That’s rich coming from the ghost fucker.

Banana.

I’ll bet my 401k it’s gonna be brain-eating worms.

I spent my entire 9th grade (1991) as Kevin. My name is not, nor resembles, Kevin. 🤷‍♂️

“gang associations” is ICE’s version of “I smell marijuana”.

Unironically, ICE, DHS, and any “law enforcement” agency is ‘Murica are the real gangs.

He loved Big Brother.

Yep, you are 💯 correct that this is what they did. Regardless of industry, is why unions are so very important. “At Will” employment is too easily abused, and even if this could somehow be considered a wrongful termination (ANAL, but protesting a company’s social-political viewpoints is not protected like gender, age, race, etc are) it can be costly and time-consuming to fight it in courts by yourself.

I hope you have a safe trip and safe return.

Remember to not volunteer any information, and keep answers to questions short and on point. If you can, make sure to tell your friends and family who are staying in the states about your expected departure and return times. Also look up one or two lawyers to have on speed dial on your burner (smart move btw!!).

I was tempted to send him a message asking the same question, but with GOP senators. But he asks way too much PII in his contact form.

I’m fairly certain that they were not suggesting the NSA was created post 9/11, but rather that they got worse (especially with domestic spying) since 9/11.

I work at a university that is also part of a state system with their own rules (also driven by federal regulations).

You’re conflating the government coming on campus and exerting the power of the law with universities having to comply with said laws. And yes, universities will comply because they have no choice.

Yes and no. The money given to universities is mostly earmarked for very specific things, as designated by those who donate the money. It’s not like they have a huge tower of gold that they can swim in to their liking. They have a lot of oversight and auditing to make sure money goes where it’s suppose to. And if they want to keep their many accreditations - and they do - then they need that money to jump through whatever hoops their accreditors require.

This is not just because of the Trump administration. If a university wants federal money, it has to follow certain rules for that money. Its not as symbiotic as you would think. The government can fund research from other, non-academic, institutions.

It makes sense that the rules aren’t arbitrary; e.g., university must accommodate the ADA. But, as we’re seeing these days, nothing stops them from imposing new rules; e.g., Executive Order 13985.

Plus, why is his employer pretending he never existed?

Any university that accepts federal funds is beholden to the federal government. And since universities need that money, they will do everything they can to keep Big Brother happy.

As a Mac user, I like Time Machine for backups. It’s not perfect, but it gets the job done. There is a Linux version.

Nb. I’ve not used this particular software, so YMMV.

Lossless JPEG would be amazing.

…if a society extends tolerance to those who are intolerant, it risks enabling the eventual dominance of intolerance… [Source]