Masks Protect Lawlessness. That's The Point.

Fear is the goal.
Hate is the result.

We are in a partial government shutdown because Democrats are insisting on changes to the way ICE operates.

One of the Democrat's demands are that ICE, Border Patrol and other agents carrying out Trump's mass deportations not wear face masks.  Officials in Homeland Security say removing masks in not negotiable because the threats on federal immigration agents have skyrocketed.  According to ICE on October 30, 2025, the number of death threats had increased by 8000%.

What I have not heard anyone in the government say is when this increase started and what might have caused it.

Do they not think that the increase may have been a result of the unlawful, thuggish and violent actions by immigration agents?  These actions seem to be planned actions to terrorize people.  I think the agents who wear skull masks are a prime example.

You want to counter the death threats?  Then require immigration agents to conform to accepted rules of conduct that are required by respected police organizations from around this country.

I'm old, but I remember when streaking (running around naked at public events) was a thing.  Laws were changed so that people who wore masks to hide their identity while streaking were subject to more severe penalties.  

I think the wearing of a mask by immigration agents to hide their identities and evade legal responsibility for unlawful actions is an admission of guilt.

When ICE agents start behaving like other respected police organizations, they won't need masks.

Zip Ties For Children

This cartoon is not intended to be funny.  It may seem disingenuous and outrageous, but not if you've been following the news.

ICE agents stormed an apartment house in Chicago the other night.  They were allegedly looking for two gang members.  From what was reported, they had no warrants.  They broke down doors for each apartment, stormed in and rousted people from their sleep, beds and apartments.  They dragged people, including children, outside.  Some were in pajamas, some were naked.

People were handcuffed.  Children had their hands zip tied together.  Many were kept outside for hours.  Included were U.S. citizens.  Citizens were released only after ICE independently confirmed that they actually were citizens.  In some cases that took hours.  I guess you have to keep your passport in your pajama pocket.

When you couple that with Trump telling our top generals and admirals that they should consider using U.S. cities and citizens for military training, the cartoon doesn't look so outrageous.

Maybe ICE should get some hand ties made just for kids so they won't be so traumatized when they are cuffed.

The sooner Republicans wake up and demand Trump be removed from office, the better off our country will be.

Why Did Trump Give ICE 180 Billion Dollars?

The OBBB (One Bodaciously Bad Bill) recently passed by Republicans gave ICE a 180 billion dollar budget (some expenditures are spread over a 3 year period but I don't think we know the actual annual amounts).  Only two countries have annual national defense budgets that are larger than than 180 billion, the U.S. and China.  Russia's annual defense budget is estimated to be 149 billion dollars.  Germany annually budgets about 89 billion.

So ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) has an average annual budget (60 billion) which puts it in range of the annual defense budgets of countries like Ukraine, France and Japan.  Only seven countries have annual defense budgets greater than 60 billion dollars.  Canada spends about 35 billion dollars a year on defense.

The current yearly funding by the Department of Defense for the U.S. National Guard is about about 40 billion dollars a year.  

The estimate of the total amount spent on state and local law enforcement in the U.S. is estimated to be approximately 135 billion dollars a year. 

What the hell does Trump really plan to have ICE do with 180 billion dollars? 

Keep in mind that ICE is going after "illegal" aliens which are not accorded the same rights as U.S. citizens.  When they grab you they don't ask you if you are a citizen.  How would you prove it anyway?  Do you normally carry your passport?  We know most detainees don't have warrants for their arrest.  ICE can treat you as illegal until you find a way to prove you are a citizen after you've been hauled away. 

Do you think Republicans in Congress know or care about what Trump is doing? 

Dollar figures come from ChatGPT.

Trump's OBBB Is Bad

The devil is in the details

Trump and MAGA Republicans (aka magettes) are trying to destroy America.  Trump's OBBB (One Bodaciously Bad Bill) that was just passed is proof.  I'm sure there are some good things in the bill, but from what we know now the harm this bill will generate will far out weigh whatever good it creates.

The bad things I've heard about include the number of people who will lose health care.  This not only hurts these people. The cuts will hurt health care in areas that depend on Medicare and Medicaid dollars.  There will also be a massive transfer of costs to the states.  Either state taxes will go up or other state priorities will be cut.  Missouri's governor is already cutting items from the state's budget to be prepared for the expected increased state costs caused by Trump's OBBB.  And he is a Republican!

Trump's OBBB cuts support of renewable energy sources.  Trump just said he wants to double electric energy creation in the US.  This is mainly because of the massive energy demands of AI (and crypto).  The fastest, cheapest, cleanest way to increase electricity production is to use renewable energy sources such as wind and solar.  So cutting support of renewable sources will make rapid increases of electricity more difficult.

China is loving Trump's OBBB.  This will make it easier for China to win the race to become the world's AI leader.

While Trump's OBBB decreases support for renewable energy it increases support for dirty energy like coal.  If you like hot summers, large wild fires, powerful hurricanes, lots of big tornadoes and massive floods then Trump's OBBB was made for you.

Trump's OBBB has lots of money for border security.  It will make ICE the single largest federal law enforcement agency.  Think about that when you hear stories about how ICE treats people they detain.  I didn't say arrest because many of the people they put into ICE detention facilities and move or try to move around the country and the world have no arrest warrants.  If you think you are safe because you are a citizen or because you have a legal status to be in the US, you are naive.

The timing of the fiscal effects of Trump's OBBB are interesting.  The parts that benefit the lower ends of the income scale are implemented quickly.  The parts that harm the lower ends of the income scale are delayed until after the mid-term election.  This should tell you who to trust and it is not Trump and his magettes.

This is, as Trump is happy to tell you, a very big bill.  We are going to hear a lot more about hidden items in the bill.  You are going to frequently hear "I didn't know that was in the bill" from politicians, including Trump.  That will be another clue about how bad this bill really is for America. The devil is in the details.