Hal Espen
@halsf.bsky.social
Formerly at The New Yorker and Outside, currently in Santa Fe, presently in Seattle and environs. Now listening to on vinyl.
The entire 26-min segment is extraordinary — featuring an actor of genius (who's also a big fat shameless ham), Tolkien nerdery, a paean to live theatre, an admonition to put down the fucking phones, and finally Shakespeare's searing anti-ICE soliloquy from Sir Thomas More!
youtu.be/2l2RqzVG4ag?...
youtu.be/2l2RqzVG4ag?...
"There's Nothing I Enjoy More Than Acting In The Theater" - Ian McKellen EXTENDED INTERVIEW
YouTube video by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
youtu.be
February 5, 2026 at 6:47 PM
The entire 26-min segment is extraordinary — featuring an actor of genius (who's also a big fat shameless ham), Tolkien nerdery, a paean to live theatre, an admonition to put down the fucking phones, and finally Shakespeare's searing anti-ICE soliloquy from Sir Thomas More!
youtu.be/2l2RqzVG4ag?...
youtu.be/2l2RqzVG4ag?...
Reposted by Hal Espen
🪅Our friends @nmilc.bsky.social report @govmlg.bsky.social has signed HB9, Immigrant Safety Act, into law.
Should hasten the closure of ICE detention facilities in #NewMexico and ends any cooperation between NM state and local law enforcement and federal civil immigration actions by ICE/CBP.🪅
Should hasten the closure of ICE detention facilities in #NewMexico and ends any cooperation between NM state and local law enforcement and federal civil immigration actions by ICE/CBP.🪅
February 5, 2026 at 5:43 PM
🪅Our friends @nmilc.bsky.social report @govmlg.bsky.social has signed HB9, Immigrant Safety Act, into law.
Should hasten the closure of ICE detention facilities in #NewMexico and ends any cooperation between NM state and local law enforcement and federal civil immigration actions by ICE/CBP.🪅
Should hasten the closure of ICE detention facilities in #NewMexico and ends any cooperation between NM state and local law enforcement and federal civil immigration actions by ICE/CBP.🪅
Reposted by Hal Espen
Great work by Greg Sargent. We are, right now, deciding whether we want to be a land of giant concentration camps and ethnic cleanings.
newrepublic.com/article/2060...
newrepublic.com/article/2060...
Trump’s New “Prison Camp” Threat Unleashes Fury Even in MAGA Country
The next phase of ICE’s big ramp-up: a nationwide network of vast detention facilities. But guess what? Even parts of Red America are saying no.
newrepublic.com
February 4, 2026 at 8:36 PM
Great work by Greg Sargent. We are, right now, deciding whether we want to be a land of giant concentration camps and ethnic cleanings.
newrepublic.com/article/2060...
newrepublic.com/article/2060...
Reposted by Hal Espen
this is a wicked man who knows he is being wicked and does it anyway
Reporter: Do you plan to apologize to the family of Alex Pretti?
Vance: For what?
Vance: For what?
February 4, 2026 at 4:41 PM
this is a wicked man who knows he is being wicked and does it anyway
Reposted by Hal Espen
Reposted by Hal Espen
This is unreal. An AUSA talking like that in open court is about as close as you can come to a total breakdown. Never heard of anything like it.
February 3, 2026 at 8:46 PM
This is unreal. An AUSA talking like that in open court is about as close as you can come to a total breakdown. Never heard of anything like it.
Reposted by Hal Espen
“There’s this notion of keeping the dream of growth alive,” said John Fleck, a researcher at the University of New Mexico. “It’s difficult for people to reckon with the reality that they can’t keep that dream alive anymore.”
@sammyroth.bsky.social
@sammyroth.bsky.social
Opinion | These Four States Are in Denial Over a Looming Water Crisis
www.nytimes.com
February 3, 2026 at 1:35 PM
“There’s this notion of keeping the dream of growth alive,” said John Fleck, a researcher at the University of New Mexico. “It’s difficult for people to reckon with the reality that they can’t keep that dream alive anymore.”
@sammyroth.bsky.social
@sammyroth.bsky.social
Caroline Fraser’s Murderland just got a top-notch callout in Emma Brockes’s Guardian diary column, paired in a double feature of homicide with the great Mindhunter series.
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
February 2, 2026 at 10:37 PM
Caroline Fraser’s Murderland just got a top-notch callout in Emma Brockes’s Guardian diary column, paired in a double feature of homicide with the great Mindhunter series.
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
Reposted by Hal Espen
February 2, 2026 at 4:40 PM
New Mexico history thread with Killers of the Flower Moon overtones.
This Day in Labor History: February 2, 1848. The United States and Mexico signed the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, ending the war the U.S. launched against Mexico to steal land and extend slavery. Let's talk about how this also led to the widespread theft of the land grants from New Mexicans!!!
February 2, 2026 at 3:31 PM
New Mexico history thread with Killers of the Flower Moon overtones.
“Vega shows that indifference is the bureaucratic resource that allows agents to look away from the most morally ambiguous aspects of their work and helps them cultivate legitimacy for their employer.”
For those commenting on the agents' surnames.
February 1, 2026 at 10:52 PM
“Vega shows that indifference is the bureaucratic resource that allows agents to look away from the most morally ambiguous aspects of their work and helps them cultivate legitimacy for their employer.”
Reposted by Hal Espen
BREAKING: The two federal immigration agents who fired on Minneapolis protester Alex Pretti are identified in government records as Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and Customs and Border Protection officer Raymundo Gutierrez.
Two CBP Agents Identified in Alex Pretti Shooting
The two federal immigration agents who fired on Minneapolis protester Alex Pretti are identified in government records as Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and Customs and Border Protection officer Raym...
www.propublica.org
February 1, 2026 at 9:10 PM
BREAKING: The two federal immigration agents who fired on Minneapolis protester Alex Pretti are identified in government records as Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and Customs and Border Protection officer Raymundo Gutierrez.
Reposted by Hal Espen
"It's believed to be the first time a local police department in Minnesota intervened in a federal law enforcement action since the surge in immigration enforcement began two months ago."
"MPR News has learned that the police chief in the small southern Minnesota city of St. Peter intervened Thursday afternoon to prevent federal immigration agents from arresting a local resident" who had been observing federal agents. www.mprnews.org/story/2026/0...
St. Peter police chief intervenes, prevents federal agents from arresting resident
The police chief of St. Peter intervened to prevent federal agents from taking a local resident who was observing ICE enforcement actions into custody. It is believed to the first time local police in...
www.mprnews.org
January 31, 2026 at 3:33 PM
"It's believed to be the first time a local police department in Minnesota intervened in a federal law enforcement action since the surge in immigration enforcement began two months ago."
Reposted by Hal Espen
Minneapolis, MN -
The speeches regarding the general strike are finished. Folks dancing in the street now to Kendrick Lamar, Halluci Nation, Saul Williams and other songs. The first moments of real, intense joy I’ve seen since I arrived here.
The speeches regarding the general strike are finished. Folks dancing in the street now to Kendrick Lamar, Halluci Nation, Saul Williams and other songs. The first moments of real, intense joy I’ve seen since I arrived here.
January 30, 2026 at 11:02 PM
Minneapolis, MN -
The speeches regarding the general strike are finished. Folks dancing in the street now to Kendrick Lamar, Halluci Nation, Saul Williams and other songs. The first moments of real, intense joy I’ve seen since I arrived here.
The speeches regarding the general strike are finished. Folks dancing in the street now to Kendrick Lamar, Halluci Nation, Saul Williams and other songs. The first moments of real, intense joy I’ve seen since I arrived here.
Reposted by Hal Espen
Minneapolis, MN -
Protesters continuing to move through downtown Minneapolis. Moving past a Bob Dylan mural that reads “the times are a-changin’.”
The shutdown may not be as big as last week but it’s hard not to notice how many businesses are closed today.
Protesters continuing to move through downtown Minneapolis. Moving past a Bob Dylan mural that reads “the times are a-changin’.”
The shutdown may not be as big as last week but it’s hard not to notice how many businesses are closed today.
January 30, 2026 at 8:57 PM
Minneapolis, MN -
Protesters continuing to move through downtown Minneapolis. Moving past a Bob Dylan mural that reads “the times are a-changin’.”
The shutdown may not be as big as last week but it’s hard not to notice how many businesses are closed today.
Protesters continuing to move through downtown Minneapolis. Moving past a Bob Dylan mural that reads “the times are a-changin’.”
The shutdown may not be as big as last week but it’s hard not to notice how many businesses are closed today.
Reposted by Hal Espen
Someday—probably after she’s gone—we’ll hopefully be able to have an honest reckoning of Oprah’s outsized, decades-long role in poisoning our culture by elevating and mainstreaming reactionary grifters and pseudoscientific woo woo wellness bullshit.
January 30, 2026 at 5:37 PM
Someday—probably after she’s gone—we’ll hopefully be able to have an honest reckoning of Oprah’s outsized, decades-long role in poisoning our culture by elevating and mainstreaming reactionary grifters and pseudoscientific woo woo wellness bullshit.
Reposted by Hal Espen
very fun to think that there are at least four votes for "the president can unilaterally rewrite a constitutional amendment"
A different kind of April fools
*SUPREME COURT SETS BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP ARGUMENTS FOR APRIL 1
*SUPREME COURT SETS BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP ARGUMENTS FOR APRIL 1
January 30, 2026 at 4:35 PM
very fun to think that there are at least four votes for "the president can unilaterally rewrite a constitutional amendment"
Reposted by Hal Espen
‼️#NMLeg2026 HB 9, Immigrant Safety Act, voted out of House Judiciary Committee. Important, good amendment added: prevents state and local law enforcement from cooperating with feds on civil immigration enforcement.
January 29, 2026 at 3:17 AM
‼️#NMLeg2026 HB 9, Immigrant Safety Act, voted out of House Judiciary Committee. Important, good amendment added: prevents state and local law enforcement from cooperating with feds on civil immigration enforcement.
Reposted by Hal Espen
If they get one like this of me, run it over my obituary. American heroes all of them
Scrolling through the photos of Pam Bondi's "Minnesota rioters," it's just hero after hero. Every photo includes a cowardly DHS agent with their back to the camera.
Bondi thinks she's going to win the propaganda war with this shit, but it's never been more clear that they're losing.
Bondi thinks she's going to win the propaganda war with this shit, but it's never been more clear that they're losing.
January 28, 2026 at 9:44 PM
If they get one like this of me, run it over my obituary. American heroes all of them
Reposted by Hal Espen
1970, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, "Ohio."
2026, Bruce Springsteen, "Streets of Minneapolis."
This is true patriotism.
2026, Bruce Springsteen, "Streets of Minneapolis."
This is true patriotism.
I wrote this song on Saturday, recorded it yesterday and released it to you today in response to the state terror being visited on the city of Minneapolis. It’s dedicated to the people of Minneapolis, our innocent immigrant neighbors and in memory of Alex Pretti and Renee Good.
Stay free
Stay free
Bruce Springsteen - Streets Of Minneapolis (Official Audio)
YouTube video by Bruce Springsteen
youtu.be
January 28, 2026 at 7:31 PM
1970, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, "Ohio."
2026, Bruce Springsteen, "Streets of Minneapolis."
This is true patriotism.
2026, Bruce Springsteen, "Streets of Minneapolis."
This is true patriotism.
Reposted by Hal Espen
“I think it’s time to pull out of Minnesota, that battle is lost," a Border Patrol agent said in a private chat I obtained:
www.kenklippenstein.com/p/ice-unloads
www.kenklippenstein.com/p/ice-unloads
ICE Unloads
Immigration officers speak out: “Fuck this.”
www.kenklippenstein.com
January 27, 2026 at 5:25 PM
“I think it’s time to pull out of Minnesota, that battle is lost," a Border Patrol agent said in a private chat I obtained:
www.kenklippenstein.com/p/ice-unloads
www.kenklippenstein.com/p/ice-unloads
Reposted by Hal Espen
Little Bighorn is, IMO, one of the most interesting public sites in US, bc it is a kids driving tolerance away fr Yellowstone (and so attracts people who otherwise wouldn't stop), and is basically a shrine to a humiliating American loss, with plenty of Native Americans present who will explain that.
"At Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument in Montana, exhibit text that described the United States being “hungry for gold and land” and breaking promises to Native Americans was ordered changed or removed." #NationalParks 🗃️ www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...
Trump’s censors hit Grand Canyon and 16 other national parks
A new wave of takedown orders from Trump officials targets signs about climate and Native Americans at several national parks, including Grand Canyon, Big Bend and Glacier.
www.washingtonpost.com
January 27, 2026 at 12:06 PM
Little Bighorn is, IMO, one of the most interesting public sites in US, bc it is a kids driving tolerance away fr Yellowstone (and so attracts people who otherwise wouldn't stop), and is basically a shrine to a humiliating American loss, with plenty of Native Americans present who will explain that.
Reposted by Hal Espen
Alex Pretti’s coworkers take a moment of silence this morning
January 26, 2026 at 8:12 PM
Alex Pretti’s coworkers take a moment of silence this morning
Reposted by Hal Espen
“Abolish ICE” - ICE www.nytimes.com/2026/01/26/u...
January 26, 2026 at 1:00 PM
“Abolish ICE” - ICE www.nytimes.com/2026/01/26/u...