and the blood drips down like hershey’s chocolate

SNAP benefits are about to expire leaving 40 million Americans without food aid and “at this moment in time, of course, the ballroom is really the president’s main priority.” That sentence would be offensive enough even without the “of course” which is a good reminder that they’re laughing right in our faces. They don’t just need to win, they need to brag about their domination. We are governed by playground bullies. It doesn’t have to be this way at all.

If you can, this is a great day to send a few bucks to your local food pantry. The economy broadly is mostly scams and bribes and theft but there are real people in our communities who are struggling. The government might overlook them, but we can’t.

Now let’s talk about some great music!

There is a certain intimacy, immediacy, and urgency to everything Ekko Astral does. Pink Balloons was one of the best records from last year. Their new song “horseglue” is another example of the band at their best: loud, socially conscious, aggressive, in your face. Wake up. The song is “a screeching call for moral clarity.”

I’ve seen them live a handful of times now, and recently saw them open for PUP and Jeff Rosenstock. I was so proud to see them command and win over the crowd in a huge room. Their raw power is magic. Go see them if you can.

I’m working on a new playlist but I’m also listening to the following:

I have been imploring you to listen to Scarlet Street for years. I mean it now more than ever. In May 2022, I told you about the Your Favorite Weapon energy of their first EP. Then they took a huge step forward and put out one of the very best records of 2023. LP2 is out today, here to show off their exponential growth. More ambitious, heavier and darker, more introspective and honest, but hopeful.

This record is a reminder that you’re not alone. No one is coming to save us but we have each other. That can be enough, if only more people realize it in time.

This record is a beacon in the fog, a strong signal in the endless sea of noise, a safe haven in the shifting sands of the algorithms that ru(i)n our lives.

For fans of: Brand New, Foxing, mewithoutyou, TWIABP.

They recently described one of their songs as “emo Gin Blossoms” and I really like that. If that phrase intrigues you, and it absolutely should, you will love this record.

This EP is excellent and the only negative thing I can say about it is that when it’s over, I want more. That’s what the repeat button is for. Four powerful, incisive, catchy songs to help you feel less alone as you grind through another day. If you like Jeff Rosenstock, check this out.

Petty Relics is 11 tracks of soaring melodic punk anthems. I knew right away this was a banger. I love a record that opens with a short track that serves as the mission statement for what’s to come.

For fans of: The Menzingers, Braid, PUP.

ice is who we thought they were (losers)

In my last post I was wondering just who is signing up to be part of Trump’s gestapo and what the training is like. A few new reports have come out and we need to talk about how it’s nothing but a series of clusterfucks and we’re all paying for it.

A new NBC report sheds some light on who some of these guys are, and who is striking out while trying to sign up. Every word Trump has said about other countries “not sending their best” is actually true of these tools. This comes a few days after The Atlantic wrote about ICE saying “we all know the self-certification method has failed,” as in these guys aren’t as tough as they claim to be. They “misrepresented” their physical condition on their applications and were described as “athletically allergic.”

The standards have already been lowered to help speed up their hiring. Recruits must do 15 push-ups and 32 sit-ups, and run 1.5 miles in 14 minutes. That’s… not difficult for the average person.

“It’s pathetic,” said one career ICE official, who also said that before, in a typical class of 40 recruits, only a few would fail. Even inside ICE, they are concerned about the quality of these new recruits. The 1.5 mile run has been the one part that has flunked more trainees than any other requirements. The fitness test has been moved up to weed out the unfit candidates earlier in their training so they won’t have to waste time on recruits “who can’t even do push-ups,” one official said. lol, perhaps even lmao.

When someone fails out, they can’t just cut ties and shove them out the door. They “can try to rotate those candidates to an administrative job or another position with lower fitness standards.” But because there are so many guys failing, they have to ask ICE’s legal department (what a job it must be work at the legal department of a department that mostly does illegal things!) as to whether to revoke job offers. “It’s a disaster,” said a senior ICE official describing the process of assigning them administrative tasks to perform while waiting for ICE’s HR to issue termination letters.

One official said ICE does not have enough guns or vehicles. (That seems good actually.) Other field offices are short of parking spaces and bathroom capacity. They haven’t thought through how to ramp up this fast. They are not smart and they are not thinking ahead.

“They are trying to push everyone through, and the vetting process is not what it should be,” said a former DHS official. A current official likened the pressure of ICE’s HR to clear recruits to “asking them to pull a rabbit out of a hat.”

Hiring these men is a disaster, whether they get the job or not.

Their work is an amoral disaster for the communities they invade.

The NBC report also details how ICE has placed recruits into training before completing the vetting process, shortened their training from 13 weeks down to eight and then to six, and nearly half of recruits couldn’t pass an open-book written exam.

Athletically allergic. Nearly half can’t pass an open-book test.

So they aren’t fit but at least they’re also dumb as shit.

They are just so amped up to rough up and deport people, they are desperate to put bodies into the Kevlar vests and put guns into their hands.

If that’s not enraging enough, CNN reports that the signing bonus is not contingent on passing the academy. “Even candidates who don’t pass the academy and are slotted for administrative jobs are still pocketing thousands of dollars.” I can’t say this enough: think about all the things we’re told they “can’t afford” and then look at the money they’re spending on a domestic war. Every time he calls himself the peace president, think about the American cities he’s invaded.

SNAP benefits are about to expire for people who need food, but ICE spending is up 700% to $71 million. This money is going towards armor, explosives, pistols, rifles, and more. They are arming their troops in the one-sided Civil War they are fighting against the rest of us. Their violence is escalating, their use of force excessive. They will not slow down.

Officials discovered one recruit had previously been charged with “strong-arm robbery and battery stemming from a domestic violence incident.” They found some recruits hadn’t even submitted fingerprints or drug tests, and that was only because they admitted it during the process. “What about the ones who don’t admit it?” mused one official. I’m sure it’s fine, they’re known for being honest. Oh wait. That’s not true.

They keep getting caught in lies. Wouldn’t you know it, more lies. Here’s a big one: In Idaho, advocates said they witness children zip tied. An FBI spokesperson said in part, “reports suggesting children were zip-tied…are completely false.” A news outlet then sent the FBI a photo of a 14-year-old US citizen in zip ties. The FBI then released an updated statement adding “young” before the word “children.” So a 14-year-old citizen in zip ties doesn’t count as young, but those 30-somethings in the Nazi group chat are just kids goofin’ around. Sure. Here’s more about their barrage of lies.

Last time I talked about the open white supremacy of DHS social media. Wouldn’t you know it, they did it again. They posted a video featuring a song popular with Nazi creators. The dog whistle is more of a tornado siren. Do you hear it yet?

the lost art of simply not getting a nazi tattoo

I believe that people can grow and change. I believe that people can get tattoos they don’t understand, and certainly believe that people might come to regret their tattoos for a number of reasons.

If someone were to get a tattoo not realizing what it meant, and then found out what it meant, they’d have a choice. They would have to ask themselves whether or not the thing it represents — in Graham Platner’s case, Nazism! — is bad enough that they need to make a change. Removal is an option. Covering it up is an option. Waiting until it becomes a news item to do so tells me that it just didn’t bother him that much until it became a problem.

If I found out I had somehow had a Nazi symbol permanently on my body, I imagine it would feel like my skin was on fire. I would not be able to sleep or focus on anything until I made a change. I guess I’m just built different.

I have an ampersand tattoo. My wife and I have matching ones, actually. I love them. But if that became the new symbol of the Nazi party, we would talk with our tattoo artist on how we could make it into something else. Simple as that.

further reading

• Chappell Roan gets it. She has launched the Midwest Princess Fund for trans youth and LGBTQ+ communities. She’s already raised $400k. Hell yeah.

• Meta’s Ray-Ban glasses make you look like a huge loser. Oh but at least there’s a little light on them whenever they’re filming! Well for the low low price of $60 you can buy a mod to disable the light. Dork ass perverts.

• [Julien Baker’s] Sprained Ankle Turns 10

• A man was arrested for playing Darth Vader’s theme music behind National Guard troops walking through Logan Circle. The ACLU is suing (link opens a pdf) on his behalf.

• Treat Big Tech like Big Tobacco 

• Largest study of its kind shows AI assistants misrepresent news 45% of the time — regardless of language or territory

• A teen’s parents filed a wrongful death suit against OpenAI after their kid had “lengthy conversations” with ChatGPT about his intention to kill himself. The company responded with harassing subpoenas.

one good video

This is the energy we need:

Okay that’s enough for now. Scroll back up, pick at least one band, click, listen, enjoy.