112 Comments
User's avatar
Coleman Rogers's avatar

My ResistBot letter for Feb 4: Congress must not fund DHS or ICE as currently structured. Courts, killings, and systemic breakdown show reform will not happen without budget leverage. Dismantle and rebuild — or no funding. Use this link to send letters to your members of Congress.

Text SIGN PDPGSA to 50409 or go to: https://resist.bot/petitions/PDPGSA

ArcticStones's avatar

THOUGHTS about a "TECH BOYCOTT"

In yesterday’s comments, some people were advocating a "Tech Boycott". Please allow me to add a personal note, although it doesn’t exactly dovetail with the aforementioned advocacy. Basically I think we should always make carefully-considered choices. Here are some of my suggestions.

– Instead of Amazon, buy directly from vendors or brick-and-mortar stores.

– I’ve never been on Facebook. Why not? It’s a brilliant data-mining operation!

– Nor Twitter/X/Xitter. I use a workaround to read Tweets: nitter.poast.org.

– Consider BlueSky, it’s a great alternative.

– Firefox and Safari are, imho, better and safer browsers than Google Chrome.

– Use DuckDuckGo.com instead of Google for your online searches.

– Instead of Gmail, register for a secure free account with Protonmail.com

– When others use Protonmail, emails are encrypted from their end to yours.

My main point is simple: With every dollar we spend, we vote for the society we want. It behooves us to make conscious choices – every single day!

.

NB. I strongly disagree about including Apple on any boycott list. Personally I far prefer Apple products because they have less malware and have better privacy protections. For more than 30 years, I’ve preferred Apple products because they are "the tools that best fit my hand".

ArcticStones's avatar

One more thing: Beware of your cell phone!

These are not normal times. When you are protesting, I strongly recommend leaving your cell phone at home – especially if you expect the demonstration to become confrontational. (Unless you intend to use your phone to record the event.) Remember, cell phones are used for tracking people, and for easily identifying who was within a certain area when.

Alternatively, consider getting a "Faraday pouch" for your cell phone. These block incoming and outgoing signals, greatly reducing the risk of the above-mentioned tracking. Here is one source:

https://shop.faradaydefense.com/product/faraday-cell-phone-companion-wallet-leather-rfid-card-holder/

PS. I hope to see a more knowledgeable expert weigh in on security considerations here on Hopium. It’s becoming increasingly important!

Judy Wherley's avatar

So right now ice has facial recognition software, body/vehicle cams, doge stole all our data, they could come to my house, break the door down, shoot me in the back take my phone and claim i was a domestic terrorist and that would be that. Alex Pretti was murdered -- where are the murderers? I don't really see anywhere to hide.

Simon Rosenberg's avatar

Judy, appreciate your engagement here but you need to stop with the doomerism. It's just not what we do here. We are working to fix all this, and need to stay focused on that.

Judy Wherley's avatar

this is just how i see it not doomsday

John Payne's avatar

Well, the point is, you can have an opinion and choose not to share it in a space where people try to encourage and inspire each other to action.

Rachel Poliner's avatar

And, what are you doing about it? My senator is proposing an anti-surveillance law. What is yours doing? What could you ask for?

LD's avatar

Simon, if I may and with all due respect, this is a free speech platform you have created for people to express themselves. I would like to think this is an inclusive space, not one to be censored with what you would like people to stay focused on. What is happening in this country is new for many of us and we are fighting like hell to stop it. If someone feels like its dooms day, though Judy's reply to you stated otherwise, no matter what, we lift that person in a positive way, not add to their undue stress. I don't know Judy, but I would like to note we are not bots, but real people with real fears and true grit at the same time. Onward.

Simon Rosenberg's avatar

This isn't censorship, and to to go there immediately is insulting to me and everything that we do here.

This is a moderated community, one that is grounded on the idea that one of the areas of engagement we have with the right is around sentiment, and how they weaponize negative sentiment against us and our democracy. I talk frequently, and write frequently, about the need for us to take responsibility for the sentiment we put out into the world for it is part of the contested info landscape with the right. Constant doomerism is debilitating and demobilizing. Have those thoughts but do not bring them here. They are not helping us move forward. This isn't a place for therapy. This is a place for work and getting things done to combat everything we are doing.

For more read my very first Hopium post from March of 2023 where I talk forthrightly about the strategic need for us to create positive sentiment as a way of countering them. This isn't about free speech or censorship. It's about learning how to win, together. Here's my post - https://www.hopiumchronicles.com/p/welcome-to-my-new-home-hopium-chronicles?utm_source=publication-search

Rich Kōji Streitfeld's avatar

Simon I have no problem with your moderating this Forum in line with your vision

I had no problem w how you responded to Judy

I was a little startled to read how you responded to LD. I didn’t think it was insulting, he just wanted to be heard.

And doing this full tilt I can imagine how you can take these things personally, Simon

Anyway thanks for all you do in building tjhis activist community

fourfreedomsfan's avatar

Then you’d better stand up and fight like Hell!

MrsCQ's avatar

I understand your concerns. I would suggest that we do what we feel comfortable with doing. For example, at protests, when I take pictures, I always tell them I am not posting the pictures (which I don't unless they say it's ok). Most don't care but some do. Some people cover their faces or ask that I just take a picture of their sign. When I asked about volunteering, they gave me a few options. These are frightening times, but we do have some control here about what we expose ourselves to during these times.

MrsCQ's avatar

FYI just a heads up. The Faraday Pouches don't always work. We had them for our cars and they stopped working after a short time so we replaced them. It happened again. After reading about them, many people have said they only last a certain amount of time. So, if you are going use a Faraday pouch, make sure they are still working.

ArcticStones's avatar

That’s great advice! Also, do product research before purchasing. (The link I posted was meant as an example – not a concrete recommendation.)

MrsCQ's avatar

Confession: I didn't go to your link 🫢. I just wanted to let people know in case they just relied on what the product says it does (like I did!). You are correct, always best to do some product research.

ArcticStones's avatar

And that is one thing I sometimes still muse Amazon for – and then buy the product elsewhere whenever possible.

Grant Gerke's avatar

Via Wired:

Enable Airplane Mode if you do not need to make calls or send messages at the protest. Airplane mode ensures that your device will not be transmitting for the duration of your time at the protest and prevents your location from being tracked. If you have a smartwatch or other IoT devices, disable Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

https://www.wired.com/story/how-to-protest-safely-surveillance-digital-privacy/

Lisa Iannucci's avatar

PREACH! I say these things in my library instruction and am constantly arguing for data security. You've listed the reasons why. Your data belongs to you, and it's valuable.

Kate O'Shea's avatar

I learned from my mother to vote with my dollars. We should also never forget that brick and mortar stores create jobs and our community! We have a lot of power in that realm, and also now in the various technical choices we make. I want to give a shout out to the search engine Ecosia.org that plants trees with their income. It was created in Germany. I’ve been using it for years and have been very happy with it.

SW's avatar

Thank you, Artic!!!

Karen Pirello's avatar

Great list, Arctic. I might add kagi as a search engine: https://kagi.com/

Learned about kagi yesterday in an interview with Cory Doctorow. Kagi costs $10/month but it’s Doctorow’s preferred search engine for himself and his family.

Who is Cory Doctorow? His Wikipedia entry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cory_Doctorow

ArcticStones's avatar

Great addition! Thank you.

Judy Wherley's avatar

drawing down 700 ice in MN--not GOOD enough--ice OUT of MN!!! NO more $$$ for ice. I saw a photo today of a trapdoor on trumpstein island that went straight into the ocean-I am nauseous and furious. Holding back the files with death, physical abuse and injury? no, no, no. where are the trump files?!? this is my message to electeds today.

Helena Redman's avatar

So incredibly sad and heartbreaking 💔

Karen Ball's avatar

I appreciate your focus on the terrible impact of the hateful policies at DHS and ICE....but there is another story which is getting lost in all of this. Large swaths of the country are suffering from extreme weather and there are tens of thousands of people who have gone without heat and power for almost two weeks. Lost in the Epstein/Melania cartoon/immigration mess is the fact that no one from the Trump Administration feels compelled to show up to those areas and no local officials including the Governors of the Red States of South Carolina, Mississippi and Alabama are too afraid to demand federal assistance. Trump actually flew over the affected areas on his way to weddings at Mara Lago last weekend...no one has asked why he didn't schedule a stop on the way.

Lisa Iannucci's avatar

Yep! I have friends living in NC & GA who are telling me horror stories.

Cynthia Erb's avatar

I visited Nashville last weekend. My hotel was full of residents and their pets who hadn't been home since the previous weekend. The ice storm had just overturned people's lives.

Susan Dieterlen's avatar

All that money given to DHS for ICE, and where's FEMA?? Outrageous!!

Not to make light of a terrible situation, but also, I have even less respect for any media that isn't jumping into the "ice storm vs ICE" headline possibilities.

KBH's avatar

Yes, per Cynthia's post below, add Nashville to the list. Despite nearly two weeks of widespread power outages in bitter cold, snow and ice, I have seen no news coverage that our R governor has asked for an emergency declaration from Trump. All those National Guard troops "fighting crime" in Memphis could be delivering hot meals and setting up shelters, emergency generators, etc. for those without power in many areas of TN.

Stu Weiss's avatar

Can’t post this enough. Does having a legitimate warrant from a magistrate judge fall into the “same rules as local police?”

Amendment IV

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Catherine Giovannoni's avatar

Simon, I watched and cried through the hearing yesterday. Thank you for letting us know about it.

I agree 100% about the detention centers. We've got Ghislane Maxwell, a convicted sex felon, in a cushy Club Fed with yoga lessons and a therapy puppy while innocent people (including children!) are thrown into disease-filled concentration camps. In America!

I called my congressman and senators and I'm continuing to write postcards to NC voters.

Stu Weiss's avatar

The Aliya Rahman testimony had me shaking with anger and sadness that this is standard operating procedure for ICE, and as she states at the end, for centuries for indigenous and brown people. And Jews like me in so many places and times.

Colleen's avatar

Which organization do you write postcards for?

Catherine Giovannoni's avatar

I've been writing them with a group called Postcards to Swing States:

https://turnoutpac.org/postcards/

Lisa Iannucci's avatar

I am feeling so disgusted and shocked, but like Ms. Rahman, I am not afraid. They will not steal my joy, and they will not break my spirit. Yesterday in my calls, I demanded more hearings, more accountability, and ICE OUT in MN. I am immensely grateful to the senators and reps who sat through that hearing yesterday. It's traumatic to hear those stories, and everyone should take care when watching/listening. I've learned to do this bc we often hear these types of stories in the gun safety community. Self-care is necessary to doing the work we are doing, and we should all be practicing self-care on a regular basis.

Speaking of gun safety, the intersection between firearms and what is happening now in America is obvious--tremendous firepower in the hands of untrained, unvetted and dangerous people is traumatizing and can be lethal. Survivors of gun violence know this. That's why we have laws that place restrictions on who can own firearms, where they can take them, and so much more. And these laws work.

Gun safety work also includes community intervention to support those in trauma. This country is going to need that. Trauma care must be implemented in every single school, in every community in America. Because untreated trauma festers, and it can explode the rate of violent crime in a community and ensure the continued cycle of violence.

KEEP GOING, my friends. And please take care of yourselves.

Barbara Grothus's avatar

Both House and Senate in NM have passed legislation getting rid of detention centers in NM and the bill is on the way to the Governor's desk.

Deborah Potter's avatar

HB9, The Immigrant Safety Act, "prohibits state and local governments from entering into agreements to detain individuals for civil immigration violations and stops the use of public land for immigration detention. It also prohibits state and local governments from entering into 287(g) agreements with ICE – agreements that turn local law enforcement into immigration agents and fuel mass deportations." I posted the text previously, but here is the ACLU summary. https://www.aclu-nm.org/press-releases/new-mexico-senate-passes-immigrant-safety-act-sending-historic-legislation-to-governors-desk/ and Source NM ref. https://sourcenm.com/briefs/new-mexico-immigrant-safety-act-heads-to-governor/

Like Barbara said, it was introduced to shut down all three ICE detention centers in New Mexico (Cibola, Otero, and Torrance counties).

ArcticStones's avatar

Excellent! And sounds like it is very carefully drafted. Something that other Blue states should emulate. More generally, especially in these times, I think it vital that Democrats build something equivalent to Alec – designing good blueprints for Democratic legislation.

Deborah Potter's avatar

States that have passed similar legislation to restrict ICE include California, Illinois, New Jersey, Washington, Oregon, Colorado. The "Dignity Not Detention Act" S316 was proposed to stop county jails from holding immigrants for profit in NY. WaPo reported that at least eight states have prohibited or restricted local police and sheriff’s offices from 287(g) partnerships with ICE. A bill in MD recently passed, and bills in Hawaii and Virginia are being considered.

ArcticStones's avatar

You just made my day!

Patrick's avatar

It's all so depressing. But we have to keep fighting.

I hope that state officials, other outside groups, formulate a plan to keep ICE and DOJ from interfering with elections. I hope that Schumer makes that part of our demands. There has to be a plan at the local level, especially I think in large cities, to keep ICE off the street during the election. There has to be a mechanism in place to stop ICE against from "asking for papers" from people on their way to the polls. There needs to be a plan.

The polling is encouraging, the special elections are encouraging, and November 2025 was encouraging. We will win if we can hold the line on a free and fair election, against their attempts to cheat.

Patrick McKee's avatar

Please tell me there's more to Leader Schumer's ask than "common sense reform". ICE needs to be withdrawn from Minneapolis - and all American cities. Kristi Noem needs to be removed from office. The murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti need to investigated by an impartial special prosecutor. ICE is now a nest of Nazis and criminals - a paramilitary force paid for by the American people and loyal to Donald Trump. Although Democrats may not be able to defund it right now, they can put down a marker - ICE cannot be reformed or reined in. Democrats don't want "common sense reforms" - we want ICE abolished as soon as we have the votes. For now, we want a budget that doesn't add a penny to ICE funding. And certainly we want much stronger leadership in the Senate and the House.

Mike Taylor's avatar

Hear hear

Jennifer Tomkins's avatar

Reigning in ICE is not nearly enough. This is the Dems and Schumer being lilly livered again. We need more than reigning in. We need defunding. Nothing less with surface. Mere reigning in is pandering.

fourfreedomsfan's avatar

Sounds good, but what if reining in is WHAT IS POLITICALLY POSSIBLE RIGHT NOW and defunding requires more votes than we have in this Congress?

fourfreedomsfan's avatar

Keep an eye on the long term goal and work toward it, but take the opportunities for incremental gains that are possible as they arise.

Mike Taylor's avatar

My answer is, fine if we don’t have the votes to block, but that doesn’t mean we should contribute our votes to the funding. No Dem votes that could be used for ice / cbp funding until a) full impartial investigations for the murders and deaths of individuals, inc Alex and Renee and those in concentration camps b ) full and impartial investigations of abuses of power inc breaking and entering, assault and battery and use of chemical weapons and c) ice funding reverted to no higher than last approved by Biden.

Jennifer Tomkins's avatar

The job of Schumer is to MAKE it possible. That's what leadership is about. Nancy Pelosi knew that.

Mike Taylor's avatar

Ding ding ding , wat Jennifer wrote!

WA's avatar

Calls are in to all elected officials in WI regarding ICE.

Barry's avatar

No $ for detention/prison/concentration camps. Not one damn dime. We cannot compromise on this!!!! It is criminal and barbaric.

Marlene Lerner-Bigley (CA)'s avatar

Thank you, Simon. Normally, I despise polls but Navigator’s were so comprehensive.

I fight back everyday and with like-minded people on the weekends. I just have to…I am the daughter of Holocaust victims whose grandparents were gassed.

Lisa Iannucci's avatar

I am so sorry. thank you for sharing your story.