June 13, 2025

Guard Soldiers Deployed in Trump's LA Crackdown Aren't Getting Paid Yet

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2025/06/11/guard-soldiers-deployed-trumps-la-crackdown-arent-getting-paid-yet.html

The 4,000 California National Guard soldiers who President Donald Trump surged into Los Angeles remain unpaid due to delays in issuing official activation orders, leaving compensation and benefits in limbo.

According to more than a dozen Guardsmen across four units who spoke to Military.com, none has received formal activation orders, the critical paperwork that not only authorizes their duty status, but also unlocks pay, Tricare health benefits and eligibility for Department of Veterans Affairs services. Without those orders, troops remain in a legal and administrative limbo.

Multiple defense officials with direct knowledge of the situation told Military.com the chaotic and sudden activation of troops has effectively clogged up the flow of administrative work.

Those Guardsmen will likely receive formal orders and the proper backpay within the next few days, but that hasn't eased the concerns for troops anxious over potential financial strains and juggling family logistics, as the Guard does not assist with child or pet care. Though with the mission only a few days old, troops haven’t missed a paycheck yet.

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May 18, 2025

Cooking the books? Fears Trump could target statisticians if data disappoints

Proposed rule change could pave way for president to fire economists whose figures prove politically inconvenient

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/18/trump-statisticians-economy-figures

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A proposed rule change making it easier to fire civil servants deemed to be “intentionally subverting presidential directives” could pave the way for the White House to fire statisticians employed to produce objective data on the economy but whose figures prove politically inconvenient, experts warn.

Statistics released by agencies such as the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) are used by the Federal Reserve Bank to set inflation policy and interest rates. They also form the basis on which businesses and investors take decisions.

The US’s global reputation as a stable economic power and a reliable partner goes hand-in-hand with its long history of producing accurate data, dating back to the establishment of the BLS in 1884. Interfere with the latter and you risk sacrificing the former, experts warn.

But with Trump under pressure to explain shrinking gross domestic product (GDP) figures amid economists’ warnings that tariffs could trigger a recession, the administration could use new employment rules to pressure workers into “cooking the books”.

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May 4, 2025

Trump announces surprise 'reopening of Alcatraz' to house the 'most dangerous criminals'

https://www.rawstory.com/trump-announces-alcatraz-reopening/

Donald Trump on Sunday announced that he would be "reopening" the famous prison on Alcatraz Island.

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"REBUILD, AND OPEN ALCATRAZ! For too long, America has been plagued by vicious, violent, and repeat Criminal Offenders, the dregs of society, who will never contribute anything other than Misery and Suffering," Trump wrote. "When we were a more serious Nation, in times past, we did not hesitate to lock up the most dangerous criminals, and keep them far away from anyone they could harm."

Trump then continued, saying, "That’s the way it’s supposed to be. No longer will we tolerate these Serial Offenders who spread filth, bloodshed, and mayhem on our streets."

"That is why, today, I am directing the Bureau of Prisons, together with the Department of Justice, FBI, and Homeland Security, to reopen a substantially enlarged and rebuilt ALCATRAZ, to house America’s most ruthless and violent Offenders," he added. "We will no longer be held hostage to criminals, thugs, and Judges that are afraid to do their job and allow us to remove criminals, who came into our Country illegally. The reopening of ALCATRAZ will serve as a symbol of Law, Order, and JUSTICE."

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The level of stupidity is off the charts.

March 18, 2025

'Neighbors are gone': New Mexico community shaken as dozens 'forcibly disappeared' by ICE

https://www.rawstory.com/ice-disappeared-48-new-mexico-residents-attorneys-say/

In the first week of March, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement says it arrested four dozen New Mexico residents as part of immigration raids in Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Roswell.

Now those people are unaccounted for, according to an American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico civil rights complaint filed Sunday, which alleges all 48 “have been forcibly disappeared.”

“What we know is people in our community are gone, workers are gone, family members are gone, our neighbors are gone,” said Marcela Díaz, founding executive director of Somos un Pueblo Unido.

According to ICE’s own announcement, it arrested most of those people not for criminal convictions, but for violations of civil immigration law, such as illegal entry or re-entry after deportation. Díaz said Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Roswell’s mayors told members of her organization that they didn’t know the arrests would happen, and that ICE had assured them they would only be going after people with criminal convictions.

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Emphasis is mine.

March 17, 2025

As Trump-Musk Target Social Security, Seniors Share Stories of Benefit Cutoffs

https://www.commondreams.org/news/social-security-benefits

"DOGE is a disaster of incompetence."

That's how one political scientist responded to Saturday reporting about a Washington state man fighting for his Social Security benefits as U.S. President Donald Trump and the head of his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), billionaire Elon Musk, attack the federal bureaucracy, including the agency that administers payements to seniors like Leonard "Ned" Johnson.

Seattle Times columnist Danny Westneat shared the story of 82-year-old Johnson. In February, his wife received a notification from their bank that the Social Security Administration (SSA) requested a return for benefits paid out after the supposed death of her husband. She figured it was a scam—as Johnson was alive—but the request was real and $5,201 was pulled from their account.

As Westneat detailed, after making multiple calls to SSA, during which Johnson was "put on hold and then eventually disconnected," and securing an appointment that was ultimately rescheduled for next week, "he went to the office on the ninth floor of the Henry Jackson Federal Building downtown," one of several sites across the United States that DOGE wants to shut down.

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Well worth the read. I am terrified for all those seniors who have no resources to fall back on if their benefits are interrupted or summarily suspended.

February 21, 2025

ICE arrests South Texas bakery owners accused of hiring undocumented workers

https://www.texastribune.org/2025/02/20/texas-immigrants-los-fresnos-rio-grande-valley-bakery-raid-harboring/

McALLEN — The owners of a South Texas bakery were arrested and charged with harboring undocumented workers, a relatively rare incidence of federal agents pursuing business owners for allegedly employing undocumented immigrants.

Homeland Security Investigations conducted a "worksite enforcement action" at Abby’s Bakery in Los Fresnos on Feb. 12 and said they arrested eight undocumented workers. The agency said the owners, Leonardo Baez and Nora Alicia Avila-Guel were charged with "bringing in and harboring aliens and aiding and abetting the harboring of aliens."

A criminal complaint filed by a Homeland Security special agent said the owners admitted they knew the employees were undocumented.

Prosecuting businesses that employ undocumented workers is rare. Even during President Donald Trump's first term, Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not often exercise that authority.

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I'm waiting to see if ICE raids any big meat-processing plants or large-scale farming operations, but I won't be holding my breath.

February 20, 2025

And so it starts; the weaponization of the DOJ

'This sounds like a threat': Dem gets DOJ letter after 'bar fight' analogy about Musk

https://www.rawstory.com/trump-justice-department-2671190340/

Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) posted a letter he received from U.S. Attorney Edward Martin on Department of Justice letterhead asking about his attacks on Elon Musk.

"As a United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, I receive requests for information and clarification. I take these requests seriously and act on them with letters like this one you are receiving," Martin began, not indicating who sent him the "requests."

"At this time, I respectfully request that you clarify your comments from February 12, 2025. During a live interview with CNN, when asked how Democrats can stop Elon Musk, you spoke clearly: 'What the American public wants is for us to bring actual weapons to this bar fight. This is an actual fight for democracy,'" the letter continued.

Musk has been working as a "special government employee" for President Donald Trump in an ongoing effort to slash government programs by claiming there's "waste, fraud and abuse" in the agencies and departments. They have not been able to specifically cite where that waste, fraud or abuse is, according to a Rolling Stone report.

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February 14, 2025

One more heart, thank you so much for your thoughtful gift. I am truly blessed to be part of this community.

February 14, 2025

I truly am overwhelmed by the kindness of my fellow DU'ers. Thank you so much for my additional hearts.

February 14, 2025

One more heart. I can't say just how grateful I am for this kindness! Thank you!