Events:

Breaking News

Rapidly breaking news, usually short takes.

Opinion

Opinion — Zohran Mamdani and the Pyrrhic Victory of the Democratic Party: Why he is the leftist version of Donald Trump with all of the same problems

Mayor-elect of New York City Zohran Mamdani is a self-avowed “democratic socialist,” and his policy proposals include free public transit, free child care, city-run grocery stores, and free everything else, all funded by increasing taxes on corporations and wealthy city residents. Mamdani has based his suddenly rocketing popularity on telling people what they want to […]

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News

Full SNAP Benefits Must be Paid by Fri, Nov 7, Court Orders: Judge seems incredulous that partial payments resulted in delays; government appeals

Michael Bilow of Motif attended the 3:30pm court hearing and is reporting based on his personal observations. At a hearing in US District Court in Providence on the afternoon of Thu, Nov 6, Judge John J. McConnell Jr seemed incredulous that the option in his Oct 31 order to make partial instead of full Supplemental […]

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News

SNAP Benefits Must Be Paid, PVD Federal Court Rules: Contingency funds must be used despite government objections

Michael Bilow of Motif attended the 1:00pm court hearing and is reporting based on his personal observations. In a case with national significance and effect, Judge John J. McConnell Jr of the US District Court in Providence today granted a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) requiring the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to make Supplemental Nutrition […]

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News

SNAP (Food Stamps) Emergency: RI announces support during federal shutdown

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), commonly known by its old name, “food stamps,” is funded primarily by the federal government but run by state governments. The money ordinarily placed on Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) cards on the first day of every month is expected not to be available on Nov 1 due to the […]

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News

Skating on ICE with Technology: Is Immigration and Customs Enforcement coming for your smartphone?

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been increasingly scary and threatening under the Trump administration. A few days ago, armed and masked agents converged on a Chicago apartment house, some even rappelling onto the roof from military helicopters. They forced men, women, and children outside, even naked, restraining them with zip-tie handcuffs. Most of […]

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News

Fact Check — Interpreting Kirk’s shooter: Was Charlie Kirk Murdered for the Lulz? Media misses dark nihilism of on-line culture

Political violence is a bad thing from any perspective, but there is a long tradition of it. In the classic 1970 collection of over one hundred primary source documents American Violence, the earliest account is Pilgrims versus Puritans from 1634 and the most recent, two years before the book was published, are the Chicago Riots […]

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Bonus

Immigration Compliance: US Attorney General Threatens RI

US Attorney General Pamela Bondi sent a letter to RI Governor Daniel McKee and RI Attorney General Peter Neronha, dated Aug 13, stating “You are hereby notified that your jurisdiction has been identified as one that engages in sanctuary policies and practices that thwart federal immigration enforcement… This ends now.” The letter demanded a response […]

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News

Satire — Secret New “Ninja” Stealth Bomber: To be publicly revealed at Trump birthday parade

The United States Air Force announced that the latest addition to their arsenal, the B-614 stealth bomber, nicknamed the “Ninja,” will make its first public appearance in a flyover on Saturday, Jun 14, at the Washington DC military parade that coincides with the birthday of President Donald J. Trump. “The Ninja is the next generation […]

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News

ACLU Sues Brown Police: Update on Brown Police vs. public access

The RI chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) today (Jun 2) sued Brown University over two separate disputes since 2022 where the university, authorized to operate its own police agency as the Brown Department of Public Safety (BDPS), refused to provide records of arrests and enforcement actions that all public police agencies are […]

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News

“How Powerful Is That?”: US Naval Academy removes close to 400 books from shelves, among them Brown University authors

Traditionally, higher education has been regarded as a space of intellectual freedom. The secular university is a special continuum that allows for a vacuum of art and thought, and is typically exempt from religious or ideological persecution. With our recent administration change, this truism is veiled in speculation. Under Donald Trump, the academic sphere is […]

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