Brandon Friedman
@brandonfriedman.bsky.social
51K followers 590 following 4.7K posts
Founder, Rakkasan Tea Company • Dallas Police Oversight Board • Former Obama guy • Once a soldier Dallas, Texas rakkasantea.com @rakkasantea.bsky.social
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Reposted by Brandon Friedman
robertcruickshank.com
This *will* happen and in most of our lifetimes. Pinochet was arrested. The Argentinian junta were tried and convicted. It should happen as soon as Dems retake power, it might take longer, but the ICE/MAGA trials are going to take place.
just-jack-1.bsky.social
Let’s fast forward to when these ICE fuckers are all on trial for their crimes against humanity and the Constitution.
brandonfriedman.bsky.social
And there it is. Exactly what I was talking about. Such an absolute poser.
Daily Beast: Pentagon Pete Cosplays After Bizarre General Pep Talk
LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION!
Julia Ornedo 
Reporter

Published Oct. 7 2025
brandonfriedman.bsky.social
The government is shooting priests in the head with pepper balls. I feel like this is a kitchen table issue.
flglchicago.bsky.social
Here’s video of the incident
brandonfriedman.bsky.social
Cops need to keep the peace, enforce laws and arrest those causing mayhem. Chicago is a strong mayor city. The police chief works for him. He can do this.
murray.senate.gov
The scenes out of Chicago should outrage us all. These federal agents are out of control, committing senseless acts of violence & putting everyone at risk.
 
American citizens are being detained & brutalized.
 
This kind of immigration "enforcement" shouldn't be acceptable to anyone.
Immigration agents become increasingly aggressive in Chicago
Activists, residents and elected leaders say increasingly combative tactics used by federal immigration agents are sparking violence and fueling neighborhood tensions in the nation’s third-largest cit...
www.pbs.org
Reposted by Brandon Friedman
darrigomelanie.bsky.social
I feel like this photo of masked, armed men pepper spraying a pastor protecting his community is going to be a defining picture of this moment in America for a long, long time.
brandonfriedman.bsky.social
Pablo Picasso and Andy Warhol were both alive and famous at the same time
raxkingisdead.bsky.social
you ever think about those real weird overlaps. like tennessee williams might have listened to the ramones
brandonfriedman.bsky.social
Soybean farmers, coffee importers, tea importers, banana importers — all facing an existential crisis because the president is surrounded by hostile hyper-morons
acyn.bsky.social
Soybean Farmer: So now I've got a tariff war that's killing my market. I don't have any money from grain we're sending to other countries for USAID. I mean, I've got a compound problem. I don't know how you plan for next year because we don't know where we're at.
Reposted by Brandon Friedman
carlquintanilla.bsky.social
“.. On closer inspection, however, it turned out that the image was not a photograph of a real event in Portland, but instead a fabrication created by combining two photographs of scenes that unfolded in South America nearly a decade apart ..”

@theguardian.com
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Reposted by Brandon Friedman
willoremus.com
Obviously not the main point here, but it's interesting how this is framed as content rather than policy.

"BREAKING" is typically what journalists or influencers say when they have a big story -- not what government officials say when they launch "undercover" operations
Reposted by Brandon Friedman
joshtpm.bsky.social
Picture here is from 1992. LA riots. Ive seen this called bad news judgment. In any real journalism outfit this is more like a firing offense. I basically say such things. Beyond belief.
cnn.com
CNN @cnn.com · 1d
"President Donald Trump and his top aides are using the word 'insurrection' more frequently to describe anti-ICE protests in places like Portland," writes Zachary B. Wolf. https://cnn.it/4pWYmzr
Reposted by Brandon Friedman
jamisonfoser.bsky.social
aside from the whole "that definitely isn't constitutional" part can anyone see any problems with Trump just transferring government revenue to whatever bank account he wants or nah?
peark.es
Well that's not how appropriations work at all

*WHITE HOUSE TO TRANSFER TARIFF REVENUE TO FUND WIC: LEAVITT
Reposted by Brandon Friedman
alisongrinter.bsky.social
I don’t know who it’s going to be, but it will NEVER be this sellout cornball bitch.
lgbtqnation.com
Gavin Newsom vetoes gender education bill, declines to sign other trans protections - buff.ly/MTUAV85
brandonfriedman.bsky.social
Curious if the "don't call it fascism!" people who reside safely in blue states still believe this isn't fascism
brandonfriedman.bsky.social
Just because polling locations are allowed to operate freely, it doesn't mean votes haven't been actively suppressed, in ways large and small, for weeks and months prior to an election.
brandonfriedman.bsky.social
This is straight from the fascist playbook. It will ceate fear and mistrust among Democratic groups in Texas and it is ultimately designed to suppress votes.
Statement from Ken Paxton
Reposted by Brandon Friedman
evansutton.bsky.social
"AI is not just a technology. It is a social problem. There is zero reason to allow it to run us over without a plan to mitigate its completely predictable negative effects." Another must-read banger from @hamiltonnolan.bsky.social www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/thinking-o...
Thinking of AI as a Social Problem
No need to know the unknowable. The knowable is bad enough.
www.hamiltonnolan.com
brandonfriedman.bsky.social
That is extremely not a denial
atrupar.com
NOTABLE -- Pam Bondi refuses to answer direct questions about if the FBI has incriminating photos of Trump with half-naked young women, but instead deflects from them by attacking Sen. Whitehouse
Reposted by Brandon Friedman
niedermeyer.online
what if I told you that taking accountability for your actions was traditionally considered a load-bearing feature of masculinity?
rollingstone.com
“I voted for none of this."

Prominent influencers, including Theo Von, Joe Rogan, and Andrew Schulz, are starting to distance themselves from the president they helped propel to the White House.

Story: www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...
brandonfriedman.bsky.social
So who's backfilling the already deployed unit? That mission is just canceled?
brandonfriedman.bsky.social
The 82nd Airborne Division's alert unit deployment standard has long been 18 hours. The 101st Airborne Division's has been 36 hours. Those are professional, "elite" Army units. And somehow Greg Abbott has the Texas Army National Guard's weekend warriors on a flight out in under 24 hours?
brandonfriedman.bsky.social
Guard units cannot deploy this rapidly. These are not active duty units with full-time soldiers. These are people with jobs, students and even elected officials. They all have outside obligations. Thay's why there's a ton of coordination that goes into deploying a Guard unit outside of state lines.
brandonfriedman.bsky.social
Very confused how Texas Army National Guard soldiers would be deploying to Chicago tonight. This was just announced yesterday, right? You would be hard-pressed to deploy an XVIII Airborne Corps alert unit this fast, much less a Guard unit. Either this was in the works weeks ago, or something is off.
tylerplariviere.bsky.social
You can follow along as one of the USAF Boeing C-17A Globemaster III's transports members of the Texas National Guard into the Chicago area, after Texas Gov. Gregg Abbot authorized their deployment to the Chicagoland area.

globe.adsbexchange.com?icao=ae20c4
ADS-B Exchange - track aircraft live
ADS-B Exchange - track aircraft live - aircraft flight history
globe.adsbexchange.com
Reposted by Brandon Friedman
andycraig.bsky.social
1765 Stamp Act, S.A. Congress, Townshend
1766 Declaratory Act
1768 UK troops Mass.
1770 Boston Massacre
1772 Pine Tree Revolt
1773 Tea Party
1774 Coercive Acts, 1st Congress, boycott
1775 Lexington & Concord, Bunker Hill, Olive Branch Petition
1776 Declaration

You don't skip straight to the end.
laurie-merrell.bsky.social
If you still know anyone who imagines that Pritzker or Johnson will order police under their command to arrest federal agents, you can send them this (1hr12min42sec timestamp). They are explicit that they will not and they view courts as only venue for enforcement.

www.youtube.com/live/vqP4YFV...
LIVE: Illinois' JD Pritzker on Trump's use of National Guard
YouTube video by Reuters
www.youtube.com
Reposted by Brandon Friedman