Morning, Kitties. ICE is planning a $100 million domestic intelligence operation, Homeland Security wants technology capable of searching billions of communications records, and Jared Kushner is facing a lawsuit over his diplomatic role and financial disclosures. Meanwhile, the administration’s Saudi nuclear agreement reportedly contains an actual blank page, military leadership is under scrutiny, and artificial intelligence researchers have discovered that outsourcing your thinking might make thinking harder.
Apparently the government can find money for surveillance, nuclear negotiations, and private contractors, but finding someone willing to explain the fucking paperwork remains an unsolved scientific mystery.
Daily Shit Show Highlights
ICE Plans a $100 Million Domestic Intelligence Network Across American Cities
The American Prospect reports that ICE is planning ERO ONE, a $100 million program involving 142 intelligence contractors who would analyze relationships, locations, and other information across more than two dozen cities. Civil liberties experts warn the system could enable surveillance extending beyond immigration targets, because apparently Big Brother has decided he needs a fucking franchise in every major city.
Homeland Security Seeks Technology to Search Billions of Communications Records
Project Salt Box reports that DHS is considering a contract without competitive bidding for Pen Link software capable of searching extensive communications and location records using artificial intelligence. Access to certain communications requires judicial authorization, but the proposed system raises serious questions about data access, oversight, and what happens when surveillance technology becomes easier to operate than the fucking office printer.
Ethics Watchdog Sues to Block Jared Kushner’s Diplomatic Role
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington filed suit alleging that Kushner exercises significant diplomatic authority without required Senate confirmation or public financial disclosures, while managing an investment firm backed heavily by foreign investors. Those are allegations awaiting judicial determination, but apparently the family business and American foreign policy are sharing a calendar again.
Trump’s Saudi Nuclear Agreement Contains a Blank Page Marked for Later Completion
An analysis in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists raises concerns about uranium enrichment, international inspections, and an incomplete portion of the agreement submitted to Congress, including a reported classified page marked for later completion. The author argues lawmakers retain legal options to challenge the deal, because apparently nuclear nonproliferation now comes with the instructions some assembly fucking required.
Military Veterans Challenge Hegseth’s Plan to Broadcast an Execution
PunchUp reports that 72 retired senior military officers and legal experts signed a letter opposing a proposal to livestream the execution of convicted Fort Hood gunman Nidal Hasan, warning that it would turn punishment into spectacle and endanger military personnel. The objection concerns broadcasting the execution, not the conviction, because apparently somebody decided military justice needed a fucking streaming channel.
Ramaswamy Campaign Pulls Footage After Registered Sex Offender Appears in Advertisement
The Bulwark reports that an Ohio campaign advertisement featured Vernon Edwards, who pleaded guilty in 2006 to sexual offenses involving a minor, alongside his wife, whose concerns about property taxes were the advertisement’s focus. The Ramaswamy campaign says it did not know about his record and is removing him from the footage, making this an especially uncomfortable lesson in why campaigns should conduct background checks before pressing fucking publish.
Rubio’s State Department Contract Raises Questions About Alleged Russian Ownership
PunchUp examines government contracts involving Oxygen Forensics, whose chief executive faces federal allegations that he concealed Russian ownership and control of the company. The allegations remain subject to legal proceedings, but the contracts raise significant questions about vetting technology suppliers that handle sensitive government information.
Berkeley Study Finds Brief AI Reliance Can Undermine Persistence on Difficult Tasks
Researchers testing math and reading tasks found that participants who relied on AI assistance often struggled more when the tool was withdrawn, compared with participants who worked independently. The findings concern specific experimental tasks rather than proving permanent cognitive damage, but the irony is delicious: we built machines to do our thinking and may be forgetting how to tolerate a fucking difficult question.
Closing Kitty Thoughts
Today, the machinery of government appears increasingly interested in collecting information, automating decisions, negotiating contracts, and avoiding uncomfortable questions about who holds the keys.
ICE is planning a substantial intelligence operation while DHS considers tools for searching enormous collections of communications records. A federal ethics watchdog is challenging Jared Kushner’s diplomatic role. Military veterans are objecting to turning an execution into a broadcast spectacle. A nuclear agreement is facing questions about missing commitments and incomplete documentation.
Meanwhile, a political campaign has learned the importance of checking who appears in its advertisements, and researchers are warning that technological convenience can come at the expense of human judgment.
The common thread is accountability. Surveillance requires oversight. Diplomacy requires transparency. Criminal justice requires restraint. And government contracts require something more sophisticated than trusting whoever happens to have the fucking password.
Read the filings. Question the technology. Protect civil liberties. Keep the receipts.
Claws out. Hissssssss.
Featured Resisters and Resources
- Trans Housing Coalition focuses on housing security and support for transgender and gender-nonconforming people experiencing homelessness and housing instability.
- Disaster Accountability Project works to make disaster response and recovery more transparent, effective, and accountable to people impacted by crises.
What We Are Watching Today
- 6:09 AM MDT
U.S. Senate Candidate Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA) Bus Tour Stop in Ankeny - 6:58 AM MDT
U.S. Senate Candidate Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA) Speaks to Reporters - 7:29 AM MDT
Senate Pro Forma Session - 7:30 AM MDT
Rahm Emanuel Meets with South Carolina Democrats Live - 7:50 AM MDT
Israeli U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon Speaks to Reporters - 8:00 AM MDT
Governor Candidate Bobby Charles (R-ME) Casts Ballot in Early Voting - 9:00 AM MDT
U.S. House of Representatives - 10:00 AM MDT
Vice President Vance Remarks at 2026 Midterm Rally in Monroe, MI - 10:00 AM MDT
U.S. Senate Candidate Abdul El-Sayed (D-MI) Holds Town Hall with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) in Escanab - 1:30 PM MDT
NASA SpaceX Crew-12 Mission Briefing - 3:30 PM MDT
Governor Candidate Vivek Ramaswamy (R-OH) Holds College GOP Rally - 4:30 PM MDT
U.S. Senate Candidate Abdul El-Sayed (D-MI) Holds Town Hall with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) in Marquet - 5:00 PM MDT
Maine U.S. Senate Debate - 5:00 PM MDT
U.S. Senate Candidate Josh Turek (D-IA) Makes Campaign Stop in Mason City - 9:00 PM MDT
Alaska U.S. Senate Debate - Arkansas Secretary of State debate: Kelly Grappe, Kim Hammer and Michael Pakko at 11 a.m.
- Nebraska Congressional District 2 debate: Denise Powell, Brinker Harding and Eric Michael Foreman at 2 p.m.
- Arkansas Congressional District 2 debate: Chris Jones and French Hill at 2:30 p.m.
- Maine U.S. Senate debate: Troy Jackson and Susan Collins at 7 p.m.
- New York Congressional District 20 debate: Paul Tonko and Ralph Ambrosio at 7 p.m.
- Minnesota Congressional District 7 debate: Erik Osberg and Michelle Fischbach at 8 p.m.
- Michigan Governor debate: Jocelyn Benson and John James at 8 p.m.
- Alaska U.S. Senate debate: Watch live on Alaska Public Media at 11 p.m.
- Vermont U.S. House debate: Becca Balint and Gerald Malloy on WCAX, broadcast time unconfirmed.
Today’s Call to Action
1. Read Today’s Resistance Survival Guides
2. Sign these Petitions and Send These Pre Written Letters
- Sign the petition denouncing Republicans for passing Donald Trump’s cruel cuts to Medicaid and food stamps into law.
- Stop the Slaughter of Yellowstone’s Wild Bison
- Investigate FEMA for Denying Aid to Blue States
- Sign the petition: Tell Congress to back the Ban Flock Act to stop Flock, Kash Patel, and Trump’s AI-powered mass surveillance!
- Send a message to Congress: Pass the Sanders–AOC bill to ban Flock’s mass surveillance. >>
- Sign now: Stand up for California Condors
- Sign if you agree: The Trump administration needs to side with Ukraine, not with Russia.
- Don’t Comply with the DOJ’s Voter Purge
- Tell Gavin Newsom: Don’t help billionaires kill the wealth tax
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 Events
- 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.
