MN occupation continues; CBP's history of excessive force; forget compassion, support ICE; the dollar's ongoing slide; Florida man returns
It's National Corn Chip Day!
Bruce Springsteen releases ICE protest song ‘Streets of Minneapolis,’ slamming ‘King Trump’s private army’ and ‘state terror’ (link to story)
Click here for a link to the lyrics.
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—Kevin G. Barkes
We’re off tomorrow and will return on Monday, February 2. Have a great weekend!
January 29 is the 29th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 336 days remain until the end of the year. Unfortunately, as of this writing, 1,086 days remain in Trump’s term of office.
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Knee-deep in the hoopla:
Minnesota:
Minneapolis Live Updates: Judge says ICE violated nearly 100 court orders. Judge Patrick J. Schiltz said the agency had violated more judicial directives in a month than “some federal agencies have violated in their entire existence.”
Veterans, former FBI agent warn Minneapolis is a ‘testing ground’ for federal abuse of power.
Tim Walz fears a Fort Sumter moment in Minneapolis. The Minnesota governor warns of a national unraveling.
Minneapolis tensions deepen again as Trump accuses mayor of ‘playing with fire’.
CBP has a history of excessive force. Critics say they were unprepared for Minnesota.
Parallel universe: Imagine illegal immigrants had killed Alex Pretti and Renee Good.
The womanosphere urges dubious followers to back ICE: ‘Don’t let compassion cloud you’.
Local prosecutors launch “FAFO” team to go after Feds breaking the law. Prosecutors across the country have a plan to hold ICE and Border Patrol agents account—since the federal government won’t.
Amazon laying off 16,000 as it increases ‘ownership’ and removes ‘bureaucracy’.
The dollar’s value has fallen to its lowest level in years, affecting international travel, U.S. corporate profits and European exports.
HHS wasn’t worried about South Carolina’s measles outbreak. It’s now enormous.
Scientists discover seismic hotspot in northern California that could trigger devastating magnitude-8 earthquakes.
Florida!
Florida man allegedly tells victim ‘sorry … I need to see my grandmother’ during armed carjacking.
Racist Florida man at 7-Eleven turns out to be a Republican candidate. (He is also a lawyer for disability rights.)
Florida man, 51, busted for “sexual performance” with a vacuum cleaner. Cell phone video showed him “partially clothed and communing with the appliance.”
Late Night:
Jimmy Kimmel Live: The Epstein Files are still nowhere to be found, the Justice Department claims they will finally be releasing them “in the near term,” according to The Wall Street Street Journal Melania Trump pocketed $28 million of her new film’s licensing fee, Nicki Minaj has emerged as Trump’s #1 fan, Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar was attacked with a mystery liquid last night and Trump of course had a disgusting response, a few prominent figures on the right are finally standing up against what is going on in Minnesota. (Video)
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert: Americans are expressing their anger about ICE in some unlikely corners of the internet; Kristi Noem and Stephen Miller are pointing fingers at each other as the administration does damage control over Alex Pretti's murder; Rep. Ilhan Omar bravely fended off a bizarre attack at a speech in Minneapolis; and 40 million gallons of poo are washing into the Potomac River every day. (Video)
On The Daily Show, Desi Lydic dives into the Trump administration's scramble to blame each other for the handling of Alex Pretti's shooting by federal agents in Minnesota; Trump's rally against Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, who was attacked at a town hall in the wake of his demonizing rhetoric; and the president's rollout of Trump Accounts, which he announced alongside MAGA’s newest spokeswoman, Nicki Minaj. (Video)
Seth Meyers takes a closer look at Trump trying to distance himself from the Border Patrol commander, who oversaw the violent occupation of Minneapolis, amid an intense national backlash. (Video)
Bookmark KGB Report Notes and check periodically for cartoons, memes, news, commentary and other stuff that didn’t fit or broke between e-mail newsletter issues. It’s also a great place to comment and chat.
Keep scrolling down. Lots of interesting stuff in Quote of the Day, Holidays, On This Day, Birthdays, and Deaths. I can pretty much guarantee you’ll learn something new.
History highlight:
1962 – Peter, Paul and Mary sign their first recording contract. (Video)
Quote of the day:
Some people say we need a third party. I wish we had a second one.
-Jim Hightower (Wikipedia link)
(More Jim Hightower quotes from the KGB Quotations Database)
Today’s holidays:
Curmudgeons Day, Freethinkers Day, NASA’s Day of Remembrance, National Carnation Day, National Corn Chip Day, National Kansas Day, National Puzzle Day, and Seeing Eye Dog Day.
On This Day:
2025 – American Eagle Flight 5342 collided mid-air with a Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk operated by the United States Army and crashed into the Potomac River, killing all 67 people onboard both aircraft.
2009 – Governor of Illinois Rod Blagojevich was removed from office following his conviction of several corruption charges, including solicitation of personal benefit in exchange for an appointment to the United States Senate as a replacement for then-U.S. president-elect Barack Obama.
2002 – In his State of the Union address, President George W. Bush described “regimes that sponsor terror“ as an Axis of evil, in which he included Iraq, Iran and North Korea.
1964 – The film “Dr. Strangelove” was released. (Video)
1962 – Peter, Paul and Mary sign their first recording contract. (Video)
1959 – Walt Disney released the animated feature “Sleeping Beauty.” (Video)
1936 – The first inductees into the Baseball Hall of Fame were announced.
1929 – The Seeing Eye, the first US school to train guide dogs for people with vision impairment, opens in Tennessee. For reporters skeptical of the idea, co-founder Morris Frank showcased his own dog, Buddy, on busy New York streets.
1886 – Karl Benz patented the first successful gasoline-powered automobile.
1863 – The Bear River Massacre: A detachment of California Volunteers led by Colonel Patrick Edward Connor engaged the Shoshone at Bear River, Washington Territory, killing hundreds of men, women and children.
1861 – Kansas was admitted as the 34th U.S. state.
1850 – Henry Clay introduced the Compromise of 1850 to the U.S. Congress.
1845 – “The Raven“ was published in The Evening Mirror in New York, the first publication with the name of the author, Edgar Allan Poe.
(For comprehensive lists of the day’s historical events, check here, here, and here.)
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Some Birthdays:
1982 – Adam Lambert, American singer, songwriter and actor
1981 – Jonny Lang, American singer, songwriter and guitarist
1979 – Christina Koch, American engineer and astronaut
1977 – Justin Hartley, American actor
1975 – Sara Gilbert, American actress, producer, and talk show host
1975 – Sharif Atkins, American actor
1970 – Paul Ryan, American politician, 62nd Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
1970 – Heather Graham, American actress
1968 – Edward Burns, American actor, director, writer, and producer
1962 – Nicholas Turturro, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
1960 – Greg Louganis, American diver and author
1956 – Irlene Mandrell, American musician, actress, and model
1954 – Oprah Winfrey, American talk show host, actress, and producer
1953 – Charlie Wilson, American singer-songwriter and producer
1950 – Ann Jillian, American actress and singer
1949 – Tommy Ramone, Hungarian-American drummer and producer (died 2014)
1948 – Marc Singer, Canadian-American actor
1945 – Tom Selleck, American actor and businessman
1940 – Katharine Ross, American actress and author
1939 – Germaine Greer, Australian journalist and author
1931 – Leslie Bricusse, English playwright and composer (died 2021)
1923 – Paddy Chayefsky, American author and screenwriter (died 1981)
1918 – John Forsythe, American actor (died 2010)
1917 – John Raitt, American actor and singer (died 2005)
1913 – Victor Mature, American actor (died 1999)
1901 – Allen B. DuMont, American engineer and broadcaster, founded the DuMont Television Network (died 1965)
1892 – Ernst Lubitsch, German American film director, producer, writer, and actor (died 1947)
1880 – W. C. Fields, American actor, comedian, and screenwriter (died 1946)
1874 – John D. Rockefeller Jr., American businessman and philanthropist (died 1960)
1860 – Anton Chekhov, Russian playwright and short story writer (died 1904)
1843 – William McKinley, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 25th President of the United States (died 1901)
1737 – Thomas Paine, English-American political activist, philosopher, political theorist, and revolutionary (died 1809)
(A more complete list of today’s birthdays.)
Some Deaths:
2022 – Howard Hesseman, American actor (born 1940)
2019 – James Ingram, American musician (born 1952)
2015 – Rod McKuen, American singer-songwriter and poet (born 1933)
2015 – Colleen McCullough, Australian neuroscientist, author (“The Thorn Birds”), and academic (born 1937)
2008 – Margaret Truman, American singer and author (born 1924)
1999 – Lili St. Cyr, American model and dancer (born 1918)
1992 – Willie Dixon, American singer-songwriter and producer (born 1915)
1984 – Frances Goodrich, American actress, dramatist and screenwriter (born 1890)
1980 – Jimmy Durante, American entertainer (born 1893)
1977 – Freddie Prinze, American comedian and actor (born 1954)
1969 – Allen Dulles, American banker, lawyer, and diplomat, 5th Director of Central Intelligence (born 1893)
1964 – Alan Ladd, American actor (born 1913)
1963 – Robert Frost, American poet and playwright (born 1874)
1956 – H. L. Mencken, American journalist and critic (born 1880)
1934 – Fritz Haber, Polish-German chemist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1868)
1933 – Sara Teasdale, American poet (born 1884)
(A more complete list of today’s deaths.)
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Thanks KGB. Freethinkers Day, 29 January! A great day to celebrate 🧠