Democracy on Fire, Receipts in Hand
Welcome to today’s episode of “This Is Fine,” where the Justice Department is bleeding staff, ICE is disappearing people who followed the rules, tariffs are being used like a toddler with a hammer, billionaires are hoarding while families get squeezed, and Congress is still allergic to accountability — especially when Epstein’s name comes up. From authoritarian trade threats and paramilitary immigration surges to secret weapons, stalled reports, and ethical collapses dressed up as policy, this week makes one thing painfully clear: the chaos isn’t accidental. It’s the system working exactly as designed — for the powerful. Resistance Kitty is here with the receipts, the rage, and a to-do list, because democracy doesn’t survive on vibes alone.
GOP Scandals
Labor Secretary Under Fire: Top Aides on Leave as IG Investigates Travel Fraud, Misconduct
Just when you thought political scandals were yesterday’s news, the Lori Chavez‑DeRemer Labor Department is now under scrutiny. Two of her top aides — Chief of Staff Jihun Han and Deputy Rebecca Wright — have been placed on administrative leave amid an Inspector General investigation into serious misconduct allegations. The complaint — now the center of an internal probe — accuses Chavez-DeRemer of using official travel for personal trips, having an improper relationship with a subordinate, and even drinking on the job while staff fabricated official events to justify taxpayer-funded travel to personal destinations. The White House and her department say the claims are “baseless” and “categorically false,” but the probe itself and the sidelining of two senior aides speak volumes about ethics and accountability at the highest levels of the U.S. Department of Labor. This isn’t housekeeping — it’s a leadership integrity crisis in a cabinet post meant to protect workers, not wage taxpayer dollars for personal indulgence
Department of War Crimes
U.S. Strikes That Look Like War Crimes: Civilian-Lookalike Aircraft Bomb Boats
A New York Times investigation has ignited alarm by revealing that in September the U.S. military used an aircraft disguised to look like a civilian plane to strike a suspected drug-smuggling boat in the Caribbean — an attack that killed at least 11 people. Legal experts say disguising military aircraft and then firing on targets could violate the laws of armed conflict as ‘perfidy’, a war crime under international law because it deceives targets into believing the aircraft is non-combatant. The administration justifies these strikes — part of a broader campaign in Operation Southern Spear that has killed over 100 people — by claiming an “armed conflict” with drug cartels, but most international law scholars reject the idea that fighting traffickers in international waters counts as a legitimate war. Critics argue the strikes are effectively extrajudicial killings and may amount to murder, especially when the U.S. attacked survivors clinging to wreckage in follow-up “double-tap” strikes. This revelation raises serious questions about oversight, legality, and whether deadly force is being deployed without accountability or real legal basis.
Havana Syndrome Wasn’t a Mystery — It Was a Weapon, and the U.S. Has One
New reporting drops a bombshell the government has been tap-dancing around for years: the U.S. is believed to possess a directed-energy weapon associated with Havana Syndrome, the neurological injuries suffered by diplomats, intelligence officers, and military personnel since 2016. Multiple sources say the device — capable of causing intense internal damage without killing — was either seized or purchased and is now held under Defense Department intelligence control. While the White House boosted a viral claim that such a weapon was used during a recent Venezuela raid, insiders cast doubt on that story — but not on the weapon’s existence. Former intelligence officials, national security attorneys, and even Israeli requests to use the device for “crowd control” all point to the same reality: this tech is real, known, and dangerous. Meanwhile, a new intelligence report on Anomalous Health Incidents is allegedly being stalled amid internal power struggles, with Tulsi Gabbard pushing for transparency and figures like John Ratcliffe reportedly resisting release. Victims were dismissed, the public was misled, and accountability keeps getting delayed. Resistance Kitty says: when the truth “gathers dust,” it’s usually because someone powerful doesn’t want fingerprints on the weapon.
The Law Chamber of WTF
From Arctic Security to Annexation Fever: Congressman Fine Wants to Take Greenland
Florida Republican Rep. Randy Fine just introduced the Greenland Annexation and Statehood Act — a bill that would authorize the U.S. to annex or acquire Greenland and eventually make it a U.S. state. His pitch: counter China and Russia and “secure America’s strategic interests” in the Arctic. But repealing sovereignty and expanding U.S. territory isn’t a defensive security strategy — it’s a bold land-grab dressed up as geopolitics. With this bill, Fine is urging the federal government to assert control over another people’s nation under the banner of national security and economic dominance — the same rhetoric used to justify endless wars abroad. If our leaders think expanding America by force or coercion is a solution to global tension, it’s time for people-powered resistance, not more saber-rattling legislation.
Cheeto von Schitzenpantz
Trump Tariff Ultimatum: Do Business with Iran, Pay a 25% Tax — World Economy on Edge
President Donald Trump announced that any country that continues trading with Iran will be hit with a 25 % tariff on all trade with the United States, effective immediately — a sweeping strategy to isolate Tehran amid escalating protests and unrest. The policy was posted on social media with no official legal framework or detailed enactment plan released by the White House, raising alarms about both its legality and global economic fallout. Key economic powers — like China, which takes the lion’s share of Iranian oil exports — have already pledged to retaliate or oppose the move, calling it coercive and destructive to global trade norms. Allies such as Japan and South Korea are watching closely for details, and countries with significant Iran ties — including Brazil — now face the real risk of higher U.S. tariffs on their goods if they maintain commercial ties with Tehran. The tactic escalates trade tensions worldwide and could destabilize critical supply chains while weaponizing tariffs as foreign policy leverage rather than measured economic tools.
Using unilateral tariffs to punish countries for their economic relationships — before any international mandate or transparent legal authority — isn’t just rough diplomacy; it’s economic coercion. When your foreign policy threatens global markets and the livelihoods of workers everywhere, resistance isn’t optional — it’s essential to protect international fairness, peace, and economic stability.
Trump Freezes Welfare Funds to Blue States — Low-Income Families Caught in the Crossfire
The Trump administration is withholding billions in federal welfare and childcare funding from five Democratic-led states — including Minnesota, California, Illinois, Colorado, and New York — over alleged fraud concerns tied to programs like TANF and childcare grants. Officials claim some benefits may have been paid to ineligible recipients, but critics point out that there’s been no clear evidence publicly released and the move threatens essential safety-net services for families, caregivers, and working parents. Democratic governors and attorneys general have pushed back, arguing that the funding freeze is arbitrary and politically motivated, with lawsuits filed to restore the money.
For context, the welfare fraud in Minnesota stems from a series of scandals — including the infamous Feeding Our Future case, where nonprofit operators were convicted of defrauding federal feeding programs during the pandemic — but fraud controls and oversight failures have been systemic and long-running.
Targeting federal safety-net funding over alleged fraud without transparent evidence is punishing working families, not the perpetrators of fraud. When bureaucratic muscle is used as a political cudgel instead of improving accountability, it’s everyday people — parents, caregivers, and low-income households — who pay the price. Organized resistance needs to demand fair oversight, clear evidence, and protection for essential services — not politically driven cuts.
Pardons or Pay-to-Play? Trump’s Clemency Power Under the Corruption Microscope
Legal analyst Jordan Rubin tackles a gnarly question swirling around President Trump’s prolific use of the pardon power: what if pardons were effectively bought with bribes? Under federal law, bribery itself is illegal — but here’s the twist: even if someone bribed a president to get a pardon, the pardon itself could still be legally valid so long as the president exercised his constitutional clemency authority. That creates a troubling loophole where influence-peddling could escape not just punishment but legal review, and where political cronyism looks more like pay-to-play justice than real accountability. Pullbacks from federal courts may be limited here, which means Congress remains one of the few checks left on a weaponized pardon machine running amok.
When a Fascism Expert Flees — America’s Democracy Is the Real Emergency
Yale philosopher and author Jason Stanley — best known for books like How Fascism Works and Erasing History — has publicly warned that the U.S. is not just drifting but sliding toward authoritarianism under Trump. So troubling is the political climate, Stanley says, that he moved himself and his family to Canada so he can speak freely about the threat and continue his work without censorship or retaliation. From aggressive pressure on universities to chilling academic freedom and normalizing extremist rhetoric, Stanley sees echoes of historic fascist tactics in today’s politics — where dissent is punished and control over narrative becomes a tool of power. This isn’t distant theory — a leading expert on fascism is abandoning his own country to fight for its soul from abroad. Democracy isn’t guaranteed — it’s endangered, and organized resistance isn’t just idealistic, it’s necessary.
Trump Dumps the Guard, Arms His Stormtroopers: ICE Takes the Streets
Veteran journalist Lucian Truscott IV blows the whistle on a dangerous shift in how the Trump administration chooses to wield force at home. Instead of using the National Guard — troops who, by training and ethos, owe allegiance to the Constitution and not a political leader — Trump has pivoted to deploying armed and aggressive ICE agents in major cities. That’s not law enforcement; it’s a paramilitary strategy: under-trained agents with military cosplay gear are being sent into Minneapolis, Chicago and elsewhere to detain people without warrants, use teargas on protesters, and carry out violent intimidation with little accountability. Meanwhile, court orders and pushback have kept the National Guard mostly sidelined, because they won’t rubber-stamp unconstitutional commands. In effect, this is a president choosing brutality and loyalty over rule of law and democratic norms. Organized resistance and legal pushback are our front line against turning our streets into battlegrounds.
Broligarchy
Billionaires Win, You Lose: How the Rich Want You Poor and Powerless
This piece cuts through the polite language and calls out a plain truth: the billionaire class doesn’t just like inequality — their wealth and political power depend on it. When the richest people fund politicians, shape trade policy, and influence regulation, they don’t do it to raise wages or strengthen labor — they do it to keep labor cheap, keep tax rates low on capital, and keep decision-making tilted toward markets that benefit their bottom line. That system has consequences: shrinking social safety nets, weakened unions, and political campaigns that respond to dark-money donors more than everyday voters. Around the world and here at home, concentrated wealth means concentrated power; and when too few people call the shots, the rest of us get left behind. Organized resistance isn’t nostalgic — it’s a prerequisite for economic justice.
The State of the Union
Tariffs, Bailouts, and Broken Promises: Trump’s ‘Boom’ Is a Bust for Everyday People
After one year of Trump’s economic agenda, the facts on the ground don’t match the hype. Tariffs intended to “protect American workers” have instead hurt U.S. companies and consumers, with most of the cost absorbed domestically rather than overseas — including higher prices on everyday goods and pressure on farmers forced into bailout programs. Far from delivering a widespread boom, this messy patchwork of trade policy has fueled uncertainty for businesses and families alike. The administration keeps changing tariff rates on a whim, leaving companies unable to plan and working people stuck paying more at the checkout — a pattern critics argue shows the real economy is struggling under the weight of chaotic, self-serving policymaking.
Inflation Still Near 3 % — Everyday Stuff Keeps Getting Pricier
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that annual inflation hit 2.7 % in December, with food prices up 0.7 %, shelter costs up 0.4 %, and energy climbing 0.3 % — all making life more expensive for working people trying to pay rent and buy groceries. While headline inflation has cooled from the torrid pace of recent years, prices are still well above where most families feel comfortable, and monthly increases in basic goods continue to squeeze household budgets. Economists say the numbers will factor into the Federal Reserve’s next policy decision — and there’s a growing debate over whether holding interest rates high is helping or hurting everyday workers already feeling the pinch
America’s Gestapo
ICE Agents Are Terrified of Their Own Backlash — And They Should Be
Leaked internal documents reveal that border patrol and DHS agents are hesitant to join the federal deployment in Minneapolis after an ICE officer killed Renee Good, an unarmed American citizen — a shooting that has sparked outrage and widespread protest. Officials are scrambling to recruit volunteers for “Operation Metro Surge,” but many on the ground don’t want to be part of a mission they see as politically charged and unsafe. Some career agents privately warn that ICE’s heavy-handed tactics and the administration’s hardline rhetoric are making agents’ lives more dangerous, not safer, and they’re openly uneasy about being sent in without clear rules or confidence about the use of force. Memos now circulating even urge agents to keep a low profile and remind them that taunts or rude gestures are not crimes — a tacit acknowledgment of how tense the situation has become. This isn’t just political theater; federal law-enforcement morale is fracturing as the government doubles down on a crackdown that many insiders think will only inflame tensions further.
ICE Detains a City Council Employee — Even When the Paperwork Is Perfect
Immigration agents detained an employee of the New York City Council during what was supposed to be a routine check-in — despite the fact that he has legal authorization to live and work in the U.S. through October 2026. He showed up when ordered. He followed the rules. And ICE still took him. When city officials tried to locate him, they hit another wall of authoritarian incompetence: the phone number for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Bethpage was disconnected. No answers. No accountability. No due process. This is the point — a system designed to intimidate, disappear people, and dare anyone to stop it. Resistance Kitty says: when “doing everything right” still gets you detained, the cruelty isn’t accidental — it’s the policy.
When Government Messaging Sounds Like 1930s Hate: Neo-Nazi Codes in the Halls of Power
New reporting exposes a chilling pattern: federal agencies under the current administration are circulating recruitment visuals and slogans that eerily echo neo-Nazi symbolism and language — not just fringe chatter, but from Homeland Security and ICE itself. A recent ICE graphic repeats a phrase lifted straight from a white-supremacist tome beloved in neo-Nazi circles, and other posts lean into coded references (like double-capitalized words and shorthand favored by extremists). This isn’t hypothetical — even AI bots trained on public content flagged the troubling parallels. In a political moment when authoritarian rhetoric is accelerating toward the mainstream, we can’t shrug and call it coincidence: vigilance and organized pushback are urgent.
Department of Injustice
Justice Department in Chaos: Top Civil Rights Lawyers Walk Out, Refusing to Enable Extremist Power Plays
Breaking this week: a wave of resignations hit the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division — experienced prosecutors who enforce hate-crime laws and police brutality cases are quitting in protest after political interference in critical investigations. These departures come as the administration has sidelined civil rights teams from major probes and shifted priorities away from protecting basic legal rights. Career attorneys are publicly disavowing what they see as undermining the rule of law, and their walkouts echo urgent warnings about erosion of justice from inside the DOJ itself. What’s happening isn’t just staffing churn — it’s institutional alarm bells ringing. If watchdog lawyers won’t stay, we all should pay attention to what’s being dismantled and why organized resistance matters right now.
The Resistance
Minnesota Sues to Stop Federal Occupation: Legal Fight Against ICE Surge After Renee Good’s Killing
The state of Minnesota — joined by Minneapolis and St. Paul — has filed a federal lawsuit against the Trump administration and the Department of Homeland Security, asking a court to halt the massive deployment of ICE, CBP & other DHS agents into the state. Officials argue the so-called Operation Metro Surge represents an unconstitutional and unlawful federal invasion of local communities — including excessive force, warrantless arrests, racial profiling, and terrorizing neighborhoods after the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good by an ICE agent.¹⁰²⁸⁴⁷⁶⁸ The complaint seeks to restrict how federal agents operate, require visible identification and body cameras, and stop actions that violate civil rights and public safety — characters of law enforcement that Minnesota leaders say have *undermined trust and escalated fear rather than protected residents.*¹⁰²⁸⁴⁷⁶ Illinois filed a similar suit arguing federal tactics there were also dangerous and overreaching.¹⁰²⁹⁶⁸⁴₂
This isn’t routine enforcement — it’s a constitutional showdown over whether federal power should be used to bully communities, bypass legal norms, and escalate conflict instead of protecting people. When cities and states have to sue to defend their residents’ rights, resistance isn’t optional — it’s necessary.
Supreme Court & Alito’s Legacy: Abortion Rights Still on the Line After Dobbs — But States Push Back
The saga over reproductive rights in the U.S. continues to unfold long after Justice Samuel Alito and a conservative majority on the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, declaring that the Constitution doesn’t guarantee a right to abortion and sending the issue back to the states. Alito’s reasoning in that 2022 decision — rooted in a view that abortion is not “deeply rooted” in American legal history — paved the way for sweeping restrictions nationwide.
That federal retreat hasn’t ended the fight. In some states, courts have struck down near-total bans and kept abortion legal under state constitutions — including a January 6, 2026 decision by the Wyoming Supreme Court that tossed out both a near-total abortion ban and the nation’s first explicit ban on abortion pills as violations of a state health-care rights amendment.
But the cliffhanger remains: abortion access is wildly uneven across the country, with nearly half of states enforcing bans or severe restrictions while others protect legal abortion through law and ballot measures.
The Supreme Court may have dismantled federal protection for abortion, but the battle is far from over — it’s state by state, courtroom by courtroom. That means our resistance has to be equally decentralized: protect legal clinics, defend access to abortion pills, and push for state constitutional rights where federal law refuses to act.
Canada on the Front Lines: Democracy’s Last Firewall Against Authoritarianism
In a moment of global democratic crisis, Canadian resistance voices are stepping up with clarity and courage. Long praised as a backbone of democratic alliance in World War II, Canada is again being cast as a linchpin — not as a sideline spectator but as an active defender of democratic values, a partner with allies, and a bulwark against rising fascist threats. Whether standing for a just peace in Ukraine or resisting authoritarian rhetoric from south of the border, this piece argues that Canada’s unwavering commitment matters in 2026. Democracy isn’t safe — not anywhere — but organized resistance inside and outside the U.S. must lean on allies who still defend rule of law and human rights.
If Dr. King Were Here, He’d Be Organizing — Not Mourning
Today’s activists ask a crucial question: What would Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. do in the face of the authoritarian turn in American politics? The answer isn’t silence or despair — it’s action. Drawing on the nonviolent legacy of King, Don’t Mourn, Organize! pushes us to transform grief into strategy, build power in our communities, and expand democratic engagement. In a moment when civil rights and voting rights are under systemic attack, the call isn’t just to remember King’s words — it’s to organize like he meant it against entrenched inequality and threats to our democracy.
Epstein Trump Pedo”files”
Epstein Legislator of the Week: Don Bacon Chooses Silence Over Justice
Meet this week’s Epstein Legislator of the Week: Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska’s 2nd District, who is actively refusing to sign the bipartisan discharge petition that would force transparency in the Epstein investigation. Let’s be very clear — this isn’t procedural nitpicking. This is a sitting member of Congress blocking the first step toward exposing a global child-sex-trafficking network and its political enablers. If we wouldn’t trust someone who helps cover up crimes against children, why should we trust them with public power? Resistance Kitty says silence is complicity. Call Bacon’s DC office at 202-225-4155, say you’re calling on behalf of Epstein Justice, and demand he commit to a YES vote for an independent congressional commission to investigate the Epstein network and the cover-up. Democracy doesn’t defend itself — we do.
GOP Threatens Clinton Contempt Over Epstein Probe — Politics or Accountability?
House Oversight Republicans are moving to hold former President Bill Clinton in contempt of Congress after he failed to show up for a scheduled deposition in the ongoing Jeffrey Epstein congressional investigation — and they’ve also signaled that Hillary Clinton could face similar action if she doesn’t testify. The move comes after Republicans set deadlines and warned that noncompliance would trigger contempt proceedings. Supporters of the push frame it as a fight for transparency in the Epstein case, but critics warn this clash threatens to politicize the investigation and distract from broader questions about Epstein’s network, alleged cover-ups, and delayed releases of key documents by the Justice Department. This standoff highlights how, even in a scandal that should unite around truth and accountability, political theater can overshadow serious oversight.
What We Are Watching Today
- Justices Hear Case on Transgender Ban in Women’s Sports
- Coast Guard & Homeland Security Officials Testify on Martime Law Enforcement Efforts
- Stakeholders Testify on Child Care Access & Affordability
- Energy Dept. Officials & Others Testify on Securing Energy Infrastructure
- President Trump Delivers Remarks in Detroit on the Economy
- Progressive Caucus Holds News Conference on Homeland Security and ICE Funding
Today’s Call to Action
- Contact the Senate and Demand a Vote on the ACA Credits
- Read Today’s Resistance Survival Guide: How to Document Government Abuse Without Getting Yourself Targeted
- Read Today’s Epstein News Update
- Sign up and Attend a Virtual Event
- Sign Today’s Petitions
This is the moment they hope you’ll scroll past. Confusion is the cover, exhaustion is the strategy, and silence is the goal. Don’t give it to them. Call the offices. Back the lawsuits. Document the abuses. Share the receipts. Power only looks permanent when people stop pushing back — and history shows it never survives sustained resistance. Stay loud, stay organized, and stay dangerous to corruption. Resistance Kitty will be right here, claws out. 🐾🔥
