We're All Cricket, and the United States is Kristi Noem’s Gravel Pit

Hi I’m Kristi, I’m Committing A War Crime For A Photo Op

Article 14 of the Geneva Convention “precludes any treatment during detention that humiliates prisoners”

I feel like murdering the 14-month old puppy in a gravel pit for “misbehaving” really should’ve been a sign Kristi Noem shouldn’t run Homeland Security. Killing animals is one way method therapists use to determine sociopathy in children, you know.

Yet, Noem is—in theory—an adult. Sure, one whose face seems like a Superfund site for an outbreak of botulism. And who seemingly tried to infect us all with COVID by removing all coronavirus restrictions at the Sturgis motorcycle rally in South Dakota during the height its spread (annnd..it shockingly became a super-spreader event).

In Noem’s defense, Norman Bates said, "It's not like my mother is a maniac or a raving thing. She just goes a little mad sometimes. We all go a little mad sometimes. Haven't you?" Ok, that was a bad example. How about “all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy?” Yeah, that also…doesn’t help.

Well, in any case, welcome to Kristi Noem’s America—where the Department of Homeland Security is no longer about protecting Americans from threats, but actually posing the biggest threat! DHS is turning the whole damn country into a boot camp of cruelty, criminality and constant attacks on the U.S. Constitution.

Let’s go back to the adorable little dog she killed for a second. Noem didn’t just execute her dog. She bragged about it. In her book. As a leadership anecdote. Kristi Noem wanted you to know she had what it takes to pull the trigger—on innocence. On empathy. On a tiny, yapping puppy named Cricket who just wanted to chase birds.

If that’s not a metaphor for the The Trump Administration, I don’t know what is.

So, of course Noem’s DHS isn’t prioritizing homeland security. I’m not sure she even knows the meaning. Like habeas corpus, which she apparently thought was name for the Ecuadorian offshoot of MS-13. So instead of protecting the homeland, Noem’s turned the agency into the rabid attack dog she wanted Cricket to be. To pursue political foes and redefine “public safety” as “protecting white conservative feelings.”

What used to be an agency that (at least on paper) coordinated against foreign and domestic threats at home now has a new mission: purity enforcement. That’s what Project 2025 wants. That’s what Trump wants. That’s what Noem the narcissist, who thinks every public appearance is a costume ball, is eager to deliver.

She wants to throw the Constitution in a shallow pit and put a bullet in it, with the same, cold Cricket grin. Because, this is about what happens when cruelty becomes a qualification for public service. When loyalty to low-rent Cosa Nostra means more than the rule of law. When our fake tough guy President, a giant bone spur with a jello gelatin physique, has turned shooting a dog into a resume builder.

Tony Michaels 8d Sen. Alex Padilla handcuffed and detained after challenging DHS Secretary Kristi Noem — democracy just took another hit in LA. 89 29

In other words: We’re all Cricket now.

Noem’s had ICE assault and/or arrest Congress members and a Mayor for, uh..walking. And..talking. She refuses to answer questions in front of Congress. She just issued a regulation requiring elected officials to give 24 hours notice before inspecting ICE facilities—a violation of their constitutional oversight role. But if it makes you feel better, Kristi doesn’t just commit crimes against the Constitution:

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem’s daughter received unusual treatment in an application for her real estate appraiser license, including an extra opportunity to obtain it after failing to meet federal requirements, the former director of a state appraiser agency told lawmakers Tuesday.

So, yeah, she’s drowning in depravity like she was on the Titanic. Though sadly, in this scenario, it seems Rose chucked Jack to make room for Kristi on that door.

The reality is that in Kristi Noem’s DHS, we’re all being judged not based on any real threat we may pose, but by our obedience to the mushroom dic-tator. If we step outta line, bark at the wrong billionaire, or, say, try to share truth instead of Putin points, there may be a gravel pit waiting. Metaphorically, for now, at least for U.S. citizens.

So we fight for our neighbors, friends and family who aren’t so lucky, because what Noem’s doing right now is some serious brownshirt shit. But also because, if not, it gets worse. It’s Newton time, in particular, his Third Law of Motion:

For every action, an equal and opposite reaction. Meaning when object 1 pushes object 2, object 1 gets pushed back with equal force but in the opposite direction

Noem started with immigrants to see how much we’d stomach. Every time we look away, say nothing, normalize the detached degradation of who and what we are as a people, Noem will see it as a sign, and push fascism further down into the gravel pit.

Because not only is Kristi Noem and utterly awful human being. She’s one sick puppy.

THIS WEEK ON AMPED UP:

On this week’s Amped Up, Cliff and David were joined by NYU historian and authoritarianism expert Dr. Ruth Ben-Ghiat, and let’s just say—if you weren’t nervous about America’s flirtation with fascism before… you may be now.

From Mussolini to MAGA, Dr. Ben-Ghiat laid out the terrifying parallels between historical strongmen and the current Trump regime. What we’re witnessing isn't random chaos—but a calculated dismantling of democracy. But it wasn’t all doom.

She sees hope in the growing protest movement, the legal system’s still pushing back and signs of elite defection, and Republican-on-Republican violence over a potential war with Iran, which she explains in more precise detail.

From the quiet defiance of the military to the power of youth-led politics and Gen Z’s bullshit radar, the episode was a reminder democracy ain’t dead, but is on life support. So we all must be the defibrillator, and Ruth explains in the livestream how we do that.

Fascism: Here To Stay? How Do We End It? Cliff Schecter, Ruth Ben-Ghiat, and DavidShuster · 3:40 PM Read full story

…Yo, Check This Out!

TIMELINE: Trump’s Rejected Takeover of the California National Guard

• June 7, 2025 – Trump issues memo federalizing 2,000 National Guard troops in response to L.A. unrest after ICE raids.

• June 9, 2025 – Trump signs second memo adding 2,000 more troops, bypassing Gov. Newsom’s authority.
  → First time since 1965 president federalized state Guard w/out governor consent.

• June 12, 2025 – U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer grants California a temporary restraining order (TRO) to return control of the Guard to the state.

• Later that day – The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals stays the TRO, allowing Trump to keep the troops under federal command temporarily.

• June 19, 2025 – A three-judge 9th Circuit panel extends the stay, ruling:

  • Trump likely acted within legal bounds under 10 U.S.C. § 12406

  • BUT courts can review federalization decisions for bad faith or absurdity

  • California’s concerns were “too speculative” to override Trump’s authority

• Next steps:

  • Further District Court proceedings expected

  • California may seek a full 9th Circuit (en banc) review

  • Supreme Court challenge remains possible

🐱 KITTY PIC! - Steve wanted to go with us!

🎥 VIDEO ON DEMAND! - Some Mike Lee Sociopathy

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