Political intimidation, open bigotry, campaign money and government violence are sharing the stage while Republicans desperately pretend the audience cannot see the blood on the curtains.
Good morning, Kitties. Today’s political circus includes federal agents raiding a sitting congresswoman, Republican leaders attacking transgender candidates, immigration contractors rewarding loyal lawmakers, Trump celebrating violence at a rally and Homeland Security spending enough on luxury aircraft to make an oligarch feel underdressed. Fascism is apparently arriving through the front door while corruption circles the airport in a private jet.
Today’s Shit Show Recap
- Eyes on ICE reports that federal agents searched Representative Ilhan Omar’s home over immigration paperwork completed by her late father while she was a child. Omar has not been charged, but the administration has discovered that predawn intimidation photographs beautifully before an election.
- Erin in the Morning reports that Alabama Republican Party Chairman Scott Stadthagen described transgender state legislative candidates Terri Osborne and Allison Montgomery as men with mental disorders. Montgomery answered by asking why Republicans would rather obsess over her identity than lower gas, grocery, utility and medical costs, which is awkward because governing was never included in their culture war package.
- Andy O’Brien reports that Susan Collins received more than $130,000 from executives, board members and political committees connected to major ICE contractors after supporting enormous increases in immigration enforcement funding. Nothing calms a troubled moderate conscience like campaign money from the surveillance and detention industries.
- EpsteinWiki follows an assault on a protester demanding the Epstein files, dismantles a Marco Rubio rumor and preserves the records that powerful people keep hoping everyone will forget. Survivors and investigators are still bringing receipts while the protection racket keeps bringing excuses.
- The Long Harvest argues that the corporate political strategy outlined in the Powell Memorandum matured across decades into the power structure surrounding Project 2025. The takeover was never spontaneous chaos, because billionaires prefer their authoritarianism carefully scheduled and tax deductible.
- Greg Conners investigates the outside money supporting Mike Rogers and the financial channels used to influence Michigan politics. Democracy is technically still free, although apparently the premium version requires corporate sponsors.
- Jason Jay Smart reports that Russia’s stock market expansion plan is colliding with high interest rates, shrinking investment and businesses struggling to obtain affordable capital. Putin wanted private investors to finance the future while the government financed war, but even oligarch economics eventually encounters arithmetic.
- Resist Fight reports that twenty two year old Eddrick Bethune was abducted in North Miami by men wearing police shirts and later found dead with gunshot wounds. His family deserves answers, and the public deserves a system where criminals cannot exploit the fear created by masked and poorly identified enforcement operations.
- Raw America reports that a Republican group spent about $25,000 advertising for Maine Senator Susan Collins in Portland, Oregon, instead of Portland, Maine. The vendor issued a refund after more than one million impressions, proving that Republican campaign strategy can locate every voter except the ones living in the correct state.
- NewsGirls reports that Trump is backing away from Pete Hegseth’s proposal to broadcast Nidal Hasan’s execution after previously approving it. Apparently turning state killing into entertainment finally became too grotesque once the polling arrived.
- Voice from Ukraine reports that Ukraine struck Russian Yandex data centers as Moscow continued attacking Ukrainian cities and infrastructure. The strikes disrupted major services and automated traffic, giving the Kremlin an unexpected introduction to consequences.
- The Nation reports that Elon Musk amplified a false claim that Texas Senate candidate James Talarico had entered an Ohio mental health facility when Talarico was actually recovering from the flu. The facility denied ever treating him, leaving Musk with another expensive contribution to the misinformation economy.
- Blue Amp Media reports that Trump cheered as a man repeatedly struck a female protester during a rally and then mocked the victim as police removed her. The violence is no longer hiding beneath the rhetoric because the crowd has been trained to applaud it.
- Michael Popok examines the Department of Homeland Security purchase of a converted Boeing 737 for $108 million after the aircraft had reportedly been offered for less than $90 million. The jet included a bar, bedrooms, marble showers and a manta ray skin table, because nothing says urgent deportation mission like airborne oligarch cosplay.
Today’s stories are not isolated scandals. They reveal a system where government power intimidates critics, campaign money rewards cruelty, propaganda replaces policy and public violence becomes political theater. The good news is that reporters, candidates, protesters and ordinary people are still documenting every raid, contract, lie and assault. Keep the receipts, protect one another and never let them convince you that this is normal.
Claws Out Kitties!
Featured Resisters and Resources
- Mi Familia Vota is an organization focused on voting rights and civic participation. Its work includes latino civic engagement, voter education, and community participation programs.
- HeadCount is an organization focused on voting rights and civic participation. Its work includes voter registration and volunteer opportunities through music and cultural events.
What We Are Watching Today
- 7:25 AM MDT
Vice President Vance Speaks to Reporters - 7:30 AM MDT
White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia Holds First Briefing Live - 8:00 AM MDT
Justice Department Officials Hold News Conference on Targeting Online Scams Live - 8:00 AM MDT
Supreme Court Hears Case on Sentencing Guidelines Live - 10:30 AM MDT
Governor Candidate Rob Sand (D-IA) Attends Cancer Roundtable - 10:35 AM MDT
VP JD Vance Campaigns for Texas GOP Candidates - 11:30 AM MDT
U.S. House of Representatives - 1:30 PM MDT
Speaker Johnson Campaigns With TX GOP Candidates - 1:30 PM MDT
U.S. Senate - 5:00 PM MDT
Maine Governor Debate - 5:00 PM MDT
Maine U.S. Senate Debate - 5:30 PM MDT
President Trump Remarks at 2026 Midterm Rally in Wasilla, Alaska - 10:00 AM CT | Arkansas Governor: Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Fred Love and Colt Shelby. Watch Arkansas TV.
- 2:30 PM ET | Georgia School Superintendent: Lydia Powell and Richard Woods invited. Watch Atlanta Press Club.
- 3:45 PM ET | Georgia Agriculture Commissioner: Tyler Harper and Katherine Juhan-Arnold invited. Watch live.
- 4:45 PM ET | Georgia Insurance Commissioner: John King and Keisha Waites invited. Watch live.
- 6:00 PM ET | Georgia Labor Commissioner: Bárbara Rivera Holmes and Nikki Porcher invited. Watch live.
- 6:00 PM MT | Utah Congressional District 2: Candidate debate. Watch information.
- 7:00 PM ET | Florida U.S. Senate: Statewide televised debate. Broadcast details.
- 8:00 PM ET | Georgia U.S. Senate: Jon Ossoff and Mike Collins invited. Watch Atlanta Press Club.
- 8:00 PM CT | Illinois Governor Forum: JB Pritzker and Darren Bailey. Watch WTTW.
- 9:00 PM CT | Iowa U.S. Senate: Ashley Hinson and Josh Turek. Watch WHO 13.
Today’s Call to Action
1. Read Today’s Resistance Survival Guides
2. Sign these Petitions and Send These Pre Written Letters
- Please sign and send a letter to your members of Congress urging them to oppose the Trump administration plan to fold the Office on Violence Against Women into a larger Justice Department grant bureau.
- Please sign and send a letter to your members of Congress: Stop the Trump administration from siphoning billions in medical research to make up for Pentagon shortfalls.
- Sign the petition denouncing Republicans for passing Donald Trump’s cruel cuts to foodstmaps into law.
- Tell Congress: Don’t Let Trump’s Cuts Close More Delivery Rooms
- Tell Congress: Investigate the Raid on Ilhan Omar’s House
- Add your name if you agree: The Trump administration needs to side with Ukraine, not with Russia.
- Tell Congress: Stop Trump from privatizing Social Security
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
- Tuesday, October 13 | 3:30 PM ET: Democracy Integrity Briefing | League of Women Voters | Identifying election misinformation and disinformation | Event Information
- Tuesday, October 13 | 8:00 PM (time zone not specified): Organizing to Protect Democracy | ACLU | Virtual organizing and civil liberties training | Register Here
- Thursday, October 15 | 3:00 PM (time zone not confirmed): What’s the Plan? | Indivisible | Weekly virtual discussion with cofounders Leah Greenberg and Ezra Levin | Event Information
6. Contact Your Lawmakers Directly
- Epstein Files Transparency: “I demand full release of legally disclosable Epstein records, accountability for withheld evidence, independent congressional oversight, and protection of survivor identities.” | Contact Congress
- ICE Accountability: “I demand congressional investigations into ICE detention conditions, civil rights violations, federal contractor accountability, and transparency in immigration enforcement.” | Contact Congress
- Protect Voting Rights: “I urge Congress to protect voting access, election workers, transparent vote counting, and lawful certification of the November 2026 midterm election results.” | Contact Congress
- Reproductive Freedom: “I urge Congress to protect reproductive healthcare access, medical privacy, emergency treatment, and the rights of patients and healthcare professionals.” | Contact Congress
- Federal Spending Accountability: “I demand independent audits, transparency in federal contracts, strong inspector general oversight, and investigations into misuse of taxpayer funds.” | Contact Congress
- Protect Peaceful Protest: “I urge Congress to defend First Amendment rights, investigate unlawful surveillance and excessive force, and protect peaceful protesters, journalists, and legal observers.” | Contact Congress
7. Who Are We Boycotting This Week?
- Target | Named in the ICE Out of My Wallet campaign, which challenges corporate involvement in immigration enforcement.
- Amazon | Targeted by ICE Out of My Wallet over alleged corporate support for immigration enforcement infrastructure.
- Whole Foods | Amazon-owned grocery chain included in the ICE Out of My Wallet campaign.
- Home Depot | Named in the campaign challenging corporate relationships with immigration enforcement.
- Spotify | Included in the campaign’s corporate accountability actions.
- Microsoft | Named in economic pressure actions concerning technology and immigration enforcement.
- Dell | Included in the campaign’s corporate accountability actions.
- Starbucks | Targeted by a labor organizing campaign focused on collective bargaining and workers’ rights.
- Carrefour | Subject of a Palestinian solidarity boycott campaign concerning franchise operations in Israeli settlements.
- Zara and Inditex | Subject of boycott pressure concerning the company’s Israeli franchise operations.
- McDonald’s | Subject of consumer boycott campaigns concerning its Israeli operations.
- Chevron, Texaco and Caltex | Named in the Palestinian-led BDS movement’s consumer boycott campaigns concerning energy operations.
- Tesla | Subject of consumer boycotts associated with Elon Musk’s political activity.
- Walmart | Named in consumer boycott coverage related to corporate policies and political concerns.
