The president has been transparent about the nakedly political aim here. He's fulfilling a campaign promise. Trump and his entire coterie are rotten, but I prefer DJT's brand of evil to his cronies', which is dressed up in faux-respectability. What you see is indeed what you get.

ICE arrests Palestinian activist who helped lead Columbia University protests, his lawyer says A prominent Palestinian activist who helped lead last spring's protests at Columbia University has been arrested by federal immigration agents.

Trump pardoned 1500 insurrectionists. The White House has a blackmail arrangement with my city's mayor, who is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Turkish government. This is not about lawfulness. This is about the content of the targeted individual's speech.

ICE arrests Palestinian activist who led Columbia University protests, lawyer says Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian activist who helped lead Columbia University's student encampment protests, has been arrested by ICE, his lawyer says.

I don't care how you feel about campus anti-Israel protests, or about antisemitism on campus. Fighting antisemitism cannot mean disappearing foreign citizens in the US on green cards for Wrongthink. It just cannot. Not in my name. Never. www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news...

Good one for the Washington Post opinion section’s new focus on free speech, presumably

Not All Elections Are Created Equal – RDI In 2024, over 70 countries and the European Union held elections. More than 1.6 billion people voted—the largest number of humans to ever join in the ritual of choosing our leaders. Democracy is impos...

2024 was the year of elections. In 2025, we have to live with the consequences.

@evangottesman.bsky.social and @sohanmewada.bsky.social take a look at four very different elections—Taiwan, Venezuela, Romania, and America—and why they matter. Read more in RDI's #DemocracyBrief:

“Well… what are you thankful for?” – RDI Even in the happiest times, a lot of people recoil at the Thanksgiving icebreaker that is as awkward as it is ubiquitous: “What are you thankful for?” This year, it might feel especially hard to name ...

It's *that* holiday icebreaker: "What are you thankful for?" Awkward in the best of times, downright miserable when things are bad.

But in a moment of deep uncertainty, gratitude is all the more important.

Read our CEO @urielepshtein.bsky.social's Thanksgiving message in the #DemocracyBrief:

Defending democracy at home. Combating authoritarianism abroad. Highlighting how they’re connected.

✊ Find out how we’re teaming up with dissidents to protect freedom: rdi.org/frontlines-of-freedom/
🗞️ Subscribe to RDI's #DemocracyBrief: rdi.org/get-involved/
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this screencap is my new most valuable possession

hello???