More from the article ...

... "I do everything for my kids," says the 25-year-old father. "That's what it's all for." When he finally got the new schedule, he saw it as a perfect opportunity.

Things seemed normal that Thursday as he drove along the back roads to work his first day shift. But as Retes pulled up to the entrance to his workplace, he saw pandemonium: cars everywhere blocking the road, cars without drivers, drivers zigzagging around other cars. Along with other federal agencies, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was out in force, and so were people protesting.

President Donald Trump had started to roll out his mass deportation campaign in early 2025. By June, workplace raids were happening across Southern California as agents tried to reach a goal of 3,000 arrests a day, inciting widespread panic and disorder. After protests erupted in Los Angeles, Trump sent in roughly 4,000 National Guard members to quell the turmoil.

But without a call from work warning him not to come in, Retes pressed on. "I still got to go to work like normal," he says. "I need to get paid. I still need to keep a roof over my kids' heads." ...

Making his way through parked cars and protesters, Retes eventually reached a line of agents blocking him in the middle of the road. Still hoping to make it in on time, he pulled up and asked to pass. "I was a good distance away, and I put my car in park," he says. "I got out, stood by my car."

The agents started yelling, Retes says. "Get the fuck out of here!" "Leave!" "Get back in your car!" "Pull over to the side!" "You're not going to work." "Work is closed." Retes asked for a badge number that he could give to his boss when he didn't show up on time. But that made the agents madder.

Roughly three out of four ICE detainees have no criminal record, according to a November 2025 Cato Institute report, and are otherwise law-abiding undocumented immigrants -- but some of the people arrested are, like Retes, U.S. citizens.

"Literally the first words out of my mouth was that I was a U.S. citizen, that I'm just trying to get work ... and they just didn't care," Retes says. "They were immediately hostile from the get-go."

Rather than escalate any further, Retes got back into his car to follow the agents' directions and leave. But the agents unexpectedly moved forward, surrounded the car, and started banging on its windows and pulling on its door handles, telling him to get out. Another agent yelled at him to reverse, and another told him to pull over to the side of the road. "They're all yelling contradictory things when all I was already trying to do was leave like they were asking me to do," says Retes. "Like, what am I supposed to do?" ...

@#57 ... I would guess you have to use your common sense. ...

My common sense tells me that the President of the United States should be more careful when he speaks.

But Pres Trump is not careful when he speaks, he routinely lies and says stupid things..

So I ask again ...

"and how do you differentiate between the times he says idiotic things and he is just "thinking out loud," and when he says stupid things and he really means it?"

@#2

"Excursion" is so last week.

Lately it has been a skirmish.

And Pres Trump still seems to be desperately seeking an off-ramp.

Related ...

More from the article ...

... Tisza holds 141 seats out of 199 in the new parliament -- up from zero, a result of the party being founded just two years ago.

Tens of thousands of people are expected to take part in a "celebration of freedom and democracy" outside parliament in Budapest, along the shores of the Danube. Magyar has told Hungarians to step through the "gateway of regime change".

Orbán's Fidesz party crumbled from 135 to 52 seats, and shows signs of imploding.

He and other key party figures have decided not to take their seats in parliament, and their political future is uncertain, beyond a vague commitment to "rebuild the national side".

Each day brings new revelations or allegations of corruption against a party which has governed Hungary almost unchallenged since 2010. Magyar has promised a "change of system" as well as a change of government. ...

@#51 ... Regarding his comment, I call it thinking out loud ...

... and how do you differentiator between the times he says idiotic things and he is just "thinking out loud," and when he says stupid things and he really means it?

@#7 ... Old and in the Way ...

A fav album of mine ...

@#28 ... I believe Trump will go down in history as one of the most significant Presidents America has ever had. ... ,/i>

Significant in what manner?

@#48 ... You probably think Trump actually meant for people to drink bleach, too. ...

What did Pres Trump actually mean when he made that remark?

@#8 ... We like to call it News commentary... independent of major corporate media. ...

Another odd one ...

Here's an odd one for ya ...

Another MAGA politician allegedly being abusive?

Quelle surprise.

@#9 ... A Galaxy and my first Android phone. ...

imo, and in my experience...

That may be more a fault of Galaxy than Android.

I don't see similar behavior on the Android phones from other manufacturers I buy.

Indeed, that is one of the main reasons why I do not purchase Samsung phones.

YMMV, and all that ...

@#1 ... The far-fetched survey came after Trump, while announcing the return of the Presidential Physical Fitness Award on Tuesday, asked a young boy attending the announcement in the Oval Office if he thought he could take him in a fight. ...

Yeah, the things Pres Trump says when there are children present are, I'll be kind in my opinion, odd.

Mor from the article ...

... The far-fetched survey came after Trump, while announcing the return of the Presidential Physical Fitness Award on Tuesday, asked a young boy attending the announcement in the Oval Office if he thought he could take him in a fight.

The award, which is tied to the Presidential Fitness Test, was a public-school fixture for decades until it was phased out under former President Barack Obama for a less-competitive alternative. ...

@#13 ... Congress won't fix SCOTUS decisions through legislation or amendments. ...

Is the problem Congress not "fixing" SCOTUS decisions? Can Congress actually do that? imo, that's another discussion thread.

But the real questions of late seem to be ...

Does Congress represent the good People of the United States?

Or has Congress become little more than a useful tool of Pres Trump?

More from the article ...

... When the woman contacted the account owner to request the video's removal, he replied that taking it down was a "paid service." She refused to pay and reported the matter to the police. The social media platforms removed the clip and banned at least one account, but whatever goes on the internet stays on the internet; copies and reposts of the footage kept appearing on other profiles.

Smart glasses with built-in cameras make abuse like this easier because they look like ordinary eyewear and record discreetly. Some models have a recording indicator, but such a tiny light can be easy to miss. Some users even try to hide the light by covering it up. ...

@#1

attenuation

-- should be --

attention

(there are times that spell check is not helpful. I will leave it at that. ...)

OK, here's one that caught my attention ...

The linked video above ...

Steve Forbert - Romeo's Tune (1979)

Yeah, you likely know Mr Forbert from his great American Pie song. But he had other songs worthy of attenuation...

OK, my first question, among many, ...

If solar power has resulted in a [transitory] period of negative power cost, why does Pres Trump seem to be so against solar power?

... The Institute for Primary Facts has compiled more than 3.5 million pages of the Epstein files for public display ...

Yeah, but most of the files have still to be released.

What is the problem with the Trump administration, that they do not seem to want to release the Epstein files?

Release the Epstein files!

Prosecute those who may be guilty.

Give the victims of Epstein some closure.

@#7 ... Given that it was a private event, I have no idea. ...

Yeah, that was my concern [question?] also.

Can a private group reserve a public space in Grand Prairie, TX for their own purpose?

That seems to be the unanswered question here.

What are the laws of that particular area?

@#4 ... "Most people, I think, don't even know what a rootkit is, so why should they care about it?" ...

I do not disagree.

Instead I strongly agree.

And that explains the [usual by that bellringer alter-alias] lame #5 response.

I'd proffer that most of the folk using computers of late haven't a clue about rootkits.

They rely upon the protection the operating system offers to keep them safe.

So, how good is the major OS, Windows, in that task?