Mike Gerik
@ictmike.bsky.social
Boeing retiree, genealogy dabbler, Grandpa, ham radio latecomer. Living the good life in Wichita, KS.
Reposted by Mike Gerik
Pope Leo XIV Names Another Pro-LGBT Bishop to Lead New Jersey Diocese
open.substack.com/pub/lettersf...
open.substack.com/pub/lettersf...
Pope Leo XIV Names Another Pro-LGBT Bishop to Lead New Jersey Diocese
Cardinal Tobin ordained him. Right-wing Church Militant attacked him. Now Michael Saporito, who hosted gay Catholics at his Maplewood parish, gets 670,000 Catholics in central New Jersey.
open.substack.com
September 18, 2026 at 1:55 PM
Pope Leo XIV Names Another Pro-LGBT Bishop to Lead New Jersey Diocese
open.substack.com/pub/lettersf...
open.substack.com/pub/lettersf...
Reposted by Mike Gerik
62% of Americans Agree US Government Should Ensure Everyone Has Health Coverage www.commondreams.org/news/univers...
62% of Americans Agree US Government Should Ensure Everyone Has Health Coverage | Common Dreams
The new poll shows the highest level of support in a decade for the government ensuring all Americans have healthcare.
www.commondreams.org
September 18, 2026 at 8:35 PM
62% of Americans Agree US Government Should Ensure Everyone Has Health Coverage www.commondreams.org/news/univers...
Reposted by Mike Gerik
A government that punishes journalists for displeasing its leader is authoritarian. Period. He’s converting access to power into a reward for obedience. The threat to ban more outlets makes it unmistakable. Report about the state on its terms, or the state will shut you out.
And Congress vacations
And Congress vacations
September 18, 2026 at 8:47 PM
A government that punishes journalists for displeasing its leader is authoritarian. Period. He’s converting access to power into a reward for obedience. The threat to ban more outlets makes it unmistakable. Report about the state on its terms, or the state will shut you out.
And Congress vacations
And Congress vacations
Reposted by Mike Gerik
NEW: A Vatican theological commission has defined the destruction of nature as a sin against God in a text approved by Pope Leo XIV.
It comes the same month MAGA commentators lambasted the U.S.-born pontiff for asking Catholics to pray for the 2.1 billion people without safe drinking water
It comes the same month MAGA commentators lambasted the U.S.-born pontiff for asking Catholics to pray for the 2.1 billion people without safe drinking water
Vatican Commission Defines Environmental Destruction as “Sin Against Creation”
Pope Leo XIV approved the 29,000-word document in July. Its release came 24 hours after MAGA commentators mocked Pope Leo XIV for praying that 2.1 billion people get safe water.
www.thelettersfromleo.com
September 18, 2026 at 3:41 AM
NEW: A Vatican theological commission has defined the destruction of nature as a sin against God in a text approved by Pope Leo XIV.
It comes the same month MAGA commentators lambasted the U.S.-born pontiff for asking Catholics to pray for the 2.1 billion people without safe drinking water
It comes the same month MAGA commentators lambasted the U.S.-born pontiff for asking Catholics to pray for the 2.1 billion people without safe drinking water
Reposted by Mike Gerik
“It’s like watching a car crash before it happens, knowing it’s going to happen.” @adrianna.bsky.social on Medicaid work requirements that will kick in next year. Reports that 1 in 5 of people she has surveyed say they have not received renewal packages.
@fordschool.bsky.social in Detroit
@fordschool.bsky.social in Detroit
September 18, 2026 at 1:22 PM
“It’s like watching a car crash before it happens, knowing it’s going to happen.” @adrianna.bsky.social on Medicaid work requirements that will kick in next year. Reports that 1 in 5 of people she has surveyed say they have not received renewal packages.
@fordschool.bsky.social in Detroit
@fordschool.bsky.social in Detroit
Reposted by Mike Gerik
Mike Rogers couldn't be bothered to show up to the debate, but here's what I would have asked him if he wasn't such a coward:
September 18, 2026 at 8:47 PM
Mike Rogers couldn't be bothered to show up to the debate, but here's what I would have asked him if he wasn't such a coward:
Reposted by Mike Gerik
Dear people who insist that Israel is a “democracy:”
Do you think stripping the citizenship of people who criticize the military of a country is “democratic?”
Do you think your grandparents who protested Vietnam should have been stripped of their American citizenship? Would that be “democratic”
Do you think stripping the citizenship of people who criticize the military of a country is “democratic?”
Do you think your grandparents who protested Vietnam should have been stripped of their American citizenship? Would that be “democratic”
September 18, 2026 at 9:22 PM
Dear people who insist that Israel is a “democracy:”
Do you think stripping the citizenship of people who criticize the military of a country is “democratic?”
Do you think your grandparents who protested Vietnam should have been stripped of their American citizenship? Would that be “democratic”
Do you think stripping the citizenship of people who criticize the military of a country is “democratic?”
Do you think your grandparents who protested Vietnam should have been stripped of their American citizenship? Would that be “democratic”
Reposted by Mike Gerik
They threw all the reporters out of the Pentagon and it still leaks like a sieve LOL
September 18, 2026 at 7:31 PM
They threw all the reporters out of the Pentagon and it still leaks like a sieve LOL
Reposted by Mike Gerik
Illinois will not look away and stay silent — we must remain vigilant and prepared.
What happened here during Operation Midway Blitz cannot simply disappear from the public record.
What happened here during Operation Midway Blitz cannot simply disappear from the public record.
ICE Says It Can't Find Its Own Records Of Teargassing And Arresting Broadview Protesters
ICE's own rules require reports every time an agent uses force. But the agency says it can't find any from its attacks on protesters on Sept. 19, 2025.
blockclubchicago.org
September 18, 2026 at 9:27 PM
Illinois will not look away and stay silent — we must remain vigilant and prepared.
What happened here during Operation Midway Blitz cannot simply disappear from the public record.
What happened here during Operation Midway Blitz cannot simply disappear from the public record.
Reposted by Mike Gerik
Trump bans CNN, MS NOW & Politico from the White House. Says more could follow.
The First Amendment doesn’t have an “unless the president gets pissed off” exception. This is America. Not Putin’s Russia.
The First Amendment doesn’t have an “unless the president gets pissed off” exception. This is America. Not Putin’s Russia.
September 18, 2026 at 8:59 PM
Trump bans CNN, MS NOW & Politico from the White House. Says more could follow.
The First Amendment doesn’t have an “unless the president gets pissed off” exception. This is America. Not Putin’s Russia.
The First Amendment doesn’t have an “unless the president gets pissed off” exception. This is America. Not Putin’s Russia.
Reposted by Mike Gerik
Most fragile man on the planet.
September 18, 2026 at 7:58 PM
Most fragile man on the planet.
Reposted by Mike Gerik
"How does a man w/ a deranged, disordered & destructive mind—fueled by enablers to assume he can do anything—spend his spare time? He will turn our Capitol City into a dumpsite, then blame innocents when his imagined achievements devolve into embarrassing eyesores."
open.substack.com/pub/america/...
open.substack.com/pub/america/...
Donald Trump, The Wrecking Ball
And the honorable people who will not be bullied by this deranged and disordered loser
open.substack.com
September 18, 2026 at 8:45 PM
"How does a man w/ a deranged, disordered & destructive mind—fueled by enablers to assume he can do anything—spend his spare time? He will turn our Capitol City into a dumpsite, then blame innocents when his imagined achievements devolve into embarrassing eyesores."
open.substack.com/pub/america/...
open.substack.com/pub/america/...
Reposted by Mike Gerik
BREAKING: President Trump banned news outlets CNN, MSNOW and Politico from the White House, complaining about their coverage in a social media post reut.rs/4y2Y8dx
September 18, 2026 at 7:24 PM
BREAKING: President Trump banned news outlets CNN, MSNOW and Politico from the White House, complaining about their coverage in a social media post reut.rs/4y2Y8dx
Reposted by Mike Gerik
Can I get as much vacation time as Congress? Please?
If I was elected to do a job for others…and I was away from my job as much as they are, I would be too embarrassed to leave my house. Seriously.
If I was elected to do a job for others…and I was away from my job as much as they are, I would be too embarrassed to leave my house. Seriously.
September 18, 2026 at 1:22 PM
Can I get as much vacation time as Congress? Please?
If I was elected to do a job for others…and I was away from my job as much as they are, I would be too embarrassed to leave my house. Seriously.
If I was elected to do a job for others…and I was away from my job as much as they are, I would be too embarrassed to leave my house. Seriously.
Reposted by Mike Gerik
A win! A federal judge just put a major guardrail around any possible demolition of the Kennedy Center’s main building. Judge Christopher Cooper ordered the Trump-controlled Kennedy Center to give more than 30 days’ written notice before changing its plans in any way that would involve demolition.
September 18, 2026 at 12:17 AM
A win! A federal judge just put a major guardrail around any possible demolition of the Kennedy Center’s main building. Judge Christopher Cooper ordered the Trump-controlled Kennedy Center to give more than 30 days’ written notice before changing its plans in any way that would involve demolition.
Reposted by Mike Gerik
Dictators don't announce themselves. They just decide WHO gets to ask questions. Today it was CNN, MSNOW and Politico. "Others to follow." Read that last part again. Slowly.
He. Will. NOT. Prevail.
He. Will. NOT. Prevail.
September 18, 2026 at 8:05 PM
Dictators don't announce themselves. They just decide WHO gets to ask questions. Today it was CNN, MSNOW and Politico. "Others to follow." Read that last part again. Slowly.
He. Will. NOT. Prevail.
He. Will. NOT. Prevail.
Reposted by Mike Gerik
A fierce showdown just exploded in DC. Democrats have officially FROZEN Trump's $2.8 billion weapons transfer to Israel.
Rep. Gregory Meeks refuses to clear 40,000 heavy one-ton bombs for the Netanyahu government, citing mass civilian casualties. The White House is FURIOUS.
Rep. Gregory Meeks refuses to clear 40,000 heavy one-ton bombs for the Netanyahu government, citing mass civilian casualties. The White House is FURIOUS.
September 18, 2026 at 5:48 PM
A fierce showdown just exploded in DC. Democrats have officially FROZEN Trump's $2.8 billion weapons transfer to Israel.
Rep. Gregory Meeks refuses to clear 40,000 heavy one-ton bombs for the Netanyahu government, citing mass civilian casualties. The White House is FURIOUS.
Rep. Gregory Meeks refuses to clear 40,000 heavy one-ton bombs for the Netanyahu government, citing mass civilian casualties. The White House is FURIOUS.
Reposted by Mike Gerik
NEW: Pope Leo XIV on Thursday named Bishop Brendan Cahill, who leads the U.S. bishops’ work for migrants, the seventh bishop of Joliet, Illinois, a diocese of 500,000 Catholics next door to Chicago:
“Human dignity does not depend on immigration status. It is given by God and cannot be taken away.”
“Human dignity does not depend on immigration status. It is given by God and cannot be taken away.”
“You Are Not Alone” — Pope Leo XIV Sends the U.S. Bishops’ Migration Chief to Joliet
Bishop Brendan Cahill, the U.S. bishops’ migration chairman, inherits a see vacant since February; Cardinal Cupich hailed his “migrant justice.” Three of Leo’s first four U.S. bishops were immigrants.
open.substack.com
September 18, 2026 at 12:37 AM
NEW: Pope Leo XIV on Thursday named Bishop Brendan Cahill, who leads the U.S. bishops’ work for migrants, the seventh bishop of Joliet, Illinois, a diocese of 500,000 Catholics next door to Chicago:
“Human dignity does not depend on immigration status. It is given by God and cannot be taken away.”
“Human dignity does not depend on immigration status. It is given by God and cannot be taken away.”
Reposted by Mike Gerik
I still cannot fathom the idea that the majority of farmers and truckers still think Trump is their guy
Increased costs of fertilizer and diesel and profit killers
Many of these truckers lease or finance their rigs
Farmers are on tight margins
Tariffs and the Iran war surely has an impact
Increased costs of fertilizer and diesel and profit killers
Many of these truckers lease or finance their rigs
Farmers are on tight margins
Tariffs and the Iran war surely has an impact
September 18, 2026 at 2:10 PM
I still cannot fathom the idea that the majority of farmers and truckers still think Trump is their guy
Increased costs of fertilizer and diesel and profit killers
Many of these truckers lease or finance their rigs
Farmers are on tight margins
Tariffs and the Iran war surely has an impact
Increased costs of fertilizer and diesel and profit killers
Many of these truckers lease or finance their rigs
Farmers are on tight margins
Tariffs and the Iran war surely has an impact
Reposted by Mike Gerik
I hope many of the undecided voters make a concerted effort to fill up their cars before they drive to the polls on Election Day
September 18, 2026 at 3:44 PM
I hope many of the undecided voters make a concerted effort to fill up their cars before they drive to the polls on Election Day
Reposted by Mike Gerik
Remember: Telling lies that everyone knows are lies is a classic tactic of dictators to force their followers to side with them over the truth itself.
But the public will not be gaslit. We will continue to spread the truth to our communities.
Ignorance is the handmaiden of tyranny.
But the public will not be gaslit. We will continue to spread the truth to our communities.
Ignorance is the handmaiden of tyranny.
September 18, 2026 at 7:22 PM
Remember: Telling lies that everyone knows are lies is a classic tactic of dictators to force their followers to side with them over the truth itself.
But the public will not be gaslit. We will continue to spread the truth to our communities.
Ignorance is the handmaiden of tyranny.
But the public will not be gaslit. We will continue to spread the truth to our communities.
Ignorance is the handmaiden of tyranny.
Reposted by Mike Gerik
Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel needs to influence US public opinion to expand its support.
Um, Israel and its zionist supporters have already been influencing our elections and bribing our politicians for decades and we hate it.
WE ARE DONE WITH ISRAEL.
x.com/ProudSociali...
Um, Israel and its zionist supporters have already been influencing our elections and bribing our politicians for decades and we hate it.
WE ARE DONE WITH ISRAEL.
x.com/ProudSociali...
x.com
September 18, 2026 at 4:47 AM
Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel needs to influence US public opinion to expand its support.
Um, Israel and its zionist supporters have already been influencing our elections and bribing our politicians for decades and we hate it.
WE ARE DONE WITH ISRAEL.
x.com/ProudSociali...
Um, Israel and its zionist supporters have already been influencing our elections and bribing our politicians for decades and we hate it.
WE ARE DONE WITH ISRAEL.
x.com/ProudSociali...
Reposted by Mike Gerik
Let’s hope they don’t attempt to defy court orders again. Postmaster General David Steiner says the U.S. Postal Service has stopped work on the computer system tied to Trump’s effort to restrict mail voting after the Supreme Court blocked the administration’s plan this week.
September 18, 2026 at 3:42 PM
Let’s hope they don’t attempt to defy court orders again. Postmaster General David Steiner says the U.S. Postal Service has stopped work on the computer system tied to Trump’s effort to restrict mail voting after the Supreme Court blocked the administration’s plan this week.
Reposted by Mike Gerik
It’s easy to see why the AI companies wanted to hide this from the public. The statements are some of the most damning indictments of the ways LLMs were trained, how they work, and the immediate threat they pose to human labor. @jasonkoebler.bsky.social reports.
www.404media.co/doom-loop-op...
www.404media.co/doom-loop-op...
September 18, 2026 at 3:10 PM
It’s easy to see why the AI companies wanted to hide this from the public. The statements are some of the most damning indictments of the ways LLMs were trained, how they work, and the immediate threat they pose to human labor. @jasonkoebler.bsky.social reports.
www.404media.co/doom-loop-op...
www.404media.co/doom-loop-op...
Reposted by Mike Gerik
This should be an ad for every D candidate everywhere:
September 18, 2026 at 11:01 AM
This should be an ad for every D candidate everywhere: