Blue 812 News Issue 37 - Sept. 14

Sep 14, 2025

If you haven’t heard (how can I be like you?) conservative activist and Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk was fatally shot while speaking at Utah Valley University on September 10. Now, we all have to learn about Groypers and those who are Too Online.

The 22-year-old shooter was delivered to the authorities by his own father. The gun was recovered with bullets etched with phrases from Helldivers 2, a post-apocalyptic video game, and various right-wing meme themes. Misinformation is everywhere on this story.

FBI Director Kash Patel continued to show why, even after the arrest, he’s remarkably unqualified for his current job. Patel has faced criticism for posting on social media early in the manhunt for Kirk's killer Wednesday that a subject had been taken into custody, before later saying that person was questioned and released, then he kept the shooter’s arrest secret so Trump could announce it on Fox & Friends. We should be able to hear from him directly during his Congressional hearings Tuesday & Wednesday.

Now the search is on for anyone posting negative comments from within the military and even Indiana schools (Rokita also has the Eyes on Education portal back up so I hope no one submits anything that would waste their time). Is Kirk a martyr for the MAGA cause? Is this Just the Beginning? What happened to all the Free Speech folks?

We are currently a little over two weeks out from the potential shutdown (ETA: October 1st), and the big question remains – is it happening? Congressional Democrats, who famously have very little power, have settled on a message: the GOP needs to extend the insurance subsidies to protect Medicaid if they want them to play ball. In minority leader Chuck Schumer’s words: “If they try to jam something down our throats without any compromise … they ain’t going to get the votes, plain and simple.” Okay, but this time, stick to it, Chuck? Personally, I’m more of an ask-for-everything girl. Since we know we won’t be getting it, might as well get them on the record as denying it.

In other Congressional news, Senate Republicans voted to change the rules to confirm Trump nominees more quickly. Under the new rules, they can confirm an unlimited number of nominees at a time, rather than going one by one. At this point, why not just ask ChatGPT to do it? This can’t possibly be the same Congress that fought against letting new moms vote remotely on maternity leave, because it’s not in the Constitution? Can it? Read more at NBC News.

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House Speaker Mike Johnson walked back his own comment describing Donald Trump as an “FBI informant” on deceased child sex predator Jeffrey Epstein. Nice try, Mike!

The Epstein birthday book was released, and you’ll never guess what was inside! Just a little doodle that the very trustworthy, very normal President insisted didn’t exist! Now, it exists, but it wasn’t his signature? So someone forged it 22 years ago and planted it then?

U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer fired his country’s ambassador to the U.S., Peter Mandelson, after the diplomat’s close ties to deceased child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein were revealed. One unflattering example: Mandelson described Epstein as his “best pal” in the infamous birthday book recently made public. The ambassador also once suggested that Epstein’s “first conviction was wrongful and should be challenged,” according to a British embassy statement.

On that note, Bloomberg obtained a tranche of 18,000 emails from Epstein’s personal Yahoo inbox, which show that his relationship with confidante Ghislaine Maxwell was much deeper than previously known. “The pair discussed undergoing a shared fertility procedure, long after Maxwell claims she largely disassociated from him,” the outlet writes. You mean she wasn’t telling the truth in her privileged not-a-proffer session?

In an 8–4 party-line vote Tuesday, Republicans on the House Rules Committee shot down a bid to put the Epstein Files Transparency Act—which would compel the Justice Department to release all unclassified records related to Jeffrey Epstein—to a floor vote.

The Indiana Secretary of State’s Office said Friday that a Vigo County man is being investigated for allegedly voting without being a U.S. citizen. According to Secretary of State Diego Morales, the man —who has a Mexican passport — registered with the Bureau of Motor Vehicles in 2018 and voted in six separate elections (Brad Newman was Vigo County Clerk from 2016-2024). However, no charges have been filed, and the office couldn’t release a name.

Under House Enrolled Act 1264, voters with registrations tied to temporary identification credentials from the Bureau of Motor Vehicles must meet additional proof of citizenship requirements. Upon receiving his notice from Vigo County, the man apparently responded by providing his Mexican passport and verbally confirmed that he wasn’t a citizen, according to the office’s legislative policy director, Kegan Prentice. More at Indiana Capitol Chronicle.

General Ordinance 12, amending the City Code’s Chapter 6, prohibiting sleeping in public areas, was always intended to be withdrawn, but Terre Haute Mayor Brandon Sakbun said he used it to raise awareness of homelessness and begin a conversation on combating it in Terre Haute. It worked — 14 citizens spoke for more than two hours during Thursday night’s Terre Haute City Council meeting.

Sakbun proposed creating a joint task force between his administration and the City Council, addressing the rising incidents of homelessness locally that would align organizations to communicate and collaborate in assisting the unhoused more efficiently. After the meeting, Sakbun said, “The city of Terre Haute was pretty much forced to introduce legislation like General Ordinance 12. Why? Because too many organizations, including us, are working in silos…I decided we needed a local task force due to inaction and a lack of synchronization among service providers, government entities, housing providers, and public safety personnel.”

The Council also withdrew General Ordinance 2, which would have created a Historic Preservation District Commission. The Planning, Zoning, and Improvements Committee had recommended withdrawing the measure. The city’s 2026 budget includes funding for a historical survey for the first time since the 1980s; its results could further discussion on historic preservation districts in the future. More at TribStar on Yahoo.

We’re still not done! Senate Republicans held a private caucus on Wednesday to discuss their gerrymander, but Senate President Pro Tempore Rodric Bray declined to answer any questions after. Sources have shared with MADVoters that next week, Statehouse leaders will make the decision on whether they will proceed with a special session. Monday, September 22, has been shared as a potential session day. Sources also said if a special session is called, it will likely be very short, as little as one day. It's critical that we contact Sen. Goode and urge him to oppose early redistricting.

MADVoters’ online tool at MADVoters.org/no-cheaters will guide you through calling or emailing statehouse officials to tell them, “No cheating in democracy!” You can also call in with 5Calls, or using their direct lines.

I heard about the Digital Democracy Project on the latest episode of TurnLeft with Dana Black. This nonpartisan initiative s designed to give U.S. voters direct influence over legislation through a secure mobile voting app and online accountability system through a Mobile Voting App that lets you cast your own secure ballot on the same bills your representatives vote on. This allows for a Real-Time Tally showing what voters want in each district, without party or demographic filters. They also include Legislative Information through nonpartisan updates and summaries of bills. and a Scorecard System that compares how legislators vote versus what their constituents want. It’s currently active in Florida and expanding nationwide, but anyone can vote on nationwide bills now. You can learn more or enroll at the Digital Democracy Project.

Nasty Women - Vigo County calendar | Indivisible Wabash Valley calendar

Tuesday, September 16th at 6pm: Indiana Nasty Women-Vigo County Meeting at Vigo County Public Library - meeting room A.

Thursday, September 18th at 1pm: INDems to Hold Statehouse Rally Against Gerrymandering With Special Guest on September 18 at 1 PM. More info & register here.

Thursday, September 18th at 7pm: Want to learn more about effective strategies for discussing redistricting, gerrymandering, authoritarianism, and more? The MADVoters Messaging Series is tailored to activists, advocates, and candidates who are ready to take their communications to the next level. Register at https://forms.gle/W7dSs46FPE1Nubz38 or MADVoters.org/events.

Saturday, September 20th at 10am: We are telling Republicans that we don't approve of having our votes silenced by redistricting! More info & register here.

Wednesday, September 24th at 6pm: A special council meeting set regarding the 2026 budget. The public is allowed to attend, but there will be no public comment and no vote.

Thursday, September 25th at 5pm: Rally with Indivisible outside the Ronald Reagan Dinner. The Red Barn at Sycamore Farm at 5:30 PM 5001 Poplar St., Terre Haute, IN. No gerrymandering. No rigged recipes. Just fair maps. Register here.

Last week, Democrat James Walkinshaw won a special election to replace Congressman Gerry Connolly in Virginia’s 11th Congressional District — by a whopping 50 points. This was a 15-percent overperformance for Dems in the district.

Brazil’s Supreme Court convicted former President Bolsonaro. You’re not going to believe this, but the crime was plotting a coup after losing an election. Is that Supreme Court, uh, willing to work freelance? He’s been sentenced to 27 years in prison.

The Trump administration dissolved a working group of climate contrarians who wrote a bogus report saying that climate change might actually be a good thing. That comes after more than 100 climate scientists submitted 400 pages of public comments to the Energy Department about the report. “My interpretation is they’re waving the white flag,” one of the scientists said.

A district judge ruled that Donald Trump’s bid to fire Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook is likely illegal, and ordered her reinstated immediately. Trump is appealing the decision, which will probably end up being decided by the Supreme Court.

Protestors confronted Trump at a seafood restaurant in Washington, D.C. last night. “Trump, you are not welcome here,” they chanted, while he appeared visibly angry.

Ben (Cohen) & Jerry (Greenfield) are urging their parent company to allow the ice cream activists’ brand to once again become independent. “For several years now the voice of Ben & Jerry’s has been silenced by Unilever, particularly when the brand has tried to speak out about social justice and unjust wars,” the two wrote. “That is not the Ben & Jerry’s that we founded.” We expected nothing less from our ice cream kings!

Trump's time in the White House runs out in:

Egyptian women urinated on wheat and barley seeds to determine if they were pregnant or not. Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.