The Government Is Watching Everyone Except Itself
Today’s news delivers another charming tour through an America where judges receive threats for doing their jobs, Justice Department watchdog offices are quietly emptied, airport security feeds travelers to immigration agents, and cities replace one surveillance company with an even larger surveillance company while congratulating themselves for protecting privacy. Meanwhile, troops aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln are reportedly exhausted and living with mold, the United States is running low on critical weapons, and politicians accused of appalling conduct continue discovering that accountability is mostly something Congress recommends for other people. Please remain calm. The adults have left the building, but several cameras are recording your reaction.
Key Takeaways
Trump’s Attacks on Judges Are Followed by Threats
Federal judges say public attacks from Donald Trump can be followed by violent threats against them and their families, turning routine court rulings into personal security emergencies. Apparently judicial independence now includes checking beneath your car because the president disliked your legal reasoning.
Trumpworld Built a Profitable Economy Around Andrew Tate’s Audience
Nina Burleigh and Katie Chenoweth trace how Trump allies, investors, Rumble, and right wing media figures helped monetize Andrew Tate’s audience after other platforms restricted him. Misogyny was not merely tolerated as political content because someone eventually attached advertising revenue, crypto, and a venture capital deck to it.
Chuck Edwards Abandoned His Reelection Campaign After the Ethics Report
Republican Representative Chuck Edwards ended his reelection campaign after a bipartisan House Ethics Committee report recommended censure over inappropriate conduct toward two young female employees. Congress located the consequences department, but only after the report became public and the election became inconvenient.
Israel Escalated Attacks as Gaza Diplomacy Fell Apart
Drop Site News reports that Israeli attacks killed Palestinian civilians and damaged medical infrastructure after Hamas conditionally accepted a roadmap for later ceasefire phases, while Israel rejected the proposal and demanded complete disarmament before withdrawal. Nothing says peace process quite like announcing negotiations while families search bombed apartments for their dead.
Iranian Divisions Are Delaying a Strait of Hormuz Agreement
The Critical Threats Project reports that factional decision making inside Iran may be delaying approval of a draft agreement with Oman covering vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. The global economy is once again waiting for competing power centers to finish arguing beside one of the world’s most important shipping routes.
Flock May Be the Surveillance Distraction While Axon Builds Something Larger
Eyes on ICE reports that some communities canceling Flock contracts have replaced them with Axon systems capable of connecting license plate readers, streetlight cameras, body cameras, emergency calls, and real time crime centers. Residents asked for less surveillance and officials apparently heard, “Please hide it more elegantly inside the streetlights.”
American Media Turned a Spanish Migration Tragedy Into Invasion Propaganda
Alisa Valdes Rodríguez argues that American outlets emphasized invasion language after a deadly migration event in Ceuta while Spanish coverage focused more heavily on the people who died and the government failures surrounding the crisis. Seventy two deaths became background scenery because frightened brown families were more useful to the American political content machine as a campaign commercial.
The FBI Is Expanding Intelligence Cooperation With China and Russia
Reuters based reporting described Chinese public security officials visiting FBI facilities, American agents traveling to China, and Kash Patel pursuing selective cooperation with both China and Russia on crime and trafficking cases. Cooperation may solve real cases, but inviting officials from adversarial intelligence states inside requires more oversight than “Kash says everyone was vetted.”
The United States Is Burning Through Weapons Faster Than It Can Replace Them
The United States has reportedly used large portions of its Patriot, THAAD, and Tomahawk inventories while production systems may need years to restore supplies. We are using multimillion dollar interceptors against drones assembled for a fraction of the cost, which is an excellent business model for everyone except the country paying the invoice.
Military Families Warn Conditions Aboard the USS Lincoln Could Become Deadly
Relatives of sailors say moldy showers, rationed meals, and extreme fatigue aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln are creating dangerous conditions that could lead to fatal mistakes. Support the troops apparently stops just before feeding them properly, maintaining the ship, or allowing them to sleep.
Max Miller’s Lawyer Says Private Images of His Daughter Were Released Accidentally
A lawyer for Republican Representative Max Miller said sensitive images of Miller’s young daughter were mistakenly included in documents released while Miller defended himself against abuse allegations from his former wife, allegations he denies. When your public relations strategy accidentally distributes private images of a child, perhaps stop uploading files and locate an adult.
Rebecca Cooke’s Delayed Financial Disclosure Is Shaping a Wisconsin Primary
Wisconsin congressional candidate Rebecca Cooke received an extension allowing her required personal financial disclosure to arrive after the Democratic primary, limiting what voters can learn before casting ballots. Nothing strengthens trust in campaign finance like promising the receipts immediately after everyone has voted.
The Justice Department Offices That Police Misconduct Are Shrinking
Nearly half of the Justice Department Office of Professional Responsibility staff has reportedly departed since Trump returned to office, reducing the unit from twenty nine employees to sixteen. The administration has solved the misconduct problem with the innovative strategy of removing people assigned to notice it.
TSA Data Sharing Helped Turn Midway Airport Into an ICE Arrest Site
ICE detained Chicago musician Omar David Panqueva, known as DJ Tunjo, and his partner Santiago Paez outside Midway Airport even though their attorneys say both have pending asylum applications, valid work authorization, and no criminal records. Airports were already expensive, stressful, and miserable, so naturally the government added the possibility of immigration detention before boarding.
Closing Thoughts
Today’s stories are connected by a government that demands unlimited visibility into ordinary people while steadily reducing visibility into itself.
It wants your license plate, your airport itinerary, your immigration status, your location, your emergency call, and whatever information can be quietly transferred between agencies. Meanwhile, the offices tasked with investigating government misconduct are losing staff, campaign disclosures arrive after elections, military families struggle to obtain answers, and politicians insist that every horrifying release of information was either an accident, a misunderstanding, or someone else’s fault.
Surveillance is expanding because accountability is contracting.
That is why public records matter. That is why independent reporting matters. That is why local meetings, election turnout, court monitoring, whistleblowers, inspectors, and irritating citizens who refuse to stop asking questions matter.
They are counting on an empty room.
Show up and ruin the plan.
Featured Resisters and Resources
- Justice Connection is a national network of former United States Department of Justice officials and employees working to support current and recent federal law enforcement personnel, defend the rule of law, and protect the professional independence of the Justice Department.
- Brockovich Data Center Reporting is a public awareness and community reporting project created to track the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence data centers across the United States. Led by environmental advocate Erin Brockovich, the platform combines mapping tools, community submitted reports, news monitoring, and educational resources focused on the environmental and infrastructure impacts of large scale AI data center development.
What We Are Watching Today
- 8:30 AM EDT
Senate Homeland Security Committee Votes 8-7 to Recommend Contempt Charges Against Dr. Fauci - 9:00 AM EDT
House Pro Forma Session - 9:03 AM EDT
NASA Conducts 96th U.S. Spacewalk at International Space Station Live - 9:30 AM EDT
Senate Agriculture Committee Meets to Vote on 2026 Farm Bill - 9:59 AM EDT
U.S. Senate Live - 10:00 AM EDT
Maine U.S. House Candidate Paul LePage Makes Campaign Announcement - 10:15 AM EDT
Senate Panel Testifies on Capital Access for Small Businesses - 10:30 AM EDT
FCC Meets to Consider TV Ownership, Internet Access & Rural Telehealth - 11:00 AM EDT
State Department Officials Testify on U.S. Response to Global Scams - 2:00 PM EDT
Helsinki Commission Briefing on Wartime Ukraine - 7:00 PM EDT
President Trump Hosts White House Reception for Team USA
Today’s Call to Action
1. Read Today’s Resistance Survival Guides
2. Sign these Petitions and Send These Pre Written Letters
- Tell your Representative to pass the Stop CHEATERS Act and give the IRS the resources to make wealthy tax cheats and corporate tax evaders pay what they owe.
- Tell Congress: Stop ICE’s Online Surveillance Dragnet
- Sign the petition: Congress must reject Mike Johnson’s ideas to “fix” Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.
- Sign the petition denouncing Donald Trump’s cancellation of hundreds of energy-related research grants worth a total $8 billion solely because they were going to blue states.
- Add your name if you agree: It is long past time for Congress to take back tariff power from Donald Trump. United States trade policy should not be controlled by the maniacal, corrupt whims of one man.
- Sign the petiton: The U.S. Senate must reject the Save America Act and protect every eligible American’s right to vote.
- Sign if you agree: The Securities and Exchange Commission should investigate Trump’s Truth Social pay-to-play insider trading scheme.
- Sign the petition: Congress must reject the $1,000,000,000,000+ Republican military budget. This is a massive, 20-25% increase compared to last year, and entirely incommensurate with the far smaller proposed increase in social spending.
- TAKE ACTION: Tell Congress to support moms and pass the FAMILY Act today!
- Stop Trump from holding disaster aid and democracy hostage
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 an Event
- Click here to sign up for a can’t-miss event: The Plan to Protect Your Vote with Stacey Abrams on Thursday, August 6, at 7:30PM ET.
- Employee Rights Webinar: Join this free virtual session on August 6, 2026, from 11:00 a.m. to noon Eastern to learn about immigrant employee rights.
- Thinking Like an Organizer: Join this Labor Notes virtual workshop on August 10, 2026, at 8:00 p.m. Eastern. Registration is $15.
- Immigration Know Your Rights Training: Join this virtual training on August 11, 2026, from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. Eastern to learn how communities can respond to immigration enforcement.
6. Contact Your Lawmakers Directly
- “Hi, I’m a constituent calling to ask what you are doing to protect our water systems from cyberattacks. Please support stronger cybersecurity funding and oversight.”
- “Hi, I’m a constituent calling to demand full compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act. Protect survivors, but stop hiding powerful names.”
- “Hi, I’m a constituent calling to oppose using private contractors and GPS monitoring to target immigrant families. Please investigate these contracts and end abusive surveillance.”
7. Boycott Fascist Businesses
- GEO Group: Boycott companies profiting from immigrant detention, deportation and electronic surveillance.
- BI Incorporated: Boycott the GEO Group subsidiary supplying ICE with GPS ankle monitors and locating services.
- Tesla: Boycott Elon Musk’s companies after DOGE cuts devastated lifesaving humanitarian programs.
