“A federal judge in Chicago will issue an extensive injunction restricting federal agents’ use of force, saying Thursday that a top Border Patrol official leading an immigration crackdown repeatedly lied about threats posed by protesters and reporters. The preliminary injunction detailed in court Thursday came in response to a lawsuit filed by news outlets and protesters who allege federal agents have used excessive force during the operation that has netted more than 3,000 arrests and led to heated clashes across the nation’s third-largest city and its many suburbs. ‘I see little reason for the use of force that the federal agents are currently using,’ said U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis. ‘I don’t find defendants’ version of events credible.’ Ellis said her order will prevent ‘the chilling of First Amendment rights’ from excessive force, and among other things, will require agents to give two warnings before using riot control weapons.” (11/06/25)
“Zohran Mamdani has won the mayoralty of New York City. It was an incredible come-from-behind victory against Andrew Cuomo, who ran one of the most well-funded campaigns in city history, and was endorsed by Donald Trump and Elon Musk. Still, Mamdani’s margin of victory was fairly small—less than ten percentage points—compared to the usual whopping Democratic landslide in this particular contest. One reason for that is a number of nationally prominent New York Democrats refused to endorse their own party’s nominee. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries waffled on the question for months, and only endorsed at the very last minute, while both Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand — who implied Mamdani is a jihadist — and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer refused to do it at all. And now it turns out Schumer almost certainly voted for Andrew Cuomo.” (11/06/25)
“In case you hadn’t noticed, former White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre is a black woman, as she repeatedly reminds readers in her memoir, Independent: A Look Inside a Broken White House, Outside the Party Lines. Jean-Pierre also is ‘openly queer’ (her words, not mine, scattered like breadcrumbs throughout her 177-page treatment of her two-plus years as former President Joe Biden’s top spokesperson). If it weren’t for identity politics, Jean-Pierre wouldn’t have any identity at all. She tosses around labels, not arguments. Jean-Pierre told The New Yorker that the ‘broken’ White House in her book title refers not to the White House of her former boss, but that of current President Donald Trump. And yet, by her own account, KJP’s defection from the Democratic Party was a reaction to serving in an administration that was burdened with ‘racism, misogyny and double standards.'” (11/05/25)
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“Dick Cheney, arguably the single government official most responsible for the expansion of US warmongering and militarism in the 21st century, has died. The worst worst war sluts of the US empire have issued statements expressing their condolences, including Democrats like Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Bill Clinton, and Nancy Pelosi. Because if there’s one thing that can bring Democrats and Republicans together, it’s war crimes and the slaughter of millions of middle easterners. Dick Cheney died far too old and far too free. The fact that such monsters get to pass away in their eighties surrounded by loved ones instead of alone in a cage is an indictment of our entire civilization. In a truly sane society, Richard Bruce Cheney would have lived a life of relative obscurity, working as a gardener or something without ever getting anywhere close to power.” (11/05/25)
“In his self-portrayal as a global peacemaker, President Donald Trump prefers to employ arm-twisting pressure to stop a conflict, such as in Gaza. Yet for one of the most intractable wars – a civil conflict in Africa’s third-largest country, Sudan – he might be relying on principled persuasion. The reason? Mass atrocities against civilians on both sides of that 18-month-long war have pushed many nations with a strategic stake in Sudan to join a Trump-led effort for a humanitarian truce. On Monday, the U.S. senior adviser for Arab and African affairs, Massad Boulos, said Sudan’s rival military forces have agreed in principle to a three-month truce, which would allow safe corridors for delivery of vital aid. If a pause in fighting does help the millions of Sudanese in need, it would be a nod to a global norm that recognizes the innocence of civilians in battle zones.” (11/04/25)
“Nearly exactly a year later, two narratives have taken hold about the electoral wipeout Democrats experienced in 2024. The first is the Democratic Party, weighed down by an unpopular and enfeebled presumptive nominee who had overseen unpopular foreign wars and economic carnage at home, failed to articulate a vision other than ‘we’re not Trump.’ The second is that Democrats, after routing Donald Trump in 2020, moved too far to the left, losing the coveted ‘moderate’ vote and the entire election. Progressives have stuck mostly to the first narrative. As political director at RootsAction, I was among the first group of detractors encouraging Joe Biden not to seek a second term as president.” (11/05/25)
“The Nov. 4 off-year elections were a smashing Democratic victory. This is the first and most important lesson Republicans should take from the results. In elections in New York City, New Jersey, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Georgia and California, there was a huge wave in favor of the Democrats. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s referendum victory in California will certainly shape the 2026 midterms. Yet, there were some local Republican victories, such as the one for Nassau County executive in New York, which provided the GOP hints of a better future – if Republicans are willing to study and learn from them. President Donald J. Trump suggested that his name not being on the ballot was a major factor in the outcome. This may be true, but it does not solve anything for Republicans. His name is not going to be on the ballot in 2026 or 2028 either.” (11/05/25)
“The Supreme Court heard arguments for nearly three hours on President Trump’s authority to overhaul the tariff system of the United States through an emergency statute. Trump decided at the last minute not to show up to the hearing, and it’s a good thing he did, because he would have wanted to change the channel. Most of the conservative justices seemed pretty skeptical of the argument that the International Economic Emergency Powers Act (IEEPA), which allows a president in an emergency ‘to regulate importation and exportation,’ confers worldwide, unlimited tariff authority that could raise as much as $4 trillion over a decade, per the government’s brief. Solicitor General D. John Sauer characterized these as ‘regulatory tariffs’ and not taxes, designed to change consumer behavior by buying domestically and as leverage on other countries for purposes of negotiation. The justices weren’t totally buying that.” (11/05/25)
“In times of national emergency, should the Supreme Court dictate America’s grand strategy and international economic policies? This question confronts the justices this week in Learning Resources v. Trump, a case that puts the president’s tariff powers to the test. If President Donald Trump loses, the Treasury faces having to refund more than $100 billion in tariff revenue, and the president’s trade strategy will be thrown into chaos. Businesses that have already changed their operations because of the tariffs, drawing jobs and supply chains back to America, will be subject to grave new uncertainties: Will Trump find other legal grounds for his tariffs — or will his project collapse, throwing the country back to an era of unfettered globalization?” [editor’s note: “But if he has to follow the law, it will go back to being like it was when he had to follow the law!” doesn’t seem like much of an argument – TLK] (11/04/25)
“Zohran Kwame Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist and the Democratic nominee, will be New York City’s next mayor, after trouncing former Governor Andrew Cuomo in a primary and general election double whammy. ‘The working people of New York have been told by the wealthy and the well-connected that power does not belong in their hands,’ Mamdani told a roaring crowd at his victory party in Brooklyn. ‘Fingers bruised from lifting boxes on the warehouse floor; palms calloused from delivery bike handlebars; knuckles scarred with kitchen burns — these are not hands that have been allowed to hold power. And yet, over the last 12 months, you have dared to reach for something greater. Tonight, against all odds, we have grasped it… We have toppled a political dynasty.’ But the fight is just beginning.” (11/05/25)
