Trina's Kitchen: 2025

Thursday, December 18, 2025

Beef Stew in Red Wine Sauce in the Kitchen

Kendrick has four recipes "I' good at" and the fourth is Food & Wine's Beef Stew in Red Wine Sauce:

Ingredients

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

2 pounds trimmed beef flatiron steak or chuck, cut into 8 pieces

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 cup finely chopped onion

1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1 (750-milliliter) bottle dry red wine

2 bay leaves

1 thyme sprig

1 (5-ounce) piece of pancetta

2 1/4 cups water, divided

15 pearl or small cipollini onions, peeled

15 cremini mushrooms

15 baby carrots, peeled

Sugar

Chopped fresh parsley, for garnish

Instructions

Gather the ingredients.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a large enameled cast-iron casserole, melt the butter in 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Arrange the meat in the casserole in a single layer and season with salt and pepper. Cook over moderately high heat, turning occasionally, until browned on all sides, 8 minutes.

Add the chopped onion and garlic and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the onion is softened, 5 minutes.

Add the flour and stir to coat the meat with it.

Add the wine, bay leaves, and thyme; season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve any brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pot. Cover the casserole and transfer it to the oven. Cook the stew for 1 1/2 hours, until the meat is very tender and the sauce is flavorful.

Meanwhile, in a saucepan, cover the pancetta with 2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

Drain the pancetta and slice it 1/2-inch thick, then cut the slices into 1-inch-wide lardons.

In a large skillet, combine the pancetta, pearl onions, mushrooms, and carrots. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 1/4 cup of water, and a large pinch each of sugar, salt, and pepper.

Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer until almost all of the water has evaporated, 15 minutes. Uncover and cook over high heat, tossing, until the vegetables are tender and nicely browned, about 4 minutes.

To serve, stir some of the vegetables and lardons into the stew and scatter the rest on top as a garnish. Top with a little chopped parsley.

News? Monique Danao (Moneywise) reports:

When Hasan Minhaj asked Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman whether voters should believe politicians who promise to “bring prices down,” Krugman was blunt.

“Any politician who promises to bring prices way down is either ignorant or lying, or both,” he said on Minhaj’s podcast (1).

It’s a blunt warning aimed squarely at the kind of sweeping affordability pledge Donald Trump has made central to his political brand.

This is C.I.'s "The Snapshot" for Wednesday:

Wednesday, December 17, 2025. Crazy Eyes Susie Wiles is all over the media as Chump continues to destroy the economy and continues his war on immigrants.

We noted the Susie Wiles VANITY FAIR interview in yesterday's snapshot -- we also posted multiple videos on the topic throughout the day and this morning.

There are a lot of e-mails about that and I'm going to make a few points and that may be it for that interview. This is nothing new for me and when I make these comments people often get mad. You have been warned.

Wiles remarks are news.

They deserve to be covered.

The White House response is also news and deserves to be covered.

There are no 'good guys' versus 'bad guys' here.

Chump is not a bad person!!!! Of course he is, but that's all we've got here: Bad guys.

The writer's not a good guy.

He did his job and it was news that he provided. But he wasn't a good guy.

ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN and the more recent follow up with Meryl Streep (remember when she was telling us today's WASHINGTON POST was so wonderful?) are not films on journalism. Their glorification myths. The most honest film or TV movie on journalism starred Valerie Bertinelli, 1986's ROCKABYE. Valerie's child goes missing. A journalist makes a thousand promises. In the end, the journalist is just focused on the job.

Susie Wiles is an idiot and that's what's revealed by this matter.

I do not get 'seduced' in interviews. I know the profession and I know that they will suck up to you and lie. That's fine. I know that their story is the most important to them and that it's why they get paid. I know that entertainment coverage has impacted non-entertainment coverage in a very bad manner but that even without its influence, journalism would still be what it is today.

There are reporters who do outstanding work. They are few and far between. There are journalist who don't do outstanding work but do needed work. They will leave out things intentionally because they know what the heads of their outlet want and don't want. Then their are the bad reports who just don't know what to do and will never know. Then you've got the reporter who is going to flash it up and get attention -- whether the produced work is worthy or not -- because it's al about the reporter's vanity.

Wiles is an idiot. She got seduced -- kind words and sucking up convinced her this was like a conversation with a friend. It's not. She let her guard down and talked and talked. 11 interviews. And she said what was reported. She's whining context. 11 interviews? Did you think this was going to be a transcript piece? Everything you said was never going to be printed. The most attention getting remarks would make it into the article. You provided good copy. That's all you did and you're an idiot for not realizing that before you agreed to it.

Yeah, the reporter tricked her!!!

I can applaud that because she's a bad person working for a bad person.

I'm not going to turn that into, "He's not an asshole."

Because he is. Chris Whipple is an asshole Here is on THE DAILY BEAST podcast.

Approximately 11 minutes in, this exchange takes place.

Joanna Coles : And yet she found the time to sit with you or talk to you for 11 interviews. What's that about?

Chris Whipple: I don't know. I-I can't read her mind. I cannot [. . .]

About 23 minutes and fifty seconds in, this exchange took place.

Joanna Coles: But I didn't really understand what she meant by that. What do you think she meant by that?

Chris Whipple: Well, listen, I can't read her mind, but look --

Joanna Coles: You keep saying that but you interviewed her 11 times. You must have an idea.

Chris Whipple: Uhm, no, I said I couldn't read Trump's mind. I don't think I said that [about Wiles] before that.

Um, yes. You did say it.

And that was so stupid.

First off, the piece is under attack and you give an interview where you say something on camera and then about ten minutes later you say you didn't say that.

Do you have dementia?

Can we trust anything you say or that you've written?

His ego betrayed him. And the arrogance with which he tells Joanna that she's wrong. And she wasn't wrong. He looks like an idiot.

And note what I did above. I quoted what I wanted, what I thought was pertinent. That's what Chris did. Wiles said what she said. Context? There's no missing context. This is what she said in the interviews to a professional journalist and the journalist determined what to quote by what was newsworthy.

We'll note the VF interview from time to time (in fact, later in the snapshot today) but we're not obsessing over it. Next topic.

It's a Chump economy, sadly. A Chump economy and it's just getting worse. CNBC notes, "November unemployment rate rose to 4.6%, highest level since September 2021." For those keeping track, Monday found Goldman Sachs predicting what the unemployment rate would be when announced. They were 1% off -- they predicted 4.5%. Unemployment at 4.6% and job cuts are increasing. Chris Clark (MONEYWISE) notes the hardest hit: "The industries leading with job cuts were technology, retail and services."

Sam Sutton and Victoria Guida (POLITICO) add, "For now, Trump administration officials say they’re optimistic that the labor market will turn around next year once the effects of the president’s business-friendly tax and regulatory policies kick in. The capital investments that have helped push the U.S.’s gross domestic product above 3 percent — a level that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent previously identified as vital to the country’s fiscal outlook — are also expected to push up payroll growth over the next year."

Marty Schladen (OHIO CAPITAL JOURNAL) reports:

Combined with other factors, President Donald Trump’s big tariffs on Chinese goods are costing Ohio farmers and their counterparts in other states heavily, according to a new report.

The report shows Ohio farmers lost nearly $76 million of their exports to China this year compared to one year earlier.

Tariffs are taxes on imports, and since the start of his second term, Trump has imposed a shifting array of them on every country in the world — except Russia for some reason, according to the Atlantic Council’s Tariff Tracker.

Economists have said the unpredictability of the measures has slowed some business investment because decision-makers can’t plan. And surveys conducted by the Federal Bank of Cleveland show that regional businesses are seeing higher input costs from them and many are raising prices for their customers.

That’s not helpful as Republicans struggle to deal with a national affordability crisis.

Farmers have faced a double whammy. They’ve seen many of their costs go up because of the import taxes.

Meanwhile, China — the country’s third-largest trading partner — stopped purchases of American soybeans in May before resuming them last month. The stoppage was in retaliation for the tariffs Trump imposed that now are at 20%, according to the tariff tracker.

He screwed up the economy. Chump did it. ABC NEWS adds that energy prices have surged 13% from this time last year. Thanks, Chump. Janna Brancolini (THE DAILY BEAST) has more bad news:

Higher prices are forcing Americans to cut back on holiday presents this year, a new poll has found.

A total of 41 percent of Americans plan to spend less on presents this year, CNBC reported.

That’s a six-point jump compared to 2024 and the most significant increase since the 2022 inflation surge, according to the new CNBC All-America Economic Survey,

Of those who reported they would be spending less, 46 percent said the reason was the “high cost of goods,” a 10-percent increase from last year’s survey.

The survey results come as almost half of Americans say the cost-of-living crisis is the worst they’ve ever seen, with voters increasingly blaming President Donald Trump’s policies.

Which would explain Chao Deng (WALL STREET JOURNAL) noting, "Also on Tuesday, the government reported that U.S. retail sales were decelerating." Jeffry Bartash (MARKET WATCH) notes:

Manufacturers may also have to cut production if sales don’t pick up soon, S&P said.

Tariffs were blamed once again. S&P said businesses raised prices at one of the fastest rates in the past three years to cover their own higher costs. And no part of the economy was spared.

“Higher prices are again being widely blamed on tariffs, with an initial impact on manufacturing now increasingly spilling over to services to broaden the affordability problem,” Williamson said.

Big picture: It doesn’t seem like the economy will enter 2026 with a strong dose of momentum. Companies hope the trade disputes will settle down, but tariffs hang over the economy like the Sword of Damocles.

This morning on MEIDASTOUCH NEWS, Ben notes the awful economy and he also notes 'peace' poser Chump is at war right now. Illegal war. War Crimes And that it's about oil (whcih

Doesn't he have enough wars already? You have people in the US afraid to go out of their homes because of his war on immigrants, for example. Carlos Nogueras Ramos and Colleen DeGuzman (TEXAS TRIBUNE) report:

Sara had been preparing for a radio interview earlier this month to promote her plans to open an at-home child care center in Central Texas when she learned that a new federal immigration order rendered her ineligible for legal status.

Sara, an undocumented Venezuelan who applied for asylum earlier this year, canceled the interview and indefinitely put her plans on hold.

Now, Sara, her husband and two sons follow strict rules: curtains must stay shut and doors locked at all times. If someone knocks on the door, they won’t answer. They don’t get together with friends unless it’s an emergency. For trips to the grocery store, they go individually, in shifts.

In an instant, the work — and hope — that the family had invested toward economic stability and living lawfully in the U.S. for nearly a decade disappeared.

“We don’t understand this administration’s reasons for leaving us in limbo like this,” said Sara, who asked to be identified by her first name because she fears being targeted by immigration authorities. “I came to contribute to this country. Why take those possibilities away and force us to leave and put us through this trauma? It deprives you of sleep, takes away your peace, it takes away everything, your dignity as a person.”

Let's note this from Ava and my "Media: Why America's turned on Chump's war on immigrants" back in July:

FADE IN

INT SQUAD CAR - DAY

Tension and energy fill the squad car as OFFICER NOLAN looks at DETECTIVE LOPEZ.

NOLAN: Ready?

Lopez nods. The two pull dark masks over their faces and throw open the doors of their squad car

EXT. TREE LINED STREET -- DAY

Nolan and Lopez run towards a 2024 blue Ford Crown Victoria.

INT. CROWN VICTORIA - DAY

MASON, 25, sits in parked car listening to music and finishing some french fries when a big thud is hear.

EXT. TREE LINED STREET - DAY

NOLAN: Roll down the window!!!

Nolan and Lopez stand beside the parked car yelling.

NOLAN: Roll down the window!

Lopez looks at Nolan. He nods. He breaks the window with his gun, reaches inside and grabs Mason by the t-shirt collar. Lopez reaches in and grabs Mason by the neck, joining Nolan in pulling a scared Mason out of the car.

MASON: What's going on! What did I do?

DETECTIVE HARPER runs over towards them as Nolan and Lopez hurl Mason to the ground.

LOPEZ: Down! Stay down!

MASON: Who are you?

NOLAN: Shut up!

Lopez begins tazing Mason while Nolan and Harper kick him.

Would you accept that scene on THE ROOKIE?

[. . .]

THE ROOKIE scenario above?

George Retes. That's the name of the man this actually happened to. In California. And he's not an immigrant. He's a US citizen and, in fact, an Iraq War veteran. And when ICE began attacking him, they didn't listen and they didn't care. Olga R. Rodriguez (AP) notes

"It took two officers to nail my back and then one on my neck to arrest me even though my hands were already behind my back," Retes said.

[. . .]

Retes was taken to the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles, where he said he was put in a special cell on suicide watch and checked on each day after he became emotionally distraught over his ordeal and missing his 3-year-old daughter's birthday party Saturday.

He said federal agents never told him why he was arrested or allowed him to contact a lawyer or his family during his three-day detention. Authorities never let him shower or change clothes despite being covered in tear gas and pepper spray, Retes said, adding that his hands burned throughout the first night he spent in custody.

On Sunday, an officer had him sign a paper and walked him out of the detention center. He said he was told he faced no charges.

"They gave me nothing I could wrap my head around," Retes said, explaining that he was met with silence on his way out when he asked about being "locked up for three days with no reason and no charges."

George was on CBS EVENING NEWS yesterday talking about what he endured.

Again, this was done to an American citizen. No one should have that done to them. This is not what we expect in the United States when it comes to someone being taken into custody.

You do not have the right to beat someone whose hands are behind their back. You do not not need to be breaking windows. You do not need to be terrorizing and you do not need to be hidden behind masks.

It is a very slippery slope. You accept it from ICE, you better believe it's going to transfer over to the police.

In an October column for THE WASHINGTON POST, conservative George Will wrote about Retes:

One Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent’s knee was on his neck, another’s was grinding his back. Drenched with tear gas and pepper spray, George Retes might have wished that his 137 pounds were back in Kirkuk, Iraq, one of his Army deployments. Herewith a glimpse of your tax dollars at work.

Born 26 years ago in Ventura, California, where his mother was born, he enlisted after high school and calls the Army “the best job ever,” adding, “I love the infantry.” He married a woman he deployed with, thereby acquiring a stepson, soon a daughter, and a reason to leave the Army: to avoid long absences from his children.

[. . .]

The ICE men were presumably looking for undocumented immigrants. Retes’s driver’s license, which he says the ICE men never asked to see, identifies him as “Veteran Army.” His license plate includes “DV”: disabled veteran. While ICE’s warriors were trying and ultimately succeeding in smashing his driver’s-side window (the better to pepper spray him), they apparently did not notice his rear window’s “Iraq Combat Veteran” sticker.

Amid a torrent of shouted and contradictory ICE men commands, and after he asked for an agent’s badge number, he says, Retes was dragged from his car, his wrists were zip-tied behind his back, and he was seated on the roadside ground for four hours.

At THE HOUSTON CHRONICLE, George Retes writes:

My name is George Retes. I'm 26 years old, born and raised in Ventura, California. I'm a U.S. citizen and an Iraq combat veteran. As of writing this, it has been a little over 5 months since I was wrongfully detained, stripped of my rights, and held down by officers kneeling on my neck and back. I was thrown in jail for three days and three nights and placed on suicide watch - without any explanation, charges, or apology.

pick up below

Nearly two months later, I wrote an op-ed for the San Francisco Chronicle detailing my ordeal and what had happened to me. My message was simple: if this can happen to me - a U.S. citizen and Iraq combat veteran - it can happen to anyone. I urged people to take responsibility, to stand together, and to make sure our rights aren't stripped away right in front of us.

In response to my op-ed, the Department of Homeland Security posted the following statement on X (formerly Twitter):

"As CBP and ICE agents were executing criminal search warrants on July 10 at the marijuana sites in Camarillo, CA, George Retes - a U.S. citizen - became violent and refused to comply with law enforcement. He challenged agents and blocked their route by refusing to move his vehicle out of the road. CBP arrested Retes for assault.

U.S. citizens are NOT ‘wrongfully' being arrested by ICE. DHS enforcement operations are highly targeted and are not resulting in the arrest of U.S. citizens. We do our due diligence.

We know who we are targeting ahead of time.

These types of smears are designed to demonize and villainize our brave ICE law enforcement. This kind of garbage has led to a more than 1,000% increase in assaults on enforcement officers."

It's statements like this - painting everyday people as if they're the problem - that truly demonize and villainize ICE. When agents mask up and run through towns violating people's rights, they create this image themselves.

On Dec. 9th, 2025, I had the honor of testifying at a shadow hearing led by Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat. I spoke not just for myself, but for every person who believes that our constitutional rights should never be optional. What happened to me should never happen to anyone, and the fact that it did shows that our system is failing the very people it's meant to protect.

We're back to Susie Wiles. Idiots fall for flatter. We see that every day with Chump. But it's equally true of Susie Wiles. Every word VANITY FAIR published as a quote came out of her mouth yet she wants to pretend otherwise or insist that she was taken out of context. She said what she said about Musk (drug addict), Donald Chump, etc. Greta Bjornson (PEOPLE) notes:

Susie Wiles spoke to Vanity Fair for a two-part series about Trump's first year back in the White House, during which she addressed the long-awaited Epstein files, which have plagued Trump, 79, during his second term.

The Trump administration resisted releasing all files related to the investigation of disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein for months before Congress passed an act in November demanding that they publicly share as many files as possible.

Wiles, 68, reportedly said to Vanity Fair that Trump is in "the Epstein file."

"We know he’s in the file. And he’s not in the file doing anything awful,” she said, noting that the president “was on [Epstein’s] plane ... he’s on the manifest."

She then added, "They were, you know, sort of young, single, whatever — I know it’s a passé word but sort of young, single playboys together.”

Crazy Eyes? That's probably the most important statements she made to VANITY FAIR.

The following sites updated:

Wednesday, December 17, 2025

Grandma's Favorite Chicken in the Kitchen

Sandy e-mailed to note All Recipe's Grandma's Favorite Chicken:

Ingredients

8 chicken legs

5 large white potatoes

1 (8 ounce) package baby carrots

5 cloves garlic

2 yellow squash, quartered lengthwise and cut crosswise into 1/2-inch slices

1 large onion, peeled and sliced

1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes

½ tablespoon garlic powder

salt to taste

black pepper to taste

4 tablespoons butter, divided

2 cups water, or as needed

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Place the chicken legs in a 9x13 inch baking dish. Arrange potatoes, carrots, garlic, and squash around the chicken. Top with onion slices. Season with parsley, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Place 1/2 tablespoon butter on each chicken leg. Pour water into pan to a level of about 1/2 inch.

Cover pan with foil and cook 1 hour in the preheated oven. Remove foil and continue cooking 20 minutes, until vegetables are tender and chicken juices run clear.

News?

Tom Latchem (Daily Beast) reports:

Nearly one-quarter of Americans say the healthcare system is in crisis under Donald Trump in a damning new poll released as millions brace themselves for higher premiums.

A new healthcare survey released Monday found 23 percent of U.S. adults describing the nation’s healthcare system as being “in a state of crisis,” while another 47 percent said it has “major problems.”

Gallup also found 29 percent of people cited high costs as the country’s most urgent health problem—one of the highest readings the firm has logged in years of tracking.

This is C.I.'s "The Snapshot" for Tuesday:

Tuesday, December 16, 2025. Who's running Homeland Security, while Chump files one frivilous lawsuit after another, Americans attempting to sue ICE for assault have to struggle, Chump's first year ends in 35 days and he's accomplished nothing, was Susie Wiles drunk when she spoke to VANITY FAIR, and much more.

There are so many things that Kristi Noem does wrong, so many laws she breaks. So the notion that she needs to be the subject of a Congressional investigation is not shocking. But the reason may be surprising.

The issue is Kristi and Corey Lewandowski.

Over the weekend, the rumor became that Corey is running Homeland Security. That Kristi's just a false façade. That would explain her obsession with photo ops and social media.

The American people have a right to know who is running the department. The US Congress has the duty to know whether the person they voted to be Secretary of Homeland Security is the person carrying out the tasks of the office. If it's not, then someone is acting as Secretary of Homeland Security and doing so without Congressional approval.

Kristi needs to stand before the American people and clarify this issue immediately. For her to do that would probably require Congressional 'encouragement.' Congressional encouragement should be strongly applied.

Before she brought Corey into Homeland Security, years before, the press had already published items about their 'supposed' affair. For years. And yet, she's been allowed to bring him on board. One of them is supervising the other and I don't see how that meets basic HR standards

Still on the department Noem allegedly heads, Tom Latchem (THE DAILY BEAST) reports:

The Department of Homeland Security has quietly moved to tone down its immigration enforcement tactics after polling revealed their heavy-handed raids failed to impress the public.

Sweeping immigration raids carried out under Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s “commander-at-large” Gregory Bovino will now be more focused, according to a new report citing unnamed DHS officials. The shift comes after months of large-scale raids that were billed as targeting the “worst of the worst,” a claim that has unraveled as more and more reports have surfaced of ordinary U.S. citizens being scooped up by federal agents.

DHS sources said the changes mean agents will now have specific targets rather than simply joining sweeping raids in a given area, NewsNation reported.

The reported changes come a few days after Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, 54—nicknamed “ICE Barbie” for her camera-ready immigration crackdowns— endured a rough ride at a hearing before the House Homeland Security Committee.

At MEDIA MATTERS, Harrison Ray notes the competition between Noem an Tom Homan:

Axios has reported on a growing rift inside the Trump administration between Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and border czar Tom Homan, who insiders say barely speak to each other. According to Axios, Noem's supporters are also criticizing Homan's frequent Fox appearances, which sometimes feature off-the-cuff policy declarations “that catch officials off guard.”

Media Matters found that Homan has made more appearances on Fox than any other administration official this year, far outpacing his counterpart. And those hits, which Axios says “have led Noem's supporters to cast him as a self-promoter without portfolio,” have reportedly become a flashpoint in their rivalry.

Since Trump's inauguration, Homan has made nearly three times as many Fox appearances as Noem. Throughout the year, he has consistently topped the list as the most Fox-friendly administration official, appearing at least 140 times, with 115 hits on Fox News and an additional 25 on Fox Business. Meanwhile, Noem has appeared only 48 times on Fox News, with no appearances on Fox Business.

We're not done with Homeland Security yet, they're now attackin Native Americans. From Senator Patty Murray's office:

SEATTLE TIMES: Indigenous actor Elaine Miles says ICE called her tribal ID ‘fake’

Senators: “The disrespect and harassment of U.S.-born Tribal citizens by ICE is outrageous and inexcusable, and we request that you take immediate steps to put an end to it.”

***LETTER HERE***

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, led 11 of her Senate colleagues in a new letter to U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noemdemanding answers regarding the outrageous mistreatment of Tribal citizens by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in a number of recent incidents, including in Washington state. In their letter, the lawmakers called out reports of ICE improperly stopping or detaining Tribal citizens for no apparent reason aside from their physical appearance, and urged Secretary Noem to develop policy and trainings to ensure that all ICE agents are trained to recognize Tribal IDs, regardless of whether they are working on Tribal lands.

Joining Senator Murray in sending the letter were U.S. Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Tina Smith (D-MN), and Ron Wyden (D-OR).

“We write to share our alarm over the completely unacceptable treatment of U.S.-born citizens of federally recognized Tribes, who have been stopped and questioned by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on suspicion of being undocumented,” the senators wrote. “In February, several Senators wrote to you following reports of ICE agents improperly stopping or detaining Tribal citizens. In June, you replied with a letter in which you failed to respond to the majority of the questions raised in the letter. Over the past month, we have heard additional alarming reports of ICE improperly stopping or detaining Tribal citizens for no apparent reason aside from their physical appearance. The disrespect and harassment of U.S.-born Tribal citizens by ICE is outrageous and inexcusable, and we request that you take immediate steps to put an end to it.”

In November, Elaine Miles, an Indigenous actor, was approached by four men who identified themselves as ICE agents while waiting for a bus in Redmond, Washington. When she handed them her Tribal ID issued by the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation in Oregon, the immigration agents reportedly claimed that her ID was “fake” and that “anyone can make that.” When she attempted to call the Umatilla Tribal enrollment office phone number to verify her ID to the officers, an officer tried unsuccessfully to pry her phone out of her hands, then departed with his counterparts in unmarked vehicles. Miles alleges that her son and uncle were also both detained by ICE agents who initially did not accept their Tribal IDs before eventually releasing them. In response, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin—a frequent liar—said in an emailed statement that allegations that DHS law enforcement officers engage in racial profiling “categorically FALSE.”

The senators referenced this incident in their letter, noting that ICE had previously told Members of Congress that “The ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Academy does not train ERO officers to require any specific document to prove U.S. citizenship.” “The experience of these Tribal citizens in Washington suggests that this is false: ICE agents are demanding certain documents to prove citizenship and are unaware of different forms of Tribal ID,” the Members wrote.

In another recent incident, a member of Arizona’s Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, Leticia Jacobo, was nearly deported after an Iowa jail mistakenly issued an ICE detainer for another inmate. Despite the fact that Jacobo was in possession of her Tribal ID and had her Social Security number on file with the jail, her family had to scramble to prove her identity and Tribal citizenship to the jail staff, who released her just hours before she would have been transferred into federal custody. At least 15 Indigenous people in Arizona and New Mexico reported being questioned or detained by ICE agents in January of 2025. Harassment of Navajo Nation citizens by ICE has been so widespread that Navajo President Buu Nygren took to the airwaves to advise his members to carry identification, driver’s licenses and their Certificate of Indian Blood on their person at all times.

“You have an obligation to uphold the federal government’s trust and treaty obligations to Tribes and to treat Tribal citizens with respect—this is not optional. In light of recent incidents, we urge you to develop policy and trainings to ensure that all ICE agents are trained to recognize Tribal IDs, regardless of whether they are working on Tribal lands,” the senators concluded. The Members also demanded answers by January 11^th to a number of questions about DHS policies regarding interactions with Tribal citizens and Tribal ID, and how the Department is working with its Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties to review and investigate allegations of civil rights violations.

Senator Murray has spoken out forcefully and constantly throughout this year against the Trump administration’s cruel and counterproductive mass deportation campaign and the egregious treatment by ICE and DHS of American citizens, legal immigrants, and undocumented immigrants. Recently, Murray called attention to the violent assault of Wilmer Toledo-Martinez in Vancouver, Washington and she has called for his immediate release from the Northwest ICE Processing Center (NWIPC). Wilmer was lured out of his home under false pretenses, violently detained by federal agents, and mauled by an attack dog despite not resisting arrest or attempting to flee. Murray also recently called attention to the case of Jose Paniagua Calderón, whose foot was run over by agents in Vancouver.

Last month, Senator Murray joined 48 of her colleagues in the Senate and House of Representatives in introducing the Restoring Access to Detainees Act, which would mandate that DHS allow people who have been detained to contact their legal counsel and families. In February, Senator Murray signed onto a letter led by Senators Martin Heinrich (D-NM) and Brian Schatz (D-HI) demanding that DHS end wrongful searches and interrogations of Tribal members. She and Senator Richard Blumenthal led 27 of their Senate colleagues earlier this year in a letter expressing concern with the prevalence and treatment of pregnant, postpartum, and nursing women in ICE detention, and she also joined a recent letter led by Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) calling for ICE to end the misuse of solitary confinement in immigration detention.

The full text of the letter is available HERE and below.

Dear Secretary Noem:

We write to share our alarm over the completely unacceptable treatment of U.S.-born citizens of federally recognized Tribes, who have been stopped and questioned by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on suspicion of being undocumented. In February, several Senators wrote to you following reports of ICE agents improperly stopping or detaining Tribal citizens. In June, you replied with a letter in which you failed to respond to the majority of the questions raised in the letter. Over the past month, we have heard additional alarming reports of ICE improperly stopping or detaining Tribal citizens for no apparent reason aside from their physical appearance. The disrespect and harassment of U.S.-born Tribal citizens by ICE is outrageous and inexcusable, and we request that you take immediate steps to put an end to it.

In one recent incident, several Tribal citizens were stopped by ICE agents at a bus stop in Redmond, Washington. These agents reportedly questioned the validity of their Tribal ID, with agents allegedly telling one Tribal citizen that her Tribal ID was “fake” and that “anyone can make that.” ICE agents also reportedly refused an offer to contact her Tribal government to verify these individuals’ enrollment and identification documents.

In our February letter, you were asked to supply information about the training offered to ICE agents about different forms of valid identification and documentation of United States citizenship for enrolled members of federally recognized Tribes. In response, you wrote, “The ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Academy does not train ERO officers to require any specific document to prove U.S. citizenship.” The experience of these Tribal citizens in Washington suggests that this is false: ICE agents are demanding certain documents to prove citizenship and are unaware of different forms of Tribal ID.

You have an obligation to uphold the federal government’s trust and treaty obligations to Tribes and to treat Tribal citizens with respect—this is not optional. In light of recent incidents, we urge you to develop policy and trainings to ensure that all ICE agents are trained to recognize Tribal IDs, regardless of whether they are working on Tribal lands. Additionally, we request that you answer the following questions:

What steps, if any, has your Department taken to develop new or change existing policies regarding its interactions with Tribal citizens and governments this year?
Please provide a detailed description of how agents are trained to respond when presented with a Tribally-issued identification card or document.
Does the Department require additional resources to develop training and policies for ICE agents to recognize identification documents issued by Tribal governments?
Please provide a detailed description of how the Department is working with its Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties to review and investigate any allegations of civil rights and civil liberties violations as it pertains to ICE’s treatment of United States-born citizens of federally recognized Tribes.
In both your June letter and in the Department’s public response to the Redmond incident, your Department has denied that it racially profiles Tribal members. How do explain the pattern of ICE agents stopping and detaining Tribal citizens under the current Administration?

We appreciate your attention to this request and ask that you respond to these questions no later than January 11, 2026.

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Moving from one lunatic in the Chump administration (Noem) to another, Susie Crazy Eyes Wiles. Peter Baker (NEW YORK TIMES) reports:

President Trump’s chief of staff said she tried to get him to end his “score settling” against political enemies after 90 days in office, but acknowledged that the administration’s still ongoing push for prosecutions has been fueled in part by the president’s desire for retribution.

Susie Wiles, the White House chief of staff, told an interviewer that she forged a “loose agreement” with Mr. Trump to stop focusing after three months on punishing antagonists, an effort that evidently did not succeed. While she insisted that Mr. Trump is not constantly thinking about retribution, she said that “when there’s an opportunity, he will go for it.”

Ms. Wiles made the comments in a series of extraordinarily unguarded interviews over the first year of Mr. Trump’s second term with the author Chris Whipple that are being published Tuesday and Wednesday by Vanity Fair. Not only did she confirm that Mr. Trump is using criminal prosecution to retaliate against adversaries, she also acknowledged that he was not telling the truth when he accused former President Bill Clinton of visiting the private island of the sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein.

Over the course of 11 interviews, Ms. Wiles offered pungent assessments of the president and his team: Mr. Trump “has an alcoholic’s personality.” Vice President JD Vance has “been a conspiracy theorist for a decade” and his conversion from Trump critic to ally was based not on principle but was “sort of political” because he was running for Senate. Elon Musk is “an avowed ketamine” user and “an odd, odd duck,” whose actions were not always “rational” and left her “aghast.” Russell T. Vought, the budget director, is “a right-wing absolute zealot.” And Attorney General Pam Bondi “completely whiffed” in handling the Epstein files.

Translation, the administration looks as screwed up from the inside as it does from the outside.

And then there's Chump. Like some parody of nineties Courtney Love, staying up all night getting drunk and posting on the internet, Chump's early morning rages make about as much sense as Love's did. It's part of the reason Courtney went from respected rocker and Golden Globe nominated actress to . . . who? It's the trajectory Chump has decided to follow and he's passe as well now.

Yet even with the brand dying and him suffering from over exposure, Chump continues to throw one attention seeking tantrum after another. Christal Hayes, Aoife Walshand Ian Aikmanto (BBC NEWS) note:

The BBC has said it will defend a $5bn (£3.7bn) lawsuit filed by US President Donald Trump against the BBC over an edit of his 6 January 2021 speech in a Panorama documentary.

Trump accused the broadcaster of defamation and of violating a trade practices law, according to court documents filed in Florida.

The BBC apologised to Trump last month, but rejected his demands for compensation and disagreed there was a "basis for a defamation claim".

Trump's legal team accused the BBC of defaming him by "intentionally, maliciously, and deceptively doctoring his speech".

A BBC spokesperson said: "As we have made clear previously, we will be defending this case."

Someone needs to tell Chump to Shut His Damn Mouth and Sit The F**k Down already. He is becoming an embarrassment and let's all hope the UK courts put him in his place.

In "Chump needs to stay in his lane," Mike notes:

Chump is a fat head. All that fat in his head may even be advancing his dementia. Matt Naham (LAW & CRIME) noted Chump's stepped in it again:

Pulitzer Prize Board members filed court documents in Okeechobee County, Florida, on Thursday, containing a litany of broad discovery demands in an attempt to beat back President Donald Trump's defamation lawsuit over Russia probe reporting awards.

The 12-page document was submitted by the law firms of Ballard Spahr and Atherton Galardi Mullen & Reeder on behalf of 20 defendants.

The defendants include: Andrew W. Mellon Foundation president Elizabeth Alexander, The Atlantic's Anne Applebaum, longtime Boston Globe editor Nancy Barnes, former Columbia University president Lee C. Bollinger, author and journalist Katherine Boo, Poynter Institute president Neil Brown, former USA Today Editor-in-Chief Nicole Carroll, former Columbia Journalism School dean Steve Coll, New York Times opinion columnist Gail Collins, Vice President and Editor at Large for Standards at the Associated Press John Daniszewski, Editor and Vice President at the Philadelphia Inquirer Gabriel Escobar, UCLA historian and professor Kelly Lytle Hernandez, longtime Pulitzer Prize Deputy Administrator Edward Kliment, New York Times columnist Carlos Lozada, former Los Angeles Times Executive Editor Kevin Merida, Pulitzer Prize Administrator Marjorie Miller, USC professor Viet Thahn Nguyen, CEO and co-founder of The 19th Emily Ramshaw, New Yorker editor David Remnick, and Harvard University philosophy professor Tommie Shelby.

Donald Chump, you are a little bitch who should have had your ass kicked every day in jr. high and high school. I don't say that to argue for bullying. I say that to stop bullying. Bullies like Chump beat up on kids who were weaker than them because they could. But bitches like Chump are the ones who should have been ass kicked so they'd stop acting like bitches.

Step back for just one moment.

He is suing over? Awards. Cry baby bitch Donnie is suing over people winning awards. Just sit your ass down already, grandpa. If he'd had gotten the ass kickings he needed, he might have learned to treat women with respect and he might have learned that he doesn't always get his way and that just because he doesn't like that someone won an award doesn't mean he has a legal case. What a little bitch.

And while Chump sues anyone and everyone he wants, if you're assaulted by ICE, you're going to struggle in the current system to hold them legally accountable. Some members of Congress are attempting to address that. From Senator Alex Padilla's office:

Amid troubling pattern of violence by ICE and CBP officers, federal law provides no statutory right to sue federal law enforcement for violating constitutional rights

WASHINGTON, D.C. — As the Trump Administration conducts widespread and indiscriminate immigration enforcement operations in cities across the country, U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Immigration Subcommittee, and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) introduced the Accountability for Federal Law Enforcement Act to allow individuals — regardless of citizenship — the right to sue federal law enforcement officers and agencies in civil court for violations of their civil and constitutional rights.

Under current law, individuals can sue state and local officers for constitutional violations, but there is no comparable statutory right to sue federal officers for doing the same. While the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents allowed some lawsuits against federal officers, courts have repeatedly narrowed that ruling, leaving many victims of federal misconduct without meaningful recourse.

Federal agencies such as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have recently expanded their sweeping enforcement raids into cities like Charlotte, North Carolina and New Orleans, Louisiana, continuing a troubling pattern of violence and excessive force seen in Los Angeles, Chicago, Portland, and other American cities. These abuses show how easily federal officers can act with impunity when there are no effective avenues to hold them accountable, eroding public trust and weakening the basic principles of constitutional accountability.

“For months, ICE and CBP officers have terrorized communities across the country, deploying violent and excessive tactics against immigrants, U.S. citizens, journalists, and bystanders alike with no accountability. These abuses of individuals’ constitutional rights without consequence shatter public trust and stoke fear among hardworking members of our communities,” said Senator Padilla. “By ensuring every individual, regardless of citizenship, can sue federal law enforcement when their constitutional rights are violated, this bill reaffirms that the rule of law applies equally to all — including those who enforce it.”

“In a democracy, the government is accountable to the people. Last week, we heard directly from five American citizens whose constitutional rights were flagrantly violated when they were illegally detained for hours – sometimes days – and some of whom were violently assaulted by federal agents. The brave witnesses at our forum represent hundreds, even thousands, more who have been abused and mistreated by federal immigration agents and who deserve their day in court. This legislation is immediately necessary – to hold officers and agencies accountable for violations of civil rights, and to prevent these kinds of violent abuses in the future,” said Senator Blumenthal.

The Accountability for Federal Law Enforcement Act is cosponsored by Senators Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore).

“Federal officials should not be allowed to violate someone’s constitutional rights with impunity, and one of the best ways to prevent that is to hold accountable the agencies responsible for those officials’ conduct,” said Senator Whitehouse, a senior member of the Judiciary Committee. “Our legislation ensures that individuals targeted by this or any other Administration have access to justice in an honest courtroom.”

“Donald Trump is throwing due process and constitutional rights out the window in his rush to dehumanize and deport immigrants who are living peacefully in the United States. As ICE and CBP follow Trump’s marching orders, people must have the tools needed to stop this administration from carrying out its cruel and inhumane mass deportation agenda. I support restoring due process rights by giving people the right to sue law enforcement agencies for carrying out Trump’s authoritarian fever dream,” said Senator Wyden.

“Federal law enforcement officers, like their state and local counterparts, take an oath to uphold the Constitution and the rights of the people they serve. When they violate that oath, those who have been harmed must be able to seek accountability. Yet decades of judicial precedent have narrowed individuals’ ability to recover monetary damages when federal law enforcement violates their constitutional rights,” said Senator Booker. “This bill ensures Americans hold federal law enforcement accountable just as they can state and local officers. At a time when federal forces have expanded by the tens of thousands, and incidents of excessive force by federal officers are occurring daily in streets across the country, Americans cannot be barred from seeking justice in the courts. Congress must pass this bill to correct this court-created flaw in the law.”

The Accountability for Federal Law Enforcement Act would close the loophole in accountability for federal officers by:

Creating a statutory right of action allowing individuals, regardless of citizenship, to seek damages for civil rights violations committed by federal law enforcement officers;

Amending 42 U.S.C. § 1983 to include federal law enforcement agencies (“public employers”) alongside state and local actors;

Allowing suits against federal agencies when their employees violate constitutional rights, regardless of whether an agency policy caused the harm, and waiving sovereign immunity for these claims to ensure victims have access to redress in federal court;

Preserving existing defenses for individual officers, leaving the qualified immunity doctrine unchanged.

The bill is endorsed by the American Civil Liberties Union and Brennan Center.

Senator Padilla has been a leading voice in opposition to President Trump’s cruel and indiscriminate mass deportation agenda, including against his unprecedented, illegal militarization of Los Angeles and other American cities. In October, Padilla walked out of Senate Republicans’ unserious subcommittee hearing entitled “ICE Under Fire: The Radical Left’s Crusade Against Immigration Enforcement,” as the Trump Administration conducts violent immigration enforcement actions across the country. Last week, Padilla denounced the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) unlawful arrests of U.S. citizens during Senator Blumenthal’s bicameral spotlight forum, which included three U.S. citizens from California whom DHS arrested or detained. Additionally, Padilla and Senator Booker recently demanded answers from DHS leadership on the hiring standards and training protocols for newly hired ICE agents. In July, Padilla and Senator Booker introduced the VISIBLE Act to require immigration enforcement officers to display clearly visible identification during public-facing enforcement actions.

A one-pager on the bill is available here.

Full text of the bill is available here.

###

His first year in office? It concludes in 35 days. What does he have to show for it?