While the world is distracted ...
"Russia continues to add new military units near NATO’s eastern flank, according to a new threat assessment that warns against easing Western sanctions on the Kremlin."
www.stripes.com/theaters/eur...
I know, "low-info" voters and all that, but I still marvel at how people don't realize everything gets worse under Republicans. I get far more scam calls than I used to. All these little laws go from "grossly insufficient" to "wholly unenforced."
If you’re roughly my age, it’s wild to reflect on the optimism for the future Americans felt when Obama was elected — young Americans spontaneously took to the streets to celebrate! — and contrast with what we face today. The falloff over the past 18 years is hard to process.
🚨BREAKING: Democrats filed a lawsuit Tuesday demanding President Donald Trump’s administration unveil their plans, if any, for deploying federal officers or troops on election day. www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...
The federal regulatory agency tasked with keeping America’s nuclear power plants safe and running smoothly is set to make huge cuts to the amount of time its staffers spend on safety and emergency inspections, opening the door for to more self-policing from the industry. https://cnn.it/4rlFKbS
"Trump family-linked financial group [Dominari Securities] probed by congressional committee over Chinese stock scams"
GOP-led committee.
And Dominari is central to so much of Don Jr. and Eric's latest business, um, endeavors.
George Steer for @financialtimes.com
Warren: "It is still the case that the Trump admin cannot explain the reasons we entered this war, the goals we're trying to accomplish. The only part that seems clear is that while there is no money for 15m Americans who lost their healthcare, there's a billion a day to spent on bombing Iran."
MERKLEY: So when the VP said 'ICE agents have absolute immunity' in violating people's civil rights, he was effectively correct?
BIER: Effectively, yes. Right now as the law stands.
“Don’t ever be the first to stop applauding.”
-- Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, writing about the unfortunate director of the local paper factory
mannerofspeaking.org/2010/05/12/s...
NBC News poll Voters hold negative views of Al. In fact, the only topics less popular in the survey were the Democratic Party and Iran.
Truly a perfect news alert
Good morning.
“Comically unqualified, intensely partisan, and unflaggingly devoted to whatever ridiculous thing bubbled out of Donald Trump’s mouth five minutes ago” - @paulwaldman.bsky.social unpacks the general traits of a prototype member of Trump cabinet - the worst in U.S. history. Via @atrupar.com
Pleased to note that Martin is one of the people in Trump World I wrote about last year. (I also rang the bell about Noem years ago and her white knights sent me death threats.They are a strange bunch.)
www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/...
@adamserwer.bsky.social: “We have a data economy that thrives on selling products we don’t need for problems we don’t have, and a public that falls for these ploys—even as we think ourselves much too clever to be fooled.”
Would tie that to a funding cutoff for Trump’s illegal war.
zurl.co/d9Pas
"The Framers intended the law to be the great equalizer. Instead, our government and legal system have been hijacked by the wealthy to protect themselves and their wallets. America -Corrupted seems already well underway."
3/ This reflects a broader pattern in which Trump attempts to cultivate support not only through institutional power, but also through messaging that shapes how supporters interpret reality.
2/ Seeing the White House repeat the phrase now, while Trump is president again, reinforces the movement’s central claim that he was never truly out of power.
1/ For most viewers the phrase looks like generic patriotic messaging. But in QAnon circles, “patriots are in control” refers to the long-standing belief that Trump and a hidden network inside government were secretly running things the entire time.
zurl.co/INX4U
Graham is freelancing powers reserved to the president and two-thirds of the Senate, and to Congress as a whole on questions of war. He has no constitutional authority to make that promise.
Mark Carney has called the widening Iran war a “failure of the international order” and said the U.S. and Israel launched offensive strikes on Iran without consulting Canada or key allies. Trump then mocks Canadian sovereignty. #holdfast
The average American senior’s Medicare premiums last year were about 10% higher, or more than $200 annually, because of alleged overpayments to private Medicare Advantage plans, congressional investigators found. 🔗 on.wsj.com/3PcusZX
In @nytopinion.nytimes.com
Far from choosing sides between the U.S. and China, “Latin American leaders are increasingly adept at performing the public rituals of alignment required by Washington while quietly doubling down on their commercial ties with Beijing,” writes Oliver Stuenkel.
I know so many of you are scared, angry, and downright pissed off about what’s happening with Trump’s war in the Middle East.
So, I want to give a little breakdown on what’s happening, Congress’s authority, and what comes next.
A formerly incarcerated man credits a novel workforce development program in Oregon for helping him find stability after his release from prison. “This program has been my light at the end of the tunnel.”
Chris Murphy: "I Just came from a two hour, closed door classified briefing on the war. It just confirmed to me it's totally incoherent. We are not gonna be able to achieve any of our stated objectives ... this is a disaster of epic proportions, a 10 day debacle"
Murphy: "Literally in my other ear I'm listening to Ted Cruz on another network explain why this mission is so essential to destroy the nuclear program. I may have to walk over there and tell him the admin is now briefing that getting rid of the nuclear program has nothing to do with this mission."
This is how our government has been corrupted:
1) Donors give huge sums to elect politicians
2) Elected officials rewrite rules in donors' favor
3) Donors make huge profit
4) Repeat
We must get big money out of politics. It’s the root of all evil in Washington.
A DOGE staffer assigned to the National Endowment for the Humanities to flag grants for "DEI" tries to explain what "DEI" is. This deposition is part of a lawsuit by the @acls1919.bsky.social, @historians.org and @modernlanguage.bsky.social.
