We Must Rein In ICE, The Epstein Scandal Goes Global, Vance Booed In Italy, Joy Is Resistance
I am excited for the Olympics, and yes, my friends, spring training starts this week!
Morning all. There are countless stories each day of ICE’s lawlessness and depravity. Here’s a new, horrific one from Minnesota:
A man, whose family claims is a legal immigrant to the country, was delivering groceries to needy families on Thursday when ICE agents rammed his car, broke his window, arrested him, and is now sending him to Texas. Here’s the story:
A man taken into custody in Rochester Thursday by federal immigration agents is a kidney transplant recipient who did not have his life-saving medication when he was initially arrested.
The Department of Homeland Security said late Friday that the man, Javier Abreu-Vasquez, now apparently has access to those medications, although his family has not been able to confirm that.
State Rep. Kim Hicks, DFL-Rochester, said a lawyer for Abreu-Vasquez was told Friday morning that he would need a doctor’s note to be able to access the anti-rejection medication vital to his transplant survival.
Hicks had driven to the Twin Cities Thursday night to deliver the medication to Abreu-Vasquez at the Whipple Federal Building where he was being held. After conferring with his attorney this morning, she got a letter from his Mayo Clinic doctor.
She said she was concerned, though, because she hadn’t heard from federal officials as of Friday afternoon — after Abreu-Vasquez was scheduled to be transported by flight to a federal detention center in Texas.
……….
Javier’s wife, Carolina Rosario De Abreu, told MPR News at 4:30 p.m. that she doesn’t yet know if her husband’s flight took off and if it’s landed in Texas already.
Hicks said community members alerted her Thursday that Abreu-Vasquez had been detained after federal agents rammed into his car and broke his car window on Civic Center Drive in Rochester. She said he had been delivering groceries for a mutual aid network through his church when he was detained.
………..
“I don’t understand why the federal government is taking Minnesotans who are not criminals, who are part of our communities, and violently ripping them off the streets after running into their cars, and then denying them access to life saving medication,” an exasperated Hicks said Friday morning.
“For what purpose? What is the end goal here?” she said. “This is not the worst of the worst.”
The US government is committing staggering levels of abuse, daily. The depravity and inhumanity is overwhelming. Breaking car windows. Ramming cars. Damaging property. No family visits or communication. Taking people out of Minnesota to Texas with no due process. Just gone. Requirement of a note from a doctor to take life saving medications even though the medicine was delivered the facility, creating dangerous delays. The lack of clear information, the uncertainty. A local elected official having to take the time to make sure her constituent doesn’t die. This is just one story. There are many like this every day. It’s why we must rein in ICE. End the violence and the lawlessness. Narrow their targets, stay focused on criminals, and make them leave the rest of us alone. We need to keep fighting.
On Air Force One yesterday Trump was asked about the video he posted of the Obamas, and whether he would apologize. Watch. No apology. Incoherent dribble. Extraordinary malevolence.
Let’s now listen to a three time Trump voter on C-Span yesterday just ripping into Trump over this video, over ICE’s lawlessness, over what an outrageous disgrace Trump is to the country. Sound on. It’s incredible:
I came across this remarkable video of Michelle Obama yesterday in a Bluesky post from Andrea Devon. In her post Andrea writes:
Michelle Obama, exactly as she is. Beautiful, graceful, intelligent, and strong woman. Joy is resistance. Grace is power.
Let’s watch, and share in the joy, and power…….
The Epstein scandal has gone global, and has begun taking down business and political elites across the world. Trump’s efforts to contain the scandal, suppress it, have failed. Yesterday the Polish government announced an investigation into Epstein’s ties to Russian intelligence:
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk became the first high-ranking official to ask the question on everyone’s mind on Feb. 4 — Was convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein working with Russia?
He added that Poland would investigate possible links between Epstein and Russian intelligence services.
The latest batch of Epstein-related documents, released on Jan. 30, mentions Russia 5,876 times and Russian President Vladimir Putin 1,055 times.
The files show that Epstein cultivated relationships with Russian officials, repeatedly sought a meeting with Putin, and came under investigation on suspicion of acting as an alleged “wealth manager” for Putin.
To repeat - The latest batch of Epstein-related documents, released on Jan. 30, mentions Russia 5,876 times and Russian President Vladimir Putin 1,055 times.
Trump’s embrace of Putin and attempted seizure of Greenland has turned European public opinion sharply against the US. From The Guardian:
Which would explain why the Olympic Stadium in Italy last night erupted in boos when JD Vance and his wife were flashed on the stadium’s big screen:
Now, Let’s Get To Work People!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Keep contacting your Congressional Reps and demand they rein in ICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Big week ahead as DHS funding runs out on Friday!
Winning The Midterms - Support Our Candidates
Hopium’s Winning The House Campaign (2026) - $105,300 raised, $250,000 goal (new stretch goal) - Donate to all four endorsed House challengers with one click | Learn More | Enjoy our new conversations with Christina Bohannan (IA-01), Mayor Paige Cognetti (PA-08), Jo Mendoza (AZ-06), and Janelle Stelson (PA-10). Friends, we’ve hit $100,000 - thank you all!
Mary Peltola For Alaska Senate - $27,400 raised, $250,000 goal - Donate | Volunteer and learn more. Amazing start everyone!
Winning Ohio - $49,700 raised, $250,000 goal - Our new campaign splits contributions evenly among Sherrod Brown, the Acton/Pepper ticket, and the Ohio Democratic Party. Donate today and help us turn this critical 2026 battleground blue! | Watch my conversation with David Pepper, who does a great overview of the opportunities we have in Ohio this year. Note a generous donor has sent $21,000 worth of Hopium-infused contributions directly to the candidates which are not included in our on-line goal tracker.
Roy Cooper for NC Senate (2026) - $74,000 raised, $250,000 goal - Donate | Learn More | Volunteer | Enjoy my conversation with Gov. Cooper and a new, terrific one with NC Dem Party Chair Anderson Clayton
Jon Ossoff GA Senate (2026) - $120,000 raised, $250,000 goal - Donate | Learn More | Volunteer | Enjoy my inspiring conversation with Senator Ossoff
Expanding The Senate and Electoral College Maps, Winning In Red States and Red Places (2026-2032)
Hopium’s Audacious Expansion Fund - $353,200 raised, $500,000 goal (new stretch goal) - Join our new campaign to expand our map by investing in the Democratic Parties of Alaska, Florida, Iowa, Maine, and Texas. Many thanks to two generous Hopium community members who have audaciously donated $10,000 to each of our five state parties
Why We Must Invest Early, Now, And Not Wait - In three new essays (here, here, here) I discuss how one of the ways we win the 2026 midterms is by providing early support to our candidates and parties to allow them to staff up, be loud, define the terms of the debate now, before the inevitable onslaught on AI slop, Russian disinfo, and Trumpian lies funded through bribes and corruption wash across the land.
The midterms could be won or lost in these next few months - not in the fall of 2026 - and we need be fighting now with everything we got.
Winning The Big Arguments With Trump, Defend Our Democracy
Love this note Elizabeth T left us last night:
1 - Call Your Senators and Member Of The House And Demand They Act Upon Our Five-Part Agenda - We need to be loud people, very, very loud and make the case for our now five part agenda:
Stand with Ukraine and our European allies, and far more forcefully challenge Trump’s traitorous efforts to sell out the US and the West to Russia; demand Congress rebuke/issue a no confidence vote on his new threats to seize Greenland and his new, dangerous European tariffs;
Congress must stand forcefully for rule of law in the Caribbean and the Pacific - these illegal strikes must end; no war can be waged without Congressional approval; there must accountability for those who have broken the law, and the US must withdraw from Venezuela and cease other threats to violate the UN Charter and the sovereignty of other nations
Roll back Trump’s terrible, illegal tariffs that are re-igniting inflation, driving up prices, shifting the tax burden from the wealthy to working people, hurting small businesses and farmers, reviving tyrannical “taxation without representation,” and alienating governments and people throughout the world. To put America on a sounder fiscal course due to the enormous deficits brought by Trump’s 2025 tax cuts we should reverse the cuts to the wealthy and corporations
Defend our democracy, rule of law, and our liberties by blocking the expansion of ICE; restoring due process for immigrants across the country; vigorously defending the 1st Amendment; warring against his outrageous targeting of his domestic political opponents; ending the use of the military on our streets and the dangerous occupation of our cities; stopping the unprecedented regime corruption; and by forcing the Administration to finally comply with Congress end the rancid cover up of the Epstein crimes.
Fight Trump’s war on science, higher education and our public health; reverse - not delay - the cuts to the ACA, Medicaid and our clean energy investments; support and co-sponsor the Stand Up For Science/Rep. Haley Stevens effort to remove Robert Kennedy from HHS.
Keep working hard all. The momentum is with us, and we need to keep fighting as hard as we can - Simon
OLYMPICS – precision pissing on ICE
British skier Gus Kenworthy will not be punished after appearing to urinate a graphic message about the United States' immigration and customs enforcement (ICE) in the snow, then posting a photograph of it online.
Kenworthy shared the image - in which 'ICE' was preceded by an expletive – on Instagram a week before he is due to compete at the Winter Olympics in Italy. A spokesperson from the International Olympic Committee told the Press Association that Kenworthy would not be punished for the post.
"During the Olympic Games, all participants have the opportunity to express their views as per the athlete expression guidelines. The IOC does not regulate personal social media posts," they said.
In his Instagram post, Kenworthy [who has lived most of his life in the United States] added: "Innocent people have been murdered, and enough is enough. We can't wait around while ICE continues to operate with unchecked power in our communities."
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/articles/cew8wk7ygwno
Headed to nearby Red Bank, NJ where they are hosting an event in which folks are patronizing immigrant-owned restaurants and businesses that have taken a hit due to the ICE activity in town. It's 15 degrees with 40 MPH wind gusts, but we're not letting that stop us from helping out when and where we can.
Great tele-town hall last night w Sen. Kim on the fight to restore funding for the Gateway Tunnel project; he went in-depth on how damaging this is to NJ/NY economies and to the nation as a whole. Every single train that travels along the Northeast corridor passes through that tunnel, and if it's not fixed, people will die--to say nothing of the long overdue expansion of rail capacity that's essential to our economy nationwide. He's in DC staying engaged w the DHS negotiations, while Sen. Booker has been out and about around the state speaking out re ICE abuses. And got to love Leader Jeffries dropping the F bomb on Orange. More please! Keep going!