Morning, Kitties. The White House press access fight keeps escalating, a fired Justice Department lawyer says political pressure surrounding Mel Gibson helped shape gun rights restoration policy, and DOJ is now accusing nearly every federal district judge in Minnesota of misconduct over public comments about immigration enforcement. Meanwhile, private prison companies are making bank from expanded ICE detention, Big Tech money is flowing into groups connected to lawmakers weighing data center policy, and more than 20,000 people have been removed from Michigan’s sex offender registry after years of constitutional litigation. Apparently accountability is booming, provided it is aimed at judges, reporters, immigrants, or literally anybody except the people holding the fucking levers.
The Shit Show Hightlights
White House Press Access Fight Keeps Escalating
The White House battle with CNN and other news organizations continues after a federal judge temporarily blocked restrictions on CNN, MS NOW, and Politico and ordered their access restored. The larger fight concerns whether a president can selectively restrict news organizations from access because of their coverage.
Congress Has Another Stack of Bills Waiting
KittM tracks bills currently before Congress and measures approaching votes, offering a useful reminder that governing continues underneath the daily spectacle. Today’s obscure bill can become tomorrow’s federal law while everybody is busy arguing about somebody’s fucking tweet.
Fired DOJ Lawyer Says Mel Gibson Pressure Shaped Gun Rights Policy
Former U.S. Pardon Attorney Elizabeth Oyer alleges that political pressure surrounding Mel Gibson influenced the Justice Department’s approach to restoring gun rights for people with domestic violence convictions. Oyer says she was pressured to recommend Gibson before adequate vetting and was later fired, allegations that are part of ongoing litigation.
Trump and Xi Summit Reveals the Stakes of the U.S. China Relationship
Foreign Policy examines the Trump and Xi summit against disputes involving trade, technology, security, Taiwan, and the broader struggle for global influence. Diplomatic theater matters considerably less than what each government actually agreed to do afterward.
More Than 20,000 People Removed From Michigan Sex Offender Registry
Michigan has removed more than 20,000 people from its sex offender registry following years of court rulings finding portions of the state’s registry law unconstitutional, with many removed because their registration periods had expired under revised rules. Removal from the registry does not erase an underlying conviction, which is an important distinction in a story guaranteed to generate alarming headlines.
ICE Detention Expansion Becomes Big Business
Dworkin examines the financial beneficiaries of expanding immigration detention as private prison companies secure lucrative federal business. CoreCivic and GEO Group have reported substantial growth connected to ICE contracts, turning human detention into a very profitable fucking business model.
Trump Immigration Policies Transform Doral
The Bulwark examines how immigration enforcement and changing policies affecting Venezuelans have transformed Doral, Florida, where businesses and families built around a large Venezuelan community are feeling the effects. National immigration policy becomes considerably less abstract when storefronts empty and neighbors disappear.
Doxxing Networks Raise New Questions About Political Harassment
Watching the Detectives examines Michael Tracey and a wider ecosystem of online identification, harassment, and doxxing allegations. Political disagreement does not justify publishing private identifying information that could expose people to threats or violence.
Much of Trump’s Executive Agenda Could Be Reversed
Beltway News argues that a large share of Trump’s executive actions could potentially be reversed by a future administration because they were created through executive authority rather than permanent legislation. The exact durability of any order depends on statutory authority, litigation, agency rulemaking, contracts, and what future officials actually choose to change.
Black Caucus Groups Received $1.6 Million From Big Tech
Sludge reports Amazon, Meta, Google, and Microsoft disclosed roughly $1.6 million in donations since 2025 to nonprofits connected to the Congressional Black Caucus while caucus members debate data center policy. Donations do not establish that lawmakers changed positions in exchange for money, but financial relationships belong in the sunlight when donors have billions riding on policy decisions.
DOJ Targets Minnesota Judges With Misconduct Complaints
The Justice Department filed judicial misconduct complaints involving nearly every federal district judge in Minnesota after judges publicly criticized aspects of immigration enforcement and its effects on the courts. DOJ argues their comments violated judicial ethics, while critics say the complaint stretches precedent and represents an extraordinary attack on judges for criticizing government conduct.
Closing Thoughts
Today is another lesson in what happens when power starts policing the people responsible for policing power.
Journalists challenge White House access restrictions. Judges criticize government conduct and find themselves facing Justice Department complaints. A former DOJ lawyer alleges political influence distorted a gun rights process. Private prison companies profit from expanding detention. Technology companies pour money into organizations connected to lawmakers debating the future of data centers.
None of those relationships automatically proves corruption.
But they all demand transparency.
Democracy gets fragile when government officials decide journalists are enemies, judges are obstacles, detention is an investment opportunity, and enormous corporate donations are simply background noise.
Watch who gets investigated.
Watch who gets paid.
And especially watch who suddenly becomes furious when somebody asks to see the fucking receipts.
Claws out.
Featured Resisters and Resources
- Conscious Spend is a consumer action and ethical spending resource designed to help people make purchasing decisions based on their values. The platform provides information that consumers can use to evaluate companies, identify alternatives, and understand how everyday spending choices can support or conflict with social, political, environmental, and ethical priorities.
- Foundation for Defense of Democracies Foreign Policy Tracker is a regularly updated foreign policy analysis project published by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies that evaluates major global developments, diplomatic trends, military actions, sanctions policy, strategic competition, and international security issues connected to the current United States administration. The tracker compiles assessments from policy analysts, regional experts, and national security researchers who monitor geopolitical developments involving countries such as China, Russia, Iran, Israel, Ukraine, Cuba, and North Korea.
What We Are Watching Today
- 7:41 AM MDT
NY Gov. Hochul Appoints AG James As Special Prosecutor in Cornell Sexual Assault Investigation - 7:56 AM MDT
Kevin Hassett on Weak September Jobs Numbers: “They Go Up and Down” - 9:11 AM MDT
TX Gov. Abbott (R) Signs Proclamation on Border Security Reimbursement - 10:06 AM MDT
Governor Candidate John James (R-MI) Campaigns in Saline Township - 1:00 PM MDT
NYC Mayor Mamdani and NYPD Commissioner Brief Reporters on Crime Statistics - 3:30 PM MDT
Pete Buttigieg Attends Campaign Rally With New Hampshire Democratic Candidates - 5:00 PM MDT
President Trump Rallies for Republicans in Mobile, AL
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 to Congress: Stop the Trump family cryptocurrency grift.
- Stop Meta from Using Data Centers to Avoid Billions in Taxes
- Tell Congress: Call on HHS to stop RFK’s attacks on Head Start!
- Tell Congress: Don’t fund Trump’s post-election Iran bombing
- Sign the petition: Block Trump’s illegal census scheme straight out of MAGA’s Project 2025!
- Sign the petition: BAN Flock and other ALPR mass surveillance cameras!
- Tell Congress: Stop Meta’s Billion-Dollar AI Tax Dodge
- Sign the petition: Reject AI-backed big money influence in Congress!
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
- MoveOn Monthly Phone Bank
Monday, October 5, 2026, from 6 to 8 p.m. Eastern, 4 to 6 p.m. Mountain. Join MoveOn members nationwide for a virtual advocacy phone bank. 50501 Missouri - What Activists Can Do to Fix Media Now
Monday, October 5, 2026, from 7 to 8 p.m. Eastern, 5 to 6 p.m. Mountain. Join the Media and Democracy Project to learn how media shapes public opinion and take action on a current information issue. 50501 Missouri - How to Have Successful Volunteer Recruitment Conversations
Tuesday, October 6, 2026, from 1 to 2 p.m. Eastern, 11 a.m. to noon Mountain. This free virtual training from the National Democratic Training Committee helps you turn conversations into volunteer commitments. mobilize.us
6. Contact Your Lawmakers Directly
- Call your House representative about the Epstein files: “Hi, my name is [name], and I live in [ZIP code]. I’m asking Representative [name] to demand a public accounting of which Epstein records remain unreleased, why they are being withheld, and when they will be reviewed for release. Please protect survivors’ identities while making the government’s decisions transparent. Can you tell me the representative’s position?”
- Call your senators about oversight: “Hi, my name is [name], and I live in [ZIP code]. I’m asking Senator [name] to support hearings on how the DOJ and FBI handled Epstein evidence, including missing or withheld records. Survivors deserve answers, and the public deserves a documented explanation. Will the senator press for a hearing?”
- Call your lawmakers about survivor protections: “Hi, my name is [name], and I live in [ZIP code]. I’m asking [representative or senator] to put survivors first in every Epstein records review. That means protecting identifying information, consulting survivors before sensitive material is released, and explaining redactions without hiding institutional failures. Will [name] commit to those safeguards?”
7. Who Are We Boycotting This Week?
- Starbucks corporate stores: Skip a corporate Starbucks this week in solidarity with its workers. The AFL CIO’s current boycott list specifies corporate stand alone stores.
- Breyers, Klondike, Talenti and Yasso: Skip these Magnum ice cream brands. Ben Cohen has called for the boycott to pressure Magnum to sell Ben & Jerry’s to an independent owner; he has asked supporters to keep buying Ben & Jerry’s.
- Mondelēz and Nabisco snacks made in Mexico: Check the package and skip the products covered by the AFL CIO boycott. This is a targeted boycott, not a call to avoid every Nabisco product.
