Everything Comes Up Beautiful

He went to a citizenship interview and was disappeared by US gov't. 😢

Mohsen Mahdawi walked into a routine citizenship interview in Vermont on Monday expecting the next step toward becoming an American citizen. Instead, he was detained by federal agents and disappeared into a legal black hole. His attorneys say they still don’t know exactly where he is. The only certainty is that Mahdawi, a Palestinian man, U.S. resident, and Columbia University graduate, is now the latest student protester to be targeted by the Trump administration for deportation, not because of any crime, but because of who he is and what he believes.

His case is as chilling as it is emblematic. For more than a decade, Mahdawi has lived in the U.S. as a lawful permanent resident. He was born in a refugee camp in the West Bank, completed his philosophy degree at Columbia last year, and had been planning to begin a master’s program at the university this fall. But in the eyes of the Trump administration, none of that matters. What matters is that Mahdawi co-founded Columbia’s Palestinian Student Union and has been a visible voice in protests against the war in Gaza. His attorney, Luna Droubi, alleges that Mahdawi’s detention is a political act, “an attempt to silence those who speak out against the atrocities in Gaza,” she said. “It is also unconstitutional.”

This is not an isolated incident. Mahdawi’s co-founder, Mahmoud Khalil, is also in detention. So is Tufts University student Rumeysa Ozturk, who was arrested after co-authoring an op-ed in a student paper. In all three cases, there is no public evidence of criminal wrongdoing. Instead, the administration is invoking an obscure and virtually unchecked authority, a provision of immigration law that allows the Secretary of State to order someone deported if they are deemed to pose an “adverse foreign policy consequence” for the United States. Under this Kafkaesque doctrine, it doesn’t matter what you did. It only matters that someone in Washington finds your presence inconvenient.

That someone is Marco Rubio.

As Secretary of State, Rubio has invoked the foreign policy clause to claim that student protesters like Khalil are undermining U.S. interests by speaking out against Israeli policy conflating criticism of a government with terrorism, dissent with treason. In Mahdawi’s case, there is no allegation of violence or support for violence. In fact, during a 2023 interview on 60 Minutes, he went out of his way to condemn antisemitic rhetoric at a protest, telling CBS’s Bill Whitaker, “You don’t represent us.” Yet that hasn’t stopped extremist pro-Israel organizations like Betar USA from circulating Mahdawi’s image online with the words “deport list” stamped beneath it, and it hasn’t stopped the federal government from acting on that list.

The word for this is retaliation. And if we are honest, there is another word too, fascism.

The same administration that forcibly removed Kilmar Abrego Garcia from the U.S. in defiance of a Supreme Court ruling is now holding students like Mahdawi in undisclosed locations, citing memos instead of evidence and targeting protest instead of crime. They are using immigration status not as a matter of law, but as a tool of punishment. Say the wrong thing, stand with the wrong people, protest the wrong war and your green card might as well be printed on tissue paper.

It’s worth asking how an administration that claims to be trimming federal waste has the time and staffing to orchestrate extrajudicial detentions of student protesters. Even as State Department offices face deep staffing cuts, career diplomats are pushed out, and international programs are slashed, there seems to be no shortage of attention for memos targeting college activists who challenge the president’s worldview. The mission has changed, from diplomacy to retribution.

That should terrify all of us. Because if this government can silence a philosophy student from Columbia, it can silence anyone. The Constitution doesn’t stop at the gates of a refugee camp. It doesn’t end with a visa stamp. And if it does, if we allow it to, then the problem isn’t Mahdawi. The problem is us.

follow me at marygeddry.substack.com and .bsky.social

News For Americans

CALL TO ACTION! A CODEL short for Congressional Delegation is an official trip by members of Congress, often to foreign countries, for oversight, investigation, or diplomacy. These trips require approval by congressional leadership, especially from committee chairs, and they provide security, logistical support, and formal recognition by the U.S. government.

Right now, Representatives Robert Garcia and Maxwell Frost, both members of the House Oversight Committee, are seeking approval to lead a CODEL to El Salvador. Their mission: to investigate the illegal deportation and ongoing detention of Kilmar Abrego García, a legal U.S. resident who was sent to a foreign mega-prison in direct violation of a federal court order. The Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the government must facilitate García’s return. Instead, Trump administration officials have continued to defy that order, and now appear to be stonewalling all efforts to retrieve him.

Rep. James Comer (R-KY), as Chair of the House Oversight Committee, holds the power to approve or block the trip. His decision will determine whether Congress can investigate this unfolding human rights crisis, or whether it will allow executive defiance and the disappearance of a legal resident to go unchecked.

📞 Contact Rep. James Comer:

DC Office: (202) 225-3115

Online Contact Form: comer.house.gov/contact

Social (Twitter/X):

Tell Rep. Comer: Approve the CODEL. Let Congress investigate. The rule of law is on the line.

Here is a sample email - Use the zipcode 42717 or 42431 to submit your comments

Dear Congressman Comer,

I am writing to urge you, as Chair of the House Oversight Committee, to immediately approve the proposed congressional delegation (CODEL) to El Salvador to investigate the unlawful deportation and continued detention of Kilmar Abrego García.

Mr. García, a legal resident of the United States and Maryland, was deported in violation of a federal court order, and his detention has now extended over a month despite a unanimous 9–0 Supreme Court ruling affirming the government’s obligation to facilitate his return.

This case is no longer about immigration policy. It is about the Constitution, the rule of law, and the authority of the judiciary. The Trump administration has repeatedly defied court orders, distorted the Supreme Court’s ruling, and failed to provide daily updates as required by Judge Paula Xinis.

Congress has a constitutional duty to provide oversight, especially when the executive branch defies both federal courts and the Supreme Court. Approving this CODEL is not a partisan issue it is a moral, legal, and democratic imperative.

If House leadership refuses to act in this moment, it risks sending a chilling message: that the executive can unilaterally violate court orders, disappear legal residents to foreign prisons, and face no consequence.

I urge you to do the right thing:
Approve the CODEL to El Salvador. Let Congress do its job.

Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[Your Address or Zip Code]
[Optional: Phone number or email]

ICE info. IMPORTANT! Ways to protect yourself.

😳😳😳!!!

🌅 Good Morning! In a move that screams banana republic cosplay, the Trump administration quietly dropped a Friday night memo handing jurisdiction over public land along the southern border to the U.S. military. That’s right, military authority, not Border Patrol, not civilian agencies. Just good ol' fashioned uniformed force, ready to build walls, drop sensors, and maybe, just maybe, set up temporary detention facilities (because nothing says “land of the free” like wartime internment zones).

The Roosevelt Reservation stretching across California, Arizona, and New Mexico now effectively belongs to the Pentagon. American Indian reservations are exempt (for now), but the message is clear: Trump wants the border militarized, reclassified, and ready for wartime optics. His administration, having already declared a national emergency with record-low border crossings, seems determined to reenact Red Dawn in reverse except the only invasion appears to be coming from the executive branch.

While Trump paints a picture of national siege, the rest of the world is responding... not with polite diplomatic murmurs, but with open disgust. On British television, former government officials and commentators tore into Trump’s envoy to Ukraine, General Keith Kellogg, for suggesting Ukraine should be partitioned like post-WWII Germany. Yes, the victim of an unprovoked invasion is now being told to surrender half its land and be grateful.

“This is not diplomacy, it's historical amnesia,” one commentator snapped, calling the proposal “appalling” and “devoid of moral compass.” Others pointed out the obvious: Germany was divided because it was the aggressor. Ukraine is being invaded by a lunatic with czarist fantasies and a dwindling conscript pool. Yet here we are, with Trump’s envoys floating deals that smell suspiciously like appeasement, just days after his associate Steve Witkoff cozied up with Putin in Moscow to discuss... well, rare earth minerals, mostly.

Meanwhile, back in the markets, economists are asking a different question: What if this isn’t policy failure? What if it’s brain failure?

According to FSInsights’ Tom Lee, macro fund managers are privately speculating that Trump may be mentally unwell. Not ideologically extreme just clinically unstable. After a week of reciprocal tariffs, snap reversals, a 125% spike on Chinese goods followed by a 10% across-the-board “reset,” the market has been left dizzy, confused, and billions poorer. Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan echoed concerns, warning that the U.S. is teetering on a needlessly induced recession, thanks to leadership more erratic than a Fox News guest segment on ketamine.

And then there’s Alina Habba, Trump’s personal law gremlin and chaos courier, who took to Fox News to announce a criminal investigation into New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy and AG Matt Platkin. No, this isn’t satire. This is federal prosecutorial power used as a revenge tool because, presumably, someone didn’t bow low enough at Mar-a-Lago. Habba, widely regarded as ethically allergic to due process, is now weaponizing the DOJ like it’s a White House gift shop souvenir.

Thankfully, someone is fighting back. Enter Susman Godfrey, the law firm that forced Fox News into a $787.5 million settlement over their Big Lie bonanza. They’re now suing Trump over his April 9 executive order, which bans Susman lawyers from federal buildings, strips security clearances, and cancels contracts with their clients all because they dared to hold him accountable in court.

“The President is abusing the powers of his office to wield the might of the Executive Branch in retaliation against organizations and people that he dislikes.”

That’s from the complaint. The subtext? Trump’s vendetta politics now come with official letterhead and military-grade spite.

No Trumpian dumpster fire is complete without our co-president and part-time overlord, Elon Musk, who this week tried to quietly downgrade his grand DOGE promise of $2 trillion in government “savings” to… $150 billion.

Yes, that’s a 92.5% downgrade, for those keeping score.

And even that number is squishy because DOGE stopped reporting data after they got caught inflating cuts and misrepresenting contract terminations. Meanwhile, federal spending has gone up, the IRS has been gutted (letting tax cheats run wild), and foreign aid slashed leading to projected mass deaths among vulnerable children globally. But hey, we saved some printer toner, right?

To cap it all off, Elon decided this was a good week to amplify outright lies from Stephen Miller reposting a Fox News clip where Miller accused the Biden administration of trafficking 500,000 children. No evidence, no shame, just your typical authoritarian propaganda dressed up as “patriotic concern.” This follows Musk’s now-predictable pattern: amplify fascist disinfo, then retreat into memes and martyrdom when questioned.

And just when you think the descent couldn’t get more personal, it does.

“So be it, as soon as you march on 1600 Penn. Ave, I’ll ensure every veteran is there waiting… I’ll go back to federal service to hunt down those who reported me to fascistbook… Your post has poisoned my family against me, and I won’t have it anymore.”

That’s a direct message we received this week, a threat, a confession, and a cry for help rolled into one deranged screed. This is what happens when violent fantasy becomes a political strategy: some people believe it. They think they’re being called to war. They think they’re soldiers in a culture battle that justifies doxxing, threats, and vengeance.

They’re not alone. But they’re also not in charge yet.

follow me at marygeddry.substack.com and .bsky.social

😮😢

It’s proven. . | Case counts of 6 vaccine-preventable diseases before and after routine vaccination | Public Health Agency of Canada | https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/publications/healthy-living/vaccines-work-infographic.html

People standing up for what is right.... It's a Beautiful Day!

Wow! Updated estimates now put turnout at 2.3 million — and we’re still waiting on reports from coalition members in other areas, with some events yet to begin! If you’re free, come out and join us. Over 1,400 events are planned across the country. People often ask what a coalition of 200,000 can do. The answer’s simple — with all our free time (since a lot of us got fired), we’re out here causing a lot of good trouble.

Follow Occupy Democrats for more!

How to use multicoloured slips ❤️ ••• Follow @oldforgecreations for more!

Here are some of the cute earrings, mini ghosts, and other things I'm selling at the Fall Home Show, Vancouver Convention Center West (close to Waterfront Skytrain Station). I'm in the Got Craft section, which is between the Lounge and the Stage. Walk in, turn left, and go all the way to the end. My group, Carta Arts Collective (booth #702), is showcasing the works of FOUR amazing potters. And if you think it couldn't get any better, listen to this: we are in the same aisle as a cookie seller!!!! 😍 Heaven help my waistline! 😆

Friday 12noon - 8pm
Saturday 10am-8pm
Sunday 10 am - 6pm

Here are two promo codes for discounts and a link to the show:

50% off single tickets
GOTCRAFT

2 for 1 tickets
FB24

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/ZvD9gAvrR9g81iEh/

Vancouver Fall Home Show Oct. 24-27