Blue 812 News Issue 71 - May 31

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Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has submitted an official letter of resignation to the Office of the Supreme Leader, though it is not yet clear whether Mojtaba Khamenei will accept the president’s resignation. In the letter sent on Sunday, Pezeshkian stressed that the president and the government have effectively been excluded from major and vital decision-making processes in the country, and that the vacuum created by this situation has enabled hardline factions within the IRGC to take control of affairs, the source said. This shake-up comes as there still appears to be no decision from Trump as of this afternoon on whether he would sign off on a potential peace agreement with Iran, after announcing Friday on his blog, Truth Social, he would be making a “final determination” on a possible deal. After the post, he convened a two-hour meeting… and didn’t make any determination at all. Iran said that “no final agreement has been reached.” He skipped Don Jr’s wedding for nothing!

One detail in Trump’s post, however, nods to a controversial part of the theoretical deal: “No money will be exchanged, until further notice.” Iran has demanded that Trump unlock billions of dollars in frozen assets as part of any peace agreement, which could spark blowback from his own allies (They still talk about Obama’s 2016 deal). Iran reportedly wants $12 billion in frozen assets to continue talks. Iran’s economy has been hobbled by its current war with the United States, as well as fighting with Israel, but a recent addition to a potential deal is even more eye-popping: an investment fund for Iran — possibly as large as $300 billion. It would be akin to a “reconstruction program,” an Iranian official told the outlet, which noted that Trump envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner had floated a similar idea. Experts believe Trump could try to avoid backlash by allowing Qatar to release the frozen funds, and then pretend that it’s a big coincidence.

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Protesters have been gathering outside Delaney Hall, an ICE detention facility in Newark, for more than week to support the detainees who allege inadequate medical care, poor living conditions and delays in immigration proceedings, which DHS denies. Detainees have reportedly staged hunger strikes and labor strikes. Last Sunday evening, dozens of protesters blocked the entrances to Delaney Hall after it appeared that guards were trying to move Martin Soto, one of those who announced the hunger strike. His wife, Gabriela Soto, has been organizing protesters on the outside.

On Memorial Day, Senator Andy Kim (D-NJ), Gov. Sherrill, and New Jersey representatives Nellie Pou and LaMonica McIver were at the facility to conduct oversight visits (Gov. Sherrill was denied access to the facility). About 150 protesters were outside the facility when federal agents sprayed the crowd with pepper balls and pepper spray. Sen. Kim was affected by the sprays, though DHS insists “No individuals were directly struck by pepper ball projectiles,” going on in their statement to call the protesters “dangerous rioters” and saying their obstruction of the way out of the facility—preventing Soto’s removal—was “a federal crime.” before finally adding that “assaulting law enforcement is a felony.” On Monday afternoon, a DHS spokesperson said they had moved Soto to a different facility.

DHS had suspended visitation Memorial Day, citing safety concerns stemming from unrest outside the facility. Federal officials have accused protesters of threatening law enforcement officers and engaging in violent behavior. In a statement posted on social media today, NJ Governor Mikie Sherrill said DHS had agreed to restore visitation at the site. A DHS spokesperson responded that visitation was suspended only because unrest outside the facility made it unsafe for officers, detainees’ families and attorneys. The agency said visits could resume now that the area around Delaney Hall has been secured. “We did not cave to the Governor’s demands,” the spokesperson said. Okay, but…it seems like you did.

Some “national extremist groups” were involved in Saturday’s protest at the facility, Sherrill said, without identifying which groups. According to on-the-ground reporting by Kevin Ortega-Rojas on instagram, it was the Proud Boys. Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, who last year was arrested outside Delaney Hall during an oversight visit, later imposed a nightly curfew around the facility, citing public safety concerns. The curfew took effect at 12 a.m. Sunday and will continue nightly from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. until further notice.

As the situation at Delaney Hall continues to escalate and more inmates join hunger strikes nationwide, It can’t be overstated how important it is that we stay loud. The conditions at ICE detention centers and the reconciliation bill Republicans are about to bring back up for a vote should both be rendered politically toxic. So while we have called about them a bunch of times already, we must call again. Remember that representatives’ offices record calls as unique comments every day, even if they’re repeats. It’s the daily quantity of calls they’re tallying, not who’s making them.

Sen. Jim Banks | Sen. Todd Young | Rep. Mark Messmer | Find your sen | Find your rep

script from 5calls: Hi, I’m a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is ______.

I’m calling to express my deep concern about the horrific conditions at ICE detention camps and ICE’s ongoing mistreatment of immigrants. I want the Senator to hold this administration accountable for their attacks on both immigrants and citizens by conducting public oversight investigations into the unsanitary conditions of detention camps and demanding the closure of inhumane detention camps like Delaney Hall in Newark. Also, please refuse to pass any appropriations or budget reconciliation bill that provides funding for ICE. Thanks.

Indiana Lt. Gov. and self-described Christian Nationalist Micah Beckwith said last week that Americans should be given “permission to hate again” during a May 21 appearance on FlashPoint, a Christian conservative program that frequently blends politics, religion and prophecy-themed commentary. Beckwith appeared on the program wearing a polo bearing the Indiana lieutenant governor insignia while saying “If radical jihadi mindset starts coming into our state, I’m going to hate it, and I’m going to hate it with everything that I am,” he said. “I’m going to call on others to hate it, because I hate Islam. It’s a demonic death cult.”

After Muslim civil rights advocates and Indiana Muslim leaders condemned the remarks as reckless and inflammatory, Beckwith decided to double down Thursday on social media: “On the close of Eid, after much prayer and consideration after my recent interview, I would like to take this opportunity to wish all Muslims in Indiana the best,” Beckwith wrote, referring to the Muslim holiday Eid al-adha, one of Islam’s holiest days. “And by best I mean I hope you all become Christian.”

The remarks are the latest in a broader pattern of comments from Beckwith about Islam and Christianity that have drawn criticism from Muslim civil rights advocates, who argue the rhetoric risks fueling hostility toward Muslims in Indiana and nationwide. You would think that someone who serves as a pastor at Life Church in Noblesville would have a passing familiarity with the red words in the Bible.

In response to Beckwith’s posts, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, invited him to visit an Indiana mosque and meet with Muslim residents, while criticizing what it described as rhetoric that denigrates Islam and inflames hostility toward Muslims. “Although Mr. Beckwith has every right to express his own religious views, including a hatred of another world religion, he should have the wisdom to understand that using his platform as lieutenant governor to spread panic about an imaginary Muslim takeover of Indiana is unbecoming of his office and dangerous to the Indiana Muslim community,” the organization said in a statement.

While Muslims account for less than 1% of Indiana’s population with an estimated 41,000 residents and 30 mosques statewide, Beckwith has repeatedly focused on Islam in interviews and online posts, warning about “radical Islam,” suggesting an outright ban on Sharia law and arguing Muslim mayor of New York, Zohran Mamdani, has no right to “force his values on New York” because “we are a Christian nation.” When reached for comment, Beckwith’s office said the Lt. Gov. would “never apologize for saying the United States of America is now and always should be one nation under God…I love and support all groups of people who come to our country legally and assimilate to our culture,” the statement read. “Sharia Law does the exact opposite of that and promotes the destruction of our country, our Constitution, and our way of life.”

On Saturday, Beckwith continued alienating the non-evangelical faith community by criticizing the Indianapolis Jewish community leaders who had joined an interfaith statement condemning his calls to “hate” Islam. Beckwith quoted a passage from a hadith he said demonstrates hostility toward Jews within Islamic tradition and argued that Jewish leaders were in fact wrong to criticize him for warning about what he described as dangerous teachings in Islam: “For the Jewish Community of Indianapolis to condemn me for opposing these very teachings within Islamic law that have been and are being used to justify hostility toward Jews and other non-Muslims is deeply misguided,” Beckwith wrote. Very Romans 12:18.

Data centers are the talk of the town all over, with more and more localities banning them for a period of time, or outright altogether. Even Erin Brockovich is getting in on the action with her own tracking tool to capture what she called the “real-world footprint” of AI infrastructure in neighborhoods across the country. The map overlays major AI data centers, both operational and under construction, with locations where community members have reported concerns. A new data point on the map? Cayuga, IN.

On Monday, there will be a meeting at the Cayuga Community Center at 6 p.m. with the Newport Chemical Depot Reuse Authority (NeCDRA) and the industrial park Vermillion Rise. The meeting was originally scheduled for May 27 and was cancelled the day of the meeting, a move Kimberly Ratcliff, a community member against the proposal, says upset quite a few people. She says they likely rescheduled in her opinion because the meeting held earlier this week, which County Commissioner RJ Dunavan called together, ended in shouting with another commissioner and audience members. “A different commissioner got up and basically said ‘[Those against the data center] were trying to spread fear and misinformation,’ and so he left the podium being shouted down,” Ratcliff says. She also added that she saw Vermillion Rise board members at the meeting Dunavan organized, further cementing her suspicions as to the reason for the abrupt cancellation.

There was also supposed to be a meeting with the Vermillion County Board of Commissioners on Monday at the same time. Due to the large public interest in attending the meeting concerning a proposed data center in Cayuga, the county commissioners have rescheduled their meeting to 6 p.m. on Monday, June 15. Previously, the Newport Chemical Depot Reuse Authority met at the Cayuga Community Center for a public hearing on April 16. On their website, they say the public hearing was “for the purpose of conducting a public hearing regarding an amendment of the Reuse Plan to add two tracts of property to the Newport Chemical Depot Military Base Reuse Area and to consider such amendment.”

Data centers, essentially warehouses for computers and servers, hold computer systems and equipment like servers to store, manage, and process large amounts of data, as physical embodiments of “the cloud.” Previously, the types of applications that have relied on data centers have been things like streaming Netflix and Spotify, using Google Docs or Outlook, scrolling social media, etc. However, the AI data centers coming to communities in Indiana are typically massive hyperscaler data centers being built by companies like Amazon, Google, Meta, and Microsoft, primarily because they want to push the use of AI. You can read more about the impacts of these centers from the Citizen’s Action Coalition.

The ladies behind the Politics Chicks have come up with another way for us to “apply” for Anti-Weaponization funds and, in the process, gunk up the works for Todd Blanche and his cronies. Sure, the funds may be blocked for now, but this is still something easy we can do to annoy Todd Blanche. Find it at WTAF8647.com

From FreeTheFuture.net: “FY2027 K-12 Education Budget Will Cut $7.3 Billion in Crucial School Programs”

The Trump administration’s proposed education budget would cut $126 million from Indiana’s federal education funding - about 17% of the current federal funding budget. If passed, this would place Indiana in the top third of the most drastic federal education funding cuts. It proposes eliminating or consolidating federally-funded programs involving English language learners, arts, STEM, mental health, school safety, support for unhoused students, and more.

Click here to send your Congressperson an email OR Click here to call.

Since Google revealed its plans for an AI search overhaul, visits to DuckDuckGo’s “No AI” search page have tripled, and they’re still rising. Want to make it your default on Chrome or Firefox? Grab No-AI extensions and banish AI-assisted answers, chat, and AI images. Find them via the links below

No-AI Search for Firefox: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/duckduckgo-no-ai-search/

No-AI Search for Chrome: https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/duckduckgo-no-ai-search

visit the Blue812News Local Events calendar to see all upcoming events

Tuesday, June 2nd at 5pm: Vigo County Council Meeting in the Council Chambers in the Vigo County Government Center, 127 Oak Street

Wednesday, June 3rd at 6pm: Mile with the Mayor at Thompson Park. A 1-mile walk with the mayor.

Thursday, June 4th at 6pm: Terre Haute City Council Meeting at City Hall.

Tuesday, June 9th at 3pm: Mingle with the Mayor at Grand Traverse Pie Co. At this informal and relaxed gathering, various topics will be covered each month with opportunities to ask questions and voice concerns. Free pie and coffee will be served courtesy of Clinton Gardens.

Tuesday, June 9th at 5pm: Vigo County Council Meeting in the Council Chambers in the Vigo County Government Center, 127 Oak Street

Thursday, June 11th at 6pm: Terre Haute City Council Meeting at City Hall.

The No Kings coalition has announced counter-programming to Trump’s birthday UFC cage fight at our expense: Rise Up, Sing Out: a Concert for the First Amendment. They’re asking folks to host strategic community gatherings on the evening of June 14th, bringing together folks from our neighborhoods to talk about organizing in our area and connect everyone to local actions we can take – along with watching the concert in celebration of a First Amendment. More info & sign up to host an organizing event here.

Get Free and 50501 are holding a national day of action on June 27th called All of U.S. 250. While the Trump regime plans a whitewashed, anti-American celebration of our 250th anniversary, we will mobilize together to tell our nation’s story truthfully, celebrate the progress we have made through struggle and commit to the work to ensure liberty and equality for All of U.S. We can learn more, find events already on the books in our area and get involved here.

A federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration from handing out payments to their political allies from its $1.8 billion “weaponization” fund. Weird. Seemed like a totally legal plan to me!

A federal judge ruled that Trump’s name has to be taken off the Kennedy Center within two weeks. A two-week timeline I can believe in!

Seven of nine musical acts have backed out of the Trump-linked concert series to celebrate America’s 250th birthday. Bret Michaels, the lead singer of Poison, became the latest: “Unfortunately, what was presented to us as a celebration of our country has evolved into something much more divisive than what I agreed to be a part of,” he wrote on social media. That just leaves Vanilla Ice and Flo Rida.

Some internet connectivity is returning in Iran after nearly 90 days offline. It isn’t clear if the reconnection is permanent, but we can celebrate it as a win for now.

The Trump administration is looking into selling some of the large warehouses that ICE purchased earlier this year to serve as mega-detention centers for immigrants, according to two DHS officials. ICE is also considering selling several planes that were purchased or leased under Kristi Noem’s leadership.

Doctors have hailed “unprecedented” trial results that show a triple-action cancer jab can eradicate entire tumors in patients.

​A study found that wetlands created by beavers store carbon at rates up to ten times greater than nearby systems without beavers. Beavers are also way cuter than carbon sequestration sites.

South Carolina became the first Republican state to fail at passing a new map since the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act last month. The effort collapsed when the state senate abruptly adjourned its special session without passing a redistricting bill. Plus, federal judges blocked Alabama’s plan to use a congressional map that could give Republicans an advantage in a key U.S. House race in the midterm elections.

YouTube announced it would now automatically label AI videos as such.

A day on Venus is longer than a year on Venus. Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.