CleverPeople.com: Group Blogs: December 2025}

First Amendment Dangers in 2026

Gary Wright II — Fri, 26 Dec 2025 13:00:29 -0500

Our free speech rights are under attack and in great danger next year. Here are three areas where we must be very concerned:

1. A bipartisan effort is underway to end Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. They claim they are doing it to "rein in Big Tech" but it will actually harm our free speech online. It would cause companies to take down content if they fear being sued because of it, and also allow people to sue over online content that they don't like. The first targets that this fascist government will go after will be the online organizing of protests against the government and any content that is anti-Trump. We can't let these bills be passed! In the House it is Bill 6746 and in the Senate it is Bill 3546. Call and write your members of Congress and tell them NO!

2. Filming police activity is protected by the First Amendment as long as you don't interfere with them (which would be obstruction of justice). ICE has been carrying around their own film crew in order to create the propaganda that you see being posted on their social media channels. They are big mad at anyone else filming them because they know there would be a huge negative public reaction when the public sees the excessive use of force they use and their brutal tactics to instill terror in the immigrant communities. Recently, the DOJ is claiming that filming police amounts to "domestic terrorism" and DHS Kristi Noem said that it "sounds like obstruction of justice." We must not let them take away our best means of holding them accountable. Keep recording them!

3. You may have heard about the State Department revoking the visas of five Europeans and tolling them they "were not welcome on American soil." Four of the five were already out of the country, but Imran Ahmed (CEO of the US-based Center for Countering Digital Hate) is a US permanent resident living in the country and his wife and kids are US citizens. Our government claims they were part of an effort to censor online content. But what did they do? They were each part of companies who encourage Big Tech to regulate the posting of illegal content, hate speech, and child sexual abuse material. You can see why the Trump administration is so offended by those efforts. Thankfully, Ahmed immediately sued them and Federal District Judge Vernon Broderick issued a temporary restraining order which prevents officials from arresting, detaining, or transferring him before he has his case heard. A conference is scheduled between the parties on December 29th.

The National Security Presidential Memo 7 and Attorney General Pam Bondi's DOJ enforcement memorandum makes it clear they are targeting all voices that are anti-Trump by designating us as "domestic terrorists" and members of Antifa. I think y'all can see how the dangers to free speech are rising and these events are intersecting each other. We must remain vigilant and continuously fight to protect our rights, especially because it's through the First Amendment that we are able to preserve all of our other rights. ✊

Smithsonian Museums Being Censored And History Being Erased

Gary Wright II — Sat, 20 Dec 2025 18:30:20 -0500

Trump is purging the educational materials in museums and school systems across the country in a move reminiscent of China, North Korea, or Nazi Germany. They are threatening their funding unless they comply with Trump's fascist Executive Order 14253 “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History” which would ban anything "woke" or that doesn't celebrate "American exceptionalism." They don't want anything related to slavery, indigenous people, or "gender ideology" to be taught about. Everything will be completely "white-washed" under his executive order. Our nation's true history is being erased.

The Trump administration is targeting the funding of Smithsonian museums like the Museum of American History, the Museum of Natural History, the Air and Space Museum, the Museum of African American History and Culture, the Museum of the American Indian, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Museum of African Art, and the National Portrait Gallery.

Here's more reporting from The Washington Post (which unfortunately may be behind a paywall): White House threatens Smithsonian funds in sweeping content review - The Washington Post

Trump Threatens ICC Unless They Promise Not To Prosecute Him

Gary Wright II — Wed, 10 Dec 2025 11:23:40 -0500

Trump already sanctioned the chief prosecutor and several members of the International Criminal Court after they issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Crime Minister Netanyahu, and now he has issued threats of further sanctions unless they drop their cases against the USA and Israel. He is scared to death of being extradited to The Hague and put on trial once his term in office is over!

Neither the USA or Israel are signatories to The Rome Statute, but we do have allies that are members. To change the rules, it would take two-thirds of the countries to ratify it - and I don't see that happening. There needs to be a public trial where the facts of their war crimes and crimes against humanity can be recorded and preserved for posterity. Since our own countries won't hold our officials accountable, we'll keep sending evidence to the international tribunal where they can be tried in absentia if necessary.

Here's more reporting:
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-threatens-new-icc-sanctions-unless-court-pledges-not-prosecute-trump-2025-12-10/

HUD To Put 170,000 People Out On The Streets

Gary Wright II — Mon, 08 Dec 2025 14:24:57 -0500

Rule changes to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)’s Continuum of Care Program will interrupt resources for local governments and organizations to fund permanent housing projects for veterans, seniors, people with disabilities, and individuals and families with children experiencing homelessness.

These badly needed programs are evidence-based and solution-oriented. What Trump is doing is utter cruelty, and they'll be putting thousands of at-risk unhoused people back onto the streets just in time for winter weather. 🤬

We need to organize groups in each of our communities to help assist the unhoused. The National Alliance to End Homelessness has been getting people experiencing homelessness into housing, and they are trying to stop the HUD changes in court. Here is their website:
https://endhomelessness.org/

SCOTUS Updates

Gary Wright II — Mon, 08 Dec 2025 14:09:49 -0500

This morning the Supreme Court heard Trump v. Slaughter and they seem eager to overturn the 90 year old legal precedent from Humphrey’s Executor v. United States. This would expand Trump's executive powers and allow him to fire anyone he wants. We would no longer have truly independent federal agencies. 😢 You can find the recording and transcript of the oral argument on their website later this afternoon.

Tomorrow, they will hear NRSC v. FEC where they'll likely destroy a Nixon-era corruption law that prevents donors from funneling money to the political candidate through committees. This will be yet another one of our systems of checks and balances that will disappear. It sounds like legalizing political money laundering to me! 🤬

On Friday, SCOTUS halted a free speech case filed by immigration judges. The judges challenged a policy that prevents them from speaking out on immigration issues without prior approval. The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals had revived the case, but the Supreme Court has issued a stay. 😡

This morning SCOTUS also refused to hear the appeal for a Texas case about banning books with race or LGBTQIA+ content from libraries. That means the lower court ruling stands, and the library bans are legal. Some of the lower courts have said that removing books from a library do not equate to banning the book itself. I'd prefer that libraries be free of censorship, but through the Internet we'll hopefully find ways to preserve and share those censored books for future generations to read them. 😭

Here's a link with more background on the library censorship case:
https://www.reuters.com/world/us-supreme-court-turns-away-appeal-texas-library-book-ban-2025-12-08/

DOJ Has Lost Over 4,000 Workers

Gary Wright II — Sun, 07 Dec 2025 21:14:53 -0500

The Department of Justice has fired anyone who they don't think is loyal to Trump, and many with a conscience have left their jobs in order not to be part of the corrupt system. They have been directing people to dismiss charges in "politically sensitive" cases, and purged the immigration judges in order to put in people with less experience who will pursue deportations under the directives made by Trump. They make staffing changes in order to affect the outcome of legal cases. Those that remain are making legal decisions based on their fear of retaliation, and not based on the law.

Maurene Comey is suing them after she was terminated and she wrote: "If a career prosecutor can be fired without reason, fear may seep into the decisions of those who remain. Fear is the tool of a tyrant, wielded to suppress independent thought."

Our entire justice system is in great danger of becoming a bunch of kangaroo courts. The DOJ is greatly understaffed, yet because of the illegal actions of the president and many agencies they are facing a huge number of cases. Our DOJ is a hot mess right now! 💩

Trump Purges Immigration Judges

Gary Wright II — Sun, 07 Dec 2025 18:55:55 -0500

We already had a shortage of immigration judges, and in order to give detainees due process in a timely manner during this immigration crackdown we need hundreds more of them! Instead, the Trump administration has fired over 100 judges while trying to bring in 600 military lawyers to act as immigration judges. This strips the military of experienced legal advice (at a very bad time!) as well as puts inexperienced people on the bench to hear immigration cases.

Their tactic is clear: they don't want to give detainees due process! In the DOJ advertisements to recruit new judges they changed the job title from "immigration judge" to "deportation judge." 🤬

One case I'm closely watching is Tania Nemer v. Pam Bondi. Nemer was an immigration judge who claims she was "fired for being a woman, a dual citizen who is the child of immigrant parents, and a one-time Democratic candidate for elected office."

The Equal Employment Opportunity office dismissed her claim and said that "civil rights law that protects against employment discrimination conflicts with the president’s power to remove federal workers." This essentially destroys any civil rights protections for federal workers, especially under Title VII which prohibits employers from discriminating on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.

I'll be giving more updates as the case progresses...

Here's more in-depth reporting on the firing of the judges:
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-immigration-court-judges-fired-b2877616.html

Guantanamo ICE Detainment Lawsuit

Gary Wright II — Sat, 06 Dec 2025 17:50:01 -0500

Federal District Court Judge Sparkle L. Sooknanan has denied the DHS motion to dismiss the case regarding the ICE use of the Gitmo detention center to hold tens of thousands of immigrants. The last count we got was they were holding around 500 detainees, and they are using Gitmo as a holding center while they wait for extradition to other countries.

Remember, Gitmo is the detention center where we keep alleged terrorists in what is basically a fenced dog kennel. They put them there in a US military prison within Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, on the coast of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba because it is a legal no man's land. If they brought them onto US soil, then our laws would apply, and they would actually have rights. By keeping them in Cuba, they faced military-style tribunals which were a total failure.

It was created in 2002 by George "Dubya" Bush who during the Iraq war gave out large cash bounties for anyone reporting a terrorist. The poor people in Iraq were turning in their own relatives (who were not terrorist) just in order to obtain the cash reward. Once the detainees were held in those terrible conditions, we radicalized them against the US, so the government was afraid to ever turn them loose again. Instead of stopping terrorists, the abuse at the facility actually became enemy propaganda fuel for creating thousands of new real terrorists. Gitmo has been a complete disaster, and Obama tried to close it, but Congress wouldn't let him. It still needs to be closed, and nobody should ever be detained there!

There will be a status hearing on the ICE case on Thursday, December 11th at 10AM. Here is the court docket:
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/70456103/luna-gutierrez-v-noem/?order_by=desc

13th Amendment Loophole Doesn't End Slavery

Gary Wright II — Sat, 06 Dec 2025 13:40:01 -0500

On December 6th, 1865 the Thirteenth Amendment was ratified to end slavery, but they left in a loophole that we need to someday soon close.

Section 1 of the amendment says: "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction."

We need to strike the part that says "except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted" because that is what allows the jails and prison systems to use forced slave labor to generate millions in revenue while only paying between 2 cents up to $2 per full day of work. Slavery should not be a punishment for crime!

If a prisoner wants to work (and I'm sure most of them do) then they should get paid the normal wages for that particular job. Anything less is just legalized slavery...

Courts Expand Presidential Powers

Gary Wright II — Fri, 05 Dec 2025 16:14:23 -0500

The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit today in a 2-1 ruling found that the restrictions on the president’s firing power at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) violate the separation of powers. Trump had fired two Democratic members of the NLRB and MSPB as part of Project 2025's plan to destroy independent federal agencies and expand the powers of the president.

In her dissent, US Circuit Judge Florence Pan said her colleagues’ decision “suggests that no agencies can be independent. Although my colleagues attempt to couch their analysis in narrow terms, they redefine the type of executive power that must be placed under the exclusive command of the President, and effectively grant him dominion over approximately thirty-three previously independent agencies.”

Protection of federal workers was given in a 90-year old precedent with Humphrey’s Executor v. United States. That ruling from 1935 will likely soon be overturned by our corrupt Supreme Court, who on Monday is hearing oral argument for Trump v. Slaughter regarding Trump's attempt to fire the head of the Federal Trade Commission.

Conservatives argue the "unitary executive" legal doctrine gives the president sole authority of the executive branch. That's not only dangerous and erases our independent system of checks and balances, but Congress has enacted tenure-protected terms for independent agency heads to keep those offices free from political interference. It helps keep our government stable.

You can listen to the oral argument live on Monday, and a recording and transcript will be available that afternoon. Here are the Questions Presented by the case:

DHS Still Trying To Investigate Facebook ICE Community Watch Group

Gary Wright II — Fri, 05 Dec 2025 11:13:24 -0500

I wrote last night about how DHS was coming after "antifa" and anyone they claim is an extremist. They recently subpoenaed Meta for information on a Facebook and Instagram community watch group that monitored the ICE activity in their area. A motion to quash the subpoena was made in federal court, but DHS isn't giving up. They don't want the content (which was made public) - they want the information they need to identify individuals, which Meta needs to be fighting to protect. It's so important that when a media company like Meta gets a subpoena, that they notify the user and give them a chance to fight back in court before they comply with it.

DHS in their response says: "John Doe runs Facebook and Instagram accounts that have tracked United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) agents and posted pictures and videos of agents’ faces, license plates, and weapons, among other things. The summonses do not request any information regarding the content of the accounts, which are public. However, Respondent is entitled to investigate information it received indicating that John Doe, through his social media accounts, is threatening ICE agents to impede the performance of their duties, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 115a1B. "

I'm watching this case closely, and hoping the court will quash the subpoena because these DHS threats against citizen reporting chill the freedom of speech guaranteed under the First Amendment.

Here's the full 16-page response that DHS filed:
https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cand.458146/gov.uscourts.cand.458146.28.0.pdf

ICC President Stands Up Against Threats From USA And Russia

Gary Wright II — Mon, 01 Dec 2025 13:38:23 -0500

The International Criminal Court (ICC) is who the world turns to for justice when a nation won't prosecute it's own people for atrocities such as genocide, war crimes, crimes of aggression, and crimes against humanity. There are 125 members of the ICC, but China, Israel, Russia, and USA are not members because they don't want their crimes being investigated.

Russia has even issued arrest warrants for ICC staff in retaliation after they issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin for his war crimes in Ukraine. When they issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Crime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister Yoav Gallant for their war crimes and genocide in Gaza, Trump retaliated on behalf of his criminal friends. Trump issued executive orders which sanctioned nine ICC staff members, including six judges, and their Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan. Trump is afraid of his own crimes being investigated, so he is actively working to disrupt the ICC and take away their resources.

At today's ICC delegation meeting, Judge Tomoko Akane vowed “We never accept any kind of pressure." It's important that the international community supports the ICC, and cooperates in carrying out the arrest warrants that they issue.

Currently, the former president of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte is on trial for the thousands of extra-judicial murders he committed during his "war on drugs." The Trump administration is carrying out those exact same crimes against humanity with his extra-judicial murders of alleged drug boats near Venezuela. It's imperative for us to make sure the ICC pursues a thorough investigation into Trump and his cronies so we can bring them to justice. Our own country doesn't seem capable of doing it, so we must rely on the ICC. It is why they exist.

Even though the USA is not a member of the ICC, it's important to have a open and fair trial where the facts are exposed to the world and preserved for posterity. In the case of former president George "Dubya" Bush, we couldn't get him arrested and extradited to The Hague, so he was tried and convicted in absentia for his war crimes. If someone with an ICC arrest warrant travels to a country that is a member, they can be immediately arrested and extradited.

I'm so glad the ICC president is standing strong, despite all of the threats and sanctions against them. Here's some reporting by AP on what was said today:
https://apnews.com/article/icc-court-trump-sanctions-russia-6f8a0c911bccaaa9551529fc03b3dcc0