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Podcast: Kevin, Tucker and wokism, oh my!

Podcast: Kevin, Tucker and wokism, oh my!

In this episode, David Riordan covers the narrative around Kevin McCarthy giving Tucker Carlson an exclusive. Debilyn Molineaux talks about the underlying reasons that woke and anti-woke are used to recruit voters.

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Inside Courthouse Immigration Arrests: Controversy, Legal History, and Implications

People protest in Chicago as part of the No Kings Rallies at Daley Plaza on June 14, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois.

Photo by Kamil Krzaczynski/Getty Images for No Kings

Inside Courthouse Immigration Arrests: Controversy, Legal History, and Implications

Background

On the campaign trail, Donald Trump promised voters, “One day, I will launch the largest deportation program of criminals in the history of America.” On his inauguration day, he published a directive for Immigration and Customs and Enforcement (ICE) officers to use their own discretion when conducting immigration arrests. Since then, ICE officers have arrested immigrants in or around courthouses in at least seven different states.

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We Are Chicago

Thousands of protesters packed Daley Plaza and marched through the streets of Chicago, April 05, 2025.

Photo by Barry Brecheisen/Getty Images for Community Change Action

We Are Chicago

Just after 1 a.m. on Chicago’s South Side, residents woke to pounding on doors, smoke in the hallways, and armed federal agents flooding their building. The raid was part of a broader immigration crackdown that has brought Border Patrol and ICE teams into the city using SWAT-style tactics. Journalists documented door breaches and dozens detained; federal officials confirmed at least 37 arrests on immigration charges. Residents described chaos, kids in shock, and damaged apartments. As of this writing, none of the 37 arrested have been charged with violent crimes or proven ties to the Tren de Aragua gang—the stated target. (Reuters, Chicago Sun-Times)

City and state leaders are pushing back. Chicago’s mayor created “ICE-free zones” on city property, limiting access without a warrant. Illinois and Chicago then sued to block the administration’s plan to add National Guard troops to “protect federal assets” and support federal operations, calling the move unlawful and escalatory. The legal fight is active; the state has asked courts to stop what it calls an “invasion.” (AP News, TIME)

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Books in a school library.

In 2025, censorship is alive, organized, and led by real people with power. Naming them is the first step toward accountability and defending our freedom to read.

Getty Images, Juanmonino

The Censors Have Names. Use Them.

Banned Books Week just ended, but the fight it highlights continues every other week of the year. This year’s theme was Censorship is So 1984: Read for Your Rights, invoking George Orwell’s famous novel to warn against the dangers of banning books. It was a powerful rallying cry. But now that the week has ended, we need to face two uncomfortable truths: first, censorship isn’t a relic of 1984. It’s alive and well in 2025. And second, censorship doesn’t just happen on its own. There are people doing it, and we can’t fight what we refuse to name—not just for one week, but every week of the year.

Orwell understood this. In "1984," the nightmare of totalitarianism has many faces. There’s Big Brother, the ever-present symbol of state control. There’s O’Brien, who personally tortures Winston Smith until he betrays everything he believes. The horror of Orwell’s world is embodied by specific people wielding immense power. The novel works because it shows us that oppression requires oppressors. Fascism doesn’t maintain itself. People maintain it.

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A child's hand holding an adult's hand.

"Names have meanings and shape our destinies. Research shows that they open doors and get your resume to the right eyes and you to the corner office—or not," writes Professor F. Tazeena Husain.

Getty Images, LaylaBird

What’s In A Name? The Weight of The World

When our son, Naser, was six years old, he wanted to be called Kevin, a perfectly reasonable Midwestern name. This seems to be a rite of passage with children, to name and rename themselves.

But our son was not to know the agonies we went through to name him, honoring our respective South Asian and South American cultures and balancing the phonetics of multiple languages, and why Kevin was not on our short-list.

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