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A Beacon Of Hope and Woke Bullshit
Citing the value of “keep(ing) the flame of democracy burning," the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado for her “tireless work promoting democratic rights for (her) people." Machado called the award an “immense recognition of the struggle of all Venezuelans." With their usual grace, MAGA-ites blasted the choice of "some lady in Venezuela" and not a mad king terrorizing brown people, siccing troops on his citizens, and murdering fishermen. America: Fuck that guy.
Machado is a key but divisive figure in Venezuela: She's been called "the smiling face of Washington’s regime-change machine" and CAIR has blasted her for supporting Israel's right-wing Likud Party and anti-Muslim fascists. She's also faced years of political persecution under Maduro’s regime while building a powerful grassroots democracy movement from a once-fragmented opposition. A 58-year-old industrial engineer, she was blocked by the courts from running against Maduro in 2024; facing death threats and bogus charges, she has been living in hiding since then.
The Nobel Committee praised Machado as "a brave and committed champion of peace" struggling "to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy.” They also called her a symbol of civilian courage and "a beacon of hope for Latin America." Possibly sending a message to those of us facing growing autocracy, they affirmed the value of “keep(ing) the flame of democracy burning during a growing darkness" and said she "has shown that the tools of democracy are also the tools of peace.”
International leaders praised Machado's "tireless struggle for freedom and democracy (that) has touched hearts and inspired millions"; the EU Commission's Ursula von der Leyen called the award a tribute to her courage and “every voice that refuses to be silenced.” She joins the ranks of other distinguished women honored in recent years for championing human rights, including Iran's Narges Mohammadi, Myanmar's Daw Aung San Suu Ky - both still imprisoned - Tawakkol Karman of Yemen and Liberia’s Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Leymah Gbowee, joint recipients in 2011.
Announcing this year's award, the Nobel Committee seemed to especially take note of and aim at the looming threat posed by Trump. "When authoritarians seize power, it is crucial to recognize courageous defenders of freedom who rise and resist," they wrote. "Democracy depends on people who refuse to stay silent, who dare to step forward despite grave risk, and who remind us that freedom must never be taken for granted, but must always be defended - with words, with courage, and with determination." (And, sometimes, blow-up animals costumes."
Told the news before the announcement in an emotional, early morning call from Kristian Berg Harpviken, Director of the Norwegian Nobel Institute, Machado sounded shocked and tearful. "Oh my God, Oh my God," she repeatedly exclaimed. "I have no words." She quickly added, "I hope you understand this is a movement, this is an achievement of a whole society. I am just, you know, one person. I certainly do not deserve this." Harpviken graciously assured her that both she and the movement did deserve the honor.
In grotesque contrast were the denizens and Narcissist-In-Chief of MAGA land, outraged the prize was not awarded to a racist, lying, vindictive despot who's busy threatening political opponents, ordering violent roundups of immigrants, deploying his military against cities whose leaders disagree with him, cracking down on dissent and undertaking extrajudicial killings of fishermen in the Caribbean who may not have done anything wrong while boasting about "ending" several imaginary wars and whining that not winning the award would be "a big insult to our country."
Somehow, shamefully, some mainstream media took seriously Trump's longtime, petulant claim to deserve what many consider the world's most prestigious prize - for many, proof of how low American media have fallen during the reign of a guy who still boasts about his "perfect score" on a basic cognitive test that requires naming a camel and lion, who is arguably more likely to win a Heisman Trophy or Miss Teen U.S.A., and who now joins the estimable ranks of Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini, Mao Tse-Tung, Pol Pot, Saddam Hussein, Putinm, and "all the Kims" to rightly fail to win a Nobel.
With discomfiting, possibly strategic generosity, Machado later dedicated her prize not only to "the suffering people of Venezuela," but to Trump for "his decisive support of our cause." Trump giddily twisted that mention into claims he'd “been helping her along the way,” she accepted the prize "in his honor," and he was "happy because I saved millions of lives." Still, MAGA officials and fans were pissed, and a White House statement charged the Committee "proved they place politics over peace" by rejecting Trump, who "has the heart of a humanitarian."
Supporters called the decision "unbelievable," "a disgrace," "an utter joke," "woke bullshit." "They hand it to someone nobody's (aka I've) ever heard of," said one. "The prize is garbage now, a Crackerjacks prize." Right-wing activist Laura Loomer called the choice "an absolute joke." "Everyone knows President Trump deserves the Nobel Peace Prize," she said. "More affirmative action nonsense." From The MAGA Voice: "Some random person that nobody knows... TRUMP COULD HAVE CURED CANCER" (if he hadn't halted cancer research.)
"Dear Snobs, Accredited Clowns and TDS-driven socialists of the European elite," wrote one Sebastian Adlercreutz, whose bio reads, "No woke lefties...Jesus is my Lord." "You have yet again managed to turn the Nobel Peace Price into a worthless trinket." Several GOP Reps raged online: One argued, "The Nobel Peace Prize does not deserve Trump," one proposed Congress give Dear Leader their own Nobel Peace Prize - it's unclear how that might work - and one thought they should create their own Trump Peace and Prosperity Award as a sort of participation trophy.
"TOTAL FIX," fumed a Truth Social post evidently from Trump. "Norway - a tiny country with expensive fjords and weak politicians - has the nerve to lecture AMERICA...Their leader (is) a LIBERAL lightweight and globalist puppet, a clowen in Oslo's palace, and his Nobel cronies are a disgrace." Announcing 100% tariffs on Norwegian goods, it charged "they RIGGEDED the nobel to embarass ME" and declared, "We will FIGHT. We will EXPOSE them. Norwegian Marxists will not humiliated AMERICA and get away with it!" Eventually, it turned out the post was a parody. We think.
Oct 10, 2025
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Lancet Study Warns Cancer Deaths Could Surge Nearly 75% by 2050
An ominous new study in the Lancet medical journal projects that deaths from cancer will surge over the next two-and-a-half decades, with lower-income countries set to be the hardest hit.
The study, which was released on Wednesday, estimates that there will be 18.6 million cancer deaths and 30.5 million cancer cases in 2030. The estimated number of cancer deaths would represent a nearly 75% increase from the estimated 10.4 million cancer deaths in 2023.
The study explains that the forecasted death increases "are greater in low-income and middle-income countries" than in wealthy nations, and that most of the projected increases are likely to come from an older population, not a rise in the lethality of cancer overall.
All the same, the study warns that the total increase in cancer cases and deaths will put a strain on global health systems.
"Effectively and sustainably addressing cancer burden globally will require comprehensive national and international efforts that consider health systems and context in the development and implementation of cancer-control strategies across the continuum of prevention, diagnosis, and treatment," the study says.
Meghnath Dhimal, chief research officer at the Nepal Health Research Council, who worked on the study, told Euronews that the projections showed "an impending disaster" for low-income nations. Dhimal also said that these nations needed to do more to improve their citizens' access to cancer screenings and treatments to prevent their systems from potentially being overwhelmed.
"There are cost-effective interventions for cancer in countries at all stages of development," he said.
Dr. Theo Vos, a researcher at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation who helped author the study, told Euronews that the incidence of cancer could be significantly reduced by lowering tobacco use, unsafe sex, obesity, and high blood sugar, among other factors.
"There are tremendous opportunities for countries to target these risk factors, potentially preventing cases of cancer and saving lives," Vos explained.
Sep 25, 2025
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Trump Admin Weighs Privatizing Student Loans, Fulfilling Another Project 2025 Objective
The Trump administration is reportedly weighing the privatization of federal student loans, fulfilling yet another Project 2025 agenda item.
Politico reported on Tuesday:
Trump administration officials are exploring options to sell off parts of the federal government's $1.6 trillion student loan portfolio to the private market, according to three people familiar with the matter.
The discussions have taken place among senior Education Department and Treasury Department officials and have focused on selling high-performing portions of the government's massive portfolio of student debt, which is owed by about 45 million Americans.
Since retaking office, Trump has already enacted numerous changes to student loan policy that have squeezed borrowers, including resuming wage garnishments for millions of borrowers with overdue debt payments after a five-year reprieve.
Meanwhile, he has slashed programs that helped those in debt pay their loans. These include the Biden-era Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan, which provided payment assistance to over 8 million student debtors based on income level. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) set the SAVE program to formally shut down in July 2028, giving borrowers until then to find a new payment plan.
With little notice, the administration also paused forgiveness from the Income-Based Repayment (IBR) system, which was established in 2007 and enabled 2 million more borrowers to pay rates pegged to their income, with the promise of forgiveness after 20 to 25 years.
The OBBBA included a total $300 billion worth of cuts to higher education programs, primarily through federal student loans.
As Persis Yu, the deputy executive director and managing counsel at the advocacy group Protect Borrowers, explained, this included "the elimination of certain loans for graduate students, new annual and lifetime limits on federal loans for parents, cuts to Pell Grant eligibility, and new, stingier repayment options that will spike monthly costs and push borrowers further into debt."
The idea of bringing in private consultants to determine the value of the government's debt holdings and selling some student loan debt to private investors was floated during the first Trump term, but never came to fruition. However, this idea was fleshed out more thoroughly in the Heritage Foundation's Project 2025 playbook, which states that "student loans and grants should ultimately be restored to the private sector."
While details of how exactly the administration may plan to sell off this debt are scarce, critics have warned that privatization will put even more borrowers in precarious situations.
"Private student loans generally have more onerous repayment terms than federal loans, lacking options such as Income-Driven Repayment and often limiting and imposing fees for the use of forbearances," Yu said. "Private loans also lack vital cancellation protections found in federal student loans, such as disability and death discharges, or Public Service Loan Forgiveness."
"Private loans will not merely replace federal student loans," she continued. "Instead, they will limit access for students from the most underrepresented communities, raise borrowing costs, and eliminate vital protections that current federal borrowers rely on."
Private loans are also more rife with abuse. According to the Century Foundation, while private loans account for just 8% of all student loan debt, they have accounted for more than 40% of student loan-related complaints to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. One third of those complaints come from borrowers who say they are unable to afford their monthly loan payments.
At the same time, even while the Trump administration claims privatizing debt would save money for taxpayers, Preston Cooper, a senior fellow at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, told Politico that savings would likely be minimal because investors would be unlikely to pay more for the loans than they are worth.
"The only way for [Trump's plan] to make economic sense is to structure the deal in a way that really short-changes borrowers," said Eileen Connor, executive director of the Project on Predatory Student Lending.
Yu says that the goal of privatization rests on a faulty premise: "The argument that free markets will control the cost and improve the quality of higher education underestimates the harm that can be caused by setting private lenders loose on students and fundamentally misunderstands the relationship between these market participants. In a debt-financed higher education system, students are not the consumer; they are the commodity."
Sara Partridge, associate director for Higher Education Policy for the Center for American Progress, said, "Once again, this Administration seeks to line the pockets of private companies at student borrowers’ expense while moving away from a system that provides consumer protections under the law."
Oct 07, 2025
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Instead of Charity, Peter Thiel Told Elon Musk to Use Billions for Right-Wing Crusade Against 'Antichrist'
Right-wing billionaire Peter Thiel recently told an audience that he pushed Tesla CEO and fellow billionaire Elon Musk not to give money to charity and instead horde it so it could be used to battle a future "Antichrist."
According to a Thursday Reuters report, Thiel told attendees of closed-door event in San Francisco last month that he pressed Musk to rescind his commitment to the Giving Pledge, the charitable campaign cofounded by Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates that asks signatories to leave a majority of their wealth to a charity of their choosing.
Thiel said he warned Musk that his wealth was likely to end up going "to left-wing nonprofits that will be chosen by Bill Gates" and that his fortune would be better served to fight against a potential Antichrist figure that might emerge. Musk appeared receptive to these concerns, Thiel added.
Investigations have found that while Musk has pledged donations to charities and has donated money to charitable organizations, the funds have often either benefited his own interests or have not been properly distributed. His philanthropic group, the Musk Foundation, failed to donate the legally required amount to qualify as a charitable foundation last year for the third consecutive year.
He pledged nearly $6 billion worth of Tesla shares—just 2% of his net worth at the time—to the United Nations in 2021 to help feed 42 million people who were at risk of starvation for a year, but instead sent the money to his own foundation.
As Reuters noted, the Antichrist is a figure prophesied in the Christian Bible, and Thiel personally believes that this figure will emerge to "create a one-world government on the promise of something like stopping nuclear, AI, or climate-induced disaster."
The Washington Post, which along with Reuters got a transcript of Thiel's lectures on the Antichrist, added some more context to Thiel's personal conception of the Antichrist in a Thursday report.
Specifically, the Post reported that Thiel told his audience that environmental activist Greta Thunberg and artificial intelligence critic Eliezer Yudkowsky were "legionnaires of the Antichrist."
"In the 17th, 18th century, the Antichrist would have been a Dr. Strangelove, a scientist who did all this sort of evil crazy science,” Thiel said. "In the 21st century, the Antichrist is a Luddite who wants to stop all science. It’s someone like Greta or Eliezer."
The Post also reports that Thiel complained during his lecture that he's had a much harder time in recent years avoiding paying taxes.
“It’s become quite difficult to hide one’s money,” he said. “An incredible machinery of tax treaties, financial surveillance, and sanctions architecture has been constructed.”
Thiel, a cofounder of digital payment platform PayPal, has long been an associate of both Musk and Vice President JD Vance, whose 2022 US Senate campaign he generously funded.
Oct 10, 2025
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'I Am Worried About My Community,' Says Frog Who Daily Confronts Federal Agents in Portland
As one right-wing news outlet reported that it had "unmasked" a protester who for months has been participating in nonviolent resistance against the Trump administration's agenda in Portland, Oregon while dressed in a frog costume, one journalist spoke directly to the demonstrator about their views and motivations.
"I come out here day in and day out since June because I am worried about my community, I am concerned with what is happening in my community," said the protester, whom news outlets have recently identified as Seth Todd. "I don't want to see anyone treated inhumanely."
Todd added that he finds it "unacceptable" that the Trump administration has deployed US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers and other federal agents to Portland, which President Donald Trump and other officials have baselessly described as "war-ravaged" and "under siege from attack by Antifa," referring to protesters who oppose fascism.
Local reports have made clear that the agents themselves are escalating violence in Portland—using tear gas and pepper balls to stop community members including Todd from protesting near an ICE facility.
Last week, a federal agent was filmed shooting pepper spray directly into the air vent of Todd's inflatable frog costume.
"I don't want to see anyone treated inhumanely and to see this happen to my community members, my friends, my family, my neighbors," Todd said Thursday.
Protect the Portland frog at all costs 💪 pic.twitter.com/wSXkghf2Hz
— Wu Tang is for the Children (@WUTangKids) October 10, 2025
The Telegraph's sensationalist reporting emphasized since-deleted comments on social media, including one in which Todd self-identified as a "little gay nonbinary toad and proud Antifa terrorist.”
The president last month signed an executive order claiming he had the authority to designate antifa—which is not an organization—as a domestic terrorist group. The term is a portmanteau of anti-fascist and refers to the ideology held by individuals and groups who oppose authoritarianism.
The newspaper quoted a family member of Todd's who said: "I’ve talked to him over and over again about it, if you want to protest, that’s fine. Let’s do it peacefully."
The Telegraph did not include any description of any act of violence perpetrated by Todd, however.
Todd has been wearing the frog costume to protests since June ”just to show how ridiculous the notion that we are violent terrorists is," the protester explained in the Thursday interview. "It's just to showcase how that narrative is wrong and does a lot more damage than good."
Reporting on the latest news out of Oregon, where a Trump-appointed federal judge blocked the president from deploying the National Guard in Portland last week, The Oregonian also struck an absurdist note on Friday:
The Oregonian/OregonLive fact-checked seven suspect claims made at President Trump’s antifa roundtable earlier this week that featured prominent administration officials and independent journalists with right-wing viewpoints.
We found: Portland is not on fire or bombed out.
Fact: Portland Fire & Rescue responded to four calls about fires near the ICE building since June 6, according to fire department data.
Fact: The last recorded bomb to explode near Portland was 2008.
Todd, the outlet added, is not the only Portland resident who has used a costume while confronting ICE agents.
"Our reporters at the ICE building Thursday night counted several frogs, a unicorn, a polar bear, an axolotl, a raccoon, a peacock, a shark, and a cat among about 100 regularly dressed people," reported The Oregonian. "The nightly protest proved uneventful as darkness fell and protesters and counterprotesters started to gather. The herd of animal costumes stood out. Or was it a flock?"
Despite the calm atmosphere, reported the outlet, "rooftop officers used their pepper ball guns several times when protesters got particularly close to the officers on the ground."
Another demonstrator who has donned a chicken costume at Portland protests told Willamette Week on Thursday that the use of animal suits has helped to poke holes in the overarching strategy the Trump administration is using to invade cities including Chicago, Memphis, and Washington, DC.
"What they rely on is fear. So by coming out in an absurdist manner, it speaks to them, to some extent, that we’re actually not that afraid," said Jack Dickinson. "It also dismantles their narrative a little bit. When they try to describe this situation as “war-torn,” it becomes much harder to take them seriously when they have to post a video saying [US Secretary of Homeland Security] Kristi Noem is up on the balcony staring over the Antifa Army and it’s, like, eight journalists and five protesters and one of them is in a chicken suit."
Kristi Noem facing down Antifa and a guy in a chicken suit from a rooftop is peak political theater. But calling them “uneducated and ill-informed” misses an opportunity for real dialogue. #PortlandProtests #Leadershippic.twitter.com/Bumw2sKPHJ
— Rylie Nhel Conol (@ConolNhel46) October 8, 2025
"It feels like we’re winning this," added Dickinson. "They’re not getting the footage they’re looking for. They look ridiculous."
Oct 10, 2025
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Fetterman Joins GOP to Kill War Powers Resolution Against Trump's Extrajudicial Venezuela Bombings
With Democratic Sen. John Fetterman joining Republicans in opposing a measure to rein in President Donald Trump's ability to unilaterally bomb ships in the Caribbean Sea, the US Senate narrowly failed to advance a war powers resolution Wednesday.
Since the beginning of September, Trump has conducted four strikes on vessels off the coast of Venezuela which the administration has alleged, with little evidence, are carrying "narco-terrorists" spiriting illegal drugs to the United States.
Trump has also deployed thousands of sailors and marines to the Venezuelan coast and is reportedly considering strikes on the Venezuelan mainland, which has stoked fears within the country and across Latin America of another regime-change war.
In a quote to Responsible Statecraft, John Ramming Chappell, an advocacy and legal fellow at the Center for Civilians in Conflict, said that even if the ships attacked by Trump do contain drug-runners, the strikes carried out by Trump have been "summary executions and extrajudicial killings" that are "manifestly illegal under both US and international law."
But by a 51-48 vote, largely along party lines, the Senate opted not to discharge a resolution introduced by Sens. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Tim Kaine (D-Va.) from the Foreign Relations Committee that would have halted Trump's ability to carry out more strikes without congressional approval.
"The president has used our military to strike unknown targets on at least four occasions, and he is promising more," Schiff said in his speech introducing the resolution on the Senate floor. "With at least 21 people dead, and more killing on the way, with the president telling us that strikes on land-based targets may be next, we ask you to join us and reassert Congress' vital control over the war power."
Kaine added: "Americans want fewer wars—not more—and our Constitution clearly grants Congress alone the power to declare one. Yet President Trump has repeatedly launched illegal military strikes in the Caribbean and has refused to provide Congress with basic information about who was killed, why the strikes were necessary, and why a standard interdiction operation wasn't conducted."
Two Republican senators, Rand Paul (Ky.) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), joined Democrats in voting to advance the resolution.
Paul, a libertarian who is typically more skeptical of foreign interventions than others in the GOP, has been an outspoken critic of Trump's assertion of unchecked authority to bomb ships and the lack of evidence provided.
He previously sparred with Vice President JD Vance online after Vance said, "I don't give a shit" that striking unarmed civilians without due process is a "war crime" under international law.
On the Senate floor, Paul said: "Perhaps those in charge of deciding whom to kill might let us know their names, present proof of their guilt, show evidence of their crimes... Is it too much to ask to know the names of those we kill before we kill them?"
Paul previously said in an interview with Bloomberg: "I think it might lead to regime change. And some of the more skeptical among us think that maybe this is a provocation to lead to real regime change, a provocation to get the Venezuelans to react so we can then insert the military."
Murkowski added: "We all want to get rid of the drugs in this country, absolutely. But the approach that the administration is taking is new, some would say novel, and I think we have a role here."
Even with two Republican defectors, it was not enough for the resolution to advance, especially with an assist from Fetterman (Pa.), the Democratic Party's leading war hawk, who joined Republicans in voting the motion down.
It's the second time in a matter of months that he's voted against imposing a congressional check on Trump's ability to carry out acts of war. In June, he was also the lone Democrat to vote against a Senate resolution to require congressional approval for future strikes against Iran, even as the president made regime change threats.
Nick Field, a correspondent for the Pennsylvania Capital-Star, noted that "voting against a war powers resolution seeking to curb Trump's executive powers" was "not how John Fetterman campaigned in 2022, 2018, or 2016," when he acted as a strident opponent of everything Trump stood for.
Fetterman has not publicly commented on his decision to vote against the resolution. His office did not respond to a request for comment from Common Dreams.
Despite the vote's failure, Schiff said it likely will not be the last attempt to limit Trump's war-making authority. Similar resolutions were introduced late last month in the House of Representatives by Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Jason Crow (D-Col.).
"Sadly, as these strikes get worse, support will only grow for another War Powers Resolution to stop them," Schiff said. "Let's hope by then we are not in a full-fledged war."
Oct 09, 2025
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3 Palestinian Children Injured by Likely IDF Unexploded Ordnance in Gaza
Experts say it could take more than a decade to clear the Gaza Strip of Israeli bombs that did not detonate upon impact.
Oct 13, 2025
Three more Palestinian children were injured Monday in the Gaza Strip by what was likely Israel Defense Forces unexploded ordnance, a danger that United Nations experts say could take more than a decade to defuse.
Gaza Civil Defense said in a statement that the three children were "injured with varying degrees of wounds due to the explosion of a suspicious object from the remnants of the Israeli occupation near Al-Shifa Hospital"—which was repeatedly bombed, besieged, and invaded by Israel Defense Forces (IDF) troops.
The children were reportedly playing with the object when it exploded. Children are particularly vulnerable to death and injury from certain types of unexploded ordnance (UXO), which can appear similar to toys. This is especially true of cluster munitions, which the IDF denies using in Gaza.
However, the IDF's history of using such weapons—which are banned under the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions, to which Israel is not signatory—and reports by human rights groups and others suggest the denials could possibly, like so many other Israeli claims, be lies.
In past wars, IDF troops have dropped toys and other civilian objects booby-trapped with explosives that killed and maimed children and others. Gaza Civil Defense reported earlier this month that IDF troops have left such toys behind during their current withdrawal from Gaza.
According to the Gaza Government Media Office, Israeli forces dropped around 200,000 tons of explosives on Gaza during what dozens of nations, United Nations experts, genocide scholars, jurists, human rights groups, and others say was a genocidal war. Warfare experts have said the IDF assault on Gaza—which killed or wounded more than 247,000 Palestinians including at least 64,000 children—was, in the words of one US historian, "one of the most intense civilian punishment campaigns in history."
Of those 200,000 tons of explosives, experts at the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) and elsewhere say that up to 10% failed to explode upon impact. The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported in May that the IDF was aware of 3,000 unexploded bombs in Gaza, and that older bombs used by Israel had a dud rate of up to 20%.
The Gaza Ministry of Health, UNMAS, and the Gaza Protection Cluster—a group of humanitarian organizations including the United Nations Children's Fund, and Save the Children—have reported that at least scores of Palestinians have been killed or wounded by IDF UXO in Gaza since October 2023, including numerous children.
UNMAS officials have also warned that in addition to UXO, hundreds of thousands of tons of asbestos exposed by IDF bombardment—which has destroyed or damaged 90% of all homes in Gaza—pose a serious and potentially deadly health risk.
Monday's incident at Al-Shifa Hospital came as 20 Israeli hostages held by Hamas since the October 7, 2023 attack and nearly 2,000 Palestinians imprisoned by Israel were released in an exchange that took place three days after a tenuous ceasefire went into effect.
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'Step Up and Speak Out': Chicago Pastors Lead the Charge Against ICE Detentions
"Silence is supporting this abuse of these members of God's family," one Chicago pastor told his congregants on Saturday.
Oct 12, 2025
As demonstrations against an immigration detention facility in Broadview, Illinois have ramped up in recent weeks, several local priests have joined in the protests to call attention to what they say are affronts to Christian teachings.
Father Larry Dowling, pastor at the St. Agatha Catholic Church in Chicago, wrote a lengthy Facebook post on Saturday in which he described his experience in trying to gain access to the Broadview Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility to offer communion services to detainees.
Dowling began his post by praising the work of the Maywood and Broadview Police Departments, as well as the Illinois State Police, who facilitated his and his congregants' procession to the ICE facility on Saturday.
He was far less complimentary, however, about the reception he got after arriving at the ICE facility.
"There were no ICE or federal representatives there," he explained. "When requesting to talk with a representative from Homeland Security and ICE, the state police reached out on our behalf to make the request over the phone. After a brief wait, the answer came back very clearly: No, you cannot bring a hint of compassion and prayer into this place!"
Dowling called this response outrageous, and he encouraged his followers to pray for "the children, for the mothers and fathers who are being treated inhumanely" at the ICE facility.
"Please step up and speak out," he concluded. "Silence is supporting this abuse of these members of God's family."
In an interview with NPR published on Sunday, Rev. Quincy Worthington of Highland Park Presbyterian Church explained why he has become more involved in the ICE facility protests over the past few weeks.
"What I've experienced is that some people feel that God has abandoned Broadview, and they're looking at signs of hope," he told NPR reporter Ayesha Rascoe. "Having a member of clergy there standing with them is a reminder that God stands with them as well."
Rascoe then asked him if he'd witnessed incidents of violence during the demonstrations at Broadview, and he mostly pointed the finger at ICE officials.
"What I've seen every time I've gone is ICE's response to the protests has continually escalated," he said. "At first, they would come out of the gates, shove people to the ground, push people out of the way in order to make room for vehicles to enter and exit the facility. Then it started turning into they would shoot pepper balls at us. And then tear gas started coming out, and then flash-bangs and rubber bullets."
Worthington emphasized that he hadn't seen any actions taken by the demonstrators that "would provoke this response."
Rev. David Black, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Chicago, has also recently been making headlines for participating in demonstrations at the ICE facility, and last week he filed a lawsuit alleging that the government was infringing upon his First Amendment rights by using excessive force in response to his peaceful protests.
"I extended my arms, palms outstretched toward the ICE officers, in a traditional Christian posture of prayer and blessing," he alleged in his complaint. "Without any warning, and without any order or request that I and others disperse, I was suddenly fired upon by ICE officers. In rapid fire, I was hit seven times on my arms, face, and torso with exploding pellets that contained some kind of chemical agent. It was clear to me that the officers were aiming for my head, which they struck twice."
Video of Black getting shot in the head by pepper balls at the Broadview ICE facility went viral last week, he told CNN host Erin Burnett that he could hear ICE agents laughing as they opened fire on him.
"It was deeply disturbing," he said. "We've gotten to witness a few things against these ICE agents operating in Broadview, and really what it has shown us is how disorganized they are and how poorly supervised and trained they are."
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'A Pretext to Take Over American Cities': JD Vance Sparks Alarm With Comments on Insurrection Act
"The guardrails are gone," warned Democratic political strategist David Axelrod.
Oct 12, 2025
Vice President JD Vance sparked alarm on Sunday when he said that President Donald Trump was considering invoking the Insurrection Act under the pretenses of combating violent crime in US cities.
During an interview on NBC's "Meet the Press," host Kristen Welker asked Vance if Trump was "seriously considering" invoking the Insurrection Act, which would allow him to use the US military to carry out law enforcement operations.
Vance responded by saying Trump is "looking at all his options," and added that he hasn't felt the need to invoke it for the time being.
Vance proceeded to justify invoking the Insurrection Act, which he said could be necessary to protect the work of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials.
"We have to remember why we're talking about this, Kristen," he said. "Because crime has gotten out of control in our cities, because ICE agents, the people enforcing our immigration laws, have faced a 1,000% increase in violent attacks against them. We have people right now who are going out there, who are doing the job the president asked them to do, who are enforcing our immigration laws, they're being assaulted."
Welker countered by noting that a judge in Illinois found last week that the ICE facility in Broadview, Illinois has remained entirely open and operational despite being the target of protesters in recent weeks.
She also informed Vance that crime has been coming down significantly in both Chicago and Portland, two US cities where Trump has tried to deploy National Guard forces.
"Kristen, crime is down in Chicago and Portland often because they're so overwhelmed at the local level, they're not even keeping their statistics properly," Vance replied, without providing any evidence to back up his claim.
WELKER: Are you seriously looking at invoking the Insurrection Act?
VANCE: The president is looking at all of his options, right now he hasn't felt he needed to. But we have to remember we are talking about this because crime has gotten out of control in our cities
WELKER:… pic.twitter.com/vBBPkUidPu
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 12, 2025
Vance's justifications for invoking the Insurrection Act on the grounds that he laid out drew alarmed reactions from many critics.
"This is a pretext to take over American cities by force," wrote CNN political commentator Karen Finney in a post on X.
Shannon Watts, the founder of anti-gun violence organization Moms Demand Action, linked Vance's comments to the current shutdown of the federal government and questioned whether the government deserved to be funded when its executive branch was threatening to unleash the military against its own citizens.
"Why should Democrats vote to open the government while this is still happening?" she asked.
Cornell William Brooks, a professor at the Harvard Kennedy School and former president of the NAACP, argued in a post on Bluesky that Vance's comments show that the Trump administration "insults your intelligence."
"The same administration that fired an economist for reporting statistics on the economy," he wrote, "is asking you to not believe lower statistics on crime, not see safer streets, and accept the National Guard in your front yard."
Democratic political strategist David Axelrod warned that the Trump administration seems genuinely eager to send troops into US cities.
"Believe them when they tell you what they're planning, folks," he wrote. "Trump wanted to use American troops against Americans in his first term, and was dissuaded by responsible civilian and military leaders. No more. The guardrails are gone."
Attorney George Conway, a former Republican who left the party over its embrace of Trump, responded to Vance's comments by posting a video of anti-ICE protesters in Chicago dancing in the streets to the classic Neil Diamond hit, "Sweet Caroline."
Asked by Kristen Welker on Meet the Press this morning whether the White House was seriously considering invoking the Insurrection Act, Vice President Vance said, "The president is looking at all his options." pic.twitter.com/GVKxXf2YmI
— George Conway 👊🇺🇸🔥 (@gtconway3d) October 12, 2025
Talk of invoking the Insurrection Act has ramped up in recent weeks, despite the fact that protests against ICE facilities in Illinois and Oregon have remained overwhelmingly peaceful and have featured impromptu dance parties carried out by people dressed in inflatable animal costumes.
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