“Away in a manger, no crib for a bed, the little Lord Jesus laid down His sweet head…”
and then…
and then…
and then…
Along came Skaggs with his 1968 anti-war art protest, “Vietnamese Christmas Nativity Burning.”
The Second Coming is on ICE
“The role of public art is to raise awareness.” – Reverend Karen Ristine
“Anti-ICE Nativities Take a Stand Against Trump’s Cruelty,” by Emma Cieslik, Hyperallergic, December 9, 2025.
Despite pushback from right-wing leaders, nativity scenes with a humanitarian message are spreading across the country.
This past Friday, December 5, the Archdiocese of Boston asked St. Susanna Parish in Dedham, Massachusetts, to remove its nativity scene. The crèche features the shepherds and the Wise Men, but no Holy Family — no Jesus, Mary, or Joseph. In their place is a sign that reads: “ICE WAS HERE.”
A text below includes the number for the LUCE defense hotline, run by the Immigrant Justice Network of Massachusetts, which monitors and confirms Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity. Read the whole article here.
Social Media Compliance Certificates Available Now!
Traveling into or out of the United States (and want to be able to travel without the fear of deportation)? Show the authorities that your online activity from the past five years has been pre-screened and approved.
Print your customizable Social Media Compliance Certificate, by artist Joey Skaggs, and keep it with your passport and other important travel documents.
https://joeyskaggs.com/works/social-media-compliance-certificate/.
Truth Seekers Beware!
Emperor Trump only wants you to hear what he wants you to hear.
“State Department to deny visas to fact checkers and others, citing ‘censorship’,” by Shannon Bond, NPR, December 4, 2025.
The State Department is instructing its staff to reject visa applications from people who worked on fact-checking, content moderation or other activities the Trump administration considers “censorship” of Americans’ speech.
The directive, sent in an internal memo on Tuesday, is focused on applicants for H-1B visas for highly skilled workers, which are frequently used by tech companies, among other sectors. The memo was first reported by Reuters; NPR also obtained a copy.
“If you uncover evidence an applicant was responsible for, or complicit in, censorship or attempted censorship of protected expression in the United States, you should pursue a finding that the applicant is ineligible” for a visa, the memo says. It refers to a policy announced by Secretary of State Marco Rubio in May restricting visas from being issued to “foreign officials and persons who are complicit in censoring Americans.” Read the whole article here.
Dance Power
Dancers protest Trump’s cultural appropriation.
“Protest Dance Outside Kennedy Center Targets Trump’s Attack on Culture,” by Emma Cieslik, Hyperallergic, November 24, 2025.
Dozens of workers have been terminated since the president took over the institution in February.
WASHINGTON, DC — On Saturday, November 22, protestors expanded and crunched their bodies, arms rising and falling with flicked wrists, as they marched in front of the Kennedy Center with stoic expressions. Passersby would be excused for mistaking it for an official performance, but the show outside the nation’s art center was actually a “dance protest” organized in response to President Trump’s rising authoritarianism.
While DC was buzzing with action across the city at the Remove the Regime march and fold-in event at the Lincoln Memorial, the Kennedy Center offered a powerful backdrop for resistance. Days before, the US Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works launched an investigation into cronyism and corruption at the Kennedy Center under the leadership of Richard Grenell, whom Trump appointed as the institution’s interim president in February. Read the whole article here.