WobblyReport

Finding an outlet willing to publish my latest piece was a challenge and I'm grateful to Gina at DistillSocial for agreeing to run it. Numerous outlets (ProPublica, for example) expressed concerns that I was misrepresenting myself somehow even though I assured them that I fully intended to do the best work I could in the role for which I was applying. Here's an excerpt: In an online application submitted in late January, I’d truthfully submitted my five most recent employers, three of which are media companies, and other basic background information. Less than a week later I received messages inviting me to call in for prescreening. I called the number provided January 28 in the early afternoon. The GEO Group representative, who speaks with a slight accent from some other continent, asked what qualified me for the position and I leveraged clerical support work for a hospital system, which involved handling and examining many sensitive documents. I mentioned a few other relevant...

I will be gone — but not forever   A brief stint as an editor at an under-resourced community newspaper backwater has come to an end and a new journey as a mercenary, dissident journalist and underground musician has begun.  No regrets.

Federal incentives fuel closer ICE partnerships with police agencies Local law enforcement agreements with ICE not yet impacting operations in Michigan Originally published at  MichiganAdvance.com   /2026/01/08/federal-incentives-fuel-closer-ice-partnerships-with-michigan-police-agencies/ The fatal shooting of a Minneapolis woman by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer on Wednesday—after the agent fired through the window of her car—has renewed national scrutiny of ICE’s expanding role and the growing involvement of local law enforcement in federal immigration operations. As federal immigration enforcement expands nationwide, a growing number of local law enforcement agencies, including in Michigan, are entering formal agreements with ICE, potentially reshaping the relationship between federal and local policing. The Minneapolis shooting, reported as ICE officers were attempting to stop a vehicle, has intensified concerns among civil rights advocates about accounta...