DHS's actions in Chicago. She finds that DHS *repeatedly* misled the public and made claims that were disproven by agents' own videos. I'll go through some of the most egregious ones here.