Taniel

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'Ridiculous': Kristi Noem's 28-year-old aide wasted millions on unusable ICE vehicles A former deputy to outgoing Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem saddled the department with millions of dollars in wasted funding for vehicles that cannot be used.U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcem...

A Noem aide spent $3 million on pickup trucks emblazoned with the ICE name & logo, which ICE agents -- notoriously averse to advertising their presence -- will not drive, so they're just sitting in a lot, useless. The contract went to a Trump donor who owns a regional Chevy dealership.

happening tomorrow!

Inside ICE’s Only Contract with a Blue State As part of a 287(g) contract between state officials and ICE, Massachusetts continues to release prisoners into deportation—even as state lawmakers look to ban other forms of ICE collaboration.

“People are more willing to talk about banning a hypothetical 287(g) with a hypothetical police department than they are a real 287(g) with the Massachusetts Department of Correction,” says an attorney who represents detained immigrants in Massachusetts.

There Have Been No Approvals for New Transit Projects in the First Year of the Current Trump Administration

For the 1st time in the 1st year of a presidential administration since at least 1993, under Trump 2, the Federal Transit Administration signed 0 new contracts for major transit projects, like subways or light rail.

The US is facing a crisis of rail transit investment: www.urban.org/urban-wire/r...

Eyeing Voting Rights, Liberals Aim to Secure Wisconsin’s Supreme Court through 2030 - Bolts After flipping the court in 2023, Wisconsin liberals now hope to expand their majority on a body that could be a critical backstop for voting rights during the next presidential election.

But first is next month’s very under-the-radar race.

Details here: boltsmag.org/wisconsin-su...

News today: Wisconsin Justice Ziegler, a conservative up for reelection NEXT spring, just announced she won’t seek reelection.

That means that if liberals win a seat next month, they’ll then have a golden opportunity to pick ANOTHER seat next spring and go up… 6-1!

Illinois (and Pritzker) score points

Suozzi a month ago thehill.com/homenews/hou...

It's Town Meeting in almost every town in New Hampshire this Tuesday.

Not sure about where/when? Call your clerk!

Not registered to vote? No problem - we have same-day registration, so bring your paperwork and get registered on the spot.

School meetings may be separate! Ask!

The “Iran strikes” version of the Democrats who are now acting contrite over having supported Trump’s deportation agenda. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/08/w...

Senator mocked ‘green energy crap.’ His house runs on it. Montana Republican Tim Sheehy voted to scrap solar tax credits after installing panels and battery storage at his Bozeman home.

“Montana Republican Tim Sheehy voted to scrap solar tax credits after installing panels and battery storage at his Bozeman home.” www.politico.com/news/2026/03...

forming mutual defense orgs is a good way for institutions to resist federal overreach from an authoritarian like Trump enabled by a spineless GOP. we saw what happened to individual colleges, legal firms & tech companies when individually targeted, just the reality of surviving an unfair fight…

Yes, the acronym is FAFO. Perfection.

Genuinely wishing them luck and strength — and as always, I’m grateful to @taniel.bsky.social and the journalists of @boltsmag.org who cover the stories many are ignoring, and doing it with depth, precision and purpose. We’re all better for it.

In first, CIA acknowledges 1953 coup it backed to overthrow leader of Iran was undemocratic While other American officials have made similar remarks in the past, the acknowledgment by the CIA in a podcast about the agency’s history comes as much of its official history of the coup still rema...

I wonder what percentage of Americans knows that the CIA helped overthrow a democracy in Iran in 1953, installing a brutal dictator who tortured and murdered people. Republicans keep citing the 1979 Islamic Revolution as if that was the start of U.S.-Iran hostilities. Go back 26 years earlier.

Construction Contracts Awarded for ICE Detention Facilities in Maryland and Arizona The federal government awarded renovation contracts Sunday for two warehouses — in Maryland and Arizona — as the government races to expand its detention network.

The federal government awarded contracts Sunday to renovate two warehouses, each designed to hold 1,500 people, into immigration detention and processing facilities in Maryland and Arizona, according to contract records. The Maryland facility is scheduled for completion by May.

The March 15, 2025, killing of Ruben Ray Martinez drew almost no public attention.

But Martinez is now the first known American citizen shot to death by federal immigration agents during President Trump’s second term. https://wapo.st/4lbpGYC

which one do you have in mind? Ilsen? Il09? Other?

Coming up TUESDAY

MARCH 10th 👇🏻

Inside the latest, and scariest, iteration of America’s endless abortion wars After Trump’s mass pardons of anti-abortion activists, threats and harassment at clinics have surged.

Read this piece on how abortion clinics are facing more, and more sophisticated threats, from @kbeccaandrews.bsky.social www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

The 75 Elections to Watch This March - Bolts The 2026 midterms really are starting. Five states hold all of their primaries for federal and state offices in March, and voters there face high-profile choices. They’ll decide which Democrat... Read...

Elections continue this Tuesday. What’s up?

—the first round to replace MTG in Georgia
—a generational battle in the Dem primary for Mississippi’s CD02
—Dems have a chance at another legislative flip in New Hampshire
—local elections in Tempe, Arizona

Details on each:

“Earlier this year, Conover and eight other elected prosecutors announced a new organization, the Fight Against Federal Overreach, to “ensure federal officials are held accountable when they exceed their lawful authority.” “

A little more context if people don’t know what this is about.

The 9 are those in Minneapolis/Hennepin, Philly, Tucson/Pima, Austin/Travis, Dallas, Fairfax, Arlington, Plymouth. (boltsmag.org/how-state-an...)

What they named it!

“An organization like FAFO could allow prosecutors to trade research on novel legal theories designed to head off immunity arguments, share recommendations for expert witnesses, and even help strategize on how to sue the federal government to access evidence or get a case back into state court. It could facilitate collaboration between prosecutors in neighboring counties both subjected to CBP and ICE deployments, or between a local DA and their state AG. “A lot of what we’re looking at has not been tried yet in the court system,” Conover said. “Rather than each one of us facing something, God forbid, like Minneapolis and finding ourselves having to invent the wheel, we can do it together.””

Struck by this quote from Tuscon’s local prosecutor on why she joined a nationwide group discussing how to prosecute federal agents

boltsmag.org/how-state-an...

Wisconsin specific PSA: deadline to register to vote in the Supreme Court race is coming up mid-March.

1. Even if you think you’re registered, verify.

2. If you plan to register by mail: the deadline is 3/18 but *MAKE SURE TO DO IT DAYS EARLY* because new USPS rules: boltsmag.org/usps-postmar...

How State and Local Leaders Are Responding to ICE: Your Questions Answered How are states restricting ICE activity? Can local prosecutors charge federal officers? How can local leaders prepare for ICE deployments? We provide answers about local responses to the immigration crackdown.

Could local officials block ICE from building more detention facilities? How could one find out if one’s local police department is cooperating with ICE?

You asked, we answered nine questions on how localities are responding to ICE.

A woman stands on a dirt mound, her back to the camera, looking toward a horizon filled with dense, dark smoke. A label in the top left reads "Tehran." Photo by Arash Khamooshi for The New York Times.

The view of Tehran’s skyline overnight on Sunday was apocalyptic: Billowing smoke and towering oil fires turned the horizon orange as Israeli strikes ignited fuel depots outside the Iranian capital. By morning, dark, oily smoke hung over the city. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/08/w...

Absolutely chilling story

Americans Are Now a Target in Trump’s Immigration Crackdown A WSJ investigation tracked the U.S. citizens caught in the crosshairs of an aggressive federal campaign to detain and demonize dissenters.

“A WSJ investigation tracked the U.S. citizens caught in the crosshairs of an aggressive government campaign to detain and demonize dissenters” www.wsj.com/us-news/immi...

the most important state election of early 2026 is right around the corner… though you’d never know it by the attention it’s receiving.

here’s hoping this bolts article helps jumpstart a little more chat!