Morning, Kitties. Today the people running the country are preparing for an AI catastrophe, turning the FBI into a political concierge service, expanding the deportation machine, threatening migrants with heat rays and planning a livestreamed firing squad. Meanwhile, MAGA elites are throwing hibachi parties inside military housing because apparently authoritarianism is exhausting when the neighbors keep writing accurate things in sidewalk chalk. Let us claw through the wreckage.
Shit Show Recap
- A classified State Department audit reportedly found that American efforts to counter groups backed by Iran were disorganized and poorly coordinated. The public report remains classified, because naturally the government’s plan for explaining its dysfunctional foreign policy is also dysfunctional secrecy.
- Stephen Miller addressed FBI counterterrorism agents days before prosecutors charged a man accused of cyberstalking his wife. Former Justice Department officials called Miller’s direct involvement highly unusual, especially because the Millers had personally pressed federal officials to pursue alleged threats against them. Nothing says independent law enforcement like a White House political operative giving the FBI motivational speeches about cases affecting his own family.
- Leading AI companies are reportedly preparing for the political and public aftermath of a catastrophic AI incident. Industry insiders told Axios that a major event involving financial systems, internet service, electricity or water could happen within six to twelve months, which is comforting news from the people sprinting toward the wall while privately discussing the crash.
- Microsoft, Adobe and several technology companies have been suspended from a major employment immigration program while the Labor Department investigates alleged abuse. The decision could disrupt a common path to permanent residency for skilled foreign workers, while officials have not clearly explained how current employees will be affected.
- The Cornell sexual assault case has become a national reckoning over how universities and prosecutors treat survivors. A former student alleges that she was drugged and gang raped by fraternity members, then failed by systems that were supposed to protect her. She has since faced threats, doxxing and a terrifying swatting attack. Survivors should never have to become public targets just to make powerful institutions take their pain seriously.
- Katie and Stephen Miller are hosting MAGA power parties from a home on a secured military installation. Cabinet officials reportedly gather for hibachi chefs, mechanical bulls, custom cakes and petting zoos inside their fortified political bubble. The administration may be dismantling democracy, but apparently it still has time for sake fountains and live donkeys.
- Drug resistant Shigella infections are rising, including strains transmitted through sexual contact. The infection can cause severe diarrhea and dysentery, and some strains are becoming resistant to multiple antibiotics. Prevention includes barriers during sexual activity, washing before and after sex and avoiding sexual contact for at least two weeks after diarrhea.
- Iowa voters are being asked to examine Ashley Hinson’s record on releasing the Epstein files. Hinson supported procedural votes that kept release legislation from reaching the floor, declined to sign the discharge petition and later voted for disclosure only after passage was virtually certain. Courage apparently arrived just after the political danger departed.
- Republican advertisements attacking Abdul El Sayed omit context and exaggerate his previous positions on policing and prisons. FactCheck.org found that El Sayed discussed shifting resources toward community services in 2020, but did not call for abolishing prisons and is not campaigning on releasing violent offenders.
- The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division has lost hundreds of employees while its priorities move away from traditional civil rights enforcement and toward Trump’s political agenda. The division created to protect vulnerable Americans is being repurposed while experienced lawyers flee, which is less a policy adjustment than a mission autopsy.
- A Foreign Policy analysis argues that Trump has weakened American alliances, institutions, economic strength, scientific leadership and international credibility. The branding says strength. The receipts say a superpower repeatedly stepping on its own cape.
- The federal government signed two San Antonio leases worth a combined $51.2 million for office space linked through contracting records to ICE. Along with a warehouse purchase and operating contract, ICE has now committed about $134.6 million in public money to San Antonio property this year.
- The Senate advanced roughly twenty bills through unanimous consent before leaving Washington for the election recess. Meanwhile, the Stop Insider Trading Act failed a procedural vote after becoming tangled in partisan amendments and objections, because Congress can move quickly right up until the legislation threatens congressional perks.
- The Justice Department is seeking charges against Cassidy Hutchinson, the former Trump aide whose testimony became central to the January 6 investigation. The unusual involvement of the Civil Rights Division is intensifying concerns that federal prosecutors are being used to punish witnesses and perceived political enemies.
- Republican campaign advertisements about tax cuts misleadingly suggest that Democratic candidates want to raise taxes on tips, overtime and Social Security. Many of those candidates opposed the larger Republican bill because it favored wealthy households and cut Medicaid and food assistance, while separately supporting the popular tax provisions.
- Pete Hegseth says the public will be able to watch the planned firing squad execution of Fort Hood gunman Nidal Hasan through a livestream. Turning state killing into government entertainment is not justice. It is cruelty packaged as content for an administration addicted to spectacle.
- Leon Botstein has resigned from all Bard College roles after congressional investigators disclosed disturbing Epstein related communications and demanded a criminal investigation. Botstein denies sending a 2014 message concerning a young woman Epstein was allegedly trafficking and has not been charged, but the newly revealed evidence deserves a serious and independent investigation centered on the survivor.
- Arlington County is suing to stop Trump’s planned triumphal arch, arguing that the administration bypassed required environmental review. The proposed 250 foot monument could affect traffic, aviation safety and Arlington National Cemetery, but nothing whispers humility like demanding the world’s tallest triumphal arch while still in office.
- Senate Democrats are demanding answers from Chuck Grassley after documents behind Senator Eric Schmitt’s failed attack on Jack Smith were reportedly withheld from Democratic committee members. Schmitt used unverified material to suggest that Smith attended an Atlanta Hawks game, only for the accusation to collapse when the game turned out to involve the Iowa Hawkeyes.
- A leaked Defense Department memo reportedly authorized the transfer of an Active Denial System to Homeland Security for Customs and Border Protection operations. The directed energy weapon creates an intense burning sensation without leaving conventional wounds, raising urgent questions about whether it could be used against migrants, protesters or American civilians.
Final Kitty Thoughts
The theme today is power without restraint. Political officials are pressing law enforcement, technology executives are quietly preparing for disaster, immigration agencies are expanding their infrastructure and weapons, and survivors still have to fight institutions that were designed to exhaust them into silence. Keep documenting. Keep voting. Keep believing survivors. And keep your claws sharp, because the people building the authoritarian petting zoo are counting on everyone being too overwhelmed to notice the electric fence.
Featured Resisters and Resources
- Online Blackmail Help is a Resistance Directory resource for digital safety, survivor support, and online abuse response. Online Blackmail Help is a commercial service offering information and professional assistance for people facing internet blackmail, sextortion, social media threats, threatening emails, and related forms of digital extortion.
- United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America is an organization focused on worker rights and economic justice. Its work includes member directed union organizing, steward resources, and worker education.
What We Are Watching Today
- 5:00 AM MDT
Washington Journal 10/09/2026 - 6:32 AM MDT
FL Gov. Ron DeSantis Gives Update on Hurricane Isaias - 7:03 AM MDT
DHS Secy. Markwayne Mullin Holds Press Conference on Sanctuary City Policies - 9:00 AM MDT
President Trump Hosts Columbus Day Celebration Live - 9:15 AM MDT
U.S. Senate Candidate Abdul El-Sayed (D-MI) Speaks with Farmers - 10:30 AM MDT
U.S. House of Representatives - 11:00 AM MDT
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) Campaigns with Rep. Miller-Meeks (R-IA) - 11:30 AM MDT
Vice President JD Vance Speaks at Campaign Rally in Lima, Ohio - 11:30 AM MDT
U.S. Senate - 3:30 PM MDT
Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) & U.S. Sen. Candidate Mike Rogers (R-MI) Attend Barn Party - 4:00 PM MDT
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) Campaigns with U.S. House Candidate Joe Mitchell (R-IA) - South Carolina U.S. Senate | Sunday, October 11 at 5 PM Mountain | Darline Graham vs. Annie Andrews vs. Kasie Whitener | Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXE2Ik6YxMg
- Arkansas Governor | Tuesday, October 13 at 9 AM Mountain | Sarah Huckabee Sanders vs. Fred Love vs. Colt Shelby | Watch: https://www.youtube.com/@arkansastv
- Arkansas 2nd Congressional District | Thursday, October 15 at 12:30 PM Mountain | French Hill vs. Chris Jones | Watch: https://www.youtube.com/@arkansastv
Today’s Call to Action
1. Read Today’s Resistance Survival Guides
2. Sign these Petitions and Send These Pre Written Letters
- Department of Interior Lawyer Quit Rather Than Abandon Endangered Wildlife
- Block ICE from Purchasing “Shock Gloves
- Sign the Petition to the Florida Legislature urging passage of a new data centers construction moratorium.
- Sign the petition: Investigate Trump family finances and self-dealing on government contracts.
- Tell the Pentagon: Don’t silence overseas voters
- Sign the petition: Tell Congress to reject money from AI super PACs and condemn the dangers of AI money flooding into our politics!
- Make Private Equity Pay for the Companies It Wrecks
- Sign the petition: Congress must bring down energy costs by putting an end to Donald Trump’s war against affordable, renewable electricity generation.
- Tell Congress: Reverse Trump’s Gas-Guzzler Rollback Now
- Investigate FEMA for Denying Aid to Blue States
- Investigate FEMA for Denying Aid to Blue States
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 a Virtual Event
- Tesla Takedown, October 10: Join a peaceful protest against billionaire influence. Events are listed in California, Massachusetts, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. Check your location’s time. Action Network
- People’s Tribunal on Gaza, October 10: Attend in Seattle or watch the livestream examining alleged US government complicity in Gaza. WILPF US
- Global Day of Action for Palestine, October 10: Participate in the international mobilization. Check local organizers for confirmed locations and times. middleeastmonitor.com
6. Contact Your Lawmakers Directly
- Protect workers: “I’m [NAME], a constituent in [ZIP]. Please protect union organizing, workplace safety and enforcement against wage theft. What action will your office take?”
- Defend civil rights: “I’m [NAME] from [ZIP]. Please defend equal opportunity and oppose efforts to weaken protections against discrimination. I want a written response.”
- Demand corporate accountability: “I’m [NAME] from [ZIP]. Please strengthen consumer protections and corporate political spending transparency. What specific action will you support?”
- Impeach Trump: “I’m [NAME], a constituent in [ZIP]. I urge the House to investigate grounds for impeaching Donald Trump and pursue articles of impeachment based on the evidence. Please provide a written response.”
- Impeach Pete Hegseth: “I’m [NAME], a constituent in [ZIP]. I urge the House to investigate grounds for impeaching Pete Hegseth and pursue articles of impeachment based on the evidence. Please provide a written response.”
7. Who Are We Boycotting This Week?
- Amazon: Skip Amazon purchases, Whole Foods shopping and paid subscriptions such as Prime and Audible.
- Target: Take your shopping dollars to independent retailers.
- Walmart: Buy essentials from locally owned stores when possible.
- Home Depot: Support independent hardware stores.
- Starbucks: Choose a neighborhood café.
- CBS: Avoid paid services that financially support CBS.
Keep your money in your community, kitties. Shop local, buy secondhand, borrow what you can and skip unnecessary purchases. These are ongoing boycotts, with no separate action confirmed specifically for this week.
