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Revisiting a subject from years ago. Its all coming together in a scary way.

When the independent Tunisian online media collective Nawaat announced that the government had suspended its activities for one month, the news landed like a punch in the gut for anyone who remembers what the Arab uprisings promised: dignity, democracy, and a free press. But Tunisia’s October 31 suspension of Nawaat—delivered quietly, without formal notice, and justified under Decree-Law 2011-88—is not just a bureaucratic decision. It’s a warning shot aimed at the very idea of independent civic life. The silencing of a revolutionary media outlet Nawaat’s statement, published last week, recounts how the group discovered the suspension: not through any official communication, but by finding the order slipped under its office door. The move came despite Nawaat’s documented compliance with all the legal requirements under Decree 88, the 2011 law that once symbolized post-revolutionary openness for associations. Instead, the Decree, once seen as a safeguard for civic freedom, is now being weaponized as a tool of control. Nawaat’s team describes the action as part of a broader campaign of harassment: tax audits, financial investigations, and administrative interrogations that together amount to an attempt to “stifle all media resistance to the dictatorship.” For those who have followed Tunisia’s post-2019 trajectory, the move feels chillingly familiar. Since President Kais Saied consolidated power in 2021, civil society organizations, journalists, and independent voices have faced escalating repression. Amnesty International has documented arrests of reporters, the use of counter-terrorism laws against critics, and the closure of NGOs. And now, the government has found in Decree 88 a convenient veneer of legality to achieve what old regimes did by force. Adopted in the hopeful aftermath of the revolution, Decree-Law 2011-88 was designed to protect the right to association. It allowed citizens to form organizations without prior approval and receive funding freely—a radical departure from the Ben Ali era’s suffocating controls. But laws are only as democratic as the institutions that enforce them. Over the years, Tunisian authorities have chipped away at these protections. Administrative notifications, once procedural, have become tools for sanction. Financial transparency requirements have turned into pretexts for selective punishment. When a government can suspend an association that has complied with every rule, the rule of law itself becomes a performance. Bureaucratic authoritarianism What’s happening in Tunisia is not an isolated episode. Across the region, governments have refined the art of silencing dissent without firing a shot. But whether through Egypt’s NGO Law, Morocco’s press code, or Algeria’s foreign-funding restrictions, the outcome is the same: fewer independent outlets, and fewer critical voices. These are the tools of bureaucratic authoritarianism…the punishment is quiet, plausible, and difficult to contest. A one-month suspension might sound minor, but for a small newsroom like Nawaat—which operates with limited funding and constant political pressure—it can mean disrupted investigations, delayed publications, and lost trust from readers and sources alike. A decade of resistance To understand why Nawaat matters, remember where it began. Founded in 2004 under Zine El Abidine Ben Ali’s dictatorship, Nawaat became a rare space for citizen journalism and digital dissent. During the 2011 uprising, its reporting and documentation helped the world witness Tunisia’s revolution. Over the past two decades, Nawaat has earned international recognition, including an EFF Pioneer Award in 2011, for its commitment to free expression and technological empowerment. It’s not just a media outlet; it’s a living archive of Tunisia’s struggle for dignity and rights. That legacy is precisely what makes it threatening to the current regime. Nawaat represents a continuity of civic resistance that authoritarianism cannot easily erase. The cost of silence Administrative suspensions like this one are designed to send a message: You can be shut down at any time. They impose psychological costs that are harder to quantify than arrests or raids. Journalists start to self-censor. Donors hesitate to renew grants. The public, fatigued by uncertainty, tunes out. But the real tragedy lies in what this means for Tunisians’ right to know. Nawaat’s reporting on corruption, surveillance, and state violence fills the gaps left by state-aligned media. Silencing it deprives citizens of access to truth and accountability. As Nawaat’s statement puts it: “This arbitrary decision aims to silence free voices and stifle all media resistance to the dictatorship.” The government’s ability to pause a media outlet, even temporarily, sets a precedent that could be replicated across Tunisia’s civic sphere. If Nawaat can be silenced today, so can any association tomorrow. So what can be done? Nawaat has pledged to challenge the suspension in court, but litigation alone won’t fix a system where independence is eroding from within. What’s needed is sustained, visible, and international solidarity. Tunisia’s government may succeed in pausing Nawaat’s operations for a month. But it cannot erase the two decades of documentation, dissent, and hope the outlet represents. Nor can it silence the networks of journalists, technologists, and readers who know what is at stake. EFF has long argued that the right to free expression is inseparable from the right to digital freedom. Nawaat’s suspension shows how easily administrative and legal tools can become weapons against both. When states combine surveillance, regulatory control, and economic pressure, they don’t need to block websites or jail reporters outright—they simply tighten the screws until free expression becomes impossible. That’s why what happens in Tunisia matters far beyond its borders. It’s a test of whether the ideals of 2011 still mean anything in 2025. And Nawaat, for its part, has made its position clear: “We will continue to defend our independence and our principles. We will not be silenced.”

Not a bad guy to take lessons from. These days Kenny Chesney is known for being one of the best entertainers in country music. A member of the Country Music Hall of Fame with 33 #1 hits in his stacked catalog, Chesney is arguably as big as he’s ever been in his three-decade career thanks to his incredible live shows and his ability to use his “No Shoes Nation” brand to rocket himself from just another country artist into a cultural icon. But early in his career, before he became a stadium headliner and a brand all to himself, Chesney admits that he struggled to find his identity. During an interview with the Wall Street Journal ahead of the release of his upcoming book, Heart Life Music, Chesney says that the ’90s were a rough time for him: “Looking back on it, I wasn’t ready. I wasn’t comfortable in my skin as a songwriter, as a performer, as an interpreter of songs. So yeah, the 1990s were an awkward time for me as an artist.” Of course Kenny had some massive hits as an artist in the ’90s with songs like his first #1 hit, “She’s Got It All,” “That’s Why I’m Here,” “How Forever Feels” and “She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy.” But he was still trying to figure out who he really was – and what was even possible. That’s when Kenny got an opportunity that opened his eyes to what was really possible for him and his career. In 1999, Chesney went out on tour with the King of Country Music himself, George Strait, opening for him on his George Strait Country Music Festival Tour. (The tour also included openers like the Tim McGraw, the Dixie Chicks, Mark Wills, and Jo Dee Messina. Talk about stacked). And it’s as he was playing those stadiums with George Strait that Kenny realized what he could do in his own career: “We didn’t know what else was possible until we went on the road with George Strait. Opening my first stadium tour for him, I saw what was possible.” Now, I’m sure any artist will tell you that seeing what’s possible and actually getting there are two very different things, something that requires not only hard work but also some good fortune along the way. And Kenny is never one who’s been afraid of hard work. (I mean, just look at the muscles on that dude…) But even he admits that he was nervous when he embarked on his own headlining tour for the first time: “I thought it was a terrible idea. We were in Albuquerque at a pool party at the hotel, and Louis Messina, my concert promoter, and Clint Higham, my manager, came up to me, went, “OK, next year, you’re going to go out and headline your own tour.” I said, “You guys are f-ing crazy.” I’ve been on the road at that point for years opening for everybody. We built an audience, but I just didn’t feel like I was ready. I decided, “if we fail, we fail.” They’re going to expect us to fail anyway, right? Nobody believed in us. And that’s where focus became robotic. I was constantly working and writing songs and constantly thinking of ways to connect with the audience and grow it.” (An interesting observation here: Nearly 30 years later, Kenny is still with Messina Touring Group, his concert promoter from his first headlining tour. In a “what have you done for me lately” business where relationships are key, it says a lot for both Kenny and his promoter that the relationship is still going strong after all these years). Well obviously Kenny didn’t fail. Quite the opposite, actually: He’s STILL headlining stadiums and cranking out new music, and even recently announced that he’s heading back to Las Vegas to headline the Sphere for the second time in as many years. And all it took was some inspiration from George Strait to open his eyes to what was possible.The post Kenny Chesney Says He Didn’t Realize What Was Possible For His Career Until He Opened For George Strait first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

FBI Director Kash Patel took to social media yesterday to respond to backlash surrounding his country music artist girlfriend, Alexis Wilkins. If the name Alexis Wilkins sounds familiar, there’s a good chance you know her in one of three ways. First, she’s a country music artist that has released songs like “Grit” and “Stand” that have very patriotic messaging behind them. Second, she’s a political commentator and former Capitol Hill press secretary (for Representative Abe Hamadeh). Don’t know her from either of those things? Well then, you likely know her name because she’s the girlfriend of FBI Director Kash Patel. View this post on Instagram And now the two find themselves in the news because FBI Director Kash Patel has come under fire for allegedly using his FBI jet to fly to a Real American Freestyle wrestling event on October 25 where his girlfriend, country music artist Alexis Wilkins, was performing. Following the event, the jet was tracked flying to Nashville, Tennessee – where Wilkins lives (she also spends a lot of time in Washington D.C.). Once Patel face criticism publicly, the FBI jet was made untraceable on flight tracking sights like Flight Aware. The FBI Director finally addressed all of the noise around his travel activity and alleged misuse of government funds on X (formerly Twitter), where Patel provided this statement to those that were calling out both him, and Alexis Wilkins: “I’ve always said — criticize me all you want. But going after the people doing great work, my personal life, or those around me is a total disgrace. The disgustingly baseless attacks against Alexis — a true patriot and the woman I’m proud to call my partner in life — are beyond pathetic. She is a rock-solid conservative and a country music sensation who has done more for this nation than most will in ten lifetimes. I’m so blessed she’s in my life. Attacking her isn’t just wrong — it’s cowardly and jeopardizes our safety. My love of family will always be my cornerstone, and you will never tear that down or keep me from them. I and this FBI will stay laser-focused on our mission and continue the reform we promised — rebuilding this Bureau from the ground up.” I am proud of the work of this FBI. We’re taking violent criminals off the streets in record numbers, crushing the fentanyl crisis, dismantling cartels, saving children, hunting down terrorists — and so much more. Let me be clear: we will not be distracted by baseless rumors or… — Kash Patel (@Kash_Patel) November 2, 2025 The community note attached to that statement from Patel clarified that most people aren’t necessarily attacking his girlfriend, but rather the fact that he’s allegedly used government funds to fly to and from her concerts. And this all comes after Patel has a) fired an individual (FBI official Steven Palmer) who pointed out his potential misuse of government funding and b) criticized federal employees for using taxpayer dollars for personal matters in the past. All in all, it seems like a big time mess, but Kash Patel won’t stand for people coming after his significant other. That being said, it can be difficult to keep your private life private when both parties in the relationship are high-profile individuals… and flight records are trackable online. At the same time, the man is the director of the FBI, he travels with Secret Service protection… it’s not like can just hop on a Delta flight whenever he wants. Ben Williamson, Assistant Director for Public Affairs at the FBI, clarified a number of details regarding the flights, proving once again, why this is just another distraction in the American political system. After calling these accusations “disingenuous and dumb,” he clarified that Kash is required to fly on government planes for security reason, including secure communications, and that he pays a reimbursement in advance. Williamson’s also notes how infrequent Kash actually travels in comparison to previous FBI directors, and how much his FBI has worked to cut costs. Here’s the full post: “Criticisms like this of Director Patel’s travel are disingenuous and dumb – so for the few people who give a rip about the below article see below. – FBI Directors are “required use travelers” under federal regulations – meaning they are mandated by Congress to travel on a government plane even on personal travel. They’re actually barred from flying commercial. The reason for this is to maintain access to secure communications equipment in the event of an emergency. – On personal travel, the Director pays a reimbursement in advance – strictly following OMB rules. – This FBI has taken steps to dramatically reduce costs of Director travel, both official and personal. For example, when Kash flies, he chooses to take a government airfield vs. airports like DCA, because the government option is about 2.5x cheaper. This is a choice that ends up saving millions in the long haul. -His predecessors did not do this. Chris Wray for example took 772 trips and over 2/3 of those were out of DCA, the DCA trips costing $3.9 million ($2.2 million more expensive than government airfield would’ve been) -James Comey took nearly 500 trips and flew out of DCA for nearly half of those – the DCA half costing over $1.8 million, which would’ve been $1 million cheaper had he made the same choice Director Patel does. So spare me. – Kash himself has significantly limited personal travel – but he’s allowed to take personal time on occasion to see family, friends or his longtime girlfriend. He doesn’t do it often. He works far more full weekends than he does otherwise. And maybe most importantly – ask anyone who works for him, he’s on duty 24/7 regardless. – Lastly, anyone engaging in bad faith whining about this need look no further than the results the Patel/Bongino FBI continues to deliver in 2025. 29,000 arrests, an over 100% increase from year before. 6,000 illegal firearms off the streets, increase. 5,000 child victims located, over 35% increase. 1,600 kg of fentanyl off the streets, up 25%. 300 human traffickers arrested, up 10%. This FBI is delivering and it’s because of a great team working incredibly hard with Kash Patel and Dan Bongino at the helm. We have zero time for people who peddle trash because they have nothing better to do — or, even better, because the Russian collusion hoax they spent years writing about failed in their end goal. A real shame.” Criticisms like this of Director Patel’s travel are disingenuous and dumb – so for the few people who give a rip about the below article see below. – FBI Directors are “required use travelers” under federal regulations – meaning they are mandated by Congress to travel on a… https://t.co/CadNCaoHXU — Ben Williamson (@_WilliamsonBen) October 30, 2025 The post “A Total Disgrace” – FBI Director Kash Patel Responds To Travel Backlash Surrounding His Country Music Artist Girlfriend, Alexis Wilkins first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

“Never played a song on a toilet before…” As we all know, life on the road is never easy for an artist. Beyond the grueling schedule that has bands going from state to state, driving sometimes hundreds of miles in just one day to make the next show, there’s always the added weight of trying to stay healthy, being away from friends and family and trying to maintain a somewhat balanced lifestyle while traveling across the country and, in some cases, the world. Obviously, there’s a lot of pressure on everyone involved in the touring process. From the headlining artist down to the members of the road crew, everyone has a key role to play in terms of making each concert a success for both the venue, themselves and the fans who bought tickets to see their favorite acts live. With so much stress present, sometimes the best source of relief for everyone involved comes in the form of a tour prank. Over the past few years, we’ve seen some great ones. From Koe Wetzel taking it to the extreme and unleashing crickets into Kolby Cooper’s tour bus earlier in the year to Megan Moroney riding around a toy tractor dressed up as Kenny Chesney as he performed “She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy” last summer, there have been plenty of memorable tour pranks in the country music world lately. Last October, Zach Top pulled a prank of his own on Lainey Wilson when he dressed up as Kermit the Frog during a Halloween show. This year, however, with Wilson’s Whirlwind World Tour coming to a close next weekend, the “Heart Like a Truck” singer decided to pull a prank of her own — this time on Muscadine Bloodline. On Saturday, November 1st, during her rescheduled show at The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion in The Woodlands, Texas, Wilson would once again call upon Muscadine to open up the show alongside Kaitlin Butts, marking the fifth and final week the duo has performed an opening set along the Whirlwind Tour. Given that it’s their final week out on the road, the “4X4XU” singer pulled out all the stops for Muscadine’s tour prank. If you haven’t been keeping up with the tour, nearly every night, Wilson will pause the show to perform a short acoustic set. Typically, she’ll call upon Muscadine to perform their 2020 certified gold single, “Pieces,” while the duo sit next to her on stools. @much We love this to pieces @Lainey Wilson @Muscadine Bloodline ♬ original sound – MuchMusic This time around, however, Wilson give Muscadine a seating upgrade for the performance… in the form of two brand new toliet seats. While giving someone a toliet seat to sit on for a performance might come across as nothing short of an insult, for Wilson, it’s nothing but love. In fact, she’d note that she has been waiting to pull the prank off for years but decided to finally pull it Muscadine since they’re just that good — or as she described them, pun intended, as “the sh*t.” “I was thinking about it…I was like if I ever do an acoustic part of my show, where I’ve got somebody come out, I’m gonna make them sit on a toilet and do it…I think y’all are the sh**. That’s why I really wanted to do this. When I tell you I’m y’all’s biggest fan… I’m so thankful and proud to have you out here with us.” In case you’re not familiar with the relationship between Wilson and Muscadine, she goes WAY back with the Alabama duo. Obviously, the trio scored a massive hit with their aforementioned single, “Pieces,” which sold over 500,000 units and received a gold certification from the RIAA. This, of course, was back before the Louisiana native broke out to the superstar status she’s currently at today and before Muscadine became one of the hottest duo/groups in the alt. country scene. As Wilson explained during the show, they’ve known each other for 14 years now. “And just so y’all know, I would not feel comfortable with just putting anybody up on a toliet out here. I’ve known these boys for 14 years, so I can get away with stuff like this ’cause they’re not gonna try to cancel me tomorrow ’cause I made them sit on the sh*tter.” And get away with it she did. Not only was it a hilarious prank in general. I mean, I’ve never seen an artist just randomly pull out two brand new porcelain thrones for their openers to perform on. It’s so incredibly random, just the right amount of silly and overall incredibly wholesome given the fact that she and Muscadine have been on their journey as musicians for so long at this point. Muscadine themselves would also show their love for Wilson both during and after the performance. Taking to TikTok to post the footage, they’d thank Wilson for taking them out on the road throughout the summer and call her the “forefront” of the future of country music. “Never played a song on a toilet before… Lainey Wilson really got us good last night at our last show on the tour! Just can’t thank Lainey, her band, and her entire team for taking such good care of us on this run. The whole experience has been one we will remember forever. Feeling extra grateful and full of hope for the future of country music with Lainey at the forefront. She is a class act and we love her like a sister!! To all the new fans we made on this tour, welcome to the party and thank you for showing up early and giving us a chance!” Watch their entire exchange here: @muscadinebloodline Never played a song on a toilet before… @Lainey Wilson really got us good last night at our last show on the tour! Just can’t thank Lainey, her band, and her entire team for taking such good care of us on this run. The whole experience has been one we will remember forever. Feeling extra grateful and full of hope for the future of country music with Lainey at the forefront. She is a class act and we love her like a sister!! To all the new fans we made on this tour, welcome to the party and thank you for showing up early and giving us a chance! Got a couple weeks off till we finish off the year in Georgia and Florida!! See yall soon! #muscadinebloodline #laineywilson #pieces #tourprank #prank ♬ original sound – Muscadine Bloodline “Pieces” Lainey Wilson Tour Dates November 7—Tampa, FL—Amalie Arena November 8—Orlando, FL—Kia Center December 7—Las Vegas, NV—T-Mobile ArenaThe post “Never Played A Song On A Toilet Before” – Lainey Wilson Pulls Hilarious End Of Tour Prank On Muscadine Bloodline first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

It’s just been revealed that Linda Sarsour admitted on video that Commie Mamdani’s rise in New York City was secretly bankrolled by Jihad-linked CAIR groups. Watch:   To state the obvious, if . . .

Thanksgiving isn’t the only major November holiday—here’s how Native American Heritage Month first came to be.