'Authoritarian' Regime Spying Targets Unions, Activists, Churches – The Friday AM Quickie 8/14/26
Donald Trump's name might go back on the Kennedy Center. I think Democrats should seek compromise here. Put his name on the urinals and call it fair. I'm off, Whitney's back Monday. - Corey
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THE BIG NEWS
'Minnesota 15' Case Proves Undercover Feds Are Spying on Leftist Organizers
The New York Times was first to report yesterday that the Department of Homeland Security seized on the public backlash to federal murders of US citizens in Minneapolis this year as a pretext to launch "invasive" undercover investigations of "labor unions, a climate change group, socialist collectives" and other left-leaning political organizations. Per the Times:
"In one instance, officials used administrative subpoenas to obtain more than three years of financial records from the Sunrise Movement, an environmental action group, and a labor union, the Communications Workers of America. That time frame went well beyond the civil unrest in Minnesota, which was prompted by the deployment of thousands of immigration agents to the state during the winter.
"In another, investigators scrutinized three years’ worth of wire transfers made by the nation’s biggest health care workers union, the Service Employees International Union, in what they referred to as an inquiry into 'domestic terrorist financing.'
"The documents further detailed an expansive covert surveillance operation in which undercover agents spied on protesters and organizers at meetings held online, as well as in libraries, parks and churches, taking down not only what they said, but also their names and sometimes license plate numbers. The undercover agents also infiltrated group chats on Signal, listening as activists discussed coming demonstrations and their political opinions."
The Associated Press confirms that government documents revealed in court proceedings involving activists known as the Minnesota 15 show DHS officers infiltrated "meetings in churches, schools and parks that were often simply discussions of constitutionally protected protests." Two separate undercover operations were called "Operation Puppet Master" and "Project Whipple Shield."
"Minnesotans will not be intimidated or divided by sham accusations or investigations of some of the countless groups and community members who organized, acted, and stood up together to protect their neighbors during Operation Metro Surge," says a statement by several labor unions released by Unidos MN and reported by the Minnesota Reformer. "Around the country, the Trump regime's weaponized DOJ is lashing out desperately in hopes of intimidating people and organizations that have shown the power of communities acting together to challenge abuses of government power and defend democracy."
"These are the actions of an authoritarian state," Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland responds. "Despicable." There must be a reckoning – if not tomorrow, then one day.
MORE STORIES TO WATCH
War on Iran: Trump's Claim to Control Hormuz 'Nothing More Than Lies'
- Democrats Demand Answers Over Atrocious Conditions on USS Abraham Lincoln; Hegseth in Denial The Navy is sending a second aircraft carrier, the USS George Washington, from the Pacific to the Middle East as a record-breaking deployment has put the Lincoln's at the end of their rope. via the Washington Post, the Associated Press, and Reuters.
- Israel Is Egging on War By Feeding US Dubious Tips About Iranian Attempts to Assassinate Trump "The warnings, passed to US intelligence agencies and in some cases relayed directly by Israeli officials to senior White House officials, included possible plots to shoot Trump with a sniper or recruit someone to attack him with a knife at a large public event." via Reuters and Common Dreams.
- Massive Oil Slick Washes Up on Iran's Beaches Meanwhile, US strikes in the country's south have destroyed civilian infrastructure and livelihoods. via BBC News and Drop Site News.
- Is Trump's Fiasco of a War the Unofficial End of American Empire? "For starters, the war has greatly undermined the notion that partnering with the United States can serve as a strong security guarantee." via Common Dreams, Foreign Policy, and the Washington Post.
Israeli Soldiers Help Settlers Besiege Palestinian Homes
Since Sunday, Israeli settlers in the West Bank have laid siege to Palestinian families in their homes on the outskirts of the town of Qusra. At least one of the besieged homes belongs to an American citizen. Yesterday, Mike Huckabee, the US Ambassador to Israel, and a supporter of the illegal Israeli settlements, described the settler siege as "disgusting" and a "horrific act of terror meant to intimidate and harass this [Palestinian American] family." Meanwhile, Israeli soldiers entered the fray – ostensibly to remove the settlers, but, as the Guardian reports, they forced at least two Palestinian families out of their homes. "These are crimes against humanity which are actively supported by the Israeli government and are assisted by the indifference and total lack of action by the IDF and the Israeli police," former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert says. "It's unforgettable and unforgivable."
QUICKEST QUICKIES
- Covert CIA Program Behind Drone Strikes on Ecuadorian Fishing Boats Survivors say "that small quadcopter drones either dropped munitions on the vessels or detonated by crashing into them. The men said they were then taken aboard a nearby ship, hooded and cuffed by armed men, and transported to El Salvador — only to be returned later without explanation to Ecuador." via the Washington Post and the New York Times.
- Climate Clusterfuck: Extreme Heat Forces Closure of Romania's Only Nuclear Power Plant European authorities say "a large area of Central and Eastern Europe, stretching from the Alpine region through Poland and into the Balkans, as well as southern Britain, Ireland, northern France and southern Sweden, will remain under 'very extreme' fire conditions through at least next week." via BBC News, the New York Times, In These Times, and CBS News.
- Luigi Mangione Expected to Plead Guilty Today in Federal Case; Specifics Unknown The accused assassin of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson told the judge the twin state and federal cases against him "double jeopardy by any common-sense definition." via the Associated Press and HuffPost.
- House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries Calls for 'Dramatic' Supreme Court Reform Jeffries called the right-wing majority on the court "basically a subsidiary of the MAGA Republican Party" and said the Democrat's Judiciary Committee leader, Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, will consider a variety of options to overhaul the court when their party takes the House. via the Wall Street Journal and C-SPAN.
SOME NUMBER
9,455
That's how many votes Count Binface, a satirical serial candidate in the United Kingdom, won in yesterday's Clacton byelection against fascist Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, who won 22,239 votes with 44 percent turnout. Britain's major parties boycotted the election. Farage declined to attend the official vote count, saying, per the Guardian, "that Essex police had advised him that a plot was under way to embarrass him when the result was declared."
ON THE SHOW TODAY
8/14: Sam and Emma will be in studio. The guest will be Jeet Heer, national affairs correspondent for The Nation and host of the weekly Nation podcast, The Time of Monsters.
DON'T MISS MR CLIPS
Tim Pool Tries to Get on Joe Rogan's Show and It Backfires BIG TIME
If Joe is "the best journalist of our generation," does that mean Tim is No. 2?
MIKE LINDELL, DO NOT CONCEDE!
He's talking about "anomalies," but even Trump can't help him.
PARTING WORDS
"I didn't vote my heart."
-- Wisconsin voter Sarah Atkins Hoggatt, 61, speaking to the Associated Press about why she lent her support to David Crowley in this week's Democratic gubernatorial primary instead of democratic socialist Francesca Hong. While some Hong supporters are faulting national leftist leaders like Vermont independent Sen. Bernie Sanders for failing to endorse Hong, Sanders says the decision not to endorse was purely a matter of "resources."
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