This place in time is so depressing. A bad dream that’s hard to understand. And it’s all because of national politics. This administration. Its tactics. Its bad attitude. The rhetoric it pushes out. The propaganda that Trump disciples fall for.
Hook. Line. Sinker.
After bombing boats in the Caribbean and off the coast of Venezuela and commandeering the country’s oil tankers, the U.S. decided to snatch the country’s leader right off his throne. We killed at least 75 people—some of whom were civilians—to do it.
Why? Drugs! Sanctions! Socialism! Poor people! Look at the undeveloped oil reserves! Nicolás Maduro fucked around and found out. That’s the administration’s new slogan. Catchy, right? MAGA is out. FAFO is in.
And now, we’re kind of in charge of a Latin American country.
Make Venezuela Great Again. I’m so confused by Trump’s supporters, who seem to just be OK with everything he does, regardless of whether it contradicts the things they say they believe about American foreign and national policy. You “noninterventionists” out there are getting shellacked and clapping at the same time.
Drugs are a false flag. Trump gives no shits about drugs. He literally pardoned the former president of Honduras, who was convicted of the very same things Maduro is being charged with and was supposed to serve jail time until 2045. It’s about the oil, obviously. Venezuela has the largest undeveloped oil reserves in the world. And aren’t our militaristic ambitions always about oil and natural resources—ambitions that nestle neatly under the cover of trying to do right by a population and culture that we don’t care to understand?
We don’t even understand ourselves.
And now, the president’s ambition to scratch his imperialist itch is growing. Greenland, full of untapped resources? That conversation is back on the table! Don’t want to sell it to us? We’ll just take it from you. Look at what we did in Venezuela.
Cool.
Meanwhile the news on our own soil is equally depressing.
A woman was just killed in Minneapolis by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers. Bullets slid through the windshield of her Honda Pilot on what was normally a quiet residential street during one of ICE’s “large scale operations.” Ugg. Predictably, the city erupted with protests. The mayor told ICE to “get the fuck out!”
Predictably, ICE and the Department of Homeland Security said the officer fired his gun in self-defense. Sure seems like there’ve been a lot of “self-defense” cases since Trump ramped up immigration enforcement.
The Guardian reported that immigration officers have been connected to at least 14 shootings during the new administration and that the number is likely higher than that because not all shootings are made public. I’m sure the antagonistic, bombastic, militaristic approach ICE is taking with these operations has nothing to do with it.
Why is ICE in Minneapolis in the first place? It’s complicated, but for starters: It’s the Somali population, which Trump has called “garbage.” Nice. Apparently, they’re all fraudsters, and they’re sending that fraud money to terrorist organizations—not true.
Minnesota has been dealing with fraudsters who took advantage of certain low-barrier social service program dollars, but the state and feds have also been rooting out that fraud and prosecuting the perpetrators since at least 2020, with some new cases filed in 2025. And some of the perpetrators were Somalian.
Naturally, Trump took this as an opportunity to bait the haters out there. Why fight the urge? And naturally, those haters took the bait. Gullible little fuckers that they are.
The feds ramped up the pressure on Minnesota in recent months, and then a right-wing zealot accused several child care facilities in the state of taking tax dollars and not caring for any children—not true. The haters went berserk online, as little fuckers are wont to do, and then Gov. Tim Walz announced he wouldn’t be running for a third term as governor anymore.
Mission accomplished?
Now, the administration is planning to lock up billions in federal child care dollars to five Democratic states—California included, of course—because of “fraud,” Trump said in a grand announcement about national policy that he made in ALL CAPS on his personal social media account on his personal social media platform. What world are we living in again?
His big plan? To get Gov. Gavin Newsom not to run for president in 2028, but that’s just a shot in the dark! Call it an uneducated guess.
What does any of this have to do with SLO County, you ask? Well, ramped up immigration enforcement did happen during the last week of December here on Central Coast soil. Although there’s some discrepancy in the numbers.
According to 805 UndocuFund, about 147 residents were arrested between Dec. 27 and 30. Most of those arrests were made in Santa Maria, but cities across both SLO and Santa Barbara counties lost residents, including in San Miguel. Most, UndocuFund said, were farmworkers.
According to ICE, 118 residents were arrested. They were, of course, “the worst of the worst” criminals imaginable, according to the Department of Homeland Security propaganda machine. Ugg.
It’s all propaganda, and somewhere—lost in all the rhetoric, lies, and polarization—is the truth, something that’s very hard to find these days. And real people suffering very real consequences. ∆
The Shredder is disgusted. Send joy to shredder@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Volunteers 2026.
Everyone hates the police until they need one.
Everyone hates lawyers until they need one.
Everyone hates immigration enforcement until they find themselves competing with them for housing and for wage growth, wage growth that doesn’t happen when you have entire teams of illegals dominating all the building trades and service sector.
Everyone hates the IRS until they actually go after the millions of Americans and American employers dodging taxes either by hiring illegals or simply paying cash.
I say this after being jumped by ICE at 615 in the morning, in the dark, on my way to work on Dec 29 in SLO. No sooner than I had sat down in my beat up hatchback than three unmarked vans blocked from driving away. A Hispanic ICE agent with a tactical vest stuck his masked face into my car and asked for ID. Before providing it I asked why I was being detained, he said it was because they had a report of a “stolen car.” At that point, I could have caused a scene but needed to get to work and was frankly, intimidated. I provided the ID and after running it was told I could leave. They melted back into the dark and I left, as did I. I called the SLO PD and was told by the Watch Commander that DHS was going to be doing some activity in the area. At that point I was so rattled I just decided to call it a day and went home. When I got there there was glass in the road and a car’s window was smashed out. My neighbor said they dragged someone away and there was a lady upstairs wailing. Why? Because I live in a dumpy apartment complex with a majority of Hispanic occupants. Am I pissed off at ICE? Not one bit. I hold Boomers and Democrats responsible for my brief detention l, if not for them allowing entire, miles long, documented, marches of illegals into our previously undefended southern border, this would have never happened. Did getting jumped by ICE turn me into a bleeding heart liberal, Democrat? Absolutely not. It convinced me more that we have a major problem in the US.
1. The dollar is toast.
2. The Petrodollar is done.
3. The BRI, mBridge, digital yuan, and BRICS are on the ascendancy.
4. Buy and stack as many tradable commodities while the dollar still has a little purchasing power. Imports are going to be unaffordable very soon. I’d recommend instant coffee and hard alcohol. Those can be traded or sold for a huge gain.
“And I took a seat in the grandstand of philosophical detachment to fall asleep observing the cannibals do their death dance.” – Eugene O’Neill The Iceman Cometh
“And I consulted the cannibals for recipes and serving suggestions.” – Jeffrey Dahmer, famous foodie.
We are on the verge of a Depression, ladies and gents. From a lender nation to a debtor nation. From an exporter to an importer. Mass layoffs. Declining living standards. Fiat currency with zero intrinsic value. Banks are barely holding it together. Only 7 sticks are holding up the entire stock market. It’s a complete joke. Our economy is toast, we are losing reserve status of our currency too. Gold and silver are exploding proportionate to the decline of dollar. Housing prices will collapse. Taxes are going up. 2026 is going to be HELL.
The investor class is front running the public before the collapse. They’re getting out before the general public realizes they’ve been lied to.
The US government has become a subprime borrower, lol. On Jan 5, the Treasury held a scheduled auction of 10 year Treasury notes. It failed, lol. Saudi Arabia, China, and Japan didn’t even show up, lol. Our government refuses to balance the budget, when no one wants to loan us money to fill the deficit, what then? TOTAL COLLAPSE, lol. We are TOAST, by Q3.
As I read the shredder and new times officials writing effective pieces concerning our present Ill state of affairs or the on the corruption our Republican government spews. Daily sometimes via our living t rex, I’ve witnessed a growing trend of what is considered fine and dandy in journalistic circles……that being the use of a word of which. once considered bad, is now applied more often as a common trend to get a point across. The f word, yes can be employed in many literary ways it really makes the point of expressing exactly how the writer feels. I guess it is no longer considered in bsf taste but actually gets the urgency of the point across now. .
In the future …all new times writers whom employ the f word.
A warning consisting of ….for mature audiences is recommended before the heart of the article proper. John Edwards.
In the future …all new times writers whom employ the f word.
A warning consisting of ….for mature audiences is recommended before the heart of the article proper. John Edwards.
John:
You aren’t in the Court of Louise VXI, the New Times is a pedestrian, barely read, small town, gazette. Courtly language doesn’t apply, nor is this a scholarly publication. It’s contributors in the comment section are no more than the town drunks and big fish in a small pond. If someone wants to drop an F bomb, so be it. If it bothers you, maybe you should just move back to the Harvard square.
Fly meets ointment ….I appreciate your interesting thoughts and honesty…..really the word fuck does not keep me up at night unless….oh never mind. We are not a puritanical society anymore. Maybe that’s a good thing, however, some of the rules and ways our parents lived under still apply…..I was puzzled by the new times penchant for writing this way in a local public publication that young kids might read …oh imagine the horror…pretty soon the ten year olds will be talking this way….meanwhile go fishing where the fish don’t mind the f word god dammit. I don’t have a time machine and I’ll pass on Boston’s Harvard square……west is best…..john
The New Times literally ran a full page add about two years ago for a cigarette brand. It was like stepping back into the 1970s, lol.
Sometimes I wish everything would stop and we all could go back to simpler times when people didn’t need to be entertained all the time, and people had more courtesy and trust in things like the fine music of the nineteen sixties and seventies. Guess we can imagine and fantasize in our young days as we get older…..
Funny how the people screaming the loudest that the election was stolen most likely are blaming and covering up their own tracks…..because they are the ones who committed election fraud…..
John:
“…people had more courtesy and trust in things like the fine music of the nineteen sixties and seventies. …”
“Courtesy and trust”, lol. Burning the American flag, hoisting a flags with Ho Chi Minh on it, nominating a pig to run for president, kidnapping Patty Hearst, etc.
“Never trust anyone over 30,” lol. You guys invented that statement. Translation: the most self centered generation in American history. It’s easy to be courteous when your parent’s generation, after winning a world war, hand you the keys to the richest country in history. It’s incredibly hard to be courteous on an empty stomach. You ever miss a meal, John? Nah, I didn’t think so.
Did I ever miss a meal
…….yeah we always had ample food as a bucket of Kentucky fried chicken and all the fixins was affordable or attainable
….I love the flag of the united states of America when it represents good things for people and freedom…..yes can be hoisted upside down or burned in times of terror or endless wars. Most people agree today Vietnam war was a waste of money and lives all around from innocent victims to American drafted servicemen. Look at us today with rising tensions everywhere as american eagles are positioning themselves to steal resources and prevent China from controlling the booty……we or many of us cannot afford three or four bags of groceries twice a week because all associated ingredients and services ha ve risen greatly as reflected in the price. The phrase eating crow comes to mind as in Lenongrad…stalingrad history lo ago. Crazy how oil or fuel costs are a large part of foods as it’s shipped from field to distribution center and back again. I’m not sure if I understood my own statements from a point of how a person might accept them or misconstrue them……I agree with much you do say fly ointment man, mayb e my reference to the music of the 60s and 7os popular music that is was it’s freedom, it’s originality , it’s instrumentation. And it’s ability to bring people together in a common vision or in opposition to it’s penchant to challenge or argue against the man…..that all folks todayy…..next up…..
All those “stolen resources” are what are used for you to drive wherever you want to go. If it bothers you so much, turn in your car and quit eating food. Fertilizer is made from petroleum products.
Yes I cannot agree with you more….the US relied on oil or petroleum products for so many things
….ie plastics, rubber and shipping …we cannot live without petroleum…..perhaps a person can limit daily car trips for one thing or capitalize on all stops one time out from house. Energy production needs to off det pollute ts with more green energies. No I am not giving up my car with it’s tires or my rubber crock sandals anytime soon. Tell me how your fishing line could exist w out petroleum
.good luck….john
.
Perhaps our state dept should share foreign resources with other powerful countries….harvest our share and learn to share. The US consumes and purchased, the citizens of all types more than all other nations around the world. We are spoiled. I hate to say it, there is still much oil under ground both land and sea around America….the environmental movement though good does create laws for environmental protection, however , it is difficult for oil companies to open up new tracts because of these agencies. Still green I dustrues must be further dvlpd to improve our earth safety for animals plants and humans alike.