A Dying Woman Found Peace With Mushrooms. Most Americans Aren’t Allowed That Option.
Source: Reason
“A new film tells the story of a cancer patient’s quest to confront the existential angst of dying by taking magic mushrooms.” (01/27/26)
MN: Man arrested after spraying politician with unknown liquid from syringe
Source: KARE 11 News
“A man was arrested after he lunged at and sprayed Rep. Ilhan Omar with an unknown substance during a town hall Tuesday evening in Minneapolis. Minneapolis Police say Omar was uninjured and resumed speaking, but said that Minneapolis Forensic Scientists responded to process the scene. The town hall was an opportunity for Omar and other officials to meet with community members about the federal immigration operations going on throughout the state. Omar was speaking when the man got up, lunged at the congresswoman, and sprayed an unknown liquid from a syringe before being tackled. Police say the man was arrested for third-degree assault.” (01/27/26)
Censorship and the Ratchet Effect: Threats to Free Speech Outlast Supposed Crises
Source: The Daily Economy
by Julian Adorney
“Late last year, YouTube announced plans to reinstate accounts that had been banned at the behest of the Biden Administration for posting alleged COVID-19 misinformation. The announcement likely came as a relief to groups like the Children’s Health Defense Fund, a group associated with Robert Kennedy Jr.; and to Senator Ron Johnson; both of whom were punished by the social media giant for posting videos that ran contrary to the Biden administration’s official policy on the COVID-19 vaccine and on COVID-19 treatments. This is a good move. But we should remember, it wasn’t just YouTube that decided to punish speech disapproved by the prior administration.” (01/27/26)
TikTok blames data center outages for US app problems, denies censorship claims
Source: CNBC
“TikTok’s U.S. app, now under majority American ownership, said a recent wave of glitches and content disruption was due to a power outage at one of its data centers, pushing back against claims that the platform was censoring political speech. Users have reported issues with their accounts since the video-sharing app began operating under a newly-formed U.S.-led joint venture, following months of political pressure over its Chinese ownership. Against the backdrop of a tense political environment in the U.S., a growing number of viral complaints about TikTok have accused the platform of censoring certain political positions and even the word ‘Epstein’ within direct messaging. CNBC confirmed that messages containing the word ‘Epstein’ triggered an error message, but was unable to independently verify broader claims of political censorship.” (01/27/26)
Gun-Blaming in Minneapolis
Source: The Dispatch
by Kevin D Williamson
“The Trump administration, being the Trump administration, immediately set about lying about what had happened, and the usual politics of gun rights were immediately flipped on their head, with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem insisting that [murder victim Alex] Pretti had been an armed rioter, which is — I do not suppose this even needs saying at this point — not true. Among others, the president of the Minnesota Gun Owners Law Center affirmed: ‘I see nothing that Mr. Pretti did that was unlawful,’ at least with respect to his gun. But strangely, a great many people who sometimes call themselves libertarians began to insist that when an officer of the state gives you an order, your choices are: 1) comply meekly; 2) get gunned down. Ernest Hemingway had their number way back in 1940: ‘There are many who do not know they are Fascists, but will find it out when the time comes.'” (01/27/26)
Iranians detail “bloodbath” crackdown said to have killed 5,700 protesters, as internet blockade eases
Source: Everett Post
“As the internet blackout in Iran appears to be easing after weeks of protests across the country, the scale of the Islamic Republic regime’s bloodiest crackdown in decades is now being made public, according to activist groups. More than 5,700 protesters have been killed since Jan. 8, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency, an Iran-focused activist group based in the U.S. More than 17,000 other related death cases are still under review, the group said. That U.S.-based group relies on a network of activists in Iran for its reporting and has been known to be accurate during previous unrest. While ABC News cannot confirm the number independently, the true toll might be even higher, according to other sources.” (01/27/26)
The Constitution’s Check on Warmaking
Source: Law & Liberty
by Michael D Ramsey
“When President Trump authorized a strike to capture Venezuela’s president, Nicolas Maduro, without congressional approval, it was the latest manifestation of the increasingly common belief by presidents that they have broad unilateral authority when it comes to military operations. The Constitution’s original meaning, however, belies this notion. As I have developed at more length here, the Constitution’s ‘declare War’ clause allocates to Congress — and by implication denies to the president — the power to initiate hostile military action against foreign nations.” (01/27/26)
https://lawliberty.org/the-constitutions-check-on-warmaking/
MN: Federal judge summons ICE gang shot-caller to court, threatens contempt sanctions
Source: Politico
“Minnesota’s chief federal judge has ordered the head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Todd Lyons, to appear in his courtroom Friday and threatened to hold him in contempt for what he says has been repeated defiance of judges’ orders in the state. ‘The court’s patience is at an end,’ U.S. District Judge Patrick Schiltz said in a three-page order issued Monday night, demanding the acting director explain himself ‘personally.’ … Schiltz, a George W. Bush appointee, said the administration has been slow-walking or outright defying the directives of many Minnesota judges, including at least one of his own: The order for Lyons to appear came in the case of a man Schiltz ordered released on Jan. 15 but who remained detained as of Monday night.” (01/27/26)
The campaign to crush free speech in Minnesota
Source: Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
by Greg Lukianoff
“Governments are always tempted to blame words for violence they can’t control. If “heated rhetoric” were enough, dissent would disappear whenever officials felt threatened — which, of course, would end up being all the time. The speech that federal officials have criticized in Minnesota seems like protected political dissent, not obstruction or conspiracy. That raises the discouraging possibility that the point of the Justice investigation isn’t to bring charges that will stick. Rather, it may be to use the threat of prosecution to chill speech. That’s not law enforcement. It’s ideology enforcement, backed by mob-like bully tactics.” (01/27/26)
https://www.thefire.org/news/campaign-crush-free-speech-minnesota
Alex Pretti is the latest victim in the Trump administration’s drive for dominance
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer
by Lusi F Carrasco
“Before Alex Pretti was shot and killed Saturday by federal forces, he was defending two women who were being violently shoved after challenging Border Patrol agents. The minute that agent started pushing those women with little provocation beyond whatever words were exchanged, Border Patrol relinquished control of the situation. The scrum that followed — as multiple agents pounded Pretti on the ground — was chaos. Chaos that eventually turned deadly, as agents saw that Pretti was carrying a gun. Much as they did after Good’s death, administration officials tried to control the narrative of what happened, blaming the victim.” (01/27/26)
https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/alex-pretti-killing-border-patrol-minneapolis-trump-20260127.html