Blue 812 News Issue 63 - April 5

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Wednesday night, Trump gave a monumental, serious, important big boy speech about Iran, in which he literally said nothing at all. The gist is that the war is very, very, very necessary, and also, almost over… which he’s been saying the whole time. In his exact words: the “core strategic objectives are nearing completion.” What are those ‘core objectives’? Still no clue. He gave a timeline of two to three weeks to end the war, but you read blue812news, so you know he gives a two-week timeline for literally everything. In response, oil prices jumped. I guess some people were hoping he’d call it. The silver lining is that he didn’t announce we’d be sending in ground troops. Well, he’s not ruling it out.

The speech comes at a terrible time for the war, popularity-wise. A recent Reuters poll, for example, has 60% of Americans disapproving of the war, which is about ten points more than when the war started. Nor is the war popular overseas. Case in point: French President Emmanuel Macron called for a ceasefire, and diplomats from more than 40 countries gathered Thursday to discuss how to open the Strait of Hormuz, after Trump told them to figure it out themselves. “We have seen Iran hijack an international shipping route to hold the global economy hostage,” said British foreign minister Yvette Cooper. The U.S. didn’t even attend the meeting — which was held virtually. Couldn’t even click to join.

Trump’s war in Iran has sparked an energy crisis that’s threatening the global economy. The conflict may be costing over $1 billion a day, so now the GOP wants to further cut healthcare funding to pay for the war costs. “The United States can’t take care of day care … we’re fighting wars,” Trump said earlier this week, during a private event that the White House accidentally posted online. “We have to take care of one thing: military protection.” And now, he’s demanding a lot more money to fund further military adventures. The Trump administration formally asked Congress Friday for $1.5 trillion to fund the military next year, a request larger than the entire economy of Switzerland. If approved, it would shatter the record for the most the United States — and any country — has ever spent on the military.

Much of the additional money would likely go toward Trump’s extraterrestrial Golden Dome missile defense project — which could cost “anywhere from billions to trillions” — as well as new fighter jets and warships. The military spending bump would coincide with the elimination of other programs, those that address climate, housing and education, according to the White House. “The proposal calls for steep cuts to lifesaving assistance and critical efforts that advance American interests around the world,” Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI) said in a statement. “That’s not going to happen.” The defense budget shouldn’t be dictated by a president “who woke up one day and decided to send his aides scrambling to figure out how on earth they could spend half a trillion dollars more, which the Pentagon can’t possibly spend responsibly,” Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, said in a statement.

Kristi Noem’s husband’s …extracurricular activities may be the talk of the town, but there’s a new outed Trump official: AG Pam Bondi. Trump was fed up with her bungling failure to imprison his enemies, or as NBC’s sources put it, “he doesn’t think she has ‘executed on his vision,’” according to multiple reports. He was also annoyed at her botched handling of the release of the Epstein files, a prolonged scandal that has plagued his second term, and which made headlines several weeks ago, back when the Dow was over 50,000. Obviously, this is a little unfair, as Trump’s the one who was actually in the Epstein files, many thousands of times.

What next? For now, Todd Blanche – the deputy Attorney General – will take over. There were rumors that Trump wanted Lee Zeldin, the head of the EPA, to ultimately replace Bondi, but nothing has been confirmed. I’m all for firing Bondi and Noem, but at some point, we should get rid of some of these wildly incompetent men, too.

No Trump nominee should be confirmed as AG until Congress assures the DoJ will return to impartially serving the American people, instead of being used as a sledgehammer against the president’s enemies and a shield for him and his friends.

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Remember the first day of Trump’s presidency, when he signed an executive order to end birthright citizenship, but he can’t actually do that? To quote the 14th Amendment (honestly, top ten amendment): “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.” I know literacy skills are not great right now, but seems pretty clear to me.

In July, a federal judge (who clearly read the same Constitution that we did) blocked this order - temporarily. Finally, this week, SCOTUS heard arguments on it. Fortunately, they weren’t having it. Not even the conservatives. Some notable points of skepticism during the hearing:

So, we’ll keep our fingers crossed, although I would never put it past this court to disappoint us. Also on Wednesday, a local felon returned to court, by which I mean Trump himself showed up at the hearing. Was he maybe trying to intimidate his way into a victory? Even Trump knew it was a long shot. As he Truthed-out ahead of the trial: “Birthright Citizenship is not about rich people from China, and the rest of the World, who want their children, and hundreds of thousands more, FOR PAY, to ridiculously become citizens of the United States of America. It is about the BABIES OF SLAVES! We are the only Country in the World that dignifies this subject with even discussion.” Then after he left the hearing: “We are the only Country in the World STUPID enough to allow ‘Birthright’ Citizenship!” In fact, 32 other countries have similar birthright citizenship laws.

The justices aren’t expected to make a formal ruling for months. But it’s very nice to see the Supreme Court actually stand up to Trump!

In other SCOTUS news, on March 31, Trans Visibility Day, the Supreme Court ruled 8-1 that Colorado's ban on conversion therapy for LGBTQ+ minors likely violates the First Amendment and sent the case back to lower courts for further review. For an excellent analysis you can listen to, check out this episode of Strict Scrutiny. Justice Gorsuch wrote the majority opinion, framing the discredited, harmful practice of trying to change a child's sexual orientation or gender identity as "viewpoint discrimination" against the therapist performing it. Notably, the Colorado law has never actually been enforced (and that is the issue judges should be looking into, if you ask me). However, that doesn’t mean SCOTUS’s ruling won’t have an effect, since there are about 20 other states with similar laws… and this decision only provides ammo to those who want to do away with them, and to target the queer community more generally. As Justice Jackson – the sole voice of dissent and also reason – wrote: “The Constitution does not pose a barrier to reasonable regulation of harmful medical treatments just because substandard care comes via speech instead of a scalpel...In the worst-case scenario, our medical system unravels as various licensed healthcare professionals … start broadly wielding their newfound constitutional right to provide substandard medical care.” Thank you, Justice Jackson, for your leadership. The rest of your colleagues need therapy.

Almost 1,800 noncitizen truck and bus drivers without specific employment-based visas lost their commercial driver’s licenses Wednesday as a new statutory ban — inspired by recent traffic fatalities — took effect. U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement arrested a Kyrgyzstan national accused of killing four people in a crash along State Route 67 in Indiana in February. The agency alleges he entered the country illegally but was still issued a CDL in Pennsylvania.

Pressel’s House Enrolled Act 1200 narrowed eligibility by requiring that non-domiciled commercial drivers hold H-2A, H-2B or E-2 visas to receive and maintain their CDLs, effective April 1. The visas are for temporary agricultural and agricultural workers, as well as for investors. The provisions are similar to a recent federal rule. Attorney General Todd Rokita celebrated Indiana’s status as “the first state in the nation to take this commonsense action” in a post to X.

The law makes driving a commercial vehicle with a “false” CDL — or a foreign one, without additional entry documents — a Level 6 felony. An individual driver is subject to a civil penalty of $5,000, with employers at $50,000. The law also blocks the BMV from expanding CDL testing to other languages. The agency currently administers the exams only in English, according to Dunn.

The state of Indiana has suspended the licenses of Terre Haute funeral director Gary Greiner and his business, Greiner Funeral Home and Cremation Services. In a pair of 4-0 votes Thursday afternoon, the Indiana Funeral and Cemetery Board placed an immediate, 90-day suspension and also voted to immediately demand all “pre-need” contracts and related documentation from the funeral home. Pre-need funeral arrangements, essentially pre-paid contracts for funeral services that are funded via trust or insurance, are in themselves legal, regulated and common. An attorney general’s investigator said the funding of 142 pre-need arrangements with a total value of more than $552,000 is in question.

The Ellis Law Firm, Greiner’s lawyers, had asked Greiner be allowed to voluntarily surrender his license, to which the attorney general’s office had no objection. However, the board voted to refuse a voluntary surrender of license. “I have a real problem with someone saying, ‘Oops, I stole $550,000 and what I would like to do is turn my license in.’ … What that does is it saves a little face in the eyes of the community, and there is no face to be saved here. He needs prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law criminally, and he needs his license revoked yesterday,” said board member Tom Sproles. Also, Sproles said, he could not believe that only two licensed funeral directors were operating a funeral home with the scope of business cited in this case. Board members also said the second funeral director at Greiner Funeral Home, who has been cooperating with investigators, should be investigated and be questioned by the board.

Deputy AG Ian Matthew told the state board that as a separate prosecution is likely, Greiner has additional incentive to make restitution before being charged by local prosecutors. Greiner is currently not facing any criminal charges. In terms of the possible local prosecution mentioned Thursday in Indianapolis, Vigo County Prosecutor Terry Modesitt on Friday said his office his awaiting information from the state.

The funeral home is not operating, and it does not appear Greiner will be physically able to continue working as a funeral director, the deputy attorney general said. Sheriff’s sale notices indicate the Greiner Funeral Home property, 2005 N. 13th St., Terre Haute, goes up for sale at 10 a.m. April 16. A sheriff’s sale is the result of a court-ordered bank foreclosure for the non-payment of a mortgage. More on this at Tribune-Star

Vote411.org is now live! This website asks questions to the candidates, and allows you to see how each of them answered all at once. I took a look earlier this week, and was disappointed to see how many candidates hod not submitted responses - hopefully they’ll get those in and posted before the primary.

A judge has sent back to the Indiana Election Commission a dispute over whether Alexandra Wilson can remain on the Republican primary ballot for a state Senate seat, following a tie vote during a February hearing. Alexandra Wilson has since had her conviction for resisting law enforcement at the age of 19 expunged by a Vermillion County court, and Putnam County Superior Court Judge Charles Bridges cited that action in an order this week following a court hearing on an appeal of the Election Commission’s action. “Remand to the Indiana Election Commission is appropriate because circumstances of the case have changed,” the order said. “The Indiana Election Commission has not had an opportunity to consider Wilson’s notice of expungement and whether her candidacy is disqualified in light thereof.” Prominent conservative attorney Jim Bopp maintains that Alexandra Wilson’s eligibility should be determined by her status when she filed her candidate paperwork in February. “The expungement of her felony conviction more than six weeks later is not retroactive and is thus irrelevant.”

We are just days away from the deadline to register to vote in Indiana. Please head to indianavoters.com today and double check your registration before the deadline on Monday, April 6.

You can update your information, including changing your address if you moved since the last election in November 2024. Please take a few moments and head to indianavoters.com to ensure you’re registered!

Early voting begins Tuesday, April 7.

As Trump’s popularity declines and protests grow, his administration is taking increasingly aggressive steps to stop them, including having ICE use DMV data to track and intimidate protesters. Through a law enforcement data-sharing network called Nlets, ICE and Homeland Security conducted nearly 900,000 searches of state driver’s license records in a single year, pulling up names, addresses, and photos without a warrant. They are scanning license plates at peaceful demonstrations, identifying who is there, and showing up at their homes. In one documented Minneapolis case, ICE agents addressed a woman by her wife’s name after running their plates. The chilling effect is the point: they’re trying to make people to think twice before showing up to protest.

The good news is that governors can block this access. Five states already have: Illinois, New York, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Washington. We can go to the Democracy Action Center, copy the pre-written message, select our state, paste it into our governor’s contact form, and hit send. We can also use this script from 5Calls to push them by phone.

Civic Mirror is another website providing citizens with information on its elected officials. The creator aims to make public officials more transparent. This website allows you to view elected officials along with evidence like article, videos and interviews tied to them for Indiana here.

visit the Blue812News Local Events calendar to see all upcoming events

Tuesday, April 7th at 5pm: Vigo County Council Meeting in the Council Chambers in the Vigo County Government Center, 127 Oak Street

Thursday, April 9th at 6pm: Terre Haute City Council Meeting at City Hall.

Saturday, April 11th at 8am: Citywide Cleanup 8 AM – 12 PM (or until dumpsters are full) LOCATIONS: Street Department Garage (1211 Deming St.), Vigo County Solid Waste Management (3230 E Haythorne Ave.), Old Police Department HQ Parking lot (Behind 1211 Wabash, enter from Orchard St.)

Saturday, April 11th at 10 am: DSA Committee meeting & Social 10:00 – 11:30am at the Debs’ House 451 N 8th St, Terre Haute 10-10:30 committee meeting (membership requirement temporarily waived) 10:30-11:30 social: open to general public

Saturday, April 11th at 12pm: Canvassing & Phone Banking for Mary Allen, US House dist 8. Let's talk to our neighbors about Mary Allen! We will meet at the VigoDems office (2629 S 3rd St suite B) and then go out to canvass in Vigo County. Phone banking opportunities will be available this day as well. register here.

Sunday, April 12th at 4pm: ICE OUT with Indivisible Wabash Valley Clay County Detention Center 611 E. Jackson St, Brazil, IN Every Sunday 4–5PM

A new statue protesting Donald Trump popped up at the National Mall Wednesday, this time taking aim at his Golden Dome missile defense program. It involves a mannequin of Trump with rockets swarming a leaky golden umbrella above his head. “The Golden Dome will cost $4 trillion and spark a new arms race,” one plaque read. “For $4 trillion, we could make childcare affordable, erase student debt, and end homelessness.” Ben Cohen of Ben & Jerry’s took credit for the statue in a video posted on social media. This closely follows a golden toilet perched on a marble throne that appeared in front of the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall Monday morning. The statue, titled “A Throne Fit for a King,” took aim at Trump’s focus on redesigning the White House: “In a time of unprecedented division, escalating conflict, and economic turmoil, President Trump focused on what truly mattered: remodeling the Lincoln Bathroom,” a plaque reads.

Tuesday, a federal judge halted work on the $400 million White House ballroom, ruling that the president is “a temporary tenant” of the building and needs congressional authorization to proceed.

Maine is slated to become the first state to ban new data centers. The legislation bars construction of the massive, noisy, power-chugging buildings through 2027, allowing for the state to assess how they impact the environment and electricity. A new study finds that almost half of US data centers that were supposed to open this year are slated to be canceled or delayed.

A coalition of Democratic lawmakers and organizations are suing to prevent Donald Trump from limiting mail-in voting, after he signed an executive order to do so earlier this week (and right after he shamelessly cast a vote by mail himself).

The Artemis II mission has been thrilling people across the planet. Little known fact: the four astronauts leading it include the first woman, the first Black person, and the first non-American astronaut to travel to the lunar environment. Amazing!

Republicans and Democrats in West Texas are united against a border wall proposal that would tear up land in and around Big Bend National Park. Top state officials and wealthy donors have privately conveyed their opposition to the effort to Trump’s team, arguing for border surveillance technology instead of a physical wall, the New York Times reports. “Sensible people who look at what’s being proposed here think this is insane,” JP Bryan, a conservative former oil executive, told the outlet.

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