...As July Fourth Approaches (We've Never Felt Gloomier): A Handy Visual Reminder

 

<New York Federal Reserve Bank>

Suggested Soundtrack: "Freeze" (The Models), 1977

Last week will likely go down as the single most horrific one of the Trump Restoration. On Tuesday (6/23), we saw a man sentenced to 30 years for moving a box of anarchist-related 'zines after a protest, with equally imposing terms handed to his cohorts (30-100 years), all stemming from actions criticizing the Trump regime.

On Wednesday and Thursday (6/24-25), we watched a handful of Republicans abruptly reverse their stands on a largely symbolic war powers resolution, and continue kowtowing to the Orange Bully, because -- well, he might find some way to hurt them. And they don't have any other ideas, except to continue indulging his every whim, even if reduces the country to a smoking dumpster fire.

Also, on Thursday (6/25), we witnessed the Extreme Court, or the Supremacy Court (a far more accurate term than its present moniker, the Supreme Court), hand the Trump regime two major immigration victories. In one case, the court ruled that agents can physically turn back asylum seekers at the US-Mexico border, even if that person -- as Justice Sonia Sotomayor noted, in her blistering, 35-page dissent -- arrives at a station with adequate resources to review their claim, or strongly fear that they'll be persecuted, or killed, after their enforced return.

The other case allows the Trump regime to end Temporary Protected Status for Haitians and Syrians fleeing murderous conditions in their countries. (Both remain on State Department lists warning Americans "not to travel there for any reason due to ongoing danger," as Politico reports). More than a million people face potential deportation, unless they find some other means of gaining legal status.

Perhaps the regime will look at scrubbing the famous closing words inscribed on the Statute of Liberty ("I lift my lamp beside the golden door"), now that it's effectively slammed shut. Both decisions played out along the predictable 6-3 divide, which inspired starkly differing responses. The six right-wing Justices blandly asserted mere technical grounds for their reasoning, while Justice Elena Kagan's dissent included every major recent example of Trump's racial invective -- from his infamous "shithole countries" comment, to his henchman Vance's 2024 campaign lie about Haitians cannibalizing cats and dogs.

Kagan's actions undoubtedly reflected a desire to draw a contrast between the majority's assertions, and the racial hostility emboldened by the likes of Trump, Vance, and their fan club, who didn't waste any time baring their fangs -- such as rightist commentator Megyn Kelly ("We don't care if you're offended. Get out. Go home. Go back to f#cking Haiti."), or Katie Miller, the equally vile other half of Trump's odious chief aide, Stephen Miller ("Great news for the dogs and cats of Springfield [Ohio]").

Equally striking is the posture of Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who adopted two Haitian children, and never misses a photo op with them. By joining the majority opinion, she consigns some 350,000 of their countrymen and women to uncertain fates, at best -- or certain death, at worst. It's the type of compartmentalized thinking that's reminiscent of Revolutionary War-era slave holders -- including many of the Founders -- who happily freed people whom they felt warmly about, or considered exceptional workers, while leaving others forever trapped in servitude.

We also noticed, as the week finally ended, the groundswell of outrage surrounding the US "Justice" Department's unsettling memo, suggesting that states no longer need to follow the so-called Olmstead precedent -- in which a different Supreme Court, in a different era, upheld the rights of persons with disabilities to live independently, in their own communities (1999).

The memo's emergence coincides with the Texas v. Kennedy lawsuit, in which six states (AK, FL, LA, MO, MT, TX) are challenging Section 504, an important cornerstone of disability rights. Briefly, it bars treating people differently, due to their disability; requires including them in programs, and make reasonable accommodations, if requested and, most importantly, mandates that communities offer programs and services beyond mere custodial environments, like institutions (emphasis: ours).

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to connect these dots, should this latest make-believe case catch the Extreme Court's ear -- presumably, so its six enablers can rubber stamp this latest ghastly idea, one driven by the Olmstead memo's author (see link below). Of course, upending Olmstead is an idea that figures prominently in Project 2025, The Handbook From Hell, a status that needs no further elaboration.

You can read the links below -- which will undoubtedly invoke varying states of angst, depression, and rage, if not a fresh injection of PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) -- and draw the appropriate conclusions.

Suffice to say that we find ourselves in an existential struggle for our lives, along with basic civil rights, human decency, and sanity -- to a degree that seemed unimaginable, in previous times. It's the reason, undoubtedly, for the attitudes captured in the latest survey posted by the Federal Reserve of New York (above), one of many entities tasked with tracking the public mood.

What's noteworthy are the two "bookend" statistics, as we'll call them. As of May 2026, 43.6% of the participants reported being worse off financially than a year ago, or double pre-pandemic-era levels, as you'll see (20% or below). Additionally, 36% expect to be significantly worse off next year, a mark that's also twice pre-pandemic levels.

So much for the idea of prices going down on "day one," as the Orange Bully phrased it, but rocketing inflation -- coupled with go-go finance that only enriches Trump, Musk, Bezos, and their allies, plus lack of purchasing power, strangled by decades of flat wages -- aren't the only reasons for all the collective gloom that we're feeling.

Call it a general sentiment that someone else rigged the game, before we ever showed up; that naked feral capitalism, in all its untamed, and unabashed selfishness, yields a zero-sum game for our standards of living, such as they are; that an imperial, fanatical, and downright monarchial mindset, as we see in the Olmstead memo, has seized the imagination of the ruling classes.

Call it any or all of these things, as you wish. But make no mistake, take no comfort from the perfunctory assurances that they're already dangling out to deceive us ("It's just temporary"; "It's only a memo, not a law"; "It won't really affect you"), before they slam down the hammer, yet again. We know what they're doing, why they're doing it, and what they're all about. 

Needless to say, it's all extremely taxing. It's difficult to live with the feeling of another shoe, always ready to drop; in some ways, the current feels like the climax Werner Herzog's film, Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979, when (spoiler alert) Count Dracula succeeds in spreading the plague, and van Helsing ends up being arrested for his murder by the hero, Jonathan Harker -- now unmasked as a vampire.

There was ample reason during the Revolutionary War for Thomas Paine to declare, "These are the times that try men's souls," and last week fully fit that particular bill. That being said, what's worth fighting is also worth waiting for. However slowly the winds of change may blow, at some point, they do shift -- leaving open another window of opportunity. Our job is to be ready, when it finally arrives -- hopefully sooner, rather than later. --The Reckoner

Links To Go (Ring The Bell Anew,
And Raise The Spirit Of Paul Revere):

Associated Press: Senate Republicans
Reject War Powers Resolution...:
https://apnews.com/article/senate-republicans-trump-vote-reject-war-powers-0f1fa8189c275188a71ed02cc8c3270d

Civil Discourse: This Disappointing Term Of Court:
https://joycevance.substack.com/p/this-disappointing-term-of-court

CNN: Supreme Court Gives Trump
Major Wins On Two Immigration Cases:
https://www.cnn.com/2026/06/25/politics/live-news/supreme-court-issues-opinions

Common Dreams: "Criminalizing Dissent":

Alarm Grows Over Extreme Sentences...:

https://www.commondreams.org/news/prairieland-backlash

Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund:
Texas v. Kennedy: What It Is...:
https://dredf.org/protect-504/

Disability Belongs:
States Continue Legal Attack On Section 504:
https://www.disabilitybelongs.org/2026/04/texas-v-kennedy-action-update/

Politico: Supreme Court Allows Trump
To End Temporary Protections...:
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/06/25/supreme-court-temporary-protected-status-ruling-00975658

The Independent:
Trump Aide Stephen Miller's Wife Resurfaces Claim...:
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/katie-miller-tps-ohio-hatians-trump-b3003364.html

The Models: Freeze

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqZvxLiaLJ8&list=RDxqZvxLiaLJ8&start_radio=1

The Models: Punk 77 Page:

https://punk77.co.uk/band/the-models/

You want to draw a line 

between right and wrong

This revolution's been going too long
You think they're gonna let you play

You better think again, 

Hear what they say, because...

I'm talking about a freeze

I said, I'm talking about a freeze,

Yeah, get down on your knees...

I'm talking about a freeze

They're putting on the squeeze

I'm talking about a freeze, oh, yeah...

<The Models: "Freeze," 1977>

Know Your Rights In ICE Encounters: A Handy Visual Reminder

 

Thinking the unthinkable is part and parcel of the Trump era. Hardly surprising, then, to come across this flyer at the local library, stacked alongside all the other usual fare -- the free community papers, health programs, holiday parades, and so on. No comments not explanations needed, nor required. It's readily available online, but one more outlet surely can't hurt, right?

Especially when we consider one other important point. While the flounder-lipped Kristi Noem, and her oily boy toy, Corey Lewandowski, they of the Department of Homeland Security, and its sister agency, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) -- the infamous agency they ran like a medieval fiefdom, continues to go about its business. Gone are the horrific images of masked goons combing the streets for prey, egged on by their now-retired, green fatigue-clad henchman, Greg Bovino -- for the moment., at least. 

The faces of the Trump regime's xenophobic crackdown efforts are off the radar, which doesn't hold true for their targets. Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, one of countless innocents snatched off the streets, faces appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court, as the price of avoiding rearrest.

Khalil's counterpart, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, won a major legal victory this weekend, after a federal judge tossed out human smuggling charges against him, on grounds of vindictive prosecution -- since he too is challenging the federal government's attempts to deport him. The feds, of course, are appealing the judge's action, which they're blasting as "naked judicial activism" -- an odd twist of phrase for the maximalist-minded master they serve, who openly flaunts his abuses of power at every turn.

The overall volume of arrests averages 900 to 1,000 per day nationwide, well short of the 3,000 figure so desired by Trump's key henchman, Stephen Miller -- but enough to underscore the regime's ongoing attempt to impose its will, however it can, wherever it can. About half occur in custodial situations -- inmates already sitting in local, state or federal lockups -- with the remainder spread out over at-large roundups, or immigration status check-ins at ICE field offices.

These trends point at the resolve of Noem's successor, Markwayne Mullin, to take ICE off the front pages, in favor of a lower-key, more targeted approach. It doesn't make him a candidate for sainthood. Neither does it suggest that Mulli's in danger of finding his softer, fluffier side -- let alone his cohort, David Venturella, the former GEO prison executive tapped as acting director of DHS's sister agency, ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement).

Just what we need to restore public confidence, right? The face of a for-profit prison company, who also showered Trump's 2024 campaign with fountains of cash. Still, on that subject, one other piece of unfinished business is worth noting -- and that's the fate of ICE's plan to warehouse all its unfortunate fish, figuratively and literally, into massive holding pens, modeled along Amazon's lines.

But Noem's grand vision remains on hold, per Mullin's orders, as he works out what portions of it -- if any -- should go forward. That's because activists have found a potent new tool to slow the Trump regime's plans to rebrand communities into major deportation hubs, as the New York Times reports (see link below) -- the environmental review.

For example, a federal judge has blocked ICE's plans to retrofit a warehouse in Williamsport, MD, into a holding pen capable of housing 500 to 1,500 detainees. U.S. District Judge Brendan Hurson held that ICE hadn't fully considered key requirements of the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) -- which mandates a closer look at the "potential environmental impact of significant federal actions," the Times reported.

If the possibility exists, however remotely, a more rigorous review is then required -- which typically takes months to complete. What seems like politically expedient red raw meat in 2026 may well give off a fouler odor, once the winds start blowing, whether this fall, or in 2028 -- as communities start pushing back, and force the cancellation or sidelining of such ghastly projects.

A judge in Michigan canceled a similar preliminary injunction that would have temporarily halted similar retrofitting plans for a warehouse in Romulus, Bloomberg Law reports. The lawsuit in that case alleges that one sewer line isn't nearly enough for 500 projected detainees, for a building that's sitting on top of a floodplain. Similar pushbacks are proceeding in Arizona and New Jersey, raising headaches that authorities might well have avoided, as Hurson stated, in his ruling:

“Had D.H.S. done so, it likely would have found that the rapid transformation of a cargo-processing facility with four toilets and two water fountains into a temporary residence and workplace for hundreds, if not thousands, would jeopardize the health and safety of the surrounding ecosystem in myriad ways, most notably through the likely overtaxing of the sewer system."

Most interestingly of all, the fate of "Alligator Alcatraz" -- the brain(?)child of Florida's infamous governing bully, Ron DeSantis -- appears questionable, too. Environmental groups there assert that state and federal reimbursement of construction costs amounts to a "significant federal action," one that warrants NEPA review.

Time will tell how that battle plays out, though for his part, acting DHS head Todd Lyons claimed that the plans are actually beneficial -- allowing the government to control the space, instead of relying on private contractors. "It's actually retrofitted to become a detention facility, one that we'll actually be proud of, one that would have actually have standards," Lyons told Congress.

Then again, when we consider the bigger picture -- from how many have already died in these holding pens, to persistent allegations of physical and sexual assault, substandard sanitation, and total disregard for detainees' rights, including access to lawyers -- Lyons's breezily self-assured statements seem totally divorced from the cold, hard reality of what's happening on the ground.

But it's a feeling that we've all gotten to know too well, as Mullin reportedly plots to rebrand his wife, Christie, as a "special government employee" -- just like Noem did, for Lewandowski -- to the tune of a cool $130,000 per year. What Ms. Mullin might actually do is naturally opaque, though it's easy to see her working on some Donna Reed-style puffery to somehow burnish ICE's brutal public face. The possibilities are endless, starting with the obvious one:

ICE Corrections:

Detention Centers
To Die For.

Or how about something that plays to Trump's prior public incarnation, as New York City's grand master of construction, even if that seems a lifetime away now:

Building Your Surveillance State,
One Warehouse At A Time

Or maybe a blacker, bare-knuckled style humor is called for here, one that's more in keeping with the mission:

ICE Detention:

Where Revenge Is Always 

A Dish Served Cold!

You get the gist. The issue hasn't gone away, just off the front pages -- which is all the more reason to keep the pressure on, and shine an unforgiving light on Mullin's excesses, and those of his fellow overdogs...even as millions upon millions of unfortunates sleep on the sidewalks, or on the back seats of their cars, wondering when this uniquely ill-starred era of feral capitalist madness is ever going to end. We owe them every effort to ensure that day comes sooner, rather than later. -- The Reckoner

Links To Go Go (Drive A Bit Faster Past 

Your Friendly Neighborhood Warehouse):

Bloomberg Law: ICE Changes
Environmental Review Plan For Detention Centers:

https://news.bloomberglaw.com/environment-and-energy/ice-changes-environmental-review-plan-for-detention-centers

New York Times: ICE Plan Faces Delay
Over Lack Of Environmental Reviews:

https://archive.ph/oqZBx

The New Republic:

DHS Secretary Tries To Get His Wife Cushy Job:
https://newrepublic.com/post/211006/dhs-secretary-mullin-wife-special-government-employee-job

The Week: Five Brutal Cartoons About "Alligator Alcatraz":
https://theweek.com/cartoons/editorial-cartoons-alligator-alcatraz

"It is time to replace this country's abusive and punitive immigration detention system... They throw away money that could be redirected to programs that benefit us all."
<American Civil Liberties Union, Florida,
American Friends Service Committee>

"There’s absolutely no reason for detention centers to hold people for extended periods of time, other than to fund the prison industry complex and waste taxpayer dollars."
<Representative Andre Carson, Facebook>

"It is detaining people first and sorting out legality later.
"It is expanding executive power while narrowing public oversight.

"It is treating constitutional limits as obstacles rather than obligations."

<ACLU of Pennsylvania, Facebook>

Mad King Watch (Take XVII): What Trump And His Enablers Are Costing Us: A Handy Visual Reminder

<"We will remain disciplined
in our pricing initiatives 

to ensure additional inflationary pressures 

are passed through to customers.">
--Donnie King

"Farmers get paid less and less
for their products,
and, yet, when people to the grocery store,
we’re getting charged more and more.

"Who’s making the money? It’s the middle man.
It’s the meatpackers. It’s people like Tyson.
They need to be held to account for this."

US Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO),

Facebook page 10-4-23

"Regardless of what your income level is, in some cases, a $9 experience does feel like you're splurging. "And then, in other cases, certain people believe, 'Well, this is

a really affordable premium experience." --Brian Niccol, defending his company's pricing model

“But, you know, that's life, 

that's dealing with the world we live in.”

<U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH),
pressed on rationales
for the Iran War that's spiked prices*

"And what about the comfortable people

who just can’t go without?
They’re forever panic buying,
in case things run out

"They never realize what they've got,
one day they will lose the lot, because...

"What's gonna happen when the buses don't run?
And what’s gonna happen when the winter comes?
What are you gonna do, what are you gonna do?
When the oil runs out!"

<Newtown Neurotics, 

"When The Oil Runs Out">

"The American people are crying out for us 

to address the cost of living. 

All we've done since July 

is stand around sucking on our teeth."

--U.S. Senator John Kennedy (R-LA),
lamenting what everyone already knows..

"But I know what I'm doing,
I just can't stop doing it:

"Me and my companion, 

hell bent to ruin it:

"The three martini lunch,
Things will get better soon,
I've got a hunch..."

<Graham Parker,
"Three Martini Lunch">**

<Afterthoughts>
*When the backlash began, Jordan denied channeling his inner Frank Sinatra...
until CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins played
the relevant words back for him, on-air.

*Click here, for the appropriate soundtrack:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VseUWVmjvLY&list=RDVseUWVmjvLY&start_radio=1

And here, while you're at it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1lvqmAT_Ro&list=RDx1lvqmAT_Ro&start_radio=1

Mad King Watch (Take XI): Those Who Enabled Him: A Handy Visual Reminder

 

"Watching the reel as it comes to a close,

Brutally taking its time...

People who change for no reason at all,

It's happening all of the time...

"This is the crisis I knew had to come,
Destroying the balance I kept:
Turning around to the next set of lives,
Wondering what will come next..."
<Joy Division: "Passover">

<"Roll Call, Take I": The Reckoner>