“.. We could spend the whole day reacting to every buffoonish spectacle coming out of the White House, but that's exactly what they want: for us to lose focus … Don't be distracted by the noise; watch what they are doing to your rights while you stare at the screen.”

It's so touching seeing Elana Meyers communicating with her deaf sons in ASL. The vast majority of hearing parents of deaf kids never learn to sign. Many parents follow the advice of experts who discourage them from pursuing ASL. #Deaf #ASL

CBS declined to broadcast the James Talarico interview. Stephen Colbert took it to YouTube. He aired it anyway. That’s holding the line.

"That’s why it’s important that Minnesota be not just a shining example of what can be done. It needs to be a harbinger of what’s going to be done. It needs to be a model not just admired but emulated. We should all be Minnesotans now." open.substack.com/pub/thebulwa...

This is a truly horrifying memo. It says that the policy of the US government will now be to proactively seek out and arrest likely tens of thousands of refugees who entered legally under Biden and subject them to detention, where they will be interrogated about their status.

Good morning! Look at the fog hovering over Chicago this morning!

"It is beyond comprehension that the Senate confirmed this man to oversee America’s health. The risks are so immediate and constant that it can be difficult to keep track of them all." open.substack.com/pub/thebulwa...

Christianity does not look like praying and singing and giving money while ignoring the screams, unspeakable suffering, filth, and death of others. Christianity is not calling others *them*— somehow unlike us, not human, deserving of their suffering.

This guy is my Olympic hero!!!!!! 🎯🔥🇺🇸♥️

Statement on Kennedy Center Board Action: In 1964, Congress established the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts as a living memorial to President Kennedy. Only Congress can change its name.

In response to President Donald Trump’s public announcement of a planned two-year shutdown of the Kennedy Center, Kennedy Center Arts Workers United issued the following joint statement: kennedycenterunions.org/statements-n...

Trump’s Kennedy Center Shutdown Plan Jolts Workers and Performers ... what a slap dash, utterly confused mess. Typical incompetence and impulsiveness www.nytimes.com/2026/02/03/a...

The impending closure of the Kennedy Center imperils a belief that has been central to its existence: that democracy and the arts are deeply intertwined, Lily Meyer argues:

When I left the Post to found The Contrarian 13 mo ago, I expressed my disappointment, and disgust for Bezos’s refusal to treat ownership of The Post as a sacred mission. TO ALL WAPOST journalists: We value your work, would love you in Independent Journalism. Contact us: [email protected]

Please listen to this from an eyewitness to what is happening in our country, and in Minnesota specifically.

This is the only article I've seen that highlights the disastrous impact on the National Symphony Orchestra musicians. Thank you @travismandrews.bsky.social, @janaykingsberry.bsky.social, @kelseyables.bsky.social, @naveenkumarnyc.bsky.social, & @gedge1.bsky.social. Gift link: wapo.st/4qhUb0b

“ICE and the Border Patrol pose a threat not just to our civil liberties but to our political liberties. Dealing with the threat to our political liberty, in particular to free and fair elections, is the fight—for the rest of 2026, and then for 2027 and 2028.” www.thebulwark.com/p/defang-ice...

BREAKING: The two federal immigration agents who fired on Minneapolis protester Alex Pretti are identified in government records as Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and Customs and Border Protection officer Raymundo Gutierrez.

Oppression is literally a crushing of the image of God in humans. To say or do nothing when power is abused is to contribute to the defacing of God’s image in others. In other words, it is to join with the enemy of God, who sought to destroy that same image.

As a Christian, this is what pains me most.

One thing that is really bothering me about the emphasis on Alex Pretti as an ICU nurse and an exemplary neighbor is that his death still would have been senseless, evil, unjustified if he were unemployed and surfing 4chan all day. "Model" citizens are not the only ones whose lives are sacred.

“In complementarian writings, Jesus’ teaching and example in regard to women is generally ignored ... This omission of the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ interactions with women by those claiming to be giving “what the Bible teaches” on women is unpardonable. /1

On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we must ask: has the Church lost its moral courage and sacrificial love? Many young people didn’t reject Jesus. They rejected a Church that looked more like a social club than a movement of love, justice, and courage.

"A protester detained, her bra removed and wedding ring cut off, and some of her clothes never returned..." www.nytimes.com/2026/01/18/u...

i am not enjoying living in post-constitutional america tbh

Dr. Gladys West, the pioneering mathematician whose work laid the foundation for modern GPS technology, has died. She was 95.

Donald Trump's Secretary of Defense has a new pastor in Washington D.C. at the church Christian Nationalist Doug Wilson set-up. Meet Brooks Potteiger, Pete Hegseth's pastor back in Tennessee in the CREC, the denomination founded by Doug Wilson. MUCH more to come, there's a BIG story here.

PSA: Xofluza www.theatlantic.com/health/2026/...

ICE was just going up & down central getting out their cars with pepper spray and guns, but we had so many legal observers it made a huge difference. If you’re vulnerable at all we are asking you stay inside today & remember don’t open your door without seeing a judicial warrant signed by a judge.

This guy is in Minneapolis standing before an American citizen in an SUV. The only reason he's brandishing an assault rifle is because he wants the people he's purportedly there protecting to feel terrorized by his presence. This is not protection. This is occupation.

“Congress has both the authority and the obligation to examine whether current immigration enforcement practices reflect the rule of law, due process, and the values that distinguish the United States as a constitutional democracy." lulac.org/news/pr/LULA...

Kamala Harris at her closing campaign rally: "Donald Trump intends to use the United States Military against American citizens who simply disagree with him."

[On Philip Yancey]: “How will the publisher respond? Will they pull the best-selling books written during the period when Yancey was having an affair? Several notably female authors have been penalized for far less ... /1

NEW An initially-secret report for Customs and Border Patrol in 2013 found: In many vehicle shooting cases, the “driver was attempting to flee from the agents who intentionally put themselves into the exit path of the vehicle, thereby … creating justification for the use of deadly force.” 🧵

The “if she had complied, she’d still be alive” line that we’re hearing from ICE defenders is the mantra of apologists for security forces in dictatorships through the ages.

Standing Together for Truth Amid Trump's Lies and ICE Violence in 2026 Just dropped. The Convocation Unscripted+LIVE podcast with: @robertpjones.bsky.social , @jemartisby.bsky.social , @kkdumez.bsky.social , @dianabutlerbass.bsky.social . convocation.substack.com/p/standing-t...

Wow. The Washington National Opera Is leaving the Kennedy Center. I wish them all the very best & hope that they flourish elsewhere. Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2026/01/09/a...

@ezralevin.bsky.social explains what Congress must do to protect communities from ICE — and what people can do to protect themselves. https://contrarian.substack.com/p/kick-ice-out-of-our-communities

And who continues to hold their cellphone while shooting an unarmed victim? I guess he wasn't fearing for his life enough to drop his cellphone?

Becca Good, the wife of Renee Good, has released her first public statement since the shooting “We were raising our son to believe that no matter where you come from or what you look like, all of us deserve compassion and kindness. Renee lived this belief every day.”

So an officer has his phone out recording obviously distracted, shoots a woman and calls her a “f’ing Bitch” and they think that HELPS the case?!?

What rights do people have as ICE continues to grow, and as the president deploys the National Guard domestically? @anneapplebaum.bsky.social explores this in the new season of “Autocracy in America.” Listen here:

Just in case anyone’s misunderstanding, if it’s “not entirely clear” whether the use of force was justified, that doesn’t mean the officer wins. In fact, it means he LOSES at summary judgment, and the question has to go to a jury.

Yes, JD. Let’s ask them if they think a stay at home mom, avowed Christian, and widow of a veteran deserved to be shot in the face and left to bleed out in her own car after dropping her 6-year-old off at school, for the crime of looking out for her neighbors. Let’s ask everyone running for office.

The Trump administration has gutted or scrapped multiple oversight offices within the Department of Homeland Security—meaning violent incidents will get less scrutiny, Caitlin Dickerson reports:

God is not silent regarding systemic abuse. He sent Jesus, who lived amid corrupt systems, and He stood against anything and everything that deformed, crushed, and destroyed humanity, including religious leaders.

"YouGov has ICE at 39% favorable, 52% unfavorable...But this top line really understates the intensity of public backlash to ICE and its tactics. In February 2025, just 19% of Americans held a strongly unfavorable view of ICE. Today, 40% do." open.substack.com/pub/gelliott...

🎯 "Why would we think a denomination that largely supports a sex offender would then turn around & make significant strides in addressing sexual abuse within their own denomination?" @bozlaw.bsky.social nailed it in this piece from a year ago today. #ThisistheSBC baptistnews.com/article/sbc-...