Why do these cosplay soldiers need defending with military troops, much less deserve defending?

[bigtree]

photo by Ashlee Rezin of the Chicago Sun-Times.

Nancy French @NancyAFrench
A masked ICE agent sprayed David Black, pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Chicago, directly in the face during protests outside the ICE processing facility in Broadview, Illinois.

Sept. 19, 2025.
Black told The Guardian newspaper that ICE agents hit him in the head, face, torso, arms and legs with around seven or eight "pepper exploding pellets" while he was in a position of prayer.

He added: "I'm not a political ideologue, but I am very deeply rooted in my faith, in the ways that it calls me to show up in this moment as someone who can proclaim the good news and call these ICE agents into their right mind."

In October 2025, Black joined a lawsuit suing the Trump administration over ICE agents' alleged actions at the Chicago-area protests, accusing the government of violating protesters' First Amendment rights. Black told the American Civil Liberties Union:

I extended my arms, palms outstretched toward the ICE officers, in a traditional Christian posture of prayer and blessing. Without any warning, and without any order or request that I and others disperse, I was suddenly fired upon by ICE officers. In rapid fire, I was hit seven times on my arms, face and torso with exploding pellets that contained some kind of chemical agent. It was clear to me that the officers were aiming for my head, which they struck twice.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/fact-check-real-photo-shows-225600410.html


...they need to step back from their 'mass deportation' drive and lessen their impact on communities. That's the most certain way to reduce both their senseless violence and address the citizens' resistance to that abomination against democracy.


Gregory Bovino and other federal officers march by the Newberry Library in Chicago's Gold Coast as part of an immigration blitz show of force. Photo: Brian Cassella/TNS/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

[Tetrachloride]

1. Dick Butkis scary. Chinatown scary

Cubs scary

airport scary

Lake Michigan scary

[sop]

2. I have no words left...

[LetMyPeopleVote]

3. MaddowBlog-Team Trump's clashes with the faith community go from bad to worse

The political world is overdue for a conversation about the severity of the conflicts between the Republican administration and the faith community.

We’re overdue for a public conversation about the Trump administration's dramatic conflicts with the faith community.

Pam Bondi recently claimed that Biden “abused and targeted Christians,” but that more accurately describes the status quo, not the recent past. www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...

— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2025-10-08T19:57:15.812Z

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/team-trumps-clashes-faith-community-go-bad-worse-rcna236412

It served as a timely reminder that too often in GOP circles, religion is treated as something that must be celebrated, protected and respected — just so long as the faith community is telling the party what it wants to hear.....

More recently, however, the underlying issue took a dramatic turn. The Religion News Service reported this week on developments in Chicago, where a variety of faith leaders are opposed to the administration’s immigration agenda. The report specifically highlighted what transpired when the Rev. David Black, wearing a clerical collar, stood in front of an ICE facility, with empty arms raised, and invited armed agents to repent. From the RNS report:

When Black began to lower his arms a few seconds later, the agents responded to his spiritual plea by firing pepper balls, or chemical agents that cause eye irritation and respiratory distress, video footage shows. One struck Black in the head, exploding into a puff of white pepper smoke and forcing him to his knees. Fellow demonstrators rushed to his aid, and as the pastor rubbed his face in pain, the agents continued to fire.

“We could hear them laughing,” Black added.

The same Religion News Service report noted that the Rev. Hannah Kardon, a United Methodist pastor who leads United Church of Rogers Park in Chicago, has also protested at the local ICE facility, and she too said she has been shot multiple times with pepper bullets, “including while she was praying with her eyes closed and hands lifted, wearing a clerical collar.”.....

Six months later, as Christian leaders are actually abused by Trump administration officials, the political world is overdue for a conversation about the severity and frequency of the clashes between Team Trump and the faith community.

[malaise]

4. They are the we have nothing to be

proud about boys