They Built the Surveillance State for Them, Now It's Pointed at Us

We reflect on the 25th anniversary of 9/11 by revisiting live news coverage from that day. We discuss the amount of misinformation, speculation, and confusion that appeared in early reporting, and we contrast that with later coverage and memorial material.We then turn to the security and surveillance systems expanded after 9/11, including Homeland Security, the TSA, the Patriot Act, surveillance courts, and rendition. We argue that these measures did not keep people safe in the way they were presented at the time, and we connect that to how those tools are being used by President Trump today against his political opponents.A local television report about a deadly crash in Ohio involving an undocumented driver with a Connecticut driver’s license exposes the continued racist attacks on undocumented people by the Republicans panicking over election losses in November.We fact check a National Republican Senatorial Committee mailer attacking Sherrod Brown over transgender issues and drag story time. The claims not only misrepresent Brown’s record and a community event at Harmony Project and the mailer uses falsehoods and culture-war messaging instead of addressing policy issues.Full show notes & links usedSend us Fan MailSupport the showSubscribe to our free newsletterCheck out our MerchFollow us on BlueskyFind us on Twitter(for now) Find us on InstagramFind us on Counter SocialFind us on Mastadon