Our founders, though deeply flawed, understood that democracy requires an informed citizenry and a government accountable to it people. That’s why the press is the only profession protected by the Constitution. It’s also why autocrats and oligarchs seek to control and destroy it.

Mandelson 'lied, he lied and he lied again to my team' says Starmer at PMQs (describing the vetting process). Mandelson of course bears responsibility for that. But the question remains: why didn't Downing Street anticipate that a known liar would be lying to them?

Truth.

"It was a time when everything was supposed to change, but everything stayed the same, only in a different way." -- Chronicler of the Winds, Henning Mankell (English translation by Tiina Nunnally)

I very, very much needed to read this today: www.nytimes.com/2026/02/03/o... "The Risk We Face in Opposing Trump", Roxanne Gay, NYT, 3 February 2026

one thing the trump era has made clear, i think, is that the american people themselves are far more committed to the values of our founding documents than our elites

happening this morning in Minneapolis -- ICE agents drawing guns on observers. I reiterate again that it is only a matter of time before DHS kills more innocent people in Minnesota. Congress needs to shut this shit down right now.

Despite the ongoing death and suffering in Gaza, it's fallen out of the news. So today, @thenation.com is devoting its full website to stories from Gaza, written by reporters who have been there. Very proud of the magazine today. www.thenation.com/article/worl...

New job #ad: Head of Visitor Services, Storyhouse, Storyhouse, Chester. Salary: £41,000. #artsjobs

Happy St Werburghs Day to all who celebrate. 😉 #chester #stwerburghsday

City retains purple flag status thechesterblog.com/2026/02/03/c...

ICE now confirming that there is a measles outbreak at the Texas concentration camp where young Liam was held.

Chris Murphy on Fox News Sunday: "If you're a conservative in this country, you should care about the fact that your govt is intentionally hurting kids. You should care about the fact that this govt is violating the 4th, 2nd, and 1st Amendment every single day. This is a lawless administration."

I don't like to talk about stories before they are fully reported, but I am writing on ICE in a Minnesota town that isn't Minneapolis. However bad you think it is, it is worse. It is a campaign of pure terror whose only strategic goal is more terror. There is no strategy other than to break people.

Federal judge has ordered the release of Liam Ramos (the bunny hat boy) and his father. A brief and rather remarkable order. Clearly written to be shared widely, so please do. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

The funny thing about a certain type of angry conspiracy guy is that they’re literally being confronted with an elite paedophile ring and a tyrannical government at the same time right now, and because it isn't being done by the people they wanted it to be done by they’re all being pussies about it

"The idea that trans inclusion at the ponds is somehow imposed against the wishes of users simply does not survive contact with reality. Londoners have looked at the evidence... and overwhelmingly said: this works, this is fair, and this reflects our values." celord.com/2026/01/29/h...

News cycles are being manipulated to make people think a problem has been solved when it hasn’t. Bovino removed didn’t change anything but people have been tricked into thinking it did, so they move on. Same as it was. Know this. The situation in MN is as bad as it’s always been. Don’t forget them.

Chester's Storyhouse is one of the best public spaces I know, and I am grateful every day that I live in a city that has made such a brilliant commitment to its people. The fact they solidly stand up to bigots is an added bonus. www.chesterstandard.co.uk/news/2580798... #chester #storyhouse #pride

I just don’t understand on a fundamental level, man I know these people exist, it’s shoved in my face every single day, but how the fuck do you treat little kids like this and look yourself in the mirror everything in me recoils at the thought, what the fuck is wrong with these people

A reminder that ICE hasn’t slowed down in Minneapolis at all. Outside of Minnesota, it might feel like everything has changed since Alex Pretti’s murder. But ICE hasn’t actually lost any power and they’re continuing to terrorize our communities.

Remember: Telling lies that everyone knows are lies is a classic tactic of dictators to force their followers to side with them over the truth itself. But the public will not be gaslit. We will continue to spread the truth to our communities. Ignorance is the handmaiden of tyranny.

CNN airs compilation of federal agents acting with extreme aggression towards peaceful observers.

"You raise your voice, I erase your voice." ICE in Minneapolis are erasing your rights. Please share our new video of what's happening in our city. youtu.be/W1dyNcRGRXY

Birmingham AL Jan 30 4:30pm 🚂 Railroad Park 🕯️Bring your light source BHM Indivisible @alpoliticsthisweek.com @alabamareflector.com @alreporter.com @blueprintalabama.bsky.social @tabithak.bsky.social @dougjones.bsky.social @willboydforal.bsky.social @faithinaction.bsky.social @julieconrad.bsky.social

No one writes like @adamserwer.bsky.social www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

The march to fascism may pause or slow down briefly, but it doesn't end until Trump and his minions are totally and completely gone. He must be impeached and removed.

Trump knows that Noem, Miller and Bovino have screwed this up as Trump sends in Homan to clean up the mess they made. This isn't a switch in policy, just personnel to put a friendlier face on it.

The killing of Alex Pretti and the grotesque lying was an overreach by the administration. They've paid a price and had to pull back a bit. But it's when there's some disarray that the democratic opposition needs to intensify the offensive, and turn a marginal tactical success into a major victory.

Reminder that, as of the latest reports, Liam Ramos is still in prison in Texas - now for 5 days. His parents are legal asylum seekers with no criminal record.

We have to keep the pressure up on Trump now that he’s backing down. That’s our role in keeping this democracy. Here’s the information you need to know: open.substack.com/pub/joycevan...

📆 Take a look at our timetable of community activities for the week ahead. 📱 If you'd like to get involved with one of our programmes, send us a message or email [email protected] for more information.

"ICE will leave Minnesota if you hand over your voter rolls" tells you everything you need to know. This was never about immigration or fraud. It was always about rigging elections.

A lot of Americans seem to have the idea that Jim Crow regimes were simply flawed democracies. They were authoritarian states that violently enforced caste, disenfranchisement and racial conformity. Nonviolence was the only effective tool. And it turned out to be revolutionary.

I wonder if I’ll ever stop being angry all of the time.

It’s important that people: 1. Don’t let them bury their lies about Renee. Make them own that forever. 2. Focus on the administration’s lies about Alex, even if they aren’t being said by Vance and Trump.

Christi Noem should testify under oath in Congress and explain why she lied about the facts around the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.

What's happening in Minnesota is one reason the Reconstruction Amendments banned insurrectionists from holding office. Unfortunately, the originalists on the Supreme Court interpreted the plain language of the amendment to mean its opposite.

One thing that irks me: people keep calling the folks on the streets in Minneapolis protestors. They are not generally there to protest, they are there to observe and document. This is the product of organizing and mutual aid. It is telling that these acts of citizenship are seen as protest!

Both of Nevada's senators--Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen--have officially come out against the DHS funding bill following the execution of Alex Pretti by ICE agents in Minneapolis this morning. This effectively ends the DHS funding bill in the Senate.

Walz: "I call on all Americans to see the decency this state is exhibiting, and the horrific cruelty, unprofessional, absolute abomination that is passing for what these f--- ICE agents are doing on our streets."

All of this is fucking senseless. Minnesota did not have an immigration problem. Trump sent his Nazi thugs here because he's racist against Somali people and to own libs like Tim Walz. Now two Minnesotans are dead and Minneapolis is on the verge of going up in flames. None. Of. This. Was. Necessary.

Immigration is a fake problem. We have politicians on the one hand who want to use immigrants as scapegoats for our real ones and politicians on the other who are too cowardly to stand against them and tell the truth. That is the entire situation. Until that changes, people will continue to die.

I know it's not within the hundred most awful things here, but... the nearest penguins to Greenland are in the Galapagos, five thousand fucking miles away

New date announced for popular run at Chester Zoo

Thank you to everyone who is risking their safety and contributing their time and money to protect our neighbors. If you are so inclined, please check out Stand With Minnesota (standwithminnesota.com) to find a way to help. And no one start any beefs with Will Stancil. (2/2)

Thousands and thousands and thousands of Minneapolitans putting aside their jobs, lives, their personal safety and comfort, and all their petty differences and turning up in staggering numbers, with no guarantee this nightmare will end in a week or a month or a year. They’re all heroes

If you want fine wine, go to France. If you want to do great journalism, go to Alabama. Congratulations to The Alabama Solution!

Special Counsel Jack Smith in his Opening Remarks:

Are you filled with righteous anger about Donald Trump's fascism in the States? Good, but not enough. Now, make it your personal responsibility to ensure Nigel Farage never gets to introduce it here.