Happy Wednesday, Kitties. Homeland Security is building a portal for states to upload voter information for citizenship checks, the FBI is investigating a service allegedly selling data from 153 million driver’s licenses, and ProPublica found Donald Trump Jr. had a financial interest in a company whose foreign mining deal received help from his father’s administration. Meanwhile, military boat strikes have killed hundreds, measles is roaring back as vaccination rates fall, ICE deported a Cuban man from Tampa to Eswatini, and Thomas Massie just put fourteen Epstein related names into the Congressional Record. Nothing to worry about. Your government merely wants the voter database while somebody else appears to be selling the DMV.
Key Takeaways
Iran’s Military Is Trying to Adapt After Heavy Losses
The Critical Threats Project reports that Iran is rebuilding damaged command structures and adjusting military strategy while regional tensions remain high following months of conflict. Wars do eventually produce lessons, although unfortunately everyone usually learns them after the bodies arrive.
Nancy Mace Still Cannot Quit Trump
Tara Palmeri examines Nancy Mace’s continued political attachment to Trump despite years of ideological pivots and personal tensions. Washington relationships apparently come with fewer red flags once you collect enough of them to make a fucking quilt.
Minnesota Schools Lost More Than 1,700 Students After the Immigration Surge
Minnesota school districts reported losing more than 1,700 students following aggressive federal immigration enforcement in the Twin Cities area, with educators describing frightened families and disrupted classrooms. Immigration policy does not stay at the border when children stop showing up for school.
Falling Vaccination Rates Are Driving the Measles Resurgence
FactCheck.org found declining childhood vaccination rates are a major factor behind rising measles cases, while misinformation continues muddying an extremely well established scientific picture. Measles apparently saw the vaccine discourse and started packing for its fucking comeback tour.
Missouri Voters Recalled a Mayor Over a Data Center Fight
Independence voters recalled Mayor John Perkins amid controversy surrounding a proposed data center and concerns about transparency, water, energy, and local control. Turns out residents occasionally notice when enormous industrial projects arrive carrying enormous utility bills.
FactCheck.org Had Another Extremely Busy Week
The latest FactCheck Weekly examines political claims involving healthcare, immigration, crime, vaccines, and the economy. Democracy would apparently like everyone to read beyond the meme before screaming at their relatives.
American Military Boat Strikes Have Killed Hundreds
The Intercept reports that a year of American strikes against suspected drug trafficking vessels has killed hundreds of people while serious legal questions remain about targeting standards and evidence. The War on Drugs apparently looked at decades of failure and decided the missing ingredient was missiles.
Trump Jr. Had a Financial Interest in a Mining Company Helped by the Administration
ProPublica found Donald Trump Jr. held a financial interest connected to Vulcan Elements while the Trump administration helped advance a major foreign mining arrangement involving the company. A financial interest does not itself prove improper intervention, but it does make the government paperwork considerably more interesting.
Homeland Security Is Building a Portal for State Voter Data
DHS is creating a system through which states can submit voter information for citizenship verification under Trump’s election executive order, prompting voting rights groups to raise privacy and voter suppression concerns. Apparently your voter registration would like to meet Homeland Security.
Seth Moulton Is Facing Backlash Over His Position on Trans Rights
Erin Reed examines Representative Seth Moulton’s evolving rhetoric and votes involving transgender rights and argues that he has abandoned previous commitments to the community. The article is advocacy analysis, but the underlying votes and statements provide the receipts readers can evaluate themselves.
Linda McMahon’s Sexual Abuse Lawsuit Is Moving Forward
A lawsuit accusing Linda and Vince McMahon of enabling abuse connected to a former WWE employee continues through federal court, with the allegations remaining contested. When the Education Secretary’s litigation requires this many trigger warnings, perhaps everyone should read the actual complaint.
Kash Patel’s FBI Hiring Rules Are Raising Questions
New FBI hiring practices under Kash Patel are drawing scrutiny over qualifications, ideological influence, and changes to traditional recruitment standards. Federal law enforcement is one of those workplaces where lowering the bar can have consequences considerably worse than a bad quarterly review.
A German Power Plant Was Attacked With Homemade Explosive Rockets
German authorities are investigating homemade rockets packed with explosives that struck infrastructure at a power plant. Attacking critical infrastructure with improvised weapons is exactly the kind of story that makes cybersecurity suddenly seem relaxing.
A Florida Memo Could Put New Limits on Flock Cameras
A Florida legal memo could restrict how law enforcement agencies share information from automated license plate readers, potentially creating significant consequences for Flock Safety deployments. Somewhere a surveillance camera just discovered government paperwork can occasionally work against it.
Trump’s CFPB Helped Kill an Investigation Involving Bilt
ProPublica reports that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau abandoned an investigation involving Bilt after Trump officials dramatically curtailed the agency’s enforcement work. Consumer protection apparently becomes much easier once you stop protecting the fucking consumers.
ICE Deported a Cuban Man From Tampa to Eswatini
ICE deported a Cuban man living in Tampa to Eswatini after Cuba would not accept him, continuing the administration’s use of third countries for removals. Apparently deportation now includes the international equivalent of “we’ll figure out where later.”
The FBI Is Investigating a Service Allegedly Selling 153 Million Driver’s Licenses
KrebsOnSecurity reports that the FBI is investigating an online service offering searchable information connected to roughly 153 million American driver’s licenses. Privacy has apparently entered the exciting phase where the DMV database comes with a fucking search bar.
A Bank of America Vice President Was Killed in a Violent Incident
Donny Evans reports on the killing of a Bank of America vice president and the developing investigation surrounding the death. This is another story where speculation helps nobody, so the facts should remain attached to what investigators actually establish.
A Prominent Psychiatrist Is Sounding an Alarm About Trump
Dean Obeidallah highlights warnings from a prominent psychiatrist about Trump’s behavior and fitness, but remote psychiatric diagnoses of public figures should be treated cautiously and distinguished from documented conduct. There is plenty to evaluate without pretending a television appearance is a clinical examination.
There Are 63 Days Until the Midterms
The Save America Movement is urging voters to check registration, volunteer, organize, and prepare for the final stretch before Election Day. Sixty three days sounds comfortable until democracy reminds you that procrastination is bipartisan.
Thomas Massie Read Fourteen Epstein Related Names Into the Congressional Record
Representative Thomas Massie placed fourteen names connected to Epstein related records into the Congressional Record while pushing for additional transparency around the files. A name appearing in Epstein records does not itself establish criminal conduct, but congressional preservation means those references are now considerably harder to make disappear.
Closing RK Thoughts
Today’s theme is databases.
Voter databases. Driver’s license databases. License plate databases. FBI databases. Immigration systems. Financial records. Epstein records.
The question is increasingly not whether the government and private companies possess enormous quantities of information about ordinary people.
They do.
The question is who can access it, who can sell it, who can search it, who can share it, and whether anyone bothers asking for permission before clicking the fucking button.
Watch the databases.
Follow the contracts.
Check your voter registration.
Demand warrants, oversight, disclosure, and retention rules.
Because authoritarian power does not always arrive wearing boots.
Sometimes it arrives with administrator privileges.
Claws out. Receipts ready.
Featured Resisters and Resources
- The ICIJ Offshore Leaks Database is one of the world’s largest publicly accessible resources for investigating offshore companies, trusts, foundations, and financial secrecy networks. Developed by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, the database allows researchers, journalists, watchdog organizations, academics, and members of the public to explore information connected to offshore entities uncovered through major global investigations including the Panama Papers, Pandora Papers, Paradise Papers, Bahamas Leaks, and Offshore Leaks. The database contains information on more than 810,000 offshore entities connected to people and companies across more than 200 countries and territories.
- The Rx Inspector tool by ProPublica is a first-of-its-kind investigative database that allows users to trace generic prescription drugs back to the facilities where they were manufactured. Built from a large-scale investigative effort, the platform connects fragmented Food and Drug Administration (FDA) data to provide transparency into a system that has historically been difficult for the public to access.
What We Are Watching Today
- 7:00 AM EDT
Prime Minister’s Question Time - 10:00 AM EDT
Foreign Policy Analysts Testify on Critical Resources & Supply Chain Security Live - 10:00 AM EDT
House Considers Bill Capping Supreme Court at Nine Justices Live - 10:00 AM EDT
Financial and Economic Leaders Testify on U.S. Economy Live - 10:00 AM EDT
National Security Experts Testify on Threats to Legacy Infrastructure Live - 10:00 AM EDT
House Rules Committee Debates Proposed Rule Changes for Next Newly Elected Congress Live - 10:30 AM EDT
EU Foreign Ministers Hold News Conference in Ireland - 11:00 AM EDT
Commemoration of Victory Over Japan at WW II Memorial - 12:00 PM EDT
House Considers Bill Capping Supreme Court at Nine Justices - 2:00 PM EDT
Kansas Attorney General & Immigration Policy Advocates Testify on Birthright Citizenship - 6:00 PM EDT
NH Governor Candidate Cinde Warmington (D) Holds Town Hall in Henniker, NH - 7:15 PM EDT
U.S. Senate Candidate Scott Brown (R-NH) Holds Town Hall in Henniker, NH - House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence | 10:00 AM Local Time | Meeting Details
- House Committee on Rules | 10:00 AM Local Time | Meeting Details
- House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Federal Lands | 10:00 AM Local Time | Meeting Details
Today’s Call to Action
1. Read Today’s Resistance Survival Guides
2. Sign these Petitions and Send These Pre Written Letters
- Don’t Let Trump Hand Saudi Arabia Keys to a Nuclear Bomb
- Don’t let Big Tech hide data center pollution
3. Verify your voter registration status and help at least one other person check theirs
4. Save contact information for local legal aid and voting support organizations
5. Attend an Event
- Indivisible General Election Kickoff Call
Wednesday, September 2, from 8 to 9 p.m. ET. Join activists nationwide to discuss the midterm stakes, priority congressional races, and concrete ways volunteers can help flip Congress and hold the administration accountable. - Volunteer Training: Become an LGBTQ+ Activist
Thursday, September 3, from 6 to 8 p.m. ET. Equality Florida will train participants to advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, mobilize their communities, and turn righteous anger into organized action.
6. Contact Your Lawmakers Directly
- Stop Funding ICE Without Accountability
- “Hello, my name is [name], and I am a constituent from [ZIP code]. I am asking [lawmakers’s name] to oppose any funding bill that gives ICE or Border Patrol additional money without strict oversight, transparent reporting, and enforceable protections for civil rights. No more blank checks for masked agents. Please record my position and tell me how the lawmaker intends to vote.”
- End the Unauthorized War With Iran
- “Hello, my name is [name], and I live in [ZIP code]. I am asking [lawmaker’s name] to support an Iran War Powers Resolution and oppose additional funding for military action that Congress has not authorized. The Constitution gives Congress the power to declare war. Please use it before this administration drags us any deeper.”
- Protect the 2026 Election
- “Hello, my name is [name], and I am a constituent from [ZIP code]. I urge [lawmaker’s name] to support the Voting Systems Protection Act and the SHIELD Our Elections Act. Federal officials should not be able to seize ballots, voting machines, or election records to manipulate an election. Please protect state election officials, mail voting, and every legally cast ballot.”
7. Who Are We Boycotting This Week?
- Home Depot
ICE agents have repeatedly targeted workers around Home Depot stores and parking lots. Home Depot has refused to adopt a policy barring immigration raids without judicial warrants. Shop at locally owned hardware stores instead. - Amazon
Amazon Web Services provides cloud infrastructure used by ICE and DHS for data storage, surveillance, and immigration enforcement. Skip Amazon and Whole Foods when possible. Buy directly from manufacturers, independent retailers, local bookstores, and cooperatives instead. - Target
Target abandoned major diversity commitments, has refused to take a clear stand against ICE activity, and recently faced renewed outrage after selling a children’s costume condemned for evoking racist minstrel imagery. Apparently betraying your stated values was not enough for one corporate strategy meeting. Shop locally or use regional retailers instead.
