Sunday, September 28, 2025
spot_img
spot_img
Home Blog Page 32

Barragán Hosts Emergency Town Hall as ICE Raids Spread Fear Across LA

Reporters Desk
-
0
Barragán Hosts Emergency Town Hall as ICE Raids Spread Fear Across LA


Congresswoman Condemns ICE Raids and Calls for Action

By Emma Rault, Columnist

Nearly 8,000 people tuned into a tele-town hall hosted by Rep. Nanette Diaz Barragán (CA-44) on June 18 to address the large-scale Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids taking place across Los Angeles and the rest of the country.

ICE has recently detained a Marine veteran’s wife and the mother of a three-month-old infant in Baton Rouge, Louisiana; detained an Afghan man in San Diego who worked alongside U.S. military forces against the Taliban; and targeted day laborers, car washes, warehouses, schools, swap meets and courthouses where people are showing up for their immigration appointments. This unprecedented increase in arrests has overwhelmingly affected immigrants with no criminal convictions of any kind. It has sparked widespread fear and protests in our communities.

“Donald Trump and Stephen Miller are terrorizing immigrant families and communities in my district and throughout Los Angeles County,” Rep. Barragán said. “We’re seeing ICE agents gathering near our schools and the recent raids forcing communities to cancel local events because people are too afraid to gather in public spaces.”

Barragán condemned the use of federal troops in response to the protests, when local officials repeatedly confirmed the situation was under control. “I’m doing everything I can to … stop the militarization of our streets,” she said.

Some Democratic members of Congress, such as Maxine Waters, Jimmy Gomez and Norma Torres, have made an effort to visit ICE facilities to check on the welfare of constituents being detained. Rep. Barragán and Rep. Sherman (CA-32) will be leading an oversight visit to the ICE Processing Center in Adelanto, CA in early July, although it may have to be rescheduled if Congress ends up having to remain in session to discuss the budget bill.

At the town hall, Rep. Barragán was assisted by two representatives from immigrant rights organizations in Los Angeles, Matthew Toyama, managing attorney with the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), and Kristen Hunsberger, managing attorney with the Immigrant Defenders Law Center (IMMDEF).

“Now is an essential time for people to know there are resources and information available to them,” said Hunsberger. “Constitutional rights apply to everyone in the United States, regardless of immigration status,” she emphasized.

Here’s a brief summary of the questions asked and answered at the event.

IMG 4372
San Pedro protests ICE.
Photo’s by Guadelupe Jimenez


Q: What organizations can community members join if they want to help?
IMMDEF: CLUE (Clergy and Laity for Economic Justice) is raising bond funds for detained immigrants so they can get out of detention and be reunited with their families. Donate at cluejustice.org/bond. You can also sign up for the Immigration Defender Law Center’s newsletter at immdef.org or follow them on social media for other ways to help immigrants who are facing challenges to seeking safety.

Q: If you’ve started work toward fixing your immigration status but you haven’t received any documents yet, what can you do if you are detained?
CHIRLA: Contact your attorney. If you don’t have an attorney, call CHIRLA’s legal triage information hotline at 213-201-3797 on Tuesday between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. or Thursday between 1 and 5 p.m. The people answering the phone can assess your situation and get you scheduled for a legal clinic, which takes place every second Saturday of the month between 8 a.m. and 12 p.m. (the next one will be on July 12).

You can also call the Immigrant Defenders Law Center’s Rapid Response Hotline at 213-833-8283 (Monday-Friday 9 a.m.–4 p.m.). If a family member is detained, this page can help you find out where they are being held: locator.ice.gov/odls/#/search

Rep. Barragán added that people can also call her Long Beach office for assistance at 310-831-1799.

Q: What should DACA recipients say if they encounter ICE?
CHIRLA: DACA recipients have what is known as “deferred action” status, which is a temporary protection from deportation. It’s important to carry proof of that status whenever you’re outside your own home.

Q: If someone is a U.S. citizen and is approached by ICE, what documents should they have to protect themselves?
IMMDEF: Carry a valid form of ID issued by the state or federal government, such as a RealID, driver’s license, or passport. If you’re a dual citizen, leave any documents on your second nationality at home. Memorize an emergency phone number for a family member or a friend. Always ask if you’re being detained and what the reason is; if they say you’re not being detained, ask if you’re free to leave. Don’t sign anything, exercise your right to remain silent and your right to consult an attorney.

Q: My friend’s green card expired four years ago. What should they do?
CHIRLA: A green card grants what’s known as “lawful permanent resident” status. That status is permanent and does not expire — only the physical card that serves as proof does. Usually, they are valid for ten years. A new one can be requested by completing an I-90 form. CHIRLA has a special unit to assist people with this kind of paperwork. Call 213-201-3797 on Tuesdays between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. or Thursdays between 1 and 5 p.m.

Q: Can parents who are going to be deported request not to be separated from their children?
IMMDEF: The family preparedness plan on the Immigrant Defenders Law Center website includes paperwork that parents can use to appoint a guardian for their children in case they are detained. If you have an underage child and you prefer to keep them with you, you can request this. It’s important to tell everyone involved in the child’s care about the arrangements you’ve made so everyone is on the same page. Also, make sure others know where a copy of the plan can be found in the home.

Q: Should people keep copies of their ID in case they are detained?
IMMDEF: That’s a great idea. Also, keep at least one backup copy of work permits, receipts for any pending United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) applications, your Social Security number card, etc, and make sure everyone in the home knows where they are.

Q: Should you allow ICE to take a picture of you for their records if you’re not being detained?
IMMDEF: Technically, you can’t expect privacy in public space, but if they come up to you, feel free to say no. Be mindful to stay as calm as possible.

Q: Do taxpayers have to pay for these immigration raids? We didn’t choose this.
NDB: That depends on whether the courts decide the current approach to immigration enforcement is valid.

Q: What can ordinary people do to defeat Trump’s agenda?
NDB: Speaking out, showing up at protests. If you have family members in other parts of the country who vote the other way, educate them. If you know a member of the community who might be scared because of immigration raids, help them and educate them about their rights. We have to continue to stand strong and not be silent.

Q: How can people know what a legitimate ICE warrant looks like?
IMMDEF: To enter a non-public area, like someone’s home, ICE needs a judicial warrant. A judicial warrant is different from an administrative warrant. At the top of the page, it should say what court it has been issued by; at the bottom, there should be a signature block with the name of the judge. Also check who the document pertains to — what name(s) are listed? If you’re inside your own home, don’t open the door; instead, ask them to slide it under the door or hold it up to a window. If possible, take a photo of it. And ask for the officers’ names and badge numbers.

IMG 4362
San Pedro protests ICE.
Photo’s by Guadelupe Jimenez


Q: There are reports about people showing up in communities pretending to be ICE. What can be done about these impostors?
NDB: Always ask to see their badge and officer number. Lawmakers in California have introduced a bill banning law enforcement from wearing face coverings on the job, California Senate Bill 627, also known as the “No Secret Police Act.” At the federal level, Republicans need to join Democrats in demanding that ICE agents not be masked. [RLn: To call your elected officials about this issue, contact Rep. Barragán at 202-225-8220, Senator Alex Padilla at 02-224-3553, and Senator Adam Schiff at 202-224-3841.]

Trump’s Folly And America’s Lost Cause

Paul Rosenberg
-
0
Trump’s Folly And America’s Lost Cause

 

How Cold War Lies and GOP Myths Still Shape U.S.

Dwight D. Eisenhower is generally remembered by Democrats as the best Republican president of the last 100 years. Yet, he’s responsible for initiating hostilities with Iran that have been taken to the brink of all-out regional war by the worst GOP president ever — a war that Trump’s own base is solidly opposed to, according to multiple polls.

The idea that a single massive missile strike will end Iran’s nuclear ambitions is absurd. Russia has already hinted it could simply give Iran nuclear weapons. And Trump’s quick shift to ceasefire could be ancient history by the time you read this in print. As prominent pro-Trump podcaster Saagar Enjeti tweeted, “The sheer schizophrenia of US policy in the last week should give very few confidence that this is serious and can’t start up again at any time.” So what lies ahead is deeply unclear. But how we got here isn’t. It began with the best president the GOP can claim since Teddy Roosevelt.

Eisenhower is known for the interstate freeway system, for sending federal troops to Little Rock, Arkansas, to integrate the high school, and for his farewell speech warning against the dangers of the military-industrial complex.

But there’s another, darker side of Eisenhower’s legacy: His role in approving the CIA-co-engineered 1953 coup that overthrew the elected government of Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh, and ushered in 26 years of dictatorial rule until the 1979 Iranian Revolution. And that was just the first of a series of decisions Eisenhower made — including the cancellation of unification elections in Vietnam three years later — which positioned America in opposition to emerging democratic forces around the globe.

Another CIA-backed coup in Guatemala in 1954 made it clear that the Iranian coup was a template, not an aberration, which would be seen repeatedly across the developing world, perhaps most notoriously in the 1973 Chilean coup. And the CIA’s follow-up work in Iran, helping to create Iran’s secret police force, SAVAK, was a model for how it collaborated with repressive governments long-term, from Indonesia to El Salvador, Argentina and South Africa.

In American public history, nothing before 1979 is remembered. Iran is ruled by a reactionary theocratic regime harboring deep hostility to America and Israel for no earthly good reason. Iran started it by holding 52 American embassy officials for 444 days, during which ABC’s Nightline program was launched to report on every detail, day by day, fixing a simplistic, deceptive drama of good and evil in the public’s mind.

But all of that is as much of a lie as the Confederate “Lost Cause” mythology that denies the central role of slavery in the Civil War. The new Lost Cause myth is that we’re universal champions of freedom. But the facts say otherwise.

The Iranian people overthrew the Shah of Iran in 1979 for very good historical reasons, even if the government that eventually emerged only replaced one kind of repression with another. And it all began with our meddling, initiated by the best Republican president any Democrat alive today can remember. The idea that we’re always the white-hatted heroes fighting for freedom is starkly at odds with what happened in Iran — it’s our own modern-day Lost Cause mythology that sanitized the whole Cold War era and subsequent “War on Terror” that continues even today.

We would like to think we’re freedom’s foremost advocate across the world, and after World War II, people in many countries looked at us and hoped that would be true. Sometimes it was, if the situation was right. But it couldn’t be counted on. After all, while America was the first country to fight for and win its own freedom in the colonial era, it refused to recognize and support the second such country — Haiti — not least because Haiti’s abolition of slavery put it well in the vanguard ahead of us, threatening our contradictory ideology of slaveholders’ freedom, which haunts us even to this day.

Eisenhower Starts It

In 1952, Eisenhower’s predecessor, Harry Truman, rejected a CIA push to initiate the coup in support of Britain and her interests in Iranian oil. Iran’s parliament had voted to nationalize Iran’s oil industry after the British Anglo-Iranian Oil Company refused to allow audits to see if it was paying agreed-upon royalties and otherwise obeying the law. Under Labor Prime Minister Clement Atlee, Britain had initiated a worldwide boycott of Iranian oil, but when Conservative Winston Churchill returned to power, Britain began planning to overthrow Iran’s government and pressuring America to help, which Truman initially refused to do.

In fact, “We are presently thinking of unilateral action to assist the Mosadeq Government in the event that the British do not agree to an oil settlement acceptable to Mosadeq,” a memo declassified in 2017 stated.

It was only under Eisenhower that America switched sides, working secretly through the CIA, the first of many CIA-supported coups that occurred throughout the Cold War, almost always justified in terms of “fighting Communism” while actually deposing elected governments.

While the Cold War is conventionally framed as an ideological battle between the U.S.-led capitalist West and the Soviet-led communist block, in reality much of what it involved was similar to what happened in Iran: nationalist democratic aspirations were covertly or overtly opposed by the U.S., assumed to be enemies, simply because they resisted outside direction or control.

Even the Vietnam War could have been avoided, given that North Vietnam’s leader, Ho Chi Minh, had first reached out for U.S. support in 1919, under the principle of national self-determination articulated by Woodrow Wilson during negotiations of the Treaty of Versailles. He only sought communist support after Wilson rejected him. Even so, he was a U.S. secret agent during WWII, and when it ended, he issued Vietnam’s Declaration of Independence, beginning with a direct quote from our own. That began a successful nine-year war of independence, concluding with a guarantee of elections in 1956, which Eisenhower helped block, knowing that Minh would easily win. As with Iran, Eisenhower ensured decades of conflict to come.

While the war that followed profoundly shaped American history, the basic reason for it — the refusal to allow democratic self-determination in a “third world” country, the same as in Iran — was largely hidden from the American people by our modern Lost Cause mythology. But it wasn’t hidden from the people of most of the world, regardless of how they judged the rights and wrongs of all that followed — and there was certainly plenty of both.

Eisenhower’s Handiwork Fails

When Iran’s U.S.-backed government finally fell, it was a very messy affair. The most popular opposition figure, Islamic cleric Ruhollah Khomeini, had been in European exile for a decade, and his plans for a theocratic state were deliberately vague and removed from many Iranians’ immediate concerns. His repeated gestures of collaboration with the secular opposition were all eventually betrayed. If America’s official version of what unfolded was deceptively simplified, the same was equally true of Iran’s.

In January 1979, the Shah left for exile in Egypt, leaving a short-lived secular government behind. In March, a referendum was overwhelmingly approved to replace the monarchy with an “Islamic republic,” but just what that meant was undefined. A draft constitution released in June included a Guardian Council to veto un-Islamic legislation, but had no guardian jurist ruler — the position that Khomeini had long secretly craved for himself. Nonetheless, he initially declared it “correct.” But after a much more contentious, violence-marred and potentially rigged election produced a small clerically-dominated “Assembly of Experts,” they rejected the constitution and rewrote it in a much more theocratic, anti-democratic form, with Khomeini’s leadership position restored.

None of this had anything substantial to do with America — until Jimmy Carter, following the advice of Henry Kissinger, agreed to let the ailing Shah come to America for cancer treatment in late October 1979. This led to a band of youthful Islamists invading the U.S. embassy, motivated in part by rumors of another U.S. coup attempt to reinstall him and with the demand that the U.S. return him to stand trial instead, in exchange for release of the hostages. Even after the Shah died in July 1980, the hostages were kept. At the time, Khomeini told future President Abolhassan Banisadr, “This action has many benefits. … This has united our people. Our opponents do not dare act against us. We can put the constitution to the people’s vote without difficulty.” And so, inadvertently, but foreseeably, Kissinger’s spectacularly misguided advice helped to entrench the Iranian theocracy.

The hostages were finally released just as Ronald Reagan was being inaugurated, and Banisadr as well as several other witnesses credibly claim that the Reagan campaign cut a deal with Khomeini to prevent him from agreeing to release the hostages before the election — an echo of Kissinger’s own role in sabotaging peace talks to end the Vietnam War in 1968, before that election.

In short, the simplistic picture of Iran’s evil hostage-taking as the origin of all U.S.-Iranian hostility hides a much more complicated reality in which Republican politicians and operatives play a leading negative role, while Democrats at least sometimes try to live up to our ideals, and other times let themselves be misled.

Failure’s Aftermath

There’s been much more of that in the 44 years since, with offshoots like our multi-faceted support for Iraq in its eight-year war with Iran that began in September 1980, which proved quite embarrassing when it became time to demonize Saddam Hussein in turn. Of course, the real story has always been about oil on the one hand and Lost Cause myths of our own moral purity on the other.

Israel fits neatly into the latter, with its founding myth of being a refuge from persecution, “a land without people for a people without land.” Except that it was neither. Palestinians had been living there for thousands of years, including small numbers of Palestinian Jews. The people who came there weren’t landless. They were fleeing European antisemitism for good reason, particularly after the Holocaust. But it wasn’t about being landless. It was about racist persecution. And that’s precisely what they ended up visiting on the Palestinians, whose land they stole.

“Those to whom evil is done do evil in return,” W.H. Auden wrote. It’s an explanation, but not an excuse. Or better yet, a diagnosis: to cure evil in others, start with yourself. Or perhaps you didn’t do anything. But what did you accept being done in your name? That’s the question that Americans should be asking ourselves now. The danger and chaos we see around us in the world didn’t just come out of nowhere. As the small slice of history described above shows, America itself is responsible for generating a substantial portion of it, precisely because we keep telling ourselves Lost Cause lies — or at least listening to those among us who tell them.

Twenty-four years ago, when a handful of terrorist criminals destroyed the Twin Towers on 9/11, Gallup International polled the people of the world, and found that almost everywhere large majorities — generally 3-to-1 or more — said that we should treat the terrorists as criminals and put them on trial, rather than treat them as warriors (like the terrorists wanted) to be killed on the battlefield. There were only three exceptions. Two countries — Israel and India — with generations-long histories of fighting fruitless wars against Muslims, insisted that war was the answer. Their abject failures alone should have been enough to reject that approach, if the wisdom of the rest of the world wasn’t already enough.

But the third country favoring war — sort of — was the United States. I say “sort of” because there was a significant portion who were uncertain. There was also, at the time, a unified chorus of opinion leaders telling us war was the only choice we had; the only question was against whom? Where? And when?

For anyone who even considered asking “why?” President George Bush had a ready answer: “They hate us for our freedoms.” But that was just the same old Lost Cause gaslighting again. The vast majority of Muslims vehemently condemned the 9/11 terrorists. Even the Afghan government that had sheltered them soon agreed to turn them over to a court to decide their fate, with the caveat that it had to be an Islamic court, in keeping with their faith. Bush, of course, ignored the offer because he wanted war, not justice. In fact, he wanted war with Iraq, which had nothing to do with 9/11. And he got that war, too, because a complacent press gave it to him.

The truth was, 9/11 was a terrible intelligence failure on the Bush administration’s part. Just as 10/6 was a terrible intelligence failure on the Benjamin Netanyahu administration’s part. Rather than owning up to their failures, Bush in 2001 and Netanyahu in 2023 chose to plunge their countries into horrific wars with no clear plans for how to win them, or even ideas of what winning would look like.

When Trump first ran for office in 2016, he pretended he’d been a leading vocal critic of the Iraq War — just one of countless lies he’s told, but politically one of the most important. It’s his way of pretending he’s fundamentally different from all the other GOP presidents before him. And in one sense, he’s right: he’s far more proudly ignorant and narcissistically self-absorbed than any of them. He can change his mind mid-sentence without missing a beat. But in another sense, he’s almost exactly the same: too self-assured of his own righteousness to seriously consider where his actions may lead.

Initial polling suggests that the American people have learned some painful lessons since the Iraq War in 2003. The question now is: have we learned how to act on what we’ve learned?

City of Long Beach Fails to Enforce Airport Noise Ordinance, SANER Group Files Lawsuit

Reporters Desk
-
0
City of Long Beach Fails to Enforce Airport Noise Ordinance, SANER Group Files Lawsuit

 

LONG BEACH — The Long Beach SANER Group — also known as the Long Beach Small Aircraft Noise Reduction Group has filed a lawsuit against the City of Long Beach for failing to enforce its own airport noise ordinance. This legal action comes after over two years of resident complaints regarding excessive and unlawful noise caused by flight school training operations often continuing well past the hours permitted by law.

The lawsuit, filed this week in Los Angeles County Superior Court, is merely asking the City of Long Beach to enforce the airport noise ordinance that has been in place since 1995. That ordinance clearly prohibits training operations:

  • Monday through Friday: No training from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m.
  • Saturday and Sunday: No training from 3 p.m. to 8 a.m.

Despite these longstanding restrictions, flight schools have been conducting operations during prohibited hours under the guise of “taxi-backs” a practice which airport officials themselves have admitted is a loophole exploited by the flight schools and pilots. The result: sleepless nights, loss of peaceful outdoor use, and a significant decline in quality of life for surrounding residents.

“Our community has had enough,” said Lisa Dunn, founder of the Long Beach SANER Group. “The City is turning a blind eye to blatant violations of an ordinance that was specifically designed to protect residents from exactly this kind of disruption.”

To represent them in this legal action, SANER has retained Steven Taber of Leech Tishman Nelson & Hardiman, a highly experienced attorney in environmental & aviation law. Mr. Taber previously served as an attorney for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and brings decades of legal expertise in aviation-related issues.

The group insists that no changes to the existing ordinance are necessary only that the city enforce the rules already in place.

Details: https://tinyurl.com/Long-Beach-noise-ordinance

Insufficient Press Coverage on the Big Data Surveillance Complex

Reporters Desk
-
0
Insufficient Press Coverage on the Big Data Surveillance Complex

Corporate Media Erodes the Public’s Right to Know

Published: June 19, Updated: June 20

Mischa Geracoulis

https://www.projectcensored.org/coverage-big-data-surveillance-complex/?doing_wp_cron=1750557074.4293289184570312500000

As the second Trump administration is dispatching its minions to stalk US streets, smashing citizens’ First Amendment rights, in partnership with unregulated Big Tech, it also surveils online, helping itself to citizens’ personal identifiable information (PII).

In the age of surveillance capitalism, information is a hot commodity for corporations and governments, precipitating a multi-billion-dollar industry that not only profits from the collection and commodification of citizens’ PII, but also puts individuals, businesses, organizations, and governments at risk for cyberattacks and data theft.

Social security numbers, location details, health information, student loan and financial data, purchasing habits, library borrowing and internet browsing history, and political and religious affiliations are just some of the personal information that data brokers buy and sell to advertisers, banks, insurance companies, mortgage brokers, law enforcement and government agencies, foreign agents, and even spammers, scammers, and stalkers. Over time, that information often ends up changing hands again and again.

As an example, and to the alarm of civil liberties experts, the Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC), “a shady data broker” owned by at least eight US-based commercial airlines, including Delta, American, and United, has been collecting US travelers’ domestic flight records and selling them to Customs and Border Protection, and the Department of Homeland Security; and as part of the deal, government officials are forbidden to reveal how ARC sourced the flight data.

Online users should know that many data brokers camp out on Facebook and at Google’s advertising exchange, drawing from such sources as credit card transactions, frequent shopper loyalty programs, bankruptcy filings, vehicle registration records, employment records, military service, and social media posting and web tracking data harvested from websites, apps, and mobile and wearable biometric devices to “craft customized lists of potential targets.” Even when gathered data is de-identified, privacy experts warn that this is not an irreversible process, and the risk of re-identifying individuals is both real and underestimated.

Government’s misuse and abuse of citizens’ privacy

Many Americans do not realize that the United States is one of the few advanced economies without a federal data protection agency. If the current administration continues on its path of eroding citizen privacy, the scant statutory protections the United States does have may prove meaningless.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) of 1970 was enacted to protect consumers from government overreach into personal identifiable data, and has been promoted as the primary consumer privacy protection. However, in 2023, attorney and internet privacy advocate Lauren Harriman warned how data brokers circumvent the FCRA, for instance, “pay[ing] handsome sums to your utility company for your name and address.” Data brokers then repackage those names and addresses with other data, without conducting any type of accuracy analysis on the newly formed dataset, before then selling that new dataset to the highest third-party bidder.

Invasion of the data snatchers

Though the “gut-the-government bromance” between the president and Elon Musk appears to be on the rocks just six months into Trump 2.0, the Department of Government Efficiency’s unfettered access to data is concerning, especially after the June 6, 2025, Supreme Court ruling that gave the Musk-led DOGE complete access to confidential Social Security information irrespective of the privacy rights once upheld by the Social Security Act of 1935. The act prohibits the disclosure of any tax return in whole or in part by officers or employees of the Social Security Administration and the Department of Health and Human Services.

Nevertheless, DOGE has commandeered the Social Security Administration (SSA) and Department of Health and Human Services systems and those of at least fifteen other federal agencies containing Americans’ personal identifiable information without disclosing “what data has been accessed, who has that access, how it will be used or transferred, or what safeguards are in place for its use.”

Since DOGE infiltrated the Social Security Administration, the agency’s website has crashed numerous times, creating interruptions for beneficiaries. In June, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ron Wyden issued a letter to the SSA’s commissioner, detailing their concerns about DOGE’s use of PII. Warren told Wired that “DOGE staffers hacking away Social Security’s backend tech with no safeguards is a recipe for disaster…[and] risks people’s private data, creates security gaps, and could result in catastrophic cuts to all benefits.”

Likewise, the Internal Revenue Code of 1939 (updated in 1986) was enacted to ensure data protection, prohibiting—with rare exceptions—the release of taxpayer information by Internal Revenue Service employees. According to the national legal organization Democracy Forward, “Changes to IRS data practices—at the behest of DOGE—throw into question those assurances and the confidentiality of data held by the government collected from hundreds of millions of Americans.”

Equally troubling is that Opexus, a private equity-owned federal contractor, maintains the IRS database. Worse still is that two Opexus employees—twin brothers and skilled hackers with prison records for stealing and selling PII on the dark web—Suhaib and Muneeb Akhter, had access to the IRS data, as well as to that of the Department of Energy, Defense Department, and the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General.

In February 2025, approximately one year into their Opexus employment, the twins were summoned to a virtual meeting with human resources and fired. During that meeting, Muneeb Akhter, who still had clearance to use the servers, accessed an IRS database from his company-issued laptop and blocked others from connecting to it. While still in the meeting, Akhter deleted thirty-three other databases, and about an hour later, “inserted a USB drive into his laptop and removed 1,805 files of data related to a ‘custom project’ for a government agency,” causing service disruptions.

That investigations by the FBI and other federal law enforcement agencies are underway does little to quell concerns about the insecurity of personal identifiable information and sensitive national security data. And although the Privacy Act of 1974, the Fourth Amendment, the Fifth Amendment, and the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986 were all established to protect PII, the June Supreme Court ruling granting DOGE carte blanche data access dashes all confidence that laws will be upheld.

Americans don’t know what they don’t know

Perhaps most disconcerting in this whole scenario is that too few citizens realize just how far their online footprints travel and how vulnerable their private information actually is. According to internet culture reporter Kate Lindsay, citizen ignorance comes not only from a lack of reporting on how tech elites pull government strings to their own advantage, but also from fewer corporate news outlets covering people living with the consequences of those power moves. Internet culture and tech, once intertwined topics for the establishment press, are now more separately focused on either AI or the Big Tech power players, but not on holding them to account.

The Tech Policy Press argues that the government’s self-proclaimed need for expediency and efficiency cannot justify flouting data privacy policies and laws, and that the corporate media is largely failing their audiences by not publicizing the specifics of how the government and its corporate tech partners are obliterating citizens’ privacy rights. “To make matters worse, Congress has been asleep at the switch while the federal government has expanded the security state and private companies have run amok in storing and selling our data,” stated the senator from Silicon Valley, Ro Khanna.

A 2023 Pew Research Center survey of Americans’ views on data privacy found that approximately six in ten Americans do not bother to read website and application policies. When online, most users click “agree” without reading the relevant terms and conditions they accept by doing so. According to the survey, Americans of all political stripes are equally distrustful of government and corporations when it comes to how third parties use their PII. Respondents with some higher education reported taking more online privacy precautions than those who never attended college. The latter reported a stronger belief that government and corporations would “do the right thing” with their data. The least knowledgeable respondents were also the least skeptical, pointing to an urgent need for critical information literacy and digital hygiene skills.

Exploitation of personal identifiable information

After Musk’s call to “delete” the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), approximately 1,400 staff members were fired in April, emptying out the agency that was once capable of policing Wall Street and Big Tech. Now, with the combined forces of government and Big Tech, and their sharing of database resources, the government can conduct intrusive surveillance on almost anyone, without court oversight or public debate. The Project on Government Oversight has argued that the US Constitution was meant to protect the population from authoritarian-style government monitoring, warning that these maneuvers are incompatible with a free society.

On May 15, 2025, the CFPB, against the better judgment of the ​​Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and wider public, quietly withdrew a rule, proposed in 2024, that would have imposed limits on US-based data brokers who buy and sell Americans’ private information. Had the rule been enacted, it would have expanded the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) data protections for citizens. However, in February, Russell Vought, the self-professed White nationalist and Trump 2.0 acting director of the Office of Management and Budget and the CFPB, demanded its withdrawal, alleging the ruling would have infringed on financial institutions’ capabilities to detect and prevent fraud. Vought also instructed employees to cease all public communications, pending investigations, and proposed or previously implemented rules, including the proposal titled “Protecting Americans from Harmful Data Broker Practices.”

The now-gutted CFPB lacks both the resources and authority needed to police the widespread exploitation of consumers’ personal information, says the Electronic Privacy Information Center, the privacy rights advocacy agency.

Double standards for data privacy

Although the government’s collection of PII has always been a double-edged sword, with Big Tech on the side of Trump 2.0, data surveillance of law-abiding citizens has soared to worrying heights. Across every presidency since 9/11, government surveillance has become increasingly more extensive and elaborate. Moreover, Big Tech is all too willing to pledge allegiance to whichever party happens to be in power. According to investigative journalist Dell Cameron, the US Defense Intelligence Agency, Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency, and Customs and Border Protection are among the largest “federal agencies known to purchase Americans’ private data, including that which law enforcement agencies would normally require probable cause to obtain.”

Meanwhile, it’s a Big Tech and data broker free-for-all. DOGE’s and the feds’ activities are shrouded in secrecy, often facilitated by the Big Tech lobbying money that seeks to replace legitimate privacy laws with “fake industry alternatives.” Banks, credit agencies, and tech companies must adhere to consumer privacy laws. “Yet DOGE has been granted sweeping access across federal agencies—with no equivalent restrictions,” said business reporter Susie Stulz.

Know your risks

Interpol has warned that scams known as “pig butchering” and “business email compromise” and those used for human trafficking are on the rise due to an increase in the use of new technologies, including apps, AI deepfakes, and cryptocurrencies. Hacking agents, humans, and bots are becoming more sophisticated, while any semblance of data privacy guardrails for citizens has been removed.

Individual choices matter. At minimum, when using technology, consider if a website or app’s services are so badly needed or wanted that you are willing to give up your personal identifiable information. Standard advice to delete and block phishing and spam emails and texts remains apropos, but only scratches the surface of online protection.

Privacy advocates assert that DOGE’s access to personal identifiable information escalates the risk of exposure to hackers and foreign adversaries as well as to widespread domestic surveillance. Trump’s latest contract with tech giant Palantir to create a national database of Americans’ private information raises a big red flag for civil rights organizations, “that this could be the precursor to surveillance of Americans on a mass scale.” Palantir’s involvement in government portends to be the last step “in transforming America from a constitutional republic into a digital dictatorship armed with algorithms and powered by unaccountable, all-seeing artificial intelligence,” wrote constitutional law and human rights attorney John W. Whitehead.

A longtime J.D. Vance financial backer, Palantir’s Peter Thiel, the South African, White nationalist billionaire and right-wing donor, is credited with catapulting Vance’s political career. Unsurprisingly, the Free Thought Project reported that since Trump’s return to the White House, “Palantir has racked up over $100 million in government contracts, and is slated to strike a nearly $800 million deal with the Pentagon.” Palantir, incidentally, is also contracted with the Israeli government, as is Google.

Know your rights

The right to privacy is enshrined in Article 12 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. “No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honor and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.” Article 17 of the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights asserts the same, and in 1992, the United States ratified the treaty, thereby consenting to its binding terms.

But is privacy actually a protected civil right in the United States? According to legal scholars Anita Allen and Christopher Muhawe, the history of US civil rights law shows limited support for conceptualizing privacy and data protection as a civil right. Nonetheless, civil rights law is a dynamic moral, political, and legal concept, and if privacy is interpreted as a civil right, privacy protection becomes a fundamental requirement of justice and good government.

Protection from surveillance needs to be top-down through legal and policy limits on data collection, and bottom-up by putting technological control of personal data into the hands of consumers, i.e., the targets of surveillance.

As long as the public is uninformed and the corporate press remains all but silent, the more likely it is that these unconstitutional practices will not only continue but will become normalized. Until the United States is actually governed by and for the people, we the people can start practicing surveillance self-defense now. Although constitutional lawyers are typically considered the first responders to assaults on the Constitution and privacy rights, a constellation of efforts over time is required to, as much as possible, keep private data private.

Ultimately, though, the safeguarding of data cannot be left to the government or corporations, or even the lawyers. For that reason, the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s tips and tools for customizing individualized digital security plans are made available to everyone. By implementing such plans and possessing strong critical media and digital literacy skills, civil society will be better informed and more empowered in the defense of privacy rights.

California Awards over $15M to Apprenticeship Programs Connecting Youth to High-Paying Jobs

Reporters Desk
-
0
California Awards over $15M to Apprenticeship Programs Connecting Youth to High-Paying Jobs

 

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gavin Newsom June 24 announced that 29 youth apprenticeship programs will receive $15.4 million in California Opportunity Youth Apprenticeship (COYA) grants. The grant awards will connect opportunity youth with pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship programs that can lead to employment in high-demand fields, creating a pathway to upward mobility and higher earning power.

“Apprenticeship funding is about scaling real, on-the-ground solutions. These grants are helping community organizations, labor unions, and employers launch new opportunities, provide stipends during training, and offer direct support to young people who need a foot in the door. The Governor’s focus on practical, targeted investment is opening career opportunities where they’re needed most.” Stewart Knox, Secretary of Labor & Workforce Development

Opportunity youth are those aged 16 to 24, who may be young parents, former foster youth, people with disabilities, young people who face educational achievement gaps, attend schools in communities struggling with high poverty, or are fully disconnected from the education system.

Paid training in high-demand jobs

California has expanded apprenticeship opportunities for young people and continues to boost training programs for firefighters, paramedics and other health and safety careers, as well as new opportunities that do not require a traditional education or a four-year degree.

California began offering COYA grants in 2024. During the first round, $31 million in funding supported 51 projects across various in-demand sectors. COYA second round recipients will help pair youth in strong employment sectors including:

Behind-the-scenes union jobs in the entertainment industry through Hollywood Cinema Production Resources with a focus on populations historically excluded from these opportunities, and jobs including lighting, set dressing, editing, stagehand and more.

Details: Click here to see a full list of recipients.

Carson – The Future of Climate Action

Reporters Desk
-
0
Carson – The Future of Climate Action

The City of Carson has historically been defined by its deep roots in fossil fuel production. For decades, oil companies played a major role in shaping the city’s economy and physical landscape, with its refineries adjacent to the San Diego Freeway becoming familiar sights for many visitors and residents alike.

But as the climate crisis intensifies, Carson is rewriting its legacy after nearly 90 years—transforming from a city once heavily reliant on oil to one that’s embracing sustainability, clean energy, and climate resilience.

Today, Carson stands at the forefront of climate action, with bold efforts driven by public sector leadership. Approved in 2017, the City of Carson’s Climate Action Plan outlines a comprehensive strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve air quality, and prepare the community for the impacts of climate change. This plan reflects a commitment to environmental justice, recognizing the need to protect historically underserved neighborhoods that have borne the brunt of industrial pollution.

Leading this charge is Mayor Lula Davis-Holmes, whose vision for a greener Carson has materialized through her innovative Clean Energy Hub initiative. This effort not only signals a desire to cultivate strategic investments in clean technology and workforce development but also reaffirms the city’s commitment to becoming a regional leader in the energy transition. The initiative leverages public-private partnerships to enhance solar, energy storage, and increased accessibility to clean energy opportunities for residents throughout the city.

Working as a counterpart for this transformation is California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH), a vital partner in advancing research, education, and applied innovation. The university has become a national leader in devising and implementing clean energy solutions on campus, with 965 kW of rooftop solar, heat pumps, and committed funding to install 200 EV Chargers. Notably, the heat pump project- one of the largest on the West Coast- has reduced natural gas use for campus heating by 95%. These efforts are reinforced by 4 MWh Tesla Megapacks, a state-of-the-art battery energy storage system that enhances grid stability and supports renewable energy integration. As a result of these initiatives, CSUDH has achieved a 70% reduction in total behind-the-meter greenhouse gas emissions since 2018.

CSUDH’s commitment goes beyond infrastructure—faculty, students, and staff are engaged in programs that explore climate science, clean technology, and environmental equity. From student-led sustainability initiatives to academic research that supports community resilience, CSUDH is playing a vital role in equipping the next generation of climate leaders.

Still, solving the climate crisis requires more than public and academic leadership—it demands cross-sectoral collaboration that brings together government, universities, and private enterprise. One shining example of this is Ormat Technologies, a clean energy company that has partnered with Carson and CSUDH to help make this shared vision of a cleaner, more resilient community become reality.

Ormat has been developing, owning, and operating clean energy projects around the world for over six decades. Ormat is bringing its industry-leading experience to Carson via the Griffith Energy Storage project. This 100 megawatt/400megawatt-hour battery energy storage facility is poised to strengthen grid reliability, helping keep the lights on for residents and businesses alike. Like CSUDH, Ormat is proposing to deploy the same Tesla Megapack technology equipped with the latest safety features to ensure Carson’s ambitious clean energy goals are achieved with resident safety top of mind.

But Ormat’s commitment goes beyond business. In partnership with CSUDH, the company has supported community-based environmental efforts, including a tree planting initiative to improve air quality, shade, and provide much-needed green space on campus.

This kind of holistic, community-driven collaboration is exactly what the clean energy transition demands. By leveraging the strengths of each sector, Carson is proving that climate action can be both equitable and effective.

Carson is not just participating in the fight against climate change—it’s leading it. These efforts strike at the core of what it means to advance environmental justice. A shared vision, strong collaboration, and consistent investment of resources are necessary to undo the decades of environmental harm caused by oil production. And this isn’t just a step forward; it’s an act of repair. Carson is continuing its legacy as a center of industry but heading off in a bold new direction.

Ellie Perry is the Sustainability Director for California State University, Dominguez Hills. As the director for both the CSUDH Office of Sustainability as well as the academic Center for Sustainability & the Environment, her activities focus on creating collaborative connections between CSUDH faculty research, staff activity, and campus facilities to address critical environmental needs on and off campus.

Port of Long Beach Adopts $833 Million Annual Budget

Reporters Desk
-
0
Port of Long Beach Adopts $833 Million Annual Budget

 

The Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners this week approved an $833 million budget for the Port of Long Beach, with almost half allocated for infrastructure projects reinforcing its position as a leader in sustainable and efficient goods movement.

Later this year, the budget for fiscal year 2026 will be sent for approval to the Long Beach city council. It includes a $25.3 million transfer to the city’s tidelands operating fund, which supports quality-of-life projects along Long Beach’s seven-mile coastline that have improved shoreline safety, cleanliness, water quality, facilities and other amenities.

The port’s budgeted spending for next fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1, is 9.5% higher than the budget adopted last year. The increase reflects continuing work on the Pier B On-Dock Rail Support Facility, other harbor construction to boost productivity and efficiency in goods movement, and developing power and infrastructure projects supporting zero-emissions port operation equipment and vehicles under the Zero Emissions, Energy Resilient Operations, or ZEERO Policy.

Operating revenue is budgeted conservatively to be down 1.9% due to the uncertainty brought on by current and potential future tariffs.

“Though this is a time of uncertainty for global trade, the Port of Long Beach faces it from a position of financial strength,” said Port of Long Beach CEO Mario Cordero. “Like past challenges, we approach the current economic situation as an opportunity to build for the future, and this budget continues that tradition.”

Next year’s budget for capital projects totals $405.4 million, or 48.7% of total spending. The greatest portion, $208.8 million, is for the Pier B project, which broke ground in July last year and is scheduled to be completed by 2032. Pier B will shift more cargo to “on-dock rail,” where containers are taken to and from marine terminals by trains. Moving cargo by on-dock rail is cleaner and more efficient, as it reduces truck traffic. The Port of Long Beach plans $3.2 billion in infrastructure improvements over the next 10 years.

Details: To learn more, visit www.polb.com/environment.

Hahn Honors Long Beach Drag Icon Jewels Long Beach

Reporters Desk
-
0
Hahn Honors Long Beach Drag Icon Jewels Long Beach

 

LOS ANGELES —During the public hearing of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, June 24, Supervisor Janice Hahn presented an official recognition to comedian, host, drag queen and philanthropist Jewels Long Beach in celebration of Pride Month.

“For over two decades, Jewels has been a staple, not just within the LGBTQ community, but within the community as a whole,” said Hahn. “The work Jewels does every day to ensure the LGBTQ community continues to have a voice is inspiring and we are truly grateful for all she does.”

Jewels produces and hosts dozens of events, shows and fundraisers around Southern California but is best known for her work in the City of Long Beach, including the weekly drag brunch event at Hamburger Mary’s. Jewels serves as executive director of entertainment for the Hamburger Mary’s chain. The company was recognized a few days ago by Guinness World Records as the Longest-Running Drag-Themed Restaurant in the world.

“One of our huge supporters in our LGBTQ community in the County of Los Angeles, you are always showing up,” said Jewels to Hahn during this morning’s presentation. “It is so wonderful to have in Supervisor Hahn and honestly our entire Board of Supervisors and the County of Los Angeles, such amazing advocates. Now more than ever, I always operate with a feeling that drag is freedom.”

Last year Jewels served as Mistress of Ceremonies for Hahn’s Progress Pride flag raising event over the headquarters of the LA County office of education in the City of Downey. She has previously been honored as Grand Marshal of Long Beach Pride and in 2019 became the first drag queen to receive the Key to the City for her contributions to Long Beach by then-mayor Robert Garcia.

Nineteen Members or Associates of Mexican Mafia Prison Gang Charged in Murder Conspiracy Targeting a Well-Known Rapper

Reporters Desk
-
0
Nineteen Members or Associates of Mexican Mafia Prison Gang Charged in Murder Conspiracy Targeting a Well-Known Rapper

 

LOS ANGELES —Nineteen members or associates of the Mexican Mafia prison gang were charged by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office for their roles in a conspiracy to murder a well-known rapper, popular on social media, for perceived infractions against the Mexican Mafia.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department major crimes bureau and the FBI’s San Gabriel Valley safe streets task force have been investigating the Mexican Mafia’s attempts to locate, and murder, an intended victim, a conspiracy that began in approximately December 2022.

The conspiracy to murder the victim is alleged to have been coordinated by a member of the Mexican Mafia and several high-ranking associates of the Mexican Mafia. The coordination of the murder conspiracy occurred in the Los Angeles County area, within the California prison system, and from inside the Los Angeles County Jail.

“The defendants engaged in a criminal conspiracy to murder an individual by acting as rogue judges, juries and executioners,” said Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. “Today’s successful operation resulting in state charges is just the latest blow to the Mexican Mafia hierarchy that operates within the prison system and which threatens jail workers, fellow inmates and spills over into the streets of our communities. Today’s successful operation is a direct result of law enforcement partners working cooperatively at all levels of government.”

Investigators and deputy district attorneys who filed the case being announced, report a Mexican Mafia member referred to by co-conspirators in coded language as “The Elegant One,” placed the victim on the “green-light” list, meaning the victim was marked for death. An armed Mexican Mafia associate is alleged to have gone to the residence of the victims’ family in efforts to find and kill him after another Mexican Mafia associate followed the victim on social media, learning of his location.

“This investigation highlights the far-reaching and violent influence of criminal gang organizations operating behind bars to orchestrate attacks that endanger the safety of those in our custody and in our communities,” said Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert G. Luna. “The relentless efforts of our Major Crimes Bureau, Operation Safe Jails, along with the dedicated local and federal law enforcement partners helped prevent further violence and disrupt a murder conspiracy. We remain committed to dismantling criminal networks and holding those responsible fully accountable.”

During the investigation, a Mexican Mafia associate learned that the victim was arrested and incarcerated as an inmate in the Los Angeles County Jail. Mexican Mafia inmates – known as “shotcallers” – in leadership positions for the Mexican Mafia, are alleged to have called Mexican Mafia shotcallers in a California Prison and associates on the streets to confirm the green-light status of the victim. When the green-light status was confirmed, Mexican Mafia associates within the Los Angeles County Jail – known as “Sureños” or “soldiers” – attacked the victim, using a weapon. The victim was transported to a hospital for treatment of his injuries. When Mexican Mafia shotcallers learned the victim survived the attack, they are alleged to have begun a new plan to find, and kill, the victim. The victim was released from jail days later before he could be attacked again.

After being released from Los Angeles County Jail, Mexican Mafia associates are alleged to have continued to try to find, and kill, the victim. The Mexican Mafia associates continued to follow the victim on social media to find his location.

The following defendants charged in this case were taken into custody on June 18, 2025, at their place of residence:

Manuel Quintero, 49, of Paramount

Patricial Esquivel, 45, of Palmdale

Dominga Gonzalez, 66, of Bellflower

Jude Valle, 48, of Pomona

Carl Brown, 31, of Gardena

Glendy Orozco-Lechuga, 29, of Gardena

Sanjuana Macias, 26, of Los Angeles

The following eleven defendants charged in this case are currently incarcerated on unrelated charges:

Guiseppe Leyva, 34, of La Puente

Jacob David, 39, of Coachella

Manuel O’Campo, 40, of Compton

Jonathan Quevedo, 43, of Los Angeles

Onesimo Gonzalez, 44, of Paramount

Michael Ortiz, 29, of Norwalk

Andrew Shinaia, 24, of Los Angeles

Adrian Bueno, 33, of San Fernando

Larry Sanchez, 31, of Gardena

Juan Meza, 53, of Compton

Jorge Zavala, 31, of Norwalk

One defendant, Joshua Euan, 37, of Paramount, is considered a fugitive and is being sought by task force members. His photo is being made public. Anyone with information as to his whereabouts is urged to contact the FBI at 1 800 CALL-FBI or submit a tip at tips.fbi.gov.

This case was filed and is being prosecuted by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office – Prison Crimes Unit.

Not Trump’s Decision to Make

Reporters Desk
-
0
Not Trump’s Decision to Make

 

The Constitution gives Congress the power to declare war

Dan Rather and Team Steady, June 19

How did we go from zero to the brink of war in one week?

Wasn’t Trump the candidate who promised to make America great again by ending “endless wars?” Yes, he was. And didn’t he claim he would settle the Russia-Ukraine war in “24-hours” upon assuming office. Yes, again. Just yesterday a Russian missile attack flattened a civilian apartment block in Kyiv, 150 days after Trump was sworn in.

So why is the president now strongly considering bombing Iran? There is no way to give a definitive answer to that question. The press is asking it every chance they get. On Wednesday, when asked about the possibility of the U.S. striking the key Iranian nuclear facility, Fordo, he said, “I may do it, I may not do it, nobody knows what I’m going to do.”

In case you think he misspoke or was taken out of context, he had this to say at a later Oval Office press availability: “I have ideas as to what to do. I like to make a final decision one second before it’s due.”

This is not a homework assignment or choosing a paint color for the West Wing. We are talking about one man ordering an act of war, bombing a sovereign nation’s nuclear facility. The repercussions of which no one can say. It’s also unconstitutional.

The above quotes are frightening enough, but there is also the question of whether the press is asking the right question. The right question is: Why do you think you can make war, without the consent of Congress?

The War Powers Resolution limits the president’s authority when it comes to military action, with the exception of being attacked by a foreign country. Iran did not attack the United States, so it is up to Congress to decide if we are to engage in the conflict. Has anyone told Donald Trump? Would he even listen?

The malleable Republican members of Congress don’t appear too worried about upholding their responsibility. One lone Republican, Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, filed a resolution (along with several Democratic colleagues) to require congressional approval for any offensive attack against Iran.

Democratic Senator Tim Kaine is trying to force a vote on a similar resolution. He says the White House hasn’t briefed Congress about what is happening in Iran or revealed the president’s plans.

Historically, when a president considered involving the United States in an armed conflict, there was a long lead-up fueled by discussion, debate, and discourse, weighing the pros and cons of American involvement. Not this time.

A week ago, on Thursday, June 12, Israel preemptively conducted airstrikes on Iran, targeting the country’s uranium enrichment facility. The surprise attack killed most of Iran’s military leadership, according to the Israelis.

On Friday, Iran retaliated, Israel continued its assault, and Trump took to social media sounding like the odd man out. “Iran must make a deal, before there is nothing left, and save what was once known as the Iranian Empire. No more death, no more destruction, JUST DO IT, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.” Israel didn’t wait for or seek Trump’s approval to attack. He was left on the sidelines, watching like the rest of us.

By Monday, Trump was telling those living in the Iranian capital to evacuate. “IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON. I said it over and over again! Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!” What? There are 9.8 million people living in Tehran.

An American president telling citizens of another country with whom we are not at war to evacuate? That has to be a first.

Wednesday night, Iranian missiles hit Israel again, while Israel continued striking Iran.

Which brings us to today. Politico and Bloomberg are reporting that Trump is leaning heavily toward military action by U.S. forces. (Specifically, dropping a so-called bunker buster bomb on an underground Iranian nuclear science facility.) Trump’s spokesperson said he will make the decision … in the next two weeks.

Trump says the possible U.S. attack is justified, to eliminate Iran’s nuclear capability. But his own national security adviser, Tulsi Gabbard, told a congressional committee in March that Iran was not actively building a nuclear weapon. “I don’t care what she said,” Trump blustered on Tuesday. He claims Iran is close to developing the weapon.

It turns out it’s not just Democratic lawmakers or Gabbard he has to convince. A large contingent of the MAGA faithful are apoplectic at the idea of going to war. Some of Trump’s strongest allies are turning on him.

Take long time adviser Steve Bannon, who said about Israel’s offensive, “Last night was a decapitation strike against the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. And hey, you’re putting your defense first and that’s fine. But we gotta put our defense first. And what cannot happen is to be drawn into another war.”

Or Trump cheerleader Tucker Carlson, who wrote that attacking Iran “would be a middle finger in the faces of the millions of voters who cast their ballots in hopes of creating a government that would finally put the United States first.”

Even hard-core MAGA Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has publicly opposed the president. Has she ever before opposed Trump?

John Bolton, a national security adviser during the first Trump administration and foreign policy hawk, has been at odds with Trump since he left the White House. Unsurprisingly, he is all for bombing Iran. But it is his insight into how Trump operates that is compelling.

He described Trump’s demeanor during a national security crisis as “frantic and agitated,” to The New York Times. “He talks to a lot of people and he’s looking for somebody who will say the magic words. He’ll hear something and he’ll decide, ‘That’s right, that’s what I believe.’ Which lasts until he has the next conversation.”

While Trump is on the verge of appearing weak(er) for not jumping on board to help Israel, he also has to appease his isolationist MAGA base. Lost in all this bluster is the lack of debate in and a vote by the United States Congress.

Whether to go to war with Iran now is a fateful decision. It is not one man’s decision to make. Not in America.

1...313233...935Page 32 of 935

EDITOR PICKS

POPULAR POSTS

POPULAR CATEGORY

ABOUT US

Real people. Real news. Random Lengths is the Los Angeles harbor area's remaining independently owned progressive news magazine. We cover news in Carson, Wilmington, Long Beach, Lomita, Torrance, Rancho Palos Verdes and San Pedro.

Contact us: letters@randomlengthsnews.com

FOLLOW US

© Newspaper WordPress Theme by TagDiv