They Want Our Silence. They’ll Get Our Defiance.
From D.C. to the Everglades, the police state is expanding. We will meet it with unity, skills, and an unbreakable will.
It's surreal—on one hand, we're watching our democracy slip under a fascist authoritarian push; on the other, I’m taking my high school senior on college tours as if everything's fine.
In Los Angeles, the Trump administration deployed the National Guard and U.S. Marines—not over riots or disaster, but over enforcement against immigrants and political control.
Now, in our capital, Trump has federalized the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police, deployed 800 National Guard troops, and unleashed a federal law-enforcement surge in a city whose violent crime is at a multi-decade low. (TIME)
The move relied on Section 740 of the D.C. Home Rule Act, an extraordinary power only for the federal district—and legal experts warn it's an overreach that might pave the way for similar actions in other cities. (Wikipedia)
Modeled by Los Angeles, then D.C.—each step normalizes militarization of civilian life.
Then there’s this: Aaron Parnas today reported (via Substack) that the White House plans to review Smithsonian museum exhibitions, materials, and operations ahead of the U.S.’s 250th anniversary.
Under Trump’s executive order to “Restore Truth and Sanity to American History,” the focus will shift to “unity, progress, and enduring values,” effectively sanitizing history to match a conservative nationalist narrative.
Parnas also noted that Trump nominated E.J. Antoni, a Heritage Foundation fellow, to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics after firing its previous commissioner over a disappointing jobs report and big data revisions—a move likely to weaponize jobs data to hide how badly things are going. (The Guardian)
Even beyond cultural control, the physical infrastructure of suppression is expanding: ICE is expanding detention capacity dramatically, aiming to double it from ~56,000 to over 100,000 beds, funded through a $45 billion increase for new centers alone—a 265% jump in ICE's budget. (American Immigration Council)
They're reopening multiple private detention sites and building new ones across at least 10 states, including Texas (Dilley), Florida, and Colorado, plus plans for a 1,000-bed center in Newark, New Jersey. (American Civil Liberties Union)
Some specifics:
Fort Bliss, Texas (El Paso)—a $1.26 billion tent camp for 5,000 detainees, expected open by September 2027. (The Texas Tribune)
Florida—"Alligator Alcatraz," a 5,000‑bed detention facility built in the Everglades at Big Cypress National Preserve, opened July 2025. (Wikipedia)
Colorado—six potential sites under consideration: Huerfano County Correctional Center, Cheyenne Mountain Center, Hudson Correctional Facility, Baptiste Migrant Detention Facility, Colorado Springs Migrant Detention Facility, and a soft‑sided facility in Walsenburg. (Colorado Public Radio)
Newark, NJ—Delaney Hall turned into a 1,000‑bed facility under a 15‑year, ~$60 million/year contract with GEO Group. (New Jersey Monitor)
And while all of that is happening, let us NOT forget about the Epstein Files, and the complete lack of transparency on the part of the Trump Administration after years and years of saying how they’d expose all those named within.
Why I Haven’t Been Writing (and What I’ve Been Doing Instead)
It’s not apathy—it’s survival.
Work exploded with demand and responsibility. I’ve had to step back from the flood of political tragedy to get clear on our next moves.
I needed space to strategize rather than react—to protect Pathfinder’s heart and our community’s future.
Simultaneously, I'm preparing—physically, mentally, spiritually—for harder times ahead:
Training in core survival skills: land navigation, first aid/CPR, fire-making, shelter-building, water skill acquisition/purification, and much more.
Building a gear stockpile: emergency food, water, supplies—even ammunition. But here’s the shift: skills over stuff. Gear fails or runs out—but trained, resilient humans endure. That lesson hit hard reading Selco Begovic’s books:
SHTF Survival Stories: Memories from the Balkan War
The Dark Secrets of SHTF Survival: The Brutal Truth About Violence, Death, & Mayhem You Must Know to Survive
Selco’s experiences cracked open the myth that gear alone saves you—people can betray you.
I now believe the real prep is community, awareness, action.
Why It Matters—and What Holds Us Together
This isn’t doom-porn. It’s a mounting reality.
The slow boil toward authoritarianism, institutional erosion, and cultural white-washing is here.
Our Constitution, courts, and laws are being reshaped or ignored, realigned with a white, Christian-nationalist authoritarian vision.
Yet, life moves on.
We go to work, shop for rising groceries, care for our loved ones. But amidst the ordinary, we’ve got to prepare—and transform.
This is where Pathfinder’s calling is critical:
Building Pathways that empower people to thrive—even when systems fail.
Sharing content and community that cultivates readiness, resilience, connection, and love.
From physical skills to civic awareness, from community defense to psychological strength—we help people step into that transformation.
What’s Next in the Chronicles
You’ll hear more on what I’m doing—and how you can too:
Deeper writeups on each prep skill and how to build them.
How to build community resilience—not just networks, but mutual aid, safe spaces, shared meaning.
Strategies to transform fear into action, helplessness into possibility.
Stay strong.
Stay sharp.
Stay connected to your people and your purpose.
We’re not just enduring. We're preparing to rise. And we’re doing it together.
Stay tuned.