This Is What Authoritarian Panic Looks Like — War Threats, ICE Violence, and a Government Losing Control
If the regime feels louder, meaner, and more reckless this week, that’s because it is. From saber-rattling over Greenland and Venezuela to ICE agents shooting civilians and federal agencies scrambling to cover it up, today’s headlines read like a government spiraling — not governing. This isn’t strength. It’s panic. And when power panics, it reaches for fear, force, and distraction. Resistance Kitty is here to name it, document it, and remind you: chaos is not leadership.
Department of War Crimes
US Forces Told to Leave Qatar Base as Iran Threatens Retaliation — Middle East on Edge
Some personnel at the U.S. military’s main base in Qatar — Al Udeid Air Base, which hosts about 10,000 troops — have been advised to leave as a precaution amid rising regional tensions tied to the crisis in Iran. The move, described by diplomats as a “posture change,” follows warnings from Tehran that it could target U.S. bases if Washington takes military action related to protests and unrest in Iran. Al Udeid was previously struck by Iranian missiles after U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, and the latest advisory reflects how the broader conflict over Iran’s internal crisis is spilling over into geopolitical military tensions.
Department of Injustice
When the State Kills and Then Hunts the Widow — Trump DOJ Goes Full Predator
Seth Abramson argues the Trump administration isn’t just defending the ICE agent who shot and killed beloved Minnesota mom Renee Good, it’s reportedly taking the extraordinary step of trying to criminally investigate Good’s grieving widow and supporters too — effectively turning a government-caused death into a political prosecution. This is framed not as law enforcement but as power preservation, where victims become the latest targets and justice becomes a weapon against the bereaved who demand accountability.
Trump Turns ICE Killing Into a Smear Campaign — Target: Soros, Left, Anyone Who Protests
According to Zeteo, instead of focusing on a real investigation into the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good by an ICE agent in Minneapolis — a case that has sparked national outrage and protests — the Trump Justice Department and FBI are reportedly using the incident to dig for dirt on Good’s activist ties, including any connections her widow or local groups might have to liberal-linked organizations or even so-called “left-wing terror networks.” The aim? To pivot the conversation away from a federal agent killing a U.S. citizen and onto a politically weaponized narrative about George Soros and progressive activism, framing grassroots resistance as some sort of orchestrated leftist threat. It’s less about truth and more about who they can blame next.
Cover-Ups Don’t Hide Blood on the Street — ICE & CBP Rewrite Stories While Families Mourn
This piece from The Left Hook tears into how Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection shape narratives and block accountability when federal agents injure or kill civilians — most recently in Minneapolis, where an ICE agent shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good, drawing national outrage and protests. Federal authorities have pushed a self-defense story while excluding state investigators and limiting transparency, prompting accusations that the Justice Department is more focused on protecting agents than uncovering the truth. Critics say this pattern isn’t just spin — it’s institutional cover-up, where official statements, selective investigations, and media framing try to protect federal agents and institutions from consequences, even as local leaders and communities call for real accountability.
Feds Raid Journalist’s Home — When Press Freedom Becomes a Crime Scene
Aaron Parnas is flagging a major escalation: federal agents reportedly raided the home of a journalist — a move critics say hits at the heart of the First Amendment and signals a new front in the administration’s battle with independent reporting. This isn’t about storming criminals — this is about intimidating media voices that don’t toe the government line, especially around federal agency abuses, civil rights, and accountability. Supporters call it an attack on press freedom; defenders of the action will spin it as law enforcement doing its job. Either way, you’ve got federal power and independent journalism clashing in real time — and it matters for every person who believes citizens should know what their government is doing, not just what it wants them to think.
The Epstein Trump Pedo”files”
Clintons Dodge the Epstein Hot Seat — Congress Threatens Contempt While the Powerful Play Peek-a-Boo
Former President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton refused to show up for subpoenas in the bipartisan House Oversight Committee’s investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, prompting Republicans to say they’ll pursue contempt of Congress actions against them if they keep ducking testimony. The Clintons’ lawyers call the subpoenas “invalid and legally unenforceable,” arguing they’ve already shared what info they have and that this probe is more political theater than fact-finding. GOP leaders — including Oversight Chair Rep. James Comer — counter that Congress has a right to compel testimony and that avoiding it undermines accountability. The standoff highlights how the tangled politics around Epstein’s network and powerful figures keeps circling back into headlines, even as the Clintons deny wrongdoing and dismiss the effort as partisan brinksmanship.
Idiocracy
MAGA Media Madness: When ‘Journalism’ Means Clickbait Chaos and ICE Mayhem
The Bulwark — a news site born from anti-Trump conservatives and committed to defending liberal democracy — lays it out plain: the dumpster fire of MAGA-aligned news coverage isn’t just bad now, it’s about to get even worse. What started with shallow “reporters” chasing eyeballs has helped fuel real-world chaos — from ICE brutality in Minneapolis to the return of white-nationalist figures in federal roles and praise from Stephen Miller for agency impunity. In other words, it’s not just sloppy headlines anymore; it’s a media ecosystem that feeds the violence and excuses it. This isn’t just spin — it’s a cultural trend connected to decay in journalistic standards and democratic guardrails.
America’s Gestapo
Federal ‘Non-Lethal’ Munitions = One Young Protester Now Permanently Blind — Tyranny Still Has a ‘Soft Touch
At a protest in Santa Ana against ICE brutality after the Renee Good killing, a 21-year-old demonstrator named Kaden Rummler — there protesting with thousands — was struck point-blank in the face by what federal officers called “less-lethal” ammunition and lost vision in one eye forever. Family and witnesses say medical teams removed shards of glass, plastic, and metal from near his carotid artery after six hours of surgery, and he’ll never see out of that eye again. Video shows agents advancing on the crowd, firing projectiles at close range, and dragging him away while he bled — and critics argue this isn’t crowd control, it’s brutality under a gentle euphemism. Federal officials defended their use of force, framing protesters as “rioters,” but communities and civil rights groups see this as yet another example of how federal power is deployed against people demanding accountability.
They Want Us Afraid — But Resistancе Kitty Says: See the Fear, Refuse the Silence
JoJoFromJerz’s latest They Want Us Afraid essay is a full-on warning that brutality and government impunity aren’t just news clips — they’re teaching tools meant to make us look away, doubt our own eyes, and submit to fear as a daily backdrop. From masked raids on ordinary streets to the hollow silence in official responses, the piece argues that every act of violence and every shrug from power is intentional, engineered to widen the space where fear feels normal. But here’s the resistance twist: the antidote isn’t denial — it’s witnessing, speaking, and refusing to turn away. This isn’t about politics; it’s about losing the language to describe what’s happening right in front of us — and why that loss matters more than anything else.
The GOP Civil War
Even Tucker Carlson Can’t Help the Right Spin a Dead ICE Victim Without Looking Callous
Ground News’s Blindspot flagged this one: Tucker Carlson — yeah, that Carlson — publicly panned conservatives for turning the fatal ICE shooting of Minneapolis mom Renee Nicole Good into a partisan carnival, calling out the folks on the right for lacking a “human lens” on someone’s death. Instead of reflexive cheering or score-settling, Carlson urged his fellow conservatives to actually see the tragedy as a tragedy, not a talking point — a rare moment when even right-wing media couldn’t hide how ugly parts of this story looked. Coverage across outlets shows the usual bias imbalance, but Carlson’s break here underscores how tight the spin rooms have become when real people die in controversial federal enforcement operations.
The Broligarchy
Uncle Larry’s AI Empire: When Think Tanks Are Just Billionaire Trojan Horses
In the elite tech-surveillance jungle, Oracle’s Larry Ellison isn’t just playing with AI — he’s planting flags and building infrastructure so deep that everyone ends up paying rent. The Uncle Larry Doctrine isn’t a product pitch, it’s a strategic playbook: dump huge cash into Tony Blair’s “AI” outfits so governments around the world start paying attention… not because the tech is great, but because the access is worth more than the code. Blair’s nonprofit — fueled by hundreds of millions from Ellison — becomes the polite handshake that opens Gulf states and defense ministries to surveillance tech buyers who don’t want to deal with flashy U.S. corporations. Meanwhile, Palantir and others end up on Oracle’s cloud anyway, effectively turning Ellison’s infrastructure into the landlord of global data systems. In the surveillance stack, it’s not about who makes the best algorithm — it’s about who owns the highways.
The Resistance
What Trump’s Approval Could Mean for 2026 Midterms — And Why Democracy Faces a Test
Decision Desk HQ breaks down how President Trump’s current approval numbers — stubbornly high within his base — could reshape the 2026 midterm landscape. With voters polarized and many elections hanging on razor-thin margins, GOP strength could mean continued escalation of culture-war politics, federal overreach, and judicial packing as part of the broader strategy to lock in power. Meanwhile, Democrats must decide whether to fight on offense or slip into defensive retrenchment. In short: Trump’s standing isn’t just a stat — it’s a forecast of how deeply this fight over governance and democratic norms will define every ballot box next year.
The Trump Regime Is Evil, Congress Is Complicit — And Resistance Kitty Isn’t Here for Your Calm Tea Party
This piece pulls no punches: it calls the Trump administration’s behavior evil — not just misguided or partisan, but fundamentally harmful — and argues that too many in Congress have been shockingly passive in the face of it. From unchecked federal force to legal gamesmanship and attacks on civil liberties, the essay frames the current moment as a moral crisis, not just a political squabble. It criticizes the idea that bipartisanship and decorum are enough when foundational rights and democratic norms are at stake. Instead of moderates calling for calm, it urges readers to recognize the stakes clearly, resist half-measures, and demand accountability from leaders who’ve been too cozy with power.
Real News Is Not Clickbait — It’s What MAGA Media Refuses to Report
This piece straight-talks the dysfunction of today’s media swamp: if you truly want news instead of noise, you can’t rely on outlets that treat outrage like a business model. It calls out how too many platforms chase virality over verification, hype over honesty, and partisan warfare over plain facts — especially when it comes to federal abuses of power, economic pain, and threats to civil liberties. The essay urges readers to seek out journalism rooted in evidence and accountability, not spin rooms or screaming pundits. In a world where propaganda can look like “breaking news,” the resistance isn’t just protest — it’s discernment.
Democrats, It’s Not Enough to Whisper — Roar at ICE and Trump’s Chaos
The Contrarian argues Democrats aren’t just in a battle over bills and budgets — they’re in a narrative war against Trump’s authoritarian playbook. With the country erupting over ICE violence and crushing health insurance costs, this piece says Dems must turn that outrage into political leverage by tying individual Republicans to the real harms voters feel (like loss of healthcare and unchecked federal force). Rather than stay in the neutral zone, they should force votes, make Republicans own their complicity, and frame the midterms as a choice between stability and chaos. Trump’s desperation and overreach signals weakness — and Dems can exploit that by turning policy fights into moral referendums on decency and basic rights.
Denmark Sends More Troops to the Icebox While Trump Whines He Needs Greenland Like a Yuk–Yak Needs Tuna Breath
Denmark just announced it’s beefing up its military presence in Greenland — not because they want trouble, but because the Arctic is suddenly a hot spot for great-power squabbling. Copenhagen says more troops and NATO exercises are coming to defend the island and keep the peace in a region Russia and China are eyeing — and probably because their allies keep reminding one another that sovereignty matters even when someone with comb-over hair wants to claim it. Meanwhile, that same would-be conqueror in Washington insists the U.S. must have Greenland for “national security,” brushing aside allies and local leaders who are firm: Greenland stays with Denmark and NATO, thank you very much.
The Majority Has Had Enough — ICE Isn’t Law Enforcement, It’s a Federal Gestapo (Say It Loud)
Wajahat Ali’s The Left Hook lays it out bluntly: most Americans aren’t just uncomfortable with ICE anymore — they reject the agency outright after the federal immigration crackdown and the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good by an ICE agent, which has sparked protests nationwide. The post argues that ICE has become less about lawful enforcement and more about terrorizing communities, wielding immunity and federal backing to act with impunity. With outrage swelling in polls showing a majority now disapproving of ICE, activists and organizers are pushing creative and legal means — from public pressure campaigns to lawsuits and grassroots mobilization — to hold the agency accountable and push back against what they see as a Trump-era overreach. This isn’t pundit talk; the majority are rejecting ICE’s role and mobilizing to make that count.
Cheeto von Schitzenpantz
Trump Plays Tariff Chicken While Iran Bleeds — Civilians Pay, Strongmen Posture
As protesters continue to die in Iran’s streets, Trump is escalating global tension with fresh trade threats — warning that any country doing business with Iran will face crushing U.S. tariffs. Iranian leaders fired back, condemning the threats even as security forces keep killing demonstrators demanding basic rights. Activists say the crackdown is deliberate terror; Trump says “help is on the way” while rattling sanctions and military saber-talk. Once again, ordinary people are trapped between an authoritarian regime at home and geopolitical strongmen abroad using their suffering as leverage.
Trump Recycles Racist Tropes — Somalis Are Today’s ‘Welfare Queens’ in His Fear-Fanning Playbook
Jonathan Cohn at The Bulwark breaks down how the Trump administration and its allies are dusting off an old and ugly political trope — the welfare queen — to paint Somali immigrants in Minnesota as predatory fraudsters, just in time to justify hardline immigration crackdowns. The term originally became infamous during the Reagan era to stir fear about welfare fraud and race, despite fraud being a tiny fraction of actual cases; now similar rhetoric is being directed at Somali-run service providers after a federal welfare fraud scandal in Minnesota. Critics say this isn’t serious policy debate — it’s racialized political propaganda that echoes the same tactic of blaming “others” to erode support for social safety nets and immigrant communities.
Trump Tries to Box the Fed: DOJ ‘Probe’ of Powell Is Less Justice, More Political Pressure Play
The latest from PublicNotice calls out what’s really going on with the Justice Department’s criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell — and it’s not just bureaucratic housekeeping. Powell says the subpoenas and threat of charges over his testimony about a Fed renovation project are a pretext — a political weapon designed to strong-arm the central bank into slashing interest rates Trump wants lower. The administration’s move mirrors tactics seen in weaker republics where political leaders target independent institutions to force policy changes instead of winning debates on the merits. Powell’s bigger point? This isn’t about plumbing and marble — it’s about whether the Fed stays independent or becomes another pawn in the political game.
What We Are Watching Today
- White House Science & Tech Policy Director Testifies on U.S. AI Strategy
- Witnesses Testify on the Use of Chemical Abortion Drugs
- Supreme Court Hears Case on Citizen Lawsuits Against NJ Transit Corp.
- FCC Chair Testifies on Commission Oversight
- Rep. Robin Kelly on Articles of Impeachment Against Secy. Noem
- House Democrats News Conference on Killing of Renee Good
- President Trump Participates in Signing Ceremony
- Senators Investigate Biden Admin. Process of Vetting Afghan Nationals
Today’s Calls To Action
- Donate to Renee’s GoFundMe
- Take this Ice Watch Training
- Share Today’s Call to Action with three friends
- Check out the new links on the Resistancedirectory.com
- Read Today’s Resistance Survival Guide: #180 Staying Safe and Protecting Others During ICE Raids in Your Community
- Read Today’s Epsteinwiki.com News Update
- Support independent media by subscribing or purchasing products from their sponsors
- Sign these Petitions:
- Demand GoFundMe remove fundraisers for ICE agent
- Tell the EPA: Keep rocket fuel out of our drinking water.
- Pass the War Powers Resolution to Stop Trump’s Warmongering
- Tell the Senate to block Trump’s war on Venezuela in critical vote tomorrow!
- Demand the U.S. Get Out of Venezuela!
- Thank Civil servants for standing up to Trump
- Send these Prewritten Emails
- Consider Hosting a MayDay Protest
- Make sure to check out the No Kings Next Page
- Contact your Lawmakers and Demand:
- No war in Greenland — Congress works for people, not imperial tantrums.
- No war in Venezuela — Congress must stop unauthorized military action.
- Demand a Senate vote on the ACA — healthcare delayed is healthcare denied.
- Impeach Noem. Impeach Hegseth. Impeach Bondi. Impeach RFK Jr. Impeach Patel. Impeach Bassett. Impeach Trump.
Authoritarianism survives on exhaustion and silence — and today proves they’re counting on both. Don’t give it to them. Call your senators. Demand votes. Reject war. Defend civil servants, journalists, protesters, and immigrants. History doesn’t remember who stayed comfortable; it remembers who stayed loud. Sharpen your claws, stay informed, and don’t let them normalize the unthinkable.