By jmbThe following are my posts from January 2026 on Mastodon/Fediverse, all posted on my account: https://c.im/@jmb. (This does not included boosts, with a few exceptions)
January 29, 2026
This amazing news has happened thanks to the 60 or so brave #OKC residents who spoke out at Tuesday’s city council meeting — this is proof that democracy is not dead yet in #OklahomaCity.
#OK #Oklahoma #Ice #IceOut #FuckIce
Also see: https://kfor.com/news/local/okc-mayor-says-landowners-pull-out-of-deal-to-sell-to-ice-for-an-okc-detention-center/ https://www.koco.com/article/ice-facility-oklahoma-city-warehouse-not-move-forward/70190027 https://www.news9.com/oklahoma-city-news/dhs-ice-no-longer-seeking-okc-facility-proposed-detention-center-mayor-holt
January 27, 2026
I hit 800 days (but with a few streak freezes)
Learn a language with me for free! Duolingo is fun, and proven to work. Here’s my invite link: https://invite.duolingo.com/BDHTZTB5CWWKSNNMVATEOOIDVU?v=sm
January 24, 2026
Recording of the Jan. 24, 2026 #Shabbat service with the #SpinozaHavurah
Our D’var Torah and discussion was on Parashah Bo.
#Torah #HumanisticJudaism #Mazeldon
January 24, 2026
#Oklahoma #Weather update – Temp 6F/-14 C, about 3 inches of snow on the ground in #OKC
January 24, 2026
Join the #SpinozaHavurah at 10 am Eastern on January 24th for a cozy #Shabbat service including some discussion of parashah Bo.
#Torah #Judaism #Mazeldon #HumanisticJudaism
January 20, 2026
This is blasphemy, an insult to all followers of the nonviolent teachings of #Jesus
Also, note the copyright violation.
#Fascism #Blasphemy #Christianity #ICE #DHS #Trump
Here’s a link if you want to see the fascist propaganda for yourself: https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1DPpMaNhR6/
January 20, 2026
https://www.commondreams.org/news/israeli-conscientious-objectors
#ConscientiousObjection #Israel #IDF #Peace #Shalom #Mazeldon
January 19, 2026
January 19, 2026
I’m really upset with the government of #Canada right now.
It has at times been a refuge for folks fleeing unjust wars and oppression in the USA, but at other times has slammed the door shut in the face of those fleeing oppression. I have friends who have been in both camps, but lately, more are being turned away.
For my Facebook friends who are Canadian, please use your voices to pressure your government to open your doors more fully to those fleeing oppression in the USA.
#LGBTQ
January 19, 2026
We saw this video at night’s #MLKDay program, a joint program of Temple B’nai Israel and Oklahoma City Branch of the NAACP. It is a powerful spoken word piece about the OKC lunch counter sit-ins that began in 1958.
#OKC #Oklahoma #CivilRights #MLK #BlackJewishSolidarity #Mazeldon
January 17, 2026
https://www.nbcnews.com/business/economy/trump-denmark-european-tariffs-greenland-deal-rcna254551
Message for the rest of the world — please do not concede an inch to the Trump administration about this. This administration will not stop at #Greenland. Remember this began with jokes, and today it is a looming literal risk.
Very recently, the new US ambassador to Iceland was reported to have been making jokes about Iceland becoming the 52nd state of the USA, so it is not too soon to be worried about the security and sovereignty of #Iceland, and possibly even other parts of Europe.
January 17, 2026
I do have some openings for Estate Planning appointments in Oklahoma City over the next few weeks. My rates are affordable ($450 for my wills package, $1250 for my revocable living trust package), and I offer significant discounts to school teachers (at any level, preschool-college), peace & social activists, and neighbors, among other folks.
Details below on how to schedule an appointment: www.jmbranumlaw.com/estateplanning.htm
#EstatePlanning #Wills #Trusts #Law #Oklahoma
January 14, 2026
#Conscription #Draft #SelectiveService #Mennonite #Anabaptist #Peace #ConscientiousObjection
Tagging: @MilitaryLawTaskForce @ehasbrouck
January 11, 2026
Why All Liberal-Minded Jews Should Adopt the SHJ’s Definition of “Who Is a Jew?”
I’m going to write an response to this piece soon by Adam King Skrzynski(but not in disagreement, but rather in whole-hearted affirmation) because it is really, really important.
I strongly recommend all Jews, but especially those in progressive/liberal movements to consider this and to recognize the power that can come from opening the doors to Jewish identity wider, rather than trying to keep folks out.
Excerpt:
While the current times have been horrifying and dispiriting, another narrative also exists, one in which the American Jewish community is more imbedded and accepted in American life as never before. How else do we explain the increasing interest reported nationwide in those seeking to become Jewish? More non-Jewish people live with Jews, work with Jews, think about Jews, and do Jewish things that at any time in American Jewish history.
. . . As a result, I believe that our response to these changing times is one in which we look to capture the present positive undercurrent of momentum, as well as look to ensuring Jewish survival well into the future in the face of rising antisemitism. In my view, we do this by expanding the tent. We make it easier to welcome people into the Jewish community, ask them to participate with us in our celebrations, and allow for a definition of Jewish identity more in line with the facts on the ground, how people are actually living. I suggest that other like-minded Jews learn about and accept the Society for Humanistic Judaism’s definition of Jewish identity, declared by the Second Biennial Conference of the International Federation of Secular Humanistic Jews, in Brussels, in October 1988.
This definition has roots and parallels in Jewish history, especially secular Jewish history, and states the following:
“We, therefore, affirm that a Jew is a person of Jewish descent or any person who declares himself or herself to be a Jew and who identifies with the history, ethical values, culture, civilization, community, and fate of the Jewish people.”
Knowing what the fate of the Jewish people has been, this is no small declaration to make, and anyone acting out of sincerity and with full knowledge of the consequences of this identification, should surely be welcomed among us. “
#HumanisticJudaism #JewishIdentity #Judaism #Mazeldon
January 6, 2026
Besides, our regular Shabbat service, we will also have a special speaker. Here’s more info about it:
This service will be followed by a talk by Dr. Marcos Bazmandegan on his recent book which explores the life and thought of Uriel da Costa, a Sephardic Jew of Portuguese origin, presenting him as an intellectual precursor of Spinoza and the author of the first major critique of Rabbinic Judaism prior to the Theological-Political Treatise. It examines his life of exile, his break with religious orthodoxy, and his defense of reason, individual conscience, and ethical humanism, placing his ideas within the broader context of the Sephardic diaspora. At the same time, the book serves as a reflection on Sephardism, secularism, and Jewish Humanism, portraying Uriel da Costa as a powerful symbol of intellectual resistance and freedom of thought.
#UrielDaCosta #Spinoza #HumanisticJudaism #Philosophy #Sephardism
January 5, 2026
I got quoted in this story.
https://www.oklahoman.com/story/opinion/2026/01/05/oklahomans-react-to-the-raid-on-venezuela-capture-of-nicols-maduro/88029929007/ (Archived at: https://archive.ph/5bTU5)
Excerpt:
Oklahoma City resident James Branum said the operation was illegal under international law, and it opened the door for other nations to justify their own invasions of smaller neighbors, including Ukraine and Taiwan. He also said it was a violation of the U.S. Constitution, since it was done without a declaration of war, or even consultation with Congress.
“The severity of this violation makes the needed remedy clear: President Trump and Defense Secretary Hegseth must be impeached and removed from office, but if that doesn’t happen, the rest of the world should use all legal means to place President Trump and the criminal Trump organization under sanctions, including the seizure of overseas assets,” Branum wrote.
#Venezuela #InternationalLaw #MilitaryLaw
January 4, 2026
An important reminder that Trump’s attack on #Venezuela is a return to the old way of US American imperial aggression.
#RogueState #USA #Trump #Imperialism
January 3, 2026
I (also in the USA) would echo this call. We desperately need the international community to pressure the US to stop this madness. Our Congress has shown it will not stop Trump.
It’s time to put sanctions on the USA, on US officials and on the entire #Trump organization — which should include the seizure of overseas assets.
Paul Cantrell @inthehands
A request from somebody in the USA: if you live in another country, please start pressuring your government to institute sanctions against the US.Diplomatic sanctions, economic sanctions, whatever is possible.
I do not expect this to happen quickly. Start laying the political groundwork now so that it can happen at all, ever, while it still matters.
January 3, 2026
Excerpt:
What precedent could this set globally?
If the US faces no consequences for the invasion of Venezuela, experts believe it could embolden other countries to carry out operations which may contravene international law.
“The most obvious consequence is that China will take the opportunity to invade Taiwan,” Robertson said. “This is the most appropriate time for it to do so, bolstered by the precedent of Trump’s invasion of Venezuela and of course his appeasement of Russia in its invasion of Ukraine. In fact, I would say that Trump’s invasion of Venezuela is the crime of aggression, the same crime Putin has committed by invading Ukraine.”
Dominguez Redondo added that it could further weaken the UN security council. “The security council was the prevention mechanism for the third world war,” she said. “This has been completely dismantled, mainly by the US, but also by the UK when they went to war without authorisation in Iraq. The security council has been eroded.”
#InternationalLaw #Venezuela #Taiwan #Ukraine
January 3, 2026
Overnight, the Trump regime has invaded Venezuela in violation of the US Constituion and International law.
Whether one supports Maduro or not, this is terrifying news, further evidence that no country in Latin America is safe from US American imperial aggression.
#venezuela #Peace #LatinAmerica #Imperialism
January 2, 2026
Now available – Recorded Emergency Presentation: Illegal Orders under US Military Law
The recording of my recent presentation on “Illegal Orders Under US Military Law” is now available for viewing online.
Please share widely.
#IllegalOrders #DomesticDeployments #MilitaryLaw #InternationalLaw #UCMJ #ManualForCourtsMartial #Fascism #Trump #USMilitary #USArmy #Army #Navy #Marines #AirForce #CoastGuard #USAF #USCG
January 1, 2026
My favorite moment of the #ZohranMamdani inauguration was hearing #MandyPatinkin sing “Somewhere, over the rainbow” with the PS22 Chorus of #StatenIsland.
#NYC #DemocraticSocialism
January 1, 2026
Here’s the livestream link for thr #ZohranMamdani ceremonial inauguration as mayor of #NYC starting at 1pm eastern:
https://www.youtube.com/nycmayorsoffice
January 1, 2026
What a way to start the New Year!
#ZohranMamdani #NYC #DemocraticSocialism