Defend Democracy Abilene

05/09/2026

05/09/2026

05/08/2026

I can think of no greater symbol of a civilization in moral decay than the Met Gala: a glittering ritual of grotesque excess performed at the very moment an entire generation of children is being starved and erased before the conscience of the world.

The brutality of this juxtaposition is unbearable. Beyoncé adorned in crystals fashioned into the image of a skeleton, death itself transformed into couture, while a $50 million diamond necklace glitters before an audience intoxicated by wealth and spectacle, as an entire generation of Palestinian children is being starved, bombed, and erased before our eyes.

This is not culture. It is decadence at the edge of empire: a society so spiritually hollow that unimaginable suffering becomes background noise to luxury, celebrity, and performance.

History will not remember who was best dressed. It will remember who remained human.

05/07/2026

The Vatican has confirmed the death of Father Pierre El Raii (also written Pierre al-Rahi), a Maronite Catholic priest who served the Christian-majority village of Qlayaa in southern Lebanon's Marjayoun district.

According to Lebanese state media and multiple Catholic sources, an Israeli Merkava tank shelled a home in the village on March 9, 2026, wounding the homeowner and his wife. Father El Raii — who had refused Israeli evacuation orders and stayed with his parish — rushed to the scene with neighbors and Red Cross paramedics to help the wounded. Moments later, a second tank round struck the same house, leaving him critically injured. He was taken to a nearby hospital, where he died from his wounds.

Pope Leo XIV expressed "profound sorrow" for the victims of recent bombings in the Middle East, naming Father El Raii among "those who were providing them with aid." At his General Audience on March 11, the Pope called him "a true shepherd, who always stayed beside his people," and prayed for an immediate end to all hostilities.

Tens of thousands of mourners attended his funeral that same day. Days before his death, Father El Raii had told France 24: "We are forced to stay despite the danger… we defend our land peacefully. None of us carries weapons. All of us carry peace and goodness and love."

Source: Vatican News. (2026, March 11). Pope mourns priest killed in Lebanon, prays for peace in Middle East. Vatican News.
Image: EWTN News

05/06/2026

A troubling pattern has emerged in American law enforcement: surveillance technology tested in the Gaza conflict is now being deployed across U.S. cities.

Skydio, a California-based drone manufacturer, shipped over 100 AI-powered reconnaissance drones to the Israeli Defense Forces following October 2023. These drones have now become the foundation of a massive domestic surveillance expansion across the United States.

The company has secured contracts with over 800 law enforcement and security agencies nationwide, expanding from just 320 agencies less than a year prior. Police departments in major cities including New York, Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Diego, Cleveland, and Jacksonville have all adopted Skydio drone systems. Federal agencies including Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection have also acquired these units.

The New York Police Department operates 41 Skydio drones and deployed them over 20,000 times in less than a year. These drones automatically upload images to Axon Evidence, a digital database system, creating permanent records of civilian activities, protest movements, and public gatherings.

Skydio maintains an office in Israel and partners with DefenseSync, a military contractor serving the Israeli Defense Forces. The company has raised hundreds of millions from Israeli-American venture capital firms with extensive ties to Israel's technology and military sectors.

What was tested on Palestinian civilians is now being refined on American protesters, creating a feedback loop where surveillance capabilities developed abroad become infrastructure for domestic monitoring.

Source: The Grayzone. (2025). AI drones used in Gaza now surveilling American cities. November 2.