The Intellectualist Profile picture
Jun 20, 2023 11 tweets 6 min read Read on X
1/10: This #Juneteenth, we confront a horrific but essential part of American history:

The brutal exploitation of enslaved Africans, whose unpaid labor fueled the rise of the United States as an economic powerhouse. #BlackHistoryIsAmericanHistory Image
2/10: From the early 1600s, millions of African people were forcibly brought to the U.S. and exploited for their labor.

They were the engine that powered America’s rise as an agrarian economy, particularly in the South. #slavery Image
3/10: Enslaved Africans were integral to lucrative industries such as tobacco, indigo, and rice in the 17th & 18th centuries.

However, it was the cotton industry in the 19th century that turned the U.S. into an economic colossus. #EconomicHistory Image
4/10: Cotton, “King Cotton,” was at the center of the booming textile industry, powering industrial growth not only in the South, but in the North and even across the Atlantic. Image
5/10: This brutal system of slavery created wealth for plantation owners, industry magnates, and financial institutions.

Much of America’s early economic growth and industrial power can be traced back to the labor of the enslaved.
#BlackHistoryIsAmericanHistory Image
6/10: Despite the profound contributions of enslaved Africans, the narrative is often excluded or diminished in our history education. ImageImage
7/10: Recognizing this truth is more than a nod to historical accuracy.

It’s about acknowledging a historical debt owed to the enslaved and their descendants. Image
8/10: This #Juneteenth, as we celebrate the end of slavery, we must also remember its economic legacy.

news.asu.edu/thought-huddle… Image
9/10: This recognition is not just about honoring the past, but about informing the present.

To build a just and equitable future, we must understand and confront the historical injustices that have shaped our society and economy. #TruthTelling Image
10/10: As we honor Juneteenth, let’s not just celebrate freedom, but also commit to enlightening ourselves and others about the full, unvarnished history of our nation.

Together, we can work towards a future that truly acknowledges and values all of its past. #HappyJuneteenthtwitter.com/i/web/status/1… Image
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More from @highbrow_nobrow

Mar 30
The Disappeared: Trump’s Mass Deportation Machine and the Shadow Prison in El Salvador

A Knock at the Door, Then Nothing

🧵1/10: Imagine waking up one morning to discover that your brother is gone.

Not missing—disappeared.

No phone call. No charges. No lawyer.

And days later, a message appears—he’s been deported to a country he’s never been to, locked in a concrete hell designed for gang leaders and killers.

That’s not a story from Argentina’s Dirty War or Stalin’s gulags.

It happened in the United States—in 2025.

And it’s still happening, as you read this.

This is the story of The Disappeared—238 Venezuelan men secretly deported by the Trump administration to El Salvador’s most notorious prison, CECOT—a facility condemned by the United Nations, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch for crimes against human dignity.
youtube.com/watch?v=pJIGxn…Image
Not Criminals—Targets of Vulnerability

2/10: They weren’t taken because they were criminals.

They were taken because they were vulnerable—asylum seekers, migrants, dissidents—fleeing persecution, hoping for protection under American law.

Instead, they were swept up under a statute from 1798—the Alien Enemies Act, a wartime relic once used by John Adams to jail immigrants.

The Trump administration revived it and reinterpreted it to enable a deportation machine without trial, judge, or oversight.

This wasn’t a crackdown on MS-13.

Most had no criminal records.

Some were flagged only for tattoos—like Jefferson José Laya Freites, deported because of a lion on his forearm. It was assumed to be gang-related. It was actually a tribute to his Christian faith.

Or Arturo Suárez Trejo, a Venezuelan singer living in Houston, legally awaiting an asylum hearing. One morning, ICE agents came to his door.

“He’s being transferred to finish processing,” they told his daughter.

He never came home.

His family later identified him in a prison photo—head shaved, shackled, kneeling in the white uniform of El Salvador’s mega-prison.
youtube.com/watch?v=pJIGxn…Image
Black Saturday: The Collapse of Judicial Authority

3/10: This was the reality on March 15, 2025—Black Saturday—the day the Trump administration defied a federal court order and deported a large number of these men to CECOT.

A judge had ruled the deportations unconstitutional and ordered the flights turned around. The planes were in the air. The White House ignored the ruling. They kept going.

It was the day the United States crossed a line no constitutional democracy should ever cross.

CECOT: A Modern Gulag

Because CECOT is not a prison.

It is a modern gulag.

No windows.

No sunlight.

No visitors.

No phone calls.

Prisoners are held in stress positions, denied food, beaten with batons, and stripped of all identity.

They sleep on concrete in crowded cells—100 men to a room.

Their heads are shaved. Their movements are choreographed by armed guards.

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture condemned CECOT as a site of systematic abuse.

El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, presents it as a symbol of authoritarian control.

But it is also a dumping ground—for prisoners deported by foreign governments looking to disappear them without scrutiny.

And that’s where the United States sent people who had done nothing wrong.

Not back to Venezuela.

But to a third country—with no legal jurisdiction, no treaty obligation, and no accountability.

Photojournalist Philip Holsinger captured their arrival: shackled men, trembling, forced to kneel.

An ICE agent was present at the plane. The transfer was coordinated by American officials.

Detainees were offloaded rapidly—processed like inventory, not people.

One man clutched a broken rosary. The crucifix had snapped off.

He held it anyway.

This wasn’t deportation.

This was disappearance.

The Legal Definition—and the Human Cost

And the difference matters.
Deportation is a legal process.
Disappearance is a crime against humanity.

The International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance—signed by the United States in 2000—defines it as:

“The arrest, detention, or abduction of persons by agents of the state… followed by a refusal to acknowledge the deprivation of liberty or by concealment of the fate or whereabouts of the disappeared person.”

That is what happened here.

Families were told nothing.
Some were lied to.
Legal representation was severed.
Communication ceased.

We do know the names of the 238 men.

CBS News published the full list.

Among them:

Andrys Caraballo, a makeup artist last seen in ICE custody.

David Larez, a father of three, awaiting asylum processing.

Luis Molina, a diabetic who needed daily insulin.

Anyelo José Sarabia González, 19, deported for a rose tattoo.

Jerce Reyes Barrios, 36, a former Venezuelan soccer player flagged for a rosary and a soccer ball.

We don’t know where most are now—or if they’re still alive.

But we know this violated a federal court order.

This was not a miscommunication.

It was a deliberate act of executive defiance.

Stephen Miller and senior DHS officials orchestrated the flights in secret. Internal documents reviewed by CBS and Axios confirm the operation was timed to outrun judicial oversight.

But at 6:51 p.m. ET, Judge James Boasberg issued a legal injunction.

He ordered that the planes be turned around.
He told DOJ lawyers: “You need to ensure compliance immediately.”

They didn’t comply.

The planes kept flying.

Thus came Black Saturday: the first time in modern U.S. history that a president defied a federal court order—and faced no consequence.
youtube.com/watch?v=pJIGxn…Image
Read 10 tweets
Mar 26
The Rise of Hitler: A History of How Democracy Fell in Germany and Its Parallels to Today

🧵1/13: His past was steeped in scandal—a felon, accused of treason and sedition, his actions and rhetoric frequently straddling the line of legality.

He was convicted for attempting to overthrow the government, yet this criminal history didn’t disqualify him.

It only made him more appealing to those who viewed the establishment as corrupt and broken. Instead of disqualifying him, his criminal record and charges became part of his defiant charm, painting him as an outsider willing to fight the system.

Every accusation, every charge of treason, only fueled his rise, showing his supporters that he could not be tamed and was the only one willing to challenge the powers that had held the nation in their grip.
youtu.be/ShqC3146Shw?si…Image
2/13: At first, they dismissed him. The elites, the media, the political class—they thought they could control him. They mocked him as a sideshow, a foolish provocateur, destined to be forgotten.

But in the wake of high inflation, economic instability, and a country that had lost its bearings, his words struck a chord with those who had been cast aside.

In an age of rising populism, economic dislocation, and a shrinking middle class, his rhetoric didn’t promise solutions—it promised retribution.

It wasn’t just blame he offered; it was a convenient, scapegoated enemy to rally against.

His was a message soaked in anger, dripping with resentment for anyone deemed an outsider.

Minorities, immigrants, political rivals—all of them were the root of the nation’s collapse. And in this narrative of vengeance, he found his power.
youtu.be/ShqC3146Shw?si…Image
3/13: It wasn’t just the forgotten and the downtrodden who rallied to him.

His support was a web of disenfranchised voters, alienated workers, and desperate communities—a rage that turned inward, then outward.

People who had once believed in the promise of democracy now saw him as their only hope, their only defender. He was the hammer to crush a system they believed had betrayed them.

They didn’t care what he stood for, as long as he was willing to destroy the things they hated. And with every provocation, every scandal, his following grew—spurred on by his audacity and his defiance.

The more they despised him, the more they were drawn to him, their loyalty strengthening with every wave of mockery that he deflected effortlessly.

youtu.be/ShqC3146Shw?si…Image
Read 13 tweets
Mar 26
Trump’s War on Lawyers Leaves His Critics Defenseless

When the Law Stands Down

🧵1/9: Some stories reveal injustice. Others show how justice itself disappears.

In a March 25, 2025 report published by The Washington Post, journalist Michael Birnbaum reveals that major U.S. law firms are now refusing to represent opponents of President Donald Trump, as the administration escalates retaliatory actions that many legal scholars warn are reshaping the American justice system itself.

Weaponizing the Legal Profession

President Donald Trump is no longer just targeting political adversaries—he’s targeting their lawyers.

Through executive orders, punitive sanctions, and quiet threats, the administration is redrawing the boundaries of professional risk.

Once-proud firms that challenged Trump’s first-term agenda are retreating, fearing loss of federal access, clients, and economic survival.

“The law firms have to behave themselves,” Trump declared.

“They behave very badly, very wrongly.”

His message is clear: resistance has consequences. And America’s legal firewall is starting to crack.
theintellectualist.com/trump-legal-cr…Image
The Chilling Effect in Action

2/9: The tactics are surgically coercive.

Targeted law firms are barred from federal buildings.

Their attorneys stripped of security clearances.

Executive orders direct federal agencies to sever all contracts with any business that employs them.

The chilling effect is deliberate—and immediate.

Former Biden officials now facing litigation say they can’t find lawyers.

One had five firms withdraw, including a pro bono partner who backed out the day after Trump signed an order against Perkins Coie.

“The partner was livid,” the former official said, “but said leadership wouldn’t take the risk.”

When the law firms tasked with defending liberty retreat, what remains to defend the Constitution?

Compliance vs. Consequence

The harm is financial, reputational—and constitutional.

Perkins Coie estimated losses of 25% of its revenue after the order.

U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell issued a restraining order and expressed deep alarm:

“It sends little chills down my spine.”

In response, the Justice Department tried to remove her from the case, accusing her court of bias.

Another firm—Paul Weiss—chose compliance over confrontation.

After a closed-door meeting at the White House, it agreed to donate $40 million in legal work aligned with Trump’s policy goals.

The executive order against it was promptly rescinded.

Resistance brings punishment.

Compliance brings reprieve.
theintellectualist.com/trump-legal-cr…Image
Autocracy in Legal Clothing

3/9: This isn’t new. It’s just newly American.

Legal scholars like Scott Cummings and Claire Finkelstein say this playbook mirrors Russia, Hungary, and Turkey—where lawyers aren’t arrested, just made irrelevant.

“This is using law to erode the institutions meant to check power,” said Cummings.

“They’re dictating the terms under which lawyers can practice,” added Finkelstein.

If lawyers become instruments of executive favor, then the adversarial system collapses—functionally, if not formally.

The Sixth Amendment promises counsel.

But when no one dares to provide it, the promise fades into mere suggestion.

Fear Replaces Advocacy

Nonprofits working on immigration and civil rights now report that big firms no longer answer their calls.

“It used to be—this is wrong, and we’re going to represent it,” one said. “Now, it’s a slower process. People are scared.”

Intimidation works not by swinging a hammer—but by hanging it overhead.
theintellectualist.com/trump-legal-cr…Image
Read 9 tweets
Mar 23
The Disappeared: Trump’s Mass Deportation Machine and the Shadow Prison in El Salvador

A Knock at the Door, Then Nothing

🧵1/10: Imagine waking up one morning to discover that your brother is gone.

Not missing—disappeared.

No phone call. No charges. No lawyer.

And days later, a message appears—he’s been deported to a country he’s never been to, locked in a concrete hell designed for gang leaders and killers.

That’s not a story from Argentina’s Dirty War or Stalin’s gulags.

It happened in the United States—in 2025.

And it’s still happening, as you read this.

This is the story of The Disappeared—238 Venezuelan men secretly deported by the Trump administration to El Salvador’s most notorious prison, CECOT—a facility condemned by the United Nations, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch for crimes against human dignity.
theintellectualist.com/the-disappeare…Image
Not Criminals—Targets of Vulnerability

2/10: They weren’t taken because they were criminals.

They were taken because they were vulnerable—asylum seekers, migrants, dissidents—fleeing persecution, hoping for protection under American law.

Instead, they were swept up under a statute from 1798—the Alien Enemies Act, a wartime relic once used by John Adams to jail immigrants.

The Trump administration revived it and reinterpreted it to enable a deportation machine without trial, judge, or oversight.

This wasn’t a crackdown on MS-13.

Most had no criminal records.

Some were flagged only for tattoos—like Jefferson José Laya Freites, deported because of a lion on his forearm. It was assumed to be gang-related. It was actually a tribute to his Christian faith.

Or Arturo Suárez Trejo, a Venezuelan singer living in Houston, legally awaiting an asylum hearing. One morning, ICE agents came to his door.

“He’s being transferred to finish processing,” they told his daughter.

He never came home.

His family later identified him in a prison photo—head shaved, shackled, kneeling in the white uniform of El Salvador’s mega-prison.
theintellectualist.com/the-disappeare…Image
Black Saturday: The Collapse of Judicial Authority

3/10: This was the reality on March 15, 2025—Black Saturday—the day the Trump administration defied a federal court order and deported a large number of these men to CECOT.

A judge had ruled the deportations unconstitutional and ordered the flights turned around. The planes were in the air. The White House ignored the ruling. They kept going.

It was the day the United States crossed a line no constitutional democracy should ever cross.

CECOT: A Modern Gulag

Because CECOT is not a prison.

It is a modern gulag.

No windows.

No sunlight.

No visitors.

No phone calls.

Prisoners are held in stress positions, denied food, beaten with batons, and stripped of all identity.

They sleep on concrete in crowded cells—100 men to a room.

Their heads are shaved. Their movements are choreographed by armed guards.

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture condemned CECOT as a site of systematic abuse.

El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, presents it as a symbol of authoritarian control.

But it is also a dumping ground—for prisoners deported by foreign governments looking to disappear them without scrutiny.

And that’s where the United States sent people who had done nothing wrong.

Not back to Venezuela.

But to a third country—with no legal jurisdiction, no treaty obligation, and no accountability.

Photojournalist Philip Holsinger captured their arrival: shackled men, trembling, forced to kneel.

An ICE agent was present at the plane. The transfer was coordinated by American officials.

Detainees were offloaded rapidly—processed like inventory, not people.

One man clutched a broken rosary. The crucifix had snapped off.

He held it anyway.

This wasn’t deportation.

This was disappearance.

The Legal Definition—and the Human Cost

And the difference matters.
Deportation is a legal process.
Disappearance is a crime against humanity.

The International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance—signed by the United States in 2000—defines it as:

“The arrest, detention, or abduction of persons by agents of the state… followed by a refusal to acknowledge the deprivation of liberty or by concealment of the fate or whereabouts of the disappeared person.”

That is what happened here.

Families were told nothing.
Some were lied to.
Legal representation was severed.
Communication ceased.

We do know the names of the 238 men.
CBS News published the full list.

Among them:

Andrys Caraballo, a makeup artist last seen in ICE custody.

David Larez, a father of three, awaiting asylum processing.

Luis Molina, a diabetic who needed daily insulin.

Anyelo José Sarabia González, 19, deported for a rose tattoo.

Jerce Reyes Barrios, 36, a former Venezuelan soccer player flagged for a rosary and a soccer ball.

We don’t know where most are now—or if they’re still alive.

But we know this violated a federal court order.

This was not a miscommunication.

It was a deliberate act of executive defiance.

Stephen Miller and senior DHS officials orchestrated the flights in secret. Internal documents reviewed by CBS and Axios confirm the operation was timed to outrun judicial oversight.

But at 6:51 p.m. ET, Judge James Boasberg issued a legal injunction.

He ordered that the planes be turned around.
He told DOJ lawyers: “You need to ensure compliance immediately.”

They didn’t comply.
The planes kept flying.

Thus came Black Saturday: the first time in modern U.S. history that a president defied a federal court order—and faced no consequence.
theintellectualist.com/the-disappeare…Image
Read 10 tweets
Mar 22
Trump’s USAID Cuts Leave Starving Babies Without Food as American Aid System Collapses

A Life-Saving Mission Crumbles

🧵1/6: In a detailed report by CBS News correspondent Graham Kates, titled “American manufacturer of food for malnourished babies lays off staff amid USAID funding upheaval,” published March 20, 2025, an American-made humanitarian crisis is unfolding with devastating global consequences.

At the heart of it is Edesia Nutrition, a Rhode Island-based nonprofit that produces Plumpy’Nut—a shelf-stable, peanut-based paste used to treat severe acute malnutrition in children.

The company has been a crucial partner in U.S. foreign aid for 16 years, supplying ready-to-use therapeutic food to famine-stricken regions.

But after a sweeping overhaul of USAID led by the Trump administration eliminated more than 80% of the agency’s foreign assistance contracts, Edesia—though technically spared—was still forced to lay off 10% of its workforce due to non-payment of invoices for already fulfilled orders.
theintellectualist.com/trump-usaid-cu…Image
Layoffs Amid Plenty: When Compassion Meets a Wall of Bureaucracy

2/6: CEO Navyn Salem called the layoffs “the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.”

Although her USAID contract remains active on paper, multiple invoices have been rejected in recent weeks, causing shipments to halt and her warehouse to overflow with unsent product.

One invoice was rejected because the goods had not yet shipped; another was denied despite being tied to a batch that had shipped.

Meanwhile, American peanut farmers and suppliers—integral parts of Edesia’s domestic supply chain—have gone unpaid, creating ripple effects that undercut both U.S. agriculture and global health aid.

A Fictional Baby, A Real Crisis

To understand what’s truly at stake, consider one fictional but fully representative case: a baby girl named Nyalok, living in a remote region of South Sudan, one of the countries currently experiencing extreme famine.

Born prematurely and weighing less than five pounds, Nyalok showed signs of acute malnutrition—sunken eyes, distended belly, and barely the energy to cry.

Her mother, Abuk, walked hours to a rural health clinic where Plumpy’Nut had saved another child’s life two years earlier.

This time, the staff had nothing to offer. “A shipment was supposed to come,” one nurse told her, “but it never arrived.” The food had been produced in the United States—but it never left the port, because USAID hadn’t paid for it.

To be absolutely clear: Nyalok is a fictional case, based on conditions widely reported by humanitarian organizations like UNICEF and Doctors Without Borders.

She is not real, but her story is representative of thousands of real children whose survival now hangs in the balance. Babies just like her will now go without food. Some will die.

And not because the world lacks resources—but because the U.S. government, under Donald Trump’s leadership, has broken the system that used to deliver help.

theintellectualist.com/trump-usaid-cu…Image
Official Excuses, Systemic Collapse

3/6: According to a State Department spokesperson, a review ordered by Secretary of State Marco Rubio revealed “serious flaws” in USAID’s payment infrastructure, with 27 outdated and incompatible financial systems contributing to chaos.

The administration now claims it’s attempting to “streamline” the process—but aid groups like Edesia say the damage is already being done.

As Salem noted, “You have American farmers, American commodities brokers, American manufacturers, American shippers, and the NGOs, the American organizations… if one of those goes down, the whole system stops.”

That system is stopping.

Authoritarian Patterns, American Consequences

The Trump administration’s actions—whether by design or neglect—mirror patterns seen in authoritarian regimes.

In Hungary, Viktor Orbán dismantled civil society under the pretense of efficiency and nationalism. In Russia, Vladimir Putin centralized humanitarian sectors under state control. In both cases, civil society weakened and lives were lost.

Now in the U.S., Trump’s policies are hollowing out America’s most effective tool of global influence: compassion backed by competence.
theintellectualist.com/trump-usaid-cu…Image
Read 6 tweets
Mar 22
In Social Media Post, Trump Demands Submission From Maine’s Governor

“We need a full-throated apology from the Governor herself, and a statement that she will never make such an unlawful challenge to the Federal Government again.” — President Donald J. Trump

A Defiant Response from Governor Mills

🧵1/8: At the recent White House Governors’ Conference, Maine Governor Janet Mills responded to President Donald Trump’s criticism of state policies concerning transgender athletes with a succinct remark:

“I’ll see you in court.”

Standing among her peers, Governor Mills invoked the rule of law, signaling readiness to resolve disputes through judicial means.
theintellectualist.com/trump-demands-…Image
Trump’s Demand for Submission

2/8: President Trump’s reaction was swift and pointed. He publicly demanded that Governor Mills issue a personal, “full-throated” apology and pledge never to challenge the federal government in such a manner again.

Despite Maine’s prior clarification on the matter, the President dismissed it as insufficient, emphasizing that Governor Mills herself must make the concession. This response transcended typical political discourse, resembling a demand for personal submission.
A Familiar Pattern with Women in Power

Observers note that this incident aligns with a recurring pattern in President Trump’s interactions, particularly with female leaders who openly challenge him.

Historically, figures such as Hillary Clinton, Gretchen Whitmer, and E. Jean Carroll have faced similar responses characterized by demands for public contrition or personal attacks. This consistent behavior raises questions about the President’s approach to dissent and governance.

theintellectualist.com/trump-demands-…Image
Psychological Red Flags: Malignant Narcissism

3/8: Mental health professionals have previously expressed concerns regarding traits exhibited by President Trump that align with malignant narcissism, a concept introduced by psychoanalyst Erich Fromm and later expanded by Dr. Otto Kernberg.

This construct, while not officially listed in the DSM-5, encompasses a combination of narcissistic grandiosity, antisocial behavior, paranoia, and sadism.

Dr. Bandy Lee, a forensic psychiatrist and former Yale faculty member, has cautioned that such traits in leaders can pose significant risks to democratic institutions.

Behavioral Breakdown: Grandiosity, Paranoia, and Punishment

In this context, the President’s demand for a personal apology reflects grandiosity—the belief that ordinary political disagreement is a personal affront.

The claim that Mills’ comment was an “unlawful challenge” indicates paranoia, transforming routine federal-state interactions into threats.

His distortion of legal language to criminalize dissent suggests antisocial manipulation, and the public nature of the demand, especially directed at a female governor, carries sadistic undertones, aiming to humiliate rather than reconcile.

theintellectualist.com/trump-demands-…Image
Read 8 tweets

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