FAM 20: ICE Is An American Gestapo

Elon's Exit | USAID Killings | The Brutalist & Jason Isbell Reviews | Radio Playlist

Here’s the worst-case-scenario when it comes to the Trump Regime and immigration:

ICE and Homeland Security forces start going door-to-door. They break into homes and businesses alike looking for illegals. Sympathetic neighbors and people in the community quickly gather to protest and try to act as human shields to block the authorities.

Joined by sympathetic local law enforcement things get pushy with the crowds. The incensed crowds stand their ground. Someone on the front lines — be it protester or Proud Boy plant — takes things to the next level.

The crowd of protesters react en masse. Not very violent, but enough bad apples to bring out stun grenades, gas, and rubber bullets.

Next up is the National Guard called in at the direction and control of Trump — not the governor of the state in question — something that hasn’t been done since 1965. Trump could also invoke the 1807 Insurrection Act allowing the deployment of not just the National Guard but the US military.

How many trip wires need to be hit at that point for Trump to declare Martial Law?

Almost all of this went down in Southern California this weekend — and it’s abundantly clear that this is the template moving forward. And it always has been.

I predicted the Trump Regime would do this much earlier. Yes, they did a lot of splashy shit on Day 1 — rounding up supposed gang members and terrorist and putting on military transport trains to send to the El Salvador gulag. Fox news folks — the few not now in the administration — were invited along for the ride to push out the propaganda.

Maybe they couldn’t move around the Congressionally-allocated money fast enough, or didn’t have the plans in place. Or maybe this was the plan — to normalize smaller operations against terrorists and foreign students. Either way, the initial shock and awe didn’t happen. But, the escalation has continued unabated.

And there’s a method to that madness. Grabbing foreign students plays into deep-seeded anti-Arab racism and the non-stop MAGA media coverage of Universities Gone Wild with a woke agenda And the smaller crowd confrontations with increasing raids fits perfectly into the Antifa and BLM propaganda narrative pushed for years.

Each escalation plays to the MAGA cult and gets them more riled up. Primarily under the national radar, ICE has been setting up immigrant traps in court houses across the country. Immigrants (and their families) following the letter of the law to check in with a judge on their citizen status have been arrested.

What will that do? Well, it will scare immigrants from showing up to court dates, thus making them active criminals — precipitating easy warrants to justify more force to get them in their homes because their criminality now can’t be challenged.

Across the county more and more citizen videos are showing up of violent ICE tactics —breaking car windows, getting increasingly violent with “targets” and their families doing nothing but asking questions. Homeland Security Director — and military dress-up MAGA Barbie — Kristi Noem testified under oath that there are J6 folks currently working in her department. There are also reports that typical job requirements and training are being scrapped to get people in. Who needs training when your job is to be a legal thug.

As predicted, Proud Boys and Oath Keepers are being integrated into this growing Gestapo Police State force. Are they the ones wearing masks? I think you can guess. Trump’s stand back and stand by message of 2020 may have initially related to the J6 attack, but his MAGA Gestapo now has new marching orders — virtually free of any legal restrictions.

And just a reminder. If you really want to find illegals — they are congregated in agribusiness meatpacking plants and farms in the Midwest, citrus groves in Florida, and working for MAGA small contractor under the table in nearly every trade across the nation. Trump is targeting blue states and blue cities because he knows that is where he’ll find the most resistance.

Make no mistake: What happened in southern California last weekend is a dry run for the future.

And what will be passed in the ultimate Republican budget will be hundreds of billions more funding put into DHS, ICE, and any department or program earmarked for immigration. I wouldn’t be surprised if chunks of the giant DOD appropriations will give Trump an unprecedented free hand in shifting nearly unlimited funds to boarder security in the broadest sense.

THIS is the flashpoint. This is Trump’s most broadly stable ground. Frankly, his only stable ground, politically.

And it doesn’t take much for a protest to turn into a riot and low-information folks to agree with the need for a heavy hand. That was the case during the BLM protest during COVID.

And while things did get out of hand in some BLM demonstrations — the untold story is that (in many cases) the destruction of property and violence was instigated by White Nationalist groups. Ultimately, they were arrested, convicted, and jailed. It never made news unless you were looking, but the plants, false flags, and crisis actors promoted non-stop by the right have always been projection. These same home-grown, POTUS-pardoned terrorists are going to be at the forefront of what’s going to go down.

Violent provocateurs aside, we (the broad Left) are not ready for these mass protests. I saw a kid on an LA street corner Saturday tonight throwing rocks at multiple ICE vehicles. And while his face was obscured, that kid is getting picked up tonight.

The Civil Right Movement is the gold standard of protest in this country. But, it was a long-planned and perfectly-executed peaceful protest against an institutionalized injustice — all done for maximum mass consumption.

Every black in the South or white Freedom Rider from the North was fully schooled on what to do or how to act — be it lunch counter or fire hoses, dogs, and beatings. Rosa Parks wasn’t just some lady who went to the front of the bus. She was a member of the movement (and a widow and respected member of the community) who was chosen to trigger her back of the bus encounter.

This isn’t Dr. King, the SCLC or any of that pre-planned, targeted protests. This is all (purposefully) meant to be immediate, flash mob emergencies. It increases the odds that someone in the crowd goes rogue and that makes almost any Democratic mayor or Governor use local law enforcement to maintain law and order.

That then becomes the thin justification Trump can use to escalate and federalize the situation and start the fall of those dominos — ending with the distinct possibility of Martial Law being invoked.

This is where we’re going. For every smart and decent person who doesn’t quite want to connect these dots know that there are a dozens of Stephen Miller acolytes connected to Project 2025 who have been gaming this very scenario out for years.

THEY are in a full-out war. The plans are there, they say it and do it every day.

And — for the moment at least — WE are playing checkers. Here are a few things we need to do:

Stay Nonviolent — As said above, many immigration advocacy groups know and follow protesting best practices. But, we all need to call out for crowds to stay non-violent AND point out any potential White Nationalist instigators.

Record & Share — If you see legitimate video of ICE or other law enforcement breaking the law share it on your social media accounts as much as possible.

Counter Disinformation — MAGA is already sharing riot footage not associated with what’s happening now. Repost that content and call out the lies.

If you’d like a deeper dive on immigration, check out the essay I wrote HERE.

Elegy For Elon & A Legacy Of Lies And Suffering

There’s no doubt that the pathetic breakup of Musk and Trump last week was (on one level) hysterical and popcorn-worthy. But, the whole Musk and DOGE era has caused incalculable damage.

It is still utterly amazing to me that Musk was allowed access to every bit of personal data held by our federal government and that fact was just reported on like it was just another minor controversy.

As you can read HERE in at least one instance and IT whistleblower watched the downloading of privater data followed by a Russian-based attempt to enter the same systems using DOGE IDs and passwords.

This staggering breach and possible theft (in my mind) should be one of the biggest scandals in American history. I sure hope there are at least a few journalists still following that story.

The Musk/DOGE lies were/are across-the-board — everything from how much they were actually saving to any actual proof of the waste, fraud, and abuse they supposedly found. The whole things looks and smells like a Trojan Horse to steal data and get Musk more lucrative governmental contracts.

Many of the DOGE firings are still being litigated, but one department he was able to successfully put down was USAID. And the ramifications of that evil are starting to become tragically apparent.

Reports are surfacing that at least 3,000 people have died because of lack of food and/or medicine once provided by USAID.

There are still warehouses in the United States— and globally — filled with food and medicine that will soon expire. It’s been estimated that it will likely cost more to destroy this surplus than it actually would to distribute it and save more lives.

If that is not abject cruelty I don’t know what is. And to think that many of the people behind these policies consider themselves Christians.

The reason why this is even possible goes to a much more pernicious, long-term lie perpetuated by the right.

For decades now I’ve been seeing similar results from the same poll question. When asked, Americans believe we spend 30-40% of our budget on foreign aid to help with the hungry and sick. They believe that percentage should be 10%.

In actuality, it’s just over 1%.

Most Republican politicians and pundits have always known this. But, it’s easy to get folks riled up about sending money to foreign countries when there are problems at home.

The reality is that foreign aid isn’t just the right moral thing to do — it’s in our best interests as a nation. It’s a high-effective form of soft power that stops the spread of anti-American sentiment and lowers the chances of terrorist acts against us.

Musk went further than anyone ever has pushing the lie. The death of hundreds of thousands will be his true legacy.

CULTURE CLUB: The Butalist + Jason Isbell Reviews | Radio Concept Spotify Mix

REVIEW: The Brutalist

The title of this film is a reference to brutalist architecture. I like architecture, but I don’t pretend to have more than an esthetic grasp of it.

That said, in general, I hate brutalist architecture. It’s all concrete blocks, lack of windows… To me it’s post-WWII Soviet-style sadness. And yet, I had an open mind on the architectural style and the movie, especially since Adrien Brody won best actor for his performance.

Getting through the 3.5+ hours I have gained a tiny bit of respect for the brutalist style but nothing for the movie. This is a film that aspires for some sort of greatness, but drops the ball in the execution.

In broad strokes — László Tóth (Brody) has escaped Nazi Hungary and made it to America. He was a renowned architect and finds out his wife is alive in Europe and wants to get her back. There are great moments in the first act that made me cry — this isn’t a terrible movie by any means.

There was also good antagonist — a benefactor who wants Laszlo to build a great community center/church on a hill — and the struggle of that. It makes up the second and (almost all) of the third act.

There are a lot of themes touched upon and explored. But, in 3.5+ hours none of them are either resolved or brought to conclusion to dictate further thought. I have no problem with a good, 3-hour plus movie. But, about an hour into this all the scenes were breathing way too much. Do you really need to show every step up the stairs…

It’s all too much. And it doesn’t work.

Spoiler Alert: It literally throws away all the plot of 3+ hours with a totally un-answering epilogue. The Brutalist feels like a 4-5 hour limited series forced into a movie edited down to keep the boring and lose the good.

There’s no denying that Adrien Brody is great. He hits every mark and he hits some great marks. As ungrounded as the movie script gets — his performance manages to keep the whole thing from totally going off the rails. Felicity Jones gives a great performance — the heart of the 2nd and 3rd acts.

But the sum of the good parts simply don’t come together for a good film.

I could pick apart some other things that don’t work (the score, for one) but they could have easily been overlooked if not for the larger structural flaws. If the actors or subject matter strikes you, it’s not like The Brutalist isn’t worth your time.

Just set expectations accordingly.

REVIEW: Foxes In The Snow — Jason Isbell

Let me start out by saying I’m not a big fan of popular country music.

I think most of it is cookie-cutter bullshit with lyrics that all seem to be combined with the same starter pack of refrigerator word magnets.

It’s all driving my daddy’s [insert pickup type] drinkin’ [beer/liquor brand] to get my girl in her [cutoffs, sundress, cowboy hat] to make love in [truck bed, barn in rain, tall grass] and the end.

Don’t get me wrong most pop music is no better. But, so much of the country stuff rings even more manufactured to me. And musically too. Especially the hip-hop infused stuff, most of which feels like it was concocted in a Nashville board room.

One of the artists I do like — in fact have grown to love — is Jason Isbell. I think he’s one of the best writer’s out there and I found a real connection between his writing style and Bruce Springsteen. While there have always been exceptions, both excel at short story songs — with sparse but very evocative lyrics. Isbell is kind of a southern, more modern Springsteen.

Isbell’s new album comes after his late 2023 split with Amanda Shires a noted musician in her own right and a fiddle player and close collaborator with her husband and his band the 400 Unit for years. The struggles in their marriage were obvious in the documentary Running With Our Eyes Closed which chronicled his last (and fantastic) albumWeathervanes.

There’s no doubt that the new LP Foxes In The Snow could easily be called The Divorce Album with a few caveats There’s a real bitterness in some, but most seem wistful of the failed relationship and weary of the divorce that wasn’t finalized until 2025. “Gravelweed” is a good example:

I was a gravelweed and I needed you to raise me
I'm sorry the day came when I felt like I was raised
And now that I live to see my melodies betray me
I'm sorry the love songs all mean different things today

I wish that I could be angry
I wish I didn't understand
I said your skin was like water
And let you flow right through my hands

Is there a love that's not crazy?
Is there a life that's not a lie?
All I know is that I had to go
You know why, why, why

It’s ironic that Isbell has followed a similar path as Springsteen. His Tunnel Of Love in 1987 was a stark writing departure documenting the demise of his own marriage and hinting at the new romance with his background singer Patti Scialfa — who he is still married to.

In that same vein — but even more prominent than Springsteen and Scialfa — the non-divorce songs document the beginning of his new relationship with Canadian painter Anna Weyant. It doesn’t seem like every song is about love lost or found, but most are, and they are both revealing and (unsurprisingly) very well-written.

Isbell is a good guitarist — and he’s got enough stylish tricks up his picking sleeve that the album seems quite varied and never monotonous. Would I like it more if was a full band exercise? Yes. You can literally feel points where the band might come in and raise the drama. But, that’s fine. This was obviously a cathartic experience for Isbell that he wanted to do on his own.

He’s also been touring near non-stop since Weathervanes came out in 2023 and recorded it in five days at the famous Electric Ladyland Studios in NYC. My lovely wife (no divorces here) got us tickets to see him in a few weeks at the gorgeous Fox Theater.

I see a playlist coming in the future which will likely hit some of the highlights of his career. In the meantime, check out Foxes In The Snow:

Tuesday Music Club: Radio Concept Mix

I’ve never been a big concept album fan. While I love some songs on them, the concept always seems to fall apart. One concept (or theme) I’ve always liked over the years is the whole radio station idea where you go from one station to another or have a DJ narrating the whole musical experience.

I found three of these to use as a core for this mix — adding in more songs that made stylistic sense. Almost all are themselves about radio, so it’s kind of a concept in a concept.

I think it’s pretty cool and some good music. Enjoy!