toad.social is one of the many independent Mastodon servers you can use to participate in the fediverse.
Mastodon server operated by David Troy, a tech pioneer and investigative journalist addressing threats to democracy. Thoughtful participation and discussion welcome.

Administered by:

Server stats:

387
active users

"There are many, many stunning and unprecedented things happening in Trump’s America right now. But I chose to write about this one because, frankly, once you have watched the chilling video of masked government goons snatching Ozturk off the street in broad daylight, it is hard to think — let alone write — about anything else."

~ Will Bunch


/1

The gift link below is from Greg Dworkin at Daily Kos.

inquirer.com/opinion/rumeysa-o

The Philadelphia Inquirer · The disappearing of Rumeysa Ozturk is something I never thought I’d see in AmericaBy Will Bunch

"Even after many months of warning that a vengeful Trump 47 would attempt to govern this way, we still cannot believe it can happen here, in the United States of America. Call this fascism, but remarkably, that particular F-word has lost its sting in the sheer exhaustion of the decade since our strongman ruler descended on that golden escalator at Trump Tower. What is happening to Ozturk is state-sponsored terrorism."


/2

"What’s happening right now in broad daylight, on our formerly free sidewalks, endangers every one of us. Until we can again walk those streets without fearing masked secret police from our own government, no one is safe."


/3

"There are Americans cheering for these unjust deportations because they’ve been convinced by Trump’s dehumanizing, demonizing verbiage that immigrants are not deserving of humane treatment. But we can be sure this is not the end—this is just the beginning of this fascist regime’s terror campaign aimed at deterring refugees, savoring cruelty and silencing dissent."

~ Steven Beschloss


/4

americaamerica.news/p/reveling

America, America · Reveling in Terror TacticsBy Steven Beschloss

"We know they’re lusting to widen their net against perceived enemies.

That was on full display in broad daylight Tuesday in Boston when masked federal agents in hoodies stopped and handcuffed a Tufts University doctoral student and Fulbright scholar. Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish national and Muslim wearing a hijab, was put into an unmarked car and shipped off to a detention center in Louisiana, just as Columbia student Mahmoud Kahlil was earlier this month."


/5

"A Harvard scientist who fled Russia because she opposed the war in Ukraine is facing deportation back to the land of Vladimir Putin, her friends claim.

Kseniia Petrova, a bioinformatician at the Kirschner Lab at Harvard Medical School, was detained at the U.S. border on February 16 while returning from France and had her visa revoked, according to her friend Cora Anderson."

~ Io Dodds


/6

independent.co.uk/news/world/a

The Independent · Harvard scientist who fled Russia due to anti-war views faces deportation back to Putin’s regime, friends sayBy Io Dodds

"The US state department is undertaking a widespread visa-review process, revoking hundreds of visas and placing hundreds more under scrutiny, targeting mostly foreign nationals engaged in pro-Palestine activism, according to official statements.

The secretary of state, Marco Rubio, confirmed the scale of the crackdown, announcing that he has canceled visas for more than 300 people…."

~ Joseph Gedeon


/7

theguardian.com/us-news/2025/m

The Guardian · Rubio boasts of canceling more than 300 visas over pro-Palestine protestsBy Joseph Gedeon
William Lindsey :toad:

"In August 2022, Fox News host Brian Kilmeade ominously warned his audience that 'Joe Biden’s new army' of armed IRS agents was going to 'hunt down and kill middle class taxpayers.'"

~ John Knefel


/8

"But after masked, plainclothes federal officers from the Department of Homeland Security abducted Tufts University student Rumeysa Ozturk off the street in Somerville, Massachusetts, on Tuesday, Kilmeade sang a different tune.

'I love the message it's sending to other students causing unrest,' Kilmeade said Thursday morning."


/9

And directly related to the point that Cinthya Rodriguez makes above (/10), there's this:

"The yearly [Budapest pride] parade has been banned, and its organizers and attendees will be targeted with AI surveillance, facial recognition software, and automatic fines."

~ S. Baum


/11

erininthemorning.com/p/ai-surv

Erin In The Morning · AI Surveillance to be Deployed on Banned Budapest PrideBy s. baum

@wdlindsy These CEOs should have their head shaved sooner or later

@nkn @wdlindsy Half of them are already bald. Half the remainder had to use artificial processes to put hair on their heads.

@su_liam @wdlindsy Wigs and toupees down everyone!