Ken Bazinet
kenbazinet.bsky.social
Ken Bazinet
@kenbazinet.bsky.social
Longtime DC scribe, covering three presidencies (DC is fine, but I prefer the United States). Reflections on democracy, First Amendment, Boston sports, and jam bands. Simple approach: trusted source intel + research & data + analysis = smart solutions.
Pinned
Having to fight for the pursuit of happiness is one of the great but necessary ironies of our lifetimes, but having people who will fight for our pursuit of happiness is one of its great blessings. #Resist #Organize #StayStrong
"She has taken this administration into the ground on an issue we should own. We should own the issue of border security and immigration, but they have destroyed that for Republicans," said Sen. Thom Tillis, a Republican from North Carolina, WCVB reported.

#Zamboni
Is Kristi Noem's job in jeopardy? President Trump says no, lawmakers say yes
Lawmakers are urging changes in immigration enforcement and accountability from the Department of Homeland Security following two fatal shootings by federal officers in Minneapolis.
www.wcvb.com
January 28, 2026 at 3:36 PM
Fed expected keep interest rates steady as Powell's clash with Trump takes center stage.

Inflation, meanwhile, remains well above the Fed’s 2% target, undermining the White House's argument that the central bank needs to lower interest rates in order to turbo-charge US economy, NBC News reported.
Powell's hard line on White House interest rate pressure is center stage at Fed meeting
The Fed and chairman Jerome Powell face a criminal investigation launched by the president's close ally, Jeanine Pirro.
www.nbcnews.com
January 28, 2026 at 3:11 PM
"A reckoning. Senate Republicans returned to Washington remarkably clear-eyed about the dismal state of President Donald Trump’s harsh immigration crackdown. Now comes the hard part — navigating a procedural morass to rein in DHS and avert a government shutdown on Friday night," Punchbowl reported.
1/28/26☀️ AM:
PRESENTED BY IN THIS EDITION Senate Republicans go deal hunting with skeptical Dems Defense: Rubio’s Hill gauntlet Vault: Wartime Jay Powell AIPAC makes
punchbowl.news
January 28, 2026 at 2:58 PM
Reposted by Ken Bazinet
We’re taking to the streets once more to protect our rights, freedoms, and humanity against tyranny.

The next national NO KINGS protest is on March 28.

Join us
NO KINGS Coalition Responds to Escalating Brutality and Authoritarianism
The Next National Mass Mobilization will be on March 28...Mark your calendars and watch this space!
contrarian.substack.com
January 28, 2026 at 1:20 PM
Reposted by Ken Bazinet
Rand Paul: "There has to be an investigation. I don't know who trusts an investigation done by DHS when they're the ones calling this person an 'assassin,' a 'domestic terrorist,' saying he was assaulting police. How can they be in charge of an independent investigation? Something's got to happen."
January 28, 2026 at 1:16 PM
“Right now, I’m very happy to see my daughter again,” Vaca Latacunga said in a phone call in Spanish after her release, The Globe reported.

Mainers have pushed back against ICE's characterization of those arrested, saying many are like Latacunga — employed and appear to have no criminal record.
‘I want my mom’: Kindergartner left without her mother for several days as ICE detains parents in Maine - The Boston Globe
A growing number of children across Maine have been left without a parent as immigration enforcement surges in the state.
www.bostonglobe.com
January 28, 2026 at 2:27 PM
Crowd-sourced database of suspected ICE activity logged over 300 sightings across the metro area Tuesday, including reports of people being detained, Axios reported.

In one incident, ICE attempted to forcibly enter Ecuador's consulate in Minneapolis, according to Ecuador's Foreign Affairs Ministry.
Homan arrives in Minnesota, but immigration crackdown continues
A major pullback of the ICE surge does not appear imminent.
www.axios.com
January 28, 2026 at 1:59 PM
Reposted by Ken Bazinet
Kristi Noem: "Everything I've done, I've done at the direction of the president and Stephen"
January 28, 2026 at 1:21 PM
I want to fire Noem, but I'm going to vote to keep funding the invasion of US cities are worthless politics. It's more toothless grandstanding.
John Fetterman said he won’t vote against DHS funding. Every House Democrat from Pa. is urging him to change his mind
Fetterman has said he disagrees with 'many strategies and practices ICE deployed in Minneapolis' but rejects calls to defund ICE.
www.inquirer.com
January 28, 2026 at 1:43 PM
What good is asking Noem to back off a bit, if you're going to vote for the bill and support funding ICE? There are no teeth in that bite.
Susan Collins asks DHS to pause immigration enforcement surge in Maine and Minnesota
The Republican is standing by her calls to pass new funding for DHS and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, saying a new spending bill will include new accountability measures. But she says the opera...
www.mainepublic.org
January 28, 2026 at 1:30 PM
Reposted by Ken Bazinet
Toughest congressperson in America rears back for a punch, and refuses to cut short townhall, after asshole sprays her with something.
January 28, 2026 at 2:12 AM
"They live in a toxic environment of their own creation that has nothing to do with policing," Leon Taylor, a retired Baltimore and former military peace keeper in the Balkans, told NPR.

Taylor blames it on the message that they have "immunity " from high-level officials, like JD Vance.
CBP has a history of excessive force. Critics say they were unprepared for Minnesota
Experts say federal immigration agents' skills are a dangerous mismatch for urban settings such as the Twin Cities
www.npr.org
January 28, 2026 at 1:04 PM
Trump spews hate at this lady everyday, and the corporate news media gleefully runs with it without measure. If you didn't think this attack was in the realm of possibility, given the Trump Mob, you might be an idiot.
After town hall attack, Ilhan Omar condemns ‘terrorizing’ immigration push and criticism from GOP | CNN Politics
Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar ignored staffers’ pleas to end a town hall early and get a medical check Tuesday after a man rushed the podium and sprayed a substance at the Democratic congresswoman.
www.cnn.com
January 28, 2026 at 11:44 AM
Steve Sosnick, market strategist at Interactive Brokers, said that a weaker dollar "was a two-sided coin", Reuters reported.
"On the one hand, it’s good for multinationals," Sosnick said. "On the other, it makes imported goods more expensive and there might be some inflationary impact from that."
Trump says value of the dollar is 'great', currency hits 4-year low
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday the value of the dollar was "great", when asked whether he thought it ‌had declined too much, adding to pressure on the greenback which hit a four-year low.
www.reuters.com
January 28, 2026 at 11:39 AM
In a note to clients, the investment firm Bridgewater warned that rising protectionism and the race to build out AI infrastructure were both likely to drive inflation, Semifor reported.
Fears grow of rising US inflation
A growing number of experts warned of the risks of inflation accelerating in the US, even as markets bet that policymakers will lower borrowing costs.
www.semafor.com
January 28, 2026 at 11:30 AM
“John Deere’s doing $70 million of factory in North Carolina. Brand new, the best in the world. And I think it’s gonna pay off very, very big. And if it doesn’t, I have nothing to do with it,” Trump said.

Deere announced the plans May 2024.

Trump also lied about inflation and tariffs, KCRG found.
Fact Check: President Trump’s claims on inflation and John Deere facility
President Trump made several economic claims during Tuesday’s speech that require fact-checking, including statements about proposed developments by John Deere and his Administration’s effort to bring...
www.kcrg.com
January 28, 2026 at 10:43 AM
Analysts at Morgan Stanley estimates the storm, called Fern, could chop 0.5 to 1.5 percentage points from gross domestic product in the first quarter, MarketWatch reported.
Winter storm Fern chills the U.S. economy — and GDP could suffer
The winter storm that just pummeled the country is likely to take a chunk out of U.S. growth in the first quarter, making it even harder to figure out what is going on in the economy.
www.marketwatch.com
January 28, 2026 at 10:29 AM
Reposted by Ken Bazinet
“I watched him die… then I watched them maneuver his body like a rag doll— only to discover it was because they wanted to count the bullet wounds and see how many they ‘got’, like he was a deer.”
January 28, 2026 at 5:46 AM
Reposted by Ken Bazinet
here's a video from this afternoon in Eden Prairie MN of ICE agents camping out as a bus stop.

Again, this is terrorism.
January 27, 2026 at 9:40 PM
Reposted by Ken Bazinet
In the middle of this crisis, it’s important to keep in mind the agenda.

open.substack.com/pub/adamkinz...
Tyrant Tramples On Our First Amendment
Trump is just the man the Founders feared
open.substack.com
January 28, 2026 at 12:04 AM
Reposted by Ken Bazinet
This mid-afternoon Alex Pretti vigil at the Portland VA was not heavily promoted. But the crowd probably stretches a quarter mile or more. Americans are galvanized and grieving.
January 27, 2026 at 11:47 PM
The American people are not buying the happy talk economic horse hooey that Trump, Bessent, Lutnick and Hassett have been pimping.

Americans have the receipts and are wisely preparing for the Trump administration policies and whims to trigger an economic train wreck in the U.S.

#InflationNation
Bad News For Trump's Economy: Consumer Confidence 'Collapsed' To Lowest Level Since January 2014
YouTube video by Forbes Breaking News
www.youtube.com
January 27, 2026 at 8:59 PM
“Confidence collapsed in January, as consumer concerns about both the present situation and expectations for the future deepened,” said Dana Peterson, the Conference Board’s chief economist.
Americans' confidence in the U.S. economy falls sharply in January to lowest level since 2014
U.S. consumer confidence declined sharply in January, hitting the lowest level since 2014 as Americans grow increasingly concerned about their financial prospects.
apnews.com
January 27, 2026 at 8:35 PM