The Increasingly Nasty Rhetoric Regarding Democrats, Protesters; the Americans Being Detained by ICE–Coachella Valley Independent’s Indy Digest: Oct. 16, 2025

Indy Digest: Oct. 16, 2025

As organizers prepare for the worldwide No Kings Rallies on Saturday, some Republicans are amping up the harsh rhetoric—to disconcerting levels.

During an interview earlier this week with Fox News, primarily concerning New York City mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said: “The Democrat Party’s main constituency is made up of Hamas terrorists, illegal aliens, and violent criminals.”

Take a moment and think about what this means. It’s not good.

However, Leavitt is far from alone in her insane rhetoric. Politico reported on Oct. 10:

Speaker Mike Johnson on Friday slammed the No Kings protest march scheduled to take place at the National Mall next week, describing the planned protest as the “hate America rally” that would draw “the pro-Hamas wing” and “the antifa people.” His characterizations, however, drew condemnation from some Democrats who defended the protest movement, whose first big demonstration was overwhelmingly peaceful.

“They’re all coming out,” Johnson said Friday in an interview on Fox News. “Some of the House Democrats are selling t-shirts for the event. And it’s being told to us that they won’t be able to reopen the government until after that rally because they can’t face their rabid base.”

So if you are disagree with the Trump administration, and you dare use your First Amendment right to protest, you hate America, in the eyes of the speaker of the House.

According to the NoKings.org website, there are four rallies planned in the Coachella Valley on Saturday, Oct. 18. The largest one, being organized by Courageous Resistance and Indivisible of the Desert, is likely to be the biggest, from 4 to 6 p.m. at Sunrise Park in Palm Springs.

There will also be a sign-waving event at Palm Canyon Drive and Sunrise Way in Palm Springs from 9 to 10:30 a.m.; a protest in downtown Cathedral City, near City Hall, from 9 to 10:30 a.m.; and a protest at Monterey Avenue and Highway 111, in Palm Desert, from 10 to 11 a.m.

If you choose to protest—again, something that is your right to do as an American, thanks to the First Amendment—be peaceful, and be safe.

—Jimmy Boegle

Last Chance! Voting Ends Sunday!

More News

• Almost all of the media orgs—including Fox News and Newsmax—that have Pentagon credentials have left the building, after refusing to agree to new restrictions handed down by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. If you’re wondering what, exactly, the issues are, The New York Times did a fantastic job of presenting the new rules, and showing what’s problematic: “The new rules codify sharp limitations on access and raise the prospect of punishment—including revocation of credentials—for simply requesting information on matters of public interest. Lawyers representing national news organizations have been negotiating for weeks with Pentagon officials over the strictures. The old rules fit on a page. The new ones fill out 21 pages. The new rules are a stark departure—in length and scope—from the previous guidelines the Pentagon required journalists to sign to obtain a press pass.”

• If you have not read Politico’s story headlined “‘I love Hitler’: Leaked messages expose Young Republicans’ racist chat,” you should. The lede: “Leaders of Young Republican groups throughout the country worried what would happen if their Telegram chat ever got leaked, but they kept typing anyway. They referred to Black people as monkeys and ‘the watermelon people’ and mused about putting their political opponents in gas chambers. They talked about raping their enemies and driving them to suicide and lauded Republicans who they believed support slavery. William Hendrix, the Kansas Young Republicans’ vice chair, used the words ‘n—ga’ and ‘n–guh,’ variations of a racial slur, more than a dozen times in the chat. Bobby Walker, the vice chair of the New York State Young Republicans at the time, referred to rape as ‘epic.’ Peter Giunta, who at the time was chair of the same organization, wrote in a message sent in June that ‘everyone that votes no is going to the gas chamber.’”

• ProPublica did a lot of digging, and found that more than 170 U.S. citizens have been detained by immigration agents since the raids began. Things get uglier from there: “When the Supreme Court recently allowed immigration agents in the Los Angeles area to take race into consideration during sweeps, Justice Brett Kavanaugh said that citizens shouldn’t be concerned. ‘If the officers learn that the individual they stopped is a U.S. citizen or otherwise lawfully in the United States,’ Kavanaugh wrote, ‘they promptly let the individual go.’ But that is far from the reality many citizens have experienced. Americans have been dragged, tackled, beaten, tased and shot by immigration agents. They’ve had their necks kneeled on. They’ve been held outside in the rain while in their underwear. At least three citizens were pregnant when agents detained them. One of those women had already had the door of her home blown off while Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem watched. About two dozen Americans have said they were held for more than a day without being able to phone lawyers or loved ones.”

• Some good news: The state has belatedly kept a promise to make it easier for residents to get affordable insulin. Our partners at Calmatters report: “Starting next year, Californians with diabetes will be able to purchase state-branded insulin at steeply reduced prices, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced today. Long-acting insulin pens will be available at pharmacies for $11 per pen—or $55 for a five-pack—beginning Jan. 1. The pens are interchangeable with glargine, the generic alternative for Lantus, a once-a-day injection that regulates blood sugar. An equivalent amount of Lantus sells to pharmacies for more than $92, according to data compiled by the governor’s office, but consumers may pay a different price based on their insurance. … The sale of insulin is part of the state’s CalRx initiative aimed at lowering prescription drug prices for Californians. Today’s announcement comes three years after Newsom announced the state would tackle the cost of insulin. The first vials of insulin will be for sale two years after the governor’s promised delivery date of 2024.”

• And now for some not-great legislative news: The Los Angeles Times headline says, “California cracks down on water theft but spares data centers from disclosing how much they use.” Details: “The (data) centers, full of equipment, generate lots of heat and can use large quantities of water to cool their servers and interiors. Many companies don’t reveal how much they use. Assembly Bill 93, introduced by Assemblymember Diane Papan (D-San Mateo), would have required new data centers to disclose their expected water use when they apply for a business license and would have required all to report their water consumption annually. In a message explaining his decision Saturday, Newsom said the widespread adoption of AI ‘is driving an unprecedented demand for data center capacity throughout the nation. … As the global epicenter of the technology sector, California is well positioned to support the development of this critically important digital infrastructure in the state,’ Newsom wrote. ‘I am reluctant to impose rigid reporting requirements about operational details on this sector without understanding the full impact on businesses and the consumers of their technology.’” So information is bad?

• And finally … today’s recall news involves … cinnamon! CBS News reports: “In the last week, the Food and Drug Administration has identified four additional makers of ground cinnamon it says contain elevated levels of lead. In all, the agency has listed 16 labels as having concerning amounts of lead. The new additions include brands HAETAE, Roshni, Durra and Wise Wife. ‘Based on the FDA’s assessment, prolonged exposure to these products may be unsafe and could contribute to elevated levels of lead in the blood,’ the government agency says in its alert. The FDA said it has asked all companies—with the exception of HAETAE—to voluntarily recall the products. So far, 10 of the 16 ground cinnamon brands identified by the FDA have issued recall announcements.”

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