Kristi Despain

Happy Birthday!!!🎁🎂🎉

[Barack Obama @BarackObama]

It is a basic principle of American democracy that the government can’t selectively target individuals simply because of their political beliefs or what they say. But that’s exactly what the Trump Administration is doing to Congresswoman Ilhan Omar of Minnesota.

To understand why this is so appalling, it’s important to know the facts. Congresswoman Omar came to this country with her father when she was 12 years old. Five years later, her father became a naturalized citizen. If Ilhan had been 18 at the time, she would have had to apply for citizenship separately. But because she was 17, she became a naturalized citizen automatically.

Congresswoman Omar went on to graduate from college, work as a community organizer, become the first Somali-American legislator elected to public office in the U.S., and win a seat in Congress. There, she has been one of the Trump Administration’s fiercest critics, which has led the president to repeatedly single her out as someone who he believes does not belong in this country.

Now the Administration is actively trying to deport Congresswoman Omar, seemingly based solely on the unsubstantiated theory that she was actually 18 when her father was naturalized, and therefore is not a citizen. Federal agents have raided her home, confiscated personal records, and seized her phone — all to try and uncover a nonexistent smoking gun from 20 years ago that will somehow make their case.

Think about that. The full weight of the federal government is being brought down on a law-abiding elected official because she has dared to criticize the president. And it’s not the first time this has happened. Under President Trump, the Justice Department has repeatedly gone after those he considers his political enemies — from the Attorney General of New York, to the former head of the FBI, to members of the Federal Reserve.

In those cases, the prosecutions either stalled or were dismissed for having no basis in law, and the same is likely to happen in this case. But not before Congresswoman Omar’s life has been turned upside down, her legal bills have piled up, and she’s been forced to spend time fighting unsubstantiated charges instead of serving the people of Minnesota.

The fact that any president, or any administration, is willing to engage in such transparent efforts to intimidate someone should outrage all Americans, regardless of how they feel about Congresswoman Omar’s political views. Because if this becomes the new normal, there’s no reason to believe it will stop with her — or that future presidents, in either party, won’t do the same.

[Mike Nellis @MikeNellis]

Leaked audio of Mike Rogers calling on Republicans to use off-duty police officers to intimidate voters in Detroit in an attempt to manipulate the Michigan Senate race:

[Stephen King @StephenKing]

THE DIPLOMAT: Listening to people who know what they're talking about and articulate themselves in actual sentences makes me homesick for politicians who are both smart and compassionate and love their country more than $$$.

[Former Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 @FmrRepMTG]

Me and Ilhan Omar are far apart policy wise. I’m pro life, she’s pro abortion. I’m pro 2A, she’s pro gun control. And on and on.

But can someone tell me how pretending to get ready to deport Ilhan Omar is going to bring gas down under $2, make health insurance freaking affordable, make a family’s weekly grocery bill make sense, and stop sending our beloved military off to fight for another fucking foreign war???

People are so sick and tired of the bullshit.

When you dumb mf’ers at the WH actually release the Epstein files and lock up the pedophiles and rapists you all hang out with, then we will start paying attention.

Until then 🖕.

[Pope Leo XIV @Pontifex]

Intelligence must draw on memory. The mind must not simply compile data — as an algorithm now does more quickly than we can — but recall lived experiences, which contain depths of meaning that only the human soul can recognize, and connect more deeply with the goodness of these experiences. Everything that is good begins “with the Spirit” and thus possesses a breath, a dynamism and a sense of communion that, once experienced, are engraved upon the heart. https://t.co/Ij21tkb3qT

[Ashish K. Jha @ashishkjha]

Many of you have been tracking the Irkutsk lab situation over the last few days.

I've been gathering facts and trying to understand what is happening before weighing in.

Now that I have, I have to say — I'm concerned

🧵

[Pope Leo XIV @Pontifex]

In this era of artificial intelligence, it is becoming urgent to distinguish human art from what machines produce. There is an ontological difference, even before an aesthetic one, between art and what a machine can generate through statistical calculation based on millions of images created by others. Algorithms lack the spark of humanity. For this reason, the Church wishes to renew an alliance with artists and cultural institutions to safeguard our humanity.

[George Conway ⚖️🇺🇸 @gtconway3d]

This absolutely had to be what happened here.

[George Conway ⚖️🇺🇸 @gtconway3d]

In a normal administration counterintelligence agents at the FBI would be investigating this photo.

In this administration, the FBI director is in the photo.

[Degrassi Knowles @RealDegrassiK]

MUSK (2026)
Directed by Alex Gibney
#documentary #movie #trailer

[Chris Brennan @ByChrisBrennan]

Please view and retweet this trailer for this documentary about Elon Musk that can’t purchase advertising on this website.

[Trip Gabriel @tripgabriel]

The NYT confirms Haaretz's report that Benjamin Netanyahu was secretly warned before Oct. 7, 2023 by the Emirati president that Hamas planned a major attack, per 2 sources

The warning was not shared with Israeli security chiefs, per 5 ex-officials

https://t.co/BCnwcyzg8C

[John Delaney 🇺🇸 @JohnDelaney]

Let's be very clear on this one point.

The President mocking a former President in front of the communist leader of China is the most un-American thing an American president has ever done.

[Headquarters @HQNewsNow]

Arizona Sheriff who ended the Flock camera contract in his county:

If we rely on private camera networks to continuously log the habits of innocent Americans without a warrant, we are paving the way to an AI-driven surveillance state. We must establish clear boundaries for automatic license plate readers. We cannot wait for a future Supreme Court ruling to correct AI overreach. We must protect the Fourth Amendment today.

[Tim Miller @Timodc]

This statement has moved my concern level up significantly from other stuff that's out there. The author is not in "safety" he's not part of some effort to create a regulatory moat. It's a top OpenAi engineer that was excited for AGI & now is freaked out. More on pod today.

[Jonah Kaplan @JonahPKaplan]

EXCLUSIVE: “We’re standing there with our eyes closed and getting punched in the face.”

@CBSNews obtains verified photos showing destruction of buildings, vehicles and aircraft at U.S. positions in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

https://t.co/fVfGB1Z1jv

[MeidasTouch @MeidasTouch]

Let us just click expan–––oh my god

[Justin Elliott @JustinElliott]

New story:

Donald Trump Jr.’s Bahamas Wedding Was Secretly Bankrolled by Russian Oligarch Close to Putin

w/ @BrettMmurphy @js_kaplan @Amierjeski

[Harry Cole @MrHarryCole]

Paedo US diplomat seized in dawn raid on London flat and smuggled out of UK on cargo plane before cops can investigate

https://t.co/jU97wgN0vA

[Kristi Despain @Wodespain]

Seems bad

[Mediaite @Mediaite]

Elon Musk and Sam Altman Agree With Anthropic Boss — AI Must 'Slow Down' to Avoid 'Catastrophic Damage' https://t.co/NeJgw6GCHa