Old3 The Second Trump Administration
May 1, 2025 - October 31, 2025
May 1, 2025 - October 31, 2025
The following are news articles (from May1, 2025 - October 31, 2025) that were once listed on our website. Much of the information is still relevant, but it was taken off the www.dalecodemocrats.com website to reduce storage requirements and for brevity. This is a good source for history and can be used to help explain some of the current actions of today.
Trump says he has asked court to 'clarify' SNAP ruling with funding set to lapse
Comment: " 'Our Government lawyers do not think we have the legal authority to pay SNAP with certain monies we have available, and now two Courts have issued conflicting opinions on what we can and cannot do,' Trump said in a post on his social media platform Friday evening."
" 'If we are given the appropriate legal direction by the Court, it will BE MY HONOR to provide the funding, just like I did with Military and Law Enforcement Pay,' Trump said, referring to the shifting of funds that has been used to pay troops as the shutdown has stretched on."
Comment: By asking for clarification from the Court, is Trump stalling for time before making SNAP payments to the states. Do you believe Trump is telling the truth about wanting to make the SNAP payments?
Video: Federal judge orders Trump administration to pay SNAP benefits out of contingency fund - October 31, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sx23iTTLfjw
When will SNAP EBT cards be reloaded? Delays still possible despite judges’ rulings
Comment: "Just hours before the looming deadline, two judges ruled Friday that the federal government must continue funding SNAP during the government shutdown. However, those expecting food assistance on Nov. 1 may still see delays."
Trump muddles nuke-testing message
https://www.axios.com/2025/10/31/trump-nuke-modernization-russia-stockpiles
Comment: "President Trump's post announcing the U.S. would resume nuclear testing featured some inaccuracies, and introduced quite a bit of uncertainty."
Comment: "Nuclear rhetoric is closely scrutinized — by governments, by defense contractors, by outside analysts — and can have unintended consequences. Trump's Truth Social shocker will have generated significant debate in Moscow and Beijing over the past 24 hours."
Comment: "Trump began his announcement claiming the U.S. has more nukes than any other country. Russia, in fact, has the largest stockpile."
"He also suggested the U.S. has completed its modernization efforts. They are, in fact, very much still in progress."
"The president then claimed China would catch up to the U.S. 'within five years.' Experts doubt that. While Beijing's arsenal is 'growing more quickly than it grew in the past,' said Jon Wolfsthal, the Federation of American Scientists' director of global risk, 'this is not an immediate 'they're going to match us' problem.' "
" 'By no calculation can they be considered having parity with us or a nuclear peer.' "
Comment: "Then Trump got to the red meat: 'Because of other countries testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis. That process will begin immediately.' "
Comment: "The administration has offered no additional details about what, precisely, the president meant."
"The U.S. hasn't conducted a nuclear test in decades. And while a recent Russian trial caught Trump's attention, that was of a nuclear-capable ultra-long-range missile." [Not a nuclear warhead]
Comment: Please read the linked article for more perspective.
The War Department has a new name but no one to mind the store
Comment: "As of this week, 36 of the 65 War Department positions requiring Senate confirmation have yet to be filled."
"Some of President Trump’s nominees for these jobs have been referred to committee in the Senate; some have had their hearings but have not been voted out of committee; some have been voted out but have yet to get a floor vote."
"Other positions have not been filled at all. In a few instances, nominees have been withdrawn. That is the case regarding Jeffrey Bornstein, whose nomination for Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) and Chief Financial Officer the White House withdrew ten days ago."
Comment: "But more than ten months since Trump took the oath of office, the War Department still does not have a comptroller, nor for that matter, a deputy under secretary either. It does not even have an acting comptroller, someone in the comptroller’s chain of command, to carry out that responsibility until the White House nominates and the Senate confirms one."
White House restricts media access in the West Wing
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/31/white-house-media-access-00632412
Comment: "The administration said it’s a matter of security, but the new rule appears to be part of a larger effort to restrict the press."
How Stephen Miller is turning the US state department into an ‘anti-immigration machine’
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/31/stephen-miller-immigration-trump
Comment: "The historic shifts in US immigration under Donald Trump have been dictated by a relentless voice over a telephone line: Stephen Miller, the president’s immigration czar, who in recent months has turned the state department’s visa and refugee operations into what some current and former diplomats have described as a personal fiefdom."
"Each morning, usually at 10am, a small circle of conservative diplomats allied with Miller, including those who have assumed control of the state department’s consular and refugee operations, dial in for what some have termed the 'Stephen Miller call', an interagency discussion of immigration measures led by Miller, the White House’s homeland security adviser."
"In the calls, Miller is said to drill the diplomats on visa and immigration issues – pressing officials to hasten negotiations with third countries to accept deportees who can not or should not be sent back to their countries of origin, and lobbying for individual visa revocations for critics of Israel’s war in Gaza or of Charlie Kirk, the conservative pundit who was assassinated in September."
"Miller’s influence, said one former senior official briefed on the calls, was part of a broader strategy under the Trump administration of 'installing trusted people in the key positions, and turning [the state department] into an anti-immigration machine'."
DHS asked Texas to hand over driver’s license data for citizenship checks
https://www.texastribune.org/2025/10/31/dhs-texas-drivers-license-citizenship/
Comment: "It’s the latest step to pool confidential data that the Trump administration claims will help identify noncitizens on voter rolls and tighten immigration enforcement."
Trump’s HHS orders state Medicaid programs to help find undocumented immigrants | CNN
https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/31/health/state-medicaid-undocumented-immigrants-kff-health-news
U.S. Department of Energy announces $100 million to restore America’s coal plants
Comment: As the rest of the world is looking to renewable energy to power future electricity generation, Trump is investing in fossil fuels. Solar and wind projects are being canceled by the Trump Administration, while $100 million is provided "to restore America's coal plants." Not only does coal create more pollution, it is often more expensive than renewable energy sources that are rapidly becoming more economical due to technological advances.
Video: Government shutdown threatens critical funding for Head Start programs - October 31, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwOVvcYp8vo
Government shutdown offers schools a glimpse of life without an Education Department
Comment: "The government shutdown has been a source of anxiety for school leaders wondering how long grant money will last and who can help them interpret federal laws. For Education Secretary Linda McMahon, it offers a preview of what she hopes to make permanent."
"Much of the department’s work has gone completely cold. No new grants are being awarded, and civil rights investigations have been halted. Money is still flowing for key programs, but in many respects, schools and states are on their own."
"That’s the vision President Donald Trump has promoted since his presidential campaign — a world where states fully have the reins of education policy with little or no influence from the federal government."
Comment: The linked article describes the current and future impacts to school districts as work at the Department of Education is discontinued.
Trump ally Stephen Miller at heart of FBI agent purge, new book reveals
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/30/stephen-miller-trump-fbi-agents-injustice
Comment: "Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff, was the driving force behind a purge of Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents who had investigated Donald Trump, a new book reveals."
"Miller trampled the independence of the FBI by demanding firings that would satisfy the US president’s desire for retribution, journalists Carol Leonnig and Aaron Davis write in Injustice: How Politics and Fear Vanquished America’s Justice Department."
" '“Stephen Miller is breathing down my neck,' Emil Bove, then Trump’s chief enforcer at the justice department, confided in FBI leaders, according to the book, a copy of which was obtained by the Guardian."
Comment: The linked article describes the recent purge of FBI agents who had previously investigated Trump as part of their job responsibility.
Video: What to know about Trump administration plans to form "quick reaction forces" across U.S. - October 30, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUH0RYzUmSE
Pentagon readying thousands of Guard ‘reaction forces’ as U.S. mission widens
Comment: "The Pentagon has ordered thousands of specialized National Guard personnel to complete civil unrest mission training over the next several months, an indication that the Trump administration’s effort to send uniformed military forces into urban centers — once reserved for extraordinary emergencies — could become the norm."
"The Defense Department’s newly established 'quick reaction force' within the National Guard must be trained, equipped with riot-control gear and ready for deployment by Jan. 1, according to internal documents reviewed by The Washington Post. The 200 troops will be drawn from National Guard personnel whose primary focus is responding to disasters like nuclear accidents and terrorist attacks, the documents said."
"An existing separate but similar structure, the National Guard Reaction Force, is expected to complete civil unrest training and be fully operational by April 1. The total size of the force will be 23,500 troops across all 50 states and three territories, excluding the District of Columbia, the documents say. Most states will supply 500 personnel for the reaction force, with the rest falling between 250 and 450. Those forces are typically used for emergencies like disaster relief, not as on-call troops for civil unrest."
"The mandate, along with the growing presence of federal and immigration enforcement officers, suggests further military deployments within the United States could grow in size and scope. The deployments, which President Donald Trump has described as a bid to quell violence and crime, have infuriated Democratic governors in multiple states, who have fought the president’s deployments through litigation."
"The Defense Department did not respond to a request for comment. A defense official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to describe military planning, said the Pentagon is 'revising plans for the employment of [the National Guard Reaction Force] to guarantee their ability to assist federal, state and local law enforcement in quelling civil disturbances.' The Guardian earlier reported details of the documents."
Comment: "Quelling civil disturbances," or stopping legitimate protests against Donald J. Trump? Why is this large force necessary, as long as America remains a constitutional Republic with democratic principles? It's only necessary to help prop up a wannabe autocrat or dictator.
Aaron Tapp: FBI fires special agent who helped oversee Trump investigation, sources say | CNN Politics
https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/30/politics/fbi-fires-agent-trump-investigations
Comment: Another case of retribution for past investigations, combined with intimidation and extortion for anyone else that might dare to investigate in the future?
Trump donor's $130M to pay troops during shutdown. It would cover seven hours each.
Comment: "The $130 million that a wealthy donor to President Donald Trump gave to pay troops' salaries amid the government shutdown is enough to cover them for seven hours of work."
"The hours are ticking down to Oct. 31, when members of the military are expecting their next paycheck. The government has yet to announce how it will fund their salaries."
"Axios reported Oct. 29 that the Pentagon had scraped together around $5.3 billion to pay troops from other Defense Department funds."
3-star general retiring after reported friction with Hegseth, Caine
https://thehill.com/policy/defense/5581245-three-star-general-mcghee-retires/
Comment: "A three-star general who worked on the Department of Defense’s (DOD) Joint Staff, Lt. Gen. Joe McGee, is retiring from the role after reported friction with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Dan Caine."
Comment: "McGee objected to Hegseth and Caine on a range of issues, including the Trump administration’s strikes against alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean and the Russia-Ukraine war, according to CNN, which first reported on McGee’s departure."
Comment: "It also marks the latest senior official Hegseth has pushed out since taking office in January. More than a dozen senior military officials have been fired, forced to retire or moved to less visible roles since the start of the year, including former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Gen. CQ Brown; the first female chief of naval operations, Adm. Lisa Franchetti; the directors of the National Security Agency and Defense Intelligence Agency; the former director of the Joint Staff; the head of U.S. Southern Command (Southcom); and the top uniformed lawyers for the Army and Air Force."
Loyalty’ and the 'Bizarre': Current, Former Military, Defense Officials Question US Leadership Post-Quantico
Comment: "The gathering of the United States’ highest ranking generals and admirals at U.S. Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia on Sept. 30 was the 'most bizarre thing I’ve seen in my time on Earth,' said Larry Wilkerson, an ex-United States Army colonel and former chief of staff to past Secretary of State Colin Powell."
"Wilkerson and a slew of others spoke with Military.com in the aftermath of the impromptu assembly of the United States’ starred service members one month ago, warning that the Armed Forces currently helmed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth are in a state of disarray most haven’t seen in their hundreds of years of combined military and defense service."
"The scene was endemic of broader political and socioeconomic divisions throughout the first nine months or so of Trump’s executive order-laden second term, in which the president and his administration have been aggressive in enforcement involving immigration and more recently the National Guard in multiple American cities. It sparked continued debate over the role of the U.S. military in American politics and society at large, of which both have been intertwined since the nation’s inception, and concerns of a traditionally apolitical constitutional fixture espousing partisan rhetoric."
"The Quantico 'loyalty test' as one retired service member described may have far wider implications for the future of the U.S. military and those who serve in it. Officials who spoke to Military.com warned of the potential of Trump and Hegseth sycophants replacing outgoing military members who disagree with the so-called warrior ethos mentality—while others connected the administration’s military approach to a broader, government-wide takeover rooted in greed, power, and arguably the most open embrace of Christian nationalism in the nation’s history."
" 'Certainly in my 40 years of government service for both the president and the secretary of war, it was just bizarre,' Wilkerson said."
Video: ‘Poorly informed, incoherent’: Arms expert on Trump’s order to test nuclear weapons - October 30, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocUaukMb9V4
Video: Trump orders Pentagon to start testing nuclear weapons 'on an equal basis' with other countries - October 30, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDicUKbYUgk
Trump directs nuclear weapons testing to resume for first time in over 30 years
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4gzq2p0yk4o
Trump EXIM pick withdrew nomination following scrutiny over Russia ties
Comment: "Bryce McFerran was a major GOP donor who gave nearly $1 million to support President Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign."
Comment: "President Donald Trump’s pick for a top post at the U.S. Export-Import Bank withdrew his nomination on Wednesday after facing scrutiny from Democrats over his ties to Russian companies."
"Bryce McFerran, who was nominated to serve as first vice president and vice chair of the bank, reportedly worked for years as an executive at a Russian-owned steel company and has family ties through his wife’s relatives to the Kremlin."
"The Russian connections, first reported Wednesday by the Washington Post, drew scrutiny in recent weeks from the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, who pressed McFerran over potential conflicts of interest."
Comment: "McFerran worked as an official at a Swiss subsidiary of the steel firm Evraz, which is co-owned by a Russian oligarch and was sanctioned by the British government in 2022. His father-in-law previously served in the Russian parliament and is now an aide to one of President Vladimir Putin’s advisers and an official at a Kremlin-backed investment fund, according to the Post."
Comment: "Warren wrote in a letter to McFerran on Wednesday that his work for the Russian firm 'raises significant questions about [his] judgment and [his] commitment to U.S. national security.' "
Comment: Another great nomination from the Trump administration! [sarcasm added]
Some White House ballroom contractors go underground
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/some-white-house-ballroom-contractors-go-underground/
Comment: The contractors know how unpopular the ballroom and the demolition of the White House's East Wing are with the public? They don't want their name and reputation associated with the project.
An investigation into FEMA didn’t fit Trump’s narrative. His DHS ordered a new probe that did | CNN Politics
https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/29/politics/fema-investigation-trump-dhs-probe-noem
CNN: Why Trump’s growing politicization of the military could backfire
https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/29/politics/trump-military-speech-japan-hegseth-analysis
Why Commanders Don’t Sign NDAs
https://www.thebulwark.com/p/why-military-commanders-do-not-sign-nondisclosure-agreements-ndas
Comment: "Existing rules and laws applying to military secrecy are sufficient—and asking officers to sign NDAs is deeply inappropriate."
Comment: "WHEN REPORTS SURFACED that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth was demanding those serving in the U.S. Southern Command area of operations sign nondisclosure agreements as part of the campaign against so-called 'narcoterrorists,' it gave me pause."
Comment: "The military doesn’t rely on contractual secrecy; it relies on law, duty, and discipline. When you hold a clearance, you are already legally bound to protect the nation’s secrets. The statutes governing that responsibility are unambiguous and severe. Under federal law—18 U.S. Code §§ 793 and 798—unauthorized disclosure of national-defense information can bring a prison sentence of up to ten years. Those laws apply to everyone in uniform, from the newest private to the most senior general, who holds a clearance to view any classified documents or who is privy to any classified information. No additional NDA is required to make that point."
U.S. military officials required to sign NDAs tied to Latin America mission: Reuters
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/10/28/us-military-to-sign-ndas-tied-to-latin-america-mission-reuters.html
Comment: "U.S. military officials involved with President Donald Trump's expanding operations in Latin America have been asked to sign non-disclosure agreements, three U.S. officials say, a development that raises new questions about a military buildup that Venezuela fears may lead to an invasion."
"The step is highly unusual, given that U.S. military officials are already required to shield national security secrets from public view, and comes as lawmakers in Congress say they are being kept in the dark about key aspects of the mission."
Video: 42 million Americans could lose food stamps in government shutdown - October 28, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeMpQW39H-A
Comment: Video discusses the Republican's failure to use the SNAP contingency fund.
Video: Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins defends not using emergency funds to keep SNAP benefits going - October 28, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ejevw_6OlhA
Trump formally appeals his New York hush money conviction
https://abcnews.go.com/US/trump-formally-appeals-new-york-hush-money-conviction/story?id=126933173
Comment: Another instance of Trump using his position to abuse the U.S. Justice System?
Comment: Trump was found guilty by a jury of his peers. Years later, he's trying to get off on a technicality.
Comment: "Trump's formal appeal, 17 months after a Manhattan jury found him guilty of 34 felony counts, asks the Appellate Division's First Department to reverse what his lawyers call the 'most politically charged prosecution in our Nation's history'."
"Trump was found guilty, in May 2024 after a six-week trial over what prosecutors called a scheme to conceal a $130,000 payment his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels to keep her from talking about a long-denied affair ahead of the 2016 presidential election. Trump reimbursed Cohen in monthly installments that prosecutors said amounted to falsified records."
Comment: ""The trial was fatally marred by the introduction of official Presidential acts that the Supreme Court has made clear cannot be used as evidence against a President," the appeal said."
Comment: Can anyone explain how paying off a porn star using one's own private attorney can be construed as being an "official Presidential act?"
Comment: How many times can Trump appeal his conviction?
TikTok threat offering bounty on Pam Bondi leads to federal charges, FBI says
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/28/charges-tiktok-threat-bounty-pam-bondi
Comment: One can resist the actions/policies of the Trump administration, but please don't threaten violence. In addition to ruining your own personal life, such threats give Trump incentive to becoming even more authoritarian.
CNN: Can Trump really undo Biden’s pardons?
https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/28/politics/pardon-void-autopen-biden-trump-constitution-explained
As Trump talks of designating antifa a foreign terrorist group, experts see danger
https://www.npr.org/2025/10/28/nx-s1-5587726/trump-antifa-terrorist-group
Comment: "Earlier this month, President Trump hosted a roundtable at the White House about antifa, the far-left movement or ideology opposed to fascism. Some of the right-wing influencers gathered around the table urged him to designate antifa as a foreign terrorist organization."
" 'Would you like to see it done?' the president asked. 'You think it would help? I'd be glad to do it. I think it's the kind of thing I'd like to do. Does everybody agree? If you agree, I agree. Let's get it done.' "
"Trump then turned to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and said, 'Marco, we'll take care of that.' "
"Trump has already issued an executive order that labels antifa a domestic terrorist organization, but the impact of that is unclear since there is no federal legal provision to designate domestic terrorism groups."
"The State Department does have the authority, however, to designate foreign terrorist groups, a move that has real legal teeth. If the Trump administration were to take that step against antifa, it would likely have massive implications."
" 'It would have a legal impact that would have a cascading effect across civil society, including social media organizations, civic organizations and everything in between,' said Thomas Brzozowski, the former counsel for domestic terrorism at the Justice Department."
" 'It would effectively criminalize activity that is associated with a diffuse — I hesitate to use the term organization — but more of an ethos or a shared collective dissent to a lot of what the administration is doing.' "
Trump counts on public support for drug boat strikes without congressional approval
Comment: "The White House is escalating its strikes on alleged drug boats, counting on the issue to be such a winner with American voters that the operations won’t need a congressional stamp of approval, despite howls from Democrats and at least one Republican senator."
Comment: "And last week during a roundtable on law enforcement, Trump laid down a rhetorical marker that could allow Republican lawmakers to line up behind his moves instead of supporting a vote on the use of war powers to interdict what he says are dangerous drug smugglers."
Comment: "Democrats have called for the administration to provide information on the boat strikes and suggested that Congress needs to approve them as required by the War Powers Act, which limits a president’s ability to use the armed forces abroad without approval from Congress."
Comment: "One of the few Republicans pushing back on the military operation is Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), a libertarian who often questions Trump’s war powers. Paul described the strikes in the Caribbean Sea as 'extrajudicial killings' in an appearance on Fox News Sunday."
" 'A briefing is not enough to overcome the Constitution. The Constitution says that when you go to war, Congress has to vote on it,' Paul said, adding, 'to be clear, we’ve got no information. I’ve been invited to no briefing.' "
"For the most part, Republicans on Capitol Hill have endorsed the most unusual moves Trump has made – even if critics see them as invalidating the role Congress plays in American democracy."
Comment: Just another case of Republicans in Congress shirking their responsibilities and rubberstamping anything that Trump wants to do.
Video: Pence's never-before-published notes show key evidence in case against Trump, book says - October 27, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkzV_tnlJ60
Video: Rep. Jasmine Crockett responds to Trump's 'low IQ' dig - October 27, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8RmhVsOxL8
Video: How huge companies are helping Trump pay for his ‘pet project’ White House ballroom - October 26, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zILtHFKUzQ0
In the rural South where Medicaid has been a lifeline, residents brace for cuts
Comment: When will folks ignore the GOP promoted "culture wars," and quit voting against their own economic interests?
Trump calls for prosecution of more Biden-era Justice officials including Jack Smith and Merrick Garland
Comment: "President Trump late Friday pushed for several Biden-era Justice Department officials to be prosecuted over an FBI investigation into the fallout of the 2020 election."
"In a Truth Social post, Mr. Trump accused four high-ranking officials — former Attorney General Merrick Garland, FBI Director Christopher Wray, special counsel Jack Smith and Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco — of signing off on an FBI probe in which investigators allegedly looked at nine Republican lawmakers' phone records."
Comment: "The message marks the latest instance of Mr. Trump urging the prosecution of people he has singled out as political foes. Last month, he pushed Attorney General Pam Bondi to look into former FBI Director James Comey, New York Attorney General Letitia James and Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff. Since then, Comey and James have been criminally indicted."
"The GOP-controlled Senate Judiciary Committee revealed earlier this month that the FBI obtained phone data for about eight GOP senators and one GOP representative in 2023 as part of Artic Frost, an investigation into Mr. Trump and his allies' attempts to overturn his 2020 election loss."
Comment: None of the content of the conversations between Trump and the Senators was obtained. Only to call records were obtained. This is standard practce in many investigations and was not illegal in this case.
Comment: It is very doubtful that any sane lawyer in the Justice Department would ever prosecute Jack Smith or Merrick Garland for doing their job. If Justice Dept. lawyers sought an indictment, they would likely subject themselves to a claim of malicious prosecution. Even if an indictment was somehow obtained, the case would likely never go to trial. Public disclosure of the evidence obtained by Jack Smith regarding Trump's communication with certain Senators regarding attempts to overturn the 2020 election might prove highly embarrassing.
Vought promised to use the shutdown to shutter the bureaucracy. It didn’t go as planned.
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/25/hhs-shutdown-layoffs-doge-vought-00620786
Comment: "The mastermind of President Donald Trump’s effort to downsize the federal workforce, Russ Vought, promised to use the government shutdown to advance his goal of 'shuttering the bureaucracy'."
"Presented with a layoff plan that would have moved in that direction, officials at the Department of Health and Human Services scaled it way back, POLITICO has learned. It was another example, like several during the layoffs led by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency this spring, in which Trump’s agency heads have pushed back successfully against top-down cuts they viewed as reckless."
"POLITICO obtained an HHS document from late September, the shutdown’s eve, that said the department wanted to cut nearly 8,000 jobs, based on guidance from Vought’s budget office. On Oct. 10, HHS only went ahead with 1,760. In the two weeks since, the number has dwindled to 954, as the department has rescinded nearly half of the total, blaming a coding error."
"The disorganized handling of the layoffs is reminiscent of Musk’s DOGE effort, in which employees were rehired after being fired, sometimes on court orders, sometimes because agency officials objected. In each case, the layoffs rattled agency managers and traumatized employees, as Vought wanted, but haven't gone nearly as far in downsizing the government as forecast."
"While the nearly 8,000-person layoff plan this month was largely scuttled by top agency officials who intervened before the cuts could be made, the whiplash manner in which it was proposed and then scaled back shows that the administration is still following the DOGE playbook."
Comment: More Chaos and confusion from the Trump administration that not only adversely impacts government services and employee morale, it doesn't save any money. Due to inherent inefficiencies caused by the confusion, it probably results in more costs to the taxpayer.
Comment: HHS is only one part of the federal government impacted by Russell Vought's promised layoffs. The chaos may be greater at different agencies.
Trump says no plans to name White House ballroom after himself
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-white-house-ballroom-after-officials/story?id=126843455
Comment: "Yet, officials are referring to it as 'The President Donald J. Trump Ballroom'."
Trump's rhetoric on tariffs ramps up pressure on Supreme Court
Comment: "The president has frequently spoken about the potentially drastic consequences if the Supreme Court strikes down his sweeping tariffs, a view contested by his opponents."
Comment: "To some opponents of his tariffs, Trump's frequent use of apocalyptic rhetoric about his signature policy ahead of the Nov. 5 oral argument is an obvious attempt to influence the court by focusing on the potential consequences of a ruling against him."
" 'I will tell you that’s one of the most important cases in the history of our country because if we don’t win that case, we will be a weakened, troubled, financial mess for many, many years to come,' Trump said at the White House on Oct. 15, in just one example of his repeated comments on the subject."
"Trump, who has a long history of harshly criticizing judges who rule against him, has even suggested he might attend the Supreme Court in person for the oral argument Nov. 5. There is no official record of any sitting president ever attending a Supreme Court argument, according to the court and the nonprofit Supreme Court Historical Society."
Comment: "This time around, the court, with a 6-3 conservative majority including three justices Trump appointed, will be considering whether Trump had the power to unilaterally impose the tariffs under a law reserved for use in times of emergency called the International Emergency Economic Powers Act."
"Although the court has ruled in Trump’s favor on numerous occasions in the first few months of his term, experts believe the tariffs case is a closer call."
Comment: "To some lawyers who oppose the tariffs, Trump's remarks are easy to label."
" 'It's partial intimidation, it's mostly trying to scare them in terms of consequences,' said Thomas Berry, a lawyer at the libertarian Cato Institute."
" 'Presumably he hopes these statements will influence the Supreme Court,' said Elizabeth Goitein, a lawyer at the left-leaning Brennan Center for Justice."
Trump administration aims to auction offshore oil leases along U.S. coastlines that have been off-limits for decades
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-offshore-oil-leases-us-coastlines/
Comment: Trump has previously said that offshore wind mills are "driving the whales crazy," but apparently offshore oil drilling is just fine.
Pentagon to use $130 million donation from anonymous Trump ‘friend’ to pay military members | CNN Politics
https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/24/politics/anonymous-donor-military-pay-shutdown
Comment: Does anyone else think it's a bad idea to have the military beholden to an individual for its members' pay? Especially one of Trump's "friends," who is likely a billionaire?
Pentagon accepts anonymous $130 million donation to help pay troops during government shutdown
Comment: "Trump had announced the donation in remarks at the White House Thursday, saying a 'patriot' and 'friend of mine' whose name he withheld said he would like to contribute to any shortfall in funds caused by the shutdown."
Comment: "A spokesman for Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., the ranking member of the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on Defense, said the anonymous nature of the donation raised concerns."
" 'Using anonymous donations to fund our military raises troubling questions of whether our own troops are at risk of literally being bought and paid for by foreign powers,' the spokesman said."
"The $130 million donation, however, will hardly make a dent in the billions of dollars the government spends every two weeks to cover troops’ pay and benefits."
"Basic pay and allowance for the troops amounts to about $6.5 billion per cycle, American Enterprise Institute senior fellow Todd Harrison previously told NBC News."
Kristi Noem pledged to boost the nation’s cybersecurity. She gutted it instead.
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/23/kristi-noem-cybersecurity-strategy-concerns-cisa-00619108
Comment: "Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem promised to prioritize a 'comprehensive, whole-of-government approach to cybersecurity.'”
"But over the last nine months, a key cybersecurity agency under Noem’s command has had its staffing slashed by more than a third, axed funding for election security programs and scaled back its support to state and local governments to protect against cyber threats."
The Adam Schiff criminal probe has stalled, sources say
Comment: "The federal mortgage fraud investigation against Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff, one of President Donald Trump’s chief political foes, has stalled, according to four people familiar with the investigation."
"After months of investigating, the federal prosecutors in Maryland leading the probe have not produced enough evidence to bring charges, these people said."
"One of the sources, a federal law enforcement official, said the investigation 'came to a standstill'."
"Kelly Hayes, the U.S. attorney overseeing the investigation, met with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche earlier this week and asked him how to proceed, according to three people with knowledge of the meeting. The decision out of that meeting was for Hayes to pursue more evidence, and the case remains ongoing, those people said."
Comment: If they keep looking, maybe they can convict Schiff for spitting on the sidewalk. [sarcasm added]
Trump insists he can strike alleged drug traffickers without Congress declaring war | CNN Politics
https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/23/politics/trump-drug-traffickers-congress-venezuela
Video: Trump's shifting promises about his ballroom construction - October 23, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LM_wsV0YGI
Comment: Good video, illustrating the evolution of Trump's changing story. In their own words.
White House's entire East Wing to be demolished 'within days,' officials say
Comment: "Trump said in July that the project “won’t interfere with the current building.”
Comment: "The demolition is a significant expansion of the ballroom construction project from what President Donald Trump said this summer."
" 'It won’t interfere with the current building,' Trump said on July 31. 'It’ll be near it, but not touching it, and pays total respect to the existing building, which I’m the biggest fan of.'"
Trump's multi-million request puts DOJ integrity to the test, legal scholars say
https://www.axios.com/2025/10/22/trump-justice-department-payment-ethical-concerns
Comment: "Legal scholars told Axios that if the Justice Department hands President Trump the millions in damages he requested in past administrative claims, it would present an egregious breach of ethical safeguards."
Comment: "Trump has staffed the nation's top law enforcement roles with loyalists, including those who have previously defended him in court, while the DOJ has purged those who took part in prosecuting the president."
"The New York Times, which first reported the president was seeking some $230 million in compensation, noted that such a settlement could ultimately be stamped by the senior officials who personally defended Trump in court."
Officials show little proof that new tech will help Medicaid enrollees meet work rules | CNN
https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/22/health/medicaid-work-requirement-apps
Comment: When individual states, like Georgia, have experimented with Medicaid work requirements, one of the main problems has been verification that work requirements have been met. Administration, including verification, has cost states plenty, and many eligible Medicaid recipients have either been denied or have given up on trying to receive benefits.
The Daily Beast: Pentagon Pete Mocked by Own Party for Wild ‘Top Gun’ Stunt
https://www.thedailybeast.com/pentagon-pete-mocked-by-own-party-for-bonkers-top-gun-stunt/
CNN: Hegseth orders prior approval for ‘all interactions’ between military officials and Congress
https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/22/politics/hegseth-limit-congress-communication
Hegseth clamps down on military communications with Congress
Comment: "Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has largely banned military officials – including the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the secretaries of the Army, Navy and Air Force – from speaking with Congress unless they coordinate with a centralized office that reports to him."
"Hegseth and his deputy, Steve Feinberg, announced the move in an Oct. 15 internal memo obtained by USA TODAY. (Breaking Defense first reported the memorandum.)"
" 'Unauthorized engagements with Congress ... may undermine Department-wide priorities,' said the pair in the memo. Their goal is to control the Pentagon's messaging to Congress 'to ensure consistency and support for the Department's priorities.' "
"The office that oversees communication with Congress is the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Legislative Affairs. The memorandum referenced this office using Hegseth's preferred War Department titles. The Senate-confirmed position is currently filled on an interim basis."
"The crackdown could impact the military's transparency to the legislative branch."
"According to the memo, all interactions with Congress or state elected officials' require central office approval. This includes visits by lawmakers to U.S. military bases around the world."
"The office will also control the Pentagon's responses to mandatory reports and the letters that lawmakers routinely send to inquire about investigations, policy matters and constituent casework."
Is RFK Jr. about to get the special ed portfolio? Trump admin mulls a change
Comment: "The Department of Education is in the early stages of recruiting another agency to help oversee federal special education programs, a spokeswoman said."
"The potential transfer of responsibilities follows the Education Department's layoff of nearly everyone in its special education division more than a week ago."
"The impending move would represent one of the most significant steps yet in President Donald Trump's efforts to decrease the influence of the Education Department. And it creates a slew of new questions for families of students with disabilities about whether a significant overhaul at the federal level could impact them."
"It also emphasizes how recent court rulings and little GOP pushback have emboldened the Trump administration to functionally dismantle the Education Department, despite legal scrutiny of the White House's authority to do so."
"Months ago, the administration was temporarily barred from outsourcing the Education Department's career and technical education programs to the federal Department of Labor. The Supreme Court lifted that pause in July while a lawsuit on the merits of the effort continues to play out."
"Education Secretary Linda McMahon has publicly suggested that the oversight and administration of billions of dollars in federal funding for special education programs could be 'better served' in the Department of Health and Human Services, or HHS."
"That agency is run by Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., one of the more polarizing figures in Trump's Cabinet. Kennedy has come under criticism for vaccine skepticism and repeating unfounded claims about the causes of autism."
Trump says he 'could be' seeking $230 million from his own Justice Department
https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/21/politics/justice-department-trump-compensenation
Comment: Who says "crime doesn't pay"?
Fact check: Trump’s false claims about the Insurrection Act | CNN Politics
https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/21/politics/fact-check-insurrection-act-trump
Pardoned Capitol rioter charged with threatening to kill Hakeem Jeffries at NYC event this week
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/pardoned-capitol-rioter-charged-threatening-hakeem-jeffries-nyc-trump/
Comment: "A pardoned Capitol rioter was arrested last weekend for allegedly threatening to kill House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries."
"Court documents obtained by CBS News said Christopher Moynihan was arrested Sunday after saying in text messages that he planned to 'eliminate' Jeffries when the top House Democrat spoke at an event in New York City on Monday."
Comment: "According to a court filing by prosecutors in the New York state criminal case, Moynihan wrote, 'Hakeem Jeffries makes a speech in a few days in NYC I cannot allow this terrorist to live.' "
"Moynihan also allegedly stated: 'Even if I am hated, he must be eliminated, I will kill him for the future,' the filing said."
"Moynihan faces a felony charge of making a terroristic threat, according to court filings shared by prosecutors."
"In a statement on Tuesday, Jeffries noted that Moynihan had been pardoned by Mr. Trump on his first day in office and that 'many of the criminals released have committed additional crimes throughout the country.' But Jeffries added that 'threats of violence will not stop us from showing up, standing up and speaking up for the American people.' "
Comment: "Moynihan is not the first pardoned Capitol rioter to be arrested on new, separate charges. But he is the first to be charged with making a violent threat against a member of Congress."
"Critics of the president's blanket pardons of Jan. 6 defendants have warned about the risk of recidivism by rioters, many of whom remained defiant and unapologetic about their roles in the attack. The rioters have been defended and lionized publicly as 'hostages' by Mr. Trump.
Comment: I thought the Republicans were the "law & order" political party. Apparently not, if the criminal is a MAGA Trump supporter.
'That punk' is 'going to want a security guarantee': How Steve Bannon influenced Trump's combative meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Hegseth’s top military aide tapped for No. 2 Army officer post
Comment: "President Donald Trump has selected Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s senior military assistant to be the Army’s second-most senior officer, shuttling a close aide to the Pentagon chief to an influential — and more senior — position in the ranks."
"Army Lt. Gen. Christopher LaNeve was nominated for the Army vice chief of staff position Monday, according to a Senate notice, and would be promoted to the rank of four-star general if confirmed. He has served as Hegseth’s senior uniform aide since April, a post that is often a stepping stone for officers."
"His nomination, which the Senate must approve, comes amid a long line of surprise firings, departures and promotions that have roiled top leadership at the Pentagon."
Comment: Much of the linked article gives specific examples of the recent turmoil and turnover in senior ranks of our military.
Takeaways from AP’s investigation on anti-science legislation in US statehouses
Comment: "A wave of anti-science bills has been introduced in statehouses across America this year, pushed by people with special interests who have close ties to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr."
"An Associated Press investigation found more than 420 bills attacking longstanding public health protections such as vaccines, milk safety and fluoride in most states. More than two dozen have already been enacted or adopted."
Who benefits from the MAHA anti-science push?
Exclusive: Trump judicial nominee "indefinitely" stalled by criminal probe
https://www.axios.com/2025/10/21/john-guard-trump-judge-nomination
Comment: "The White House paused the judicial nomination of former Florida Deputy Attorney General John Guard due to his involvement with a charity linked to Gov. Ron DeSantis that's under criminal investigation, sources tell Axios."
Comment: "The White House wants to fill the open judicial seat in the Middle District of Florida, but the sources say the administration doesn't want the headache now that Guard has been subpoenaed."
Comment: "The controversy stems from the diversion of $10 million is secret settlement money from a Medicaid provider that helped fund a DeSantis-controlled political committee in 2024 to kill a marijuana-legislation initiative."
Photos: Part of White House demolished for Trump ballroom construction
https://www.axios.com/2025/10/20/trump-white-house-east-wing-construction-ballroom-photos
Comment: President Trump hailed the start of demolition work at the White House East Wing on Monday ahead of construction beginning on his planned, privately funded$200 million-plus ballroom."
"Critics say the project's funding underscores how corporate America has curried favor for access to the Trump administration. But Trump said on Truth Social Monday that he's 'honored to be the first President to finally get this much-needed project underway — with zero cost to the American Taxpayer!"
Comment: Trump earlier claimed there would be no impact to the existing White House structure. Take a look at the photos.
Comment: Is the demolition at the White House to enable Trump's grandiosity a metaphor for what is actually happening to America under Trump?
Trump claims ‘unquestioned power’ in vow to send troops to San Francisco
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/20/trump-san-francisco-troops
Comment: "President claims on Fox News ‘they want us in San Francisco’ despite opposition from city officials"
Comment: "Donald Trump has again pledged to send troops to San Francisco, claiming in a Fox News interview he has 'unquestioned power' to deploy the national guard and that residents want the military in their city."
" 'We’re gonna go to San Francisco. The difference is I think they want us in San Francisco,' Trump said in an interview with Maria Bartiromo."
"His comments came after tech billionaires including Elon Musk, David Sacks, a major Trump donor who the president appointed to serve as his AI and crypto czar, and Marc Benioff, the Salesforce chief executive, expressed support for a deployment in the city. Sacks argued a 'targeted operation' could quickly clean up San Francisco while Benioff suggested troops could help with policing duties. Benioff later apologized for his stance after facing backlash, and said he no longer thought troops were necessary."
Comment: Notice who Trump is listening to. It's not the people of San Francisco, and not the city's public officials. It's his billionaire supporters.
CNN: Trump’s response to ‘No Kings’ marches only proved the protesters’ point
https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/20/politics/trump-no-kings-protests-vance-cia-analysis
Axios: Trump post mocking No Kings protests enters the "danger zone"
https://www.axios.com/2025/10/20/trump-no-kings-ai-kenny-loggins-song
Comment: "Musician Kenny Loggins demanded that President Trump remove his song from an AI-generated video of the president dumping feces from a fighter jet on protesters at No Kings events."
Comment: "The Trump administration's 'ask for forgiveness, not permission' approach to using creators' copyrighted work has repeated drawn pushback as the administration leans heavily into a social media campaign filled with AI imagery."
Comment: "Loggins joins a growing list of creators who've demanded the White House remove their intellectual property from his administration's social media."
Mother Jones: Top Republicans Stand by President’s Poop Video
Comment: "Late Saturday, as 'No Kings' protests across the country came to a close, President Donald Trump emerged with what appeared to be his official response to the resoundingly peaceful demonstrations opposing his presidency: He posted a video of himself, as king, manning a fighter jet as it released [sh*t-laden] sludge onto his detractors." [asterisk replacement of original text]
"The clip, which was reposted to his Truth Social account, was seemingly created via artificial intelligence. Its apparent aim—to mock protesters with self-regarding, intentionally asinine content—was nauseatingly obvious. But ask the top Republican in Congress about the president’s feces-dumping video, and one could easily mistake the remarks for a discussion of high art."
" 'The president uses social media to make a point,' Johnson told reporters Monday. 'You can argue he’s probably the most effective person who has ever used social media for that. He is using satire to make a point.' "
"Johnson continued by using the foul clip to, once again, falsely brand 'No Kings' participants as murderous, America-hating degenerates. 'He is not calling for the murder of his political opponents,' he said, 'and that’s what these people are doing.' ”
Comment: Gee, we didn't see any "murderous, America-hating degenerates" at the Dothan "No Kings" rally!
Comment: "In the same press conference, Texas Rep. Chip Roy went further, labeling Trump’s critics as 'Marxists, radicals, and Islamists' who could not handle what he called the truth of 'Jesus Christ as king.' (It’s unclear if the Texas Republican had seen Saturday’s clip of Trump, not anyone’s god, as a [sh*t-soaring] king.) Meanwhile, Vice President JD Vance responded to his boss’s [sh*t-posting] with a variation of the same rancid behavior; White House communications director Steven Cheung replied with similar glee."
Comment: Didn't see any "Marxists, radicals, and Islamists" in Dothan, but did see a few signs citing biblical verses.
Comment: If you wish, you can view Trump's disgusting video and Mike Johnson's response to it, as part of the article link above.
Comment: Please remember that when you vote for congressional Republican candidates, you get Republican leadership like Mike Johnson.
Feds ask judge to lift second order barring all National Guard in Portland immediately
KGW: Dissenting judge calls ruling allowing Trump to deploy National Guard troops in Portland more than 'merely absurd'
Comment: "Susan P. Graber, the lone judge in opposition, said the decision 'Erodes core constitutional principles, including sovereign States’ control over their States’ militias and the people’s First Amendment rights to assemble and to object to the government’s policies and actions.' She said she 'strenuously' dissented."
"In her dissent to the appeals court ruling, Graber wrote:"
" '"In the weeks preceding the President’s September 27 social media post proclaiming that Portland was 'War ravaged' and authorizing Secretary Hegseth to deploy federalized Oregon National Guard members, demonstrations in Portland were non-disruptive and small. Notwithstanding the turbulent events that had occurred several months earlier, the record contains no evidence whatsoever that, on September 27, Immigration and Customs Enforcement ('ICE') was unable either to protect its Portland facility or to execute the immigration laws it is charged with enforcing.' "
" 'But, in the statute invoked here, Congress has authorized the President to call up the National Guard only to repel a foreign invasion, quell a rebellion, or overcome an inability to execute the laws. Consequently, no legal or factual justification supported the order to federalize and deploy the Oregon National Guard.' "
" 'Given Portland protesters’ well-known penchant for wearing chicken suits, inflatable frog costumes, or nothing at all when expressing their disagreement with the methods employed by ICE, observers may be tempted to view the majority’s ruling, which accepts the government’s characterization of Portland as a war zone, as merely absurd. But today’s decision is not merely absurd. It erodes core constitutional principles, including sovereign States’ control over their States’ militias and the people’s First Amendment rights to assemble and to object to the government’s policies and actions. I strenuously dissent.' "
9th Circuit rules that National Guard can deploy to Portland
Comment: "A divided federal appeals court for the 9th Circuit on Monday overturned a temporary restraining order put in place by a federal judge in Portland — removing a legal impediment that was preventing the Trump administration from sending National Guard troops to Portland, Oregon."
" 'After considering the record at this preliminary stage, we conclude that it is likely that the President lawfully exercised his statutory authority,' the majority wrote in its decision."
"It's unclear what impact this ruling will immediately have on the ground. The 9th Circuit's decision applies to only one of the two temporary restraining orders that U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut issued this month blocking the deployment."
" 'Right now, until the district court acts on the second TRO, national guard members from Oregon, or any other state cannot deploy,' Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek said in a statement."
UPDATE: Federal appeals court temporarily bars Portland troop deployment - October 25, 2025
Comment: "An appeals court ruling that Oregon National Guard troops can be sent into Portland is on hold, as judges take a closer look at the matter."
"On Friday afternoon, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals stayed the order issued Monday by a panel of three judges within the circuit."
"The newly issued hold lasts until 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 28. According to the court, it is necessary to allow a broader swathe of appeals judges to decide whether to rehear the matter."
"The order is the latest in a flurry of legal action in the fight over whether President Donald Trump can deploy National Guard troops to protect a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Portland. It likely puts off any such deployment until next week, at the earliest."
"The ruling comes the same day a lower court took up a separate but related matter. U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut held a hearing Friday morning on whether to dissolve a temporary restraining order barring troops from being sent to Portland."
Trump admin. fires 2 prosecutors who opposed charges against N.Y. Attorney General Letitia James, source says
https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/trump-admin-fires-2-prosecutors-opposed-letitia-james-charges/
Reuters: Trump plan to import Argentine beef angers US farmers
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-plan-import-argentine-beef-angers-us-farmers-2025-10-20/
Comment: "U.S. farmers on Monday criticized President Donald Trump's suggestion that the country may import more beef from Argentina, after they recently lost out to the South American nation on soybean sales to top buyer China."
"Trump said on Sunday that he was considering imports to reduce U.S. beef prices that have climbed to record highs. His administration earlier extended a $20 billion currency sway lifeline to Argentina, which the president considers an ally."
"Cattle producers saw the suggestion as a threat to their livelihoods and free markets, at a time when ranchers are profiting from sky-high livestock prices and strong consumer demand."
" 'This plan only creates chaos at a critical time of the year for American cattle producers, while doing nothing to lower grocery store prices,' said Colin Woodall, CEO of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association industry group."
"Last month, the Trump administration frustrated farmers by negotiating financial support for Argentina at a time when Argentina was selling soybeans to China, which has not bought any soy from the autumn U.S. harvest due to its trade conflict with Washington."
Prosecutors go after James Comey’s attorney Patrick Fitzgerald | CNN Politics
https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/20/politics/patrick-fitzgerald-james-comey
The Hill: Climate change threatens national security — how are the generals responding?
https://thehill.com/opinion/energy-environment/5561034-military-leaders-silence-climate-change/
Comment: "America’s top military officers sat in stony silence last month when President Trump addressed them at Quantico. Those who spoke their minds risked being stripped of their rank."
"Yet America’s military and intelligence leaders know that Trump is jeopardizing national security by dismissing climate change as a hoax. Over the decades, security and intelligence analysts have repeatedly warned that global warming acts as a 'threat multiplier'."
"Scientists have underscored that conclusion. As Kevin Trenberth at the National Center for Atmospheric Research recently explained: 'By the time the global temperatures have reached 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial temperatures, scheduled now for the 2050s, not only will there be continual extreme weather events … the result will be widespread environmental refugees, exacerbating tensions and regional conflicts that could explode to encompass many countries.' "
"Those countries include the U.S. At a minimum, America’s military forces will be diverted to conduct humanitarian missions in other nations destabilized by climate impacts. In the worst case, the U.S. could be drawn into wars within and between other countries."
Comment: The linked article describes numerous prior climate change related warnings from the defense and intelligence agencies.
Take a look inside a G700, Gulfstream's jet of choice for billionaires that Kristi Noem just bought for DHS
Comment: "The purchase, which is more than three times what was originally enumerated in the Coast Guard's budget and occurred during the government shutdown, has drawn criticism from Democrats. In a letter requesting more information about the source of the funding and purpose of the new jets, Democrats claim that the purchases add up to $200 million."
" 'While members of the Coast Guard are focused on keeping our seas safe even though many are not getting paid, Secretary Kristi Noem wants to buy hundred million dollar jets,' Congressman Rick Larsen said in a statement. 'Secretary Noem: cool your jets and fly commercial.' "
Comment: "The jet, which began deliveries last year, is the pinnacle of luxury. It's the newest private jet from Gulfstream on the market."
" 'It's the top of the top top tier of private jets in the market,' Doug Gollan, the founder of Private Jet Card Comparison, told Business Insider."
Comment: "Some of the richest people in the world, including Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk, are reported to own the model."
NBC News: Secret Service discovers hunting stand with direct sight line to Trump's Air Force One exit in Florida
Comment: Although it's currently deer season in South Florida, I doubt there are any deer in the area around the Palm Beach International airport. It's pretty well built up. Check out Google Maps.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem Spends $200 Million of Taxpayer Money on Pair of Gulfstream G700 Private Jets During Government Shutdown
Comment: "Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem is spending $200 million of taxpayer money on a pair of top-of-the-line luxury Gulfstream G700 private jets during a government shutdown."
"House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (CT-03) and Homeland Security Subcommittee Ranking Member Lauren Underwood (IL-14) requested more information from the Secretary regarding the purchase, which does not align with earlier funding requests for the Department."
" 'It has come to our attention that, in the midst of a government shutdown, the United States Coast Guard (USCG) entered into a sole source contract with Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation to procure two new G700 luxury jets to support travel for you and the Deputy Secretary, at a cost to the taxpayer of $200 million,' write DeLauro and Underwood. 'Based on the Department’s public statement that you personally sign off on all DHS contracts that exceed $100,000 in value, and prior solicitations indicating that you are a primary user of these aircraft, we assume that you are involved in the approval of this contract.' ”
Comment: Not sure if the cost was $170M or $200 M, but either figure is a large chunk of change, especially when certain government personnel are working without a paycheck, and others are being fired by Russell Vought, using the government shutdown as an excuse.
The Daily Beast: ICE Barbie Ripped For Splurging $172 Million on Luxury DHS Jets
https://www.thedailybeast.com/ice-barbie-kristi-noem-ripped-for-spending-172-million-on-luxury-jets/
Comment: "Kristi Noem splashed out a whopping $172 million purchasing not one but two luxury jets to transport herself and other department officials."
Comment: "Documents obtained by The New York Times reportedly show DHS has now signed a deal with Gulfstream to purchase two 'used' G700s, a model that apparently boasts 'the most spacious cabin in the industry.' The contract for the planes comes in at around $172 million, claims The Times. The newspaper adds it’s been unable to determine exactly where the funding came from."
Comment: "The purchase doesn’t appear to have passed Noem’s political opponents by. Two top-ranking Democrats, Congresswomen Rosa DeLauro and Lauren Underwood, have written to Noem asking her to 'clarify the funding source'."
" 'In addition to raising serious questions about your ability to effectively lead an agency whose procurement strategies appear to vary on a whim, the procurement of new luxury jets for your use suggests that the U.S.C.G. has been directed to prioritize your own comfort above the U.S.C.G.’s operational needs, even during a government shutdown,' their letter reportedly reads. 'We are deeply concerned about your judgment, leadership priorities, and responsibility as a steward of taxpayer dollars.' "
ProPublica: Unfettered and Unaccountable: How Trump is Building a Violent, Shadowy Federal Police Force
https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-dhs-ice-secret-police-civil-rights-unaccountable
Comment: "Current and former national security officials share the mayor’s concerns. They describe the legions of masked immigration officers operating in near-total anonymity on the orders of the president as the crossing of a line that had long set the United States apart from the world’s most repressive regimes. ICE, in their view, has become an unfettered and unaccountable national police force. The transformation, the officials say, unfolded rapidly and in plain sight. Trump’s DHS appointees swiftly dismantled civil rights guardrails, encouraged agents to wear masks, threatened groups and state governments that stood in their way, and then made so many arrests that the influx overwhelmed lawyers trying to defend immigrants taken out of state or out of the country."
"And although they are reluctant to predict the future, the current and former officials worry that this force assembled from federal agents across the country could eventually be turned against any groups the administration labels a threat."
Comment: Please read linked article in its entirety.
AP News: Trump commutes sentence of former US Rep. George Santos in federal fraud case
https://apnews.com/article/trump-george-santos-commutation-pardon-8ae46d6351cefe01d79f74920521b7a2
Comment: In case you have forgotten who George Santos is, please read the linked article.
Comment: "But in granting clemency to Santos, Trump was rewarding a figure who has drawn scorn from within his own party."
"After becoming the first openly gay Republican elected to Congress in 2022, Santos served less than a year after it was revealed that he had fabricated much of his life story."
Trump administration asks Supreme Court to allow deployment of National Guard in Chicago area
https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-national-guard-trump-913ecce44b6bcc5d0cba1b252dfd34ce
Comment: "The Trump administration on Friday asked the Supreme Court to allow the deployment of National Guard troops in the Chicago area, escalating President Donald Trump’s conflict with Democratic governors over using the military on U.S. soil."
"The emergency appeal to the high court came after a judge prevented, for at least two weeks, the deployment of Guard members from Illinois and Texas to assist immigration enforcement. A federal appeals court refused to put the judge’s order on hold."
Video: A look at Russell Vought's influence and his push to reshape the government - October 17, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPcpqQT43GU
Army Corps of Engineers pauses $11 billion in projects, including in 4 Democratic cities, budget chief says
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/government-shutdown-army-corps-of-engineers-projects-pause-11-billion/
Comment: "The head of the White House Office of Management and Budget said Friday that the Trump administration will be pausing more than $11 billion in Army Corps of Engineers projects, including in four Democratic-led cities, continuing its efforts to increase pressure on Democrats as the government shutdown poised to extend into another week."
"He said additional information would come from the Army Corps of Engineers. It's unclear whether the 'lower-priority projects' being paused include others beyond those in New York, San Francisco, Baltimore and Boston, which are all located in states represented by Democrats in the Senate."
"Vought has been targeting federal dollars going to projects in Democratic-led cities and states since the early days of the shutdown, which entered its 17th day on Friday and is set to continue into next week. The Trump administration has so far frozen roughly $18 billion for a pair of infrastructure projects in New York City, canceled $8 billion for climate-related efforts in 16 states and withheld $2.1 billion for infrastructure projects in Chicago. All of the states that would benefit from the funds are represented by Democrats in the Senate."
CNN: Lindsey Halligan fires more prosecutors in key US attorney’s office
AP News: News stories show that reporters may have left the Pentagon, but they haven't stopped working
Comment: "Two days after dozens of journalists left their desks at the Pentagon behind rather than agree to government-imposed rules on how they report about the U.S. military, it’s apparent they haven’t stopped working."
Comment: "While most press may have departed the Pentagon, it was clear from stories that some sources were still talking."
"Reuters broke news Thursday about the first U.S. attack on a boat in the Caribbean where some of the passengers survived. Reporter Phil Stewart, stationed at the Pentagon before leaving Wednesday, sourced it to a 'U.S. official' who was not named. President Donald Trump confirmed the attack on Friday as more details emerged, including that two people were taken into U.S. custody."
"The New York Times reported on the sudden retirement of U.S. Navy Adm. Alvin Holsey, leader of the U.S. Southern Command, which oversees operations in Central and South America, including use of the military in the administration’s drug-fighting efforts."
"Times reporters Eric Schmitt, who covers national security, and Tyler Pager, based in the White House, quoted two unnamed officials saying that Holsey had expressed concerns about the mission and attacks on the boats. The reporters pointed out the unusual nature of a retirement one year into Holsey’s expected three-year command."
"Both Hegseth and Holsey released social media statements late Thursday announcing the retirement, with neither addressing reasons for it. A Times spokesman would not comment about whether the newspaper had begun inquiring about Holsey before the retirement was publicly announced."
Roll Call: USDA’s Rollins says food stamp funding to dry up in two weeks
https://rollcall.com/2025/10/16/usdas-rollins-says-food-stamp-funding-to-dry-up-in-two-weeks/
Comment: Look at this article and the one right below. Is Trump (Nero) fiddling while America (Rome) burns?
Arc de Trump? President shows off model of Independence Arch, says "it's going to be really beautiful"
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-new-arch-resembling-arc-de-triomphe/
Comment: "President Trump on Wednesday showed off a model of what may be his next Washington, D.C., development project, an arch that resembles the Arc de Triomphe in Paris and is being referred to informally as the 'Arc de Trump'."
Comment: "Mr. Trump did not say how much the arch will cost or how it will be funded, as his administration slashes federal jobs during the government shutdown and says federal spending must be reduced."
Comment: The original Arc de Triomphe in Paris was commissioned by Napoleon Bonaparte. Do you think Trump somehow sees himself as a 21st century version of Napoleon?
At least 27 states turned over sensitive data about food stamp recipients to USDA
https://www.npr.org/2025/10/16/nx-s1-5533045/snap-privacy-usda-lawsuit
Comment: "Since late July, most Democratic-led states have refused to give in to an unprecedented demand from the Trump administration to turn over personal information on federal food assistance recipients going back to 2020, including their names, dates of birth, home addresses, Social Security numbers and benefits amounts."
"Yet most states with a Republican governor have already complied. NPR's reporting found at least 27 states have already shared data on millions of people who receive benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP."
"Each month, close to 42 million Americans rely on SNAP, which used to be known as food stamps. The U.S. Department of Agriculture framed the data demand as necessary to accomplish the Trump administration's goal of identifying and eliminating waste, fraud and abuse."
"Democratic state officials have argued the data demand is unlawful and likely part of a pattern of the Trump administration aggregating Americans' personal data for purposes that include immigration enforcement."
CNN: The Trump DOJ’s slow-motion Saturday Night Massacre
https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/16/politics/justice-department-trump-resignations
Border czar Tom Homan denies he took $50K from undercover agents
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/16/tom-homan-50k-sting-operation-00611219
Comment: Roll the video tape! It has been reported that Holman acceptance of the $50K was record by the FBI.
Comment: Holman heads "Customs & Border Protection." If he is taking $50K in a paper bag, he could easily be compromised by a criminal cartel smuggling dangerous drugs across our border.
Comment: If the recording has somehow been destroyed, an exhaustive investigation needs to take place. Any person(s) destroying this evidence (and anyone ordering its destruction) should be charged with obstruction of justice. If justified, this obstruction charge could include FBI Director Kash Patel and Attorney General Pam Bondi.
ABC News - Breaking News, Latest News and Videos: New York AG Letitia James says she's 'totally innocent' of fraud charges
https://abcnews.go.com/US/new-york-ag-letitia-james-shes-totally-innocent/story?id=126594659
Comment: " 'It's baseless," James said in response to a question from ABC News, the first time she has answered questions about the indictment. 'It's nothing more than retribution, retribution for doing my job.' "
Comment: "James last year brought a successful civil fraud case against Trump, his family and his business. New York's intermediate appellate court subsequently upheld the judgment holding Trump liable for fraud but struck down the $454 million penalty."
NBC News: Unions sue Trump administration over social media 'surveillance'
Comment: "Three labor unions represented by the Electronic Frontier Foundation sued the Trump administration on Thursday over a program that is searching the social media posts of visa holders, arguing that the practice violates the First Amendment rights of people legally in the United States."
"The lawsuit, filed in federal court in New York, asks a judge to block the administration from engaging in 'viewpoint-based investigation and surveillance.' It also asks for a court order to purge any records created so far under the administration’s program."
"The Trump administration has said it is scouring social media for posts that it deems hostile or threatening and then using that information as a basis to revoke some people’s visas. President Donald Trump announced the basis for the policy in January in an executive order targeting noncitizens in the country who 'bear hostile attitudes' or support 'threats to our national security,' and the Department of Homeland Security in April said it was screening foreign nationals’ social media activity for antisemitism."
"White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller said in July that there are administration officials 'working continuously' to revoke the visas of foreigners who 'espouse hatred for America or its people.' And in a thread on X this week, the State Department highlighted six examples of visas it said it had revoked from foreign nationals for celebrating the shooting death last month of conservative activist Charlie Kirk."
"There are more than 55 million people who have valid U.S. visas, including those for tourism, studying or work, according to The Associated Press, putting a huge swath of the population under potential social media monitoring."
Comment: Who defines "hatred for America or its people?" Speaker Mike Johnson ridiculously called the No Kings protest a "Hate America Rally." Could a Visa holder (one of 55 million) who peacefully participated in a No Kings event have his VISA suddenly revoked? Before you say "no way," look at the statements from Stephen Miller and Mike Johnson.
Comment: Who defines antisemitism? It seems that many Republican leaders say that anything critical about the Israeli Government or its Likud party leader Netanyahu constitutes antisemitism. If that is so, there are many Jewish Americans who are "anti-semitic," because they too are critical of Israeli actions in Gaza and its leader, Netanyahu. Can a Visa holder who dares share those common criticisms of Israel have his Visa revoked?
Comment: Social media surveillance of all Visa holders is ridiculous.
How NSPM-7 Seeks to Use "Domestic Terrorism" to Target Nonprofits and Activists
Comment: "Nonprofits, their donors, and activists striving for a more equal, just, and fair country and world are core components of American civil society. Yet on September 25, President Donald Trump issued a National Security Presidential Memorandum (NSPM-7) called 'Countering Domestic Terrorism and Organized Political Violence,' essentially adding them to an ever-growing list of what he calls the 'enemy within'."
"Civil society nonprofits and activists thus join segments of academia, the legal profession, public health professionals and scientists, and so many others President Trump sees as his political opponents and critics. For all of us seeking to uphold the Constitution, fundamental human rights, and civil liberties, it’s almost a badge of courage and honor."
"On its face, NSPM-7 is chilling to read: If anyone needed proof that 'terrorism' and 'political violence' are slippery and fraught categories subject to political, ideological, and racial manipulation and bias—well, this is it."
Democratic senators say Kristi Noem broke the law with video played at TSA checkpoints
https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/15/us/senators-noem-tsa-video
Some GOP leaders call for resignation of Young Republicans who allegedly texted slurs, racist messages
Comment: At least some GOP leaders are willing to speak out. But many, including JD Vance, are making excuses or ignoring what was said.
Air Force Bases to Host AI Data Centers on Unused Land
https://www.airandspaceforces.com/air-force-bases-to-host-ai-data-centers-on-unused-land/
Comment: "The Air Force is offering space on five of its bases for companies to build artificial intelligence data centers, part of a broader push by the Trump administration to speed up development of the infrastructure needed to enable the rapid development and adoption of AI technology."
The service said in an Oct. 15 notice it is seeking proposals from industry to lease parcels of land for up to 50 years at:
Arnold Air Force Base, Tenn.
Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.
Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J.
Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz.
Robins Air Force Base, Ga."
"The Air Force expects to select applicants in January and could offer additional leasing opportunities in the future."
Comment: "AI data centers can be controversial in local communities, where residents have sometimes protested their construction over concerns about water and electricity consumption. The notice to industry states that the service will choose proposals that 'minimize and mitigate impact and risk to DAF missions, government functions, and the surrounding community” and that offer a plan to ensure utilities at the base and the surrounding community remain accessible and affordable.' "
" 'Any and all utilities, including but not limited to power and water, and all services necessary for the project, shall be obtained and provided for by the potential lessee at its sole cost and expense,' the notice states."
Comment: If the Air Force is not very careful in its proposal evaluation, it and adjacent communities may be significantly impacted by these data centers. In addition to utility impacts, will the cost of security and infrastructure impacts be born by data center operators or be borne by the Air Force (tax payers) as part of normal base operation? Without special care, this could easily become a major public giveaway to corporate Tech entities. Should we be concerned that the short schedule between the Oct. 15th notice and the expected January 2026 award provides insufficient time to resolve any potential issues associated with a 50 year lease? A bad lease contract could spell disaster for the American taxpayer and communities adjacent to the bases.
The Hill: The Pentagon press badge showdown
https://thehill.com/newsletters/defense-national-security/5555803-the-pentagon-press-badge-showdown/
Measles Outbreak in South Carolina Sparks Concern for the Year Ahead
https://time.com/7325656/measles-outbreak-south-carolina-school-year/
Comment: Thank you RFK Jr. and you anti-vax folks! [sarcasm added]
ABC News - Breaking News, Latest News and Videos: Debunking 3 claims about Tylenol after White House links drug's use in pregnancy to autism
https://abcnews.go.com/Health/debunking-3-claims-tylenol-after-white-house-links/story?id=126399657
CNN: Trump administration quietly canceled the nation’s largest solar project
https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/14/climate/trump-solar-project-nevada-electricity
Video: Trump’s Plan for Total Control - October 14, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkaBlgXR8tY
The Daily Beast: Conservative Host Glenn Beck Says Keystone Kash’s FBI Agents Visited Him to Learn About Antifa
Comment: "Noted conspiracy theorist Glenn Beck says bureau agents came to his house for his 'expertise' on left-wing activists."
Comment: In the Trump administration, conspiracy theory equals "expertise." Antifa simply means "anti-fascist', and I assume most Americans agree with that sentiment. There is no organization or organized group called Antifa. There may be a few rock throwing anarchists who are also anti-fascists. So called "experts" like Glenn Beck label them "Antifa".
Politico: Trump administration to launch $500M drone program ahead of World Cup
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/13/drone-defenses-world-cup-00606174
Comment: This seems like an awful lot of money focused on protecting World Cup sites, but perhaps the program can also protect other outdoor events.
CNN: Exclusive: Senior prosecutor removed as Lindsey Halligan reshapes key US attorney’s office
https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/13/politics/federal-prosecutor-maggie-cleary-removed
The Daily Beast: Trump’s Beauty Queen Prosecutor Begins Purging DOJ Office
https://www.thedailybeast.com/trumps-beauty-queen-prosecutor-begins-purging-doj-office/
Over 150 unvaccinated students in South Carolina quarantining after measles exposure
Comment: "At least 153 students from two schools in South Carolina are under quarantine for 21 days due to measles exposures, state health officials announced."
"The quarantined students were not vaccinated, officials added. The schools are both located in Spartanburg County: Global Academy of South Carolina and Fairforest Elementary. The outbreak has grown to at least eight measles cases, with a total of 11 cases reported overall in the state this year."
"The U.S. has reported at least 1,563 measles cases this year – the highest number since 1992, the latest Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data show. There have been 44 measles outbreaks reported this year. In comparison, 16 outbreaks were reported last year."
"It comes amid declining MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccination rates nationwide. Over 95% of kindergarteners were vaccinated with the MMR shot prior to the pandemic. That figure has now fallen to 92.5% in the most recent school year."
Comment: Thank you RFK Jr. and you anti-vax folks! [sarcasm added]
Axios: Trump's Rx for confusion: How a push for tariffs complicated his pharma talks
https://www.axios.com/2025/10/12/trump-prescription-drug-costs-tariffs
Comment: "When President Trump announced a new deal Friday to lower prescription drug costs, it was the clearest sign yet that he'd paused his commerce secretary's push to slap 100% tariffs on pharmaceuticals that aren't manufactured in the U.S."
Comment: "Prescription drug policy and tariffs are big priorities of Trump's administration. But after the two issues collided in a conflicting series of White House messages recently, Trump set aside the tariffs idea, which could have made drugs more expensive for many Americans."
Comment: "But the road to that decision was rocky, and showed how Trump's uneven management style — particularly surrounding tariffs — shadows a White House in which policies can be made on the fly, change suddenly at the president's whim, and then be fine-tuned as conflicts are resolved in real time."
"Trump Cabinet secretaries sometimes operate with such independence that they encroach on each other's turf."
Special education staff decimated after Trump administration shutdown firings: Sources
Comment: "The nation's special education services have been significantly impacted after Friday's mass layoffs within the Department of Education and it could have an immediate impact on children with disabilities, education department sources told ABC News."
Comment: " '[If] there's no staff, who the heck is going to administer this program? That's the absurdity of this,' the source, who asked not to be identified for fear of retribution, added."
"The department leader stressed that several employees within the offices of Special Education Programs and the Rehabilitative Services Administration -- the two divisions that make up the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) -- were cut over the weekend."
"The agency enforces the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the law creating a free and appropriate education for children with disabilities, and funds special education services to the tune of around $15 billion."
"The education department leader called the layoffs to this division 'ridiculous,' contending that families of special needs students will be harmed."
" 'There is a risk that the money to educate their children will not be given to the state, and that their access to support and advocacy for their children with special needs will no longer continue because there is no staff available to administer IDEA,' the department leader noted."
Prescription drug coverage options are shrinking for Medicare shoppers
Politico: Pentagon will pay military troops, Trump says, shifting $8B
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/11/pentagon-pay-military-troops-trump-00604481
Comment: "President Donald Trump on Saturday announced that he will direct Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to 'use all available funds to get our Troops PAID on October 15th' as the government shutdown nears its third week."
Comment: "To scrounge up enough money to pay the troops, the Pentagon is tapping into its research and development accounts to use funding Congress made available for two years, according to an OMB official. Specifically, about $8 billion is being shifted from accounts that fund military research, development, testing and evaluation efforts, according to two people familiar with the plan who were granted anonymity to discuss its details."
Comment: "Many Republicans on Capitol Hill were eager for Trump to try to find a way to pay troops as GOP leaders held firm against a standalone vote — especially the large number of GOP members with military bases in their districts."
Comment: "There can be real repercussions for shifting funding during a government shutdown. Under the Antideficiency Act, a more than 150-year-old law enacted to prevent federal agencies from spending money Congress hasn’t appropriated, agency officials who buck those restrictions face up to two years in prison and up to $5,000 in fines."
"Even before Trump’s announcement, top lawmakers were questioning the legality of other moves to tap funding during the shutdown. 'They are violating the law left and right,' Connecticut Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the House’s top Democratic appropriator, told reporters on Friday about the administration’s moves to shift funding during the shutdown. 'They should be fined.' "
"DeLauro said she trusts that the federal government’s top watchdog, the Government Accountability Office, will push back against any illegal shifting of funding during the lapse. 'GAO has been under unbelievable pressure from the administration. But they stand tall, and they do their job,' she said."
"The watchdog agency isn’t yet looking into it. 'We do not have a request to review the current shutdown, and we do not have ongoing work on this matter,' a GAO spokesperson said in a statement."
"In 2019, GAO determined that the Trump administration violated the law during the 35-day shutdown that occurred during Trump’s first presidency, by tapping recreation fees to keep National Park Service operations running and also by making SNAP payments early. The watchdog warned that any future violations would be considered 'knowing and willful,' and that agency officials would face imprisonment and fines."
"GAO says now, however, that the agency doesn’t know 'if the facts and circumstances are the same as in our prior 2019 decision.' "
Republicans try to weaken 50-year-old law protecting whales, seals and polar bears
Mother Jones: The White House Is Already Walking Back Hundreds of Federal Layoffs
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/10/trump-federal-government-layoffs-rif-rehired/
Politico: HHS rehiring some people fired through reduction-in-force efforts
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/11/what-we-know-about-the-cdc-reduction-in-force-00604549
Comment: "Some of the Department of Health and Human Services employees fired through reduction-in-force notices Friday are being rehired, according to two people familiar with the details."
"The two people, an HHS official and an employee granted anonymity to speak about internal personnel decisions, said that many employees who received reduction-in-force notices will or already have been informed they will not be terminated. The two said that an unspecified number of employees at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were mistakenly fired through a 'coding error'."
"Those being rehired, they said, are staff who work on the critical Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, the director’s office of the Global Health Center and staff working on the measles response and Ebola outbreak response in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The HHS official and employee declined to provide a specific number of staff to be rehired."
"Additionally, many of the fellows in the Laboratory Leadership Service — who work on lab safety and testing accuracy — are being rehired, said a current CDC employee granted anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. The employee also said that many of the Epidemic Intelligence Service officers — who investigate disease outbreaks — also had their reduction-in-force notices rescinded. A former CDC official said that Sara Patterson, acting director of the Public Health Infrastructure Center, was rehired."
Comment: Perhaps OMB's Russell Vought learned that you just can't replace world class scientists with just anyone off the street.
Comment: More confusion and chaos thanks to the Trump administration. Wonder if the rehires qualified for a signing bonus? Rehires better check to make sure that their firing/rehire doesn't impact their benefits or seniority.
Mass firings hit CDC
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/11/mass-firing-hit-cdc-00604389
Comment: "Dozens of CDC employees were notified late Friday night that they were being terminated, according to several former and current CDC officials and employees."
"The agency’s Washington office was terminated, as well as employees in the Global Health Center and the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, according to a current CDC official and a former administration official with direct knowledge of the reduction-in-force notices."
Comment: "At least some officers in the Epidemic Intelligence Service were dismissed, according to the CDC official and a separate former agency employee with knowledge of the terminations. The EIS officers are nicknamed 'disease detectives' because they are frequently charged with investigating outbreaks and are part of a storied CDC training program."
Comment: "Leaders in the agency’s Public Health Infrastructure Center also received notices, as well as the employees in the Office of Science, the CDC official said. A second former administration official confirmed that some leadership in the PHIC office had been terminated."
Comment: "In a recent memo to agencies, OMB instructed Trump administration officials to prepare to implement reduction-in-force plans during the shutdown, targeting employees who work in programs not legally required to continue or clash with President Donald Trump’s policy priorities."
Comment: Do you suppose that when the next disease outbreak spreads to epidemic proportions because of CDC cutbacks, Russell Vought and RFK Jr. can be charged with manslaughter? Probably not. Justice is sometimes not lawful.
Mother Jones: Donald Trump’s War on Public Health Enters a New Phase
Video: Mass firings of federal workers begin on day 10 of government shutdown - October 10, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8Oeori1ATk
Reuters: US awards $4.5 billion in border wall contracts, DHS says
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-awards-45-billion-border-wall-contracts-dhs-says-2025-10-10/
Comment: "The federal government has awarded 10 construction contracts worth $4.5 billion that will add 230 miles of barrier along the southwest U.S. border, the Department of Homeland Security said on Friday."
"The contracts will add hundreds of miles to a so-called Smart Wall border security system that includes steel barriers, waterborne barriers, patrol roads, lights, cameras, and advanced detection technology, according to its statement."
"Seven of the 10 contracts, which were awarded in September, went to BCCG Joint Venture, according to the statement from DHS and Customs and Border Protection."
Comment: Remember when Mexico was going to pay for the wall?
Military.com: Invoking the Insurrection Act: Trump’s 2025 Clash Over Troops in U.S. Cities
Comment: "President Donald Trump has considered applying the centuries-old Insurrection Act in order to circumvent court rulings and local objections to the deployment of military forces in U.S cities."
"The Trump administration’s federalization of National Guard troops and operations in cities such as Portland and Chicago have led to legal challenges. It has also provoked widespread debate about presidential powers and civil liberties in times of domestic unrest."
"Trump supporters’ backing of the invoking of the Act hinges on the president’s ability to use it to bring back order if states fail to do so. Opponents argue that such tactics involving widespread militarization are indicative of executive overreach."
Comment: "The Insurrection Act was first enacted in 1807 and provides the president with the mandate to activate federal troops domestically in exceptional situations."
"It provides exceptions permitting military intervention when a request is made by the governor or legislature of the state seeking for federal help to conquer insurrection; federal law is impossible to enforce, especially due to violence or obstruction; or when protection of constitutional rights are neglected by states or when they are threatened."
"The Act has been applied sparingly in the past. When there was an eruption of riots in 1992 in Los Angeles due to events surrounding the police brutality of Rodney King, President George H.W. Bush deployed forces to the region with agreement of then-California Gov. Pete Wilson. The situation emphasized the importance of state approval."
CNN: Pentagon orders ‘white glove’ treatment for those returning to military service after Covid-19 vaccine refusal
https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/10/politics/covid-vaccine-returning-troops
Comment: Although one can understand reinstatement, one might have difficulty understanding the 'white glove' treatment.
Trump critic and former national security adviser John Bolton to be charged soon, sources say
Pam Bondi, DOJ officials caught off guard by Tish James indictment: Sources
https://abcnews.go.com/US/pam-bondi-doj-officials-caught-off-guard-tish/story?id=126401855
Comment: "Attorney General Pam Bondi and other senior leadership of the Justice Department were caught off guard Thursday by news that the Trump-installed U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia had presented to a grand jury seeking an indictment of New York Attorney General Letitia James, multiple sources familiar with the matter told ABC News."
"While Bondi, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and other DOJ officials had expected Lindsey Halligan would move forward in seeking to indict James, against the recommendation of prosecutors in the office who had investigated for months the claims she committed mortgage fraud, they were not informed until after Halligan had already presented the case, sources said."
Comment: "The news that Halligan was making her presentment was not news, however, to Ed Martin — who was appointed to several senior leadership positions at DOJ by President Trump after his nomination to be the U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C. failed to earn support from Republican senators earlier this year."
Comment: "As ABC News previously reported, Martin and Bill Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, who initially made the criminal referral to DOJ over James’ mortgage applications, have in recent weeks clashed with senior leadership of the department as they’ve demanded more aggressive actions to prosecute President Trump's political enemies."
Comment: "One former senior DOJ official said it would be extraordinary for leadership at the department to not be informed of a pending indictment of a major political figure like James, which would more typically be led by the department’s Public Integrity Section. Staff in that office has been eliminated to just two officials down from roughly 30 since Trump’s inauguration, according to sources."
Comment: More chaos and confusion in the Justice Dept., as the MAGA political appointees try to outdo each other in efforts to implement Trump's campaign of retribution.
The Guardian: The mortgage fraud case against Letitia James is ‘bupkis’, experts say
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/10/letitia-james-mortgage-fraud
Stephen Miller said Trump has ‘plenary authority’. What does that mean?
Comment: "The Legal Information Institute of Cornell’s law school defines 'plenary authority' as 'power that is wide-ranging, broadly construed, and often limitless for all practical purposes'."
"It is most often applied to legislative bodies, as when government chooses to levy a tax or expend revenue. Lawmakers do not need to refer to the courts or a higher federal power for authorization to act when they have plenary authority over a matter."
Comment: "Miller had just been asked a question about the president’s legal authority to deploy federalized national guard troops. Miller’s initial response was to cite title 10 of the federal code, and then to assert that this gives the president plenary authority to direct those troops as he sees fit."
Comment: "Does the president actually have plenary authority over the military?"
"Not really."
Comment: "The constitution reserves the power to declare war to Congress, and has constrained presidential authority over the military with laws like the War Powers Resolution of 1973, the Posse Comitatus Act, which restricts the use of the military to police civilians, the Insurrection Act, which establishes exceptions to Posse Comitatus, and the Uniform Code of Military Justice and – again – title 10 of the federal code, which widely constrains what the military is allowed to do, and what orders the president can issue lawfully."
"The president does have plenary authority over the government’s conduct in foreign affairs, as delineated by the constitution and affirmed by supreme court decisions. Presidents have referred to this authority when explaining the use of the military in other countries."
Comment: "Why has Stephen Miller’s comment raised hackles?"
"For many, the term 'plenary authority', as applied to Trump, is synonymous with autocratic control and disregard for the constitution or court orders."
"Trump asserted near-plenary authority in Newsom et al v Trump – the lawsuit by Gavin Newsom, California’s governor, that forced Trump to withdraw most national guard troops from the Los Angeles area. Trump’s assertion of plenary power was rejected by the court."
Comment: Do you think Stephen Miller is a dangerous proponent of authoritarianism?
Trump Unveils Plan for Tacky Giant Golden Addition to D.C.
Comment: "President Donald Trump appears ready to leave yet another mark on the nation’s capital with a triumphal arch that could rival the Lincoln Memorial in scale."
"The 79-year-old former real estate developer, who has sought to impose his taste on federal architecture and the White House, may be planning to build an arch on the other side of the Potomac River, according to an X post from AFP White House Correspondent Danny Kemp."
"Kemp shared a photo of the Resolute desk in the Oval Office with a satellite map of D.C. spread across it, complete with a miniature model of the Lincoln Memorial—and, across the water, a model of an arch that does not yet exist."
" 'On Trump’s desk in the Oval Office today was a plan for a triumphal arch on the other side of the river from the Lincoln Memorial,' Kemp wrote."
Comment: "The arch, which is topped by a winged golden angel, appears to be planned for the traffic circle at the terminus of the Arlington Memorial Bridge—echoing Paris’ Arc de Triomphe, which was commissioned by Napoleon Bonaparte."
Comment: How appropriate. A 21st Century wannabe Napoleon wants his own Bonaparte inspired 'triumphal arch'. Do you think Trump wants to celebrate his triumph over democracy?
Duffy threatens to fire air traffic controllers who skip work during shutdown
Comment: "Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on Thursday said he would fire air traffic controllers who are skipping work because of the government shutdown."
" 'If we have a continual small subset of controllers that don’t show up to work … they’re the problem children,' Duffy said on Fox Business’s 'Varney & Co.' "
" 'We need more controllers, but we need the best and the brightest, the dedicated controllers, and if we have some on our staff that aren’t dedicated like we need, we’re going to let them go,' he added."
Comment: " 'I think what’s happening here, 90 percent of the controllers, they show up, they come to work, but 10 percent of them are lashing out,' Duffy said."
Comment: Secretary Duffy, what happens when the shutdown continues, the air traffic controllers still have to work without a current paycheck, and even more call in sick? Given the time and cost it takes to train a new air traffic controller, do you think it is wise to threaten a larger group of air traffic controllers with firing? What if they call your bluff? Even worse, what if you do something stupid and fire all of them?
Video: 'Baseless charges': NY Attorney General Letitia James responds to Trump in new video - October 9, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvwCQq6hWS8
Reuters: Letitia James, NY attorney general and Trump foe, indicted for mortgage fraud
https://www.reuters.com/world/new-york-ag-james-trump-foe-indicted-bank-fraud-2025-10-09/
Comment: "New York Attorney General Letitia James, a longtime foe of President Donald Trump was charged on Thursday with lying on a mortgage application, as the administration steps up its use of government power against his perceived political enemies."
"The indictment was the second in as many weeks returned against a high-profile adversary of Trump, a Republican who campaigned for the presidency on a vow of retribution after facing a slew of legal woes since his first term in the White House ended in 2021."
Comment: "James, a Democrat, said in a statement she would continue serving as New York state's top law enforcement official and called the charges 'a continuation of the president's desperate weaponization of our justice system'."
" 'We will fight these baseless charges aggressively,' James said."
The Hill: Trump hits James with mortgage fraud charge
Comment: Trump's campaign of retribution continues?
Nicolle Wallace slams Trump for ‘decapitating’ the FBI ‘of its expertise’ in favor of loyalty
WIRED: Covid Shots Are About to Be Widely Available Again
https://www.wired.com/story/covid-shots-are-about-to-be-widely-available-again-vaccines-cdc/
Comment: "COVID-19 VACCINES ARE about to become widely available again across the United States, following several weeks of confusion around who would be able to get them this fall. Uncertainty over federal vaccine policy had caused a temporary patchwork of access across the country, with shots being offered in some places and not others."
ABC News - Breaking News, Latest News and Videos: Tennessee National Guard to mobilize in Memphis for anti-crime deployment
Politico: GOP Oklahoma governor criticizes Texas National Guard deployment to Illinois
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/09/kevin-stitt-republican-governor-national-guard-00600305
CBS News: U.S. District Court chief judge says National Guard not needed at Dirksen Federal Building in Chicago
Politico: Hegseth’s firing of Navy official compounds ‘culture of fear’ inside Pentagon
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/09/hegseth-culture-of-fear-navy-firing-00598159
Comment: "Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s latest firing of a top Navy official injected a fresh wave of fear into the Pentagon over the cost of speaking up and who might be next."
"The Pentagon chief, in less than a year, has purged a handful of the military’s most senior officials, terminated some of his closest advisers and last week warned a gathering of generals and admirals that many of them could face a similar fate."
"The sudden dismissal last week of Jon Harrison, the Navy chief of staff, has only added to concerns about Hegseth’s objectives, according to five current and former defense officials. Most of his moves have come without public explanation, and led to a deepening sense of uncertainty throughout the department — one that risks silencing pushback on critical decisions that affect how the U.S. military interacts with the world."
"There is an emerging 'culture of fear; there’s a culture of intimidation and retaliation,' said a senior defense official. 'It’s better just to keep your head down and not necessarily try to do anything to the advantage of the organization, because it’s very much run from the top down.' ”
"The decision on Friday to fire Harrison, who had emerged as an unusually powerful top aide, underscores the turbulence inside Hegseth’s Pentagon."
AP News: Pentagon, journalists on collision course as restrictions on reporting loom
American Civil Liberties Union: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth Moves to Push Women Out of the Military
FBI reassigns nearly one-quarter of agents to help ICE locate and arrest people
https://www.axios.com/2025/10/08/trump-ice-immigration-kash-patel-fbi
Comment: "Nearly one-fourth of FBI agents across the U.S. are currently assigned to immigration enforcement, according to data obtained by Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-Virginia)."
Comment: "The Trump administration's immigration crackdown has dramatically ramped up detentions and deportations, in addition to shifting priorities across the federal government to help detain immigrants."
Comment: "Rachel Cohen, Warner's communications director, told Axios agents 'have been pulled from their jobs fighting terrorists, spies, drug traffickers and violent criminals in order to carry out Trump's immigration agenda.' "
CNN: How Trump uses federal cash that’s not his to spend to pursue his questionable goals
https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/08/politics/trump-shutdown-tariffs-wic-farmers-analysis
NBC News: IRS to furlough thousands of workers amid shutdown
https://www.nbcnews.com/business/taxes/irs-furloughs-thousands-employees-shutdown-rcna236503
Comment: "The move comes a week before a payment deadline for taxpayers who received extensions on their 2024 filings."
Central witness undermines case against James Comey, prosecutors concluded: Sources
Comment: "Federal prosecutors investigating former FBI Director James Comey for allegedly making false statements to Congress determined that a central witness in their probe would prove 'problematic' and likely prevent them from establishing their case to a jury, sources familiar with their findings told ABC News."
"Comey, who pleaded not guilty at his arraignment Wednesday, was indicted last month on charges of making a false statement and obstruction related to 2020 testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee -- but Justice Department officials have privately expressed that the case could quickly unravel under the scrutiny of a federal judge and defense lawyers."
"Daniel Richman -- a law professor who prosecutors allege Comey authorized to leak information to the press -- told investigators that the former FBI director instructed him not to engage with the media on at least two occasions and unequivocally said Comey never authorized him to provide information to a reporter anonymously ahead of the 2016 election, the sources said."
"According to prosecutors who investigated the circumstances surrounding Comey's 2020 testimony for two months, using Richman's testimony to prove that Comey knowingly provided false statements to Congress would result in 'likely insurmountable problems' for the prosecution."
NBC News: Trump administration officials seriously discussing invoking Insurrection Act, sources say
Fortune: Trump’s former USDA chief economist warns the shutdown makes the president’s $15 billion farmer bailout a fantasy: 'You can’t just flip a switch'
Comment: "Trump said last month the administration would roll out subsidies for struggling farmers using revenue from his sweeping tariff policies. The White House will imminently announce a bailout plan that could put up to $15 billion in farmers’ pockets, Reuters reported, citing anonymous sources. Trump has said the aid would come from tariff revenues, but experts say that’s far easier said than done."
" 'How to fund this bailout is very complicated, and different than it was in 2018,' Joe Glauber, former chief economist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture during Trump’s first term, told Fortune. 'You’d need Congress to reallocate tariff revenues. USDA can’t just say, ‘We’re going to take all that money and give it to farmers.’ That takes an act of Congress, and that’s tricky when the government isn’t even open.' ”
HHS hits back at former surgeons general who wrote op-ed saying RFK Jr. is endangering nation's health
https://abcnews.go.com/Health/hhs-hits-back-former-surgeons-general-wrote-op/story?id=126333161
Comment: Despite the title, most of the article content describes statements made against RFK Jr. and the current HHS administration. The HHS "hit back" is a more general (less specific) PR type statement supporting RFK Jr. The article includes a good video which outlines many of the dangers posed by RFK Jr. and current HHS policies.
Axios: "Unprecedented threat": Six former surgeons general sound alarm on RFK Jr.
https://www.axios.com/2025/10/07/rfk-jr-surgeons-general-vaccines-warning
CNN: Delays spread to major airports across the country, as the government shutdown impacts travelers
https://edition.cnn.com/2025/10/07/us/shutdown-impacts-travelers
Trump keeps threatening to use the Insurrection Act. What is it?
Comment: "President Donald Trump has said repeatedly he could invoke the 1807 statute, which gives the president the power to deploy the U.S. military domestically."
DOJ adds 2 out-of-state attorneys to Comey case ahead of his arraignment
https://abcnews.go.com/US/doj-adds-2-state-attorneys-comey-case-ahead/story?id=126306467
Comment: "As ABC News has previously reported, sources say the Comey case has thrown the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia into turmoil following Siebert's firing, the controversial decision to charge Comey against the recommendation of career prosecutors, and the subsequent firing of two top prosecutors in the office."
Comment: Do you think that the DOJ is having trouble finding prosecutors willing to try Comey? Do you think the new out-of-state attorneys are less ethical or perhaps just less knowledgeable about they are getting themselves into?
Ex-special counsel John Durham undercut case against James Comey in interview with prosecutors: Sources
https://abcnews.go.com/US/special-counsel-john-durham-undercut-case-james-comey/story?id=126164120
Comment: "John Durham, the former special counsel who spent nearly four years examining the origins of the FBI investigation into President Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign and its alleged ties to Russia, told federal prosecutors investigating James Comey that he was unable to uncover evidence that would support false statements or obstruction charges against the former FBI director, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News."
"Federal prosecutors in Virginia met remotely with Durham in August to understand the findings of his investigation, according to sources familiar with the meeting, and his conclusions raise the prospect that Durham -- who was once elevated by Trump and other Republicans believing he would prosecute high-level officials involved with the investigation of the president's 2016 campaign -- could now become a key figure aiding Comey's defense."
"After conducting their own two-month investigation, prosecutors in Virginia reached the same conclusion as both Durham and the D.C. prosecutors: They'd be unable to prove Comey made false statements to Congress to obstruct their investigation. Presenting their findings in a lengthy declination memo, the prosecutors explicitly mentioned the two other investigations to bolster their recommendation that probable cause does not exist to charge Comey, according to sources familiar with the contents of the memo."
"Lindsey Halligan -- a former insurance lawyer hand-picked by Trump to serve as U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia -- promptly rejected that recommendation and sought a three-count indictment against Comey. Last month, a grand jury voted to indict Comey, on two charges of making a false statement to Congress and obstruction, while rejecting an additional false statements count sought by Halligan. Prior to appointing Halligan, Trump said she would 'get things moving,' signaling that she would bring cases against Comey and others."
Trump on if he'd consider pardoning Ghislaine Maxwell: 'I'll take a look at it'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLy9Ma8jo_g
NBC News: CDC signs off on fall Covid shots. It may not be easy to get one, depending on where you live.
Comment: "Many states have already announced their own Covid vaccine recommendations, creating "unprecedented" levels of confusion, one expert said."
Trump Explodes at Judge He Put on the Bench
https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-publicly-melts-down-over-portland-judges-ruling/
Comment: "The president broke his period of absence from the public eye earlier today, and went on a bizarre rant to gathered reporters as he prepared to board a helicopter en route to the Navy's 250th anniversary celebration in Virginia."
"Trump’s topic of discussion was the 'burning' city of Portland and the news that U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut had on Saturday blocked the deployment of the National Guard to the area. He didn’t hold back with his thoughts about the judge herself."
Comment: "Trump nominated Immergut in 2019, and didn’t hide his disappointment that she hadn’t lived up to his expectations. He also repeatedly referred to Immergut, who is a woman, as 'he'.”
" 'I appointed the judge and he goes like that. No, I wasn’t served well. Obviously, I don’t know the judge, but he made that kind of a decision,' he said."
Comment: "The White House’s deputy chief of staff for policy, Stephen Miller, also waded into the debate with a fiery tirade on X Sunday."
"Miller described Immergut’s ruling as 'legal insurrection' in his post, adding that the 'deployment of troops is an absolute necessity' against Portland’s 'organized terrorist attack'.”
Comment: More indication that Trump doesn't understand that federal judges are supposed to serve the law and all citizens, not the President who appointed them. With regard to the situation in Portland, this is just mores lies and hyperbole from Trump and Miller.
Sacramento Bee: Exclusive: Sacramento US attorney fired after questioning immigration raid speaks out
https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article312324273.html
Comment: "As the acting U.S. Attorney for the Central Valley region that includes Sacramento — and a Democrat — Michele Beckwith knew her leadership role would only last until President Donald Trump appointed someone from his own party to head the office of nearly 100 federal prosecutors."
"But Beckwith wasn’t expecting the abrupt way her more than 15 years of service as a prosecutor for the U.S. Department of Justice would come to an end, just hours after she expressed concern about the administration’s approach to an impending immigration raid in July."
"Her termination appears to have been the start of a spate of firings of prosecutors by Trump’s Justice Department: two days after Beckwith’s phone and computer went dark, Attorney General Pam Bondi fired Maureen Comey, the daughter of former FBI Director and Trump foil Jim Comey, a longtime prosecutor in New York’s Southern District. In September, Erik Siebert, a Trump appointee, resigned under pressure as the acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia after he declined to prosecute Jim Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James."
Comment: "Beckwith’s situation has thrust the career prosecutor into an unexpected limelight, and highlights the risks that federal employees take if they express concerns about the Trump administration’s actions or policies."
Oregon Public Broadcasting - OPB: Federal tactics on Portland protesters escalate, hours after judge rules against Trump
Trump authorizes National Guard in Chicago as judge temporarily blocks his plan to deploy federal troops in Portland | CNN
https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/05/us/national-guard-chicago-portland-restraining-order-hnk
Trump authorises National Guard deployment to Chicago - BBC News
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c2dnk0ee6pyo
Trump officials can’t keep their mouths shut about DOJ’s biggest prosecutions — putting cases in jeopardy - POLITICO
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/05/trump-administration-prosecutions-00594310
Trump adviser says shutdown layoffs will come if negotiations are "going nowhere"
https://www.axios.com/2025/10/05/trump-government-shutdown-layoffs-kevin-hassett
Trump considers massive bailout of at least $10 billion for American farmers hurt by his trade war | CNN Business
https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/05/business/farmer-bailout-trump-tariffs
Comment: Good for farmers but bad for taxpayers. It would not have been necessary if it were not for Trump's disastrous trade war. Bailout may not be achievable as long as government is shut down.
Video: Judge temporarily blocks the deployment of the National Guard to Portland - October 4, 2025
Comment: The video also discusses ICE agent and national guard deployment in other U.S. cities.
Trump’s White House can’t defend the shutdown — so it’s dehumanizing immigrants again
Comment: "The Trump White House has a simple — and dishonest — explanation for why the government is shut down: Democrats are demanding free health care for undocumented immigrants."
"Senate Democrats have 'shut down the government,' said Vice President JD Vance during a White House briefing on Thursday, 'because we won’t give billions of dollars to health care funding for illegal aliens.' "
"House Speaker Mike Johnson put out a statement with the wordy title, 'Democrats are Choosing Health Care for Illegal Aliens over American Troop Pay, Nutritional Assistance for Women, Infants, and Children.' "
Comment; "Of course, none of this is true. But it’s par for the course with this White House."
"Since Donald Trump took office in January, his administration has employed one dehumanizing and racist attack after another against undocumented immigrants. They have called immigrants an invading force, depicted them as bloodthirsty criminals and described them in terms that cross the line into dehumanization."
"As Johnson and Vance are undoubtedly aware, undocumented immigrants cannot purchase federal health insurance plans. They’re not eligible for Medicaid, and they are prohibited from purchasing subsidized health care coverage via Obamacare."
"In reality, Democrats are pushing to extend Obamacare tax credits that are set to expire at the end of the year and also roll back Medicaid cuts that were included in the Republican tax cut bill, enacted in July. But not only has the White House continued to make these false claims, Vance’s comments on Thursday went a step further, far beyond the pale."
CBS News: The FBI is weighing an arrest and perp walk for Comey — and suspended an agent for refusing to help, sources say
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fbi-arrest-perp-walk-james-comey-suspended-agent-refusing-doj-trump/
Comment: Comey was charged last week with lying to Congress and obstructing a congressional proceeding, an unprecedented move that came after President Trump publicly pressured Attorney General Pam Bondi to look into his longtime adversary. A grand jury voted to indict him on Sept. 25 and hours later, Comey was issued a summons directing him to appear in federal court in northern Virginia for an Oct. 9 arraignment. His lawyers agreed to bring him to his arraignment, two sources said."
"But on the same day as his indictment, FBI leadership discussed hauling Comey in instead of waiting for the ex-FBI chief to report to court on his own, a source knowledgeable about the conversations told CBS News"
"The source told CBS News that leadership asked for 'large, beefy' agents to conduct an arrest of Comey 'in full kit,' including Kevlar vests and exterior wear emblazoned with the FBI logo. It was suggested that a supervisory special agent in the violent crimes division of the FBI's Washington Field Office would be able to put together the kinds of agents who fit the bill, the source said."
"The agent, however, refused to participate in this plan, believing it would be inappropriate and highly unusual for a white-collar defendant like Comey, according to the source. He was then suspended for insubordination."
Comment: Do you suppose that Kash Patel, Pam Bondi, and the rest of the MAGA cast think they are part of one of Trump's Reality TV shows? Maybe the indictment was fabricated by a bad Hollywood screenwriter?
NPR: The Federal Election Commission is down to 2 members. So its work is at a standstill
https://www.npr.org/2025/10/04/nx-s1-5559763/fec-no-quorum-campaign-finance
Axios: MAGA wages campaign to redefine "hate" after Kirk killing
https://www.axios.com/2025/10/04/adl-splc-charlie-kirk-maga-fbi
Comment: "MAGA activists have launched a crusade against two of the nation's most storied civil rights watchdogs, accusing them of smearing conservatives as extremists."
Comment: "For decades, the AntiDefamation League and Southern Poverty Law Center have shaped America's understanding of hate. MAGA leaders — backed by the Trump administration and Elon Musk — are now trying to strip them of that influence."
Comment: "FBI Director Kash Patel severed ties this week between the bureau and both the ADL and SPLC, the government's decades-long partners in tracking extremist networks, training FBI agents and consulting on hate-crime enforcement."
"The rupture followed MAGA outrage that both organizations had listed Charlie Kirk's Turning Point USA in their online resources about hate groups."
"The ADL accused Kirk's group of drawing 'support from anti-Muslim bigots, alt-lite activists and some corners of the white supremacist alt-right,' while the SPLC included the group on its 'hate map,' saying it has ties to 'hard-right extremists'."
Comment: "Both pages predated Kirk's assassination,, which MAGA activists argue was incited by the left's use of charged labels such as 'fascist' and 'Nazi.' The ADL and SPLC both condemned the assassination."
Trump to federalize Illinois National Guard, Pritzker says - POLITICO
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/04/trump-national-guard-illinois-00594266
Comment: "President Donald Trump will soon federalize 300 National Guard troops in Illinois, Gov. JB Pritzker said Saturday, a move that comes despite the governor’s opposition."
" 'This morning, the Trump Administration’s Department of War gave me an ultimatum: call up your troops, or we will,' Pritzker said in a statement. 'It is absolutely outrageous and un-American to demand a Governor send military troops within our own borders and against our will.' "
The Guardian: Pete Hegseth fires US navy chief of staff | US military
Politico: Hegseth targets IG investigations as Signalgate report looms
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/03/hegseth-rules-inspector-generals-00593901
Comment: "Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth sprinkled several new rules into his Tuesday speech to military leaders that will carry more serious consequences than grooming and exercise — likely undermining the department’s inspectors general just as a report on the Pentagon chief’s own behavior wraps up."
"The changes call into question the credibility of the office ahead of an upcoming report on Hegseth’s controversial release of sensitive information in a Signal group chat about military strikes in Yemen. They include new restrictions on how IGs process complaints and when they should provide updates on investigations, likely reducing the number of both."
"The move, part of a wider Trump administration effort to lesson the role of inspectors general and legal advisers, threatens to further weaken a key federal watchdog and discourage troops from coming forward with concerns about military safety and conduct."
Comment: Dismantling the corruption police?
Trump charts path to total control amid government shutdown
https://www.axios.com/2025/10/03/trump-government-shutdown-firings-executive-power
Comment: "President Trump is seizing on the government shutdown as an 'unprecedented opportunity' to consolidate control in the Oval Office, accelerating a trend toward unchecked power."
Comment: "Many Democrats see the shutdown as a necessary evil to halt — or at least slow — Trump's steamrolling of democratic norms and independent institutions. So far, the standoff is only emboldening the White House."
Comment: "Trump said he met Thursday with White House budget chief Russ Vought to discuss what 'Democrat agencies' should get cuts, casting the shutdown as a chance to shrink a federal workforce Trump has long viewed as hostile."
"Goading Democrats, Trump flaunted Vought's role in Project 2025 ('he of PROJECT 2025 Fame') — the hard-right blueprint for expanding executive power that Trump disavowed on the campaign trail after it became a political liability."
"For Vought, the shutdown offers a unique opening: a live test of theories he has spent years refining on how to weaken Congress, purge the bureaucracy and concentrate power in the presidency."
Comment: The linked article illustrates Trump's efforts to consolidate power in the following areas:
Comment: "Military"
Comment: "Acadamia"
Comment: "Rule of Law"
Comment: "Civil society"
Comment: "Corporate America"
Comment: "The bottom line: Government shutdown or not, Trump has spent his presidency methodically erasing the independence of institutions that once served as checks on executive power."
The Daily Beast: Keystone Kash Gives Out Bonkers Merch to FBI Agents
https://www.thedailybeast.com/keystone-kash-gives-out-bonkers-merch-to-fbi-agents/
Comment: "FBI Director Kash Patel is handing out a challenge coin that’s part action movie, part self-branding—featuring guns and his own name front and center."
Comment: "The photo of the coin shows that it is shaped like the Marvel Punisher skull symbol. The back flaunts a Tommy gun alongside Patel’s full name, title, logo, signature, and the number 9—marking him as the FBI’s ninth director. The front simply reads 'K$H'."
Comment: " 'Looks like a nerd stuck forever in puberty designed a challenge coin while being on 15 cans of Monster,' one user commented on the design."
"Others quickly pointed out that the Punisher symbol might not be the best choice for an FBI director."
" 'The Punisher is a symbol of 'law and order' failing. It has very little business in the office of the FBI Director,' one user posted."
White House Anti-Terror Order Targets ‘Anti-Capitalist’ and ‘Anti-American’ Views. Here’s What To Know
https://time.com/7322106/trump-nspm-7-domestic-terrorism/
Comment: "The Trump Administration is facing mounting criticism over a sweeping directive that expands the government’s definition of domestic terrorism indicators to include a wide range of political beliefs, with lawmakers and civil liberties groups warning it could be used to criminalize dissent."
"The order, which directs the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) to investigate 'networks, entities, and organizations that foment political violence,' identifies ideological markers such as anti-Americanism, anti-capitalism and anti-Christianity as potential red flags. Rights groups say that language is so broad it risks sweeping in protest movements, advocacy organizations, and critics of the administration."
" 'The goal is to silence people and groups by threatening retaliation,' Rep. Ro Khanna of California told TIME. 'These are McCarthy-era tactics. The rise in political violence is real, but attacking free speech is not the answer.' ”
"The order, named NSPM-7, directs the JTTF and its offices to create a national strategy to 'investigate, prosecute, and disrupt entities and individuals engaged in acts of political violence and intimidation' that suppress lawful political activity or obstruct the rule of law."
"It highlights 'common threads animating this violent conduct,' which it says include 'anti-Americanism, anti-capitalism, and anti-Christianity; support for the overthrow of the United States Government; extremism on migration, race, and gender; and hostility towards those who hold traditional American views on family, religion, and morality.' "
"The order also requires the task force to coordinate investigations of 'Antifa,' though experts note the group is an ideology rather than a formal organization, raising questions about how investigations will proceed."
Comment: "Experts warn that the directive could significantly expand the number of Americans under federal scrutiny."
"The order 'directs law enforcement resources to target a range of activities which it often characterizes as violent, but also covers many aspects of First Amendment protected activity,' explains Faiza Patel, Director of the Liberty and National Security Program at the Brennan Center."
" '“It's not an order that is directed at criminal activity or terrorism, even though it uses those words frequently.' "
"Nonprofits, their employees, and donors could face investigation if deemed to 'aid or abet' those engaged in certain conduct. The Secretary of the Treasury is tasked with disrupting financial networks funding political violence and ensuring organizations that support such activities lose their tax-exempt status."
Comment: Since when does being "anti-capitalism; " "anti-Christianity;" "an extremist on migration, race, and gender;," or have "hostility towards those who hold traditional American views on family, religion, and morality;" make one a terrorist? (especially when these subjective evaluations are made from extreme MAGA and Christian Nationalist perspectives)
Comment: This is just another example of Trump's attempt to intimidate American citizens and establish authoritative rule.
Reuters: Exclusive: US scraps Justice Department task force that took on cartels, documents show
AP News: Trump asks 9 colleges to commit to his political agenda and get favorable access to federal money
Comment: "The White House is asking nine major universities to commit to President Donald Trump’s political priorities in exchange for more favorable access to federal money."
"A document sent to the universities encourages them to adopt the White House's vision for America’s campuses, with commitments to accept the government’s priorities on admissions, women’s sports, free speech, student discipline and college affordability, among other topics."
"Signing on would give universities 'multiple positive benefits,' including 'substantial and meaningful federal grants' and 'increased overhead payments where feasible,' according to a letter sent to universities alongside the compact. The letter calls it a proactive effort as the administration continues to investigate alleged civil rights violations at U.S. campuses."
"Called the 'Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education,' it asks universities to accept the government’s definition of gender and apply it to campus bathrooms, locker rooms and women’s sports teams. It asks colleges to stop considering race, gender and a wide range of student demographics in the admissions process and to require undergraduate applicants to take the SAT or ACT."
"The 10-page proposed agreement was sent Wednesday to some of the most selective public and private universities: Vanderbilt, the University of Pennsylvania, Dartmouth College, the University of Southern California, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Texas, the University of Arizona, Brown University and the University of Virginia. It was not clear how these schools were selected or why."
Comment: Bribery (using your tax dollars) so as to enact Trump's political indoctrination?
The Energy Department canceled billions in funding. Democrats say it's retribution
https://www.npr.org/2025/10/02/nx-s1-5560869/energy-trump-democrats-shutdown
Comment: "The Department of Energy is cancelling more than $7 billion in funding for hundreds of projects that the agency said don't address the country's energy needs and aren't economically viable."
"The DOE issued the announcement late Wednesday, the first day of a government shutdown and hours after White House Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought said the Trump administration was cancelling nearly $8 billion in 'Green New Scam funding.' Vought posted on the social media site X that the Energy Department funding was for projects in 16 states, all of which voted for former Vice President Kamala Harris."
Comment: "Responding to Vought's announcement, Democratic lawmakers said that cancelling Energy Department funding is an effort by the Trump administration to punish Democrats during the government shutdown."
Comment: "The move to cancel Energy Department funding comes as electricity demand is expected to rise significantly for the first time in decades. In the face of rising power demand, the Trump administration has been taking steps to limit the construction of renewable energy projects. Utility executives and analysts have said clean energy projects are crucial to help power new data centers and factories, because they can be built quickly and produce electricity that is relatively cheap."
NPR: Furloughs, closures and mass firings threats: What's next in the shutdown fight
https://www.npr.org/2025/10/02/nx-s1-5559296/government-shutdown-trump-house
Pentagon downgrades leadership role for Air Forces-Europe to 3-star
Comment: Is this another indication that Trump is deemphasizing historical support to NATO and the defense of western Europe, at the same time that Russia is threatening the region?
Top Air Force general announces retirement
https://thehill.com/policy/defense/5535490-top-air-force-general-retirement/
Comment: "A top Air Force commander, Gen. Thomas Bussiere, announced his retirement Tuesday for 'personal and family reasons'.”
Comment: "Bussiere has served as Air Force Global Strike Command commander since December 2022."
"He was nominated by the administration to be the next Air Force vice chief of staff in July, but Aviation Week reported in early September that Bussiere’s nomination was withdrawn."
"The former Air Force vice chief of staff, Gen. James Slife, was fired in February."
"In August, the Air Force announced the service’s chief of staff, Gen. David Allvin, would retire in November after serving two years of his four-year term."
"Bussiere’s retirement came hours after Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth held an extraordinary gathering of top military officials in Quantico, Va., where he announced he was raising fitness standards and overhauling the military’s internal complaint and investigation process."
" 'If the words I’m speaking today are making your heart sink, then you should do the honorable thing and resign,' Hegseth told the admirals and generals at the meeting."
Comment: Apparently, Gen. Bussiere was an honorable man. Much more so, than the former Fox TV host pretending to head the Dept. of "War."
Lutnick calls ex-neighbor Epstein "greatest blackmailer ever"
https://www.axios.com/2025/10/02/lutnick-epstein-greatest-blackmailer-fbi-patel
Comment: "Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick called Jeffrey Epstein, his former neighbor, the 'greatest blackmailer ever' during a new interview."
Comment: "The top Trump secretary's comments contrast with the Justice Department's and FBI's July findings that there's 'no credible evidence' that the sex offender blackmailed prominent individuals or kept a 'client list'."
Alabama doctor who replaced Fauci claims Trump administration fired her for whistle blowing, vaccine support
Trump’s Tacky $200 Million Ballroom Is Under Investigation
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/trump-tacky-200-million-ballroom-212809003.html
Comment: "Trump’s $200 million ballroom 'monstrosity' is under investigation by the House Oversight Committee, according to the committee’s top Democratic representative."
"Speaking to MeidasTouch’s Ben Meiselas Thursday afternoon, Rep. Robert Garcia, 47, said the committee is looking into whether foreign governments are funding Trump’s 90,000 square foot gold-plated vanity project, as well as other potential improprieties related to its construction."
The Hill: Brendan Carr-leone’s war on the First Amendment
https://thehill.com/opinion/civil-rights/5534248-brendan-carr-threatens-disney-abc/
More turmoil at Virginia US attorney's office following Comey indictment: 2 top prosecutors fired, sources say
Comment: "One of those fired is the office's top national security official."
Trump administration uses government websites and email messages to pin the shutdown on Democrats
Comment: "A number of federal agencies are putting out messages blaming Democratic senators for the current government shutdown, in a sharp break from how departments have handled shutdowns in the past. Traditionally, agencies provide information on the status of the funding lapse and what services won’t be available, but stay away from partisan talking points."
"Some civil servants, who are supposed to be nonpartisan, are being encouraged to push out the messages as well."
Comment: " 'What this administration is doing is unprecedented, illegal and flat-out wrong,' said Max Stier, CEO of the nonpartisan Partnership for Public Service. “I’ve been deeply engaged in our federal government for over 30 years and there is nothing that has come close. Federal employees who are furloughed are still subject to the same legal and ethics rules, and there is no excuse for this behavior. The administration should not be using federal employees or federal resources to wage a political battle.' ”
Politico: White House pushes back on Pope Leo’s statement that immigrants are subject to ‘inhuman treatment’ in the US
GOP misleads with claim Democrats shut down government to give 'illegal immigrants' health care
Comment: "U.S. law prohibits federal health care benefits for undocumented immigrants. Democrats want to return benefits for those with lawful presence, like DACA recipients and asylum-seekers."
Comment: "With the government shut down, Republicans are centering their message on a simple argument: 'Democrats are grinding America to a halt in order to give illegal immigrants free health care.' "
"That message, from a new ad from the National Republican Congressional Committee, has been echoed by GOP lawmakers and the Trump administration in recent days."
"Vice President JD Vance claimed on Fox News that the GOP's 'big beautiful bill' turned off health funding for 'illegal aliens'."
" 'Democrats want to turn it back on,' he said. 'It’s not something that we made up. It’s not a talking point. It is in the text of the bill that they initially gave to us to reopen the government.' "
"U.S. law already prohibits unauthorized immigrants from gaining any federally subsidized health care coverage — through Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act, the Children’s Health Insurance Program or otherwise. A 1996 statute established that."
"House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said Republicans are “lying” about the Democratic bill out of weakness."
Comment: "The Republican claim is highly misleading."
"The Democratic bill would not change existing law barring people who are in the U.S. illegally from getting federal health care coverage."
"The dispute centers around immigrants whom the federal government has decreed as 'lawfully present,' but who haven't formally been given legal status that is enforceable in court."
"There are an estimated 1.4 million people considered 'lawfully present' in the United States — including Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program beneficiaries, who came to the U.S. illegally as children; people who have Temporary Protected Status; and refugees and people seeking asylum who are still going through the legal process. Republicans are seeking to prohibit Medicaid or ACA eligibility for those groups."
"They are not 'undocumented' or 'illegal' immigrants. The government knows who they are, and many are going through the process of seeking official legal status or green cards. Among other things, they are not unlawful border-crossers who have been flagged for deportation."
"The GOP law prohibited those 'lawfully present' immigrants from accessing federal health care programs. The Democratic bill would restore that access — but not for undocumented people who lack protected status — while also restoring the $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts, a core goal for Democrats."
Comment: "Lawfully present" migrant were eligible for Medicaid and the ACA before Trump's so called Big Beautiful Bill took that eligibility away. Democrats are just trying to restore this eligibility, along with extending ACA tax credits for everyone. The Democrats have not proposed giving illegal immigrants health care. This is a GOP lie.
Donald Trump: 'No choice' but to send National Guard to Portland
Comment: "President Trump on Wednesday defended his decision to send National Guard troops to Portland, Ore., saying he had 'no choice' but to deploy troops over the protests of local officials."
Comment: " 'We’re only going in because, as American Patriots, WE HAVE NO CHOICE. LAW AND ORDER MUST PREVAIL IN OUR CITIES, AND EVERYWHERE ELSE!' he continued."
"The Defense Department authorized 200 members of Oregon’s National Guard to be deployed to Portland, days after Trump said he would send troops to protect the city and an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility."
"The deployment has been met with some resistance from residents and officials. The state of Oregon and the city of Portland sued the administration Sunday, looking to block the deployment of troops to the city."
"Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek (D) has been outspoken against the deployment. At a press conference over the weekend, she called the deployment 'an abuse of power and a disservice to our communities and our service members.' ”
Comment: "Protests in Portland over ICE activity have spurred a number of arrests this year, with 26 people facing federal charges near the city’s ICE facility since June, including one accused of throwing an incendiary device."
"While some protesters have been charged with assaulting officers, The Oregonian reports that other demonstrators have claimed they were met with outsize force from law enforcement. No fatalities have been reported from the protests in 2025."
Comment: While serious protests against Trump administration policies have occurred in Portland, do you believe that Trump really had "no choice" in deploying the National Guard? Or, do you believe that Trump wanted to demonstrate his power and abuse it, as the Oregon governor claims? Do you believe that Portland and Oregon law enforcement could not have handled any foreseeable situation without the introduction of military forces? Was troop deployment necessary, especially without the request and approval of Oregon's governor?
Trump administration to defund federal watchdog council - CBS News
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-defunding-council-of-inspectors-general/
Comment: "The Trump administration is pulling a federal watchdog off the beat in Washington, effective Wednesday, stripping funding from the Council of Inspectors General."
"Removing the council's funding will mean a further hollowing out of the work of federal inspectors general and internal government investigators who are supposed to root out waste, fraud, abuse and misconduct in the administration."
"The council, which is an independent entity within the executive branch, is tasked with addressing 'integrity, economy and effectiveness issues that transcend individual Government agencies,' according to the council's website."
Comment: "The council, often referred to as CIGIE, helps train, equip and provide investigative expertise to the dozens of federal inspectors general. Its staff helps operate hotlines for tips, hosts websites for the inspectors and provides data analysis and investigative tools to help with probes. CIGIE helps support nearly 14,000 federal investigative employees, according to a former CIGIE official."
"Mark Greenblatt, a former inspector general for the Interior Department and a former CIGIE chair, posted a statement Tuesday warning about the impact of the cuts."
" 'Without this infrastructure, I fear the individual inspectors general will be isolated, their effectiveness diminished, and their ability to protect taxpayer interests severely compromised,' Greenblatt said."
"CIGIE also helps review possible misconduct by federal inspectors general themselves, in a 'policing the police' type of mission. Greenblatt alleges the organization is being defunded because of its prior review of a federal inspector appointed during the first Trump term."
Comment: Is the Trump administration defunding the government corruption police?
Politicized Justice Department? Comey charges take Trump's threats to new level
Comment: " 'It harkens back to McCarthyism and the weaponization of attacks and accusations around Communism, and the invocation of the Red Scare, to silence people,' said California Attorney General Rob Bonta."
Video: White House withdraws nomination of E.J. Antoni for Bureau of Labor Statistics - Oct 1, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVB8ucuLpig
Comment: Antoni allegedly posted sexually degrading attacks on Kamala Harris and made derogatory attacks on gay people.
Comment: The postings must have been really sick for them to impact Trump's nomination decision!
CNN: For Trump and Hegseth, the ‘warrior ethos’ comes with ultimatums for hundreds of generals and admirals
https://edition.cnn.com/2025/10/01/politics/trump-hegseth-warriors-ultimatums
Video: These are the possible effects of a government shutdown - September 30, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aafy3pbjd9s
‘Could have been an email’: Officials balk at Hegseth's generals meeting - POLITICO
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/09/30/hegseth-meeting-pushback-00588181
Comment: "The last-minute gathering featured hundreds of senior military officials, who swear an oath to the Constitution, attending something more akin to a campaign rally."
'No more walking on eggshells': Hegseth vows to lift guardrails on military hazing, harassment
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/hegseths-policy-memos-hazing-harassment-military/story?id=126081286
Comment: "Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday called for a sweeping overhaul of how the military handles allegations of hazing and other types of abuse, insisting that the military had grown too soft and promising to expunge the records of tough leaders with past infractions."
"In a memo to senior Pentagon leaders and combatant commands, Hegseth called on his top adviser on personnel issues to conduct a 30-day review of how the military defines hazing, bullying and harassment. He also called for a 45-day review of how long certain allegations stay on someone's personnel record."
" 'Department policy defining conduct by Service members that constitutes hazing, bullying, and harassment is overly broad, jeopardizing combat readiness, mission accomplishment, and trust in the organization,' Hegseth wrote as part of series of new policy directives released Tuesday. 'To maintain a lethal and ready Force, leaders must be empowered to make the right decisions, enforce standards, and restore good order and discipline.' "
Comment: "Tough guy" Hegseth wants to create an image of toughness.
Comment: Do you suppose that in Hegseth's sick mind, he wants to create a soldier that Trump can use to intimidate a citizen on a street in an American city? If so, it won't work. Most military personnel understand that their allegiance is to the U.S. Constitution and the rule of law, not to some tinhorn dictator. They have more class, values, and patriotism in their little finger, than Trump and Hegseth have combined.
Hegseth uses rare meeting of generals to announce new military standards
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/09/30/hegseth-meeting-generals-standards-00586122
Comment: "Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth outlined an overhaul of military standards and gender rules on Tuesday in an extraordinary meeting of top brass, an effort that could reduce the role of women in combat as he seeks to bolster an image of American might."
Comment: "Hegseth has made setting the military apart from civilian society a hallmark of his tenure as Defense secretary. And while he largely trod over familiar ground Tuesday, the Pentagon chief announced new orders that would codify the 'highest male standards' in training, set specific grooming rules and further eliminate gender- or race-based programs."
" 'I don’t want my son serving alongside troops who are out of shape or in combat units with females who can’t meet the same combat arms physical standards as men,' he said."
Comment: "At one point, Hegseth compared himself to the World War II-era Secretary of War Henry Stimson and Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Dan Caine to the legendary Gen. George Marshall."
"The secretary also decried 'fat generals and admirals' walking the halls of the Pentagon and lambasted Biden-era objectives to promote diversity in the ranks as actions of the 'Woke Department'.”
Comment: "The new rules will put in place the 'highest male standard' for fitness in combat roles, he said, which are 'gender neutral.' But he acknowledged women may not be able to meet them."
" 'If that means no women qualify for some combat jobs, so be it,' Hegseth told the assembled generals. 'That is not the intent, but it could be the result.' ”
Comment: "Perhaps most ominously, the Defense secretary warned of additional firings to come — a year after he terminated Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. C.Q. Brown, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti and several other top military officers."
Comment: " 'More leadership changes will be made,' he said. 'Of that, I’m certain.' ”
Comment: Hegseth's prior military experience was limited to that of a national guard infantry major. In a combat infantry role, physical conditioning and strength may be very important, but there are numerous military combat and support roles that require brains more than brawn. If Hegseth had any brains, he would realize this.
Comment: Hegseth seems more concerned about military image than military strength. Purges of competent and experienced leadership, because their race, gender, or physical characteristics don't comply with Hegseth's ideal image, weakens our military and hurts the morale of large and important segments of military personnel.
Comment: The article's statement about "setting the military apart from civilian society" is concerning. While unit pride and esprit de corps is very important, one might worry that Hegseth is promoting too much separation from civil society in an attempt to psychologically condition the military to pledge allegiance to their commander-in-chief rather than to the U.S. Constitution and civil authority. This is especially concerning as armed troops are deployed to U.S. cities to "fight crime," and the military's role in immigration enforcement is expanded.
Video: Hegseth summons military leaders for speech where he calls for controversial changes - September 30, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sneZVAzc7d0
Video: Pete Hegseth’s Shocking Address To 800 Generals At Quantico - September 30, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gV0q1FwhpY
Comment: Hegeth's entire 45 minute speech.
Here's what a shutdown means for Smithsonian museums, memorials and the zoo
https://www.npr.org/2025/09/30/nx-s1-5558189/government-shutdown-smithsonian-zoo
Comment: Public federal attractions in D.C. will be closed or limited.
Judge says Nevada US attorney’s involvement in criminal cases ‘would be unlawful’
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/09/30/us-attorney-nevada-cases-00589343
Comment: "A federal judge ruled Tuesday that the top federal prosecutor in Nevada is disqualified from handling cases, a rebuke to the Trump administration’s effort to sidestep the traditional methods of installing U.S. attorneys."
"U.S. District Judge David Campbell wrote in a 32-page opinion that Sigal Chattah 'is not validly serving as Acting U.S. Attorney' and therefore her involvement in prosecutions 'would be unlawful'.”
"Chattah is the second U.S. attorney installed by the Trump administration to see her authority stripped by a federal judge in recent months. In August, a federal judge disqualified Alina Habba as acting U.S. attorney in New Jersey, though that ruling is on pause pending appeal."
FBI boss Kash Patel gave New Zealand officials 3D-printed guns illegal to possess under local laws
https://apnews.com/article/kash-patel-guns-new-zealand-fbi-d5747377f957d61645d47324bfaa1114
Comment: Another embarrassing episode from Kash Patel.
CNN: Kash Patel tries to correct MAGA conspiracy theories he once stoked — again
https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/29/politics/kash-patel-fbi-january-6-analysis
Here’s what is so different about the brewing government shutdown | CNN Politics
Video: Pres. Trump threatens to withhold money if Zohran Mamdani wins NYC mayoral election - September 29, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Do4AKAl9XQ8
Comment: Although Mamdani is a democratic socialist and his policies might not be popular to many people in parts of Alabama, he is apparently popular in New York City, where rents and other costs of living make it nearly impossible for working people to survive. He is not a communist as Trump erroneous claims. Trump should not be able to withhold federal money from America's largest city, just because he doesn't like a mayor's policies. NYC residents pay federal taxes too, a lot of them. Trump's heavy handed attempts to influence an election, using threats, intimidation and extortion, constitute an abuse of presidential power.
Video: How a government shutdown might impact the Justice Department - September 29, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQEnJz24CbY
Federal courts may quickly face curtailed operations if government shuts down
Axios: "No one is safe": Democrats fear Trump will prosecute them next
https://www.axios.com/2025/09/29/trump-democrats-comey-indictment-mciver
Comment: "Some congressional Democrats are going so far as to check their own personal finances after the indictment of James Comey, Axios has learned."
Comment: "With President Trump calling for Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) to be prosecuted for mortgage fraud, members fear that a loose thread could provide an opening to go after them next."
Comment: " 'I've explored liability insurance,' another House Democrat said. 'And so have other members [in case] they come after us legally,' "
Comment: "Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) told Axios he thinks some members 'are going to be, absolutely, targets for this retribution purge.' "
"Going over personal finances, he said, is 'just wise of certain members who are, you know, more prominent targets.' "
"Rep. Greg Landsman (D-Ohio) said the Comey indictment shows that 'no one is safe'."
"Rep. Gil Cisneros (D-Calif.) said: 'Obviously, I think there is a worry that ... this administration is going to dive into your stuff and kind of trump up some bogus charge just because you were critical of the president.' "
Comment: Is malicious prosecution a crime, or just grounds for impeachment?
Video: Trump says he'll attend Pete Hegseth's gathering of senior military officers - September 29, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Cz6PoGG5Cw
Pritzker says Trump administration seeking to deploy 100 troops to protect ICE in Illinois
https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/gov-pritzker-address-deployment-federal-agents-chicago/
Comment: "Pritzker said the Illinois National Guard has learned the Department of Homeland Security sent a memo to the Pentagon, requesting the deployment of 100 military troops in Illinois to protect ICE personnel and facilities. The governor's office said it's unclear if those troops would be Illinois National Guard, National Guard members from other states, or active-duty military troops."
" 'What I have warned of is now being realized. One thing is clear: none of what Trump is doing is making Illinois safer,' Pritzker said. 'This is an attack on neighborhoods, on lawful residents, on U.S. citizens. That's not preventing crime, as Donald Trump claims, that's threatening public safety. But as I've said many times, for Donald Trump and the MAGAs in Congress, this is not about fighting crime or about public safety. This is about sowing fear and intimidation and division among Americans. It was about creating a pretext to send armed military troops into our communities. This is about consolidating power in Donald Trump's hands.' "
Armed Border Patrol agents patrol downtown Chicago, drawing mayoral criticism
Comment: "United States Border Patrol agents, wearing bulletproof vests and carrying rifles, were observed patrolling in downtown Chicago on Sunday afternoon."
Comment: "The videos of the masked agents sparked intense reactions on social media, including from Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, who accused the Trump administration of using 'provocative' tactics in continuing to deployed armed agents in the city."
" 'While Chicagoans and visitors are enjoying another gorgeous Sunday, they are being intimidated and threatened by masked federal agents flaunting automatic weapons for no apparent reason,' he said. 'This is another brazen provocation from the Trump administration that does nothing to make our city safer. We will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates as they become available.' "
"Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker echoed similar concerns following the reports."
" 'This is not making anybody safer — it’s a show of intimidation, instilling fear in our communities and hurting our businesses,' he said. 'We cannot normalize militarizing American cities and suburbs.' ”
Comment: "Trump also said that his administration sent additional FBI resources to the city earlier this year on an 'information gathering mission.' He also claimed credit for reductions in crime, though there is no available data tying reduced crime to the presence of FBI agents."
Comment: "Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker also issued a statement Saturday addressing the Trump administration's plans to send more federal agents to Chicago and other cities, and the ongoing protests in Broadview."
" 'Donald Trump is using federal agents to stoke fear and violate constitutional rights,' Pritzker said. 'It's unlawful and un-American. We must stand up and speak out against fanning the flames of violence.' "
Comment: Look at the pictures and videos associated with this link, and ask yourself if the agent deployment was designed to fight crime or intimidate citizens. The area of deployment doesn't look like a high crime area, especially during the day. Very few, if any, immigrant arrests were reported, given the large border patrol presence. However, the spectacle of heavily armed agents, many masked and on downtown city streets, makes quite an impression.
Comment: Please remember that your federal tax dollars are paying for this show of force.
DHS Says Tariff Collection, ICE to Continue Under Government Shutdown
Comment: While government services that citizens rely on will be curtailed under the government shutdown, Trump priorities such as collecting tariffs (taxes) and rounding up immigrants will be considered essential and will continue.
These people grew up under dictators. They're worried about what's happening here.
Comment: "A number of Americans who started life in countries run by an authoritarian leader see lots of warning signs in Trump's behavior."
Trump’s moves to tighten power and punish enemies draw comparisons to places where democracy faded
https://apnews.com/article/trump-democracy-turkey-hungary-venezuela-d7b0fac7c5e135bf75b3c125e8335a5d
Comment: "Since he returned to office in January, Trump’s remaking of the federal government into an instrument of his personal will has drawn comparisons to elected strongmen in other countries who used the levers of government to consolidate power, punish their enemies and stifle dissent."
"But those familiar with other countries where that has happened, including Hungary and Turkey, say there is one striking difference: Trump appears to be moving more rapidly, and more overtly, than others did."
Comment: "The U.S. is a long way from Venezuela or other authoritarian governments. It still has robust opposition to Trump, judges who often check his initiatives and a system that diffuses power across 50 states, including elections, making it hard for a president to dominate the country. Some of Trump’s most controversial pledges, such as revoking television licenses, remain just threats."
Comment: "Even so, he has moved quickly to consolidate authority under the presidency, steer federal law enforcement to prioritize a campaign of retribution and purge the government of those not considered sufficiently loyal."
Comment: "US unprepared for attacks on democracy from within"
"Trump opened his second term pardoning more than 1,500 people convicted of crimes during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, an attempt to overturn his 2020 election loss. He has threatened judges who ruled against him, targeted law firms and universities he believes opposed him, and is attempting to reshape the nation's cultural institutions."
Comment: "Steven Levitsky, a Harvard political scientist and co-author of the book 'How Democracies Die,' said he is constantly asked by foreign journalists how the U.S. can let Trump take such actions."
“ 'If you talk to Brazilians, South Koreans, Germans, they have better antennae for authoritarians,' he said. 'They experienced, or were taught by their parents, or the schools, the danger of losing a democracy.' ”
"Of the United States, he said: 'This is not a society that is prepared for authoritarianism.' ”
Politico: Trump falsely suggests FBI agents to blame for igniting Jan. 6 violence
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/09/27/trump-january-6-fbi-00583383
Comment: "The president’s baseless claim continued a yearslong effort to rewrite the history of the Capitol attack."
Video: Trump orders troop deployments to protect ICE facilities - September 27, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZY0DxY6gRic
Video: Oregon governor says Trump is abusing his authority by ordering troops to Portland - September 27, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMPCRiWDKw8
Video: Trump directs Hegseth to deploy troops to Portland - September 27, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTQQthsQZ-Y
Comment: "In a Truth Social post, President Trump said he directed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to send U.S. troops to Portland, Oregon. Mayor Keith Wilson dismissed the threat, calling it “a big show of force, and nothing more'.”
NBC News: FBI fires at least 15 agents over conduct during George Floyd protests
Comment: "At least 15 FBI agents were fired Friday in connection with their actions during the protests that followed the death of George Floyd, a source familiar with the terminations told NBC News."
"The agents had been assigned to help secure federal buildings during the demonstrations, when a tense standoff developed between a large crowd of protesters and a limited number of FBI personnel. Some agents were photographed kneeling, which the source described as a tactic meant to de-escalate the conflict."
Comment: "The FBI declined to comment on the firings, citing personnel matters. The FBI Agents Association said in a statement that it 'strongly condemn[s]' the firings as 'unlawful' and that they violated 'the due process rights of those who risk their lives to protect our country.' "
"The association sharply criticized Patel, accusing him of breaking the law with these and other firings at the FBI in recent months."
" 'Leaders uphold the law — they don’t repeatedly break it. They respect due process, rather than hide from it,' the FBIAA statement said. 'Patel’s dangerous new pattern of actions are weakening the Bureau because they eliminate valuable expertise and damage trust between leadership and the workforce, and make it harder to recruit and retain skilled agents — ultimately putting our nation at greater risk.' ”
"These firings come just weeks after three former top FBI officials sued Patel and Attorney General Pam Bondi, alleging that Patel fired them to stay in President Donald Trump's good graces."
Comment: Do you think Trump wanted the FBI personnel to escalate the George Floyd protest situation, so as to create an image of racial violence that he could exploit in his 2024 presidential campaign?
Comment: Are you surprised that a convicted felon might want to intimidate and retaliate against a federal law enforcement agency like the FBI, especially an agency that has historically investigated cases of public corruption?
Video: 'We really can't rely on information' out of federal agencies: Dr. Harry Heiman on drug safety - September 27, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8Sjld6HVI4
‘It’s the threats that are the point’: How Brendan Carr exerts his FCC power
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/09/27/brendan-carr-kimmel-fcc-00583301
Comment: "For days after ABC restored his show, comedian Jimmy Kimmel remained off the air at more than 60 television stations, including in major markets like Washington, D.C. — a powerful illustration of the effectiveness of a single Trump administration bureaucrat."
"The Kimmel saga is the latest example of Brendan Carr’s unorthodox but effective reign at the Federal Communications Commission, turning a previously wonky agency into a new force in the American culture wars."
"As chair of the FCC, Carr has spent the year jousting with big-name media companies and liberal-leaning institutions, scoring huge wins for President Donald Trump’s agenda, all without any formal enforcement moves."
"He used two levers at the same time to pressure Kimmel off the air, issuing public threats to ABC and its parent company Disney, and also invoking his significant power over the station ownership groups that carry his show across the country."
"In just eight months in office, Carr has used a similar mix of public pressure and background leverage to push two major telecom giants, Verizon and T-Mobile, to abandon their diversity, equity and inclusion practices to win merger sign-offs. His investigation into the venerable CBS news program '60 Minutes' helped win similar concessions and commitments on media bias as he negotiated Skydance’s merger with CBS parent company Paramount — and may have led to a settlement and direct payment to Trump himself."
"None of these actions required official regulatory crackdowns. Carr didn’t even have a working GOP majority on the FCC until June. His chairmanship has instead been an exercise in sidestepping formal lanes to enact conservative policy priorities."
Comment: MAGA coercion, extortion, and intimidation?
The Hill: Unjust, dangerous: Government shutdowns make correctional officers work without pay
https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/5522706-federal-prison-officers-unpaid-shutdown/
Justice Department issues subpoena for Fani Willis travel records
Comment: "The Department of Justice has issued a subpoena for records related to the travel history of Fani Willis, the Georgia district attorney who charged President Donald Trump in an election interference case in 2023, a source familiar with the Department of Justice’s actions confirmed to NBC News."
Comment "The development comes as Trump in recent weeks has publicly pressed Justice Department officials to investigate or charge his political foes, including former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James."
Comment: More retribution?
Trump promised retribution - how far will he go?
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0q74pxx871o.amp
Video: Will Pres. Trump go after more political adversaries? - September 27, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i92PU3nuTQc
The Guardian: Trump news at a glance: president says he hopes ‘there will be others’ after Comey indictment
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/27/trump-administration-news-updates-today
Comment: Trump might want to see how this first indictment works out for him, before he goes after another one of his political enemies.
Video: Trump's granddaughter launched her new merch at the White House - September 27, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQ0ZXDLH67s
Comment: Why is this commercial venture being launched using the White House as a backdrop?
Comment: Third generation grift?
Politico: Why the case against James Comey may end in humiliation for Trump’s DOJ
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/09/26/james-comey-indictment-flaws-00582920
Comment: "The bare-bones indictment secured by that prosecutor, Trump loyalist Lindsey Halligan, is exceptionally weak, former prosecutors and legal experts say. Fundamental problems with the case itself — as well as the unusual events that preceded the indictment — will make it difficult to bring Comey to trial, let alone secure a conviction."
"Former federal terrorism prosecutor Andy McCarthy called the charges 'poorly done' and predicted they will be thrown out by a judge well before any trial."
" 'The whole thing is just bizarro,' McCarthy said. 'This is the kind of thing that should never ever happen. … This case should never go to trial because it’s obvious from the four corners of the indictment that there’s no case.' ”
"The issues that could doom the case include the overt political pressure by Trump to bring the indictment, Halligan’s own inexperience, peculiarities in the indictment itself and even a five-year-old technology issue."
"Here’s a look at some of these challenges."
Comment: The linked article describes in greater detail the following 5 challenges:
Comment: "The president’s public pressure"
Comment: "Scant evidence of Comey’s alleged lie"
Comment: "An inexperienced prosecutor whose signature stands alone"
Comment: "Insults from the White House"
Comment: " ‘We don’t know what the witness said’ "
Trump's TikTok deal payment criticized as 'shakedown scheme' by experts
https://www.npr.org/2025/09/26/g-s1-90598/tiktok-deal-trump-oracle
Comment: "The Trump administration recently approached a coalition of U.S. investors set to take over TikTok's U.S. operations with an ask: Will the group make a payment to the federal government 'in the low billions,' according to a person with direct knowledge of the talks."
"The response from the investors, which includes tech mogul Larry Ellison, the Murdochs and venture capital heavyweight Andreessen Horowitz, was an unequivocal yes."
" 'Not a single member balked,' said the person, who was not authorized to speak publicly. 'They see it as something of a finders' fee.' "
"Welcome to President Trump's new business agenda: extracting payments as if the federal government is brokering deals like a white-shoe consulting firm fueled by lucrative 'fees for service'."
"Whether it's the U.S. taking 15% of Nvidia and AMD's chip sales to China, the federal government securing a 'golden share' in U.S. Steel or the Trump administration reportedly seeking an equity stake in Lithium Americas as part of a government loan negotiation, the White House is on a campaign of squeezing businesses with few parallels in modern history."
" 'At a minimum, this now means there is a tax imposed on every major business transaction,' said Luigi Zingales, a professor of finance at the University of Chicago. 'But even worse, businesses will no longer be focused on innovating and creating value and instead the whole game now is rent-seeking. It's all about ingratiating yourself with Trump.' "
Former national park superintendents urge Trump administration to close parks in case of shutdown
Comment: "A group of former national park superintendents is calling on the Trump administration to close the parks to visitors in case of a government shutdown."
"Past shutdowns in which parks remained open led to vandalism of iconic symbols, destroyed wildlife habitat and endangered visitors, 40 former superintendents said in a letter to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum."
"A shutdown now could be even worse as parks are already under strain from a 24% reduction in staff and severe budget cuts, the former park officials said in their letter Thursday. A secretarial order by Burgum directing parks to remain open has led parks to neglect trash collection and other routine maintenance work, the ex-officials said."
Comey indictment shows how Trump has taken a radical turn – even by his own standards | CNN Politics
https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/26/politics/trump-comey-indictment-norm-busting
Trump’s Energy Secretary Aims to Claw Back Billions Slated for Clean Energy Projects
Comment: "Former fracking CEO Chris Wright calls climate action a 'green new scam' that makes people’s lives worse."
Comment: "The US energy secretary, Chris Wright, on Wednesday announced that his department will return to the treasury billions of dollars set aside for green projects, while dodging questions about affordability and grid reliability and claiming international climate policy has not lowered emissions."
Comment: Wright also announced plans to return $13 billion in Biden-era funding for green projects, which his department said were “initially appropriated to advance the previous administration’s wasteful ‘Green New Scam’ agenda.” He did not clarify which green projects would be targeted."
"Questioned about his administration’s attempts to halt wind farm construction, including ones that are already permitted, Wright said the administration is merely investigating widespread concerns about the projects’ impacts, including on whale populations. Scientists say there is no credible evidence that wind turbines pose a major danger to whales."
Comment: "The president has pledged to slash electricity bills by half. Yet grid operators have said the Trump administration’s efforts to halt renewable energy while keeping costly coal plants online have forced them to increase utility bills. Wright dodged a question about those rising costs, claiming that Biden’s efforts to close coal plants raised the price of electricity."
US justice department to examine rising cost of farm inputs, says farm secretary
Comment: "The U.S. Department of Justice antitrust division will work with the Department of Agriculture to look closely at the rising cost of agricultural inputs like fertilizer and seeds under a memorandum of understanding signed on Thursday, said Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins."
"The goal of the joint effort is to 'protect American farmers and ranchers from the burdens imposed by high and volatile input costs, such as feed, fertilizer, fuel, seed, equipment and other essential goods,' Rollins said at the Ag Outlook Forum in Kansas City, Missouri."
"The DOJ will scrutinize competitive conditions in the agricultural marketplace, including antitrust enforcement that promotes free market competition, Rollins said."
Comment: While citizens appreciate any attempts to enforce antitrust laws, one wonders why it is being limited to agriculture? What about other aspects of the economy, especially those directly impacting consumers?
Comment: With regard to fertilizer, how much do tariffs contribute to the input cost increase, for example, tariffs on Canadian potash?
CNN: Fact check: Vance, rewriting last week’s history, claims FCC chair just made a ‘joke’ about Kimmel
https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/25/politics/fact-check-vance-fcc-kimmel
Comment: The issue of free speech is not a joke to us Mr. Vice President.
Vance: FCC chief’s Kimmel threat was ‘joke’
https://thehill.com/homenews/media/5521172-vance-fcc-carr-kimmel-threat/
Comment: "Vice President Vance argued Wednesday that Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chair Brendan Carr was not serious when he suggested last week that comedian Jimmy Kimmel be taken off the air over comments the host made about the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk."
Comment: How many of you believe that statement?
Former FBI Director James Comey indicted days after Trump demanded his DOJ move 'now' to prosecute enemies
https://abcnews.go.com/US/former-fbi-director-james-comey-indicted-days-after/story?id=125935658
Commented: Former FBI Director James Comey was indicted Thursday on charges of making a false statement and obstruction related to his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2020, just days after President Donald Trump issued a public demand for his Justice Department to act 'now' to bring prosecutions against Comey and other political foes."
" 'My heart is broken for the Department of Justice. I have great confidence in the federal judicial system and I am innocent, so let's have a trial, and keep the faith,' Comey said in a brief video posted to his Instagram account."
Comment: "Following the indictment, Comey's son-in-law Troy Edwards, Jr. resigned from his post in the Eastern District of Virginia, where he was a national security prosecutor, according to an email obtained by ABC News."
Comment: "Earlier this week, federal prosecutors in Virginia informed Halligan that they could not establish probable cause to charge Comey, ABC News first reported. Despite the lack of clear evidence and ethical concerns about bringing a case without clear probable cause, Halligan sought an indictment from the grand jury, sources said."
Comment: "The charges against Comey are the most dramatic escalation yet in what critics have described as a campaign of retribution by Trump to use the powers of the federal government to enact revenge against those he believes have wronged him."
Former FBI Director James Comey indicted after pressure from Trump
Attorney General Bondi and prosecutors have reservations over charging James Comey, sources say | CNN Politics
https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/25/politics/james-comey-justice-department-trump-bondi-perjury-virginia
CBS News: Justice Department sues 6 states for failing to turn over voter registration rolls
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/justice-department-lawsuit-6-states-voter-registration/
Comment: "The Justice Department on Thursday sued six states for what it said was their refusal to turn over statewide voter registration lists sought by the attorney general."
"The suits were filed against the top election officials in California, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania and allege [emphasis added] the moves not to provide the voter registration rolls violate federal law."
MPR News: Trump’s DOJ sues Minnesota election official over voter registration data
https://www.mprnews.org/story/2025/09/25/doj-sues-minnesota-over-voter-registration-data
Comment: "The U.S. Department of Justice filed a federal lawsuit Thursday against Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon over his refusal to turn over the state’s voter registration list."
"The lawsuit contends that federal officials should have access to Minnesota’s list to ensure Minnesota is in compliance with the Help America Vote Act. The law was passed after irregularities and issues were tracked in the 2000 election."
Comment: "It’s the latest salvo in a monthslong fight over the date. In June, the Justice Department sent a letter to Simon, a third-term DFLer. The department requested data about Minnesota’s compliance with maintaining its voter registration list; that letter also asked for the full statewide voter registration list, which includes names, drivers license numbers, partial Social Security numbers and dates of birth of voters."
"In response, Simon’s office provided data on maintenance, but declined to send the entire list."
"The lawsuit said Simon’s office told the federal department that no information contained on the list would be disclosed “unless expressly required by law,” and that the Trump administration did not identify any legitimate legal basis for sharing that list. Simon’s office also sought assurances that any data it supplies would be protected and used properly."
"In an interview with MPR News Thursday, Simon said he sees his role as safeguarding voter privacy."
" 'The Department of Justice is doing something here that is just not normal,' he said. 'Usually when they ask states, us or anyone else, for information it's about one or a handful or particular voters. But this is so broad and so sweeping, and so potentially intrusive. That we really have to pay attention here.' ”
"Simon said he has not heard any strong legal justification for needing the entire list."
" 'Who are they going to share it with for what purposes? What are the safeguards or guard rails or security protections? How will it be shielded?' Simon said. 'Those are the things that we maintain the law says they need to show and they haven't shown it.' ”
Comment: "The Justice Department has brought similar cases against eight states, including Pennsylvania, New York, California and Michigan."
Hegseth summons generals and admirals for rare meeting in Virginia
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/pete-hegseth-generals-admirals-meeting/
Comment: "There are regularly scheduled meetings with senior military leaders, but a meeting of this size in person and on such short notice is rare, if not unprecedented."
Comment: This needs to be watched closely.
CNN: Hegseth orders hundreds of senior military officers to Virginia for highly unusual meeting
https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/25/politics/hegseth-generals-surprise-meeting
Democrats dig in on shutdown after White House layoff threat
Comment: See comments under identical article link found in the topic "US Congress."
Trump signs executive order facilitating TikTok deal
https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/trump-signs-executive-order-tiktok-deal-know-rcna233518
Mother Jones: The Dismantling of the US Forest Service Is Imminent
If Trump has a smoking gun in the Lisa Cook mortgage fraud case, we haven’t seen it yet | CNN Business
https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/25/economy/lisa-cook-mortgage-bessent-chavez-deremer
White House to agencies: Prepare mass firing plans for a potential shutdown
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/09/24/white-house-firings-shutdown-00579909
Comment: "The White House budget office is instructing federal agencies to prepare reduction-in-force plans for mass firings during a possible government shutdown, specifically targeting employees who work for programs that are not legally required to continue."
"The Office of Management and Budget move to permanently reduce the government workforce if there is a shutdown, outlined in a memo shared with POLITICO ahead of release to agencies tonight, escalates the stakes of a potential shutdown next week."
"In the memo, OMB told agencies to identify programs, projects and activities where discretionary funding will lapse on Oct. 1 and no alternative funding source is available. For those areas, OMB directed agencies to begin drafting RIF plans that would go beyond standard furloughs, permanently eliminating jobs in programs not consistent with President Donald Trump’s priorities in the event of a shutdown."
"The move marks a significant break from how shutdowns have been handled in recent decades, when most furloughs were temporary and employees were brought back once Congress voted to reopen government and funding was restored. This time, OMB Director Russ Vought is using the threat of permanent job cuts as leverage, upping the ante in the standoff with Democrats in Congress over government spending."
Comment: This is the ultimate act of extortion and intimidation. In effect, the Trump Administration is threatening to severely damage federal government long term operation, unless he gets what he wants. This is not a temporary furlough. The massive firing of federal workers would have a long term impact to government services and operations.
Comment: Steve Bannon's threat to "burn it all down" may be coming to fruition. How does one counter such an insane threat? The Democrats can't threaten to defund Presidential Secret Service protection and pass out ammunition in front of the White House.
Majority pessimistic about freedom of speech protections: Poll
https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/5520474-majority-pessimistic-freedom-of-speech-poll/
57 percent not confident in medical information cited by RFK Jr.: Survey
https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/5520172-voters-skeptical-kennedy-health/
Top GOP and White House allies working behind the scenes to prevent Epstein vote on House floor | CNN Politics
https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/24/politics/epstein-files-house-gop-block
The Daily Beast: Keystone Kash Faces Backlash Over ICE Bullet Sharpie Post
https://www.thedailybeast.com/keystone-kash-faces-backlash-over-ice-bullet-sharpie-post/
Comment: "FBI Director Kash Patel has come under fire after he rushed to post a contentious image of an unused 'anti-ICE' bullet casing recovered at the scene of a deadly shooting in Texas."
Sniper opens fire on Dallas ICE facility, killing 1 detainee, wounding 2: DHS
https://abcnews.go.com/US/multiple-people-shot-dallas-ice-field-office-source/story?id=125887376
Comment: "A sniper opened fire on the Dallas Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office on Wednesday morning, killing one detainee and critically wounding two other detainees, the Department of Homeland Security said.
Comment: "While no officers were injured, the Department of Homeland Security said the shooting was 'an attack on ICE law enforcement'."
Comment: "The shooter died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, officials said."
Comment: While it is likely that the shooter was targeting ICE officials, isn't it a little premature to be making such a definitive statement so soon. After all, only detainees were shot, no ICE personnel. It is a possibility that the shooter was trying to provoke additional violence against immigrants or immigrant sympathizers and was willing to sacrifice his life and a few detainees to instigate this provocation. This scenario is unlikely, and may appear to sound conspiratorial. However, it is no more crazy than some of the investigations that Kash Patel is chasing in the Charlie Kirk assassination.
MAGA conspiracy machine steers Trump team's Kirk investigation
https://www.axios.com/2025/09/24/maga-conspiracies-charlie-kirk-shooting-trump
Comment: "MAGA activists are demanding real-world retribution for Charlie Kirk's assassination, dragging their allies in government down a rabbit hole of online conspiracy theories."
Comment: "MAGA is hungry for a crackdown — but its enemy is ill-defined, and its definition of success is wholly unclear. A lack of answers from the Trump administration could leave vast swathes of the base deeply disappointed."
Comment: "The Trump administration is unusually responsive to pressure from the MAGA ecosystem, with conspiracy-fueled narratives and personnel flowing freely between the movement and the government."
"As a result, theories about sprawling 'leftist' networks, accomplices at the scene of Kirk's slaying in Utah, or overseas involvement are being treated as live leads — even in the absence of hard evidence."
Comment: "No evidence has emerged to suggest any of that is true, but that hasn't stopped MAGA activists from demanding punishments for alleged perpetrators beyond just Robinson."
Comment: "Trump signed an executive order Monday designating antifa as a 'domestic terror organization,' describing it as 'a network of Radical Left terrorists that aim to overthrow the government through violence and agitation.' "
"Robinson has no known connections to antifa — a decentralized left-wing movement accused of fomenting violent protests and assaults on law enforcement in major cities."
"MAGA has long treated antifa as a bogeyman and catch-all for its liberal enemies. In 2021, Trump falsely blamed 'antifa people' for the Jan. 6 Capitol riot that was carried out by his own supporters."
Comment: "FBI director Kash Patel has amplified the conspiratorial swirl rather than narrow it, taking the extraordinary step of publicly listing theories the bureau is treating as part of its investigation."
Comment: "Conspiracy theories are an inevitable part of any assassination. But with MAGA's grip on the Trump administration, unproven speculation is being elevated into official policy."
Newly appointed US attorney will attempt to charge James Comey despite prosecutors finding no probable cause: Sources
Comment: "Donald Trump’s handpicked U.S. attorney in Virginia is planning to ask a grand jury in the coming days to indict former FBI Director James Comey for allegedly lying to Congress, despite prosecutors and investigators determining there was insufficient evidence to charge him, sources with direct knowledge of the probe told ABC News."
"Earlier this week, prosecutors presented Lindsey Halligan -- Trump’s former personal attorney whom he appointed to lead the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia -- with a detailed memo recommending that she decline to bring perjury and obstruction charges against Comey, the sources familiar with the memo said."
"A monthslong investigation into Comey by DOJ prosecutors failed to establish probable cause of a crime -- meaning that not only would they be unable to secure a conviction of Comey by proving the claims beyond a reasonable doubt, but that they couldn’t reach a significantly lower standard to secure an indictment, the sources said."
"According to Justice Department guidelines, prosecutors are generally barred from bringing charges unless they can prove a defendant will 'more likely than not be found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt by an unbiased trier of fact and that the conviction will be upheld on appeal.' "
"Despite their recommendations, Halligan -- who has never prosecuted a criminal case in her career as an insurance lawyer -- plans to present evidence to a grand jury before the statute of limitations for the alleged offense expires next week, the sources said."
Comment: Never mind the evidence. Trump says he's 'guilty as hell.' [sarcasm added]
CNBC: Former FBI Director Comey expected to be indicted soon in Virginia federal court: MSNBC
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/24/james-comey-fbi-indictment-trump-congress.html
Comment: "Former FBI Director James Comey is expected to be indicted on criminal charges in the coming days in federal court in Virginia, MSNBC reported Wednesday."
"Comey for years has been a target of President Donald Trump, who fired him as FBI director early in his first term in the White House."
"News of the potential indictment comes days after the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia resigned under pressure from Trump after opposing the filing of charges against Comey in that district."
"The prosecutor, Erik Siebert, was replaced as interim U.S. Attorney on Monday by Lindsey Halligan, who has represented Trump in legal cases in the past."
"Trump in a social media post Saturday, called Comey 'guilty as hell' as he raged about the lack of charges against the former FBI leader."
Comment: How many of you think this is only about retribution and revenge from Trump?
Private health insurers use AI to approve or deny care. Soon Medicare will, too.
Comment: "Taking a page from the private insurance industry’s playbook, the Trump administration will launch a program next year to find out how much money an artificial intelligence algorithm could save the federal government by denying care to Medicare patients."
"The pilot program, designed to weed out wasteful, “low-value” services, amounts to a federal expansion of an unpopular process called prior authorization, which requires patients or someone on their medical team to seek insurance approval before proceeding with certain procedures, tests, and prescriptions. It will affect Medicare patients, and the doctors and hospitals who care for them, in Arizona, Ohio, Oklahoma, New Jersey, Texas, and Washington, starting Jan. 1 and running through 2031."
"The move has raised eyebrows among politicians and policy experts. The traditional version of Medicare, which covers adults 65 and older and some people with disabilities, has mostly eschewed prior authorization. Still, it is widely used by private insurers, especially in the Medicare Advantage market."
"And the timing was surprising: The pilot was announced in late June, just days after the Trump administration unveiled a voluntary effort by private health insurers to revamp and reduce their own use of prior authorization, which causes care to be 'significantly delayed,' said Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services."
“ 'It erodes public trust in the health care system,' Oz told the media. 'It’s something that we can’t tolerate in this administration.' ”
Comment: Do you remember the good old days when folks were just worried about an HMO health care manager making medical decisions about their health care. Now, a computer algorithm may be deciding approval or denial about the health care one is allowed to receive.
How federal agencies will handle a government shutdown under Trump remains to be seen | CNN Politics
https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/23/politics/government-shutdown-federal-agencies-trump
Video: Medical experts push back on Trump claims about acetaminophen in Tylenol and autism - September 23, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41wnMA3h8sw
Comment: Trump plays doctor and gives bad advice?
Fact check: Trump’s mathematically impossible promise to cut drug prices by ‘1,000%’ | CNN Politics
https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/23/politics/fact-check-drug-prices-trump
The Daily Beast: Murdoch Paper Warns RFK Jr. Henchman Will ‘Cost Many Lives’
Comment: "Rupert Murdoch’s flagship newspaper has issued a strong warning against plans by the man it calls the 'FDA’s Grim Reaper' to kill off life-saving cancer treatments and research."
" 'It’s a scandal that will cost many lives,' The Wall Street Journal editorial board writes of how Food and Drug Administration biologics chief Dr. Vinay Prasad is reportedly planning on 'killing life-saving experimental cancer treatments and undercutting biotech innovation'.”
"Prasad, like his boss Robert F Kennedy Jr., is a vaccine skeptic and rose to prominence for repeated attacks on 'the spread of new technologies and therapies without clear evidence that they work.' He once compared COVID-19 measures to the advent of the Third Reich."
Video: Ryan Routh found guilty of trying to assassinate Donald Trump - September 23, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MNe3o8PvaY
FBI says it found classified documents in John Bolton’s DC office
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/09/23/fbi-classified-documents-john-bolton-dc-office-00577894
Hegseth dissolves women’s military committee over ‘divisive feminist agenda’
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/23/pete-hegseth-ends-womens-military-committee
Comment: "Move puts end to group started in 1951 to give the Pentagon counsel on issues related to women in armed services"
Attorney general’s chief of staff to depart Justice Department following tumultuous few months | CNN Politics
https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/23/politics/chad-mizelle-pam-bondi-doj
Trump's pressure on Pam Bondi to charge his political foes could backfire, legal experts say
Comment: "President Donald Trump’s insistence that his attorney general bring charges against three perceived political opponents could backfire if any cases get to court, undermining his effort to see them punished, some legal experts said Monday."
"In a social media post Saturday, Trump pressed Attorney General Pam Bondi about three people who’ve raised his ire and who’ve not faced criminal charges to this point: Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif.; New York state Attorney General Letitia James; and former FBI Director James Comey."
"He mentioned that he’d been impeached and indicted multiple times 'OVER NOTHING!' "
" 'JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED NOW!!!' he wrote. He also cited unspecified 'statements and posts' he’d read contending that the trio are ' '‘guilty as hell, but nothing is going to be done.' ' "
"Because of Trump’s exhortation, defense lawyers could argue in court that their clients were targets of selective prosecution and did not receive constitutionally required due process, said Bruce Green, a professor at Fordham Law School who specializes in ethics issues."
Comment: "Another issue is whether Schiff, James and Comey could ever get a fair trial if it were to come to that, said Stephen Gillers, a professor of legal ethics at New York University School of Law."
" 'He is his own worst enemy,' Gillers said of Trump."
" 'Sometimes people make statements, but this is the president of the United States telling the court and an eventual jury that the people on trial before them are guilty. I can’t imagine that a court would let that go to a verdict. The prejudice from that kind of statement is enormous,' Gillers said."
Predator drones shift from border patrol to protest surveillance
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/ar-AA1N3mZ2
Comment: "When MQ-9 Predator drones flew over anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles this summer, it was the first time they had been dispatched to monitor demonstrations on U.S. soil since 2020, and their use reflects a change in how the government is choosing to deploy the aircraft once reserved for surveilling the border and war zones."
Comment: "Defenders of using drones to monitor protests say the aircraft, with their high-tech capabilities, can provide authorities useful and detailed information in real time. Human rights advocates fear the new policy will impinge on civil rights."
Comment: "The deployment of Predators over protesters is a significant departure from the U.S. government’s policy not to fly the drones over demonstrations, to avoid the perception they are spying on 1st Amendment rights activity, U.S. officials said."
Comment: "Five Democrats on the House Oversight Committee called the deployment a 'gross abuse of authority' and asked Homeland Security to explain what had occurred."
Comment: "The Predators come equipped with cutting-edge infrared heat sensors and high-definition video cameras, and can track scores of individuals within a 15-nautical-mile radius."
White House says Tom Homan did ‘nothing wrong’ following reports he accepted a bag of cash | CNN Politics
https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/22/politics/tom-homan-white-house-investigation-reports
White House backs ‘border czar’ after reports he accepted cash during undercover FBI probe last year
Comment: "The White House stood behind 'border czar' Tom Homan on Monday following reports that he had accepted $50,000 from undercover agents posing as businesspeople during an undercover FBI operation last year, leading to a bribery investigation that was shut down by the Trump administration Justice Department."
Comment: "Leavitt insisted to reporters during a briefing Monday that Homan 'never took the $50,000 you’re referring to,' though she did not elaborate what she meant. An MSNBC spokesperson said the network stood by its reporting."
Comment: "The revelation about Homan has nonetheless sparked fresh concerns about political interference in Justice Department matters at a time when Trump’s calls for prosecutions of his adversaries is testing the law enforcement agency’s long tradition of independence when it comes to prosecutorial decision-making. Trump escalated his pressure campaign on the Justice Department over the weekend, publicly calling for Attorney General Pam Bondi to move forward with cases against New York Attorney General Letitia James, former FBI Director James Comey and U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff."
Comment: " 'See what happened to Tom Homan, his border czar, who literally accepted a bag of cash — $50,000 — and the investigation was dropped once Trump became president,' Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy said on ABC News. 'There are just two standards of justice now in this country. If you are a friend of the president, a loyalist of the president you can get away with nearly anything ... but if you are an opponent of the president, you may find yourself in jail.' ”
Video: What to know about Jimmy Kimmel's return to ABC - September 22, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sEaZeFTKP8
Video: DOJ employees 'are absolutely traumatized' as Trump demands AG prosecute his enemies - September 22, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQbq6d1yC2I
Unease grows at the Justice Department as Trump's threats get even more blunt
https://www.npr.org/2025/09/22/nx-s1-5550132/trump-justice-department-comey-letitia-james-virginia
Comment: "President Trump is openly directing the Justice Department to go after his political adversaries, adding to a sense of unease inside the department about job security and ethical obligations."
"Even in an era of nonstop social media posts, Trump's weekend update stopped many government attorneys in their tracks. The president said he wanted to see justice served."
Comment: "Already this year thousands of employees have left the Justice Department through dismissals and forced resignations. Nearly all of the public integrity unit is gone, as are three in four lawyers in the civil rights division."
"Many people inside the department are afraid, Young said. After all, she said, if the president is willing to fire a prosecutor for not pursuing his enemies, anybody at the department could get fired."
Comment: "The Justice Department has traditionally operated with some measure of distance from the White House on criminal investigations. But that distance seems to have closed this year in a way that feels different to longtime observers."
Comment: "Saltzburg said it looks as if the Trump White House is insisting career prosecutors use their power to make life hell for people who challenge Trump — and on the other side of the coin, to drop investigations or pardon people who support the president, including the people who rioted at the U.S. Capitol four years ago."
"Trump's political appointees took an oath to support and defend the Constitution when they arrived on the job. That oath may soon be put to the test, if it hasn't already, Harvard law professor Jack Goldsmith wrote recently in his newsletter Executive Functions."
Video: Supreme Court lets Trump fire FTC's Rebecca Slaughter for now - September 22, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jp2RSdUE-bs
Supreme Court allows Trump to fire — for now — remaining Democrat on FTC
https://www.npr.org/2025/09/22/nx-s1-5550307/supreme-court-ftc-firing
Supreme Court allows Trump firing of FTC commissioner, accepts case for December argument - ABC News
Comment: "The Supreme Court on Monday in a 6-3 decision upheld President Donald Trump's termination of Federal Trade Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter, at least on an interim basis, as the justices said they would expedite a review of the high-stakes dispute over the scope of executive power."
"The Supreme Court did not explain its decision, but the move was in line with other recent orders by the conservative majority giving broad deference to the president over staffing of independent agencies that exercise significant executive authority."
"Trump removed Slaughter -- who was appointed by former President Joe Biden -- without cause, citing purely policy differences."
"Justices Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented from the decision citing the text of federal law, which only allows the removal of FTC commissioners for cause and a longstanding high court precedent -- Humphrey's Executor v US -- which upheld those terms."
Trump says the Murdochs will most likely have a role in the U.S. TikTok deal
Comment: "President Donald Trump on Sunday suggested that media mogul Rupert Murdoch and his son Lachlan, who lead News Corp. and Fox Corp., are involved in the deal for U.S. control of TikTok."
" 'Larry Ellison is one of them. He’s involved. This great guy, Michael Dell is involved. I hate to tell you this, but a man named Lachlan is involved. Do you know who Lachlan is? That’s a very unusual name, Lachlan Murdoch,' the president added."
Comment: "Trump also mentioned that Rupert Murdoch could be involved in the deal, saying on Sunday: 'Rupert is, is probably going to be in the group. I think they’re going to be in the group.' "
"Ellison's involvement in the TikTok deal was previously known, as the software and cloud computing company that he co-founded, Oracle, will manage the data and privacy aspects of TikTok, Leavitt said Saturday."
"Trump's revelation Sunday that Dell, the CEO of Dell Technologies, will also be involved with TikTok after its sale was a new detail. Neither the president nor any White House officials have revealed the names of other American business leaders who may be involved with TikTok after the sale takes place."
Comment: "On Sunday, Trump said simply that there would be a 'couple of others, really great people, very prominent people,' involved."
Comment: Yet another example of a group of billionaires controlling media in America.
Charlie Kirk memorial: Trump says he ‘hates’ his opponents at event attended by tens of thousands
Comment: "President delivers mix of eulogy and campaign speech while JD Vance calls Kirk ‘martyr for the Christian faith’ "
"Donald Trump told a crowd of thousands that he 'hates' his opponents at a public memorial to honor the rightwing youth organizer Charlie Kirk, even after Kirk’s widow said she forgives the man charged with fatally shooting her husband during an event at a Utah college."
"Tens of thousands gathered at the event in Arizona on Sunday, with the president giving the last of more than two dozen speeches, after emotional remarks from Kirk’s widow, Erika, and eulogies from the vice-president, JD Vance, four cabinet members and other senior White House officials, a reflection of the murdered activist’s deep imprint on the president’s Make America Great Again (Maga) movement."
Comment: "Trump’s speech was an awkward mix of eulogy and campaign speech, during which he frequently veered away from reading somber remarks about Kirk’s life and violent death to make offhand comments and jokes."
Comment: "At the end of his remarks, after calling Erika Kirk back on stage, Trump acted more like he was at a rally than a memorial, mouthing the words to America the Beautiful in a comic manner and swaying side to side."
"Earlier, Vance eulogized Kirk in explicitly religious terms, calling him 'a martyr for the Christian faith', despite a lack of evidence that his religion played any role in the killing."
Comment: Do you think Republicans might be exploiting a terrible tragedy for political purposes. Charlie Kirk should not have been shot, but neither should he be glorified as a Christian martyr.
DOJ ended probe of 'border czar' Tom Homan for allegedly accepting $50K in FBI sting: Sources
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/doj-ended-probe-border-czar-tom-homan-allegedly/story?id=125781386
For comments, please see related article and comments under the news article section entitled "More Outrages From GOP."
RFK Jr. Has a Prescription for America: Pure Chaos
https://www.thebulwark.com/p/rfk-jr-prescription-pure-chaos-vaccines-cdc-monarez-acip
Trump says he is appointing Lindsey Halligan, one of his former attorneys, to lead key prosecutor's office
Comment: "President Donald Trump says he is appointing one of his former defense attorneys to lead a key federal prosecutor's office in Virginia."
"Lindsey Halligan, who is currently working in the White House staff secretary's office, represented Trump for a time during the classified documents investigation."
Comment: "The announcement came a day after the previous head of that office, Erik Siebert, resigned his position amid pressure from Trump administration officials to bring a criminal case against New York Attorney General Letitia James."
"Halligan, who does not have any prosecutorial experience, is licensed to practice law in Florida and handled insurance claims when she joined Trump's legal team amid the probe by the Justice Department into Trump's handling of classified material after leaving office following his first term."
"More recently, from her post in the White House, Halligan was tasked by Trump with an effort to root out what the administration calls radical ideology at the Smithsonian Institution museums."
Comment: Sounds like a heckuva resume for a top federal prosecutorial position. [sarcasm added]
Trump calls on Attorney General Bondi to use power of the Justice Department more aggressively | CNN Politics
https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/20/politics/trump-justice-department-pam-bondi
The Daily Beast: DOJ Can’t Tie Suspected Kirk Killer to Left Like MAGA Wants
https://www.thedailybeast.com/doj-cant-tie-suspected-kirk-killer-to-left-like-maga-wants/
Comment: "There is nothing to suggest that the suspected killer of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, was connected to any 'left-wing groups,' according to investigators looking into the killing."
"Three Justice Department officials working on the case spoke with NBC News, and one said, 'Thus far, there is no evidence connecting the suspect with any left-wing groups.' They added there is 'every indication... that this was one guy who did one really bad thing because he found Kirk’s ideology personally offensive'.”
"The officials also voiced that it would be difficult to bring federal charges against Robinson, as Robinson allegedly committed the crime in Utah and is a resident of the Beehive State. Furthermore, Kirk was an influencer activist, and not an elected official."
Comment: "Kirk’s murder is being used by the Trump administration to threaten crackdowns on left-wing groups. White House Deputy Chief of Staff vowed vengeance on the Left on the first episode of The Charlie Kirk Show since the assassination, saying left-wing organizations amounted to a 'vast domestic terror movement'.”
Comment: "Trump also voiced his desire to label 'antifa' a 'domestic terror organization'.”
"It is unknown how the Trump administration intends to crack down on left-wing groups. 'Antifa' is not a formal organization but rather an ideology that is associated with some small activist groups. 'Antifa' does not have a leadership structure or base of operations.
"Right-wing groups have been responsible for over ten times more terror attacks than left-wing groups since 2002, according to a study conducted by the ADL. The Justice Department recently found similar numbers in its own study. It recently scrubbed that study from its website."
Reuters: US National Counterterrorism Center warns of threat from al Qaeda
TikTok deal signed soon, includes U.S. control of algorithm, White House says
https://www.axios.com/2025/09/20/us-china-tiktok-deal
Comment: "A deal to bring TikTok's U.S. platform under American ownership is done and should be signed soon, with domestic control of the app's crown-jewel algorithm, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Saturday."
"While the White House said Friday a deal was done, Chinese officials gave mixed messages, and the app's fate was left uncertain."
"Congress passed a ban last year with bipartisan support, but President Trump has repeatedly ordered his administration not to enforce the law while trying to negotiate a deal.
Comment: "The U.S. app will be 'majority owned by Americans in the United States,' Leavitt said, and under the control of a seven-member board that includes six Americans."
" 'The algorithm will also be controlled by America,' she added."
Comment: "The exact composition of the ownership group is still unclear, though Leavitt did confirm Oracle would be responsible for the app's data and security."
Comment: "When a deal is struck, who is actually involved, and what that will mean for the U.S. user experience remain to be seen."
After cuts to food stamps, Trump administration ends government's annual report on hunger in America
Comment: "The Trump administration is ending the federal government’s annual report on hunger in America, stating that it had become 'overly politicized' and 'rife with inaccuracies'.”
"The decision comes two and a half months after President Donald Trump signed legislation sharply reducing food aid to the poor. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that the tax and spending cuts bill Republicans muscled through Congress in July means 3 million people would not qualify for food stamps, also known as SNAP benefits."
Comment: " 'Trump is cancelling an annual government survey that measures hunger in America, rather than allow it to show hunger increasing under his tenure,' Bobby Kogan, senior director of federal budget policy at the left-leaning Center for American Progress, said on social media. 'This follows the playbook of many non-democracies that cancel or manipulate reports that would otherwise show less-than-perfect news.' ”
Politico: White House tries to tamp down corporate panic for high-skill visa holders after last-minute overhaul
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/09/20/donald-trump-h1b-visas-overhaul-00574345
Comment: "President Donald Trump’s new $100,000 fee for high-skill visa holders only applies to new applicants — not current visa holders who may be on travel outside of the U.S. — according to the White House."
"The president’s H-1B announcement on Friday immediately spurred chaos, with companies and immigration lawyers warning travelers to return to the U.S. before midnight on Sunday, when the new policy is scheduled to kick in."
Comment: "The White House said Saturday that corporate lawyers and 'others with agendas are creating a lot of FAKE NEWS' around the proclamation, and said it does not apply to anyone with a current visa, and only affects future applicants in the February lottery who are outside of the U.S."
Comment: " 'It does not apply to anyone who participated in the 2025 lottery,' the White House said on X post-publication. 'The Proclamation does not impact the ability of any current visa holder to travel to/from the U.S.' ”
"In a separate post clarifying the proclamation, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote that the $100,000 payment would be applicable 'only to new visas, not renewals, and not current visa holders'.”
Comment: "Earlier Saturday, critics of Trump’s order said the administration needed to do more make clear the bounds of the new policy with additional guidance, even as immigration lawyers signal that lawsuits challenging the administration are likely in the works. Lawyers argued that the text of the presidential proclamation did not make the distinction between existing visa-holders and future applicants clear."
Comment: "Lutnick also repeatedly said on Friday that the fee would be annual for companies, while the White House official said Saturday that it’s a 'one-time fee that applies only to the petition'.”
"In her Saturday afternoon post, Leavitt clarified that the payment would only be a “one-time fee” — not an annual one."
Comment: We note that the existing H-1B employees currently working for the tech billionaires will be grandfathered in. However, new H-1B employees that might support tech startups will have a $100,000 per employee fee. Does that seem to favor the tech billionaires that currently support Trump?
Comment: The chaos and confusion of the Trump executive order rollout continues.
The Daily Beast: RFK Jr.’s Approval Takes Huge Hit After Embarrassing Hearings
https://www.thedailybeast.com/rfk-jrs-approval-takes-huge-hit-after-embarrassing-hearings/
NPR: CDC vaccine panel adds new rules for getting the COVID vaccine in a tense meeting
Comment: "A panel of vaccine advisers to the federal government debated several changes to COVID-19 vaccine access in a chaotic meeting Friday, marked by confusion over processes, technical difficulties and passionate disagreement among members and other experts in attendance."
"Ultimately, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, backed away from its most controversial proposal that called for states to require those who want a COVID-19 vaccine to get a prescription. But the end result is that the COVID-19 vaccine could be less available than it has been the last few years."
"The group, which crafts recommendations on vaccine policy for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, voted to recommend vaccination for adults 65 and older and younger people, subject to a process called "shared decision making." Their recommendations would not prohibit anyone over six months from getting the shot, but call for patients to speak with a clinician about the risks and benefits."
""In the prior seasons of COVID, we've had routine vaccine access — you or I could go to our pharmacy or doctor's office and just get our vaccine, it was encouraged as a routine recommendation," says Jen Kates, director of global health and HIV policy at KFF."
"Friday's vote essentially says 'this is no longer routinely recommended — it's 'shared clinical decision-making',' says Kates. The details about what that entails and how access will play out are not immediately clear, Kates says, but what is clear is that it's a 'more narrow recommendation' than it has been in past years."
Comment: More chaos and confusion from the Trump Administration?
Trump rolls out $1M gold card, a visa fast-track for wealthy foreigners
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/09/19/trump-gold-card-visa-00573494
Axios: Providers face tough choices with Medicaid cuts
https://www.axios.com/2025/09/19/health-care-providers-impact-medicaid-cuts
Comment: "Local health facilities will be ground zero for the sweeping Medicaid changes that the GOP budget law unleashed."
Comment: "The $1 trillion in cuts to federal Medicaid funding will quickly translate into lower reimbursements for facilities that are already grappling with higher labor costs and inflationary pressures."
Comment: "The changes to Medicaid financing and enrollment will largely go into effect in 2027. But some health providers have already started to close clinics and service lines in anticipation of the Medicaid cuts."
Don’t Be Fooled by a Trump-Xi Deal on TikTok - POLITICO
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2025/09/19/tiktok-trump-xi-deal-law-column-00571832
Comment: "In January, just days before the Supreme Court unanimously upheld Congress’ ban on TikTok and Donald Trump returned to the White House, Sen. Tom Cotton took to the Senate floor and warned the country that the 'lethal algorithm' in the Beijing-based social media company’s app 'has cost the lives of many American kids.' 'Let me be crystal clear,' the Arkansas Republican said. 'There will be no extensions, no concessions and no compromises for TikTok.' ”
"Eight months later, the Trump administration has just given TikTok and the Chinese government another extension, another concession and another compromise. On Wednesday, Trump signed an executive order providing a fourth 'enforcement delay' of Congress’ ban — now extending until December 16."
"It’s just the latest development in a saga that served as an early warning for what was to come in the second Trump term: a president eager to steamroll Capitol Hill and a GOP-controlled Congress happy to oblige him. When it comes to Trump’s handling of the TikTok ban, it has, at best, scrambled the constitutional order, and, at worst, seen the administration openly flout a law passed by the American public’s elected representatives in order to advance the political, personal and financial interests of Trump and his allies."
"On Friday, Trump is set to speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping to agree to the terms of a proposed deal that is supposed to finally end the TikTok drama and bring all parties into compliance with the law. The deal reportedly involves some sort of sale to a consortium of investors that may include Trump allies and billionaires like Larry Ellison and Marc Andreessen, though the structure and legality of the agreement remain unclear. Indeed, whatever happens Friday is not likely to end the matter."
The Pentagon's counter-drug mission could cost millions. Where will the funding come from? - Breaking Defense
Comment: "When the White House delivered its 2026 budget request to Capitol Hill in late June, it estimated that SOUTHCOM would need slightly less funding next year to cover drug interdiction and counter-drug activities — an estimate that dropped from $355 million in fiscal 2025 down to $350 million in the FY26 budget request."
"But fast forward two-and-a-half months and the Trump administration is flowing warships and fighter jets into the region, issuing threats of a new 'war' against transnational criminal organizations and targeting small boats it believes are carrying drugs, killing the people abroad."
Pentagon to limit journalists’ access unless they agree not to publish certain information - POLITICO
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/09/19/pentagon-limits-access-journalists-00574227
Comment: "The unprecedented move is the strongest action yet in restricting how reporters cover the country’s largest federal agency."
"The Pentagon on Friday said reporters who cover the agency could access the building only if they agreed not to publish certain information, an unprecedented move that demands media outlets hand the department vast control over what they publish."
Comment: "Defense Department 'information must be approved for public release by an appropriate authorizing official before it is released, even if it is unclassified,' read the note for reporters to sign. 'Failure to abide by these rules may result in suspension or revocation of your building pass and loss of access.' ”
"Officials indicated the action was needed because any unauthorized disclosure 'poses a security risk that could damage the national security of the United States and place [Defense Department] personnel in jeopardy'.”
"The move follows a pattern of increasingly restricted access to the country’s largest federal agency under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who has a tense relationship with much of the press. The new rules give the Pentagon wide latitude to label journalists as security threats and revoke passes for those who obtain or publish information the agency says is unfit for public release."
"They also come in the middle of Defense Department efforts to crack down on troops and civilians accused of mocking Charlie Kirk’s killing on social media — and amid a broader debate about potential limits to free speech."
Comment: "Hegseth in May further restricted access after he faced criticism for sharing sensitive details about U.S. military strikes in Yemen on a Signal chat group to which a journalist was inadvertently added. Those rules limited journalists to the building’s press bullpens, cafeteria and courtyard. They must now receive an escort to go anywhere else."
Comment: Do you think the only personnel that Hegseth is worried about putting in jeopardy is himself? Do you thinks that's why he only wants reporting by press release, so as to suppress any disclosure of his own incompetence?
Video: Former Trump lawyer says the U.S. is already in a constitutional crisis - September 19, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVuU5oenGf0
Politico: Trump: ‘It’s no longer free speech.’
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/09/19/trump-no-longer-free-speech-00574219
Comment: "The president doubled down on his claims that critical media coverage of him is 'illegal'."
Video: Trump pushes administration to go after critics, political rivals - September 19, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKDloIYqgpU
US attorney under pressure to charge Letitia James in mortgage fraud case has resigned
Comment: Coercion, intimidation, and extortion at work?
Video: Sources: Trump ousting US attorney for resisting effort to charge NY AG Letitia James - September 19, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bq7av7UrNTc
ABC News: Trump poised to fire US attorney for resisting effort to charge NY AG Letitia James: Sources
https://abcnews.go.com/US/trump-poised-fire-us-attorney-resisting-effort-charge/story?id=125700904
Comment: "President Donald Trump said that he wants to see his handpicked U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia 'out' of a job, during an exchange with reporters in the Oval Office Friday."
"ABC News has reported that Trump is expected to fire U.S. Attorney Erik Siebert after investigators were unable to find incriminating evidence of mortgage fraud against New York Attorney General Letitia James, according to sources."
Comment: "Federal prosecutors in Virginia had uncovered no clear evidence to prove that James had knowingly committed mortgage fraud when she purchased a home in the state in 2023, ABC News first reported earlier this week, but Trump officials pushed Siebert to nevertheless bring criminal charges against her, according to sources."
Comment: Is this a case of forcing US attorneys to engage in retribution for Trump or lose their jobs?
The Guardian: Americans are ‘deer in the headlights’ in face of Trump assault on free speech, Maria Ressa tells Jon Stewart
Comment: "The Nobel prize winner Maria Ressa has said Americans are like 'deer in the headlights' amid the collapse of US institutions and free speech under the Trump administration, particularly after Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension."
"Speaking to Jon Stewart on the satirical news programme The Daily Show, the journalist and author of How to Stand Up to a Dictator said the speed at which Donald Trump had 'collapsed' US institutions happened much faster than she anticipated."
The growing chasm between MAGA and non-MAGA Republicans on Trump's economy
https://www.axios.com/2025/09/18/trump-tariffs-inflation-maga-economy
Video: Supreme Court gets Trump request to allow Lisa Cook firing - September 18, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYHPWDDoaPc
The Hill: Unprecedented: Trump has pulled the US out of its UN human rights review
https://thehill.com/opinion/international/5506038-us-refusal-un-human-rights/
The impending retirement that could rock Capitol Hill - POLITICO
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/09/17/gao-trump-impoundment-spending-00569967
Comment: "Comptroller General Gene Dodaro, who heads the Government Accountability Office, hits the end of his 15-year term in late December and will be forced to vacate the post that occupies an increasingly crucial — and politically charged — oversight role."
"The comptroller general is uniquely empowered to call out the president for breaking the law by withholding federal cash, and Dodaro has done so repeatedly over the past eight months — putting himself at the center of a largely partisan fight over President Donald Trump’s funding moves that has exacerbated tensions between the White House and Capitol Hill."
"Now Trump gets to nominate Dodaro’s replacement, and key lawmakers are only just starting to take stock of a paradox: A president who continually tests the bounds of Congress’ spending powers gets to pick the legislative branch’s chief watchdog."
Comment: "The stakes are high: Whoever ends up running GAO once Dodaro’s term ends will be able to bolster, or undermine, Congress’ defenses against Trump in the separation-of-powers battle the president is stoking by terminating, freezing and reallocating hundreds of billions of dollars Congress previously approved."
Comment: "All of this is taking place as Trump administration officials and some congressional Republicans have been trying to downsize and discredit the watchdog. That has included publicly questioning the GAO’s authority and accusing the agency of siding with Democrats in its multiple determinations that the White House unlawfully flouted Congress’ 'power of the purse'.”
Bondi is reminding America why being Trump’s AG is the worst job in Washington: Analysis | CNN Politics
https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/17/politics/bondi-kirk-trump-attorney-general-free-speech-analysis
RFK Jr. warned her not to talk to lawmakers, Monarez says - Live Updates - POLITICO
Comment: "Former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Susan Monarez told Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) on Wednesday that she was instructed by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to stop talking to members of Congress."
"Following a meeting with Kennedy, the fired CDC director said she reached out to lawmakers on the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions to share worries about his demands to preapprove vaccine recommendations."
Comment: "Monarez’s high-profile ouster by Kennedy and the White House last month led to Wednesday’s hearing. Kennedy earlier this month testified before the Senate Finance Committee and said he fired Monarez because she was not trustworthy."
Video: Ex-official on CDC losing career leaders - September 17, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYIPAYX7x04
Axios: Ex-CDC director: RFK Jr. planning September vaccine changes
https://www.axios.com/2025/09/17/rfk-changes-childhood-vaccine-schedule
Comment: "Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said during an August meeting that the childhood vaccine schedule will be changing starting in September, former Centers for Disease Control director Susan Monarez told a Senate hearing on Wednesday."
Comment: "Any move to alter childhood vaccine recommendations would be controversial and spark fears about political influence undermining scientific expertise."
Comment: " 'He said that the childhood vaccine schedule would be changing starting in September and I needed to be on board with it,' Monarez told the Senate's health committee during testimony about the events leading up to her firing in August."
Offshore wind was supposed to save power-starved New England. Trump blew up that plan | CNN
https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/16/climate/offshore-wind-trump-new-england
ABC News: Security analysts flag rise in Russian-created misinformation posts on social media following Kirk shooting
Comment: "In the wake of Charlie Kirk's assassination, cybersecurity analysts have detected a rise in social media posts that not only spread misinformation about the killing but also look to enrage social media users during an already politically tense situation."
"The Center for Internet Security (CIS) and the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD), which monitor extremism online, found there were widespread posts raising alarms about a perceived increase in political violence across the U.S., with numerous posts blaming the 'radical left' that generated high levels of engagement."
"A large number of those posts aren't coming from Americans who are angry, frustrated or bitter over the Sept. 10 shooting, but Russian-backed groups, according to the analysts."
"The nonprofits said those groups, including a Russia-aligned disinformation project known as Operation Overload, are going so far as to manufacture phony news reports, celebrity quotes and images to push bogus info about the Kirk killing with the intent on inflaming passions among conservative and LGBTQ+ audiences."
Bondi clarifies: "Hate speech" won't be prosecuted
https://www.axios.com/2025/09/16/bondi-clarifies-hate-speech-not-prosecute
Comment: Bondi backed off when MAGA Republicans complained. However, this is what Trump had to say:
Comment: "When a reporter asked President Trump about Bondi's clarification on Tuesday, Trump — who filed a defamation suit against the New York Times on Tuesday seeking $15 billion — sarcastically snapped: 'We'll probably go after you because you treat me so unfairly. You have a lot of hate in your heart. Maybe they'll have to go after you.' "
Prosecutors already have dropped nearly a dozen cases from Trump's DC crime surge, judge says | AP News
Comment: "More than 50 people have faced federal charges in Washington, D.C., since President Donald Trump's emergency law-and-order surge began last month. Already, prosecutors have dropped at least 11 of those cases, an unusually high collapse rate that judges say is wasting court resources."
"The dismissals highlight the risks of Trump’s emergency surge strategy: an unprecedented flood of arrests that has produced headline-grabbing numbers but faltered under judicial scrutiny, with some of the most serious cases — from assaults on federal agents to gun charges — unraveling before they ever reach trial."
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche defends idea of prosecuting protesters | CNN Politics
https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/16/politics/todd-blanche-defends-idea-of-prosecuting-protesters
ABC News: Blanche breaks silence on meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell: 'Impossible' to say if she was credible
Comment: "Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said Tuesday that it's an 'impossible question' whether Ghislaine Maxwell -- who was convicted of trafficking scores of young girls to Jeffrey Epstein for sexual abuse -- is a 'credible' witness in her denials of involvement in Epstein's crimes."
Comment: "Blanche said during his interview that 'it's really up to the American people to determine what they believe that her answers were credible or whether they found her not credible.' "
Comment: " 'I asked her questions that — that I believe all of us wanted answered and she answered them,' Blanche said. 'She answered them. I didn't -- the point of the interview was not for me to pressure test every single answer she gave, of course not. The point of the interview was to allow her to speak, which nobody had done before.' "
Comment: "Blanche appeared to sympathize with Maxwell, saying she 'had been in prison for many, many years, and she had offered to speak on many, many occasions. And she was never given that opportunity.' "
" 'What I did is I gave her that opportunity to speak,' Blanche said. 'It was recorded. My questions were there and whether -- whether her answers were credible or truthful, there's a lot of information out there about — about Mr. Epstein, about her and whether what she said is completely wrong or completely right or a little of both, is for that's the reason why -- why we released the transcript.' "
Comment: Blanche is totally wrong about what should have been his purpose when speaking with Maxwell. His purpose should not have been to give a convicted felon an opportunity to make her case to the public. If there was any justification for the meeting at all, it should have been to obtain additional information that could be used in investigation/possible prosecution of anyone else involved in these heinous crimes. Blanche claims that Maxwell had not been allowed to speak, but Maxwell had her chance to make her case in court and she was convicted by a jury of her peers. To obtain any additional evidence, Blanche should have been aggressive in his questioning, not sympathetic. By claiming that it was impossible to judge Maxwell's credibility, he has undermined a jury verdict that found her guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Blanche is supposed to be a prosecutor, for goodness sake.
Comment: The American people can't make up their mind about Maxwell's credibility based on Blanche's softball questions. However, is that really important? Maxwell was convicted at trial and that's what important. How many other convicted criminals are given the opportunity to be interviewed by an Assistant Attorney General and have their self serving statements presented in the court of public opinion?
The Daily Beast: Why This MAGA FBI Chief Is More Dangerous Than Keystone Kash
https://www.thedailybeast.com/why-this-fbi-chief-is-more-dangerous-than-keystone-kash/
Kash Patel, and the Trump team’s many unforced errors | CNN Politics
https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/15/politics/kash-patel-trump-team-errors-analysis
The HHS Officials Being Paid Six Figures to Do Nothing
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/hhs-officials-being-paid-six-110000245.html
Comment: "Marrazzo isn’t alone in purgatory. She is one of roughly 100 officials whom the Department of Health and Human Services placed on administrative leave—or sent to, as some of them call it, HHS’s rubber room—in the winter or in spring, without explanation or a sense of when or how their status might change, according to a senior HHS official with direct knowledge of their circumstances. (Several of the HHS officials I spoke with requested anonymity to avoid retaliation from the Trump administration.)"
"Their status is distinct from that of many HHS employees who remain on leave as part of the administration’s deferred resignation program (who will be out of their jobs at the end of September), or who were part of a reduction in workforce and are stuck in limbo as litigation stalls their termination. But together, all of these on-leave officials constitute a group of thousands, estimates Abigail André, the executive director of the Impact Project, which has been tracking federal workers' fates during President Donald Trump’s second term."
Video: Trump administration announces a framework of a deal reached for TikTok - September 15, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2H-7rvfkA4
Comment: Wonder how long it will take to convert "framework" into an actual deal.
Comment: Trump wants t keep the TikTok platform because Charlie Kirk and other GOP influencers were successful in pushing the MAGA message out through it.
Video: Reporter's Notebook: What is a "conflict entrepreneur"? - September 15, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCrQRchkDWY
The Daily Beast: Gavin Newsom Warns Stephen Miller Is Trying to Dismantle Democracy
https://www.thedailybeast.com/gavin-newsom-warns-stephen-miller-is-trying-to-dismantle-democracy/
Trump and his advisors plan for crackdown on left-wing groups, channeling anger over Charley Kirk's killing
https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/15/politics/left-wing-groups-trump-domestic-terrorists
Politico: Vance, White House promise to ‘go after’ left-leaning organizations
Comment: More attempts to intimidate citizens and justify vengeance against MAGA's political opponents. White House threats and intimidation are abuse of executive branch power. Please see additional comments under the topic "More Outrages from GOP."
ABC News: Vance says 'left-wing extremism' helped lead to Charlie Kirk's killing
Comment: There is no evidence to justify Vance's statement. This is just an attempt use this tragedy to intimidate citizens and justify additional vengeance against MAGA's political opponents. Please see additional comments under the topic "More Outrages from GOP."
Trump’s cherry-picked claims on political violence ignore his own rhetoric | CNN Politics
https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/15/politics/political-violence-trump-charlie-kirk
The Guardian: Prosecutor in Epstein case sues Trump justice department over abrupt firing
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/15/epstein-prosecutor-maurene-comey-lawsuit
Comment: "Maurene Comey, a federal prosecutor involved in cases against Jeffrey Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell and who led the recent case against Sean 'Diddy' Combs, filed a lawsuit on Monday challenging her abrupt termination as politically motivated retaliation against her father, former FBI director James Comey."
"According to the court documents, the justice department fired Comey without cause or explanation on 16 July, citing only 'article 2 of the United States constitution and the laws of the United States' in a brief email. When she asked for a reason, the interim US attorney Jay Clayton told her: 'All I can say is it came from Washington. I can’t tell you anything else.' ”
"Just three months before her termination, the 35-year-old prosecutor received a glowing review from the same attorney who would later deliver news of her firing, the lawsuit alleges."
"The lawsuit seeks her reinstatement, back pay and a declaration that her termination violated the constitution."
"Her removal came after a sustained pressure campaign by Laura Loomer, a far-right activist and Trump administration whisperer with clear influence over personnel and policy decisions. In May, Loomer posted to her 1.7 million X followers calling for the firing of James Comey’s 'liberal daughter'."
CNN: Maurene Comey, prosecutor in Epstein and Combs cases and daughter of former FBI director, sues after being fired
https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/15/politics/maurene-comey-justice-department-lawsuit
Video: Lisa Cook entitled to participate in Fed meeting despite despite Trump admin. attempts - September 15, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZMGOVSwZbE
CBS News: JD Vance hosts "The Charlie Kirk Show" after Kirk's assassination
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jd-vance-host-the-charlie-kirk-show-assassination/
Comment: "Vance announced Sunday in a post on X that he had the 'honor of hosting the Charlie Kirk Show' to 'pay tribute to my friend.' Speaking from his office in the White House complex Monday, Vance said he was 'filling in for somebody who cannot be filled in for' as he kicked off the show. "
Comment: "After his death, Kirk's body was flown on the vice president's plane, Air Force Two, to Kirk's home state of Arizona. Vance canceled a planned trip to New York to mark 24 years since the Sept. 11, 2001, attack to fly to Utah to retrieve Kirk's body. Vance said Monday that he was honored to be able to 'take Charlie's remains from Utah to Arizona'."
Comment: "Kirk's youth turnout operation has also been credited with helping Mr. Trump's 2024 election bid, while Kirk himself was known to have influenced some of the Trump administration's personnel decisions. Vance said much of 'the success we've had in this administration traces directly to Charlie's ability to organize and convene,' adding that Kirk 'didn't just help us win in 2024, he helped us staff the entire government'."
"The president announced last week that he would award Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom posthumously."
Comment: "White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, who was among the guests on the show, echoed the sentiment, saying "we are going to channel all of the anger that we have over the organized campaign that led to this assassination, to uproot and dismantle these terrorist networks.' "
Comment: Now that you have read the accolades from JD Vance, please read the following article that provides documented quotes from Charley Kirk, many made on the very Charley Kirk show that Vance is so proud to host. Please read the entire linked article, not just the excerpts below. Do you think our tax dollars and Vance's time should be spent on a man who makes statements like those presented below? With regards to Stephen Miller's ridiculous charges about "terrorist networks," please show us evidence of these "networks." Although a motive has not yet been determined, it is likely that the shooter was upset about Kirk's incendiary remarks about transsexual people and acted alone. Of course, Kirk should not have been shot, but neither should he be made out to be some sort of American hero, just because some think of him as a MAGA hero. Charlie Kirk in his own words: ‘prowling Blacks’ and ‘the great replacement strategy’
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/11/charlie-kirk-quotes-beliefs
Comment: "Charlie Kirk, the far-right commentator and ally of Donald Trump, was killed on Wednesday doing what he was known for throughout his career – making incendiary and often racist and sexist comments to large audiences."
"If it was current and controversial in US politics, chances are that Kirk was talking about it. On his podcasts, and on the podcasts of friends and adversaries, and especially on college campuses, where he would go to debate students, Kirk spent much of his adult life defending and articulating a worldview aligned with Trump and the Maga movement. Accountable to no one but his audience, he did not shy away in his rhetoric from bigotry, intolerance, exclusion and stereotyping."
"Here’s Kirk, in his own words. Many of his comments were documented by Media Matters for America, a progressive non-profit that tracks conservative media."
"On race
If I see a Black pilot, I’m going to be like, boy, I hope he’s qualified.
– The Charlie Kirk Show, 23 January 2024
If you’re a WNBA, pot-smoking, Black lesbian, do you get treated better than a United States marine?
– The Charlie Kirk Show, 8 December 2022
Happening all the time in urban America, prowling Blacks go around for fun to go target white people, that’s a fact. It’s happening more and more.
– The Charlie Kirk Show, 19 May 2023
If I’m dealing with somebody in customer service who’s a moronic Black woman, I wonder is she there because of her excellence, or is she there because of affirmative action?
– The Charlie Kirk Show, 3 January 2024
If we would have said that Joy Reid and Michelle Obama and Sheila Jackson Lee and Ketanji Brown Jackson were affirmative action picks, we would have been called racists. Now they’re coming out and they’re saying it for us … You do not have the brain processing power to otherwise be taken really seriously. You had to go steal a white person’s slot to go be taken somewhat seriously.
– The Charlie Kirk Show, 13 July 2023"
Comment: The linked article provides similar quotes on the following topics: 'On debate'; 'On gender, feminism and reproductive rights'; 'On gun violence'; 'On immigration'; 'On Islam'; 'On religion.'
Comment: Please read Kirk's past statements in the linked article, and decide if you think he should be honored and heralded by President Trump, JD Vance, and the Republican members of Congress. No one should be shot, but should he be given the Presidential Medal of freedom? Should the US flag be lowered to half staff for a man making public statements like those listed in the article?
CNN: Experts say Pentagon faces roadblocks to severely punishing service members for disparaging Charlie Kirk
https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/15/politics/experts-pentagon-punishment-kirk-posts
Redistricting: Here are the states likely to come next after Missouri
https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/5501824-states-redrawing-house-maps-2026/amp/
Comment: Take a look at what Trump and the GOP started.
Video: Deadline approaching Wednesday for removal of 'disparaging' national park displays - September 14, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FoV-dBySVE
Charlie Kirk's murder is the latest example of violence tearing through American politics
https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/14/us/political-violence-cases-america-charlie-kirk
The Trump administration has halted funds for global HIV/AIDS programs. No one knows how big the impact is
https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/13/africa/hiv-aids-program-cuts-trump-pepfar-intl
NPR: Trump's Energy Department disbands group that sowed doubt about climate change
https://www.npr.org/2025/09/13/nx-s1-5539294/climate-change-pollution-report
Comment: "Energy Secretary Chris Wright has disbanded the Department of Energy's controversial Climate Working Group (CWG), which wrote a report that prompted dozens of independent scientists to issue a joint rebuttal saying the report was full of errors and misrepresented climate science."
"The disbanding was first reported by CNN and now NPR has confirmed that Wright wrote a letter on September 3rd to the five hand-picked members of the group, thanking them for their service."
"The decision to disband the CWG came as a hearing was held this week in a lawsuit that the Environmental Defense Fund and the Union of Concerned Scientists had filed against the Trump administration. As NPR reported previously, the suit alleges that Energy Secretary Chris Wright 'quietly arranged for five hand-picked skeptics of the effects of climate change' to compile the government's climate report and violated the law by creating the report in secret with authors 'of only one point of view'."
Comment: Do you think the lawsuit led to the decision to disband the questionable Climate Working Group?
CNN: People are getting fired for allegedly celebrating Charlie Kirk’s murder. It looks like a coordinated effort
https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/13/business/charlie-kirk-death-fired-comments
Leaked plans show Pentagon eyeing Louisiana to deploy national guard | Louisiana | The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/13/louisiana-national-guard-pentagon
Comment: "Hinging on a request for troop deployment from Landry, who is a staunch Trump supporter, the proposal has not been confirmed as approved by federal or state officials, according to the Post’s reporting. The Pentagon’s Louisiana plan suggests a robust operation is under consideration, with national guard personnel 'supplementing' the law enforcement presence in high-crime neighborhoods. They could also help with drug interdiction and by providing 'logistical and communications support' to local authorities, the Washington Post reported."
"On Friday, Trump said he would send national guard troops to Memphis, Tennessee."
Video: Why is President Trump threatening to send the National Guard to Memphis? - September 13, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fapM4JvVVsA
Politico: Trump Wants to Boot Out Massie. Could This Senate Candidate Be the Answer?
Comment: "If President Donald Trump’s top political priority next year is Republicans retaining control of Congress, his second-highest goal may be the defeat of his foremost GOP irritant: Rep. Thomas Massie (Ky)."
"Yet Massie, a libertarian-flavored iconoclast who’s now pushing for the release of documents from the Jeffrey Epstein case, has breezed through past primaries — and Trump’s lieutenants have yet to find a formidable challenger ahead of next year’s contest."
Comment: "High-level Republican officials are discussing an effort to nudge former state attorney general Daniel Cameron to drop his Senate bid and switch to challenge Massie in what may be the highest-profile House primary in the country next year."
"Cameron already lives in the district, previously won Trump’s support in his unsuccessful bid for governor two years ago and would have access to a near-bottomless supply of campaign funds provided by Trump’s allies."
Comment: The lesson for moderate Republicans around the country is that your perspective doesn't count, if you dare disagree with Donald Trump and the MAGA machine. If the Republican Congressperson you elected doesn't bow down to Donald Trump, the MAGA mafia that controls your party will spend unlimited funds to primary him/her and replace him with one of Donald Trump's choosing. Due to the extortion and intimidation imposed by MAGA, how can any one in a Republican Congressional district be sure that their Congressperson is representing their interests and not Trump's? Thomas Massie is pushing for disclosure of the Epstein files, which most Republican citizens also want. But because Donald Trump wants to keep the files undisclosed, or selectively disclosed, Thomas Massie is threatened with a primary from your party. Could it be time to consider an alternative (non MAGA) political party choice?
CNN: ‘It’s unacceptable’: Inside growing concerns about Patel’s FBI leadership
https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/13/politics/kash-patel-fbi-leadership-concerns
Kash Patel’s difficulties and embarrassments at the FBI do not go unnoticed
https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/kash-patel-fbi-problems-rcna230812
Comment: "Law enforcement officials have identified a 22-year-old Utah man Tyler Robinson as the suspect in the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, and according to the latest reporting, it was one of Robinson’s family members who turned him in to the authorities."
"These are obviously encouraging developments, though they don’t erase recent questions surrounding FBI Director Kash Patel and his competence."
"On Wednesday afternoon, for example, Patel suggested via social media that Kirk’s shooter had been captured. That wasn’t true, and the bureau’s director was forced to walk that back soon after."
" 'It was amateur hour,' Sen. Dick Durbin, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, told HuffPost. 'He was doing a running commentary. Historically, the FBI keeps its mouth closed until it believes it’s the right time and the right message.' ”
"A Politico report added, 'Patel’s blunder came at a time when the embattled director was already under scrutiny from all sides of the political spectrum — and from many current and former agents in the bureau itself.' ”
Comment: "Patel’s tenure has featured a variety of embarrassments and brazenly partisan personnel purges. Things went from bad to worse this week when three former senior FBI officials filed a brutal federal lawsuit, which characterized Patel’s bureau as fixated on 'politically motivated retribution' and consumed by the whims of a Trump White House."
"In case that weren’t quite enough, Patel, just a few weeks ago, fired the highly regarded head of the FBI field office Salt Lake City for reasons that have not yet been explained — and given that the Kirk shooting happened in Utah, the director’s decision received obvious and unavoidable scrutiny anew over the last couple of days."
Trump admin won’t make polluters report how much they’ve polluted
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/trump-admin-won-t-polluters-204507020.html
Comment: "The Trump administration on Friday proposed to end a program requiring coal-fired power plants, industrial factories and oil refining facilities to report their plane-warming pollution to the federal government."
"The Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program has been active since 2010, compelling more than 8,000 facilities and suppliers in the United States to report their climate pollution every year, and uses the data to help shape rules to reduce the amount of pollution in the air."
"The action taken Friday goes beyond instructions to some regulators to ramp down rule enforcement against the oil and gas industry, which CNN previously reported."
"Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin framed the new steps as a move to end burdensome regulations."
Comment: "Environmental advocates blasted the proposal as another way the Trump administration is giving polluters a free pass."
Trump’s next plan to lower US drug prices: Raise them in other countries | CNN Business
https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/12/business/us-drug-prices-trump-europe
yahoo.com: US government to award a no-bid contract on research into vaccines and autism
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/us-government-award-no-bid-210715062.html
Comment: "Federal health officials intend to award a contract to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute to investigate whether there is a link between vaccinations and autism, according to a government procurement notice."
"The Troy, New York, engineering school is getting the no-bid contract because of its 'unique ability' to link data on children and mothers, according to the notice posted this week.
Comment: "An RPI biotech engineering professor, Juergen Hahn, has used artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques to look for patterns in blood samples of children with autism. Hahn 'is renowned for the quality and rigor of his research,' RPI officials said in a statement acknowledging the intended grant."
Comment: "The notice raises many questions, said Alycia Halladay, who oversees research activities and grants for the Autism Science Foundation."
"RPI is not known in the field as having any special access to data on this kind of question and 'wouldn’t be the obvious choice,' Halladay said."
"It's also not clear how the contract fits into other autism research that the government may be planning, she said."
"But perhaps the biggest question is why money is being spent on such a study at all, she added."
"Scientists have ruled out a link between vaccines and autism, finding no evidence of increased rates of autism among those who are vaccinated compared with those who are not."
Comment: Is this a case of the anti-vax folks asking the same question over and over, until they get the answer they want? If so, do you think U.S. taxpayers should be paying for this unnecessary, and perhaps biased, research?
AP News: Trump says he’ll send National Guard to Memphis, escalating his use of troops in US cities
Comment: "President Donald Trump said Friday he’ll send the National Guard to address crime concerns in Memphis, Tennessee, his latest test of the limits of presidential power by using military force in American cities."
"Speaking on Fox News, Trump said 'the mayor is happy' and 'the governor is happy' about the pending deployment. Calling the city 'deeply troubled,' he said 'we’re going to fix that just like we did Washington,' where he’s sent the National Guard and surged federal law enforcement."
"Tennessee’s Republican governor embraced the troop deployment as part of a broader law enforcement surge in Memphis, however Trump’s assertion drew pushback from the Democratic leader of Memphis, which is majority Black."
" 'I did not ask for the National Guard and I don’t think it’s the way to drive down crime,' Mayor Paul Young told a news conference Friday, while acknowledging the city remained high on too many 'bad lists'.”
"Several Memphis leaders said they welcome federal help but don’t think it needs to involve the military. Young committed to trying to help the deployment strengthen the community without distracting from ongoing law enforcement efforts. He said federal officials should aim at the 'root source of violent crime' and mentioned rehabilitation and mental health services, jobs and housing needs."
Video: Trump backs down on sending National Guard to Chicago, but targets other city instead - September 12, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYdgnx4huyI
Comment: Memphis is the new target.
Video: Trump says he is sending National Guard to Memphis - September 12, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVv3ot_rGvE
Government Executive: Trump Education Department to divert grants from colleges serving students of color
Comment: "Education Secretary Linda McMahon said the department would withhold $350 million in minority-serving institution grants from 800 colleges and universities, saying the grants 'discriminate by restricting eligibility to institutions that meet government-mandated racial quotas'."
Comment: "The move eliminated fiscal 2025 discretionary funding for institutions that serve students who are Asian, Black, Indigenous and Hispanic, as well as a program for students of color pursuing careers in science and engineering. It’s consistent with President Donald Trump’s longstanding objective to eliminate programs that center on diversity, equity and inclusion."
" 'To further our commitment to ending discrimination in all forms across federally supported programs, the Department will no longer award Minority-Serving Institution grants that discriminate by restricting eligibility to institutions that meet government-mandated racial quotas,' Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a statement."
Comment: "Most of the minority-serving schools receive funding based on racial quotas, except for Black institutions and tribal colleges, whose designations are based on their historical missions to educate Black or Native American students."
Comment: "Most minority-serving institutions, about 70%, are Hispanic-serving institutions, according to Rutgers University’s Center for Minority Serving Institutions."
The Hill: Pentagon ‘tracking’ employees who celebrate Charlie Kirk’s assassination
Pete Hegseth tells Pentagon staff to hunt for negative Charlie Kirk posts by service members
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna230915
Comments: "Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has told his staff to identify any members of the military who have mocked or condoned the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk so that they can be punished, two defense officials told NBC News."
"Several service members have been relieved from their jobs because of such posts, the officials said, adding that Hegseth’s directive also pertains to others associated with the Defense Department. It’s unclear exactly how many people have been disciplined."
Comment: "One U.S. military officer said troops know they are not allowed to condone political violence, but being fired for criticizing a person, particularly a civilian who has no ties to the military, is extremely rare."
" 'We can’t criticize the commander in chief, but I can’t remember anyone ever telling me we can’t say anything critical about a civilian like this. He was not in our chain of command or anything,' the officer said."
Politico: Why Charlie Kirk Had No Counterpart on the Left
Comment: "Charlie Kirk understood — perhaps more so than anyone except Donald Trump himself — how power really operates within the MAGA movement."
"As the myriad tributes to Kirk in the day since his death have captured, he served a dizzying array of functions within the broader Trumpian universe: a firebrand activist and debater; a media mega-personality overseeing a vast digital empire; the head of a multi-million-dollar political machine at Turning Point USA; a popularizer of the ideological fashions of the young and online right; an occasional adviser to Trump and his inner circle; and a bosom buddy with many of the most powerful denizens of the White House and Mar-a-Lago."
"Kirk has no real equivalent on the left. A rough approximation of a left-leaning Kirk would begin with some amalgamation of gun control activist-turned-erstwhile-DNC official David Hogg with the party consensus voice of the Pod Save America crew, supplemented by the online edginess of lefty streamer Hasan Piker and the institution-building power of a George Soros."
"Yet such a figure on the left is probably impossible. Kirk’s preternatural charisma and otherworldly fundraising abilities no doubt played a major role in his rise: During his early days of building TPUSA, stories circulated of skeptical megadonors writing five-figure checks after even the briefest of encounters with the 18-year-old Kirk."
"But a figure like Kirk is probably only possible within the unique circumstances of Trump’s GOP. Throughout his career, Kirk’s real superpower was intuiting — and deftly exploiting — the institutional hollowness of the Republican Party under Trump. Beginning in 2016, he systematically built political organizations to fulfill the functions once served by the party infrastructure that Trump destroyed. In the place of anemic campus groups like College Republicans, Kirk built Turning Point USA into a grassroots powerhouse with chapters on over 800 campuses. In the place of party-run turnout operations, he expanded the organization’s activist arm, Turning Point Action, into a multi-million dollar get-out-the vote machine. He inserted his podcasts and his social media presences into the space left by traditional party messaging and media initiatives. As the GOP became an increasingly hollow shell with Trump — and Trump alone — at its core, Kirk created new institutional scaffolds to keep the rickety structure together around its leader."
"He was clear about his ambition to turn TPUSA into a kind of substitute for all the old official actors of the right. 'We want to be an institution in this country that is as well-known and as powerful as The New York Times, Harvard and tech companies,' Kirk recently told Deseret News. 'And we believe we’re creating that.' ”
Comment: Interesting read to understand Republican tactics on recruiting American youth. You may want to read entire linked article.
Video: Trump hails Charlie Kirk as 'giant of a generation' at 9/11 ceremony - September 11, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ADQprdsGw0
Comment: While Charlie Kirk was an influential figure, and folks like to eulogize and praise the life of the deceased, is some of this praise and tribute a little overdone? He was idolized by some, yet his views were controversial and disliked by others.
Video: Tracing Charlie Kirk's path to political influence - September 11, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfK0eFsYcHg
Comment: While rejecting his right-wing message, perhaps Democrats could learn from Kirk's methodology in reaching America's youth.
What is Charlie Kirk's Turning Point USA, group that powered Trump 2024 win?
https://www.axios.com/2025/09/11/charlie-kirk-turning-point-usa
Comment: "Kirk co-founded Turning Point in 2012, which describes itself as the 'largest and fastest growing conservative youth activist organization in the country'."
"The organization says it 'empowers' young activists to 'build grassroots networks on every high school and college campus in America' and educates students about the 'importance of freedom, free markets, and limited government'."
"While Kirk and Turning Point were widely praised by conservatives, liberal critics said his provocative style and rhetoric at times could be anti-Muslim, sexist and transphobic."
"Turning Point has roughly 3,500 high school and college campuses nationwide, and has helped 'thousands of college students apply for voter registration and access absentee ballots,' according to its website."
Video: Trump blames ‘radical left’ rhetoric for Charlie Kirk’s assassination - September 11, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjYqhvo1vqs
Comment: These are comments from a man who declares "war" on an entire American city (Chicago). Please compare Trump's comments to those made earlier from Democratic leaders responding to the shooting. (Previous video)
Exclusive: Lutnick moves goalposts on Trump's ownership of economy: "end of this year"
https://www.axios.com/2025/09/11/howard-lutnick-trump-economy-growth
Comment: "President Trump will own the economy's performance by the end of 2025, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick tells Mike Allen on the 'The Axios Show'— a much later window than he and other administration officials have previously claimed."
Comment: "Economic data has been somewhat weaker in recent months, and now Lutnick is pushing out the window for when Trump fully owns the economy's performance."
Comment: How many of you think the Trump administration will still be blaming their poor economic performance on Biden until early 2029, when Trump finally leaves office. (We hope!)
AP News: Trump administration cuts grants for minority-serving colleges, declaring them unconstitutional
Comment: "The Trump administration is ending several grant programs reserved for colleges that have large numbers of minority students, saying they amount to illegal discrimination by tying federal money to racial quotas."
"In a shift upending decades of precedent, the Education Department said Wednesday it now believes it’s unconstitutional to award federal grants using eligibility requirements based on racial or ethnic enrollment levels. The agency said it’s holding back a total of $350 million in grants budgeted for this year and called on Congress to 'reenvision' the programs for future years."
"More than $250 million of that figure was budgeted for the government’s Hispanic-Serving Institution program, which offers grants to colleges and universities where at least a quarter of undergraduates are Hispanic. Congress created the program in 1998 after finding that Latino students were going to college and graduating at far lower rates than white students."
"Several smaller programs are also being cut, including $22 million for schools where at least 40% of students are Black, along with programs reserved for schools with certain enrollment levels of Asian American, Pacific Islander or Native American students. The programs have traditionally received bipartisan support in Congress and were created to address longstanding racial disparities in education."
"Not included in the cuts is federal funding for Historically Black Colleges and Universities, which are open to all students regardless of race."
The Hill: RFK Jr’s deadly COVID coverup
https://thehill.com/opinion/healthcare/5496412-kennedy-covid-19-data-chaos/
Comment: "When Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) recently asked Robert F. Kennedy Jr. last week how many people died in the United States from COVID-19, Kennedy said 'nobody knows' because of 'data chaos' at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Yet, there is very good data on how many Americans died from the virus."
"CDC estimates indicate 1,231,440 Americans died from COVID-19. Kennedy’s attempt to discredit this data is likely an effort to justify his hostile actions against the health agency or to minimize the danger of the virus, which is still affecting people today."
Comment: The article provides data from the Social Security Administration that tends to validate the CDC estimate.
Comment: "Kennedy’s remarks reflect a broader effort to construct a 'revisionist' history of COVID-19. Vaccine skeptics hope to create a narrative that the virus was never really that dangerous. But this vague, indirect attack on medical interventions is almost certainly going to lead to poor policy choices about how to deal with COVID-19 going forward."
Video: Political leaders react to Charlie Kirk shooting - September 10, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3x3_sKJ1qE0
Charlie Kirk's influence, reach helped propel Donald Trump into office
Comment: "Charlie Kirk's reach and influence over the conservative community was a crucial factor not only in the Republican Party's message, but also to President Donald Trump's political rise."
Comment: " 'No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us. Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!' Trump posted."
Comment: "The president ordered all U.S. flags to be flown at half-staff until Sunday evening."
"The shooting had rattled most everyone inside the White House. Shock, anger, sadness, disbelief were words used by multiple senior sources inside the West Wing, ABC News' Katherine Faulders said."
"Though Kirk was not a White House staffer, he was a constant and visible presence at the White House, she reported. Kirk, who was known as the 'Trump whisperer,' was deeply involved in vetting top positions for the administration since the election and was in constant communication with top advisers and the president himself."
Comment: The remainder of the linked article gives numerous examples of Kirk's enormous influence in the Trump administration and MAGA political circles.
How Charlie Kirk changed conservative media — and American politics | CNN Business
https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/10/media/charlie-kirk-tpusa-maga-conservative-activism
Video: Charlie Kirk shot during event at Utah university, JD Vance says to 'say a prayer' - September 10, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_lt18PGHy4
Trump claims he can do anything he wants with the military. Here’s what the law says | CNN Politics
https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/10/politics/venezuela-trump-military-strike-war-powers-explainer
Retired generals warn of dire consequences of Trump politicizing military
https://www.axios.com/2025/09/09/retired-generals-trump-national-guard-los-angeles
Comment: "Eleven retired senior military officers warned in a Tuesday court filing about the downsides of the Trump administration's deployment of the National Guard to Los Angeles earlier this year."
Comment: "The generals warned about President Trump's politicization of the National Guard as law enforcement and its harm to the 'cohesiveness and reputation' of the military."
" 'Deployment of the military within our country's borders to be used against its population is not only contrary to core American values, but can also be harmful to the reputation, integrity, and morale of the military itself,' they wrote in the amicus briefing in the case between Trump and California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D)."
"The military must remain a nonpartisan institution for recruitment and retention, they emphasized."
From slavery to pollution, National Park employees flagged material deemed ‘disparaging’ to US
https://apnews.com/article/trump-national-park-service-disparaging-d861b3c902ef68b0184c2bd776f707e4
Comment: "The Trump administration is reviewing material about slavery, the destruction of Native American culture, climate change and more at federal parks after employees flagged information that could be 'disparaging' to Americans, according to screenshots shared with The Associated Press."
"President Donald Trump signed an executive order in March directing the Interior Department — which manages parks, monuments and other designated land — to ensure public property doesn’t contain elements that 'inappropriately disparage Americans past or living.' Instead, it said to 'focus on the greatness of the achievements and progress of the American people' and 'the beauty, abundance, and grandeur of the American landscape'.”
"The National Park Service had until July 18 to flag 'inappropriate' signs, exhibits and other material, according to a document shared with the AP by the National Parks Conservation Association, which obtained internal information from an anonymous source within the Interior Department. The public was also encouraged to participate."
Comment: Trump tries to rewrite history? Ignorance is bliss? See no evil; hear no evil; speak no evil?
Axios: White House looking to cut certain disability benefits
https://www.axios.com/2025/09/08/trump-ssi-disability-benefits
Comment: "Hundreds of thousands of poor Americans are poised to get their disability benefits cut, as the Trump administration moves to reverse a Biden-era change."
"Why it matters: It would hurt low-income and disabled Americans at a time when inflation is driving up the cost of food and shelter; and further cuts to Medicaid and food benefits are on tap."
Comment: "The changes involve Supplemental Security Income, or SSI, a federal program that provides monthly cash payments to people who are very poor and unable to work — typically because they're disabled."
Comment: More details can be found in the linked article.
CNN: Trump urges Supreme Court to revisit fight over billions in foreign aid
https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/08/politics/supreme-court-trump-foreign-aid
Video: BREAKING: Trump asks Supreme Court to allow $4B in foreign aid cuts - September 8, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdxiwNLxYiE
NBC News: Trump asks Supreme Court to allow $4 billion in foreign aid cuts
Comment: "The Trump administration on Monday asked the Supreme Court to allow the government to withhold $4 billion of spending on foreign aid that was approved by Congress."
"The move came in response to a federal judge's ruling last week that requires the administration to spend the funds despite President Donald Trump notifying Congress that he intends not to."
"The case marks a showdown over to what extent the president can refuse to spend money that Congress has appropriated, a brewing issue as Trump has embraced a sweeping view of presidential power since taking office again in January."
"In the new filing, Solicitor General D. John Sauer described the case as raising 'a grave and urgent threat' to the power of the presidency."
"Under the Constitution, it is the job of Congress to allocate funds that the president can spend."
Politico: Trump says he’ll direct Education Department to protect praying in public school
Comment: "President Donald Trump on Monday said that the Department of Education would soon be instituting new guidelines on the right to prayer in public schools."
Comment: "While religion is not banned in public schools, the Supreme Court ruled in 1962 that state-sponsored prayer in public schools violates the First Amendment."
Comment: "On Monday, Trump vowed to protect Judeo-Christian principles."
Comment: Will the new guidelines from Trump's Department of Education protect religious practices that are not Judeo-Christian?
The Hill: When you lose your history, you lose your country
https://thehill.com/opinion/education/5488814-trump-rewrites-us-history/
Comment: "New York Times columnist Thomas Byrne Edsall recently described President Trump’s 'mind-boggling intrusiveness.' Unlike any other 21st century president, Trump has inserted himself into every nook and cranny of American life.
"His executive orders rewrite the Constitution so that presidents make laws, not Congress. His tariffs reshape the international economic order. His intrusions into university affairs disrupt scientific research. And his control of the Kennedy Center elevates artists who conform to his vision of America."
"One of Trump’s most dangerous actions is his control of the Smithsonian Institution."
"On Aug. 12, Trump aides sent an ominous letter to the Smithsonian’s secretary, demanding the 'restoring of truth and sanity to American history.' A week later, Trump wrote on Truth Social that the Smithsonian is 'OUT OF CONTROL'.”
"On Aug. 21, the White House issued a statement titled 'President Trump Is Right about the Smithsonian.' It identified seven museums whose exhibits were deemed to be offensive. These included the history of the gay and transgender movement, a portrait of Dr. Anthony Fauci, an exhibit on voting rights and the depiction of slavery as 'bad'."
"PBS filmmaker Ken Burns calls Trump’s removal of these exhibits 'terrifying'."
"What makes Trump’s moves so dangerous is his opportunity to rewrite his version of U.S. history on a blank slate."
Comment: "The lack of civic education is a serious problem."
Comment: The rest of the linked article gives examples of ignorance of Americans about U.S. history and about how their government is supposed to work. The author cites a reduced emphasis on social studies and civic education in our schools. He calls for action and warns us about the consequences if we fail to act.
The Hill: American brain drain is a colossal self-inflicted wound
Comment: "The assault on experience and expertise at the CDC — for decades the global gold standard in public health — is just the tip of the iceberg. The Trump administration’s elevation of partisan politics over scientific expertise is crippling research and rolling back evidence-based policies at agencies across the federal government, including the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Food and Drug Administration, the Department of the Interior and the Department of Energy."
"Even worse, the administration is slashing funding for basic science research and creating barriers to recruiting scientific talent from abroad, producing a brain drain with catastrophic consequences that are already being felt."
The Guardian: The ‘bizarre’ referral of the US housing finance agency chief to oust Lisa Cook
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/07/bill-pulte-fhfa-referral-mortgage-fraud-lisa-cook
Comment: "The head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency embraced a highly unusual process to accuse Lisa Cook, a Federal Reserve governor, of committing mortgage fraud, former officials and experts have said. One former high-ranking official called the director’s involvement in a criminal referral 'bizarre'.
"William Pulte, a businessman and major GOP donor whom Donald Trump appointed to head the powerful housing agency earlier this year, has accused Cook of committing mortgage fraud by misrepresenting her homes as a primary residence, potentially securing more favorable mortgage rates."
Comment: "Investigations into mortgage fraud are usually handled by the Federal Housing Finance Agency's office of inspector general (OIG), an agency watchdog, staffed with lawyers and agents with an expertise in investigating crimes, including mortgage fraud. The OIG is then the office that typically makes a criminal referral."
" 'It’s very bizarre for Pulte to be the one making a criminal referral himself and it’s not coming from the IG’s office,' said Janell Byrd-Chichester, a former chief of staff at FHFA. 'If we thought there might be criminal activity, that would go to the IG for review and a determination and the IG would be making any referral, not the agency.' ”
"Three other former officials across the inspector general’s office and FHFA said Pulte’s involvement was unusual."
Comment: Is it really that unusual, if one considers that Pulte's sole motivation for the accusation was part of Trump's attempt to remove Lisa Cook from the Federal Reserve so that Trump could dictate Fed policy on interest rates?
The Hill: What happened to Trump’s ‘big, beautiful’ wall?
https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/5486806-unfinished-wall-trump-presidency/
Comment: "Trump promised a 'big, beautiful wall' stretching along the 1,954 miles of the southern U.S. border, which he once claimed Mexico would pay for. What he delivered in his first term was about 450 miles of fencing, the majority of it replacing existing structures. The vision of a continuous wall was never realized."
Comment: "The result is a half-finished wall that perfectly symbolizes Trump’s tenure: loud, polarizing, and poorly executed in the end."
"This is the political genius of Trump and also his greatest weakness. He lights so many fires at once that it becomes nearly impossible to track them all. For a campaigner, that creates constant motion, endless headlines and the feeling of momentum. For a president, it guarantees that nothing is ever fully completed."
CBS News: CBS News poll: On Trump deploying National Guard, divisions over impact on crime, rights
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-national-guard-cities-opinion-poll/
Comment: Please read linked article for various poll results on this topic.
The Guardian: Broadcasters told not to air any booing of Donald Trump at US Open men’s final
Comment: Given Trump's history of retaliatory actions and the fact that broadcast licenses are subject to FCC approval, might this "request" be considered an implied threat?
The Hill: Extra-judicial military killing is not a legitimate answer to drug trafficking
BBC: Trumps says Venezuelan jets will be 'shot down' if they endanger US ships
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cr70511v774o
Video: Hard to ‘plumb the depths’ of ‘stupidity’ of Dept. of War rebrand: Top Armed Services Cmte. Democrat - September 5, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsLB3-V1Tfc
Comment: Adam Smith (D-Wash.) addresses several different issues on NBC's Meet the Press.
Pentagon officials fume over Trump's costly ‘Department of War’ rebrand - POLITICO
Comment: "Pentagon officials grappled Friday with the Herculean task of fulfilling President Donald Trump’s executive order to remold the enormous, global agency into the Department of War."
"Many expressed frustration, anger and downright confusion at the effort, which could cost billions of dollars for a cosmetic change that would do little to tackle the military’s most pressing challenges — such as countering a more aggressive alliance of authoritarian nations."
"The details of the order Trump signed Friday are still vague, but officials may need to change Defense Department seals on more than 700,000 facilities in 40 countries and all 50 states. This includes everything from letterhead for six military branches and dozens more agencies down to embossed napkins in chow halls, embroidered jackets for Senate-confirmed officials and the keychains and tchotchkes in the Pentagon store."
" 'This is purely for domestic political audiences,' said a former defense official. 'Not only will this cost millions of dollars, it will have absolutely zero impact on Chinese or Russian calculations. Worse, it will be used by our enemies to portray the United States as warmongering and a threat to international stability.' ”
Video: Trump signs executive order to rebrand DOD to ‘Department of War’ - September 5, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aK6Fle3v0JY
The Daily Beast: Pete Hegseth Declares He Has 'Absolute Authority' to Kill Suspected Drug Dealers
Comment: No one likes drug smugglers, but killing them unnecessarily without trial is legally questionable, even in international waters. Not sure Pete Segseth is a credible legal authority either. Before killing anyone, the administration better have sufficient evidence and accurate intelligence (intelligence which they can make public) to satisfy the American people that the killing was justified. If Hegseth and the Pentagon make a mistake and kill innocents, it will be a grave moral error and a major foreign policy fiasco.
Comment: "The crime of drug trafficking does not carry the death penalty in the U.S., though it does in some countries."
Axios: RFK Jr. to draw link between Tylenol and autism: Report
https://www.axios.com/2025/09/05/rfk-jr-tylenol-autism-pregnancy-condition
Comment: "Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s forthcoming report on the causes of autism will link the use of Tylenol during pregnancy to the neurodevelopmental disorder and suggest that a form of folate can treat the condition, according to a published report."
"Kennedy, who has promoted debunked theories about the disorder, said some of the report's conclusions could be revealed this month."
Comment: "The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists earlier concluded there's no clear evidence of a relationship between prudent use of acetaminophen and fetal developmental issues."
Comment: "The intrigue: Far-right activist Laura Loomer has recently suggested connections between Tylenol use and autism and said Kennedy's findings could provide a remedy to what she called the autism epidemic."
"Shares of Tylenol maker Kenvue fell sharply on Friday after the new report. A company spokesperson told the WSJ that it had 'continuously evaluated the science and continues to believe there is no causal link between acetaminophen use during pregnancy and autism.' "
Comment: Given Kennedy's credibility regarding autism, do you think it might be wise to wait and see what real evidence he has? Are you curious about any Laura Loomer role? If Kennedy's report lacks credibility or proves to be untrue, can Tylenol's maker take legal action against Kennedy or HHS?
CNN: EPA moves to suspend without pay over 100 employees who signed letter of dissent
https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/05/climate/trump-epa-suspend-employees-dissent-letter
Comment: More retribution against those speaking truth to power?
Video: U.S. drops rule to have airlines pay for delays - September 5, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hV_9oEuUIus
Trump Is Trying to Blackmail the Supreme Court - POLITICO
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2025/09/04/trump-tariffs-supreme-court-appeal-column-00543196
Comment: "Donald Trump is making a last-ditch effort to salvage his beloved, beleaguered tariff policy, heading to the Supreme Court in hopes that the Republican appointees will come to his rescue. The desperation is both palpable and warranted given the conspicuous weakness of the administration’s legal arguments, as underscored by a series of lower court rulings against him. That has in turn led the president and his aides to make increasingly histrionic public claims about what will happen if the Supreme Court does not cave and side with Trump."
"Call it The Chicken Little Defense: If the courts do not sign off on the administration’s tariffs, it 'would be a total disaster for the Country' and 'would literally destroy the United States of America,' Trump said on Friday after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled that the bulk of the president's tariffs are illegal. He doubled down on those claims on Tuesday while tacking on the transparently ridiculous assertion that the U.S. is 'taking in $17 trillion ... because of tariffs'."
Comment: "This should all be seen for what it is — a tacit admission that the administration is on very weak footing as a legal matter. The most charitable interpretation of the effort is that the administration is lobbying the Supreme Court to engage in the sort of outcome-driven judicial activism that conservatives have long claimed to hate. A less generous read of the situation is that this is an effort to politically blackmail the court into giving Trump what he wants even if it is clearly unlawful or unconstitutional."
The Guardian: Trump’s second presidency is ‘most dangerous period’ since second world war, Mitch McConnell says
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/04/trump-dangerous-period-mitch-mcconnell
Comment: "The world during Donald Trump's second presidency has entered a period of danger with 'certain similarities to the 30s', according to Mitch McConnell, the veteran Republican former Senate leader."
"Calling it 'the most dangerous period since before world war two', McConnell was openly critical of the Trump administration's fixation with trade tariffs, which he likened to the isolationist policies of the US in the 1930s that historians say hastened a global depression that paved the path to conflict."
"But while decrying the lack of US preparedness to confront authoritarian regimes abroad, the 83-year-old McConnell – a senator since 1985 and leader of Republicans in the chamber for a record 18 years until he stood down earlier this year, then announced his own upcoming retirement – did not discuss the Trump administration’s own moves towards authoritarianism."
"He also glossed over his own responsibility for handing Trump so much power. As majority leader, McConnell maneuvered to deny Barack Obama a rightful supreme court pick, and rushed to give Trump another in the final weeks of his first term in 2020. It made McConnell the architect of the current ultraconservative 6-3 majority on a panel that critics say has been overly loyal to Trump, not least last year’s astonishing ruling giving him immunity for criminal acts."
Comment: Having some regrets, McConnell? Trying to make amends? How many of you think it's too little, too late?
NPR: Fox bosses privately called U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro 'reckless maniac' and more
https://www.npr.org/2025/09/04/nx-s1-5526879/fox-news-jeanine-pirro-reckless-maniac
Video: National Guard troops deployed to DC grow weary with no end in sight - September 4, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4fv1oQU-N0
Video: Trump seemingly walks back decision on sending troops to Chicago - September 3, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZ60tZ-tCdI
Politico: Vought defends ‘aggressively’ using rescissions, blasts GAO as ‘something that shouldn't exist’
Comment: "White House budget chief Russ Vought defended his targeting of Capitol Hill’s funding prerogatives at a Wednesday morning gathering of conservatives, insisting he is following the law despite accusations the Trump administration has, since January, been illegally withholding congressionally approved cash."
Comment: "Vought laid out his case for strengthening the executive branch over the “woke and weaponized bureaucracy,” including by using a maneuver called the pocket rescission to unilaterally claw back funding Congress already appropriated without needing lawmakers to sign off."
Comment: "He also stressed the Office of Management and Budget is 'not a fan' of the GAO, but also went further than he has in the past in denigrating Congress’ top watchdog."
" 'They’re a quasi-legislative independent entity … something that shouldn’t exist,' Vought said."
" 'House Republican appropriators have endorsed cutting GAO by more than 50 percent in their fiscal 2026 bill funding the operations of Congress. Vought himself has said the watchdog 'should be cut more'.”
" 'Clearly Russell Vought does not value transparency and accountability,' Gene Dodaro, U.S. comptroller general and head of the GAO, said in a statement. 'GAO’s mission is to support Congress in carrying out its constitutional responsibilities. During my tenure as Comptroller General alone, GAO’s work has saved taxpayers over $1.2 trillion and resulted in tens of thousands of improvements to how federal programs work.' ”
Comment: Apparently, Russell Vought doesn't believe in transparency and accountability and doesn't believe in Congress' power of the purse. Apparently, Russell Vought believes only in Project 2025.
The Hill: No, our museums cannot just ‘move on’ from slavery — Christmas shows us why
https://thehill.com/opinion/civil-rights/5482509-trump-smithsonian-slavery-focus/
Comment: As Trump tries to have history rewritten.
Exclusive: US regulators cancel bank exams as Trump rollback gathers pace | Reuters
Comment: "U.S. regulators are pulling back on some bank exams and the use of confidential disciplinary notices, a sign lenders are already benefiting from a softer touch under President Donald Trump's administration, said more than half a dozen industry executives."
"In recent months, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Reserve, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau have postponed, scaled back or canceled bank exams. The new, lighter approach mostly applies to non-core banking issues, such as reputational risk, climate change risk, and diversity and inclusion, the people said."
"Supervisors are also limiting the scope of exams -- including some related to critical banking issues -- by using more specific language at the outset to explain what they will assess and sticking more closely to examination rulebooks, three of the people said."
"They are also taking a softer approach when instructing banks to fix problems, four sources said. Officials have long issued formal disciplinary letters known as 'matters requiring attention' or 'matters requiring immediate attention' warning banks to urgently address issues. Banks have complained the notices are frequently overly aggressive, both in number and tone."
Comment: "Democrats and many regulatory experts argue robust supervision should take a holistic view of bank risks. They also point out that supervisory failures were partly responsible for the collapse of three lenders in 2023. As a result, regulators began ratcheting up supervision later that year, Reuters reported at that time."
Comment: Does anyone else remember the large number of bank failures in 2008 and the huge federal bank bailout that cost taxpayers billions? This was due to bank deregulation.
Judge rules against National Guard in LA, and Trump vows to send them to Chicago
Comment: "Hours after a federal court in California ruled against how President Trump used the National Guard in Los Angeles this summer, Trump touted his use of the National Guard in Washington, D.C., and said he would soon send the troops into Chicago, though he did not say when."
" 'We're going in,' Trump said about sending the National Guard to Chicago. The comment came today during a press conference in the Oval Office to announce the new headquarters of the U.S. Space Force. 'I'm so very proud of Washington. It serves as the template.' "
"Speaking at his own press conference later, Illinois Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker said the National Guard was not needed or wanted in the city. But he said federal agents were already massing in a nearby military base and predicted they would soon start conducting immigration raids in Latino communities in order to spark demonstrations. 'We know, before anything has happened here, that the Trump plan is to use any excuse to deploy armed military personnel to Chicago.' "
The Guardian: Trump team’s contentious climate report ‘makes a mockery of science’, experts say
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/02/trump-administration-climate-report
Comment: "A group of the US’s leading climate scientists have compiled a withering review of a controversial Trump administration report that downplays the risks of the climate crisis, finding that the document is biased, riddled with errors and fails basic scientific credibility."
NPR: Dozens of scientists find errors in a new Energy Department climate report
https://www.npr.org/2025/09/02/nx-s1-5521384/energy-report-scientists-climate-change
Comment: "A group of more than 85 scientists have issued a joint rebuttal to a recent U.S. Department of Energy report about climate change, finding it full of errors and misrepresenting climate science."
"This comes weeks after the Union of Concerned Scientists and the Environmental Defense Fund filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration that alleges that Energy Secretary Chris Wright 'quietly arranged for five hand-picked skeptics of the effects of climate change" to compile the government's climate report and violated the law by creating the report in secret with authors 'of only one point of view'."
"The DOE's Climate Working Group consisted of four scientists and one economist who have all questioned the scientific consensus that climate change is a large threat to the world and sometimes frame global warming as beneficial."
"The group of climate scientists found several examples where the DOE authors cherry-picked or misrepresented climate science in the agency's report. For instance, in the DOE report the authors claim that rising carbon dioxide can be a 'net benefit' to U.S. agriculture, neglecting to mention the negative impacts of more heat and climate-change fueled extreme weather events on crops."
Axios: Colorado vows to challenge Space Command move to Alabama
https://www.axios.com/local/denver/2025/09/02/colorado-alabama-space-command-colorado-springs
Comment: "The move announced Tuesday sets the stage for a high-stakes legal showdown with huge economic implications."
Comment: "Trump said he moved Space Command out of Colorado because the state conducts mail-in voting for its elections, making them 'automatically crooked.'
Comment: This could get ugly before it's all over. It's likely that Trump's comment suggesting that his decision was based on mail-in voting, will help Colorado's legal argument that the move was politically based, rather than justified economically or by improved performance in Huntsville. That's unfortunate, because it may hurt Huntsville's case in any future legal action.
CNN: Trump announces Space Command move to Alabama, reversing Biden-era decision
https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/02/science/trump-space-command-huntsville-alabama
Politico: The AI Doomsday Machine Is Closer to Reality Than You Think
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2025/09/02/pentagon-ai-nuclear-war-00496884
Comment: "Last year Schneider, director of the Hoover Wargaming and Crisis Simulation Initiative at Stanford University, began experimenting with war games that gave the latest generation of artificial intelligence the role of strategic decision-makers. In the games, five off-the-shelf large language models or LLMs — OpenAI’s GPT-3.5, GPT-4, and GPT-4-Base; Anthropic’s Claude 2; and Meta’s Llama-2 Chat — were confronted with fictional crisis situations that resembled Russia’s invasion of Ukraine or China’s threat to Taiwan."
"The results? Almost all of the AI models showed a preference to escalate aggressively, use firepower indiscriminately and turn crises into shooting wars — even to the point of launching nuclear weapons. 'The AI is always playing Curtis LeMay,' says Schneider, referring to the notoriously nuke-happy Air Force general of the Cold War. 'It’s almost like the AI understands escalation, but not de-escalation. We don’t really know why that is.' "
"If some of this reminds you of the nightmare scenarios featured in blockbuster sci-fi movies like 'The Terminator,' 'WarGames' or 'Dr. Strangelove,' well, that’s because the latest AI has the potential to behave just that way someday, some experts fear. In all three movies, high-powered computers take over decisions about launching nuclear weapons from the humans who designed them. The villain in the two most recent 'Mission: Impossible' films is also a malevolent AI, called the Entity, that tries to seize control of the world’s nuclear arsenals. The outcome in these movies is often apocalyptic."
"The Pentagon claims that won’t happen in real life, that its existing policy is that AI will never be allowed to dominate the human 'decision loop' that makes a call on whether to, say, start a war — certainly not a nuclear one."
"But some AI scientists believe the Pentagon has already started down a slippery slope by rushing to deploy the latest generations of AI as a key part of America’s defenses around the world. Driven by worries about fending off China and Russia at the same time, as well as by other global threats, the Defense Department is creating AI-driven defensive systems that in many areas are swiftly becoming autonomous — meaning they can respond on their own, without human input — and move so fast against potential enemies that humans can’t keep up."
Comment: As if we didn't already have enough to worry about!
Video: JB Pritzker when asked whether he believes President Trump is an authoritarian - September 1, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgJ6Nhf1qjI
CNN: Chicago braces for federal immigration enforcement operation while Trump criticizes local officials
https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/01/politics/chicago-braces-national-guard-immigration-operation
Trump announces he will award Giuliani the Presidential Medal of Freedom | CNN Politics
https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/01/politics/rudy-giuliani-trump-presidential-medal-of-freedom
Comment: If one looks at Giuliani's early career, as a DA fighting organized crime and as NYC mayor immediately after the 911 attacks, one might make a case for his receiving this award. However, his more recent actions, including 2020 election denial, false allegations against Georgia election workers, attempts to overturn the 2020 election, etc. helped get his law license revoked, and make him unsuitable for such a prestigious award. Ironically, it's probably these more recent shameful actions of personal loyalty that were Trump's very reasons for awarding the medal to Giuliani.
Video: RFK Jr. accused of endangering Americans' health by former CDC directors - September 01, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_y_iWdNeMm8
ABC News: Former CDC directors say RFK Jr. is endangering Americans' health
Comment: "The former directors say they are stunned by what they've seen unfold at CDC."
ABC News: Noem says nothing’s off the table regarding more National Guard deployments
Comment: Does that include ignoring rulings from federal judges?
ABC News: Former CDC immunizations chief: ‘I only see harm coming’ with RFK Jr. leading HHS
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/former-cdc-immunizations-chief-harm-coming-rfk-jr/story?id=125134748
MAHA's lasting threat to science
https://www.axios.com/2025/08/31/cdc-walkout-protest-rfk-maha
Comment: "The turmoil at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is the latest sign of how Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the MAHA movement threaten to undermine trust in scientists and medical research."
"Why it matters: By promoting debunked theories about vaccines and public health and accusing federal workers of being in cahoots with the drug industry, Kennedy and his allies have stoked suspicion about mainstream science and the medical establishment."
"When four high-ranking CDC officials who had worked on mpox, Ebola, COVID-19 data and the opioid crisis response resigned Wednesday, they cited Kennedy's political interference."
" 'This administration is unlike anything we've ever seen,' said Richard Besser, a onetime acting director of the CDC and now CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation."
Politico: Even at Yosemite, 'the shadow of Donald Trump is over everything'
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/31/yosemite-feels-the-burn-of-an-understaffed-summer-00522504
Comment: "What’s less visible in this park, one of the crown jewels of the National Park Service, are the gray-and-green-clad park rangers who manage it."
"The Trump administration has not disclosed its tally for national park staffing levels after its effort to slash the government workforce hit arguably the nation’s most popular federal agency earlier this year. But the park is down at least 40 staffers compared with last summer, according to figures shared with POLITICO’s E&E News by a person familiar with Yosemite’s current staffing."
NPR: Trump administration cancels $679 million for offshore wind projects at ports
https://www.npr.org/2025/08/31/nx-s1-5522943/trump-offshore-wind-energy-ports
Comment: "The Trump administration is cancelling $679 million in federal funding for ports to support the country's offshore wind industry, the latest move in President Trump's ongoing campaign against wind power."
"Offshore wind is still a developing industry in the U.S., while Europe already has thousands of wind turbines in deep ocean waters. Those offshore turbines are dramatically larger than ones on land and require substantial infrastructure at ports for construction, from large assembly facilities to deepwater docks for ships that carry turbines out to sea."
"Ports around the country hoped to seize the economic opportunity to become hubs for the wind industry. Under the Biden administration, 12 port projects from California to Virginia were granted funds, all of which the Trump administration said on Friday it was either withdrawing or cancelling."
Comment: "Just over a week ago, the Trump Administration ordered wind companies to stop construction on a wind farm off the Rhode Island coast. Trump is a long-time critic of wind power, claiming it's expensive and kills birds. He has pushed for cuts to tax incentives for wind and solar, which analyses have shown could raise electricity prices around the country."
Comment: " 'The federal [Trump] administration ran on rebuilding back America, building infrastructure, creating U.S. jobs, creating manufacturing – this project does all of that,' said Chris Mikkelsen, executive director of the Port of Humboldt Bay, one of the ports that had its project funding canceled."
Comment: And you believed all those lofty campaign promises from Trump?
Trump tariffs being blocked would be "end of the United States," adviser says
https://www.axios.com/2025/08/31/trump-tariffs-supreme-court
Comment: "It would be 'the end of the United States' if President Trump's sweeping global tariffs are ultimately struck down by the Supreme Court, White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said Sunday."
"Why it matters: The administration is putting maximum pressure on the high court — and the court of public opinion — in an attempt to frame the future of Trump's trade regime in existential terms."
Comment: Peter Navarro parrots ridiculous claim from Donald Trump, indicating that the Trump administration is doubling down on the claim. If Trump/Navarro is worried about the lost tariff revenue, they can start by taxing Trump's billionaire buddies, instead of taxing middle class consumers with, what are effectively, national sales taxes.
NBC News: Tensions rise between Tulsi Gabbard and CIA chief after her disclosure of undercover officer's name, insiders say
tics/national-security/tulsi-gabbard-cia-director-john-ratcliffe-rcna223285
Comment: "Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard blindsided CIA leaders last week when she disclosed the name of an undercover CIA officer on a list of people she stripped of security clearances, multiple current and former intelligence sources said."
"The move alarmed the agency’s workforce, the sources said, and is the latest example of simmering tensions and crossed signals between Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe. The two have clashed previously over her decisions, including earlier this month when Gabbard declassified a lightly redacted document related to Russian election interference."
DHS cut funding to mass shooting prevention programs in Minnesota before killings | CNN
https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/30/us/minneapolis-church-shooting-dhs-programs-canceled-invs
Video: Trump faceplants in court on tariff power grab; burned again for overreach - August 29, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTmrQYxR3aE
Video: BREAKING: Trump tariffs found ILLEGAL by U.S. appeals court - August 29, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbDDyApH7AQ
Trump's 'quick reaction force' is a foray into dark new territory
Comment: "President Donald Trump signed an ominous executive order Monday that calls for a sweeping reorientation of the National Guard around domestic policing. Particularly alarming is Trump’s order that the secretary of defense create a 'quick reaction force' within the National Guard for 'rapid nationwide deployment' as part of a broader effort at 'quelling civil disturbances and ensuring the public safety.' While it’s not clear exactly what form such a force would take, Trump appears to be making an extraordinary attempt to amass autocratic power by misusing the military for policing."
Comment: " 'I called up retired Maj. Gen. Randy Manner, who has overseen domestic operations at the No. 2 position in the National Guard and also overseen combat operations as the deputy commanding general of all Army forces in the Middle East. He was alarmed, to put it lightly."
" 'Why the heck are we using armed, uniform military against our own population? This is absurd,' he said. 'It’s not the proper use of the military, and we should not go there. We need to invest in law enforcement if what we want to do is reduce crime.' ”
NBC News: Attorney General Pam Bondi fires DOJ staffer for alleged obscene gesture toward National Guard members
Comment: "Attorney General Pam Bondi fired a Justice Department employee on Friday accused of flipping off National Guard members deployed to Washington D.C. as part of President Donald Trump's effort to mitigate crime in the city, a Justice Department official confirmed."
Comment: "A spokesperson for the Justice Department, Gates McGavick, lauded the termination on Friday, writing in a posy on X, 'if you don’t support law enforcement, [Attorney General Pam Bondi’s] DOJ might not be a good fit.' ”
Comment: Do you think the employee might still respect law enforcement, but may not support political leadership who cannot distinguish between law enforcement personnel and military personnel trained primarily for war? Do you think it's possible that the employee might even respect national guard personnel, except for their commander in chief, who was not available so that she could address her displeasure directly?
You Have Just 3 Weeks to Object to the Roadless Rule Rollback, Which Will Affect 45 Million Wild Acres Across the U.S.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/just-3-weeks-object-roadless-224919422.html
Comment: "Specifically, the Trump administration plans to rescind the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, proposed by the Clinton administration and enacted under the George Bush administration, that generally prohibits new road construction on millions of acres of U.S. Forest Service land. The rule was adopted after hundreds of public meetings and 1.6 million public comments, 95 percent of which supported the roadless protections as a tool to conserve wildlife habitat, improve watershed health, and importantly, reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires on America’s public timberlands."
Comment: "Meanwhile, road advocates recognize the value of roads to open forests to industrial logging, which they hope will rejuvenate rural Western communities and achieve one of the overlooked requirements of the 2026 federal budget and the Trump administration: To increase logging by some 25 percent on public lands and require the Forest Service to enter into 20-year contracts with timber harvesters."
"In the middle are hunters and anglers who recognize that the mid-elevation Forest Service lands teetering in the balance are productive big-game habitats and support fishy streams. They also have just enough existing roads to provide access without carving up National Forests into timbered subdivisions."
Comment: Do you think Trump's motivation is to turn over access & control of public lands to logging interests?
CNN: There’s a new world order in the Atlantic Ocean, and Hurricane Erin gave us a frightening peek
https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/29/climate/hurricane-erin-atlantic-storms-rapid-intensification
Axios: CDC warns of huge COVID spike amid internal turmoil
https://www.axios.com/2025/08/29/cdc-walkout-protestcovid-vaccine-resignations-rfk
Comment: "The CDC said this week it is seeing a nationwide increase in COVID cases and emergency room visits as Labor Day nears."
Comment: "The warning arrives as the federal health agency struggles with its own internal chaos and the ramifications of a new COVID vaccine policy."
CNN: Science or Trump? The impossible choice faced by the ousted CDC chief
https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/29/politics/cdc-director-susan-monarez-vaccines-covid-maha-rfk-analysis
Video: Reporter's Notebook: Who tells a president the hard truths? - August 28, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGcAa0QOABQ
Comment: All the President's "yes men" (and toadies)?
The Hill: The government’s massive data dragnet isn’t about efficiency — it’s about fear
Comment: "Under the banner of modernization and efficiency, the Trump administration has launched a campaign to tear down what it calls 'information silos' across agencies."
"A March 2025 executive order required federal agencies to eliminate these silos by sharing information within and across agencies. It also ordered federal agencies to take steps to ensure they have 'unfettered access' to state data generated by federally funded programs — and they have since gone after data on food stamp and Medicaid recipients. These actions prompted states to sue, to avoid a culture of fear where eligible people are unwilling to apply for benefits."
Comment: "We are witnessing the construction of a massive surveillance dragnet, built on a flagrant disregard for legal safeguards and people’s rights. People should understand — and be alarmed — that once these data silos come down, they won’t go back up. The power to track, target and punish will exist for every future administration. Will a future Democratic president, for example, cross-reference state gun registration and license records against medical records from the Department of Veterans Affairs to identify unsuitable owners?"
Comment: "There is nothing efficient about this process, either. Fusing datasets that were developed for different purposes requires a level of care too often lacking in recent efforts. The risks of mismatching and misinterpretation are high. Just as the administration’s overbroad immigration enforcement raids in Los Angeles resulted in the detention of U.S. citizens, so, too, will innocent people be swept up in the Trump administration’s digital dragnet."
Politico: Trump Is Weaponizing the Government Against His Enemies. It Doesn’t Mean He’ll Succeed.
Comment: "In fact, the news concerning Bolton was just the latest in a string of attacks on Trump critics and former career government officials who became enemies of the administration simply by doing their jobs. Aside from the bold face names like Bolton, who served as Trump’s national security adviser in the first administration before turning against him, the targets include the prosecuters and federal agents who were forced out of the DOJ and FBI because they investigated the siege of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and Trump’s effort to overturn the 2020 election."
"Some of these people’s lives have already been upended."
Comment: Please read this lengthy article.
Federal News Network: DoD’s independent testing office drops nearly 100 programs from oversight list
Comment: "The Pentagon’s weapons testing office has cut the number of programs it oversees from 251 programs last year to 152 programs this year, removing the XM7 rifle — an eerie reminder of the M16, which was adopted before independent testing existed and malfunctioned so badly in the field that it cost many soldiers their lives."
"In May, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reduced the Defense Department’s Director of Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E) office’s workforce from 94 employees — including 82 civilians and 12 service members — to 30 civilians, 15 military personnel and one senior leader. He also eliminated all contractor support."
Comment: "Critics immediately raised the alarm about the decision to slash the office’s staff and budget, warning that any short-term savings will be far outweighed by the long-term costs of fielding faulty weapons and the move will ultimately put troops’ lives in danger by sending them into combat with equipment that hasn’t been properly tested."
Comment: "The fundamental role of DOT&E is to provide independent oversight over testing performed by the services. Early in the process, the office approves what’s known as the test and evaluation master plan, which lays out what testing is going to be done and how it will be done. The process ensures DOT&E has the chance to weigh in on whether or not the tests described will be enough to ensure a weapon is ready for combat. DOT&E oversees three types of testing — developmental, operational, and live fire."
Axios: How RFK Jr. could exploit the CDC's power vacuum
https://www.axios.com/2025/08/28/rfk-jr-cdc-maha
Comment: "Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. could emerge in an even stronger position due to the fallout from the resignations and turmoil atop the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."
"The big picture: The upheaval from the ousting of CDC Director Susan Monarez will make it difficult to win Senate confirmation for any administration nominee who's willing to sign off on Kennedy's controversial vaccine policy changes."
"But without a permanent director, Kennedy could actually end up with more power, since he and handpicked lieutenants could step into the power vacuum and put the CDC's stamp on his agenda."
"Three CDC officials who resigned Wednesday were escorted out of the Atlanta headquarters by security Thursday, per the New York Times, and a staff walkout took place."
Video: Breaking down the chaos at CDC after director's firing - August 28, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yr-zW3nazMg
Massive CDC walkout erupts amid internal chaos
https://www.axios.com/2025/08/28/cdc-walkout-protest-resignations-rfk-hhs
Comment: "Dozens of staff members and leaders at the CDC staged a walkout Thursday in response to the internal shake-up of top federal health officials."
Comment: "Staff began their 'clap out' protest — where staffers march, hold signs and clap — Thursday just outside the CDC's Atlanta headquarters to support staff who had resigned, according to one staff member at the protest who asked to remain anonymous due to fear of repercussions."
CDC staff gather to honor ‘the people that protect America’ after leaders who resigned were escorted out of agency | CNN
https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/28/health/cdc-director-rfk
Axios: "Unable to serve": CDC vaccine chief slams Kennedy in scathing resignation post
https://www.axios.com/2025/08/28/kennedy-cdc-vaccine-chief-resignation-post
CDC Director Susan Monarez fired by Trump administration after refusing to resign, citing 'reckless directives'
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/cdc-director-monarez-out-confirmed-rfk-jr-rcna227620
Comment: "Just after midnight Thursday, Zaid pushed back, saying on Bluesky: 'As a presidential appointee, senate confirmed officer, only the president himself can fire her.' He added that 'she remains as CDC Director.' "
Comment: At the time of this article update, Trump had not officially fired Monarez.
White House fires CDC director Monarez after she refuses to resign; 4 top health officials quit
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/08/27/cdc-director-susan-monarez-.html
Comment: "The White House on Wednesday said it had fired Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Susan Monarez after she refused to resign. Four other top CDC officials announced they were quitting the embattled health agency."
"The leadership crisis at CDC erupted the same day the Food and Drug Administration announced new limits on who can get the latest approved round of Covid vaccines in the U.S."
" 'Susan Monarez is not aligned with the President’s agenda of Making America Healthy Again,' White House Spokesman Kush Desai said in a statement to NBC News. 'Since Susan Monarez refused to resign despite informing [Health and Human Services Department] leadership of her intent to do so, the White House has terminated Monarez from her position with the CDC.' ”
"The statement comes hours after attorney Mark Zaid said he was representing Monarez and that she had not actually been fired yet or stepped down, adding that she would not resign."
" 'When CDC Director Susan Monarez refused to rubber-stamp unscientific, reckless directives and fire dedicated health experts, she chose protecting the public over serving a political agenda,' Zaid said in a statement. 'For that, she has been targeted.' ”
Comment: "At least four other officials also submitted their resignations on Wednesday in a massive shakeup at the agency: Dr. Debra Houry, the CDC’s chief medical officer; Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases; Dr. Daniel Jernigan, the director of the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases; and Dr. Jennifer Layden, director of the Office of Public Health Data, Surveillance and Technology."
"Houry, in a resignation letter obtained by NBC News, wrote about the dangers of the spread of vaccine misinformation and said proposed budget cuts and reorganization plans would negatively impact the CDC’s ability to address conditions like hypertension, diabetes, cancer, overdoses and mental health issues."
"In his resignation letter, also obtained by NBC News, Daskalakis said he was leaving the agency 'because of the ongoing weaponizing of public health.' ”
PBS: Trump fires Democratic Surface Transportation Board member before huge rail merger decision
Comment: "President Donald Trump has fired one of two Democratic members of the U.S. Surface Transportation Board to break a 2-2 tie before the body considers the largest railroad merger ever proposed."
"Board member Robert E. Primus said on LinkedIn that he received an email from the White House Wednesday night terminating the position he has held since he was appointed by Trump in his first term. The vacancy would allow Trump to appoint two additional Republicans to the board before its decision on the Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger though the Senate would have to confirm them."
Comment: "Primus was the only board member to oppose Canadian Pacific’s acquisition of Kansas City Southern railroad when it was approved two years ago because he was concerned it would hurt competition. He was named Board chairman last year by former President Joe Biden and led the board until Trump, after his election, elevated Board member Patrick Fuchs to Chairman."
"This follows Trump’s previous firings of board members at the National Transportation Safety Board, Federal Reserve, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which are all supposed to be independent agencies."
Comment: "Primus said he doesn’t think the firing is valid because the White House didn’t offer any cause for it, and he plans to fight. He also rejected their explanation for the move because he has long tried to encourage railroads to serve every industry better and help them grow, but he has already been removed from the STB website."
Comment: Do you think the Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger will be more likely, given that Trump has removed the Democrat on the Board who has previously shown concern about railroad competition?
Axios: Trump attacks Utah's anti-gerrymandering ruling
Comment: Utah has a state law prohibiting gerrymandering.
Time Magazine: What to Know About Getting the COVID-19 Vaccine Right Now
https://time.com/7313128/covid-19-vaccine-recommendations-cdc-fda/
NPR: The latest COVID vaccines come with new FDA limits
Comment: "The Food and Drug Administration approved the next round of COVID-19 vaccines Wednesday, but imposed new restrictions on who's eligible to get them."
"The agency is limiting the updated shots to people who are at risk for serious complications because they are 65 or older or have other health problems. Until now, COVID vaccines had been available to anyone 6 months and older regardless of their health."
"The decision is expected to make it harder for many people, such as healthy children and healthy younger adults, to get a shot ahead of the expected winter COVID surge. That's already generating confusion and apprehension that harkens back to the early days of the pandemic, when people often had to frantically search for a shot."
Politico: Trump's former FEMA chief opens up — and says administration is 'delaying' aid
Comment: "A former Trump administration official who ran the federal disaster agency earlier this year before being fired accused FEMA of 'delaying' disaster response and potentially 'lying' to the American people."
"Cameron Hamilton, who led the Federal Emergency Management Agency from late January to early May, contradicted administration statements about making FEMA more efficient, saying in social media posts Tuesday that 'new forms of bureaucracy' are 'delaying the deployment' of emergency help during disasters."
Video: FEMA staffers placed on leave after criticizing Trump cuts in letter - August 27, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Okeje4Su9X8
Video: Ruhle: Trump's real motive in moving to fire Fed Reserve official - Auust 27, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCjy2Kvqbdc
'Mortgage fraud' or abuse of housing finance system? Experts weigh in
Comment: "The announcement from President Donald Trump on Aug. 25 that he was firing Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook amounts to an extraordinary weaponization of the housing finance system that depends on private, deeply personal data from millions of Americans, experts said the following day."
Comment: "That step 'is nothing more than one person’s inference from documents,' said Karen Petrou, co-founder of Federal Financial Analytics, Inc., and long-time Fed-watcher. 'It’s not what the law calls sufficient cause suitable for firing a Federal Reserve governor. It’s just an assault on the independence of the Fed.' "
Comment: " 'There are reasons why one might see facts that may appear to be occupancy fraud when in fact they’re not,' Odinet told USA TODAY. An applicant may have a life change like a family event or a move in between the two applications, he noted."
Comment: "In a blog post published published shortly after Trump’s announcement, Georgetown Law Professor Adam Levitin noted that the statutes Pulte references aren’t applicable to Cook’s situation and can’t lead to a criminal investigation."
Comment: "While many experts, including Levitin, have spoken out about what seems like a clear attempt to remove any Fed official who doesn’t agree with the president’s stance on interest rates, Petrou is also struck by what she calls 'abuse' of a system that depends on extensive amounts of confidential personal information."
" 'Even worse than the firing attempt is that the political appointed head of an agency is able to gain access to a regulated agency’s records on personal data and make it public,' she said."
Video: WATCH: There’s ‘no emergency in Chicago,’ Pritzker says of Trump’s threat to send forces to the city - August 27, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIJyprtOY4Y
How Trump’s militarized crime crackdown could be backfiring on him | CNN Politics
https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/27/politics/militarized-crime-troops-polls-trump
US Could Take Stakes In Defense Companies Including Lockheed Martin
Comment: Government ownership of corporations? I thought Republicans were against socialism? Or is it just an attempt by Trump to take control of everything?
Video: Did DOGE Just Cause The Biggest Data Breach In U.S. History? - August 27, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZqh0s-d0xw
Axios: Trump, chairman of corporate America
https://www.axios.com/2025/08/26/trump-intel-economy-government-stake
Comment: "To President Trump's many roles, formal and self-designated, add a new one to the list: chairman of all boards."
"The big picture: The president has assumed a quasi-authority to orchestrate how the private sector operates, both broadly and down to the management and ownership of individual companies."
"No one's stopping him, so he continues to confidently plow ahead."
"Those with insight into his strategy say it's anything but arbitrary — there's a mold-breaking calculus at play, they say, centered on national security and American competitiveness."
Comment: "There are plenty of other examples this year of Trump telling businesses how to do business:"
"Chip companies that wanted to do business in China being ordered to hand over 15% of their revenue to get export licenses."
"Apple being squeezed for another $100 billion investment commitment to avoid huge tariffs for not making its phones in the U.S."
"U.S. Steel having to hand over a golden share to Trump's personal control to reverse the rejection of its sale to Nippon Steel."
"Law firms being ordered to hand over free services to the government to avoid being pursued over their past work."
"It's not just private industry, either — sports and entertainment businesses are also getting pushed around."
"Trump threatened to derail the Washington Commanders' new stadium deal unless the team changed its name back to the Redskins."
"He demanded the Baseball Hall of Fame include Pete Rose, and more recently, Roger Clemens, too."
"ABC and NBC are now being threatened with losing their various local broadcast licenses because Trump doesn't like their reporting on him."
ABC News: Attorneys for former special counsel Jack Smith hit back at 'unfounded' watchdog probe
https://abcnews.go.com/US/attorneys-former-special-counsel-jack-smith-hit-back/story?id=124989005
Comment: "Attorneys representing former special counsel Jack Smith hit back Tuesday at reports of a recently announced watchdog investigation into his prosecutions of President Donald Trump, describing the reasoning for the probe as baseless and partisan."
" 'The predicate for this investigation is imaginary and unfounded,' said Covington and Burling attorneys Lanny Breuer and Peter Koski in their letter to acting Office of Special Counsel Jamieson Greer, which was obtained by ABC News."
Comment: "Cotton's complaint accused Smith of taking deliberate steps in his prosecutions of Trump, which included charges for unlawful retention of classified materials as well as a criminal conspiracy to overturn his 2020 election loss, to impact Trump's 2024 presidential campaign in violation of the Hatch Act."
Comment: Does this look like GOP retribution against Jack Smith for doing his assigned job of investigating and prosecuting Donald Trump?
Video: Why Trump firing Fed gov. Lisa Cook matters to YOU - August 26, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3MqnylzXXo
Axios: "Authoritarian power grab": Democrats erupt as Trump moves to fire Fed governor Lisa Cook
https://www.axios.com/2025/08/26/trump-lisa-cook-fire-federal-reserve-democrats
Comment: "Democratic Congress members responded with fury on Monday after President Trump said he's firing Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook."
"Why it matters: Some lawmakers are calling on the federal judiciary to swiftly strike down Cook's ouster, arguing that the president has no legal basis for it."
" 'It's an authoritarian power grab that blatantly violates the Federal Reserve Act, and must be overturned in court,' said Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), the ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee, in a statement."
"House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said: 'Trump is trying to remove her without a shred of credible evidence that she has done anything wrong.' "
"House Judiciary Committee ranking member Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) told Axios: 'What an outrage and a scandal. This is the big one constitutionally.' "
Video: Redistricting fight expands as more states move to redraw maps - August 26, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZJ5ny1OA94
NPR: Whistleblower says Trump officials copied millions of Social Security numbers
https://www.npr.org/2025/08/26/nx-s1-5517977/social-security-doge-privacy
Comment: "A whistleblower says that a former senior DOGE official now at the Social Security Administration copied the Social Security numbers, names and birthdays of over 300 million Americans to a private section of the agency's cloud. That private cloud environment is accessible by other former DOGE employees at the SSA and is lacking adequate security, the whistleblower claims, potentially putting an enormous amount of private information at risk to being revealed and possibly used by identity thieves."
yahoo.com: ‘Big Balls’ in Biggest Ever Social Security Leak: Whistleblower
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/big-balls-biggest-ever-social-172516854.html
Comment: "A Social Security whistleblower says hundreds of millions of Americans are at risk after their personal data was recklessly uploaded to a vulnerable cloud server, which one of the most notorious DOGE operatives, 'Big Balls,' could access."
"Charles Borges, the Social Security Administration’s chief data officer, said DOGE members uploaded a database containing records of all Social Security numbers issued by the federal government, full names, addresses, birth dates and other details that could be used to steal their identities, according to the complaint obtained by the New York Times."
"The move 'potentially violated multiple federal statutes' protecting sensitive government data, Borges wrote, and could result in a 'catastrophic impact' for Social Security beneficiaries and programs if compromised."
“ 'Should bad actors gain access to this cloud environment,' Borges warned in the complaint, 'Americans may be susceptible to widespread identity theft, may lose vital health care and food benefits, and the government may be responsible for reissuing every American a new Social Security number at great cost.' ”
"DOGE members copied the data to an internal server that only they could access, a setup which Borges says created 'enormous vulnerabilities' without any verified audits or oversight mechanisms."
Comment: "Coristine, who joined the agency after resigning from Musk’s team, became an iconic figure in Musk’s chaotic cost-cutting crusade after going by 'Big Balls' on social media platforms, including LinkedIn."
"The 19-year-old [emphasis added] then became a MAGA martyr, inspiring Trump’s hostile D.C. takeover after he was allegedly assaulted by a boy and a girl, both 15, during a carjacking on Aug. 3."
Comment: Yes, this sounds like the kind of teenager we should trust with all our personal data [sarcasm added].
The Hill: Trouble at the Smithsonian: ‘America’s Attic’ under attack
https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/5470142-trump-attacks-smithsonian/
Canceled wind project puts thousands of jobs at risk | CNN Business
https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/26/business/wind-project-cancel-trump-jobs
Video: Trump signs executive order on American flag burning - August 26, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Nam1Dm652g
Comment: Even though most of us would find burning the American flag very distasteful, the Supreme Court ruled in 1989 that flag burning constituted symbolic speech protected by the First Amendment. Antonin Scalia, one of the most conservative Supreme Court justices ever, voted with the majority. So, Trump is signing an Executive Order that he knows, or should know, is unconstitutional.
Donald Trump vs. Antonin Scalia on burning the American flag
https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/25/politics/flag-burning-trump-executive-order-supreme-court-analysis
Politico: ‘We Still Don’t Know How Far They’ll Go’
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2025/08/25/trump-law-foreign-diplomats-column-00518617
Comment: "Donald Trump’s second term in office has been marked by a series of unprecedented and highly controversial law enforcement decisions — everything from mass pardons to an immigration crackdown that has pushed, if not blown right through, the most basic constitutional constraints. Recent public polling suggests that a growing number of Americans are rattled by what they have seen and are increasingly concerned about the future of the country’s law enforcement apparatus and legal system. The news on Friday that the FBI raided the home of John Bolton, a former Trump official turned critic, is not likely to help matters."
"Now those concerns are going global."
"Senior officials in some of America’s closest European allies are quietly fretting about the law enforcement priorities of the Trump administration and even the conduct of the Justice Department, according to four European diplomats who are stationed in Washington and who were granted anonymity to discuss sensitive trans-Atlantic diplomatic and law enforcement matters."
"Their concerns run the gamut from the administration’s approach to specific issues — including immigration, free speech and international drug trafficking — to broader and more structural questions about the integrity of the U.S. legal system and the potential erosion of the rule of law."
"The atmosphere has gotten so bad that some of the diplomats I spoke to now worry the Trump administration has complicated, and could eventually undermine, their countries’ ability to cooperatively work with the Justice Department on critical diplomatic and law enforcement initiatives."
Axios: Trump sending National Guard to Chicago will be trickier than D.C. deployment
Comment: "President Trump doubled down on his threat to send the National Guard to Chicago, but local leaders are voicing doubts about the legality of the move."
"The big picture: Trump says he wants to use the military presence in Chicago to fight crime, homelessness and undocumented immigration, but while the home rule laws in Washington, D.C. make it easier to federalize law enforcement, it's unclear if the law supports this in Illinois."
"What they're saying: 'We're going to take him to court,' Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said Monday. 'There is no law on the books that allows him to put federalized troops on the streets of Chicago.' "
" 'The whole point of the system of state control of local law enforcement and of state militias is as a check against federal abuse of power,' Northwestern University law professor Paul Gowder said."
" 'This has been true since the founding of the United States, and the only alteration to this system of divided power was after the Civil War.' "
NPR: Trump says National Guard is at the ready but hedges on Chicago plans
https://www.npr.org/2025/08/25/nx-s1-5515615/trump-national-guard-chicago-executive-order
Comment: "President Trump said Monday that the U.S. military is ready to go to any city to crack down on crime — even if the governor does not request its assistance."
"Trump signed an executive order at the White House to create a specialized National Guard unit that could be deployed to assist local law enforcement in Washington, D.C., and potentially around the U.S. 'in quelling civil disturbances and ensuring the public safety and order whenever the circumstances necessitate.' "
Comment: "Last week, Trump suggested his administration could target Chicago next for a federal crackdown against crime."
"But when pressed on Monday, he hedged, saying he may or may not send in federal troops to Chicago."
" 'I didn't get a request from the governor, Trump said. 'Illinois is affected maybe more than anybody else. And I think until I get that request from that guy, I'm not going to do anything about it.' "
"Earlier on Monday morning, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, a Democrat, told NPR's Morning Edition that such a move would be 'illegal and costly.' "
" 'The city of Chicago is not calling for American troops to occupy American cities,' Johnson said. 'It's not democratic. It's unconstitutional.' "
Comment: Was Trump bluffing, and did Chicago call his bluff?
CNN: Trump signs executive order establishing ‘specialized’ National Guard units to address crime in cities
https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/25/politics/trump-executive-order-national-guard-units-crime
Comment: Trump's personal shock troops and/or palace guard?
Trump tells Fed’s Lisa Cook she’s fired; she says ‘he has no authority to do so’
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/08/25/trump-fires-lisa-cook-fed-powell.html
Comment: "President Donald Trump on Monday said he had fired Federal Reserve Board Governor Lisa Cook, an unprecedented and dramatic escalation of his attacks on the U.S. central bank’s independence over its refusal to cut interest rates."
"Trump, in a termination letter to Cook posted on Truth Social, cited allegations by Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte that she had made false statements on applications for home mortgages."
Comment: "Cook, in a statement Monday, said, 'President Trump purported to fire me ‘for cause’ when no cause exists under the law, and he has no authority to do so.' "
" 'I will not resign,' said Cook, who is the first Black woman to serve as a Fed governor. 'I will continue to carry out my duties to help the American economy as I have been doing since 2022.' ”
"Cook, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden, has hired the high-profile attorney Abbe Lowell to represent her. She has not been charged with any crime."
Axios: Trump threatens Christie with fresh "Bridgegate" investigation
https://www.axios.com/2025/08/25/trump-chris-christie-bridgegate-investigation-threat-abc
Comment: Does it seem that anyone who criticizes Trump is threatened with an investigation, even Republicans?
The Daily Beast: Trump and RFK Jr. to Ban COVID-19 Vaccine ‘Within Months’
Comment: "The Trump administration will move to pull the COVID vaccine off the U.S. market 'within months,' one of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s closest associates has told the Daily Beast."
"Dr. Aseem Malhotra, a British cardiologist who has repeatedly claimed in the face of scientific consensus that the vaccines are more dangerous than the virus, told the Daily Beast that Kennedy’s stance is shared by 'influential' members of President Donald Trump’s family. Like Kennedy himself, no Trumps hold any scientific qualifications."
"Malhotra is a leading adviser to the controversial lobby group Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Action, which is seen as an external arm of Kennedy’s agenda as Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary."
"He told the Beast that many of those closest to RFK Jr. have told him they 'cannot understand' why the vaccine continues to be prescribed, and that a decision to remove the vaccine from the U.S. market pending further research will come 'within months,' even if it is likely to cause 'fear of chaos' and bring with it major legal ramifications."
Comment: As Covid-19 cases increase in Alabama.
CNN: FEMA workers warn agency at risk of Hurricane Katrina-type failures
https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/25/politics/fema-workers-katrina-declaration-trump
ABC News: US fighters intercept Russian aircraft off Alaska for third time in a week
Comment: Message from Trump's friend Vladimir Putin?
Video: Chicago mayor blasts Trump's potential troop deployment - August 25, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-7yikhKdmc
CNN: Fact check: Trump’s barrage of false claims about crime in Washington, DC
https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/25/politics/fact-check-trump-dc-national-guard
Trump's D.C. utopia
https://www.axios.com/2025/08/25/trump-dc-crime-federal-takeover
Comment: "President Trump is molding D.C. into his own personal Epcot — a political theme park where troops keep the peace, the White House glitters like Mar-a-Lago and museums answer to MAGA."
"Why it matters: No president has asserted such direct and sweeping control over the nation's capital. With America's 250th anniversary coming next year, Trump has claimed dominion over D.C.'s crime, culture, cleanliness — even its rats."
Axios: Inside Trump's American identity project
https://www.axios.com/2025/08/24/trump-american-identity-citizenship-immigration
Comment: "Through immigration crackdowns and cultural purges, President Trump is wielding government power to enforce a more rigid, exclusionary definition of what it means to be American."
"Why it matters: The MAGA movement's obsession with American identity and Western civilization is shaping federal policy far more than in Trump's first term — fueling a reckoning over who belongs and what history should be remembered."
Comment: What happens to those Americans who fall outside of Trump's narrow definition?
Video: Trump to 'rethink' Key Bridge reconstruction funding after Gov. Moore invitation - August 24, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDQ3ZgKmqpY
Comment: Trump threatens to withhold reconstruction funds already appropriated by Congress in an attempt to intimidate the governor of Maryland.
USA Today: 'Give me a break': Chris Christie slams Ghislaine Maxwell's Trump praise as phony
Comment: "Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie slammed comments from Jeffrey Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell in which she said President Donald Trump was not guilty of any wrongdoing and praised him as 'cordial' and 'kind.' "
" 'She might as well have taken out Donald Trump, or President Trump, and said, 'The man who can pardon me has never done anything wrong. The man who can pardon me has always been wonderful,' ' Christie, a rare vocal critic of Trump in the Republican party, told ABC's 'This Week' on Aug. 24."
" 'I don't think Donald Trump had anything to do with Jeffrey Epstein that was untoward or illegal, but we're going to believe Ghislaine Maxwell?' Christie asked. 'Give me a break.' "
Video: Illinois AG reacts to Trump admin making plans to send National Guard - August 24, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3afDCQO7Krw
Reuters: Pentagon working on plans for military deployment in Chicago, Washington Post reports
Comment: "The Pentagon is working on plans to deploy the U.S. military to Chicago as President Donald Trump says he is cracking down on crime, homelessness and undocumented immigration, the Washington Post reported on Saturday."
"The Defense Department planning, in the works for weeks, involves several options, including mobilizing at least a few thousand members of the National Guard as soon as September, the Post reported, citing officials familiar with the matter."
Comment: "JB Pritzker, the Democratic governor of Illinois, which includes Chicago, said in a statement the state had received no outreach from the federal government on whether it needed assistance. He said there was no emergency warranting a National Guard or other military deployment."
" 'Donald Trump is attempting to manufacture a crisis, politicize Americans who serve in uniform and continue abusing his power to distract from the pain he is causing working families,' Pritzker said."
"A spokesperson for Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. On Friday Johnson said the city had grave concerns about the impact of any unlawful deployment of National Guard troops."
Chicago Tribune: Justice Department demands Illinois hand over voter data. Election officials are debating compliance.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/08/23/justice-department-illinois-voter-data/
Comment: "Illinois election officials are weighing whether to comply with a demand from Republican President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice to turn over by Sept. 1 the state’s full voter registration list, including voters’ birth dates, driver’s license numbers, signatures and partial Social Security numbers."
Comment: "The push for disclosure of Illinois voters’ sensitive personal information is part of a broader effort from the Trump administration to exert federal authority over state-run elections, including shifting the Civil Rights Division focus from ensuring access to the polls to combating the specter of voter fraud. Several other states, including neighboring Wisconsin, have received similar data requests this summer, while the Justice Department in recent months has filed lawsuits against election officials in North Carolina and Orange County, California, over issues related to their voter rolls."
Comment: "Noting that Trump at the time 'was intent on proving — despite no evidence — the false claim that he won the popular vote in 2016,' Ed Yohnka, a spokesman for the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, said the president and current Attorney General Pam Bondi ;need to abandon their attempts to capture detailed personal data about every voter in Illinois in order to suppress the vote.' ”
Video: Border czar says National Guard will be ‘force multiplier’ for ICE in 19 states | NewsNation Now - August 23, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xL46JFVJm4M
Comment: ICE has been given a massive budget increase, yet they still can't accomplish Trump's mission without additional support from the National Guard. Will the entire federal government and its resources be dedicated to deporting migrants, at the expense of everything else? Is this where you want your tax dollars to go?
Comment: Includes Alabama.
Video: Fmr. FBI agent: Trump uses ‘false narrative’ of crime to investigate enemies - August 23, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tg2RFB2357A
Trump allies expand political enemies probe despite pledges: "no politicization"
https://www.axios.com/2025/08/23/fbi-probes-trumps-political-enemies
Comment: "Months after FBI Director Kash Patel told lawmakers there would be 'no politicization' and 'no retributive actions' at the bureau, the FBI and other government agencies have launched investigations into multiple people the president has previously named as enemies."
Axios: Mail-in voting backed by most Americans despite Trump push to end it
https://www.axios.com/2025/08/23/mail-in-voting-trump-pew-poll
Justice Department gave Ghislaine Maxwell 'a platform to rewrite history,' family of Epstein abuse survivor says
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna226797
Comment: "The family members of a prominent survivor of Jeffrey Epstein's sexual abuse said they were 'outraged' by the Justice Department’s decision to release transcripts from Ghislaine Maxwell's testimony last month to a federal prosecutor, arguing it provided Maxwell a 'platform to rewrite history.' "
" 'The content of these transcripts is in direct contradiction with felon Ghislaine Maxwell’s conviction for child sex trafficking,' the family of Virginia Roberts Giuffre said in a statement. The family added, 'This travesty of justice entirely invalidates the experiences of the many brave survivors who put their safety, security, and lives on the line to ensure her conviction, including our sister.' "
Comment: "Giuffre’s family accused the deputy attorney general of not sufficiently challenging Maxwell's assertions during her testimony, suggesting that by publicly releasing the interview, the Justice Department provided Maxwell the opportunity to dispute her case in the court of public opinion."
" 'During [Deputy Attorney General] Todd Blanche’s bizarre interview, she is never challenged about her court-proven lies, providing her a platform to rewrite history,' the family statement read."
Comment: "In late July, after Maxwell met with Blanche, the family urged the government not to provide Maxwell any favorable treatment, describing her then as a 'monster who deserves to rot in prison for the rest of her life.' "
"Trump has not ruled out the idea of pardoning Maxwell, who he has known for several decades. When asked last month about the prospect of granting Maxwell legal relief, Trump said, 'I’m allowed to do it, but it’s something I have not thought about.' ”
Comment: "Giuffre's family also condemned the Justice Department's decision to transfer Maxwell to a minimum-security prison following her meeting with Blanche."
" 'By moving convicted felon Maxwell to a minimum-security, country club prison, the DOJ sends a disturbing message that child sex trafficking is acceptable and will be rewarded,' the family said Saturday in a statement."
Video: Justice Department releases Ghislaine Maxwell interview transcripts - August 22, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPO6iXRMp-U
Comment: Please don't confuse the release of this interview with the release of the Epstein files, which also began today. Some have speculated it was the intent of the DOJ to create this confusion. Since Maxwell has been accused of perjury in the past, the primary value of this transcript is to illustrate the softball questions from Deputy Attorney General (and former Trump defense lawyer) Todd Blanche leading to Maxwell's unprecedented transfer to a minimum security prison camp in Texas.
DHS to states: Follow our voting rules or lose out on election security money
https://www.npr.org/2025/08/22/nx-s1-5508345/election-security-grants-trump-voting-policy
Comment: The Constitution generally gives individual states the authority to establish rules for voting.
Comment: " 'Despite the rhetoric, there's been [a] serious cutback to election security support that is being offered to the states,' said Larry Norden, an elections expert at the Brennan Center for Justice, which is broadly critical of President Trump's policies. 'And this is going to be one more cut for a lot of states because most states are not going to allow the president to decide [how their elections work].' "
Comment: " 'The Department of Homeland Security is trying to back-door changes to our election laws,' said Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, a Democrat. 'That is unacceptable.' "
Comment: Is this an act of intimidation and abuse of power in an attempt to usurp election control from individual states?
Video: White House cancels tours citing ballroom project - August 22, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8-F-kvhSjo
Comment: So much for the concept of "The People's House"
Trump admin lowers FBI recruitment standards in a deeply ironic twist
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/trump-admin-lowers-fbi-recruitment-220406228.html
Comment: "As The New York Times reported Thursday:
The Trump administration is preparing to lower the recruitment standards for F.B.I. agents, eliciting alarm from many agents who worry that the move will undermine the agency’s primary mission of conducting complex investigations and tracking threats to national security. Under a plan pushed by the director, Kash Patel, and his deputy, Dan Bongino, the F.B.I. will start welcoming new classes of recruits who will receive less training and no longer be required to have a college degree, according to people familiar with the plan who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe it."
Comment: "“Instead of spending about 18 weeks training at the academy in Quantico, Va., the group of agents, tentatively scheduled to start in October, will receive eight weeks,” sources told The Times. The report says this change is being made in response to the projected loss of thousands of agents in September, resulting from early retirements and severance packages some agents have sought as the Trump administration has sought to slash the federal workforce. (The FBI declined to comment to the Times on the reason for the changes.)"
Comment: "As for the weakened education and training requirement, there's certainly twisted irony in Trump and his administration breathlessly repeating their bigoted claim that diversity, equity and inclusion policies in the federal government prioritize diversity over merit — only for them to lower their own standards in order to replenish the ranks of one of the most essential crime-fighting organizations in the nation."
Video: Bolton search is 'big distraction' from Congress getting the Epstein files: Dem lawmaker - August 22, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fs33UTBqPCo
USA Today: Trump admin fires head of Defense Intelligence agency, senator says
Hegseth fires head of Defense Intelligence Agency
Comment: "Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Friday fired Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse, the head of the Pentagon’s Defense Intelligence Agency, according to White House and Pentagon officials, another in a raft of senior officers who have been removed under Hegseth’s watch."
"The firing follows an initial assessment by the agency in June indicating that strikes against Iran’s nuclear facilities had a limited effect, seemingly contradicting President Donald Trump’s claim at the time that the facilities had been 'obliterated.' ”
Comment: "Administration officials gave no reason for the firing of Kruse, who had been in the job since February 2024 and would normally be expected to serve until 2027. Congressional officials also confirmed the firing and said they were told it was for a 'lack of confidence,' a bland expression the military often uses to cover any number of reasons someone was removed. Kruse’s firing was first reported by The Washington Post."
"Separately, a defense official confirmed to NBC News late Friday that Vice Admiral Nancy Lacore, the chief of the Navy Reserve, and Rear Admiral Milton Sands, a Navy SEAL officer who oversees the Naval Special Warfare Command, were also fired. The Post first reported those firings as well."
"Kruse joins a growing list of senior generals and admirals fired under Hegseth, including the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the general who headed the National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command, the Navy’s top admiral and the head of the U.S. Coast Guard. Earlier this week, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin announced unexpectedly that he would be retiring in November, about two years earlier than the usual four years for a service chief."
Comment: The purges in the intelligence community and the military continue. Should we be concerned about the reasons?
Video: Trump says he may declare a national emergency to keep troops in Washington - August 22, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yubwAW8xnuo
Comment: Can Trump unilaterally declare a "national emergency" on a whim, without any accountability? At what point does this become an abuse of power?
The Guardian: Trump targets Chicago and New York as Hegseth orders weapons for DC troops
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/22/trump-troops-dc-new-york-chicago
Comment: Trump doesn't have as much legal authority in Chicago and New York as he does in D.C.
CNN: Hegseth orders National Guard troops in DC to carry weapons
https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/22/politics/hegseth-orders-national-guard-troops-dc-carry-weapons
The Guardian: Ex-pastor at Pete Hegseth’s church calls for public executions and says Bible backs Ice raids
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/22/pastor-joshua-haymes-pete-hegseth
Comment: "The US defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, has repeatedly endorsed the Reformation Red Pill podcast, and has appeared on four episodes. But the former pastor who hosts the show, and who attends Hegseth’s theocratic church, has voiced a range of extreme positions in recent months on issues including Ice raids, capital punishment, the racist 'great replacement' theory, adultery and neo-Nazism."
"The revelations come on top of recent media reports focused on Hegseth also boosting a video of Douglas Wilson and other Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches (CREC) pastors arguing that women should lose the vote in the United States. They also follow previous revelations about Hegseth’s links to or apparent sympathies for Christian nationalist positions."
"Joshua Haymes is a member of the CREC-aligned Pilgrim Hill Reformed Fellowship (PHRF), and his podcasts advocate for the CREC’s moral and theological positions. As the Guardian previously reported, he once served as a pastoral intern at the church. Online he has claimed that liberalism is a greater threat to the US than neo-Nazism, and that the Bible is 'pro-Ice raids'. On X, he has also advocated for capital punishment for adultery and abortion, and appeared to call for the drowning of LGBTQ+ Pride marchers."
Comment: Meet the guy who is influencing the guy who is arming the national guard in D.C. Should you worry?
National Guard in DC to carry M17 pistols, conduct law enforcement duties, task force says
Comment: "National Guard troops deployed on the streets of Washington, D.C., will now carry weapons for personal protection and are allowed to carry out law enforcement duties, defense officials announced Friday."
"The decision is an escalation in President Donald Trump's use of military troops to address what he insists is 'out of control' crime in the nation's capital. Since his announcement, Trump has mobilized nearly 2,300 National Guard troops from Washington, D.C., and six states with Republican governors. But troops had remained unarmed until now."
"ABC News first reported Friday that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had officially authorized the troops to carry weapons if their mission required it. On Friday, the joint task force overseeing the troops confirmed the move, noting that Guard personnel sent on missions would carry M17 pistols, 'which are intended for person protection.' The task force said Guard members would receive proper training on how to use the weapons before being allowed to carry them."
Comment: "The task force also noted in its statement late Friday that Guard troops can carry out law enforcement duties because they are operating under Title 32 status, a law that exempts troops from restrictions under the 1878 Posse Comitatus Act, because they are still technically under a state governor's command."
"Legal experts have long warned about how presidents might use Title 32 as a kind of legal loophole to Posse Comitatus, which is supposed to prevent the president from using the military as a domestic police force. Under Title 32, a president pays for a Guard mission while keeping troops under control of the governors; in this case, Trump asked red-state governors to send their troops to D.C."
"While those governors technically retain control of the troops, their missions are being decided by the White House, according to several administration officials."
Comment: Using a legal loophole to establish an unnecessary armed militia in our nation's capital? Do you worry that this is the action of a wannabe autocrat?
Video: Trump says he knows 'nothing' about search of Bolton’s home - August 22, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyhMgX7A5Ks
Comment: Although Trump may not know the details of the actual search, do you believe that he did not know the search was going to happen? Bolton has been a frequent and vocal critic of Trump, after serving as his national security advisor during Trump's first term.
Video: FBI searches home, office of former Trump adviser Bolton - August 22, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWJyyB3EG4k
Video: FBI raids home of former Trump adviser John Bolton - August 22, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1DKrdw9o9M
Video: FBI searches home of John Bolton, former national security adviser to Trump - August 22, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWYwPSswbI4
Politico: The fall trip to the pharmacy for a Covid shot may be strewn with obstacles
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/22/covid-shot-hhs-recommendations-fall-00519315
Comment: "The millions of Americans who are used to getting their Covid-19 vaccines at a local pharmacy may face new hurdles this fall depending on where they live and whether federal health officials have decided they qualify."
"Pharmacists’ authority to vaccinate individuals varies across state lines. In some places, it’s dependent upon a federal advisory process that Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has upended."
"At the same time, the Food and Drug Administration has signaled that it will only approve updated Covid vaccines for individuals 65 and older and for younger people considered to be at high risk for severe disease. People, regardless of where they live, may need to prove that they need the shot."
Video: Trump says he'll fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook if she doesn't resign. What is she being accused of? - August 22, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkNztGE2vT8
Comment: Due to the Federal Reserve's independence, Trump can only fire Cook for cause, not for any Fed policy decisions he doesn't like. It is doubtful that this accusation, by itself, constitutes cause, especially given the background and partisanship of the investigator, Ed Martin.
Video: The Pentagon is sending 20 military lawyers to help DC prosecutor shortage - August 21, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjySMbY0fTY
Comment: How much training will these military lawyers need to learn local D.C. law and adjust to civilian court procedures? Jeanine Pirro, Trump's new U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, dodged that question.
Alina Habba ‘unlawfully’ working as US attorney in New Jersey, judge rules - POLITICO
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/21/alina-habba-new-jersey-us-attorney-ruling-00518559
Comment: "A federal judge rejected President Donald Trump’s use of a loophole to keep Alina Habba in place as New Jersey’s top federal prosecutor."
"In a 77-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Matthew Brann said Thursday that Habba 'is not lawfully holding the office of United States Attorney' and has been in the position without legal authority since July 1."
"As a result, Habba, who had previously worked as Trump’s personal attorney, cannot run the office the president attempted to keep her in charge of after her 120-day interim appointment expired. The Trump administration employed a series of maneuvers to try to retain Habba’s control of the office after district judges ousted her in July."
Comment: "Brann put his ruling on hold, pending the Trump administration’s possible appeal, but the fallout could be a staggering mess across the executive branch. Brann said Habba’s actions in New Jersey for the past seven weeks 'may be declared void' and Habba must be disqualified from participating in any of the office’s cases as its leader. The office handles thousands of criminal and civil cases at any given time."
"The ruling by Brann — a Republican and Obama appointee who sits in Pennsylvania’s Middle District — could also have wider implications for other U.S. attorney’s offices in Los Angeles, Nevada, New Mexico and upstate New York, where the administration has effectively sidestepped or overridden both the Senate confirmation and judicial appointment processes for selecting U.S. attorneys."
"Attorney General Pam Bondi said the Justice Department would 'immediately appeal.' ”
Video: NY appeals court voids nearly $500m penalty against Trump - August 21, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLs9_m2SrMk
Comment: The finding of liability stands, but the damage assessment has been gutted.
Lexington Herald Leader: Kentuckian considering Democratic Senate run gets security clearance revoked
https://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article311799394.html
Comment: "A former CIA officer and government contractor from Kentucky is claiming his national security clearance was revoked by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard for political reasons."
"Joel Willett, CEO of Washington-area technology contractor Cybermedia Technologies, said Gabbard removed him at the behest of President Donald Trump, claiming the decision was influenced by Herald-Leader reporting earlier this month that he was considering a run for U.S. Senate in Kentucky as a Democrat."
CNN: Trump says law enforcement crackdown will ‘go on to other places’ during appearance at police facility in DC
https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/21/politics/trump-dc-washington-police-military
Comment: In other cities, Trump has less authority than he has in D.C. If he tries the same thing elsewhere, we'll have to see what the courts have to say about it.
US farm agency plan to close flagship research site threatens critical research, critics warn | Reuters
Comment: "The U.S. Department of Agriculture's plan to close its flagship laboratory near Washington, D.C., could undermine research on pests, blight and crop genetics crucial to American farms, according to lawmakers, a farm group, and staff of the facility."
"The USDA has already lost thousand of research staff to President Donald Trump's effort to shrink the federal government, even as Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins has said farm research is a pillar of national security."
"Rollins said in July that the USDA will close the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, which occupies nearly 7,000 acres in the Maryland suburbs outside Washington, as part of an agency reorganization effort that will also move roughly half its Washington-area staff to hubs in North Carolina, Utah and elsewhere."
Comment: "But critics of the plan to close BARC say it could backfire by interrupting the facility's ongoing research, and by pushing the scientists conducting it to resign."
Comment: Impact to Alabama agriculture?
CNN: Supreme Court allows Trump to block $783 million in National Institutes of Health grants for now
https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/21/politics/supreme-court-health-nih-grants
Politico: DOJ calls for Powell to fire Cook over fraud accusation
Comment: "The Justice Department is pushing for the ouster of Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook from the central bank as it considers an investigation into allegations of mortgage fraud."
"U.S. Pardon Attorney Ed Martin, who has been tapped by Attorney General Pamela Bondi to oversee investigations into mortgage fraud, confirmed that he was probing claims that Cook had lied on mortgage applications in a letter addressed to Fed Chair Jerome Powell, according to a copy obtained by POLITICO."
Comment: "Fed board members can be removed only by the president 'for cause,' a provision that has not been fully litigated but has generally been interpreted to mean that the president can’t fire a central banker over policy disagreements. Cook was nominated by President Joe Biden and confirmed by the Senate on a party-line vote in 2022."
Comment: "Cook has denied wrongdoing and said on Wednesday that she has 'no intention of being bullied to step down from my position because of some questions raised in a tweet.' ”
Comment: Trump wants to force the Federal Reserve to give up its independence and lower interest rates. Since he can't remove chairman Jerome Powell, he wants to get rid of Cook and replace her with one of his own appointments. Please take a closer look at Ed Martin who is pursuing this investigation of Cook:
DOJ 'weaponization' group will shame individuals it can't charge with crimes, new head says (May 13)
Comment on May 13th article: "The conservative activist named by President Donald Trump as the head of the Justice Department's 'Weaponization Working Group' said Tuesday he planned to 'name' and 'shame' individuals the department determines it is unable to charge with crimes, in what would amount to a major departure from longstanding Justice Department protocols."
"Ed Martin described himself at a press conference as the 'captain' of the group that is investigating prosecutors who launched past investigations into Trump and his allies."
Comment: Does Ed Martin's background indicate that he will treat Ms. Cook fairly, or will he do anything to help Trump achieve his goal of controlling the Fed?
Video: Trump calls on Fed Governor Lisa Cook to resign after mortgage fraud allegations - August 20, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMXyRRvN7z0
Axios: MAGA erupts after Israeli official charged in child sex ring flees U.S.
https://www.axios.com/2025/08/20/israel-maga-child-sex-ring-alexandrovitch
Comment: "MAGA is pushing the Trump administration to explain why an Israeli official who was arrested in an undercover child sex sting in Nevada was allowed to leave the U.S. after posting bail."
"Why it matters: The outrage marks the latest fissure between Israel and MAGA, which already faces a generational divide over how much the U.S. should support Israel amid the war and humanitarian crisis in Gaza."
Comment: "Between the lines: Parts of MAGA's base have long obsessed over the 'Deep State,' which originally referred to a supposed cabal of pedophilic elites who control the government."
"A slice of the far right also promotes antisemitic conspiracy theories about Israel and Jews secretly pulling the strings in Washington."
"Those two threads intersected with the case of Jeffrey Epstein, who some conspiracy theorists allege was an Israeli intelligence asset who used his underage sex trafficking ring to blackmail global elites."
"Zoom out: It's not just conspiracy theorists fueling MAGA's growing skepticism of the U.S. relationship with Israel."
"The 'America First' movement is fractured more than ever over whether to view Israel as a sacred ally or another foreign government that takes advantage of the U.S."
"Those divides are being supercharged by the war in Gaza, and every controversy over Israel will likely be amplified within the movement for the foreseeable future."
NBC News: Doctors say medical misinformation has gotten worse, survey finds
Tulsi Gabbard to slash ODNI staff, citing 'politicized weaponization'
https://thehill.com/policy/national-security/5462554-gabbard-odni-staff-cuts/
Comment: "Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard plans to slash 40 percent of the agency’s staff by October in a move she said would help transform the head of the intelligence community into 'ODNI 2.0.'
"Gabbard’s cuts would reassign roles or eliminate various centers within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), including those that monitor foreign efforts to influence Americans; the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, including biological weapons; and a team monitoring for cyberattacks."
Comment: "Targeted in the restructuring is the Foreign Malign Influence Center (FMIC), which has dedicated itself to tracking the efforts of U.S. adversaries to influence the U.S. public through social media and disinformation campaigns designed to sow division and shift votes."
"The Trump administration argues the center has been used 'to justify the suppression of free speech' and cited its work in responding to the Hunter Biden laptop."
"ODNI also accused the Foreign Malign Influence Center of 'falsely alleging Putin ‘aspired’ to help President Trump win the 2016 election,' though that conclusion is shared by most reports that have evaluated Russia’s efforts in the 2016 contest, including in a bipartisan report from the Senate Intelligence Committee."
Gabbard to cut ODNI staff by nearly 50 percent - POLITICO
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/20/gabbard-odni-cuts-00517232
Video: As voucher programs expand, many public school districts are fighting to keep students - August 20, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Za1RuSo8r3I
Comment: Voucher money taking funds from public schools.
NPR: Former National Guard vice chief calls deployment to D.C. an 'intimidation' tactic
https://www.npr.org/2025/08/20/nx-s1-5507032/more-national-guard-deployed-to-washington-dc
Comment: "Several Republican-led states are deploying more National Guard troops to Washington, D.C. to address what President Trump has called a 'crime emergency' in the nation's capital. Many lawmakers and military officials, including former top official of the National Guard Major Gen. Randy E. Manner, have expressed concern that the guard is being politicized."
" 'Military vehicles in front of public buildings and the idea of them constantly there with weapons, that is absolutely called intimidation,' Manner, who served as acting vice chief of the National Guard Bureau, told Morning Edition. 'I'm very concerned about the impact on both our recruiting, as well as, the perception of many of the people of color as they see the National Guardsmen from other states coming in to occupy Washington, D.C.' "
The New Republic: Trump’s Takeover of D.C. Is Not a Distraction. It’s the Whole Point.
https://newrepublic.com/article/199298/trump-federal-takeover-dc-authoritarianism-not-crime
Comment: "Yes, his approval rating is tanking and he’s still trying to shake the Epstein scandal. But he’s been foreshadowing this authoritarian power grab for years—and yet Democrats still weren’t ready for it."
Bessent says US tariff revenues to rise 'substantially,' focus on reducing debt
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bessent-says-us-tariff-revenues-174752674.html
Comment: "Bessent, speaking in an interview on CNBC's 'Squawk Box,' said he expected to substantially revise upward his earlier estimate of $300 billion in revenues from the tariffs, but declined to be more specific."
Comment: If one massively increase taxes on U.S. middle class consumers, yes, one will help fill the U.S. treasury.
Politico: RFK Jr. attacks pediatricians’ group over vaccine recommendations
Comment: "The American Academy of Pediatrics had earlier urged parents to get young children vaccinated against Covid — pushing back against the health secretary’s stance."
Trump is using presidential power to sway midterm elections | AP News
Comment: "President Donald Trump has made clear in recent weeks that he’s willing to use the vast powers of his office to prevent his party from losing control of Congress in next year’s midterm elections."
"Some of the steps Trump has taken to intervene in the election are typical, but controversial, political maneuvers taken to his trademark extremes. That includes pushing Republican lawmakers in Texas and other conservative-controlled states to redraw their legislative maps to expand the number of U.S. House seats favorable to the GOP."
"Others involve the direct use of official presidential power in ways that have no modern precedent, such as ordering his Department of Justice to investigate the main liberal fundraising entity, ActBlue. The department also is demanding the detailed voter files from each state in an apparent attempt to look for ineligible voters on a vast scale."
"And on Monday, Trump posted a falsehood-filled rant on social media pledging to lead a 'movement' to outlaw voting machines and mail balloting, the latter of which has become a mainstay of Democratic voting since Trump pushed Republicans to avoid it in 2020 — before flipping on the issue ahead of last year’s presidential election."
Trump bypasses the Senate — and the courts — to install loyal US attorneys
Comment: "The lack of oversight raises the specter of politicized U.S. attorney’s offices doing the White House’s bidding."
Video: 'Bizarro world': Trump's radical transformation of federal law enforcement - August 19, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQhNeNdoVBw
AP News: Trump administration revokes security clearances of 37 current and former government officials
https://apnews.com/article/trump-security-clearances-revoked-ad7f95a222ad9277452d2de995b70619
Comment: "The Trump administration said Tuesday that it was revoking the security clearances of 37 current and former national security officials in the latest act of retribution targeting public servants from the federal government’s intelligence community."
"A memo from Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard accuses the singled-out individuals of having engaged in the 'politicization or weaponization of intelligence' to advance personal or partisan goals, failing to safeguard classified information, failing to 'adhere to professional analytic tradecraft standards' and other unspecified 'detrimental' conduct."
"The memo did not offer evidence to back up the accusations."
"Many of the officials who were targeted left the government years ago after serving in both senior national security positions and lower-profile roles far from the public eye. Some worked on matters that have long infuriated Trump, like the intelligence community assessment that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election on his behalf. And several signaled their concerns about Trump by signing a critical letter in 2019 that was highlighted on social media last month by right-wing provocateur and close Trump ally Laura Loomer."
The Nation: They’re Not Just Coming for DEI. They’re Coming for Democracy.
https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/stacey-abrams-dei-defense/
Comment: "In recent weeks, the Trump administration has expanded its attacks on America’s most vulnerable communities. From the horrific Republican tax and budget bill that plunges the working classes into debt and supercharges masked deportations, to the executive orders demonizing the homeless and prohibiting algorithmic justice in AI, Republicans have moved to eradicate their deepest fear: a multiracial, multiethnic democracy."
"Republicans are implementing a blueprint to displace democracy with a government powered by Christian nationalism and techno-fascism. Conservative estimates count at least 10 million people having their healthcare ripped away. Immigrants are being stripped of due process, with a staggering $75 billion allocated to ICE over the next four years. While the unhoused and under-resourced are villainized, the richest will benefit from the largest generational wealth transfer in US history."
"And it’s not happening in isolation."
"From the Supreme Court to state legislatures, cable news to college campuses, we’re witnessing a coordinated campaign to undermine key pillars of American democracy. Its aim is clear: deny dignity, silence dissent, and dismantle progress—especially when it’s led by women, people of color, immigrants, the disabled, LGBTQ+ communities, and the working poor."
"Loaded terms like 'waste, fraud, and abuse' are applied to disabled veterans navigating a broken system, but not to billionaires siphoning our data to feed AI. Politicians and pundits rail about tightened budgets, misplaced priorities, or 'local control.' But look closely—their favored policies claim neutrality but shift the burden to the most vulnerable."
"The instinct is to see these as separate, concurrent attacks. Yet, modern history shows that when autocrats break democracy’s back, they do it through complicity, civil service cuts, and unchecked expansions of power. And as democracy flails, the perpetrators must give the public a target for their despair."
"The scapegoat of the moment is DEI."
Comment: Please read the entire article. Former Georgia state representative Stacey Abrams provides the "big picture" of what's happening in our country.
Video: Missouri AG named co-deputy director of FBI, will serve alongside Dan Bongino - August 19, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmcR2KMuPVY
Comment: Are two inexperienced FBI deputy directors better than one, or will it introduce more chaos and confusion?
‘We are arresting the mayor right now, per the deputy attorney general’ - POLITICO
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/18/newark-mayor-arrest-bodycam-footage-todd-blanche-00513734
Comment: "The federal officer who arrested the mayor of New Jersey’s largest city outside an immigration detention center in May suggested that he was making the arrest at the direction of the Justice Department’s No. 2 official, Todd Blanche, according to law enforcement body camera footage described in a new court filing."
Comment: "The special agent’s apparent suggestion that he was acting at Blanche’s direction is the latest sign that top Justice Department officials are harnessing the power of law enforcement against Democrats and other perceived enemies of President Donald Trump. Trump’s DOJ has opened investigations into various figures Trump disdains, including Jack Smith, James Comey, former Homeland Security aides who criticized him and many others."
"Federal law enforcement officials have also detained New York City Comptroller Brad Lander and handcuffed California Sen. Alex Padilla."
Opinion: Credible scientists can’t hold up Kennedy’s charade for much longer
https://thehill.com/opinion/healthcare/5455082-fda-cdc-scientist-purges/
AP News: FDA’s new expert panels are rife with financial conflicts and fringe views
Comment: "When the Food and Drug Administration needs outside guidance, it normally turns to a trusted source: a large roster of expert advisors who are carefully vetted for their independence, credentials and judgment."
"But increasingly, the agency isn’t calling them."
"Instead, FDA Commissioner Marty Makary has launched a series of ad hoc 'expert panels' to discuss antidepressants, menopause drugs and other topics with physicians and researchers who often have contrarian views and financial interests in the subjects."
"Former agency officials worry the meetings are skirting federal rules on conflicts of interests and transparency, while promoting fringe viewpoints that align with those of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr."
" 'These meetings are a chance to advance RFK’s pet peeves — talc, antidepressants, floride — with people who have been handpicked,' said Dr. Peter Lurie, a former FDA official who is now president of the Center for Science in the Public Interest. 'Nobody would put forward these panels as representing the general scientific opinion on these topics.' ”
AP News: Trump vows to change how elections are run. The US Constitution doesn't give him that power
Video: Trump says he’ll sign an executive order to get rid of mail-in voting - August 18, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gd6x6-634F4
NPR: Trump wants to stop states from voting by mail and using voting machines
https://www.npr.org/2025/08/18/nx-s1-5506210/trump-mail-in-ballots-ban
Comment: "President Trump announced Monday on his social media site that he plans to 'lead a movement' to get rid of mail-in ballots and voting machines in the country ahead of next year's midterm elections."
"Part of his plan, he wrote, includes signing an executive order that would bar states from using mail ballots and potentially some voting machines. He said — without evidence — that voting machines are 'highly inaccurate,' as well as more expensive than watermarked paper ballots."
"Most U.S. voters already vote using paper ballots, and research has consistently found hand-counting ballots to be less accurate and more expensive than using machine tabulators. Trump, who's long spread baseless claims about the security of mail ballots, also falsely claimed that the U.S. is the only country that uses mail voting."
Comment: "But legal experts say Trump does not have the legal authority to tell states how to run their elections."
"Michael Morley, a professor at Florida State University College of Law, told NPR that the Constitution gives Congress — not the president — the power to regulate federal elections."
Trump eyes yet another power grab, takes aim at voting machines and mail-in ballots
Comment: "Two months into his second term as president, Donald Trump signed a sweeping executive order intended to overhaul dramatically how elections are administered in the United States, taking aim at everything from voter registration requirements to election equipment to mail-in ballot deadlines. NBC News noted that the 'reforms,' if implemented, would’ve risked 'disenfranchising tens of millions of Americans.'
Comment: "Predictably, the executive order faced immediate legal challenges, and a federal judges blocked the Republican’s outlandish power grab from going forward."
"He’s apparently not giving up. NBC News reported:"
"Trump said in a post to Truth Social that he would sign an executive order to try to get rid of mail-in ballots and voting machines, a move that would almost certainly face immediate challenges in court. The president said in the post that he was 'going to lead a movement to get rid of MAIL-IN BALLOTS’ and voting machines.' "
"The 288-word online tantrum — complete with six exclamation points, a robust number of sentences written with the caps lock on and the word 'woke' — was remarkable in its inanity."
"Trump claimed that no other country on the planet 'uses Mail-In Voting,' which isn't even close to being true. He similarly accused Democrats of cheating in elections, which also isn’t true."
"But the Republican, who’s become increasingly unsubtle about his authoritarian ambitions, also made clear that he’s eyeing yet another power grab, claiming an administrative authority over elections that the Constitution explicitly gives to states."
" 'Remember, the States are merely an ‘agent’ for the Federal Government in counting and tabulating the votes,' Trump wrote, peddling a legal absurdity. 'They must do what the Federal Government, as represented by the President of the United States, tells them, FOR THE GOOD OF OUR COUNTRY, to do.' ”
Comment: Do you think we should worry about the 2028 election, and more importantly, should we worry about the future viability of the United States Constitution?
Trump says he will sign order targeting mail-in ballots and voting machines ahead of 2026 midterm elections – live
Comment: "U.S. President Donald Trump pledged on Monday to issue an executive order to end the use of mail-in ballots and voting machines ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, a move likely to disproportionately favor his Republican Party."
"Federal elections are administered at the state level, however, and it is unclear if the president has the constitutional power to enact the measure. Legal challenges by some states are likely."
"With Democratic voters traditionally more likely to use mail-in ballots than Republicans, Trump's pledge is his latest effort to reshape the midterm election battlefield to his party's advantage. He has also urged Republicans in states including Texas and Indiana to redraw congressional districts to increase the likelihood of a Republican candidate being elected."
Comment: Any state attorney general who does not challenge such an executive order should be impeached for violating his oath of office. If Trump and the GOP target voting machines, the Republican Party should be sued under civil RICO provisions, for operating a continuing criminal enterprise.
Axios: MAGA eager for D.C. patrols to spread to other cities
https://www.axios.com/2025/08/17/maga-trump-dc-crackdown-other-cities
Comment: "President Trump's MAGA movement sees his D.C; crackdown as being about more than just crime — it's an opportunity to deal another setback to liberals by expanding the movement in urban areas."
"Why it matters: Despite the protests over Trump's stunning show of force on D.C.'s streets, MAGA's most vocal voices believe that if the anti-crime push is successful — and Trump is certain to declare it so — it could win converts in cities and help expand the movement's rural base."
Comment: "Reality check: Trump's D.C. crime claims don't match the data. Violent crime is falling in the city, not rising, Axios D.C.'s Anna Spiegel reports.
"Plus, D.C.'s status as a federal city gives the president unique powers with the National Guard and federal law enforcement there."
"Any attempt by Trump to impose similar federal patrols in other Democrat-run cities likely would be met with the type of protests that Trump's immigration crackdown sparked in Los Angeles."
"Such a move against local control — which historically has been a top cause for Republicans — also could fuel a political backlash against Trump and MAGA at a time when the president is desperate to maintain GOP control of Congress in the 2026 midterms."
Trump uses FBI and Justice Department to escalate his long-standing feud with Adam Schiff | CNN Politics
https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/18/politics/adam-schiff-donald-trump-justice-fbi
Comment: Revenge and retribution rather than justice?
The Hill: The EPA’s know-nothing assault on climate science
Comment: "Soon after he began his second term, President Trump — who has referred to global warming as 'a make-believe problem' and asked oil executives to contribute $1 billion to his 2024 campaign — issued executive orders expanding coal mining and offshore drilling of oil, blocking enforcement of state and local laws restricting carbon emissions and slashing the budget of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration."
"In July, EPA administrator Lee Zeldin moved to rescind the agency’s 2009 'endangerment finding' that pollutants from burning fossil fuels constitute a threat to public health. Officials indicated that the decision was based in part on a report of five climate contrarians commissioned by the Department of Energy. Committed to ending regulations on automobile emissions, reducing limits on power plant emissions and releases of carbon dioxide and methane, Zeldin denounced 'people, who in the name of climate change, are willing to bankrupt the country … and basically regulate out of existence a lot of segments of our economy.' ”
"The Interior Department is now conducting 'consultations' that cause lengthy delays on permits for wind and solar projects (which produced 16 percent of U.S. electricity in 2024)."
"The Trump administration’s assault on what Zeldin called 'climate change religion' is based on demonstrably false assumptions and assertions. Global warming is not 'a hoax.' Temperatures on the surface of the earth and ocean are increasing at alarming rates. The ice sheets are melting, sea levels are rising and catastrophic weather-related events are more frequent. The benefits of addressing climate change, moreover, outweigh costs to the economies of developed and developing countries — and to the welfare of hundreds of millions of people on the planet."
NPR: Government papers found in an Alaskan hotel reveal new details of Trump-Putin summit
https://www.npr.org/2025/08/16/nx-s1-5504196/trump-putin-summit-documents-left-behind
Comment: "Papers with U.S. State Department markings, found Friday morning in the business center of an Alaskan hotel, revealed previously undisclosed and potentially sensitive details about the Aug. 15 meetings between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir V. Putin in Anchorage."
"Eight pages, that appear to have been produced by U.S. staff and left behind accidentally, shared precise locations and meeting times of the summit and phone numbers of U.S. government employees."
Comment: "The first page in the printed packet disclosed the sequence of meetings for August 15, including the specific names of the rooms inside the base in Anchorage where they would take place. It also revealed that Trump intended to give Putin a ceremonial present."
Comment: "The printed papers are the latest example of a series of security breaches by officials of the Trump administration. Earlier this week, members of a law enforcement group chat that included members of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) added a random person to a conversation about an ongoing search for a convicted attempted murderer. In March, U.S. national security leaders accidentally included a journalist in a group chat about impending military strikes in Yemen."
Love in a cold climate: Putin romances Trump in Alaska with talk of rigged elections and a trip to Moscow | Donald Trump | The Guardian
Comment: "For those who feared the summit on Ukraine might resemble Chamberlain’s appeasement of Hitler in 1938, the reality was worse"
Comment: "Trump, 79, purportedly the most powerful man in the world, literally rolled out the red carpet for a Russian dictator indicted for alleged war crimes over the abduction and transfer of thousands of Ukrainian children. Putin’s troops have also been accused of indiscriminate murder, rape and torture on an appalling scale."
"In more than 100 countries, the 72-year-old would have been arrested the moment he set foot on the tarmac. In America, he was treated to a spontaneous burst of applause from the waiting Trump, who gave him a long, lingering handshake and a ride in 'the Beast', the presidential limousine."
"Putin could be seen cackling on the back seat, looking like the cat who got the cream. As a former KGB man, did he leave behind a bug or two?"
Comment: "Trump’s humiliation was complete. But all was not lost. At least no one was talking about Jeffrey Epstein or the price of vegetables."
August 15, 2025: Trump-Putin summit ends without concrete deal | CNN Politics
https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/trump-putin-meeting-news-08-15-25
Trump admin backs down on DC police control after striking deal - POLITICO
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/15/doj-dc-police-department-control-hearing-00512503
Comment: "Washington officials and the Justice Department negotiated a deal at a judge’s urging Friday that prevented full federal control of the city’s police department over the weekend, but left underlying legal disputes unresolved."
"Justice Department officials agreed to rewrite a Thursday order from Attorney General Pam Bondi that named Drug Enforcement Administration head Terry Cole as emergency police commissioner, cutting the mayor and existing police chief out of the chain of command."
Comment: "The Justice Department published a rewritten version of the memo later Friday that named Cole as Bondi’s 'designee,' responsible for directing Washington’s mayor to provide the police department’s services as the attorney general 'deems necessary and appropriate.' "
"In a statement, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said the Trump administration 'is not backing down' and that the new order requires city officials 'to comply fully and completely with federal immigration law and authorities.' "
"U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes indicated at a hearing Friday she would grant the D.C. attorney general’s request for a temporary restraining order if the Justice Department did not follow through on rewriting the order. The hearing came after city officials sued the Trump administration earlier Friday over the directive to take over control of the Metropolitan Police Department."
Trump administration agrees to leave DC police chief in charge | AP News
Video: Judge rejects Trump administration’s plan to federalize D.C. police - August 15, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2wlXyHRTRE
Video: AG Pam Bondi names emergency Washington, DC police commissioner - August 15, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lswbPj_cs8w
Scoop: White House hands down loyalty ratings for hundreds of companies
https://www.axios.com/2025/08/15/white-house-rating-big-beautiful-bill
Comment: "The West Wing has created a scorecard that rates 553 companies and trade associations on how hard they worked to support and promote President Trump's 'One Big Beautiful Bill,' a senior White House official tells Axios."
"Why it matters: Trump works transactionally, and companies have rushed to pay demonstrative homage. Now, senior aides will have data to consult when considering corporate requests."
Comment: Is the opposite true? If a company fails to provide sufficient loyalty, is it placed on an enemies list?
Politico: White House officials turn up the heat on Indiana redistricting
Comment: "Pressure is mounting on Republicans in Indiana to take up redistricting ahead of the midterms, with both White House officials privately pressuring lawmakers and a mysterious group urging voters to call their elected officials in support of it."
Comment: "The calls are part of its broader strategy to use redistricting in order to gain an advantage in the midterms and help Republicans cling to their small House majority."
Trump administration deepens crackdown on solar and wind tax credits - POLITICO
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/15/trump-solar-wind-tax-00512034
Pew Research Center: Trump's Tariffs and 'One Big Beautiful Bill' Face More Opposition Than Support as His Job Rating Slips
Comment: "Six months into his second term, public evaluations of President Donald Trump’s job performance have grown more negative. His job approval stands at 38% (60% disapprove), and fewer Americans now attribute several positive personal characteristics to him than did so during the campaign."
"Two of the new administration’s signature accomplishments – the rollout of its tariff policies and the tax and spending law known as the 'One Big Beautiful Bill' – garner considerably more disapproval than approval:
61% of Americans disapprove of Trump’s tariff policies, while 38% approve.
46% disapprove of the tax and spending law, while 32% approve (23% say they are unsure)."
"While there are wide partisan divides over both initiatives – with Republicans largely supportive and Democrats largely in opposition – Democratic disapproval substantially outpaces Republican approval."
Comment: This article contains detailed polling information on many other issues associated with the Trump administration.
The Guardian: How Pete Hegseth’s zeal to bring religiosity to the Pentagon is dividing the military
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/14/pete-hegseth-pentagon-christian-nationalism
Comment: "Former Fox and Friends host’s ultra-conservative Christian nationalism causing ‘frustration’ within ranks, say experts"
Comment: "While secretary of defense Pete Hegseth’s links to an extremist church and crusader tattoos caused a stir during his confirmation hearings, the former Fox & Friends host is now openly bringing his ultra-conservative brand of christianity to the Pentagon."
"Veterans tell the Guardian that Hegseth’s religiosity – rubbing off in new recruitment ads and official US Department of Defense social media activities – is dividing the ranks and doing untold damage to the future of the US military."
"In one of the Pentagon’s latest videos that it posted on X – with the message: 'We Are One Nation Under God' – paratroopers are seen dropping from the back of airplanes as soldiers in full tactical gear aim assault rifles at an unknown enemy somewhere in the whirling sands of what looks like the Middle East."
" 'I pursued my enemies and overtook them,' text from the book of Psalms appears across the screen as the scene unfolds in a desert resembling where medieval crusaders once fought. 'I did not turn back till they were destroyed.' ”
Video: WATCH: Trump says federal officers in DC aren’t being pulled off more important assignments - August 14, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9w2LAMMfAT4
A DOGE AI Tool Called SweetREX Is Coming to Slash US Government Regulation | WIRED
https://www.wired.com/story/sweetrex-deregulation-ai-us-government-regulation-doge/
Comment: "Named for its developer, an undergrad who took leave from UChicago to become a DOGE affiliate, a new AI tool automates the review of federal regulations and flags rules it thinks can be eliminated."
Comment: "EFFORTS TO GUT regulation across the US government using AI are well underway."
"On Wednesday, the Office of the Chief Information Officer at the Office of Management and Budget hosted a video call to discuss an AI tool being used to cut federal regulations, which the office called SweetREX Deregulation AI. The tool, which is still being developed, is built to identify sections of regulations that aren’t required by statute, then expedite the process for adopting updated regulations."
Comment: "Industrial-scale deregulation is a core aim laid out in Project 2025, the document that has served as a playbook for the second Trump administration. The so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has also estimated that '50 percent of all federal regulations can be eliminated,' according to a July 1, 2025, PowerPoint presentation obtained by The Washington Post."
Comment: Given DOGE's past failures to significantly reduce government expenditures, while upending government services and operations, do you trust DOGE's use of unproven AI software to eliminate regulations that help keep us safe and secure?
HHS revives childhood vaccine safety panel RFK-backed antivax group sought
https://www.axios.com/2025/08/14/rfk-jr-hhs-covid-mrna-vaccines-children-safety
Comment: "The move could be a prelude to changes to the federal childhood vaccination schedule and comes just months after the anti-vaccine group Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. founded backed a lawsuit against him that sought to re-establish the task force."
E&E News by POLITICO: In sudden shift, American emissions rise as China’s falls
https://www.eenews.net/articles/in-sudden-shift-american-emissions-rise-as-chinas-falls/
Comment: "China’s carbon dioxide emissions fell 2.7 percent in the first half of 2025 while U.S. emissions increased 4.2 percent, according to Carbon Monitor, reversing a long-standing pattern in global climate pollution."
Comment: "Efforts to green the economy are accelerating in China, where solar panel installations are soaring and electric vehicle sales are rising. Analysts increasingly debate whether the country has reached peak CO2 emissions. By contrast, a surge in electricity demand and high natural gas prices have helped revive America’s ailing coal sector, just as President Donald Trump takes an ax to climate regulations and clean energy subsidies."
Video: Ocean heat and global sea level hit new records last year, report finds - August 14, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBXEjg24bYk
Trump’s 7 most authoritarian moves so far | CNN Politics
https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/13/politics/authoritarian-moves-trump-analysis
Video: How far-right activist Laura Loomer is shaping the Trump administration - August 13, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oow_xORyH9g
Appeals court ruling will let Trump administration cut billions in foreign aid - ABC News
Comment: "The decision overrules a lower court's decision that had blocked USAID cuts."
Comment: "The court sidestepped the substantive question of whether the cuts were constitutional, instead deciding that the nonprofits that sued the Trump administration lacked the standing to bring a case."
"Judges Karen Henderson and Gregory Katsas -- appointed by Presidents George H. W. Bush and Donald Trump, respectively -- determined that only the head of the Government Accountability Office has the authority to sue under the Impoundment Control Act."
Judge says he's skeptical of a Trump lawsuit against every federal judge in Maryland
Comment: "A judge on Wednesday expressed some skepticism about an unprecedented lawsuit in which the Trump administration sued all 15 Maryland-based federal judges over a standing order related to deportation cases."
"The lawsuit is the latest escalation of the Trump administration's war on the judiciary, which has been marked by criticism of judges who have ruled against the government over President Donald Trump's bold and aggressive use of executive power."
Trump wants to extend federal control over Washington police
Comment: "U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he would ask the Republican-controlled Congress to extend federal control of Washington's city police force beyond 30 days, escalating his campaign to exert presidential power over the nation's capital."
"Trump also asserted that any congressional action could serve as a model for other U.S. cities. He has previously threatened to expand his efforts to other Democratic-run cities such as Chicago that he claims have failed to address crime."
"The Republican president's extraordinary moves in Washington are reflective of how he has approached his second term in office, shattering political norms and legal concerns to test the limits of his office's power."
"It was not clear how Trump's takeover of Washington's Metropolitan Police Department could be replicated elsewhere. In seizing control on Monday, Trump took advantage of a federal law, the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, that permits the president to do so under emergency circumstances for up to 30 days."
Video: Trump says he will seek a legislative extension to federal takeover of D.C. - August 13, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHquKsbmq5Y
Comment: Listen to Trump's plan for a long term federal takeover of D.C.; his request for a congressional 'crime bill' justifying the takeover of D.C. to be used as an example for other cities; and a threat that he could declare a national emergency to unilaterally implement his plans if Congress doesn't go along. How frightenng does this sound to you?
Video: Hundreds of National Guard troops arrive in Washington, D.C. - August 13, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWlfIqf8_tI
ABC News: National Guard troops told to maintain presence near National Mall as part of Trump’s anti-crime mission
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/guard-members-waiting-orders-begin-gather-dc/story?id=124587539
Comment: "Col. Dave Butler, an Army spokesperson, said the troops were called on to help local law enforcement with logistics support, transportation and administration duties, as well as being visible around the National Mall.
" '"That's part of our assignment – to go to the national monuments and be present,' he told ABC News."
Comment: "It was not immediately clear why the presence of U.S. troops along the National Mall was needed, other than to put Trump's orders on display. The area, marked by museums, monuments and long stretches of grass, is known as a relatively safe part of the city that attracts mostly tourists and school groups."
Comment: Some have speculated that the troops have been deployed primarily as a show of force to bolster Trump's anti-crime image. Others have speculated that the troop deployment is designed to begin conditioning the American people to accept domestic military policing, despite restrictions imposed by the Posse Comitatus Act.
NPR: The hidden costs of cutting Medicaid : Planet Money
Comment: "Lawmakers have justified these cuts as a necessary step to address the bigger budget deficit exacerbated by tax cuts and other spending increases in the big bill. However, that doesn't capture how these cuts will send costs spilling out around society, to be paid by hospitals, clinics, individuals and then in the end, back to the federal government."
Comment: In other words, unless society is willing to let people die unnecessarily, someone will pay for healthcare.
Government Executive: After firing of BLS chief, Lutnick tells federal statisticians that independence is ‘nonsense’
Comment: "The independence of federal statistical agencies is 'nonsense,' the head of the Commerce Department and one of President Trump’s chief economic emissaries told employees on Tuesday, who said they need to focus only on obtaining 'the right answer.' ”
"The comments, coming on the heels of President Trump firing the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics after her agency released a weak jobs report, sparked concern among the staff present for the remarks. Commerce Department Secretary Howard Lutnick immediately followed up his comment by noting accuracy was the only important concept for federal statisticians and stressed they 'can’t be twisted by anyone,' according to a recording obtained by Government Executive."
"Still, Lutnick seeming to label statistical independence as an irrelevant consideration caught employees off guard and renewed questions of potential political interference in federal statistical work. Trump’s firing of Erika McEntarfer, who had served as BLS commissioner, caused watchdog groups, former agency leaders and current employees to sound the alarm on what the decision could mean for future political interference with their work."
Comment: Despite his call for accuracy, what did Lutnick mean by the "right answer?" Who knew that independence was "nonsense" when it came to numbers and statistics? Was Ludnick asking his staff to read between the lines when digesting his statements?
Axios: "Utterly unqualified": Trump BLS pick gets panned by conservative economists
https://www.axios.com/2025/08/12/trump-bls-ej-antoni-economists
NPR: Trump official tells census workers Congress has final say over the count, not Trump
https://www.npr.org/2025/08/12/nx-s1-5500526/can-the-president-order-a-new-census-trump-congress
Comment: "Less than a week after President Trump said he has ordered a 'new' census, the cabinet official who oversees the Census Bureau acknowledged Tuesday that Congress, not the president, has final say over the national head count that's used to reshape election maps and guide federal funding, NPR has exclusively learned."
"Speaking at a town-hall event for the bureau's employees, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick also suggested that when tallying the country's population, the census should differentiate people living in the U.S. without legal status from other residents, according to three Census Bureau employees, who asked NPR not to name them because they fear retaliation."
NPR: RFK Jr. undermines trust in expertise at Department of Health and Human Services
The Guardian: The Guardian view on RFK Jr’s vaccine cuts: an assault on science from a politician unfit for his office | Editorial
The Guardian: RFK Jr has slashed vaccine research. You need to know how perilous that is for the world | Devi Sridhar
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/aug/11/rfk-jr-trump-vaccine-research-avian-flu
ABC News: What to know about DC Home Rule Act as Trump puts DC police under federal control
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/dc-home-rule-act-trump-puts-dc-police/story?id=124548993
What Trump can — and can’t — do in his bid to take over law enforcement in DC - POLITICO
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/11/dc-law-enforcement-national-guard-deployment-00502896
Comment: "President Donald Trump’s attempt to take over law enforcement in Washington, D.C., is once again testing the bounds of his authority to militarize a major U.S. city."
"The capital, unlike other cities, is already subject to significant federal control — and Trump is invoking his emergency powers to solidify it. But the intersection of complicated laws and rules about the use of the military for domestic law enforcement, the deployment of federal agents to the streets of D.C. and the city’s own crime-fighting policies may still prompt legal uncertainty — and inevitable challenges."
Video: D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser speaks after Trump federalizes police, sends National Guard | full video -August 11, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/live/VZm1OJYC1_M
The Hill: DC attorney general: Trump actions ‘unprecedented, unnecessary, and unlawful’
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5446627-schwalb-denounces-trump-police/
Comment: "Washington, D.C., Attorney General Brian Schwalb (D) denounced the Trump administration’s move to federalize the city’s police force as 'unprecedented, unnecessary, and unlawful.' ”
"Schwalb said Monday in a post on social platform X, after President Trump's announcement in the morning, a 'crime emergency' doesn’t exist in the District, noting that violent crime reached a 30-year low last year and is currently 26 percent lower this year than at this same point last year."
Video: Hegseth's MESSAGE To National Guard Troops 'Flowing Into The Streets' Of Washington, DC | TRENDING - August 11, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1OQHC1HqnU
Comment: Do you think Hegseth looks just a little too eager?
Axios: Trump's D.C. crime claims don't match the data
https://www.axios.com/local/washington-dc/2025/08/11/trump-dc-crime-rate-fact-check
Video: Pres. Trump declares a 'public safety emergency' in DC, puts police department under federal control - August 11, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3twIkQSWos
CNN: Trump zeroes in on federal takeover of DC as FBI patrols streets
https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/11/politics/trump-washington-dc-crime
Epstein files: A judge confirms the Trump team’s smokescreen | CNN Politics
https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/11/politics/epstein-files-judge-ruling-grand-jury-materials
Politico: Judge denies DOJ bid to unseal grand jury material in Ghislaine Maxwell case
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/11/ghislaine-maxwell-grand-jury-material-ruling-00502702
Comment: "A federal judge on Monday denied the Justice Department’s effort to unseal grand jury material in the Ghislaine Maxwell case, calling the 'entire premise' of the government’s move 'demonstrably false.' "
"U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer, in a 31-page decision, chided the Justice Department for its bid to make the material public because, he said, the public would learn virtually nothing new from the documents and 'would come away feeling disappointed and misled.' ” " 'Insofar as the motion to unseal implies that the grand jury materials are an untapped mine lode of undisclosed information about Epstein or Maxwell or confederates, they definitively are not that,' Engelmayer, an Obama appointee, wrote. 'There is no ‘there’ there.' ”
"And, the judge wrote, the only reasonable argument for unsealing the material 'is that doing so would expose as disingenuous the Government’s public explanations for moving to unseal.' ”
Comment: Do you think the DOJ knew the grand jury material had no information of interest and that it offered it up in an effort to appear transparent, while not necessarily being transparent?
Trump admin claims Social Security, Medicare at risk if tariffs blocked
https://www.axios.com/2025/08/11/social-security-medicare-trump-tariffs
Comment: "The Trump administration on Monday told a federal appellate court that overturning the president's tariffs could lead to a 1929-style depression that would endanger federal benefits like Social Security and Medicare."
"Why it matters: The letter from Solicitor General D. John Sauer and assistant attorney general Brett Shumate claims the U.S. would be on the hook to repay trillions of dollars it hasn't actually been paid, from deals that haven't yet been fully signed."
"Catch up quick: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit is due to rule soon on whether to uphold or overturn the Court of International Trade's late-May ruling striking down most of Trump's tariffs."
Comment: "What they're saying: 'If the United States were forced to pay back the trillions of dollars committed to us, America could go from strength to failure the moment such an incorrect decision took effect,' they wrote."
Comments: "Context: The various tariff agreements struck with the likes of Japan, South Korea and the EU include pledges to establish huge investment funds to finance projects in the United States, more than $1 trillion in total."
Comment: Most of Trump's tariffs have always been illegal, because in normal times only the Congress can levy tariffs. Trump's prior declaration of an economic "emergency" to justify his usurping of congressional authority will most likely be ruled illegal. The foreign pledges of huge foreign investment have always been suspect, because the so called "deals" have not been formally finalized in writing. If the tariff money already collected has to be returned to U.S. importers, I guess Trump will have to start taxing his billionaire buddies. Otherwise, one might see a popular citizen uprising.
Linda McMahon defends disbanding the Department of Education on national tour - CBS News
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/linda-mcmahon-department-of-education-national-tour/
Comment: "Education Secretary Linda McMahon is kicking off a nationwide tour focused on promoting the administration's goal of dismantling the Department of Education, which has been met with congressional and legal challenges."
Comment: "President Trump issued an executive order to begin dismantling the department in March, arguing that education policy and funding should be left to the states. McMahon announced cuts of roughly half its workforce the same month. The downsizing has led to legal challenges, but the Supreme Court allowed the cuts to continue in July."
"In 2024, the department accounted for less than 4% of the federal budget. Its responsibilities include overseeing federal student loan programs, distributing grants for low-income schools and enforcing non-discrimination policies in schools. It does not set curriculum."
Trump’s Unforgivable Sin
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/one-trump-flaw-most-americans-100000341.html
Comment: "Tens of millions of Americans voted for President Donald Trump in the belief that he would be competent. They might not have been thrilled that Trump is a convicted felon, or pleased with his role in the violent attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021. Many worried that he posed a threat to democracy. But enough were willing to overlook all that, because they convinced themselves that Trump would be an effective chief executive, that under his stewardship their lives would get better and the country would prosper."
"A little more than half a year into Trump’s second term, however, the public’s confidence in his skill as a chief executive is shattering. In a recent AP/NORC poll, only about one-quarter of U.S. adults said that Trump’s policies have helped them. Roughly half report that Trump’s policies have 'done more to hurt' them, and about two in 10 say his policies have 'not made a difference' in their lives. Remarkably, Trump failed to earn majority approval on any of the issues in the poll, including the economy, immigration, and cutting government spending."
"As a result, a politically toxic impression is hardening. Trump’s approval rating in the most recent Gallop poll is 37 percent, the lowest of this term and only slightly higher than his all-time low of 34 percent, at the end of his first term. (Among independents, Trump’s approval rating is down to 29 percent.) Americans already understood Trump to be corrupt, and proved themselves willing to tolerate that. But now they are coming to believe that he is inept. In American politics, that is an unforgivable sin."
Comment: Disappointed? Feel deceived? Some might say that is what happens when one deals with the devil.
PBS: Can Trump invoke a federal takeover of DC? Experts say it’s possible, but not simple
Comment: " 'If D.C. doesn’t get its act together, and quickly, we will have no choice but to take Federal control of the City, and run this City how it should be run, and put criminals on notice that they’re not going to get away with it anymore,' Trump wrote."
Comment: "Trump hasn’t detailed how federalization would work, or said whether there are specific services he wants to take over."
"Legal scholars agreed, given the explicit language in the Constitution, Trump cannot simply take over the district and oust its home-rule elected leadership. He would have to work with Congress, the entity framers entrusted with overseeing the capital."
" 'Congress may exercise this authority, not exercise it, or delegate it,' Musgrove said. 'With the Home Rule Act of 1973, it delegated a good bit of that authority — though not all — to a local government. It would have to act to reclaim that authority, or to delegate it to another entity, like the executive branch.' "
"Congress’ Republican majorities have so far supported Trump’s agenda with near-unanimity, but a repeal of home rule isn’t a sure thing."
"It would need to win passage in the House, which the Republicans narrowly control and where Trump might be able to enforce his will with the majority. But it would also need to clear the Senate, which would take 60 votes, including at least seven Democratic votes, to proceed to final consideration. Democrats have generally been supportive of home rule for the district."
The Guardian: Trump orders homeless he passed en route to golf course to leave Washington DC
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/10/trump-homeless-golf-course-washington-dc
Comment: "In a social media post on Sunday, Donald Trump has demanded homeless residents of Washington DC leave the country’s capital or face eviction, and again promised to use federal officers to jail criminals, even though violent crime in the city was at a 30-year low when he took office in January."
Comment: Homelessness is a common problem everywhere, even here in Dale Co. Do you think Trump may be responding to a NIMBY philosophy? (NIMBY: Not in my back yard)
Axios: FBI deployed to D.C. after Trump announces crackdown on homeless people
https://www.axios.com/2025/08/10/trump-dc-homeless-people-move-immediately
Comment: "President Trump ratcheted up his rhetoric about crime and homelessness in Washington, D.C., Sunday, telling homeless individuals 'move out' of the city 'IMMEDIATELY.' "
Comment: "In a Sunday Truth Social post, Trump vowed to 'make our Capital safer and more beautiful than it ever was before.' The president said 'we will give' homeless individuals 'places to stay,' but that those would be 'FAR from the Capital.' "
Comment: Do you think that the Trump administration will shelter the homeless or will it be a case of "out of sight- out of mind" if they are moved out of Washington DC?
The Hill: Former attorney general says FBI can’t return Texas lawmakers who fled state
Comment: "Former Attorney General Eric Holder said Sunday the FBI does not have jurisdiction to return Texas Democratic lawmakers who fled their state."
Comment: " '“And they’re not hard to find, but the question after that is, ‘Well, what’s the federal jurisdiction? What federal statute has potentially been violated? What’s the basis for any federal government interaction?’ And I would say that there is none,' he added."
Comment: But would questions of jurisdiction and legality stop Pam Bondi and Kash Patel? One can only hope.
Trump administration targets Harvard’s patents
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gCcDUFnkeA
Comment: Another attempt to extort institutions of higher learning?
Axios: Trump escapes reality in pursuit of a no-bad-news presidency
https://www.axios.com/2025/08/09/trump-presidency-jobs-report-approval-rating
Comment: "President Trump is accelerating his longtime efforts to banish facts and figures that challenge his narrative of a spotless presidency."
"Why it matters: Much of the federal government has begun operating according to his version of reality."
"In Trump's reality, good poll numbers are real (even when he invents them), bad ones are fake."
Comment: "Zoom in: Trump fired the commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics after last Friday's jobs figures, which were the most worrying economic data release of his term."
Comment: "The big picture: Trump hasn't acknowledged unpopular aspects of his agenda, even as polls indicate public support has dropped after this term's honeymoon."
Comment: "The backstory: This all started 200 days ago. Trump heralded the return of a 'Golden Age' for America in his inaugural address in January and has been quick to declare it a success rather than a work in progress."
Video: Alicia: Trump views DOJ as his 'own personal law firm' - August 9, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqzUXUURJKo
CNN: Trump’s legal retribution tour is getting more blatant
https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/09/politics/trump-legal-retribution-analysis
The Guardian: Vinay Prasad returns to FDA days after leaving under pressure from Laura Loomer
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/09/vinay-prasad-returns-fda-laura-loomer
Comment: "Prasad left the agency after far-right influencer released edited audio misleadingly suggesting he was anti-Trump"
Comment: "Vinay Prasad is returning to his role overseeing vaccine, gene therapy and blood product regulation at the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) a little more than a week after he left the agency."
" 'At the FDA’s request, Dr Vinay Prasad is resuming leadership of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research,' Department Health and Human Services spokesperson Andrew Nixon said in a statement to Reuters."
Comment: "Prasad, an oncologist who was a fierce critic of US Covid-19 vaccine and mask mandates, was named the center’s director by the FDA’s commissioner, Marty Makary, in May."
Comment: Even though his earlier departure may have been unjustified, given his criticism of Covid-19 and mask mandates, are we sure that his return to the FDA is a good thing?
MSNBC News: CDC headquarters shooting leaves officer dead and RFK Jr. employees wanting answers
Comment: "A shooting outside the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Atlanta headquarters on Friday left a police officer dead and officials and scientists at the nation’s premier public health agency shaken. Many are now demanding answers from their health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has long vilified the CDC and contributed to a culture of misinformation that they say makes them targets."
Georgia gunman who killed a police officer and targeted the CDC was fixated on the Covid-19 vaccine, reports reveal
What we know about Friday’s shooting at the US’s top public health institute | CNN
https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/09/us/atlanta-cdc-emory-university-shooting-hnk
Comment: Is anti-vaxx sentiment from RFK Jr. getting out of control?
The Guardian: Pfizer Covid vaccine for young children may not be renewed by FDA
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/09/pfizer-covid-vaccine-fda-children-dfa
PBS: Analysis: Why NASA is planning to build a nuclear reactor on the Moon and what the law says
Comment: Maybe it's not quite as crazy as it sounds.
‘Erasure of years of work’: outcry as White House moves to open Arctic reserve to oil and gas drilling | Alaska | The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/09/national-petroleum-reserve-alaska-oil-gas-drilling
Comment: "The Trump administration's plan to expand oil and gas drilling in a 23m acre reserve on the Arctic Ocean is sparking an impassioned response, amid fears it threatens Arctic wildlife, undermines the subsistence rights of Alaska Natives and imperils one of the fast-warming ecosystems on Earth."
"More than a quarter of a million people have responded to the 2 June proposal from the US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to roll back protections on the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A), the largest tract of public land in the US."
The Guardian: IRS commissioner’s removal reportedly over clash on undocumented immigrant data
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/09/billy-long-irs-removal-immigrant-data-trump
Comment: "The removal of the Internal Revenue Service commissioner Billy Long after just two months in the post came after the federal tax collection agency said it could not release some information on taxpayers suspected of being in the US illegally, it was reported on Saturday."
"The IRS and the White House had clashed over using tax data to help locate suspected undocumented immigrants soon before Long was dismissed by the administration, according to the Washington Post."
Comment: With all the legitimate reasons for getting rid of Billy Long, it's a shame that this illegitimate reason is the Trump administration justification for firing him.
AP News: Trump removes Billy Long as IRS commisioner less than 2 months after his confirmation
https://apnews.com/article/billy-long-out-as-irs-commissioner-3dbf8315a69a320b91ae629dab41b159
Comment: "President Donald Trump has removed former U.S. Rep. Billy Long as IRS commissioner less than two months after his confirmation, a White House official said Friday."
"It was not immediately clear why Long was dismissed. His quick exit makes him the shortest-tenured IRS commissioner confirmed by the Senate since the position was created in 1862."
"Long said in a social media post that Trump had nominated him for an ambassadorship."
Comment: "In many ways, he was an unusual pick for the role. While in Congress, where he served from 2011 to 2023, Long sponsored legislation to get rid of the IRS. A former auctioneer, Long had no background in tax administration.
"The Senate confirmed Long on a 53-44 vote despite Democrats’ concerns about the Republican’s past work for a firm that pitched a fraud-ridden coronavirus pandemic-era tax break and about campaign contributions he received after Trump nominated him."
Comment: "Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will serve as acting IRS commissioner, according to the White House official, who was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity."
Comment: If one looks at Long's background closely, one can see that he should never have been nominated and should, certainly, never have been confirmed. Do you think that Scott Bessent can adequately multitask between Treasury Secretary and IRS commissioner?
Here’s what could happen if Trump brings the National Guard to DC
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/could-happen-trump-brings-national-202239123.html
Comment: "President Donald Trump this week reignited his threat that the federal government will take over and 'run' Washington, DC, after a former Department of Government Efficiency employee was assaulted in an attempted carjacking."
"Trump said Wednesday he is considering having his administration take over the DC Police Department and might deploy the National Guard to DC over recent crime."
"After those comments, the White House announced the federal law enforcement presence in the city is increasing starting Thursday night. The effort, a White House official said, will include US Capitol Police, FBI, US Marshals Service, DC Police, DEA and other agencies."
Comment: The article discusses other possible actions and scenarios.
President Trump orders federal law enforcement officers to patrol Washington, D.C. streets
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/president-trump-orders-federal-law-141023814.html
Comment: "President Donald Trump ordered an increased federal law enforcement presence across the streets of Washington, D.C. for the next week as he railed against the city's crime rate and continued to float a federal takeover of the nation's capital."
"Trump directed the unspecified number of federal agents on the night of Thursday Aug. 7, just days after an assault on a high-profile staffer of Trump's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Edward Coristine, a 19-year-old nicknamed 'Big Balls,' was attacked by a group of teenagers during an early morning attempted carjacking last weekend."
Comment: Can a single incident justify the "federal takeover of the nation's capital?" Is this just an excuse to expand presidential authority and power?
Politico: Cartels may be able to target witnesses after major court hack
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/08/federal-court-hack-cartels-00500391
Comment: "Officials fear that Latin American drug cartels are among those who obtained sensitive court data due to a sweeping breach of the federal judiciary’s case filing system, raising concerns that the groups will now be able to target cooperating witnesses involved in criminal trials against them."
"The worry, according to three judicial officials and investigators with knowledge of the hack, is that cartels could weaponize the stolen data to identify witnesses in cases the federal government has opened against them, or to gain knowledge of impending or ongoing criminal investigations, such as sealed wiretap orders and arrest and search warrants."
Comment: Do you think Pam Bondi and Tulsi Gabbard might want to focus less on protecting the President and conducting their vengeance campaign against Democrats and focus, instead, on providing protection of the American justice system against foreign criminal organizations?
Mother Jones: Trump’s Defense Secretary Seems to Admire Men Who Want to Stop Women From Voting
The Hill: Hegseth reposts story tying him to church with pastors who say women shouldn’t vote
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5444330-hegseth-church-women-voting/
Comment: "Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reposted a CNN segment about a pastor who believes women should not vote on the social media platform X."
"The segment largely focuses on Pastor Doug Wilson, a Christian nationalist who cofounded the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches (CREC) in Idaho."
"The report shows Wilson advocating for a Christian nation and entertaining the idea that women should not vote."
"The CNN video shows a video of Pete Hegseth attending a service at Wilson’s church."
"This comes as the Trump administration has sought to eradicate 'anti-Christian' bias in the government, even issuing a February executive order on the matter."
Video: DOJ opens probe into NY attorney general who beat Trump in court - August 8, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGsLYnRn0F4
Comment: Trump and his minions seeking retribution?
CNN: Trump warns of another Great Depression if court strikes down tariffs
https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/08/business/tariffs-trump-great-depression
Comment: "Last week, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit heard the Trump administration's appeal and the panel of 11 judges voiced skepticism that the law gave Trump power to impose tariffs in the aggressive manner that his administration has unleashed them. The appeals court judges have yet to issue their ruling on the case, which is expected to be appealed to the Supreme Court."
Comment: "The comments stunned some observers, in part because it's unusual for a sitting US president to warn of economic catastrophe - but also because Trump's tariffs have been largely viewed as a risk to the US economy."
" 'If courts shoot down the tariffs, it would be complicated - but a huge positive,' Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley Wealth Management, told CNN. 'There would be a massive celebration.' "
AP News: Appeals court tosses judge's contempt finding against Trump administration in prison deportations
Comment: "A split appeals court panel tossed out a judge’s contempt finding against President Donald Trump’s administration on Friday in a case over deportations to an El Salvador prison."
"The decision comes after planes carrying Venezuelan migrants landed at the prison even after U.S District Judge James E. Boasberg said in court they must return to the United States."
"Boasberg found probable cause to hold the Trump administration in criminal contempt of court. The ruling marked a dramatic battle between the judicial and executive branches of government."
"But the divided three-judge panel in the nation’s capital found that Boasberg had exceeded his authority and intruded on the executive branch’s foreign affairs powers."
"Judges Gregory Katsas and Neomi Rao, both of whom were nominated by Trump in his first term in the White House, agreed with the unsigned majority opinion."
Politico: ‘Special session after special session’: Abbott says he’ll continue until redrawn maps are passed
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/08/greg-abbott-texas-redistricting-special-sessions-00499440
Comment: "The Texas governor has tried multiple tactics to bring quorum-breaking Democrats back to the Lone Star State, including threatening their arrests."
Comment: What unprecedented actions won't Republicans take to appease Trump?
CNN: Cutting federal funds for mRNA vaccine leaves the US vulnerable, experts say
https://edition.cnn.com/2025/08/08/health/mrna-vaccines-pandemic-preparedness
Trump's demand for a census is unconstitutional - and impossible
https://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/amp/rcna223771
NPR: Trump is trying to rewrite the history of the 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol
Politico: MAGA world swallows a difficult truth: Arresting Trump’s opponents is easier said than done
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/08/trump-maga-world-arrest-opponents-00499426
Comment: "The calls from President Donald Trump’s MAGA base are getting noisier: Texas Democrats who fled the state to derail a hyperpartisan GOP redistricting maneuver should be criminally charged, arrested and dragged back to Austin."
"Now, it appears the FBI is involved in the hunt."
"But those screaming the loudest appear likely to wind up disappointed. There’s no known evidence that the absconding lawmakers have actually broken any federal or state laws, despite Gov. Greg Abbott’s strained suggestion that they may have committed bribery."
"It’s a familiar refrain for Trump’s second term: The far right lusts to see prominent Democrats or Trump adversaries hauled off in handcuffs, only to be let down when their revenge fantasies run into reality."
Comment: Do you worry that, as MAGA keeps trying, "their revenge fantasies" may eventually turn into reality.
Video: FBI granted request to locate fleeing Texas House Democrats, Sen. Cornyn says - August 7, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTlvFRp_VnQ
Comment: How can the FBI arrest the Democrats if they have broken no federal law?
AP News: Q&A: Can Trump hold a census in the middle of a decade and exclude immigrants in the US illegally?
https://apnews.com/article/trump-census-bureau-immigration-qa-ef07910f8a386eee5fc6a4bf7da8d8f7
Comment: "It would be extremely difficult to conduct a mid-decade census, if not impossible, according to experts."
"Any changes in conducting a U.S. census would require alterations to the Census Act and approval from Congress, which has oversight responsibilities, and there likely would be a fierce fight."
"The federal law governing the census permits a mid-decade head count for things like distributing federal funding, but it can’t be used for apportionment or redistricting and must be done in a year ending in 5. Additionally, the 14th Amendment says that “the whole number of persons in each state” are to be counted for the numbers used for apportionment, and the Census Bureau has interpreted that to mean anybody residing in the United States regardless of legal status. Federal courts have repeatedly supported that interpretation, though the Supreme Court has blocked recent efforts to change that on procedural rather than legal grounds."
" 'He cannot unilaterally order a new census. The census is governed by law, not to mention the Constitution,' said Terri Ann Lowenthal, a former congressional staffer who consults on census issues."
President Donald Trump's approval rating by state as of August 2025
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/president-donald-trumps-approval-rating-160127267.html
Comment: Interesting information. Alabama still supports Trump heavily, but the economic impact is just starting to be felt.
CNN: Trump voter regret might be setting in – slowly
https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/07/politics/polling-trump-voter-regret-analysis
NBC News: Tulsi Gabbard declassified documents over CIA objections, sources say
Comment: "National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard decided to declassify a document on Russia’s interference in the 2016 election last month over the objections of CIA officials who argued that more details should remain secret to protect sensitive spying sources and methods, according to two sources with knowledge of the matter."
ABC News: Several senior FBI leaders ousted without explanation, sources say
https://abcnews.go.com/US/senior-fbi-leaders-ousted-explanation-sources/story?id=124459472
Comment: "Several top FBI officials were ousted from their jobs this week, sources familiar with the matter confirmed to ABC News, including the former acting director of the bureau who previously resisted efforts to compile a list of agents who worked on the investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol."
"Sources tell ABC News that among those informed of their terminations are former acting FBI director Brian Driscoll, assistant director in charge of the Washington, D.C. Field office Steven Jensen, and agents Walter Giardina and Christopher Meyer."
"It does not appear that any were informed of the rationale behind their terminations, the sources said."
"The firings have alarmed many rank-and-file agents due to concerns over whether the moves were politically motivated, said the sources. Giardina and Meyer, for instance, previously worked on investigations involving President Donald Trump."
Politico: Epstein victims speak out: This ‘smacks of a cover up’
Comment: "Victims of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell are alarmed over the Justice Department’s effort to unseal grand jury testimony in their cases and its cooperation with Maxwell, a convicted sex offender."
"Several victims, in letters from their lawyers, have balked at the department’s approach, saying it 'smacks of a cover up,' calling aspects of it 'cowardly,' and arguing that it demonstrates the Trump administration considers the victims 'at best, an afterthought.' "
"And they warn that the Trump administration, with its treatment of Maxwell, is on the precipice of undoing the only measure of justice the victims received from a sex trafficking ring that, by the government’s own account, harmed more than 1,000 girls and young women."
AP News: RFK Jr.'s vow to overhaul vaccine injury program echoes grievances of anti-vaccine movement
DHS transfers FEMA staff to ICE amid hurricane season
Comment: "The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is temporarily transferring personnel from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) just ahead of the peak of hurricane season as it seeks to speed hiring for immigration officers."
"DHS is detailing roughly 100 people from FEMA’s human resources and security teams to help process applicants at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) amid a bid to hire 10,000 extra officers."
Comment: "The Washington Post first reported the move, which it said would impact roughly half of FEMA’s human resources team."
Comment: "FEMA is already down roughly 2,000 staffers both as the Trump administration culls the federal workforce and as employees flee the agency amid signals from the White House it plans to dismantle or otherwise reorganize the agency and leave more responsibility for disaster response to the states."
AP News: What to know about mRNA vaccine
https://apnews.com/article/mrna-kennedy-rfk-jr-covid-flu-51babaaeb003c45473080a52d67d7d72
Comment: "So-called mRNA vaccines saved millions of lives during the COVID-19 pandemic — and now scientists are using that Nobel Prize-winning technology to try to develop vaccines and treatments against a long list of diseases including cancer and cystic fibrosis."
"But this week, U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime vaccine critic, canceled $500 million in government-funded research projects to create new mRNA vaccines against respiratory illnesses that might trigger another health emergency."
"That dismays infectious disease experts who note that mRNA allows faster production of shots than older vaccine-production methods, buying precious time if another pandemic were to emerge."
AP News: RFK Jr. pulls $500 million in funding for vaccine development
https://apnews.com/article/kennedy-vaccines-mrna-pfizer-moderna-1fb5b9436f2957075064c18a6cbbe3c9
Comment: "The Department of Health and Human Services will cancel contracts and pull funding for some vaccines that are being developed to fight respiratory viruses like COVID-19 and the flu."
"Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced in a statement Tuesday that 22 projects, totaling $500 million, to develop vaccines using mRNA technology will be halted."
The Guardian: Covid cases rising in US as officials plan to restrict booster vaccines
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/aug/05/us-covid-cases-rising
Trump announces he will chair White House taskforce for 2028 LA Olympics
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/aug/05/trump-taskforce-los-angeles-olympics
Video: DOGE savings are a fraction of what the department claims, CBS News analysis finds - August 5, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqlF5YD-heE
Trump’s agriculture secretary doubles down on suggestion people should work on farms to avoid losing Medicaid
https://share.newsbreak.com/eer2tunc
Politico: Trump teases new policy for migrant farm labor
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/05/trump-teases-new-policy-for-migrant-farm-labor-00493683
Prosecutor who negotiated Epstein's sweetheart deal left off subpoena list
https://www.axios.com/2025/08/05/jeffrey-epstein-files-alex-acosta-subpoena
Comment: "President Trump's former Labor Secretary Alex Acosta was not one of the former government officials subpoenaed Tuesday by the House Oversight Committee over the Jeffrey Epstein probe."
"Why it matters: As a federal prosecutor in 2008, Acosta approved a highly controversial non-prosecution agreement that allowed Epstein to serve minimal time in prison and shut down the federal investigation into his alleged sex trafficking ring."
"The sweetheart plea deal, which Acosta negotiated without consulting Epstein's victims, also shielded his alleged co-conspirators from future prosecution related to his sex crimes."
NBC News: House committee subpoenas the Clintons and several top former DOJ officials for testimony on Jeffrey Epstein
Comment: "The House Oversight Committee announced it had sent out the deposition subpoenas to the Clintons; former Attorneys General Loretta Lynch, Eric Holder, William Barr, Merrick Garland, Jeff Sessions and Alberto Gonzales; and former FBI Directors James Comey and Robert Mueller 'for testimony related to horrific crimes perpetrated by Jeffrey Epstein.' "
Comment: Do you notice that all the subpoenas went sent to either Democrats or to Republicans that have been critical of Donald Trump at some point? Do you notice who is not on the list? - Alex Acosta, the federal prosecutor who gave Epstein the sweetheart deal back in 2008 (and later became Trump's Labor Secretary) and, of course, Donald Trump himself.
Trump contorting justice department into his ‘personal weapon’, experts warn | Trump administration | The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/04/trump-justice-department
Comment: "Critics say DoJ has been ‘politicized like never before’ and the main job requirement is now ‘loyalty to Donald Trump’ "
Comment: "As Donald Trump's Department of Justice expands investigations of his foes and ousts dozens of lawyers and staff who worked on cases targeting himself and his allies, scholars and ex-prosecutors say the rule of law is under siege in the US as the department morphs into Trump’s 'personal weapon'."
"The justice department’s politicization to please Trump was underscored by an announcement on 23 July of a new 'strike force' to investigate unsubstantiated charges that ex-president Barack Obama and top officials conspired to hurt Trump’s 2016 campaign and his presidency with inquiries into Russian influence operations to help Trump win, say critics."
"The announcement came the day after Trump dodged queries from reporters about the justice department’s failure to produce long-promised files about the notorious sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, and pivoted to blast Obama without evidence for 'treason'. Trump’s conspiratorial charge echoed dubious claims by his national intelligence director, Tulsi Gabbard, who days before called for a justice department inquiry into a purported 'treasonous conspiracy'."
Analysis: Information is power, and Trump wants more control over it
https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/04/media/trump-bls-firing-media-control
Opinion: Trump’s broken pledges are stacking up to cartoonish heights
https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/5432719-trump-broken-promises-corruption/
Politico: Duffy to announce nuclear reactor on the moon
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/04/nasa-china-space-station-duffy-directives-00492172
Comment: On the moon, perhaps NASA can grow whatever Duffy is smoking. Is this how you want your taxes spent?
US reverses pledge to link disaster funds to Israel boycott stance
Comment: Original pledge to link the two was outrageous. The two issues are totally unrelated. Why should a potential Israeli boycott impact any domestic FEMA disaster funding. This smacks of extortion. No wonder, someone decided to reverse this ridiculous policy proposal.
Politico: Toppled Confederate statue will rise again in Washington
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/04/confederal-statue-reinstated-washington-00493394
Comment: "A bronze statue of a Confederate general that was torn off its pedestal in Washington’s Judiciary Square by demonstrators during the civil justice protests in 2020 will be restored and reinstalled, the National Park Service said Monday."
Comment: "But the National Park Service says it’s obligated to restore the Pike statue by executive orders issued by President Donald Trump, including one calling for 'restoring truth and sanity to American history' as under well federal preservation law."
Comment: Does it seem that Trump is trying to rewrite history that he doesn't like, while promoting history (like statues of Confederate generals) that he does approve of?
The Bulwark: MAGA Diehards Say Loomer is on Big Pharma’s Payroll
Comment: "FAR-RIGHT ACTIVIST LAURA LOOMER is more powerful than ever, wielding her 1.7 million-follower X feed like an internet-honed axe around Washington."
"The general counsel for the NSA? Fired after being targeted by Loomer. A Biden alumna with an appointment at West Point? Booted after Loomer criticized her as a holdover from the prior administration."
"But with that additional power has come some additional scrutiny. And bruised egos. Now some of Loomer’s erstwhile political allies are starting to wonder if there might be a hidden hand behind some of her most influential denunciations. Over the weekend, several prominent pro-Trump figures accused her of working on behalf of Big Pharma."
Comment: More chaos, confusion, and infighting in the Trump administration?
Justice Department's requests for voter data raise alarm in some states | AP News
Comment: "The requests have come in letters, emails and phone calls. The specifics vary, but the target is consistent: The U.S. Department of Justice is ramping up an effort to get voter data and other election information from the states."
"Over the past three months, the department’s voting section has requested copies of voter registration lists from state election administrators in at least 15 states, according to an Associated Press tally. Of those, nine are Democrats, five are Republicans and one is a bipartisan commission."
Comment: "The unusually expansive outreach has raised alarm among some election officials because states have the constitutional authority to run elections and federal law protects the sharing of individual data with the government."
Politico: DOJ is walking back the White House’s goal to arrest 3,000 immigrants per day
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/03/white-house-doj-immigration-quota-mismatch-00490406
Comment: "It’s another discrepancy between what White House advisers say and the administration’s legal posture."
Comment: "Stephen Miller was unequivocal: Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers would seek to arrest 3,000 or more immigrants per day, a staggering target that he said was necessary to carry out President Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda."
Comment: "But when federal judges pressed for details about that figure last week, the administration denied any such quota existed. The contradiction came in a lawsuit that alleged the intense pressure to rack up arrests had led ICE to conduct illegal sweeps in Los Angeles."
"It’s not the only case that has featured the 3,000-arrest-per-day target as a crucial piece of evidence that the administration’s single-minded drive to rack up arrests may have prompted immigration authorities to cut corners or break the law."
The Guardian: Trump administration denies daily quota for immigration arrests
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/03/trump-administration-daily-quota-immigration-arrests
Comment: "In a new court filing, attorneys for the Trump administration denied the existence of a daily quota for immigration arrests, despite reports and prior statements from White House officials about pursuing a goal of at least 3,000 deportations or deportation arrests per day."
Comment: Difficulty in keeping their stories straight?
ABC News: Larry Summers says Trump's accusations of manipulated jobs numbers are ‘preposterous’
Comment: "Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers called President Donald Trump's accusation without providing evidence that the top Bureau of Labor Statistics official manipulated jobs report numbers 'a preposterous charge' on Sunday."
"Speaking with 'This Week' anchor George Stephanopoulos, Summers said that one official would not be able to change the numbers."
" 'These numbers are put together by teams of literally hundreds of people following detailed procedures that are in manuals. There's no conceivable way that the head of the BLS could have manipulated this number,' Summers said."
"He added, 'The numbers are in line with what we're seeing from all kinds of private sector sources. This is the stuff of democracies giving way to authoritarianism. It — firing statisticians goes with threatening the heads of newspapers. It goes with launching assaults on universities. It goes with launching assaults on law firms that defend clients that the elected boss finds uncongenial. This is really scary stuff.' "
Axios: Trump's authoritarian streak
https://www.axios.com/2025/08/02/trump-authoritarian-jobs-report-bls-economy
Comment: "A five-alarm fire tore through the economic establishment Friday after President Trump ousted the government's top labor statistician, accusing her — without evidence — of 'rigging' a weak jobs report."
"Why it matters: It's just one glaring example from a week that bore many authoritarian hallmarks — purging dissenters, rewriting history, criminalizing opposition and demanding total institutional loyalty."
Comment: "The bottom line: Trump is only six months into his term, and he has already stretched the limits of executive power further than any modern president."
Video: Judge blocks Trump administration from closing sites that help at-risk kids - August 2, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sO4HJoIPYIQ
NBC News: Will health insurance pay for Covid vaccines this fall?
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/will-health-insurance-pay-covid-vaccines-fall-rcna222248
Comment: "HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has upended the way Covid vaccines are approved and for whom they're recommended, creating uncertainty around coverage."
AP News: AMA and other medical associations are kicked out of CDC vaccine workgroups
https://apnews.com/article/vaccine-committee-cdc-cfbdcab84b2a919a6131d471959c3431
Comment: "U.S. health officials have told more than a half-dozen of the nation’s top medical organizations that they will no longer help establish vaccination recommendations."
"The government told the organizations on Thursday via email that their experts are being disinvited from the workgroups that have been the backbone of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices."
theguardian.com: Trump fires labor statistics chief hours after data showed jobs growth slowed
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/01/trump-fires-erika-mcentarfer-labor-statistics
Comment: "US president accused of ‘firing the messenger’ as he makes claims without evidence about Erika McEntarfer"
Politico: Trump administration firings mount as staffers’ loyalty is called into question
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/01/trump-firings-loomer-00488070
Comment: More than a dozen high ranking officials across the administration have been forced to leave their jobs or had their nominations or promotions derailed in the first six months of Trump’s return to Washington. Nearly all of the ousters have come after individuals were targeted by outside allies who convinced the president that they weren’t sufficiently loyal. And in many of those cases, the axe came down after officials found themselves in the crosshairs of right-wing activist Laura Loomer."
"In an interview with POLITICO, Loomer said she is now fielding tips from administration officials about colleagues they want exiled amid what she called 'a serious vetting crisis,' predicting there are 'hundreds' more she expects to purge."
Smithsonian’s removal of Trump from impeachment exhibit draws fire
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5431820-smithsonian-donald-trump-impeachment-exhibit/
Comment: "The Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History removed an exhibit this month referencing President Trump’s two impeachments, according to the institution’s spokesperson — drawing fire from Democratic Party lawmakers."
"The decision, part of an internal content review the museum agreed to participate in, came after facing pressure from the Trump administration to axe its art museum director, according to The Washington Post, citing an unnamed source who was briefed on the matter."
Comment: "The change ignited criticism from some Democrats, who argued Trump wants the public to 'forget' about the impeachments."
Comment: "In late March, Trump penned an executive order directing the removal of 'divisive narratives' from the Smithsonian Institution that do not align with the White House’s vision to 'remind’ Americans 'of our extraordinary heritage.' ”
Federal judge will decide whether Trump ally Alina Habba can lead prosecutions in New Jersey - POLITICO
Comment: "U.S. District Judge Matthew Brann indicated Friday that he would delve into the thorny question following a series of unusual maneuvers by Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi to keep Habba in the role on a temporary basis. That prompted some criminal defendants to raise questions about Habba’s legitimacy."
CBS News: UCLA reports losing federal funding for research after DOJ accuses it of "antisemitism and bias"
Comment: Is this just an attack on higher education and scientific research in the guise of punishment of "antisemitism?" Is it attack on free speech against Israeli actions in Gaza or free speech against anti-Zionism, which is different from antisemitism?
Opinion: Trump’s mental decline is undeniable — so what now?
https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/5429516-trump-confabulation-dementia-signs/
Comment: "But what Trump is doing now is something different. Confabulation is sometimes called 'honest lying,' because the person doing it genuinely believes what he’s saying, even if it is obviously and patently false. A person confabulates when they are telling completely invented stories that don’t provide them any particular tangible benefit. In other words, it’s not like lying to try and get out of a speeding ticket."
Comment: "In older people, confabulation is one of the clearest early signs of dementia. The day you witness someone confabulate is often the day you are forced to admit to yourself that a beloved parent needs help, and that all the little slips and oddities you’ve been seeing can no longer be rationalized away."
"For Trump, the day we could no longer pretend everything is fine came on July 15, when he told a lengthy story about his uncle, John Trump, who he claimed taught at MIT and held three degrees in 'nuclear, chemical, and math.' His uncle, according to Trump, once told him how he had taught Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber, and how very smart Kaczynski was."
"Trump’s uncle was indeed a professor at MIT, but everything else in this story is pure confabulation. Trump’s uncle didn’t have degrees in 'nuclear, chemical, and math' — he had degrees in electrical engineering and physics. And Kaczynski did not go to MIT at all — he went to Harvard."
"But most telling of all, it is categorically impossible for Trump’s uncle to have told him any such story. Kaczynski became publicly known as the Unabomber when he was arrested in 1996. Trump’s uncle, the MIT professor, died in 1985. In other words, Trump’s uncle could not have told him the story because there was, literally, no story to tell during his lifetime."
"Once you have seen that Donald Trump is confabulating, it cannot be unseen — and all sorts of other mildly disturbing incidents suddenly fall into place."
FEMA plans to release nearly $1 billion in security funding after CNN report on proposal to slash it | CNN Politics
https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/01/politics/fema-plans-release-security-funding
Trump ally Jeffrey Clark should be disbarred over 2020 election effort, DC panel says
Comment: "Jeffrey Clark, the former Justice Department official who aided President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, should be stripped of his law license, a Washington disciplinary panel ruled on Thursday."
Comment: "The D.C. Board of Professional Responsibility’s recommendation will now go to the D.C. Court of Appeals for a final decision."
"Under the second Trump administration, Clark has been serving as acting head of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, a part of the Office of Management and Budget that is responsible for reviewing executive branch regulations."
White House Unveils $190,000 Armored Golf Cart for President Trump
https://share.newsbreak.com/ecoqr07c
Comment: This doesn't include the cost to transport it to Scotland.
Trump says he doesn't know why Epstein took young women from Mar-a-Lago - ABC News
Comment: "Virginia Giuffre's family wants to know what Trump knew about Epstein."
Comment: "Trump on Wednesday told reporters that Giuffre, who died by suicide in April, may have been one of several employees at his Mar-a-Lago club who were 'stolen' by Epstein."
USA Today: She’s inmate No. 02879-509 in Florida. But once again, Ghislaine Maxwell is holding court
Axios: The White House is pushing to embed crypto everywhere, from taxes to retirement
https://www.axios.com/2025/07/30/trump-stablecoin-taxes-crypto
Comment: "The White House is urging all elements of government to make sweeping changes as quickly as possible and enable a 'Golden Age' for the cryptocurrency industry."
Comment: "The push comes as the president's own family pushes deeper into the industry, profiting from an industry that's benefitted from Trump's support."
The Guardian: Antisemitism training designed by pro-Israel groups is becoming compulsory at US colleges. What’s in it?
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/30/northwestern-antisemitism-training-pro-israel-groups
Comment: "The video is part of a wave of controversial antisemitism trainings being implemented by universities across the US starting this school year, in response to Trump administration threats to pull funding for institutions that, in its view, fail to adequately address campus antisemitism. It is not clear how universities will enforce student participation. The Northwestern training was produced by the Jewish United Federation (JUF), a pro-Israel advocacy group, and it drew pushback from some students."
Comment: " '“We were shocked by the video … which directly vilifies the movement for rights for Palestinian people and non-Zionist Jews who stand against genocide,' Bez said. 'It explicitly requires students to adopt the position that there’s no room for anti-Zionism, and that all anti-Zionism is antisemitic.' ”
"The trainings’ opponents, many of them Jewish, say the material does little to protect Jews. They accuse the Trump administration of wielding often false claims of antisemitism for two ends – to cut funding for universities as the president wages a culture war on higher education, and to help rightwing pro-Israel groups silence legitimate criticism of Israel."
Analysis: Donald Trump’s long history of fake history | CNN Politics
https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/30/politics/fake-history-donald-trump
SFGATE: Trump admin quietly appoints national parks head with no experience
Comment: "A political appointee with no conservation experience now has a prominent role at the Department of the Interior"
Comment: "Lilly, a wealth manager and Army veteran from Houston, is the acting assistant secretary for fish, wildlife and parks for the Department of the Interior. That means Lilly is now in charge of the National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, despite a scant background in conservation or land management."
Comment: "Lilly’s professional background has primarily been in the financial services and investment banking industries, according to his board of trustees webpage for Southwestern University. He worked for Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs before founding Avalon Advisors in 2001, the 'largest privately owned wealth management firm in Texas,' according to the university. Lilly also served in the U.S. Army as a tank platoon leader, tank battalion staff officer and captain."
Video: Exclusive: Hegseth privately discussed potential run for Tennessee governor - July 30, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3h7SMMUw0CQ
Video: Hegseth discusses running for office in Tennessee, sources say - July 30, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNfYufUOaGo
‘I don’t care about Direct File’: IRS chief says agency plans to end free filing program
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/07/30/irs-chief-says-agency-plans-to-end-free-direct-file-program.html
Comment: "Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Bill Long said the agency will end its Direct File program after a limited pilot and one full filing season."
Comment: " 'You’ve heard of Direct File, that’s gone,' Long said. 'Big beautiful Billy wiped that out. I don’t care about Direct File. I care about direct audit.' ”
CNN: Army Secretary withdraws West Point job offer to former Biden official amid pressure from far-right activist
https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/30/politics/army-secretary-withdraws-west-point-job-offer
Comment: Why does activist Laura Loomer has so much influence with Donald Trump, especially with regard to military and national security staffing?
AP News: FDA vaccine chief leaving agency after less than 3 months
https://apnews.com/article/vinay-prasad-fda-vaccines-laura-loomer-83030ad6eb7651095e3c40444dd69f12
Comment: "The Food and Drug Administration’s polarizing vaccine chief is leaving the agency after a brief tenure that drew the ire of biotech executives, patient groups and conservative allies of President Donald Trump."
Video: Trump attacks GOP Sen. Grassley on Truth Social - July 30, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tBsRI2eBsc
Comment: Now Republicans are fighting amongst themselves.
Raging Trump Orders Top Republican to Stop Letting Democrats Laugh at Him
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/raging-trump-orders-top-republican-135354770.html
Comment: "Donald Trump has demanded that Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley scrap a 'ridiculous' tradition that allows home-state senators to block judicial nominees."
"The president posted that Democrats will exploit it to 'laugh' at Grassley and the Republicans."
"In a lengthy tirade on Truth Social, Trump urged Grassley to eliminate the so-called 'blue slip' custom, a decades-old Senate tradition that gives senators from a nominee’s home state the chance to object to federal judicial nominations."
Time Magazine: Exclusive: Top Trump Allies Preparing For Supreme Court Vacancy
https://time.com/7305987/donald-trump-supreme-court-justices/
Comment: "The discussions are in early stages and focus on finding a nominee in the mold of Samuel Alito, 75, and Clarence Thomas, 77, the two oldest justices, both of whom are considered stalwart conservative jurists who have taken narrow interpretations of the Constitutional text while backing an expansive view of Presidential power. Shortlists of judges are circulating among Trump allies as they debate who can be best trusted to stick with the Court's conservative wing during an appointment that could last decades."
" 'We are looking for people in the mold of Alito, Clarence Thomas and the late Scalia,' said a White House official familiar with the process, referring to Justice Antonin Scalia, who died in 2016. The official said it was 'premature' to say the White House was getting ready for a vacancy."
"Republicans currently control the Senate, which must confirm any nominee to the court. The party also controlled the Senate throughout Trump’s first term, allowing Trump to appoint three Justices—Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett— who were all well-regarded in conservative legal circles."
The New Republic: FBI Leaders Have “No Idea What They’re Doing,” Ex-Agent Warns
https://newrepublic.com/post/198562/fbi-kash-patel-dan-bongino-no-clue
Senate confirms Trump lawyer Emil Bove for appeals court, pushing past whistleblower claims
Comment: "The Senate confirmed former Trump lawyer Emil Bove 50-49 for a lifetime appointment as a federal appeals court judge Tuesday as Republicans dismissed whistleblower complaints about his conduct at the Justice Department."
"A former federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York, Bove was on Trump’s legal team during his New York hush money trial and defended Trump in the two federal criminal cases. He will serve on the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which hears cases from Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania."
"Democrats have vehemently opposed Bove’s nomination, citing his current position as a top Justice Department official and his role in the dismissal of the corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. They have also criticized his efforts to investigate department officials who were involved in the prosecutions of hundreds of Trump supporters who were involved in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol."
"Bove has accused FBI officials of 'insubordination' for refusing to hand over the names of agents who investigated the attack and ordered the firing of a group of prosecutors involved in those Jan. 6 criminal cases."
The Bulwark: All the President’s Mouthpieces - by Bill Lueders
Trump Has Spent a Third of His Presidency Visiting His Own Properties
NPR: Todd Blanche's past hangs over him as top DOJ official on Epstein case
https://www.npr.org/2025/07/29/nx-s1-5484129/todd-blanche-epstein-ghislaine-maxwell-trump
Comment: "This time last year, Todd Blanche was Donald Trump's personal attorney, defending him in the face of multiple criminal indictments. Now, Blanche is the No. 2 official in the Trump Justice Department and spearheading damage control over the administration's handling of the Jeffery Epstein files."
"Blanche met behind closed doors last week with longtime Epstein confidant Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for helping Epstein sexually abuse underage girls."
"While the interview is part of the Justice Department's efforts to tamp down the public fallout from the Epstein matter and the conspiracies it's fueled, Blanche's personal involvement is raising questions of its own."
Opinion: Trump and Bondi have degraded the once-proud Justice Department
Politico: NSA’s top lawyer ousted
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/07/29/nsas-top-lawyer-ousted-00482687
Comment: "The NSA’s top lawyer was removed from her role Friday, according to two people with direct knowledge of the move, just days after she came under fire in a conservative media outlet. "
"The removal of April Doss as general counsel at the powerful spy agency is the latest sign that the Trump administration is bent on ensuring officials across the sprawling U.S. intelligence community are sufficiently loyal to its agenda."
"It follows the publication of an investigation last week from the Daily Wire that characterized Doss as a “transparently partisan activist,” and as Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has ramped up her attacks on what Trump officials allege is rampant left-wing bias in the country’s spy ranks."
"The Daily Wire’s reporting gained significant traction on X, and was retweeted at one point by Laura Loomer, the right-wing activist."
CNN: The Labor Department has suddenly stopped funding a senior job training program
https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/29/economy/senior-job-training-funding-ends
CNN: Habba is confident she’ll be the top US attorney in New Jersey, but it’s chaos in the meantime
https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/29/politics/habba-justice-department-new-jersey-us-attorney
Axios: RFK Jr. targets vaccine makers' federal liability protections
https://www.axios.com/2025/07/28/rfk-jr-vaccines
Comment: "Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. took aim Monday at vaccine makers' federal liability protections."
"The big picture: Kennedy, who has repeatedly pushed the debunked idea that vaccines cause autism and in the past was involved in litigation over patient injury claims, has argued in the past that the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) takes away manufacturers' incentive to make vaccines safe."
Comment: "Weakening or removing liability protections for certain vaccines could be the thing that makes manufacturers contemplate leaving the market, experts say — or at least causes them to significantly raise prices, Axios' Caitlin Owens reports."
Politico: Pentagon thrown into confusion over think tank ban
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/07/28/pentagon-think-tank-ban-confusion-reaction-00480095
Comment: "A wide swath of Defense Department officials fear that new rules banning employees from participating at think tank and research events — a key way the Pentagon delivers its message and solicits feedback — will leave the military muzzled and further isolated from allies."
"The move, according to more than a dozen officials and think tank leaders, hampers the department’s ability to make its case both in Washington policy circles and to allies struggling to understand how they fit into President Donald Trump’s worldview. That’s particularly important now as the Pentagon assesses whether to end decades of U.S. policy and remove thousands of troops stationed abroad."
Comment: "The Pentagon said it made the move to avoid lending the department’s name to organizations and events that run counter to Trump’s values. But it caused chaos throughout the department, according to the officials, who like others, were granted anonymity to discuss internal dynamics. The decision came a week after Defense Department officials pulled out of the high-profile Aspen Security Forum citing 'the evil of globalism.' "
"The officials and experts warned cutting off employees’ access to such venues, which include major global conferences, gives the appearance of partisanship to the Pentagon, an institution intended as largely apolitical. The decision follows other seemingly political moves by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, including firing top generals and numerous admirals, and attacking the 'left-wing' media."
NPR: Do 'work requirements' in Medicaid work? Georgia’s been trying it for two years : Shots - Health News
Comment: "Now that Republicans' big tax-and-spending bill has become law, there will be new bureaucratic hurdles for millions of Americans who rely on Medicaid."
Comment: "That's why health advocates are concerned about other states having to set up their own systems, given Georgia's experience. They say the eligibility verification involves excessive red tape, leading to improper denials and loss of health coverage."
Comment: "Verification systems like Georgia's can be expensive to implement and run. In the two years since launching its program, Georgia has spent more than $91 million in state and federal funds, according to state data.
"More than $50 million of that was spent on building and operating the eligibility reporting system."
"Currently, 8,078 people are enrolled in Georgia as of June 30."
Comment: $91 million for 8,078 people?
Politico: Trump reiterates that he has the authority to pardon Ghislaine Maxwell
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/07/28/trump-ghislaine-maxwell-pardon-jeffrey-epstein-00479862
Comment: "President Donald Trump on Monday reiterated that he is 'allowed' to pardon Jeffrey Epstein’s co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell but told reporters that no one has asked him to issue one to her."
Comment: While not stating any position on a potential pardon, Trump's statement could be interpreted as a message to Maxwell that her fate is in Donald Trump's hands. It could be construed as a warning to Maxwell to refrain from making any statement, true or otherwise, that Trump does not approve of. Worse still, it could be an inducement for Maxwell to make untrue statements that she believes will please Trump or further his political agenda.
US to allow federal workers to promote religion in workplace
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/us-allow-federal-workers-promote-160920173.html
Comment: Do you think this will apply equally to Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, and others who aren't Judeo-Christians? How comfortable would you be if your boss promoted his religion or sect to you? Would you worry, if you disagreed or failed to respond favorably, that it might adversely impact your chance for promotion or advancement?
Trump memo allows federal workers to persuade coworkers their religion is ‘correct’
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/trump-memo-allows-federal-workers-181223494.html
Politico: Another Trump clash with the courts is already spinning out into criminal cases
Comment: "The clash between the Trump administration and the courts over who is leading the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Jersey is already spilling into criminal cases."
"A defense attorney is trying to get charges against his client thrown out by arguing the Trump administration illegally maneuvered to keep Alina Habba as the state’s top federal prosecutor, despite the expiration of her 120-day tenure. The defense filing, made on Sunday, comes after days of confusion over who is leading the office because of complex and contested rules over filling vacancies."
"In the motion, on behalf of a defendant in a drug and gun-related case, attorney Thomas Mirigliano said a workaround Trump officials found to keep Habba was 'irregular' and unconstitutional."
Alina Habba's legal authority as prosecutor challenged in criminal lawsuit
https://www.axios.com/2025/07/28/lawsuit-alina-habba-legal-authority-prosecutor
Comment: "A lawyer who is working on a criminal lawsuit in New Jersey seeks to dismiss the case by questioning Alina Habba's legitimacy to lead the U.S. attorney's office in the state."
"Why it matters: The lawsuit challenging Habba's legal authority underscores the effects of the Trump administration's unconventional approach of appointing officials who sometimes lack the background or the congressional support necessary to lead key offices."
The Bulwark: A Massive Health Care Shock Is Coming - by Jonathan Cohn
https://www.thebulwark.com/p/a-massive-health-care-shock-is-coming-aca-obamacare-assistance-cliff
Comment: "TWENTY-FIVE MILLION AMERICANS are about to pay more for their health care—in some cases, a lot more. And while Donald Trump and the Republicans could stop it from happening, so far they’ve shown no willingness to do so."
Comment: "For several years, they’ve benefited from a Biden-era program that made the Affordable Care Act’s financial assistance more generous, so that coverage became cheaper by hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars a year. During that time period, enrollment through the federal website HealthCare.gov and its state-run counterparts (like Covered California) surged to a record high. The number of Americans without insurance fell to a record low."
"But now that process could run in reverse, because the program is set to expire on December 31."
"Should that happen, more than 4 million people would become newly uninsured, the Congressional Budget Office predicts. Millions more would face a choice: dig deeper into their pockets to pay premiums or buy less generous policies, the kind that would leave them exposed to bigger out-of-pocket medical bills."
Video: Conway warns ICE agents: you have NO immunity - July 27, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nglJ9tKPvSA
OMB Director Vought Defends Withholding Of NIH Funds Despite Criticism From Republican Senators
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEnBAI7covs
Comment: What does Katie think about these comments, since she was one of those Republican Senators requesting release of the NIH funds? Will she stand up to Vought?
Video: OMB Director Vought Grilled On Big, Beautiful Bill's Impact On Deficit Spending And National Debt - July 27, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjEAZ-HUHg0
Comment: "Vought is a fast talker, but is he credible?
CNN: Another whistleblower claims that top DOJ official suggested department could ignore court orders
https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/27/politics/justice-department-official-second-whistleblower
Comment: In legal terminology, don't they call that corroboration?
NBC News: Ghislaine Maxwell's meetings with Justice Department shrouded in secrecy
The Daily Beast: DOGE Goons Use AI to Delete Hundreds of Federal Regulations
https://www.thedailybeast.com/doge-goons-use-ai-to-delete-hundreds-of-federal-regulations/
Comment: "The Department of Government Efficiency has deleted more than a thousand federal regulations using a new artificial intelligence tool."
"With limited human oversight, the “DOGE AI Deregulation Decision Tool” identifies regulations not required by law and drafts submissions for their removal, according to The Washington Post."
Comment: "There are legal questions about the extent to which Trump has the authority to unilaterally repeal federal regulations. However, the DOGE presentation also assures that the AI tool is 'vetted and endorsed by DOGE lawyers.' ”
Comment: "One unnamed staffer told the Post that the AI made several errors."
Comment: Is this even legal? If used illegally or improperly, couldn't this AI tool be used to gut proper federal regulations or manipulate them to satisfy the will of certain special interests, without the public even being aware? Do you trust the vetting of DOGE lawyers?
Hegseth’s ousting of female leaders may have ‘chilling effect’ at Pentagon
https://thehill.com/policy/defense/5421346-pentagon-reassigns-women-leadership/
Comment: "The unexplained removal of the first female head of the U.S. Naval Academy last week is the latest in a string of top military women who have either been fired or redelegated to largely invisible roles under the Trump administration."
Comment: "That trend, coupled with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's well-documented antipathy toward women in combat roles prior to becoming Pentagon chief, could have a chilling effect on women enlisting in the armed forces, experts say."
ICE Is Overplaying Its Hand. We’ve Seen It Happen Before. - POLITICO
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2025/07/26/ice-deportations-civil-war-history-00473752
Comment: A little historical perspective?
Gabbard and White House 'lying' about intel on Russian interference in 2016, ex-CIA official says
Comment: "The former senior CIA officer who helped oversee the 2017 intelligence assessment on Russia’s interference in the 2016 election says Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and the White House are 'lying' when they claim that it was an attempt to sabotage President Donald Trump."
"Susan Miller, a retired CIA officer who helped lead the team that produced the report about Russia’s actions during the 2016 campaign, told NBC News it was based on credible information that showed Moscow sought to help Trump win the election, but that there was no sign of a conspiracy between the Kremlin and the Trump campaign."
" 'The director of national intelligence and the White House are lying, again,' Miller said. 'We definitely had the intel to show with high probability that the specific goal of the Russians was to get Trump elected.' ”
Axios: Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell secures DOJ "limited" immunity: News reports
https://www.axios.com/2025/07/26/epstein-maxwell-limited-immunity-trump-doj
ABC News: Ghislaine Maxwell received limited immunity during meetings with deputy attorney general: Sources
https://abcnews.go.com/US/deputy-ag-blanche-set-meet-2nd-day-ghislaine/story?id=124064062
Comment: Includes Video.
Donald Trump administration to change visa, citizenship tests
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5421194-trump-administration-visas-citizenship-test/
Comment: "The new head of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said in an interview with The New York Times Thursday that the Trump administration will make changes to the visa system for skilled workers and look to make the test for U.S. citizenship more difficult."
Comment: Do you think we should impose a test to become a U.S. Senator, since Tommy Tuberville couldn't correctly identify the three branches of the federal government?
Exclusive: ‘A more vulnerable nation’: FEMA memos lay out risks of plan to cut $1B in disaster and security grants | CNN Politics
https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/25/politics/fema-propose-cuts-disaster-security-grants
NPR: Fearing coverage could change, some parents rush to vaccinate their kids : Shots - Health News
Comment: "The concern accelerated after the shake-up of a key Centers for Disease Control and Prevention vaccine advisory body in June, raising fears that millions of American families could soon have to pay out of pocket for shots now covered by their health insurance."
Comment: "Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime anti-vaccine activist, removed all 17 members of the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), the panel responsible for recommending which shots are included in the nation's adult and childhood immunization schedules."
Trump says he's considering rebate checks for Americans based on tariff revenue - CBS News
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-rebate-checks-tariff-revenue-debt/
Comment: "President Trump on Friday said he's considering issuing rebate checks for Americans based on the billions in new tariff revenue collected by his administration."
" '"We're thinking about a little rebate. But the big thing we want to do is pay down debt. But we're thinking about a rebate,' Mr. Trump said in comments to reporters before he left for a four-day visit to Scotland."
Comment: So after hitting working class and middle class consumers with, what is in practice, a massive sales tax (tariffs), Trump says he's considering giving a small portion back. Well how generous of him! [sarcasm added]. Tariffs are one of the most regressive taxes on the middle class, all to help pay for the income tax cuts for the very wealthy.
CNN: States, cities face loss of vaccination programs and staff after ‘baffling’ cuts to federal funding
https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/25/health/federal-immunization-funding-cuts
CNN: WSJ: Kennedy expected to dismiss expert panel on preventive care
https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/25/health/kennedy-uspstf-hhs
What to know about civil commitment, Trump's new policy for homelessness
https://www.axios.com/2025/07/25/civil-commitment-trumps-homelessness-policy
Comment: "President Trump's new executive order to combat homelessness encourages local governments to revive civil commitment, a process to place people with mental health issues in treatment facilities without their consent."
"Why it matters: Involuntary civil commitment has historically been used as a preventative method to confine people before they harm themselves or others, and most frequently affects vulnerable groups such as LGBTQ+, people of color and people with disabilities, according to several studies."
"Context: The order Trump signed Thursday calls for shifting homeless individuals into 'long-term' institutions for 'humane treatment' which the administration says will 'restore public order.' "
"The other side: Critics say the order won't help people afford homes and that previous attempts at mass institutionalization frequently violated Fourteenth Amendment due process rights."
Comment: Although Trump's current actions don't go this far, looking at the potential for possible future abuse, don't authoritarian regimes institutionalize political opponents in mental institutions?
ABC News: Epstein's estate has his 50th birthday book, victims' lawyer says
https://abcnews.go.com/US/epsteins-estate-50th-birthday-book-victims-lawyer/story?id=124051882
Comment: "A prominent lawyer who has represented hundreds of Jeffrey Epstein's victims is calling on Congress to subpoena the disgraced financier's estate for a copy of an alleged birthday book that the Wall Street Journal reported contains a "bawdy" letter from Donald Trump."
Comment: Although any verification that Trump sent the "bawdy" birthday book letter would not prove his participation in or prior knowledge of illegal sexual activity with underage girls, it would clearly illustrate that Trump lied to the American people about sending the letter. American's might then wonder why he lied.
Trump EPA aims to repeal vehicle emission rules after revoking greenhouse gas endangerment finding | Reuters
Comment: "The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency plans to repeal all greenhouse gas emission standards for light-duty, medium-duty, and heavy-duty vehicles and engines in the coming days after it removes the scientific finding that justified those rules, according to a summary of the proposal."
"In a draft of a summary of the forthcoming proposal, seen by Reuters, the agency is expected to say that the Clean Air Act does not authorize the EPA to impose emission standards to address global climate change concerns and will rescind the finding that GHG emissions from new motor vehicles and engines endanger public health or welfare."
Comment: Wonder if Trump will change his mind when a global warming induced category 5 hurricane swamps Mar-a-lago?
Video: Watch 'Seems To Have No Concept Of Ethics At All': Dem Senator Lays Smackdown On Jeanine Pirro on YouTube - July 24, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_tWXG_NUVo
White House’s novel maneuver to keep Trump ally in place as New Jersey’s top prosecutor
https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2025/07/24/politics/trump-administration-battle-install-us-attorneys
Comment: "Alina Habba, the Trump-appointed interim US attorney for New Jersey, resigned from her post on Thursday in an effort to keep it, after district judges for the state booted her from the job."
"Habba, a former personal attorney for Trump and campaign spokesperson, said she will now be appointed as the 'acting' US attorney for New Jersey. Habba’s time as interim US attorney was due to expire on Friday."
"The move, according to one source familiar with the strategy, will prevent Habba’s term from expiring and nullify an effort by the state’s federal judges to name her replacement, leading to a simmering standoff between the administration and New Jerseys’ judges."
Politico: Pentagon suspends participation in think tank events
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/07/24/pentagon-think-tank-events-ban-00473621
Comment: "The Pentagon has suspended participation in all think tank and research events until further notice, according to an email sent Thursday to staff and obtained by POLITICO, a major shift in engagement from the country’s largest federal agency."
"The decision comes a week after the Defense Department pulled out of the high-profile Aspen Security Forum citing 'the evil of globalism' and indicating the event did not align with the Trump administration’s defense policies."
Comment: "The Pentagon’s public affairs office is also reviewing the agency’s participation in other top security conferences, according to the email."
Comment: "The move would sideline the Pentagon from national security dialogues that it has used for decades to advance its policy and explain the department’s rationale."
Comment: Does this sound to you like the Trump administration is abandoning its global defense leadership role, is trying to alienate our allies, and is creating a leadership vacuum for our adversaries to exploit.
ABC News: Ghislaine Maxwell engaged in 'significant pattern of dishonest conduct,' DOJ said in 2022
Comment: "Ghislaine Maxwell engaged in a 'significant pattern of dishonest conduct,' enabled and participated in the abuse of multiple teenage girls, and failed to take responsibility for her crimes."
"That was the assessment of the federal prosecutors who brought a criminal case against the longtime associate of Jeffery Epstein and sent her to prison for 20 years."
"Now, three years later -- and amid the ongoing controversy surrounding the Trump administration's handling of the Epstein files -- the Department of Justice has decided to approach Maxwell, 63, to purportedly learn more about her knowledge of whether Epstein's sex trafficking extended to people other than himself."
Comment: Do you think that Ghislaine Maxwell will falsely attack anyone, or falsely exonerate anyone, or falsely say anything, in an attempt to reduce her prison sentence?
Video: Pentagon insists Hegseth didn't share classified information in Signal chat, contradicting watchdog - July 24, 2024
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4-2Zq_Jg2g
Comment: Watch the video, and determine if the evidence backs up the latest Pentagon statement or if the watchdog position is correct, that Hegseth divulged classified information during the Signal chat.
CNN: Pentagon watchdog has evidence Hegseth’s Signal messages included classified information, sources say
https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/23/politics/pentagon-watchdog-evidence-hegseth-signal-messages
Video: Lisa Rubin: 'It takes my breath away' that DOJ is meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell - July 23, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csExci2LoAQ
Mother Jones: The Plot Against Vaccines
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/07/the-plot-against-vaccines/
Comment: "Almost 50 years ago, a similar courthouse crush had prompted Congress to set up the specialized vaccine court to ensure lifesaving shots taken by millions would always be available despite any legal liabilities. Its success is why HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the broader anti-vaccine movement have moved to kill it off."
Government Executive: Russ Vought bills CFPB $5M for his security detail
https://www.govexec.com/management/2025/07/russ-vought-bills-cfpb-5m-his-security-detail/406928/
Comment: "The expense comes as the consumer-protection agency's budget is slashed nearly in half.
The Daily Beast: Pentagon Whistleblowers to Call for ‘Unfit’ Pete Hegseth’s Removal
Comment: "Since May, a group of Department of Defense (DOD) personnel, made up of officials from every branch save the Coast Guard, has quietly circulated drafts of a letter letting 'the American public know this guy has no clue what he’s doing,' as one of those staff members put it to the Daily Mail Wednesday."
"Three officials described the letter’s complaints about politicized managerial decisions, dysfunction across multiple divisions, poor morale among both military and civilian staff, and an atmosphere of paranoia fostered by Hegseth’s alleged drive to stamp out dissent and plug leaks in the department."
"An additional point of discontent has been Hegseth’s emphasis on optics, including his installation of a makeup studio at DOD headquarters and regular photo ops of himself working out with troops."
vox.com: The absurd fight over Trump’s MAGA prosecutor in New Jersey, explained
https://www.vox.com/criminal-justice/420816/alina-habba-new-jersey-donald-trump-us-attorney
American Civil Liberties Union: Surveillance Company Flock Now Using AI to Report Us to Police if it Thinks Our Movement Patterns Are “Suspicious”
Comment: "The police surveillance company Flock has built an enormous nationwide license plate tracking system, which streams records of Americans’ comings and goings into a private national database that it makes available to police officers around the country. The system allows police to search the nationwide movement records of any vehicle that comes to their attention. That’s bad enough on its own, but the company is also now apparently analyzing our driving patterns to determine if we’re 'suspicious.' That means if your police start using Flock, they could target you just because some algorithm has decided your movement patterns suggest criminality."
Reuters: US-funded contraceptives for poor nations to be burned in France, sources say
Comment: "U.S.-funded contraceptives worth nearly $10 million are being sent to France from Belgium to be incinerated, after Washington rejected offers from the United Nations and family planning organisations to buy or ship the supplies to poor nations, two sources told Reuters."
"The supplies have been stuck for months in a warehouse in Geel, a city in the Belgian province of Antwerp, following President Donald Trump's decision to freeze U.S. foreign aid in January."
Comment: "The U.S. government will spend $160,000 to incinerate the stocks at a facility in France that handles medical waste, according to four of the sources with knowledge of the matter, following Trump's decision to shut down the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)."
Comment: Does that sound like government efficiency to you?
The Guardian: ‘Disgraceful step backward’: USDA ends support for Black farmers, saying it ‘sufficiently’ handled discrimination
Comment: "Earlier this month, the agency announced that it’s eliminating the term 'socially disadvantaged', which describes farmers or ranchers who had been subjected to racial, ethnic or gender discrimination. It includes Black, Hispanic, Native American, and Asian groups."
Comment: "The department adopted the language in the 1990 Farm Bill to deliver resources to minority farmers, including through the 2501 Program – an initiative that requires the USDA to ensure that historically underserved farmers have access to grants and other resources."
Comment: "Shontel Brown, an Ohio Democratic representative who is a vice-ranking member on the House committee on agriculture, said this is 'Trump’s resegregation agenda'. Brown said the rule isn’t about fairness, but stripping the tools to help level the playing field."
" 'It’s no secret that the department has a long history of locking out and leaving behind Black, brown, and Indigenous farmers,' Brown wrote in a statement. 'Now, this administration is taking a deliberate and disgraceful step backward on the path to attempt to right the historic wrongs. The ‘socially disadvantaged’ designation was a long overdue recognition of the barriers to land, credit and opportunity that farmers of color have faced for generations.' ”
"Shomari Figures, a Democratic representative of Alabama who also serves on the House committee on agriculture, said that instead of reversing this rule, the administration should compensate Black farmers impacted by the USDA’s past actions."
" 'It’s no secret that Black farmers were economically disadvantaged by the past intentional discrimination by USDA,' Figures said in a statement. 'I believe this administration should take every opportunity to … implement criteria that ensure that Black farmers are not subjected to such treatment in the future.' ”
Politico: White House eying education cuts for next funding clawback package
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/07/22/white-house-education-cuts-clawback-package-00468856
Comment: "The White House intends to send Capitol Hill a second request to claw back congressionally-approved funding — this time targeting the Department of Education, according to a White House aide granted anonymity to share plans not yet made public."
NBC News: Obama pushes back on Trump's 'outrageous' and 'bizarre' treason claim
Comment: "Former President Barack Obama's office issued a rare rebuke of President Donald Trump on Tuesday after the president accused his predecessor of having committed 'treason' and rigging the 2016 and 2020 elections."
" '"Out of respect for the office of the presidency, our office does not normally dignify the constant nonsense and misinformation flowing out of this White House with a response,' Obama spokesperson Patrick Rodenbush said. 'But these claims are outrageous enough to merit one. These bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction.' "
Comment: "House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar of California told NBC News on Monday that 'it’s all a distraction.' "
" '[T]hey’ll release anything if it buys them another day or two to not talk about Epstein or to get the angry mob to talk about Epstein,' Aguilar said."
ABC News: Trump accuses Obama of 'treason' in the Oval Office
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-accuses-obama-treason-oval-office/story?id=123963917
Comment: "Days after President Donald Trump posted an AI-generated fake video showing former President Barack Obama's arrest on his social media platform, the current president pushed conspiracy theories about Obama in the Oval Office on Tuesday, accusing him of treason without providing evidence regarding the 2016 presidential election."
Trump's intelligence chiefs try to rewrite the history of the 2016 election
Comment: "Five years ago, Marco Rubio said that there was 'irrefutable evidence of Russian meddling.' Now, Tulsi Gabbard says that claim is 'treasonous' and should be criminally investigated."
Comment: "President Donald Trump’s intelligence chiefs are conducting a systematic campaign to rewrite the history of the 2016 election, seeking to reverse an eight-year-old assessment that Russia waged an information war to boost Trump’s candidacy."
Comment: "On Monday, Fox News reported that Gabbard’s office made a criminal referral to the Justice Department related to the 2017 intelligence assessment of Russia’s role in the 2016 election, without specifying the nature of the referral."
"In an apparent reference to the report, Trump posted online a fake video generated by artificial intelligence of former President Barack Obama being led out of the Oval Office by police." [emphasis added]
Comment: How many times are Republicans going to investigate this phony narrative for the purposes of political distraction from more critical issues? How many more fake AI videos will Trump post?
AP News: Trump's Labor Department proposes more than 60 rule changes in a push to deregulate workplaces
Comment: "The U.S. Department of Labor is aiming to rewrite or repeal more than 60 “obsolete” workplace regulations, ranging from minimum wage requirements for home health care workers and people with disabilities to standards governing exposure to harmful substances."
'If approved, the wide-ranging changes unveiled this month also would affect working conditions at constructions sites and in mines, and limit the government’s ability to penalize employers if workers are injured or killed while engaging in inherently risky activities such as movie stunts or animal training."
Comment: "Critics say the proposals would put workers at greater risk of harm, with women and members of minority groups bearing a disproportionate impact."
Comment: Did you vote for this? Do you think work safety regulations are "obsolete"?
Reuters: Trump says Fed's Powell will be out in 8 months, calls him a 'numbskull'
Comment: "U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is a 'numbskull' who has kept interest rates too high, but he will be out in eight months, President Donald Trump said at a news conference on Tuesday."
" 'I think he's done a bad job, but he's going to be out pretty soon anyway. In eight months, he'll be out,' he said from a meeting at the White House with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr."
"Powell's term as Fed chair runs through May 15, and he has repeatedly said he will not leave the post early. Eight months would mean Powell would remain in place until mid-March; it was not immediately clear why Trump picked that time frame."
Comment: Could the reason be that Trump is not bright enough to realize that mid-May 2026 is 10 months away, not 8 months? Should Trump be calling anyone else a 'numbskull'?
Politico: DOJ reaches out to Ghislaine Maxwell’s attorneys, expects a meeting with her
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/07/22/doj-ghislaine-maxwell-epstein-00466730
Comment: "The Justice Department is seeking to meet with Ghislaine Maxwell, the co-conspirator of Jeffrey Epstein, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Tuesday."
"Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year federal prison sentence for child sex trafficking and other crimes."
"The move comes as the Trump administration faces pressure from both its MAGA base and Democrats to release more Epstein-related files and unearth new evidence in the case of the deceased financier. For years, far-right influencers, sometimes encouraged by President Donald Trump himself, have spread conspiracy theories that prominent politicians and other public figures were involved in Epstein’s crimes."
"But Trump has faced growing discontent from his own supporters in recent weeks over the handling of the Epstein situation after a joint DOJ-FBI report said in early July that there was no further evidence to release. The sudden decision to seek a meeting with Maxwell appears designed to appease Trump’s base."
"It also raises the question of whether Maxwell may try to leverage the meeting for a reduced prison sentence by telling the Justice Department what it wants to hear. Maxwell was convicted in 2021 for child sex trafficking and other crimes." [emphasis added]
Appeals court declines to remove Trump’s limits on AP White House access
https://thehill.com/homenews/media/5414069-appeals-court-ap-white-house-ban/
CNN: DOJ fires newly appointed US attorney in NJ after judges vote against keeping Alina Habba in role
https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/22/politics/alina-habba-judges-us-attorney
Bondi says federal judges’ pick for New Jersey’s top prosecutor has been ‘removed’
Comment: "Hours after federal judges replaced Alina Habba as New Jersey’s top federal prosecutor on Tuesday, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that she was firing their pick to replace her."
"Buried in a dispute over arcane powers of appointment is a constitutional and political showdown between a group of New Jersey district court judges, most of them nominated by Democratic presidents, and the Trump administration."
"Bondi said she was firing Desiree Leigh Grace from her job as first assistant U.S. attorney. The judges appointed Grace to replace Habba after Habba’s 120-day interim post expires this week."
Comment: "A DOJ official, granted anonymity to describe a personnel decision, confirmed that Grace had been fired entirely from the department."
"But the attorney general’s move does not clear up whether Grace will become U.S. attorney after Habba leaves on Friday. Judges have the power to select an appointee from outside the department. Not everyone agrees that Bondi could fire Grace when she becomes the interim U.S. attorney."
Comment: What happens on Friday when Habba's 120 days runs out? Will Grace become interim U.S. Attorney, or will Bondi try to fire her again? Stay tuned to this real life soap opera, sponsored by the Trump administration.
New Jersey Globe: N.J. federal judges decline to retain Alina Habba, pick Desiree Grace
Comment: "The U.S. District Court judges from New Jersey rejected President Donald Trump’s pick for U.S. Attorney and voted against retaining Alina Habba during a meeting on Monday, and have selected Desiree Grace, Habba’s first assistant, to replace her, the New Jersey Globe has learned."
Comment: "Habba reaches the maximum 120-day limit to serve as interim U.S. Attorney at 11:59 PM on Friday, and needed either a vote of the U.S. Senate to confirm her nomination or the support of the state’s federal judges to continue."
Comment: "Once the federal judges pick someone, they can remain in office until the U.S. Senate confirms another nominee. U.S. Attorney General Bondi lacks the legal authority to fire the judges’ choice, but Trump could do so directly."
Comment: "Habba’s nomination has stalled in the U.S. Senate, where Democrats Cory Booker and Andy Kim have said they won't sign off on her. Both Booker and Kim, however, reacted positively to the news that Grace had been appointed to the role."
Alina Habba Makes 'Emotional' Move After Shattering Morale In U.S. Attorney's Office, Sources Tell NYT
https://www.yahoo.com/news/alina-habba-makes-emotional-move-123224403.html
Comment: "The New York Times reported Sunday that Alina Habba, appointed by President Donald Trump as the interim U.S. attorney for the district of New Jersey, has 'shattered morale' to the point that many prosecutors are looking to leave."
"But Habba might beat them out the door."
"With Senate confirmation for a full term appearing 'unlikely' and district judges reviewing a possible extension, Habba already has said goodbye, the Times reported."
"Trump’s former defense attorney admitted in a staff meeting last week that she 'was unlikely to be appointed by the judges and offered an emotional, pre-emptive farewell,' according to NYT."
"That would mean her tenure could end Tuesday."
Bondi Takes Revenge on Family of Man Who Created Anti-ICE App
https://www.yahoo.com/news/bondi-takes-revenge-family-man-180841002.html
Comment: "Pam Bondi’s Justice Department has fired the wife of the man who developed a controversial 'anti-ICE' warning system after far-right influencer Laura Loomer attacked her on X, the Daily Beast can disclose."
"Carolyn Feinstein, who is married to ICEBlock developer Joshua Aaron, had served as a forensic accountant at the DOJ’s Office of the U.S. Trustee for almost a decade. On Friday she received an email from the department informing her that her position would be terminated."
CNN: FEMA search and rescue chief resigns after frustration with Texas flood response
https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/21/politics/fema-search-and-rescue-chief-resigns
Video: Nearly two-thirds of Americans disapprove of how Trump is handling inflation, poll finds - July 21, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0XzLxoeQms
theguardian.com: Trump bans Wall Street Journal from Scotland trip press pool over Epstein report
Comment: "A Wall Street Journal reporter was kicked out of Donald Trump’s press pool for his upcoming weekend trip to Scotland. The removal marked increased retaliation after the newspaper published an article alleging the US president sent Jeffrey Epstein a 50th birthday letter that included a drawing of a naked woman. The US president promptly sued the paper for $10bn."
" 'As the appeals court confirmed, the Wall Street Journal or any other news outlet are not guaranteed special access to cover President Trump in the Oval Office, aboard Air Force One, and in his private workspaces,' said the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, in a statement."
Comment: " 'This attempt by the White House to punish a media outlet whose coverage it does not like is deeply troubling, and it defies the First Amendment. Government retaliation against news outlets based on the content of their reporting should concern all who value free speech and an independent media,' Jiang wrote in a statement to The Guardian US."
Video: Most Americans now say that President Trump's deportation policy has gone too far - July 20, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKPH17lT6-A
A disaster for all of us’: US scientists describe impact of Trump cuts
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/20/science-trump-funding-cuts-layoffs
Comment: "Donald Trump's assault on science – but particularly climate science – has led to unprecedented funding cuts and staff layoffs across federally funded agencies and programs, threatening to derail research tackling the most pressing issues facing Americans and humanity more broadly. A generation of scientific talent is also on the brink of being lost, with unprecedented political interference at what were previously evidence-driven agencies jeopardizing the future of US industries and economic growth."
"Johnson was among scores of scientists conducting vital research across a range of fields from infectious diseases, robotics, education, computer science and the climate crisis, who responded to a Guardian online callout to share their experiences about the impact of the Trump administration’s cuts to science funding."
Trump is chiseling away at the power of a compliant Congress | AP News
Comment: "But the imagery also underscored a symbolic transfer of political power, from Capitol Hill to the White House as a compliant Congress is ceding more and more of its prerogative to the presidency."
Comment: "Since Trump's return to the White House in January, and particularly in the past few weeks, Republicans in control of the House and Senate have shown an unusual willingness to give the president of their party what he wants, regardless of the potential risk to themselves, their constituents and Congress itself."
NPR: The USDA wants states to hand over food stamp data by the end of July
https://www.npr.org/2025/07/19/nx-s1-5471553/usda-snap-privacy-lawsuit
Comment: "The U.S. Department of Agriculture has made an unprecedented demand to states to share the personal information of tens of millions of federal food assistance recipients by July 30, as a federal lawsuit seeks to postpone the data collection."
"USDA is requiring states turn over identifying information on all SNAP recipients and applicants since 2020, 'including but not limited to' names, dates of birth, addresses and Social Security numbers, as well as the dollar amount each recipient received over time. States that do not comply with USDA's data demand could lose funds."
Comment: Despite the obvious personal privacy issues, how much will this new data collection and reporting requirements cost state governments?
Health experts raise alarm over RFK Jr’s ‘war on science’ amid mass firings and budget cuts | Robert F Kennedy Jr | The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/19/rfk-jr-science-research-cuts
Comment: "The Trump administration’s 'war on science' appears to have entered a new phase in the aftermath of a recent supreme court decision that empowered health and human services secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, a prominent vaccine sceptic, and other agency leaders, to implement mass firings – effectively greenlighting the politicization of science."
"The decision comes as Kennedy abruptly canceled a scheduled meeting of a key health care advisory panel, the US Preventive Services Task Force, earlier this month. That, combined with his recent removal of a panel of more than a dozen vaccine advisers, signals that his dismantling of the science-based policymaking at HHS is likely far from over."
Unraveling the legal, economic and market ramifications if Trump tries to fire Fed Chair Powell
Russ Vought is making DOGE dreams come true
https://www.axios.com/2025/07/18/russ-vought-doge-elon-musk-recissions
Comment: "Elon Musk may be gone from the White House, but there's someone far more effective now firming up DOGE's legacy: Russell Vought."
"Why it matters: The director of the Office of Management and Budget is helping make DOGE's dreams come through — by clawing back $9 billion in federal funding for the Public Broadcasting Service, National Public Radio and foreign aid".
NPR: ACA health insurance will cost the average person 75% more next year, research shows
Comment: "This year, instead of talking about rising drug costs or hospital charges, insurance companies were talking about federal policy, Cox says. 'Pretty much every insurance company is talking about the expiration of enhanced premium tax credits in the ACA markets.' "
Trump files libel lawsuit over Wall Street Journal report on Jeffrey Epstein’s birthday letters | CNN Politics
https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/18/politics/trump-wall-street-journal-jeffrey-epstein
The Guardian: Trump sues Wall Street Journal and Rupert Murdoch over Epstein report
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/18/trump-libel-lawsuit-wsj-dow-jones-rupert-murdoch
Comment: "Donald Trump has sued Rupert Murdoch and two Wall Street Journal newspaper reporters for libel and slander over claims that he sent the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein a lewd letter and sketch of a naked woman."
Comment: "It came after the Journal reported on a 50th birthday greeting that Trump allegedly sent to Epstein in 2003 that included a sexually suggestive drawing and reference to secrets they shared."
The Guardian: Trump vs Murdoch: why the Wall Street Journal isn’t toeing the line
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2025/jul/18/murdoch-trump-epstein-wsj-analysis
Video: Trump loses track of the details of his own family and presidency - July 18, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epoCYthIwO8
Comment: Do you think Trump is as crazy as he sounds?
ABC News - Breaking News, Latest News and Videos: Why the White House is attacking Jerome Powell over the ‘Taj Mahal on the National Mall’
Comment: "Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is under fire from the White House, which accuses him of bungling a yearslong renovation of the Fed's headquarters and has suggested that it could be cause to fire him."
Comment: "Trump is empowered to fire the Fed chair for 'cause,' which could explain the new focus on this project by the White House -- and the suggestion that Powell misled Congress under oath about its cost -- even as Trump continues to criticize Powell over interest rates."
"The Supreme Court in May gave the Trump administration a green light to fire the heads of two independent labor boards but drew a distinction between those and the Fed, which it called 'a uniquely structured, quasi-private entity.' "
Comment: "The White House has accused Powell of allowing the project's cost to rise to $2.5 billion, several hundred million dollars more than the previously projected $2.1 billion. In his letter to the Senate, Powell said the costs have increased over time for various reasons: 'These factors include differences over time between original estimates and actual costs of materials, equipment, and labor, and unforeseen conditions in the properties, such as more asbestos than anticipated, toxic contamination in the soil, and a higher-than expected water table.' "
Comment: " 'This is all a pretext to motivate the actual reason for seeking Powell's removal. President Trump wants interest rates to be lower because he believes lower interest rates will favor him personally and politically. He has lashed out in so many different ways, not only in this term but in his previous administration, at Powell and the Fed more broadly,' Conti-Brown added."
Mother Jones: Labor Department Moves to End Disability Hiring Goal for Federal Contractors
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/07/labor-department-disability-hiring-federal-rule/
Social Security 2026 COLA estimated at 2.7%, but much of it will go to Medicare Part B
Comment: "A cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, is meant to help Americans keep up with inflation so they can maintain their standard of living year to year. But the hikes are falling short, especially when Medicare premiums, alone, are rising at a faster clip, seniors say. That happened in 2025 and is set to do so again next year."
Reuters: US health department hands over Medicaid personal data to ICE
Axios: Millions of Americans now face a devastating one-two punch on health care
https://www.axios.com/2025/07/17/health-care-debt-credit-scores
Comment: "The Trump administration last week got a federal court to toss a Biden-era rule that would have removed medical debt from people's credit reports."
"At the same time, cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act in the 'big, beautiful bill' will likely mean people pay more for health care."
"The big picture: That means a single medical setback — hospitalization, broken bone, or worse — could crater people's credit scores, if it leads to unpaid bills that wind up in collection."
RFK Jr. Wants to Change a Program That Stopped Vaccine Makers From Leaving the U.S. Market. They Could Flee Again.
https://www.propublica.org/article/rfk-childhood-vaccines-vicp
Comment: "In his crosshairs is the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, a system designed to provide fair and quick payouts for people who suffer rare but serious side effects from shots — without having to prove that drugmakers were negligent. Congress created the program in the 1980s when lawsuits drove vaccine makers from the market. A special tax on immunizations funds the awards, and manufacturers benefit from legal protections that make it harder to win big-money verdicts against them in civil courts."
WSJ says Trump wrote racy birthday letter to Epstein. The president says it never happened.
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/07/17/trump-epstein-wall-street-journal-00461787
Comment: "The report comes amid heightened scrutiny of his relationship with the accused sex trafficker."
Comment: Whether the letter is real or not, don't you think the level of Trump administration chaos is troublesome?
The Guardian: Trump supporters burn Maga hats after he dismisses Epstein files furor as ‘hoax’
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/17/trump-jeffrey-epstein-republicans-maga
Comment: Do you think Trump has created a MAGA monster that he can no longer control?
NBC News: Maurene Comey urges DOJ colleagues to stand up to 'abuses of power' in memo after her firing
Comment: "A day after she was fired as an assistant U.S. attorney, Maurene Comey — the daughter of former FBI Director James Comey — urged her colleagues Thursday not to let fear of retribution 'seep into' their decisions and to fight back against 'abuses of power.' "
Comment: "Comey said that she was not given a reason and that her termination was done via a memo."
RFK Jr. fires top aides in HHS shakeup | CNN
https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/16/health/rfk-hhs-aides-fired
Comment: More chaos in the Trump administration?
Video: Delay in grant money for program that helped reduce opioid overdose deaths - July 16, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuUmwUVmNp0
RFK Jr. suggests psychedelic therapy for depression and trauma has Trump administration’s support | PBS News
Comment: "For decades, proponents of psychedelic drugs have come to Washington with a provocative message: Illegal, mind-altering substances like LSD and ecstasy should be approved for Americans grappling with depression, trauma and other hard-to-treat conditions."
"A presidential administration finally seems to agree."
Comment: Although the article makes a reasonable argument for psychedelic drug treatment, do you think that RFK Jr's personal experience with illegal drugs, including heroin, played a factor in his promotion of this therapy?
Why over 900 former DOJ lawyers banded together to oppose Emil Bove’s nomination
Comment: "Well over 300 federal, Article III judges across the country are former federal prosecutors. They have been nominated by Democratic and Republican presidents in larger numbers than any other group of lawyers. And yet I cannot recall such fierce and widespread opposition to a former prosecutor’s nomination — not just from a range of ideological backgrounds, not just from the legal community generally, but from more than 900 former Justice Department attorneys and former judges — until the nomination of Emil Bove."
Comment: "Since his nomination, former federal prosecutors and judges have been ringing alarm bells with rare intensity and in great numbers opposing his nomination. Why? The short answer: Bove has demonstrated a total disregard for the high ethical standards to which most federal prosecutors hold themselves, and, perhaps worse, he has shown a complete disregard for other lawyers who refuse to do the same."
CNN: Maurene Comey, federal prosecutor in Epstein case, fired from US attorney’s office
https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/16/politics/maurene-comey-fired-sdny
Politico: Maurene Comey, daughter of James Comey and prosecutor of Jeffrey Epstein, is fired
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/07/16/maurene-comey-fired-doj-00458921
Comment: "Maurene Comey, who prosecuted Jeffrey Epstein and is former FBI Director James Comey’s daughter, was fired Wednesday from her job in the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office, according to two people familiar with the matter who were granted anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly."
Comment: "Comey, who had worked in the U.S. attorney’s office for nearly a decade, prosecuted both Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell."
"In recent weeks, President Donald Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi have faced a firestorm of criticism over their decision not to release additional files related to Epstein, the disgraced financier who was accused of running a child sex trafficking ring. Prosecutors in the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office, including Comey, charged Epstein in 2019 with sex trafficking of minors. He died by suicide in jail while awaiting trial on those charges."
Comment: "Comey’s firing also comes as the Trump administration is reportedly investigating her father, whom Trump has long reviled. The investigations apparently relate to James Comey’s role in the probe of links between Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russia, as well as a recent Instagram post by James Comey that Trump allies saw as threatening to Trump."
"And in recent months, Maurene Comey has been the target of renewed attacks by voices in Trump’s right-wing base, including Laura Loomer, who called on Bondi to fire her in May. More recently, Loomer has been leading the MAGA base's outcry over the Justice Department’s decision not to release further Epstein-related documents."
Comment: The vengeance purges at the Justice Department continue.
Video: New CNN poll: 61% of Americans oppose Trump’s ‘big, beautiful’ bill - July 16, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLwJQvVMqAE
Trump says he was surprised that Jerome Powell, the Fed chair he appointed, was appointed
Comment: "The president seemed to forget that he appointed Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, which was part of an unsettling pattern of cognitive missteps."
What the Trump administration woefully misunderstands about America's workforce
Comment: "With reports of more and more raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement on migrant farm workers around the country, it would be a good time for Americans to learn about the labor that fuels our food supply — especially at a time when our current Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins is making an unrealistic pledge to create a '100% American workforce' in agriculture."
Employees at the nation’s consumer financial watchdog say it’s become toothless under Trump
Comment: "American consumers can no longer look to the bureau for help when it comes to their checking account, credit card, payday loan, auto loan or mortgage. Trump has neutered the watchdog, employees say, the culmination of a yearslong effort by Republicans who felt the agency often went overboard in its efforts."
Mike Waltz grilled over Signal leak at UN ambassador hearing - BBC News
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4gdyx8v5y5o
Comment: "Donald Trump's former national security adviser Mike Waltz has faced scrutiny from US senators over his role in a sensitive Signal group chat in which officials discussed war plans."
"Waltz appeared before a hearing on Tuesday seeking Senate confirmation as Trump's nominee for ambassador to the United Nations, following his removal from his former post in May."
Comment: As UN ambassador wouldn't Mike Waltz also have access to classified information? After the Signalgate fiasco, can he be trusted to protect it? How does one go from a national security scandal to a prominent position in representing the United States at the UN?
Donald Trump Just Went On A Reallyyyyy Weird Rant About "Ugly Rich Guys" While Talking About His "Big, Beautiful Bill"
https://www.yahoo.com/news/donald-trump-just-went-reallyyyyy-134930652.html
Comment: After reading this rant, ask yourself if Trump is competent and sane enough to be president.
Video: Mass firings at HHS, Education departments after Supreme Court rulings - July 15, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lx3qLd8VPvc
Reuters: Trump's spending bill will likely boost costs for insurers, shrink Medicaid coverage
Comment: "President Donald Trump's spending bill is set to raise administrative costs and make managing costs more difficult for insurers like UnitedHealthcare and CVS Health's Aetna that operate Medicaid health plans, experts say."
"As a result, those insurers will likely pull back their Medicaid coverage and invest more in existing markets to retain their healthier members, experts said."
AMA warns med school loan cap could worsen doctor shortage
https://www.axios.com/local/chicago/2025/07/14/ama-warns-loan-cap-doctor-shortage
Comment: "The Chicago-based American Medical Association is warning that the doctor shortage in the U.S. could get worse with Congress' new megabill.' "
DOGE told regulator to ‘rubber stamp’ nuclear - POLITICO
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/07/14/doge-to-regulator-rubber-stamp-nuclear-00450658
Comment: "The Nuclear Regulatory Commission's historic role of assuring safety is changing as the White House shifts some responsibility to the Department of Energy."
Comment: "A DOGE representative told the chair and top staff of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that the agency will be expected to give “rubber stamp” approval to new reactors tested by the departments of Energy or Defense, according to three people with knowledge of a May meeting where the message was delivered."
Rolling Stone: Pam Bondi Fires Top DOJ Ethics Adviser
Comment: "Attorney General Pam Bondi — who has been purging the Justice Department of anyone tied to the Jan. 6 prosecutions as well as the prosecutions of President Donald Trump — fired the lawyer personally advising her and the department’s thousands of employees on ethics, Bloomberg reported Sunday."
Comment: "Tirrell was responsible for advising Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel, and other DOJ leaders on financial disclosures, conflicts of interest, gifts, and recusals. He also helped guide the 117,000 Justice Department employees on ethics rules. He previously served as an ethics attorney at the FBI."
Comment: "Bondi has been under fire for possible ethics violations. Earlier this month, the Miami Herald reported that the DOJ dropped its investigation into pharmaceutical company Pfizer’s potential foreign corruption violations. Bondi was previously an outside legal counsel for Pfizer."
Comment: "Trump has also taken aim at ethics in his administration. Earlier this year, he ordered the Justice Department to pause investigations into foreign bribery cases, although the investigations eventually resumed. The Trump Organization, the president’s family business empire, fired its ethics attorney after they represented Harvard in a suit against the government for freezing its federal funding."
Comment: Do you think that Trump, Bondi, or anyone else in the Trump administration cares about ethics?
Reuters: Two-thirds of the DOJ unit defending Trump policies in court have quit
Comment: "Sixty-nine of the roughly 110 lawyers in the Federal Programs Branch have voluntarily left the unit since President Donald Trump's election in November or have announced plans to leave, according to the list compiled by former Justice Department lawyers and reviewed by Reuters."
Comment: "Reuters spoke to four former lawyers in the unit and three other people familiar with the departures who said some staffers had grown demoralized and exhausted defending an onslaught of lawsuits against Trump's administration."
" 'Many of these people came to work at Federal Programs to defend aspects of our constitutional system,' said one lawyer who left the unit during Trump's second term. 'How could they participate in the project of tearing it down?' "
Comment: Do you suppose some lawyers really DO have a conscience?
Epstein fallout poses a loyalty test: Trump — or MAGA? | CNN Politics
https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/14/politics/epstein-fallout-trump-maga
Comment: Do you think reasonable voters are looking for another choice?
Video: Least experienced cabinet’ U.S. has ever seen: Rep. Vindman slams the brightest of Trump’s Admin - July 13, 2025
https://www.yahoo.com/news/least-experienced-cabinet-u-ever-122622413.html
Politico: GOP warning sign in new poll: Trump’s voters don’t love his tariffs
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/07/12/donald-trump-trade-poll-00449708
ABC News: Includes Video: Attorney General Bondi fired at least 20 officials with ties to Jack Smith investigation: Sources
Comment: "Attorney General Pam Bondi has fired at least 20 prosecutors and support staffers who assisted former Special Counsel Jack Smith's investigations into President Donald Trump, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News Saturday."
Comment: "The firings have sent a chill through the remainder of the DOJ's career workforce, which had previously been left shaken by dramatic purges and reassignments of officials in the early days of Trump's presidency."
Comment: And what is the justification for these firings, firing of people who were just doing their jobs?
Kash Patel Is Polygraphing FBI Staff to Find Out if They’re Being Mean About Him
https://www.yahoo.com/news/kash-patel-polygraphing-fbi-staff-122208719.html
Comment: "FBI Director Kash Patel is making bureau staff take polygraph tests to root out anyone who’s been talking trash about him, according to a report."
Comment: "Agents have expressed concerns that they are at risk of losing their jobs if found to have said anything even remotely critical about Patel or Bongino."
" 'An FBI employee’s loyalty is to the Constitution, not to the director or deputy director,' former veteran FBI agent James Davidson told the Times. 'It says everything about Patel’s weak constitution that this is even on his radar.' "
IRS lifts ban on churches getting involved in politics: What to know
Politico: Trump-whisperer Laura Loomer sharpens her knives for Pam Bondi
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/07/11/pam-bondi-dan-bongino-epstein-files-00448695
Comment: "The far-right commentator is calling for the attorney general’s resignation over her handling of the Jeffrey Epstein investigation."
Comment: "Loomer called on FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino to ask for Bondi’s public resignation Friday morning, writing on social media that Patel and Bongino had clashed with Bondi over the investigation."
Comment: Can this situation get any more insane?
FBI No. 2 ‘Flees’ After West Wing Screaming Match Over Epstein
https://www.yahoo.com/news/fbi-no-2-flees-west-181215047.html
Comment: "FBI deputy director Dan Bongino did not show up to work on Friday, and is considering quitting after clashing with Attorney General Pam Bondi over the handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files."
Comment: Does anyone else find this level of "drama" at the FBI and Justice Department a little worrisome?
CNN: Deputy FBI Director Bongino has told people he is considering resigning amid Epstein files fallout
https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/11/politics/bongino-consider-resigning-epstein-files
Comment: "The infighting over the case came to a head during a Wednesday meeting, which included Bongino, Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, the sources said. Bongino and Patel were confronted about whether they were behind a story that said the FBI wanted more information released but was ultimately stymied by the Department of Justice, they said."
NPR: DOGE keeps gaining access to sensitive data. Now, it can cut off billions to farmers
https://www.npr.org/2025/07/10/nx-s1-5455779/doge-usda-farmers-data
Comment: "A staffer from the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, recently got high-level access to view and change the contents [emphasis added] of a payments system that controls tens of billions of dollars in government payments and loans to farmers and ranchers across the United States, according to internal access logs reviewed by NPR."
" '"When we talk about farm loan application records, there is no more personal information anywhere than in that database,' Scott Marlow, a former senior official in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, told NPR. 'The farmer's entire financial life and the life of their kids and their family, every time they've missed a payment, every time they've had a hard time, every time they've gotten in financial trouble … it's there.' "
FEMA leader is a no-show after deadly Texas flooding - POLITICO
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/07/10/fema-leader-texas-flooding-00445902
FEMA’s response to Texas flood slowed by Noem’s cost controls
https://www.yahoo.com/news/fema-response-texas-flood-slowed-203451684.html
Comment: "As CNN has previously reported, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem — whose department oversees FEMA — recently enacted a sweeping rule aimed at cutting spending: Every contract and grant over $100,000 now requires her personal sign-off before any funds can be released."
Comment: "But even as Texas rescue crews raced to save lives, FEMA officials realized they needed Noem’s approval before sending those additional assets. Noem didn’t authorize FEMA’s deployment of Urban Search and Rescue teams until Monday, more than 72 hours after the flooding began, multiple sources told CNN."
Reuters: Ex-CIA director John Brennan says he 'knows nothing' of 'politically based' DOJ investigation
Comment: "Former CIA Director John Brennan said on Wednesday he "knows nothing" of the Department of Justice investigations into himself and ex-FBI Director James Comey but slammed the probes as politically motivated."
Comment: "Brennan headed the CIA when U.S. intelligence assessed that Russian President Vladimir Putin sought to sway the 2016 election vote in Trump's favor over his Democratic challenger, Hillary Clinton, through an online disinformation campaign."
Comment: "The roles played by Brennan and Comey in handling the intelligence community report on Russia’s 2016 election interference were investigated during Trump’s first term by Special Counsel John Durham, who found no criminal wrongdoing by either man."
"Trump, who has repeatedly attacked Brennan and Comey for their roles in the investigations into Russian interference, said on Wednesday that he knew nothing about the probes 'other than what I read today.' "
" 'I think they're very dishonest people, I think they are crooked as hell, and maybe they have to pay a price for that,' Trump told reporters. 'Whatever happens, happens.' "
Fired Justice Department official warns we are "driving straight into an abyss" - CBS News
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fired-justice-department-official-we-are-falling-into-an-abyss/
Comment: "A 17-year former Justice Department official is warning of a wave of retribution inside the agency."
"Patty Hartman, who served as a top public affairs specialist at the FBI and federal prosecutors' offices, told CBS News, 'The rules don't exist anymore.' "
"Hartman, who was fired Monday via a letter from Attorney General Pam Bondi, is the fourth person connected to the agency's work on the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riots to be terminated in the past month."
" 'There used to be a line, used to be a very distinct separation between the White House and the Department of Justice, because one should not interfere with the work of the other,' Hartman told CBS News. 'That line is very definitely gone.' "
Internal DOJ messages bolster claim that Trump judicial nominee spoke of defying court orders - POLITICO
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/07/10/emil-bove-whistleblower-documents-00446225
Comment: "A fired Justice Department attorney has provided Congress with a trove of emails and text messages to corroborate his claims that a controversial Trump judicial nominee — top DOJ official Emil Bove — crudely discussed defying court orders."
Donald Trump's Super Awkward Moment Praising An English Speaker For Speaking English Is Going Viral
https://www.yahoo.com/news/donald-trumps-super-awkward-moment-123230896.html
Comment: "Donald Trump met with African leaders at the White House on Wednesday."
"One of those leaders was Liberian President Joseph Boakai."
"A clip of Trump praising his 'good English' skills is now going viral because, well, the official language of Liberia is English."
" '"Such good English. Such beautiful English. Where did you learn to speak so beautifully? Where were you educated? Where? In Liberia?' Trump asks."
" 'Yes, sir,' Boakai replies."
Comment: Does anyone else think that Boakai should have asked where Trump was educated?
AP News: FACT FOCUS: Trump misrepresents facts about wind power during Cabinet meeting
Comment: "President Donald Trump expressed his disdain for wind power during a meeting with his Cabinet recently, calling it an expensive form of energy that 'smart' countries don’t use."
"His comments on Tuesday contained false and misleading information about the use of wind power in the United States and around the world, and came on the heels of an executive order he signed Monday that would end subsidies around 'green' energy."
Undocumented immigrants barred from Head Start, other federal benefits
https://www.axios.com/2025/07/10/rfk-jr-hhs-immigrant-federal-programs-free-head-start
Comment: "The big picture: Undocumented immigrants are already prevented from accessing most federal benefits."
"But HHS is taking the additional step of rescinding a 1998 notice that defined certain publicly-funded programs like free preschool and accessible health clinics in a way that allowed undocumented immigrants to use them."
"Where it stands: Head Start, federally funded health centers, mental health and substance use disorder treatment programs and block grants, the Title X family planning program and nine others programs will now be considered federal benefits."
More than 70% of Black voters disapprove of Trump - erasing gains he made that helped win the 2024 race
https://www.yahoo.com/news/more-70-black-voters-disapprove-205101579.html
Dentists are struggling to counter RFK Jr. on fluoride
Comment: "Red states are banning the tooth-protecting mineral, while blue state skeptics aren't budging."
Kimberly Guilfoyle at Senate Confirmation Hearing as ambassador to Greece: What we know
https://www.yahoo.com/news/kimberly-guilfoyle-senate-confirmation-hearing-181147095.html
Comment: "In December 2024, just over a month after Election Day, photos surfaced online of Donald Trump Jr. kissing socialite Bettina Anderson, making global news and signaling the end of Donald Trump Jr.’s relationship with Guilfoyle."
"Days later, his dad, President Donald Trump, announced Guilfoyle would be the new ambassador to Greece during his second administration."
"In May, the former Fox News host posted that she was one step closer to living the Greek ambassador life — she recently graduated from 'ambassador school.' ”
Comment: "Last month, another person in Trump's familial circle became an ambassador: Charles Kushner, father of Jared Kushner and father-in-law of Ivanka Trump, was sworn in as the new ambassador to France and Monaco."
Bondi and Hegseth might be messing up — but they’re doing what Trump picked them to do
https://www.yahoo.com/news/bondi-hegseth-might-messing-doing-040024805.html
Comment: "When President Donald Trump searched for his top Cabinet secretaries, a flair for running a smooth governing machine was nowhere on the job description."
"So rising frustration among White House aides about chaos coming from the offices of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Attorney General Pam Bondi seems a bit rich."
"Trump is getting exactly what he should have expected after spurning traditional public servants and filling top roles with high-wattage Fox News performers, MAGA favorites, conspiracy theorists and central-casting archetypes with little knowledge of how Washington works."
The Guardian: US agriculture secretary says Medicaid recipients can replace deported farm workers
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/09/trump-agriculture-medicaid-migrant-farm-workers
Comment: "The US agriculture secretary has suggested that increased automation and forcing Medicaid recipients to work could replace the migrant farm workers being swept up in Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign, despite years of evidence and policy failures that those kinds of measures are not substitutes for the immigrant labor force underpinning American agriculture."
Comment: "According to USDA data, 42% of US farm workers are undocumented immigrants, and just under 70% are foreign-born."
"And a March report from the Urban Institute found that most Medicaid recipients are either already working, exempt or face some sort of instability."
Comment: "Previous state-level immigration crackdowns are also evidence of the challenges facing Rollins’s proposed solution. Georgia’s 2011 immigration law resulted in a shortage of more than 5,200 farm workers and projected losses of hundreds of millions of dollars at the time, according to a University of Georgia study. Alabama farmers reported similar struggles, with locals telling the Associated Press in 2011 that American workers lasted about a day at their new farm jobs."
Comment: Do you think that the agriculture secretary should have a better understanding of the rigors of agricultural field labor?
CNN: Agriculture secretary says there will be ‘no amnesty’ for migrants, adults on Medicaid can replace them in workforce
https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/08/politics/agriculture-secretary-medicaid-no-amnesty
IRS says churches can now endorse political candidates
https://www.npr.org/2025/07/08/nx-s1-5460886/irs-now-says-pastors-can-endorse-political-candidates
Comment: "In a break with decades of tradition, the Internal Revenue Service says it will allow houses of worship to endorse candidates for political office without losing their tax-exempt status."
Comment: "Since 1954, a provision in the tax code called the Johnson Amendment says that churches and other nonprofit organizations could lose their tax-exempt status if they participate in, or intervene in 'any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office.' "
Comment: "The IRS rarely enforced the rule. During President Trump's first term, he promised to 'get rid of and totally destroy the Johnson Amendment and allow our representatives of faith to speak freely and without fear of retribution.' "
"In Monday's court filing, the IRS didn't go that far. But it did say that when a house of worship 'in good faith speaks to its congregation, through its customary channels of communication on matters of faith in connection with religious services, concerning electoral politics viewed through the lens of religious faith' it neither participates nor intervenes in a political campaign."
Fact check: Debunking 11 of Trump’s false claims at Cabinet meeting
https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2025/07/08/politics/fact-check-trump-cabinet-meeting
Comment: "Trump’s Tuesday remarks at the White House included inaccurate assertions about inflation, immigration, his tariff policy, the massive domestic policy bill he signed last week, China’s use of wind energy, US and European aid to Ukraine, the US relationship with South Korea, and other subjects."
Trump said he threatened to bomb Moscow if Putin attacked Ukraine, 2024 fundraiser tapes show | CNN Politics
https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/08/politics/trump-tape-putin-bomb-fundraiser
Comment: Was Trump lying to his donors, or is he crazy, or is it both?
Trump caught off guard by Pentagon’s abrupt move to pause Ukraine weapons deliveries, AP sources say
https://apnews.com/article/trump-ukraine-weapons-pentagon-15694071ddb6f7040273e9ef090e84c4
Comment: Do you think this outcome was the result of having an incompetent Secretary of Defense and an incompetent President?
Hegseth did not inform the White House before he authorized pause on weapon shipments to Ukraine, sources say | CNN Politics
https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/08/politics/hegseth-did-not-inform-white-house-ukraine-weapons-pause
Comment: Do you think this outcome was the result of having an incompetent Secretary of Defense?
Prosecutors Torch Trump’s ‘Worst Conceivable’ Court Nominee
https://www.yahoo.com/news/prosecutors-torch-trump-worst-conceivable-173751974.html
Comment: "A group of former federal prosecutors have declared President Donald Trump’s one-time criminal defense attorney the 'worst conceivable nominee' for a lifetime federal judgeship."
"The attack on Trump’s nomination of Emil Bove, currently a top Justice Department official installed by the president, came in a letter the prosecutors sent to the Senate Monday, according to The Washington Post."
NBC News: DOJ memo on Jeffrey Epstein theories angers conservatives
Comment: "The two-page memo, which by the FBI and the Justice Department published after an 'exhaustive review' of materials related to Epstein, concluded that there is no evidence of an 'incriminating ‘client list’ ' or evidence that would lead to additional prosecution of third parties."
Comment: "The findings closely mirror what NBC News and many other outlets have reported and published for years — that while Epstein sexually abused underage girls, he did not keep a secret list of powerful pedophile clients he was blackmailing."
Comment: "In February, Bondi indicated to Fox News host John Roberts that files related to law enforcement’s investigations into Epstein — information that in reality was already largely public — included a list of Epstein clients."
" 'It’s sitting on my desk right now to review,' Bondi said, responding to a question about a potential client list, adding that she had 'not yet' seen any bombshells."
Comment: " 'Was she lying then or is she lying now? [emphasis added] We deserve answers,' Starbuck posted along side the video."
Trump bill's health effects won't be felt until after midterms
https://www.axios.com/2025/07/07/medicaid-impacts-tax-bill-delayed
Comment: "President Trump's tax and spending bill sets in motion nearly $1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid and other health policy changes that could loom over the midterm elections."
Comment: " '"Republicans backloaded a lot of the Medicaid and ACA cuts,' said Larry Levitt, executive vice president at KFF. 'There will be few tangible effects in health care from this bill before the midterms.' "
Comment: Do you think Republicans know this bill will be terrible for the health care of average Americans and are trying to hide the impacts until after their next Congressional election?
FDA Layoffs Could Compromise Safety of Medications Made at Foreign Factories, Inspectors Say
https://www.propublica.org/article/fda-cuts-drug-factory-inspections
Comment: "Dozens of people who help coordinate travel for complex inspections of foreign drug-making factories have been let go, and though some have since been rehired, inspectors said the ongoing strain of policing an industry spread across more than 90 countries has exhausted staff and could compromise the safety of medications used by millions of people."
"For years, inspectors have uncovered dirty equipment, contaminated supplies and fraudulent testing records in some overseas factories — serious safety and quality breaches that can sicken or kill consumers. Last month, ProPublica reported that a generic immunosuppression drug for transplant patients could dissolve too quickly when ingested, increasing the risk of kidney failure. The drug was made at an Indian factory with a history of quality violations that was banned from the U.S. market. The company previously told ProPublica it believes the medication is safe."
Yahoo: Measles cases surge to record high since disease was declared eliminated in the US
https://www.yahoo.com/news/measles-cases-surge-record-high-144903936.html
Comment: "The MMR vaccine is safe and extremely effective – one dose is 93% effective against measles, and two doses are 97% effective – but measles is one of the most highly transmissible diseases in the world."
Comment: "In April, when there had been about 600 measles cases in the US, Kennedy made his strongest endorsement of vaccination yet – but it stood in stark contrast to years of work against measles vaccines. And last month, Kennedy dismissed an expert panel of vaccine advisers that has historically guided the federal government’s vaccine recommendations, a move that concerned public health officials across the country."
" '“With an ongoing measles outbreak and routine child vaccination rates declining, this move will further fuel the spread of vaccine-preventable illnesses,' Dr. Bruce A. Scott, president of the American Medical Association, said in a statement at the time."
The Guardian: Nurse on new CDC vaccine panel said to have been ‘anti-vax longer than RFK’
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/05/vicky-pebsworth-vaccine-experts-rfk-jr
Comment: "One of the new members of a critical federal vaccine advisory board has argued for decades that vaccines caused her son’s autism – a connection that years of large-scale studies and reviews refute."
Comment: "Kennedy fired all 17 of the committee’s previous members in June and stacked it with ideological allies. Pebsworth and Kennedy would have probably been known to each other, because their respective non-profits supported one another’s efforts."
Trump Gloats About Turbocharged ICE After Signing Megabill
https://share.newsbreak.com/dx1xiz6t
Comment: "President Donald Trump boasted about the newly turbocharged Immigration and Customs Enforcement after the 'Big Beautiful' bill funded his immigration crackdown to the tune of $170 billion."
" 'One of the most exciting parts of the ‘ONE BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL ACT’ is that it includes ALL of the Funding and Resources that ICE needs to carry out the Largest Mass Deportation Operation in History,' Trump wrote on Truth Social Saturday."
Comment: Do you think that Americans (every man, woman & child) will want to pay the approximate $500 per person cost to accomplish this mass deportation? ($170B/340M Americans comes out to be about $500 for every person in the United States.)
Trump Celebrates Fourth of July by Deporting Veterans and Their Families
https://share.newsbreak.com/dx1egrvy
Fact check: Trump falsely claims his highly unpopular big bill is the ‘single most popular bill ever signed’
https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/04/politics/fact-check-trump-bill-unpopular
Comment: "The bill is wildly unpopular, poll after poll has found. While polls can be off, this bill wouldn’t be popular – let alone the most popular US bill ever signed – even with a massive and widespread polling error."
Comment; Do you think Trump is lying to the public, or is he lying to himself, or is he lying to both the public and himself?
NPR: Adult education programs in limbo as Trump administration withholds grant funds
Time Magazine: Can Trump Deport U.S. Citizens Like Elon Musk and Zohran Mamdani?
Comment: "Legal experts have said that deporting U.S. citizens for any reason is unconstitutional, but the Trump Administration appears to be circumventing that restriction by pushing to strip citizenship from certain people, through a process known as denaturalization. While denaturalization can only apply to naturalized citizens, that group is estimated to number more than 25 million, or more than 7% of the U.S. population."
How Trump's tax cut and policy bill aims to 'supercharge' immigration enforcement
https://www.npr.org/2025/07/03/g-s1-75609/big-beautiful-bill-ice-funding-immigration
Comment: "The massive package sets aside about $170 billion to support the Trump's administration's border and immigration goals, which includes detaining and deporting a record number of people from the U.S."
"Earlier this week, White House border czar Tom Homan told reporters that Congress needed to pass the bill in order for the federal government to buy more detention beds."
Comment: "The final bill allocates $45 billion for immigration detention centers, as well as about $30 billion to hire more ICE personnel, for transportation costs, and to maintain ICE facilities, among other spending. It comes as detention centers operate beyond their capacity."
"The American Immigration Council estimates that the new funding could expand detention capacity to 'at least 116,000 beds.' "
Comment: Since $170B works out to be about $500 for every man, woman, and child in this country ($170B/$340M), do you think this is the best use of our tax dollars?
ABC News - Breaking News, Latest News and Videos: RFK Jr., CDC panel have been casting doubt on the hepatitis B vaccine. Here's why it's safe
https://abcnews.go.com/Health/rfk-jr-cdc-panel-casting-doubt-hepatitis-vaccine/story?id=123423585
Trump eyes simple tariff rates over complex talks, says letters going out Friday
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/us-treasury-chief-sees-100-190335448.html
Comment: "President Donald Trump said Washington will start sending letters to countries on Friday specifying what tariff rates they will face on imports to the United States, a clear shift from earlier pledges to strike scores of individual deals."
"Acknowledging the complexity of negotiating with over 170 nations, Trump told reporters before departing for Iowa on Thursday that the letters will be sent to 10 countries at a time, laying out tariff rates such as 20% to 30%."
Comment: "Top Trump aides said in April they would work on 90 deals in 90 days, an ambitious goal that was met with skepticism from trade experts familiar with arduous and time-consuming trade deals of the past."
Comment: What happened to Trump's supposed expertise as a deal maker? What happened to Congress's constitutional responsibility for levying tariffs, instead of surrendering this responsibility to the whims of Trump?
Video: A look at what's behind the efforts to reshape how American history is taught - July 03, 2025
EPA suspends and investigates around 140 employees who signed a letter critical of the agency
https://www.yahoo.com/news/epa-suspends-investigates-around-140-204046277.html
Comment: "Another EPA employee who says they were also placed on administrative leave after signing the letter of dissent said, 'we took an oath to support and defend the constitution. We promised to follow science and follow the law. They are trying to scare us and squash any type of resistance before it starts.' ”
Comment: " 'We see today that this is why he feels like he’s not getting any negative feedback within the agency, because as soon as he gets negative feedback, he considers you an enemy of the agency,' Hertzberg said. 'Science needs to come first, and regulations need to be upheld. The fact we’re saying that and the fact he finds that counter to the agency’s priorities is concerning.' ”
AL.com: Trump shocked to learn his ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ cuts a program he warned Republicans not to touch
Comment: "As Donald Trump met with House Republicans on the fence over his 'One Big Beautiful Bill,' the president reportedly appeared to be unaware that the legislation would cut Medicaid."
Comment: Is Trump lying to himself, or just plain lying (lying to us)?
Time Magazine: The ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ Would Pour Billions Into ICE’s Budget
https://time.com/7299360/big-beautiful-bill-trump-ice-immigration/
Poll: Trump’s approval rating falls to new low amid mass deportation raids
Comment: "As mass deportation raids by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) continue to spark protest and split public sentiment, President Trump’s approval rating has slipped to a new low in the latest Yahoo/YouGov poll."
Axios: Kristi Noem seeks advice on ousting DHS employees who "don't like us"
https://www.axios.com/2025/07/02/kristi-noem-fire-dhs-employees
Comment: How many of you think that federal employees should concentrate on serving the public, rather than concentrating on stroking the ego of Kristi Noem and the rest of the Trump administration?
Trump taps 30-year-old with little government experience and links to Holocaust denier to lead federal agency
https://share.google/VD4vCkMaoU2jZLDXA
Comment: "President Donald Trump has nominated a 30-year-old with little government experience — as well as a connection to a well-known Holocaust denier — to lead the independent agency that protects whistleblowers."
Comment: Do you think this appointee might discourage whistleblowers from coming forward to point out any illegal or unethical activity in the Trump administration?
Politico: Trump Officials Rejected Shocking Allegations from a DOJ Whistleblower. Former Colleagues Believe Him.
Comment: "That’s what Emil Bove — Donald Trump’s criminal defense lawyer-turned-senior Justice Department official — is going for as he tries to secure a lifetime appointment as a federal judge. The scandal? A scathing whistleblower disclosure by a former Justice Department lawyer that alleges disturbing and unethical conduct on the part of Bove and other senior DOJ lawyers, including multiple efforts to defy the courts in service of Trump’s agenda."
Trump admin tries to kill the most indisputable evidence of human-caused climate change by shuttering observatory
https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-admin-tries-kill-most-125048567.html
Comment: "The Trump administration’s proposed budget seeks to shut down the laboratory atop a peak in Hawaii where scientists have gathered the most conclusive evidence of human-caused climate change since the 1950s."
The White House took down the nation's top climate report. You can still find it here
npr.org/2025/07/01/nx-s1-5453501/national-climate-assessment-nca5-archive-report https://share.google/oAnPHXpuFOyK1jMhb
Comment: "The National Climate Assessment is widely used by teachers, city planners, farmers, judges and regular citizens looking for answers to common questions such as how quickly sea levels are rising near American cities and how to deal with wildfire smoke exposure. The most recent edition had a searchable atlas that allowed anyone to learn about the current and future effects of global warming in their specific town or state."
"On Monday, the government website that hosts all of that information stopped working."
"The Trump administration had already halted work on the next edition of the report, and fired all the staff who worked on it."
Comment: Do you suppose they think if they suppress the report, that climate change will just go away?
CNN: Trump’s visit to a migrant camp called ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ will stir dark echoes
https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/01/politics/alligator-alcatraz-trump-florida
Comment: "The temporary camp, alongside an 11,000-foot runway at an airfield mainly used for training flights, will soon house 5,000 migrants in a tent city. The project is controversial: Immigration rights activists and environmentalists are up in arms. Florida’s indigenous community fears a threat to sacred lands."
"But Trump’s visit to 'Alligator Alcatraz' is the latest in a series of graphic photo ops and buzzy plans the administration has conjured to highlight hardline immigration and law and order policies that are a foundation of his MAGA creed. Some come close to glorifying violence and rough justice. At times, it seems like looking tough is even more important than being tough; the posturing may be compensating for a deportation rate that senior White House officials such as Stephen Miller have deemed disappointing."
ABC News - Breaking News, Latest News and Videos: Trump says he'll 'look' at deporting Musk as feud reignites
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-hell-deporting-musk-feud-reignites/story?id=123372908
Trump-Musk Feud: Trump Says Musk Shouldn’t Play Back-And-Forth ‘Game’ With Him (Live Updates)
Reuters: Trump suggests slashing Tesla subsidies, Musk says 'cut it all'
Comment: "WASHINGTON, July 1 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday threatened to cut off the billions of dollars in subsidies that Elon Musk's companies receive from the federal government, in an escalation of the war of words between the president and the world's richest man, one-time allies who have since fallen out."
"The feud reignited on Monday when Musk, who spent hundreds of millions on Trump's re-election, renewed his criticism of Trump's tax-cut and spending bill, which would eliminate subsidies for electric vehicle purchases that have benefited Tesla, the leading U.S. EV maker. That bill passed the Senate by a narrow margin midday Tuesday."
Politico: Education Department set to pause billions in grants to states amid ‘review’
Comment: Will this action impact grants to Dale Co. schools or other Alabama schools?
AFGE | Due to DOGE Cuts, 1 SSA Employee Is Expected to Serve 1,480 Beneficiaries
https://share.google/1Qp6omatuCtsGls5i
Comment: "Due to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)’s reckless cuts, the Social Security Administration (SSA) has lost 7,000 employees since January. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), that’s the largest staffing cut in SSA’s history, which will translate into much delayed services to the beneficiaries. In fact, one staff member now serves 1,480 beneficiaries, which is over three times as many as in 1967."
Comment: Do you think customer service might be adversely impacted?
NPR: DOJ announces plans to prioritize cases to revoke citizenship
https://www.npr.org/2025/06/30/nx-s1-5445398/denaturalization-trump-immigration-enforcement
Comment: "The focus on denaturalization is just the latest step by the Trump administration to reshape the nation's immigration system across all levels of government, turning it into a major focus across multiple federal agencies. That has come with redefining who is let into the United States or has the right to be an American. Since his return to office, the president has sought to end birthright citizenship and scale back refugee programs."
Comment: "The DOJ memo says that the federal government will pursue denaturalization cases via civil litigation — an especially concerning move, said Cassandra Robertson, a law professor at Case Western Reserve University."
"In civil proceedings, any individual subject to denaturalization is not entitled to an attorney, Robertson said; there is also a lower burden of proof for the government to reach, and it is far easier and faster to reach a conclusion in these cases."
CNN: Trump aims to change the nation and further cement his power as deadline looms for ‘big, beautiful bill’
https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/30/politics/trump-tax-spending-bill-congress
Comment: "But the bill — which is deeply unpopular with the public — is also part of the wider story of Trump’s second term. Days after he bombed Iran; stopped it and Israel firing missiles at each other; and celebrated a Supreme Court ruling that will facilitate his aggressive claims of executive authority, passing the bill would exemplify the growing power of a president dominating and disrupting this era in the US and abroad."
The Daily Beast: Trump Celebrates Civil War Win by Threatening Entire GOP
https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-celebrates-civil-war-win-with-brutal-message-to-gop/
Comment: "The president issued a brazen reminder to any who dare to defy him."
Comment: " 'Great News! 'Senator' Thom Tillis will not be seeking reelection,' Trump wrote on Truth Social after Tillis bowed out."
"In a follow-up post, Trump suggested that Republicans who oppose his legislative priorities could pay a political price."
" 'For all cost cutting Republicans, of which I am one, REMEMBER, you still have to get reelected,' he wrote."
Reuters: Iran-linked hackers threaten to release Trump aides' emails
ProPublica: Kristi Noem Secretly Took a Cut of Political Donations
https://www.propublica.org/article/kristi-noem-political-donations-income-dark-money-dhs-ethics
Comment: "A dark money group paid $80,000 to Noem’s personal company when she was governor of South Dakota. She did not include this income on her federal disclosure forms, a likely violation of ethics requirements, experts say."
NPR: The Trump administration is building a national citizenship data system
https://www.npr.org/2025/06/29/nx-s1-5409608/citizenship-trump-privacy-voting-database
The Guardian: Trump considers forcing journalists to reveal sources who leaked Iran report
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/29/trump-iran-military-strike-report
Comment: While we don't condone leaking classified information, how does the public get important information when Trump makes premature pronouncements without basis and, therefore, lacks credibility?
The Guardian: Who is in charge at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention?
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/29/who-is-in-charge-at-the-cdc
Comment: "RFK Jr has direct control, but Senate testimony in May that someone else is running the agency has created confusion"
Comment: " 'The acting director was Susan Monarez, but she is now up for permanent director, so she’s been replaced by Matt Buzzelli,' Kennedy said, describing Buzzelli as 'a public health expert'."
"But there’s no indication that Buzzelli, a lawyer who is listed as chief of staff in the office of the CDC director, is acting director, nor is he qualified for the position."
Few thought airstrikes could ‘obliterate’ Iran's nuclear program. Then Trump said they did.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/few-thought-airstrikes-could-obliterate-090601561.html
Fact check: Trump makes big false claims about his big domestic policy bill
https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/28/politics/fact-check-trump-big-beautiful-bill
NPR: Defense Department will stop providing crucial satellite weather data
https://www.npr.org/2025/06/28/nx-s1-5446120/defense-department-cuts-hurricane-ice-weather-satellite
Video: 'A huge decision': Supreme Court limits ability of judges to stop Trump
https://youtu.be/QzZL7BCUnmw?feature=shared
CNN: Trump freed to pursue even more of his agenda after Supreme Court win on injunctions
https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/27/politics/trump-executive-power-supreme-court-win
Supreme Court, in birthright citizenship case, limits judges' use of nationwide injunctions - CBS News
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/supreme-court-birthright-citizenship-universal-injunctions/
Supreme Court limits nationwide injunctions, but fate of Trump birthright citizenship order unclear
https://www.yahoo.com/news/supreme-court-limits-nationwide-injunctions-141830512.html
Takeaways from the Supreme Court’s ruling on power of judges and birthright citizenship | CNN Politics
https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/27/politics/takeaways-birthright-citizenship-supreme-court-decision
Comment: "The Supreme Court delivered a major win to President Donald Trump on Friday in his ongoing war with the federal judiciary, limiting the power of courts to step in and block policies on a nationwide basis in the short term while judges review their legality."
"Though the case was intertwined with Trump’s executive order effectively ending birthright citizenship, the ruling does not settle the issue of whether the president can enforce that order. And there were signs that lower courts could move swiftly to block the policy."
ProPublica: States Fear Critical Funding From FEMA May Be Drying Up
https://www.propublica.org/article/fema-grants-trump-emergencies
Comment: "Upheaval at the nation’s top disaster agency is raising anxiety among state and local emergency managers — and leaving major questions about the whereabouts of billions of federal dollars it pays out to them."
The $5 million Trump Card faces legal challenges, limited market
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/06/26/trump-card-overseas-wealthy.html
Comment: "President Donald Trump is offering a $5 million path to citizenship for the wealthy with his Trump Card."
Comment: "President Donald Trump's $5 million Trump Card has attracted strong interest from the overseas wealthy, but it faces legal challenges and questions about the potential market size, according to immigration attorneys."
Comment: So no birthright citizenship, but you can buy citizenship for $5 million?
The Guardian: RFK Jr’s new vaccine panel votes against preservative in flu shots in shock move
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/26/rfk-flu-shot-vaccines-panel
Comment: "Decision to restrict thimerosal in immunizations could impact future vaccine availability on a global scale"
Comment: "US pediatricians criticize RFK Jr's new vaccine panel: 'Truly an embarrassment' "
Cancer experts alarmed over ‘gut-wrenching’ Trump plan to cut research spending by billions
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/26/cancer-research-trump-nci-cuts-plan
CNN: Why Trump needs the world to believe Iran’s nuclear program is ‘obliterated’
https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/26/politics/trump-iran-nuclear-program-damage
ProPublica: A New Trump Plan Gives DHS and the White House Greater Influence in the Fight Against Organized Crime
https://www.propublica.org/article/stephen-miller-trump-dhs-fbi-doj-war-on-drugs
Comment: "The president’s homeland security adviser, Stephen Miller, has been the key architect of a plan that would give the White House more influence over investigations into transnational criminal organizations, officials said."
Government Executive: Withholding agency funds at the end of the year under consideration, White House says
Comment: "The head of the White House’s budget office confirmed the Trump administration is considering taking unilateral action to withhold funding for federal agencies at the end of the fiscal year, despite lawmakers in both parties saying the move would be unlawful."
CNN: Fact-checking Trump’s NATO news conference
https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/25/politics/fact-check-trump-nato-conference
Comment: "President Donald Trump made false claims about the war in Ukraine, US inflation, and the past fight against the ISIS terror group during his Wednesday news conference at the NATO summit in the Netherlands."
Pam Bondi denies knowing Ice agents wore masks during raids despite video evidence
https://share.newsbreak.com/dr33gbjq
Comment: "The attorney general, Pam Bondi, professed ignorance of reports of immigration officials hiding their faces with masks during roundups of undocumented people, despite widespread video evidence and reports that they are instilling pervasive fear and panic."
Comment: Given the numerous news reports showing ICE agents in masks, how can anyone believe Pam Bondi's statements? Can anyone actually be that ignorant, or is she just lying?
Politico: What this Trump nominee says about his potential SCOTUS picks
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/06/25/trump-judges-emil-bove-scotus-00424658
Comment: "Bove, 44, faced intense questioning from panel Democrats who pressed on his loyalty to the president as reflected not only in his private representation of Trump but his actions as principal associate deputy attorney general. Those include dismissing prosecutors tied to cases involving the Jan. 6 Capital riot, ending the corruption prosecution of New York City Mayor Eric Adams and pursuing the administration’s deportation agenda."
“ 'Bove has led the effort to weaponize the Department of Justice against the president’s enemies,' said Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, the top Judiciary Democrat. 'Having earned his stripes as a loyalist to this president, he’s been rewarded with a lifetime nomination.' "
NPR: Trump's appeals judge nominee says he's no one's 'henchman'
https://www.npr.org/2025/06/25/g-s1-74064/trump-emil-bove-judge-nomination
Comment: "As its top official responsible for daily operations, he was involved in sacking prosecutors and FBI agents who investigated Trump and the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. In a recent move, he walked away from the corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams."
Comment: "Bove's nomination has prompted several critical letters from Democrats. And on Tuesday, a day before his confirmation hearing, a whistleblower filed a formal complaint alleging Bove planned to knowingly defy court orders and withhold information from judges about the administration's deportation agenda."
Video: "Did you suggest telling the courts 'f--- you?'": Schiff presses Trump judge pick in hearing
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/6_wyU5_oIPQ
Comment: Do you think Bove should be confirmed as a federal appeals judge?
Pam Bondi Thinks Lying to a Federal Judge Makes You a Great Person
https://share.newsbreak.com/dr330oo7
Comment: "On Wednesday, Bondi was questioned by Senator Chris Van Hollen over recent disclosures from Justice Department whistleblower Erez Reuveni, who was fired by the Trump administration after admitting that the deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia was an 'administrative error.' Now Reuveni claims that Bove, at a meeting ahead of the invocation of the wartime Alien Enemies Act of 1798, told attendees to tell the courts 'fuck you' and ignore any court orders that may stop a plane from taking off or a detainment from occuring."
Trump to limit sharing classified info with Congress after leak on Iran bombing damage
https://www.axios.com/2025/06/25/iran-bombing-intelligence-trump-congress
Comment: "The Trump administration plans to limit sharing classified information with Congress after someone leaked an internal assessment suggesting that Saturday's bombings of Iran's nuclear facilities weren't as successful as President Trump claimed, four sources tell Axios."
Comment: Do you think that the Trump administration might be primarily concerned that Trump's declaration of "obliteration" might be seen as premature and might be seen as not credible?
BBC: CIA says intelligence indicates Iran nuclear programme 'severely damaged' - live updates
https://www.bbc.com/news/live/c20xel1e97gt
Reuters: Comparing US Iran strike to Hiroshima, Trump plays down intelligence report
Comment: "The Trump administration has not disputed that the DIA assessment exists, but Trump described it as preliminary."
Comment: While the DIA report is preliminary, it is at least as credible as Trump's immediate pronouncement that the underground facility was "obliterated." How can anyone, at this point, know for sure the true extent of the damage? Time and additional intelligence efforts will be necessary for a better assessment of damage.
Why America's giant bunker-busting bombs may have failed to reach their target
Comment: " 'It depends enormously on the kind of rock,' says Raymond Jeanloz, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley and one of the original authors of the 2005 National Academies Study on earth penetrators."
Report: National Science Foundation headquarters to be taken over by HUD, displacing 1,800+ employees | ALXnow
https://share.google/RDw6t91qMLoZQLkOI
FBI Abandons Miller’s Migrant Round-Up in Humiliating Blow
https://www.yahoo.com/news/fbi-abandons-miller-migrant-round-202550481.html
Comment: "Instead of going on immigration raids, sources told Fox News and NBC News that the majority of FBI agents on immigration duty are now returning to traditional roles to thwart possible threats from Iran and its proxies."
"The pivot back to counterterrorism will place FBI agents in a more traditional role. It comes a month after Miller mandated ICE make at least 3,000 migrant arrests a day in a heated meeting at its D.C. headquarters. NBC reported at the time that 2,000 agents from the FBI, DEA, and the Marshals Service were ordered to embed with ICE to boost arrest numbers. Many of those agents are now being pulled back to their day jobs."
Female Troops Played Key Roles in B-2, Submarine Strikes on Iran's Nuclear Facilities | Military.com
https://share.google/lQHMJ8Yg6B5tGrgRA
Comment: "Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth praised the work of 'our boys in those bombers' during a press conference at the Pentagon on Sunday."
"But female troops also played key roles in the Iran strikes. 'Women were incorporated in all aspects of the mission,' a U.S. official told Military.com on Monday on condition of anonymity to discuss details of the operation."
At least one woman served as a B-2 bomber pilot during the mission, that official said. Another official confirmed women were on a guided missile submarine crew that launched more than two dozen cruise missiles at the Iranian nuclear sites."
AP News: Early US intelligence report suggests US strikes only set back Iran’s nuclear program by months
Comment: "The report issued by the Defense Intelligence Agency on Monday contradicts statements from Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the status of Iran’s nuclear facilities. According to the people, the report found that while the Sunday strikes at the Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan nuclear sites did significant damage, the facilities were not totally destroyed. The people were not authorized to address the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity."
Comment: Do you think the difference might be that one is an intelligence report and that the other was a not so intelligent statement, based not on facts but instead based on wishful thinking and political and face saving considerations?
Video: Trump's poor choices for national security staffing have new relevance after Iran bombing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDyat4dOUvc
Comment: Please watch this Rachael Maddow video and determine if you feel great about Trump's national security staffing.
NPR: Breaking another presidential norm, Trump drops the f-bomb on camera
https://www.npr.org/2025/06/24/nx-s1-5443337/trump-expletive-israel-iran
Comment: Does anyone think that this is the only obscene thing he has done? Do you think it might impact his Bible sales?
NPR: Fired Justice Department lawyer accuses agency of planning to defy court orders
https://www.npr.org/2025/06/24/g-s1-74316/justice-department-immigration-whistleblower
Comment: "A longtime government lawyer told Congress that Justice Department leaders planned to knowingly defy court orders and withhold information from judges to advance the Trump administration's aggressive deportation goals, according to a newly published whistleblower complaint."
Comment: "News of the complaint, first reported by The New York Times, comes a day before senior Justice Department official Emil Bove is scheduled to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Bove is President Trump's nominee to serve as a federal judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, a post that carries a lifetime appointment."
Comment: "At that meeting, the whistleblower complaint said, Bove 'stressed to all in attendance that the planes need to take off no matter what.' Bove then said that the group may need to consider telling judges 'f*** you' and ignore possible court orders blocking immigrants from being removed from the U.S., according to the document. "
Massive NOAA cuts could put weather forecasts in peril, lives in danger
Comment: "The Trump administration's plan to dismantle the nation's atmospheric research programs could set U.S. forecasting back a generation or more, a cadre of retired federal hurricane, weather and ocean scientists warns."
CNN: Presentation for CDC advisers appears to cite nonexistent study to support claims about risk of vaccine preservative
https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/24/health/cdc-vaccine-adviser-thimerosal-presentation
Giuliani, Lewandowski among new members of Homeland Security advisory council
https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/24/politics/trump-appoints-members-dhs-advisory-council
Comment: "The list includes right-wing political commentator Mark Levin, as well as Giuliani, who helped lead efforts to try and overturn the 2020 election results and was later sued for defamation by two Georgia election workers; a lawsuit he lost before a jury in Washington, DC."
Lawmakers to Bondi: DOJ funding cuts threaten national security - Live Updates - POLITICO
https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2025/06/23/congress/bondi-doj-funding-00419209
Comment: "Attorney General Pam Bondi came under bipartisan pressure Monday from lawmakers who argued that proposed funding cuts to the Justice Department, including the FBI, are unwise as the conflict between the U.S. and Iran intensifies."
White House wary of Iran counterattack as Trump strikes triumphant tone - POLITICO
Comment: "The decision to send American B-2 bombers to attack Iran, the most significant military action of Trump’s presidency, threatens to inject the United States into another Middle East conflict, the kind that Trump and Vice President JD Vance have long promised to avoid. "
Trump administration briefed top Republicans before Iran strikes, but not some Democrats | CNN Politics
https://edition.cnn.com/2025/06/21/politics/republicans-democrats-iran-strikes-briefings
Comment: "Democrats on the 'Gang of Eight,' which includes the congressional leaders from each party and the chairs and ranking members of the House and Senate intelligence committees, typically would be briefed before a significant US military engagement. A White House official said the administration made calls to some members of Congress before the strikes as a 'courtesy heads-up' but did not address the partisan breakdown of who was notified."
Trump says US 'obliterates' Iran nuclear sites, Tehran reserves 'all options' to defend itself | Reuters
https://share.google/j1yi3KJdOAbqBmh5V
The Guardian: ‘Authoritarian playbook’: DHS accuses critics of assaulting officers when videos say otherwise
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/21/dhs-violence-false-claims
Comment: "In several cases, DHS’s public accusations of assault were not followed by criminal charges. Civil rights advocates and scholars on policing say the government’s assault claims against well-known members of the opposing party, and the repetition of those accusations, nonetheless are troubling indicators of rising authoritarianism. They argued the US government is blatantly misrepresenting events captured on footage in an effort to intimidate powerful officials and ordinary citizens alike who seek to challenge the White House’s policies."
Trump administration makes sweeping changes to ObamaCare, ends ‘Dreamer’ coverage
https://share.newsbreak.com/do6gavq2
Politico: Top Pentagon spy pick rejected by White House
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/06/20/richard-angle-nsa-cyber-command-00415619
Comment: "The decision not to move forward with the Defense Department’s recommendation to nominate Army Lt. Gen. Richard Angle as director of the National Security Agency and head of U.S. Cyber Command will extend a leadership vacuum atop one of the most powerful U.S. spy agencies."
Politico: Trump throws Gabbard under the bus — again
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/06/20/trump-gabbard-dismiss-iran-assessment-00415805
Comment: "For the second time this week, President Donald Trump publicly undermined Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, disregarding her assessment of Iran’s nuclear capabilities."
Pam Bondi Ripped in Florida Bar Ethics Complaint
https://share.newsbreak.com/do5mc0ng
Comment: "The complaint is considered a call to arms from a diverse coalition of lawyers and legal scholars who argue that Bondi is undermining the very foundation of ethical conduct expected from legal professionals."
AP News: Trump calls for special prosecutor to investigate 2020 election, reviving longstanding grievance
Comment: "President Donald Trump on Friday called for the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate the 2020 election won by Democrat Joe Biden, repeating his baseless claim [emphasis added] that the contest was marred by widespread fraud."
The Guardian: White House moves to keep costly, dirty, unneeded Michigan coal plants open
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/20/trump-michigan-coal-power-plants
Comment: "One plant produces more arsenic pollution than any other in US, and the other has been slated for closure since 2021"
Comment: "Opponents say the order has little support in Michigan, could cost ratepayers hundreds of millions of dollars, and is ideologically driven. The state’s utilities have said they did not ask for the plants to stay online, and the Trump administration did not communicate with stakeholders before the order, a spokesperson for the Michigan public service commission (MPSC), which regulates utilities and manages the state’s grid, told the Guardian."
Trump’s megabill is already unpopular — just wait until Americans hear what’s in it
https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/trump-megabill-polls-immigration-project-47-rcna213505
National monument honoring Emmett Till at risk of removal due to Trump's anti-DEI initiatives, budget cuts - CBS News
NPR: Trump's VA cut a program that's saving vets' homes. Even Republicans have questions
https://www.npr.org/2025/06/19/nx-s1-5400980/va-loans-veterans-mortgage-relief-republicans
‘He’s moving at a truly alarming speed’: Trump propels US into authoritarianism | Donald Trump | The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/19/trump-us-autocracy-authoritarianism
Video: Sen. Kelly grills Segseth about "Golden Dome" and cuts that may affect its success. - June 19. 2025
https://share.newsbreak.com/do6ee5wv
Senator Markey: Trump’s ‘Golden Dome’ is Fool’s Gold
https://time.com/7295780/senator-markey-trumps-golden-dome/
Comment: "In truth, it will make us poorer, less secure, and more isolated. It’s a gold-plated boondoggle that will enrich defense contractors and ignite a new nuclear arms race. Let’s be clear: Golden Dome is a trillion-dollar mistake in the making."
The Daily Beast: DHS Says Lawmakers Must Give 72-Hour Notice Before Visiting ICE Facilities
Proposed sale of millions of acres of public land under GOP budget bill prompts backlash
Comment: "Over 2 million acres of public land would go up for sale across 11 states under the current version of the Republican budget bill – a proposal that has met criticism from conservationists, hunting groups, local politicians and even some conservatives."
Comment: "An analysis by The Wilderness Society found that more than 250 million acres currently under the Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service are at risk of sale."
The Daily Beast: Trump Boasts ‘Nobody Knows What I’m Doing’ as MAGA Iran Civil War Rages
https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-boasts-nobody-knows-what-im-doing-as-maga-iran-civil-war-rages/
Comment: "Speaking with reporters for the first time since meeting with his national security council on Tuesday, the president refused to say whether the U.S. is moving closer to helping Israel strike Iranian nuclear facilities."
Comment: Do you think Congress should have a role in this decision?
Pete Hegseth suggests he would disobey court ruling against deploying military in LA | US Senate | The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/18/hegseth-senate-hearing-los-angeles-troop-deployment
Comment: "The US defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, suggested on Wednesday that he would not obey a federal court ruling against the deployments of national guard troops and US marines to Los Angeles, the latest example of the Trump administration's willingness to ignore judges it disagrees with."
Politico: Hegseth defers to general on Pentagon’s plans for Iran
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/06/17/hegseth-erik-kurilla-iran-pentagon-response-00411007
Comment: "Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has given an unusual level of authority to a single general in the latest Middle East crisis — an Iran hawk who is pushing for a strong military response against the country."
Politico: Inside the clashes between Trump and Gabbard
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/06/17/gabbard-trump-00411685
Comment: "The director of national intelligence has rankled Trump with her statements about nuclear war, and the president has suggested she’s off message."
‘I have never seen such open corruption’: Trump’s crypto deals and loosening of rules shock observers | Trump administration | The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/17/trump-crypto-memecoin-corruption
Trump's pardons cost the U.S. $1.3 billion, per House Dem report
https://www.axios.com/2025/06/17/trump-pardons-cost-democrats-report
Comment: "A new report from Democratic staff on the House Judiciary Committee estimates that President Trump's pardons have cost the American public more than $1.3 billion in fines and restitution."
Trump fires Democratic commissioner of Nuclear Regulatory Commission | AP News
Comment: "President Donald Trump has fired a Democratic commissioner for the federal agency that oversees nuclear safety as he continues to assert more control over independent regulatory agencies."
Comment: "New Jersey Rep. Frank Pallone, the top Democrat on the the House Energy and Commerce Committee, called Hanson’s firing illegal and another attempt by Trump to undermine independent agencies and consolidate power in the White House."
Experts warn FEC is a watchdog lacking ‘bark or bite’ with no quorum
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/5349948-federal-election-commission-quorum-impact/
Comment: "Experts are sounding alarms over the status of the Federal Election Commission (FEC), which has been largely paralyzed from performing much of its work."
"Former Commissioner Allen Dickerson's departure from the body at the conclusion of his term at the end of April gave the normally six-person FEC its third vacancy. A loss of quorum now prevents the FEC from carrying out many of its responsibilities, including holding meetings, conducting investigations and issuing penalties against potential violators."
Comment: Why do you think Trump has failed to appoint replacements to the FEC?
Trump’s lawyers anxiously await Supreme Court decision on judicial power | CNN Politics
https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/16/politics/trump-judicial-power-supreme-court
Comment: "Trump has issued more than 200 executive actions since returning to the White House — more than any other president — but judges have blocked dozens of them, including his policies on mass layoffs, deportations and funding priorities."
Comment: "While recent presidents of both parties have dealt with nationwide injunctions, Trump is facing a record number, which is why this issue has become a priority for him and his Republican allies in Congress."
Comment: "But supporters of the injunctions say preventing judges from blocking policies while litigation plays out means that actions of questionable legality or constitutionality could be in effect for years before the Supreme Court ever considers them."
Crypto, wallets, bibles: Trump's assets top $1.6 billion in latest disclosure
https://www.axios.com/2025/06/16/trump-mobile-crypto-merch-earnings-disclosure
Comment: "Trump continues to pursue wealth-building avenues tied to his political agenda as Democrats continue to allege massive conflicts of interest."
Comment: "Trump reported more than $600 million in income from his cryptocurrency venture and a broad range of merchandise, according to financial documents released on Friday, the first disclosure of his assets since he returned to the White House."
Trump family says it's launching a mobile phone company | AP News
https://apnews.com/article/trump-mobile-phone-white-house-business-361455bb3c65593bade7d4edfe4da7e9
Comment: "Trump has already used the federal government to reward his allies and punish his enemies. The Federal Communications Commission, the primary regulatory body overseeing mobile phone companies, has already launched investigations of media outlets Trump dislikes and, in some cases, is personally suing."
Comment: Is this another opportunity for conflict of interest and corruption?
Trump’s mass deportation policy becomes a meandering moving target
ABC News: CDC vaccine advisers who were removed from committee by RFK Jr. speak out
https://abcnews.go.com/Health/cdc-vaccine-advisers-removed-committee-rfk-jr-speak/story?id=122900198
Comment: "The group, speaking collectively for the first time since Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. dismissed them, said his actions 'have stripped the program of the institutional knowledge and continuity that have been essential to its success over decades' in an editorial published Monday in the Journal of the American Medical Association."
The Guardian: Trump coveted a military spectacle but his parade proved underwhelming: ‘Just kind of lame’
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/15/trump-army-parade
Comment: "Trump’s army parade was neither the totalitarian North Korean spectacle that critics had grimly predicted, nor the triumph of Maga nationalism fans craved"
‘Stay below the radar’: corporate America goes quiet after Trump’s return | Trump administration | The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/15/corporate-america-trump
Comment: "Some of the world’s most powerful firms have quietly toed the line set by the administration to avoid the president’s wrath"
US Expands Travel Ban to Twenty-Five African Countries Including Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, Malawi, Senegal, and Cameroon, New Update You Need to Know - Travel And Tour World
AP News: Justice Department's early moves on voting and elections signal a shift from its traditional role
Comment: "They represent a shift away from the division’s traditional role of protecting access to the ballot box. Instead, the actions address concerns that have been raised by a host of conservative activists following years of false claims surrounding elections in the U.S. Some voting rights and election experts also note that by targeting certain states — presidential battlegrounds or those controlled by Democrats — the moves could be foreshadowing an expanded role for the department in future elections."
Politico: Trump’s FAA pick has claimed ‘commercial’ pilot license he doesn’t have
Trump administration gutted program aimed at preventing targeted violence
https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-administration-gutted-program-aimed-212130252.html
Comment: "The Trump administration gutted a program that aims to prevent targeted violence as part of its effort to downsize the federal government, a move that could come under fresh scrutiny after the deadly shooting of state lawmakers in Minnesota on Saturday."
More Details Emerge Around the Public Land Sale Bill — and It’s Worse Than You Think
https://www.yahoo.com/news/more-details-emerge-around-public-134524988.html
Comment: "An attorney, Willms has parsed the bill’s language and concluded that, in both its wording and intention, it intends to remake the map of the Western United States by allowing the sale of public lands that could be used for nearly any purpose under an expansive 'associated community needs' definition. He says that could include AI data centers, ski areas, golf courses, or consolidation of large ranches."
Anger builds in Northern New Mexico, nationwide over threats to public lands | Local News | santafenewmexican.com
Comment: "Heinrich confirmed national monuments and other public lands are on the chopping block during this month’s congressional budget reconciliation process."
" 'We could lose millions of acres of public land around the West,' he said, urging the crowd to take action."
Yahoo Finance: Trump reports more than $600 million in income from crypto, golf, licensing fees
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/trump-reports-tens-millions-income-000645247.html
Comment: "While Trump has said he has put his businesses into a trust managed by his children, the disclosures show how income from those sources still ultimately accrue to the president - something that has opened him to accusations of conflicts of interest."
RFK Jr. Plans to Pull Medical Schools' Funding if They Don't Teach Nutrition | MedPage Today
https://www.medpagetoday.com/publichealthpolicy/medicaleducation/116050
NPR: RFK Jr. sent Congress 'medical disinformation' to defend COVID vaccine schedule change
https://www.npr.org/2025/06/13/nx-s1-5431935/rfk-hhs-covid-vaccine-schedule-faq
Comment: "A document the Department of Health and Human Services sent to lawmakers to support Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s decision to change U.S. policy on COVID vaccines cites scientific studies that are unpublished or under dispute and mischaracterizes others."
Ex-congressman Billy Long confirmed as commissioner of the IRS, an agency he once sought to abolish
https://apnews.com/article/billy-long-confirmed-irs-commissioner-67cd8daaa53a53c4ebf1262de1ede5e6
Comment: "The Senate confirmed Long on a 53-44 vote despite Democrats’ concerns about the Republican’s past work for a firm that pitched a fraud-ridden coronavirus pandemic-era tax break and about campaign contributions he received after President Donald Trump nominated him to serve as IRS commissioner."
Comment: "Democrats called for a criminal investigation into Long’s connections to other alleged tax credit loopholes. The lawmakers allege that firms connected to Long duped investors into spending millions of dollars to purchase fake tax credits."
White House looks to freeze more agency funds — and expand executive power - POLITICO
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/06/12/white-house-agency-funds-executive-power-00395545
Comment: "The latest move targets more than $30 billion in spending at EPA, the National Science Foundation and other agencies."
Comment: "The strategy: order agencies to freeze the spending now — then ask Congress’ approval, using a maneuver that allows the cuts to become permanent if lawmakers fail to act."
Comment: "The architect of the freeze directive, OMB Director Russ Vought, has long lamented the limits placed on the president’s ability to direct federal spending. His latest gambit — first reported by E&E News — appears designed to test those boundaries."
MAGA warns Trump of "massive schism" over Israeli strikes on Iran
https://www.axios.com/2025/06/12/trump-iran-israel-strikes-nuclear-maga
Comment: "Non-interventionism is one of the core pillars of the 'America First' movement — arguably as important to the MAGA base as immigration and trade."
"But plenty of Trump allies in the Republican Party are fiercely pro-Israel, and believe the U.S. should support its closest Middle Eastern ally if it chooses to attack Iran."
Padilla was pushed to the ground and handcuffed. It highlights a growing trend in the Trump administration | CNN Politics
https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/12/politics/padilla-handcuffed-trump-trend-analysis
Includes Video: Democratic Sen. Padilla forcibly removed from DHS press conference in Los Angeles : NPR
https://www.npr.org/2025/06/12/nx-s1-5431731/padilla-removed-dhs-press-conference
Comment: "Democrat Adam Schiff, Padilla's fellow senator from California, vowed to hold the administration accountable."
" 'When a U.S. senator goes to demand answers about the lawfulness or lawlessness of these actions to see him tackled to the ground, brought to the ground, what is becoming of our democracy?' he asked on the Senate floor. 'Are there no limits to what this administration will do? Is there no line they will not cross?' "
Includes Additional Video: Padilla pushes back against Noem's claim he barged into news conference
Axios: Trump's dealmaker image hits a wall
https://www.axios.com/2025/06/12/trump-deals-trade-ukraine-gaza-iran
Comment: "President Trump's reputation as a consummate dealmaker is being challenged by his second-term record."
Most say Trump's military parade is not a good use of money: AP-NORC poll | AP News
https://apnews.com/article/trump-military-parade-army-poll-birthday-dc2352f07b77df2f56ca8b8084a4b4d2
Bessent claims tariffs aren’t taxes
https://thehill.com/business/5346974-bessent-tariffs-not-taxes/
Comment: "Treasury Department Secretary Scott Bessent insisted Thursday that tariff are not taxes, defying the widely accepted economic and financial definition of President Trump’s top trade tool."
EPA proposes rolling back clean air rules for power plants: What to know
https://abcnews.go.com/amp/US/epa-proposes-rolling-back-clean-air-rules-power/story?id=122772357
Comment: "The changes would reverse two landmark power plant emission regulations."
Trump administration to end DHS program designed to thwart terror attacks
Comment: "The $18 million program aims to prevent lone-wolf attacks like the ones that recently occurred in Boulder, Washington, D.C., New Orleans and New York."
Comment: "The DHS budget submitted to Congress last month cancels the $18 million terrorism prevention grant program, saying it 'does not align with DHS priorities.' ”
The Hill: LAPD chief pushes back on Trump’s claim National Guard was necessary to quell LA protests
https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/5346247-lapd-chief-donald-trump-national-guard-la-protests/
Comment: "Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) Chief Jim McDonnell pushed back on President Trump's characterization of his past statements about National Guard deployment, saying he would not have requested federal troops to aid in quelling the city's immigration protests 'at this stage.' ”
The Guardian: Troops and marines deeply troubled by LA deployment: ‘Morale is not great’
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/12/los-angeles-national-guard-troops-marines-morale
Comment: "Several service members told advocacy groups they felt like pawns in a political game and assignment was unnecessary"
Hegseth won’t commit to following court rulings on troops in LA
https://thehill.com/policy/defense/5346786-hegseth-refuses-commit-court-rulings/amp/
Hegseth says Pentagon has contingency plans to invade Greenland | AP News
https://apnews.com/article/hegseth-greenland-signal-congress-295b03478d985678c4f2bf2eb5b513ba
Comment: "Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth appeared to acknowledge that the Pentagon has developed plans to take over Greenland and Panama by force if necessary but refused to answer repeated questions at a hotly combative congressional hearing Thursday about his use of Signal chats to discuss military operations."
The Bulwark: Department of Health and Human Crackpots
Comment: "The perfectly predictable catastrophe of RFK Jr.’s new anti-vax vaccine advisory committee."
Trump merchandise sold at Fort Bragg for president's speech now under review - ABC News
https://abcnews.go.com/US/trump-merchandise-sold-army-base-presidents-speech-now/story?id=122764288
Comment: "Earlier this week, Trump spoke at Fort Bragg in North Carolina in celebration of the Army's 250th birthday. At the event, vendors were spotted selling Trump merchandise -- including 'Make America Great Again' hats and other 'America First' swag. The practice is likely at odds with long-standing Defense Department policy, which prohibits troops from wearing political garb such as hats or flags or expressing their political opinion while in uniform."
Trump speech prompts concerns about politicization of military
Comment: "Uniformed soldiers in the stands cheered and booed along with political statements, something traditionally frowned upon and potentially a violation of military regulations."
CBS News: Inside the Justice Dept. "rubber room," where veteran lawyers do jigsaw puzzles and stream shows to pass time
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/justice-dept-rubber-room-lawyers-do-jigsaw-puzzles-stream-shows/
Comment: "When the Trump administration swept into the Department of Justice on Jan. 20, it moved swiftly to purge, demote, transfer and otherwise sideline career lawyers not perceived to be team players or sufficiently committed to the MAGA legal agenda."
The Guardian: Major US climate website likely to be shut down after almost all staff fired
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/11/climate-website-shut-down-noaa
Dan Caine: Trump’s top general just undercut his ‘invasion’ claims | CNN Politics
https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/11/politics/dan-caine-trump-invasion-claim-analysis
Comment: "So the White House said Tren de Aragua was acting in concert with the Maduro regime to invade; Caine now says 'state-sponsored folks' aren’t invading."
Axios: Scoop: Gabbard tightens grip on intel assessments after Venezuela clash
https://www.axios.com/2025/06/11/tulsi-gabbard-intelligence-leaks-deep-state
Comment: "Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has imposed a more intensive review process for inter-agency reports, slowing their publication and deepening internal fears about political influence on intelligence, two U.S. officials tell Axios."
Trump says he's restoring the original Confederate names of these Army bases — but with new namesakes - CBS News
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-restoring-confederate-names-army-bases/
Comment: Who does Trump think he is fooling?
DOJ Memo Gives Trump A Green Light To Dismantle National Monuments
https://www.publicdomain.media/p/doj-memo-trump-rescind-national-monuments
Comment: "A legal official at the Department of Justice has concluded that President Donald Trump has the authority to not only shrink but completely abolish areas protected as national monuments. The memo provides the legal framework for a broad reduction of federal land protections that Trump officials have alluded to for months."
Trump's DOJ makes sweeping demand for Colorado election data : NPR
https://www.npr.org/2025/06/11/nx-s1-5426097/trump-justice-department-voter-data-colorado
Comment: " 'What they're going to do with all this data, I don't know,' said Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, a Democrat. 'But I'm sure they will use it to push their ridiculous disinformation and lies to the American public.' "
Entire Fulbright board quits, citing Trump administration interference
https://www.axios.com/2025/06/11/trump-fulbright-board-quits
Comment: "All 12 members of the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board resigned on Tuesday, saying that the Trump administration 'has usurped the authority of the Board' and denied a 'substantial' number of its chosen recipients."
CNN: Research cuts pose ‘existential threat’ to academic medicine and put nation’s health at risk, new report says
https://edition.cnn.com/2025/06/11/health/health-care-research-cuts-report
Comment: "As of June, more than 1,100 NIH grants have been terminated since the beginning of the second Trump administration, according to the report. These include at least 160 clinical trials to study HIV/AIDS, cancer, mental health conditions, substance abuse and chronic disease."
RFK Jr. names some vaccine critics to key CDC committee after ousting entire panel
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/06/11/rfk-jr-malone-cdc-vaccine-committee.html
Video: BBC: How Trump's immigration raids sparked protests and unrest - June 11, 2025
https://www.bbc.com/news/videos/c626y7d1zlxo
Military.com: Guard Soldiers Deployed in Trump's LA Crackdown Aren't Getting Paid Yet
Bolton on Trump warning parade protesters will be ‘met with force’: ‘That’s mouth’
https://www.yahoo.com/news/bolton-trump-warning-parade-protesters-131615399.html
Hegseth says troops in LA are lawful. He just can’t explain why. - POLITICO
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/06/11/hegseth-hearing-stumble-los-angeles-00400436
NPR: What powers does Trump have to send troops to cities — even if they don't want them?
https://www.npr.org/2025/06/10/nx-s1-5428071/los-angeles-protests-national-guard-presidential-powers
NPR: Rep. Adam Smith fears Trump will use military as his 'personal police force'
https://www.npr.org/2025/06/10/nx-s1-5428581/adam-smith-trump-la-troop-deployment
Comment: "Top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee Adam Smith said he fears President Trump wants to use the U.S. military as his 'personal police force.' "
" 'President Trump wants this confrontation partially because he wants to emphasize the issue of immigration enforcement,' Smith told Morning Edition. 'But more, I fear, because he wants to politicize the U.S. military and legitimize using it as a law enforcement tool, which is incredibly dangerous.' "
Trump administration considers slashing federal education money for California
Comment: "The Trump administration is considering cutting federal education funds to California, according to people familiar with the administration’s thinking. The discussion comes as Gov. Gavin Newsom and President Donald Trump feud over the president’s deployment of the National Guard to LA to stop immigration protests."
US Marines arrive in LA; California governor warns 'democracy under assault'
Politico: Troops deployed to LA will cost $134M, Pentagon official says
Politico: Trump energy adviser slams renewables, says focus is on fossil fuels
Comment: "President Donald Trump is a fan of fossil fuels who is determined to boost oil and gas and turn away from renewables — regardless of what some energy executives, fellow Republicans or even Elon Musk have to say on the matter, one of his top energy advisers said Tuesday."
Comment: Do you think that Trump's enthusiasm for fossil fuels was influenced by the hundreds of millions of dollars that his campaign received from the industry in the 2024 presidential race, despite the fact that the amount fell short of the billion that he asked for?
Time Magazine: Trump’s First Surgeon General: RFK Jr. Purging the CDC Advisory Committee Will Put Lives at Risk
https://time.com/7292898/rfk-jr-cdc-advisory-committee-purge-risk-jerome-adams-essay/
Politico: ‘A Self-Fulfilling Prophecy’: How the Clash in LA Could Explode
How Trump defanged the Justice Department’s political corruption watchdogs | Reuters
https://share.google/p33lnQzFtDuodnw6c
Comment: "Created after the Watergate scandal, the U.S. Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section has fought political corruption for nearly half a century."
"Five months into President Donald Trump’s second term, it has been stripped of power."
"The unit has lost its authority to file new cases. Its staff has been reduced from more than 30 attorneys to five. And its once-powerful gatekeeping role – reviewing potential cases against members of Congress and other public officials to prevent politically motivated prosecutions – has been suspended."
AP News: Under Patel, FBI heightens focus on violent crime, illegal immigration. Other threats abound, too
Comment: "Some former officials are concerned the stepped-up focus on violent crime and immigration — areas already core to the mission of agencies including the Drug Enforcement Administration and Immigration and Customs Enforcement — risks deflecting attention from some of the complicated criminal and national security threats for which the bureau has long borne primary if not exclusive responsibility for investigating."
The Guardian: Hegseth aide upended Pentagon leak inquiry with false wiretap claims
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/09/hegseth-wiretap-inquiry-justin-fulcher
Comment: "The extraordinary episode adds to the growing portrait of dysfunction inside Hegseth’s front office, which is involved in setting the direction of a department that has a budget of nearly $1tn and oversees more than 2 million troops around the world."
NBC News: White House struggles to find qualified people willing to work for Pete Hegseth
AP News: RFK Jr. ousts entire CDC vaccine advisory committee
https://apnews.com/article/kennedy-cdc-acip-vaccines-3790c89f45b6314c5c7b686db0e3a8f9
CNBC: RFK Jr. removes all members of CDC panel advising U.S. on vaccines
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/06/09/rfk-jr-cdc-panel-vaccines.html
Comment: "It’s the latest move by Kennedy – a prominent vaccine skeptic – to change and potentially undermine vaccinations in the U.S. since he took the helm at HHS."
AP News: NIH scientists go public to criticize Trump’s deep cuts in public health research
The Guardian: Trump LA protest response risks turning US military into political force, veterans warn
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/09/veterans-trump-national-guard-la-protests
Los Angeles protests live: California governor calls Trump ‘reckless and immoral’ after president deploys national guard
Comment: "Gavin Newsome says Donald Trump is putting lives at risk; US president calls for arresting people in face masks and says 'bring in the troops' in late night social media posts"
a posts
Trump's intervention in LA is a political fight he is eager to have
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c628vwq9z9zo
AP News: Trump deploys California National Guard to LA to quell protests despite the governor's objections
https://apnews.com/article/immigration-raids-los-angeles-2d1d5e2f638da600c4b34fe8bf8cf3aa
Comments: "Newsom, a Democrat, said in a post on the social platform X that it was “purposefully inflammatory and will only escalate tensions.” He later said the federal government wants a spectacle and urged people not to give them one by becoming violent."
"In a signal of the administration’s aggressive approach, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth threatened to deploy the U.S. military."
The Hill: Wall Street Journal slams Vance’s foreign student stance as ‘false choice’
https://thehill.com/homenews/education/5338981-trump-visa-restrictions-foreign-students/
Comment: " 'This is a classic false choice. Of course the U.S. has talent and should invest in it. But welcoming foreign students doesn’t hinder Americans,' the editorial board said in their piece."
“ 'The cold, hard numbers show that too few Americans are pursuing STEM fields to meet the future needs of business and government. Of all U.S. bachelor’s degrees, biology and engineering fields make up about 13%,' they added."
From celebrating Juneteenth to the erasure of Black history: Charles M. Blow on America today - CBS News
The Daily Beast: Musk’s DOGE Goons Covertly Transmitted Reams of WH Data
Comment: "Elon Musk’s goons at the Department of Government Efficiency transmitted a large amount of data—all of it undetected—using a Starlink Wi-Fi terminal they installed on top of the White House, according to a new report."
Like Elon Musk, Russ Vought wants to break Washington. Unlike the billionaire, the budget guru might just succeed. - POLITICO
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/06/07/russ-vought-elon-musk-00392931
Axios: The great poaching: America's brain drain begins
https://www.axios.com/2025/06/07/us-science-brain-drain
The Guardian: Neo-Nazi group ‘actively seeking to grow in US’ with planned paramilitary training event
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/07/the-base-neo-nazi-group-paramilitary-training
Comment: "An international neo-Nazi terrorist organization is boldly continuing to build in the US and planning a new paramilitary training event without fear of local authorities or the FBI, which once dismantled it in a nationwide effort."
Trump's tariffs could pay for his tax cuts — but it likely wouldn't be much of a bargain | AP News
https://apnews.com/article/trump-tariffs-budget-deficit-taxes-447ab174f84d67fea5023bbe02dd60e0
DOGE just got a green light to access your Social Security data. Here’s what that means
https://www.yahoo.com/news/doge-just-got-green-light-221531889.html
Supreme Court grants Trump’s urgent bid for DOGE to have access to Social Security data
Comment: "The federal government had asked the justices to halt a judge’s order blocking DOGE from sensitive Social Security information."
Trump’s big bill includes an ‘unprecedented’ tax credit for a national school voucher program. Here’s how it would work | CNN Business
https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/06/business/national-school-voucher-trump-tax-bill
Trump asks Supreme Court to let him gut Education Department
Official overseeing the National Hurricane Center testified to Congress it’s fully staffed—it’s not
https://www.yahoo.com/news/official-overseeing-national-hurricane-center-161123757.html
NPR: RFK Jr. is shrinking the agency that works on mental illness and addiction
AP News: Transportation chief seeks to weaken fuel economy standards, calls Biden-era rule ‘illegal’
Military.com: White House Asked Joint Chiefs Chairman for Candidates to Lead NASA, Worrying Experts
Comment: "The revelation that Caine was asked for recommendations about the next head of NASA -- a civilian agency with a peaceful mission -- is unusual and, according to experts, an alarming signal that the Trump administration may be looking to blur the concept of scientific space exploration with the growing arms race and military interests in space."
AP News: Pentagon watchdog investigates if staffers were asked to delete Hegseth’s Signal messages
AP News: Planet-warming emissions dropped when companies had to report them. EPA wants to end that
AP News: How AP calculated the costs and death toll of EPA rule rollbacks
Audio & Transcript: The future of government-funded research at universities : NPR - June 5, 2025
Pell Grant changes in “Big Beautiful Bill” could affect thousands of Alabama college students - Alabama Daily News
Trump’s budget would reduce Pell Grant awards and work-study programs – EdSource
NPR: From bromance to breakup: How Elon Musk and Donald Trump blew up
https://www.npr.org/2025/06/05/nx-s1-5424686/donald-trump-elon-musk-bromance-breakup
The Guardian: Trump v Musk: the two worst people in the world are finally having a big, beautiful breakup | Arwa Mahdawi
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jun/05/trump-musk-fight-fallout
CNN: The ugliest things Trump and Musk just said about one another
https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/05/politics/donald-trump-elon-musk-ugliest-comments-analysis
Video: Trump sets new travel restrictions on 19 countries in echo of first term controversy - June 4, 2025
Trump overpowers Musk's attacks on mega tax bill with blizzard of orders
https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-overpowers-musks-attacks-mega-153732273.html
Comment: "Although not the stated goal, the president's blizzard of proclamations on the night of June 4 ‒ reviving a controversial travel plan, ordering an investigation into former President Joe Biden's use of an autopen and banning Harvard University from welcoming international students ‒ was classic Trump: when the going gets tough, change the subject."
CNN: Trump signs proclamation to ban travel from several countries
https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/04/politics/trump-travel-ban-proclamation
Video: Trump's 'best people' are not doing very well; bad time to cut career public servants - June 04,2025
US science is being wrecked, and its leadership is fighting the last war - Ars Technica
Trump signs memo calling on attorney general to review presidential actions signed by Biden
https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-signs-memo-calling-attorney-001819708.html
Comment: Is this an attempt to distract the public's attention from more important matters?
ABC News: RFK Jr. to tell medical schools to teach nutrition or lose federal funding
The Guardian: Proposed Republican cuts could undo opioid epidemic progress in Appalachia
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/04/opioids-appalachia-white-house-republicans
Firings, pardons and policy changes have gutted DOJ anti-corruption efforts, experts say
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna200571
Comment: "For decades, the FBI and the Justice Department have been the main enforcers of laws against political corruption and white-collar fraud in the United States. In four months, the Trump administration has dismantled key parts of that law enforcement infrastructure, creating what experts say is the ripest environment for corruption by public officials and business executives in a generation."
NPR: Trump asks Congress to wipe out funding for public broadcasting
https://www.npr.org/2025/06/03/nx-s1-5418080/pbs-npr-trump-rescission-public-broadcasting
Comment: "President Trump took yet another step Tuesday to place NPR and PBS at the center of his broader clash with major cultural institutions, formally asking Congress to take back the $1.1 billion it has set aside for all public broadcasters for the next two years."
Maddow Blog | Discredited claim from DHS’ Kristi Noem does fresh harm to her dwindling credibility
https://www.yahoo.com/news/maddow-blog-discredited-claim-dhs-183902949.html
AP News: Education Department says it will not garnish Social Security of student loan borrowers in default
Comment: Recent news articles had suggested that garnishments of Social Security payments, which had been used in pre-Covid pandemic years, would return.
NPR: COVID vaccine changes confuse and upset some parents and families : Shots - Health News
CNN: DOD official urged Trump administration not to end grant for biological threat research, Harvard tells court
Reuters: FEMA staff baffled after head said he was unaware of US hurricane season, sources say
Acting head of FEMA said he wasn't aware U.S. has a hurricane season, sources say - CBS News
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fema-head-wasnt-aware-hurricane-season/
RFK Jr’s team adds new errors to its ‘MAHA’ report, making the fiasco worse
RFK Jr. fires ‘opening salvo’ on vaccine status quo
https://www.yahoo.com/news/rfk-jr-fires-opening-salvo-100000196.html
Trump just turned on the architect of his biggest first-term victories
https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/trump-judges-federalist-society-leonard-leo-rcna209993
Comment: "The president attacked the Federalist Society and its co-founder Leonard Leo, a key advisor to Trump on judicial nominations during his first term."
Axios: Budget head Vought floats impoundment to sidestep Congress on DOGE cuts
https://www.axios.com/2025/06/01/vought-impoundment-doge-cuts-rescissions-congress
Video: Fareed's Take: In the face of geopolitical challenges, America is turning on itself - June 1, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-S6zmEQUXg
Gabbard Wants Fox Hosts to Feed Trump Top Secret Intel: ‘Doesn’t Read’
https://www.thedailybeast.com/tulsi-gabbard-wants-fox-hosts-to-feed-trump-intel-doesnt-read/
Comment: "Gabbard also reportedly consulted with current and former intelligence officials on bringing in a Fox News producer and host to reshape the PDBs—which are usually text and image-based for national security reasons—to deliver the intel in broadcast form. NBC News reported that the process could involve granting the Fox News team security clearance to access classified information."
'Trump time' becomes a liability for president's tariff agenda - POLITICO
Comment: "Yet with the central element of his economic agenda in jeopardy, Trump is digging in on his vow to impose steep tariffs by any means necessary — and stick it to those who question his strength and think he’s bound to 'chicken out.' "
RFK Jr.’s Own CDC Contradicts Him Days After Vaccine Quackery
https://www.thedailybeast.com/rfk-jrs-own-cdc-contradicts-him-days-after-vaccine-remarks/
Comment: "RFK Jr. and the CDC do not seem to be on the same page when it comes to COVID-19 vaxx protocols."
Public safety crisis: Budget cuts may cause US dams to fail
https://thehill.com/opinion/congress-blog/5325924-dam-safety-crisis-flood-risk/
NBC News: Army estimates that Trump's military parade could cost $16 million in damage to Washington streets
Comment: "The repair costs are part of the estimated $45 million price tag for the upcoming parade.
VIDEO: Trump vanity parade comes with hefty price tag; will displace Vietnam veterans event - May 31, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnLQ36EiFbg&t=8s
USA Today: CDC still recommends childhood COVID vaccines, despite RFK announcement
Supreme Court allows Trump to revoke temporary legal status of 500,000 immigrants from 4 countries
Supreme Court allows Trump to suspend deportation protections for immigrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela
https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/30/politics/supreme-court-trump-deportations-parole
Labor Department suspends Job Corps centers operations, drawing bipartisan pushback
https://thehill.com/business/budget/5325826-labor-department-job-corps-centers/
Comment: "Job Corps, established as part of the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964, is a free residential education and job training program for low-income people between 16 and 24 years of age."
Trump appears to be building an unprecedented spy machine that could track Americans
https://www.msnbc.com/top-stories/latest/trump-palantir-surveillance-americans-rcna210017
Trump says he wasn't aware of Musk reportedly using drugs during the 2024 campaign
https://share.newsbreak.com/dc7r1t78
Elon Musk Has Been “Using Drugs Far More Intensely Than Previously Known”: Report
https://www.yahoo.com/news/elon-musk-using-drugs-far-132744534.html
Trump nominates former podcast host with history of inflammatory comments for top ethics job
Trump picks right-wing lawyer and podcaster who promoted 2020 election lies as watchdog agency head
Comment: "If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Paul Ingrassia would lead the Office of Special Counsel, an agency dedicated to protecting whistleblowers that is also responsible for enforcing the Hatch Act, which restricts the partisan political activities of government workers."
Trump administration ending funding for HIV vaccine research
https://share.newsbreak.com/dc8nx0uz
Hegseth gutted Pentagon office that said it would oversee testing of Golden Dome missile defense system
https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/30/politics/hegseth-pentagon-office-gutted-golden-dome
The Guardian: We’re minimizing the horror of Trump’s military birthday parade | Judith Levine
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/may/30/trump-military-parade-fascism
Comment: "The media has focused on the price tag and potholes. But history may mark 14 June as the ceremonial birth of US fascism"
Federal News Network: Governmentwide hiring plan calls on agencies to recruit ‘patriotic Americans’ into federal workforce
Comment: Who defines "patriotic Americans"? Will this involve a political litmus test?
DOJ cutting American Bar Association access to judicial nominees
https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/5324916-doj-american-bar-association-judicial-nominees/
Comment: " 'Unfortunately, the ABA no longer functions as a fair arbiter of nominees’ qualifications, and its ratings invariably and demonstrably favor nominees put forth by Democratic administrations,' Bondi wrote in the letter to ABA President William Bay."
Comment: Could it be that the ABA evaluates judicial candidates on their knowledge of the law, rather than their adherence to MAGA legal theory?
Politico: Trump goes after Leonard Leo and the Federalist Society in fury over court ruling
Comment: "Trump’s attack came after the U.S. Court of International Trade struck down his tariffs, a blow to the primary pillar of his economic agenda."
AP News: Federal court blocks Trump from imposing sweeping tariffs under emergency powers law
$14 billion in clean energy projects canceled in US, analysis says | AP News
Politico: Musk is gone. But DOGE staffers are still trying to cut through agencies.
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/05/29/doge-staff-quiet-government-agency-cuts-00374613
White House acknowledges problems in RFK Jr.'s 'Make America Healthy Again' report : NPR
The Guardian: RFK Jr’s ‘Maha’ report found to contain citations to nonexistent studies
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/29/rfk-jr-maha-health-report-studies
Comment: "The report exposes glaring scientific failures from a health secretary who earlier this week threatened to ban government scientists from publishing in leading medical journals."
They've tracked Americans' drug use for decades. Trump and RFK Jr. fired them
NPR: How safe is the food supply after federal cutbacks? Experts are worried : Shots - Health News
Reuters: US cancels more than $700 million funding for Moderna bird flu vaccine
US court blocks most Trump tariffs, says president exceeded his authority | Reuters
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-court-blocks-trumps-liberation-day-tariffs-2025-05-28/
CNN: US court blocks Trump from imposing the bulk of his tariffs
https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/28/business/us-court-blocks-trumps-tariffs
Podcast & Transcript: Humiliated Trump’s Anger at Putin Grows as GOP Angst Rises | The New Republic
https://newrepublic.com/article/195767/transcript-humiliated-trump-anger-putin-grows-gop-angst-rises
White House cuts $400 million in aid for state unemployment systems
https://www.axios.com/2025/05/28/unemployment-states-fraud-labor
Video: Rogue pardon spree exposes Trump's political games and actual indifference to crimes - May 28, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAqcA5FKhow
Trump pardons former GOP Rep. Michael Grimm amid clemency spree
Trump pardons ex-Staten Island and Brooklyn GOP Rep. Michael Grimm, commutes sentence of notorious gang leader Larry Hoover
https://nypost.com/2025/05/28/us-news/trump-pardons-ex-staten-island-rep-michael-grimm/
Trump pardons former GOP congressman Michael Grimm over tax fraud charges
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-pardons-former-rep-michael-grimm/
Video: Ari on the crucial secret to beating Trump’s second-term tactics - May 28, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvtBTRbZ_Mo
CNN: Trump was just asked about the ‘TACO’ trade for the first time. He called it the ‘nastiest question’
https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/28/economy/trump-wall-street-taco-trade-nastiest-question
The New Republic: Trump Branded With Embarrassing Nickname Over Tariff Confusion
https://newrepublic.com/post/195780/donald-trump-nickname-tariffs-taco
Stephen Miller and Kristi Noem demand ICE agents increase arrests to 3,000 per day: report
https://www.yahoo.com/news/stephen-miller-kristi-noem-demand-131916023.html
USDA HQ employees told to work remotely so office building can house soldiers in upcoming military parade - Government Executive
Pentagon Diverts $1 Billion from Army Barracks to Fund Border Mission | Military.com
Comment: "The Pentagon is shifting $1 billion meant for maintaining and renovating Army barracks to instead fund its surge of troops to the U.S.-Mexico border, a move that coincides with the service's gradual deprioritization of quality-of-life initiatives for soldiers."
DOL pulls guidance discouraging crypto in 401(k)s - POLITICO
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/05/28/dol-pulls-guidance-discouraging-crypto-in-401ks-00372223
Comment: "The Biden administration had required 'extreme care' before adding crypto to retirement plan options."
RFK Jr. Offers to Relocate Bird Flu-Infected Ostriches to the U.S.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/rfk-jr-offers-relocate-bird-222700957.html
Comment: "Bird flu in the U.S. has slowly been spreading, forcing egg prices to skyrocket."
Sean Duffy asserts FAA allocation in GOP spending package 'won't be enough'
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5322082-sean-duffy-faa-gop-spending-package/
Tulsi Gabbard grows to become Donald Trump's most dangerous attack dog
https://www.yahoo.com/news/tulsi-gabbard-grows-become-donald-100006958.html
Video: How Trump deregulation could affect you - May 28, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/l5B51tAZTZ8
ABC News: Judge allows DOGE to access sensitive Treasury payment systems
CNN: DOGE can access sensitive Treasury payment systems, judge rules
https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/27/politics/doge-access-sensitive-treasury-payment-systems
The GOP's 'Big Beautiful Bill' has an ugly way of protecting Trump
https://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/amp/rcna209184
Comment: "A short provision would further insulate the president from judicial accountability."
Video: Trump views National Security Council as 'worrisome source' that 'will get in his way': Leonnig - May 27, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0-dSBHIpBk
Trump is losing patience with Putin but unsure of his next move - POLITICO
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/05/27/trump-putin-sanctions-patience-00371571
Comment: "Lawmakers see an opening for more sanctions on Russia, but the president is undecided."
Video: RFK Jr. announces change to Covid vaccine recommendation - May 27, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/LcpD7PY27os
Covid vaccines for pregnant women, healthy kids are no longer recommended by CDC, RFK Jr. says
Comment: "Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. -- a Covid vaccine critic -- made the announcement on X."
Politico: RFK Jr. threatens to bar government scientists from publishing in leading medical journals
‘Corrupt’ medical journals have to change, RFK Jr. says, or the NIH will publish in-house
Trump Border Czar’s Cash-In With Key ICE Contractor Unmasked
https://share.newsbreak.com/da6ii3ng
Border Czar's Security Detail Costs Taxpayers $1 Million a Month: Report
https://share.newsbreak.com/d9vvkse9
Trump Reportedly Moves To Cancel Remaining Federal Contracts With Harvard—Worth $100 Million
Trump says he is pardoning Julie and Todd Chrisley, reality TV stars convicted of bank fraud and tax evasion
https://share.newsbreak.com/da66ifm3
GOP declares war on GAO
https://share.newsbreak.com/d9vehz2e
Comment: "The independent Government Accountability Office has served Congress as the nation’s chief investigator of wrongdoing at federal agencies for more than a century. Now it’s under assault."
Here's what a Texas oil executive from DOGE is doing inside the Interior Department
https://share.newsbreak.com/d9v27hoc
Comment: "A Texas oil executive from Elon Musk’s government efficiency team has been given sweeping powers to overhaul the federal department that manages vast tracts of resource-rich public lands, but he hasn’t divested his energy investments or filed an ethics commitment to break ties with companies that pose a conflict of interest, records show."
Video: 'Corruption on steroids': Wallace on new Trump-aligned private members club with $500K fee - May 27, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/wvopa-_GV74
Trump EPA drafting a rule that would undo decades of progress on limiting pollution from power plants
https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/26/climate/trump-epa-power-plant-rule
Trump pardons Virginia sheriff convicted of federal bribery charges
https://share.newsbreak.com/d9uvcw0x
FBI deputy director says bureau will pour resources into cases including Supreme Court leak and cocaine at the White House
Comment: "Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino said Monday that his agency will revive or devote more resources into several investigations of unsolved cases from the Biden administration that have 'garnered public interest' and have long ignited claims of corruption by allies and supporters of President Donald Trump."
'God did that': Trump marks Memorial Day and trumpets his second-term successes
Comment: "President Trump's remarks at Arlington National Cemetery contrasted with his more-combative public comments from throughout the long holiday weekend
Trump visits Arlington National Cemetery after lashing out at political opponents in Memorial Day post | CNN Politics
https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/26/politics/trump-memorial-day-political-opponents
Comment: "President Donald Trump honored fallen service members at Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day hours after blasting his political opponents and perceived enemies as 'scum' in a social media post marking the solemn day."
Trump takes veiled swipe at Biden in Arlington Memorial Day remarks - ABC News
Comment: "President Donald Trump, marking Memorial Day at Arlington National Cemetery on Monday, waded into politics during remarks to pay tribute to those who died in America's wars."
NPR: The CFPB wanted medical debt to be left off credit reports. That's changed under Trump
https://www.npr.org/2025/05/26/nx-s1-5406799/cfpbs-medical-debt-credit-report-lawsuit
Video: ‘Profoundly dangerous’: Fmr. CIA official reacts to NSC mass layoffs - May 26, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7zKuWGKr0A
Audio Podcast: What Trump's cuts to intelligence could mean for national security : Consider This from NPR : NPR
Video: Velshi fact-checks Vance's claims about the Court's role - May 26, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/TdJp8xnYRHY
Trump says Putin has 'gone absolutely CRAZY', considering more sanctions on Russia | Reuters
The Hill: Trump says Putin has gone ‘absolutely crazy,’ warns of downfall of Russia
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5318407-trump-accuses-putin-russia/
Comment: Is Trump finally realizing who Vladimir Putin is?
MSNBC News: Trump's tax cuts will be cripplingly expensive for most Americans
https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/trump-tax-cuts-will-cost-americans-rcna208852
‘That’s the Way Militaries Work in Russia and China and North Korea’ - POLITICO
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2025/05/25/pete-hegseth-generals-purge-seth-moulton-00360166
The Times of Israel: US National Security Council staff fired en masse, including Mideast, Israel, Iran chiefs
Opinion: Trump is taking a wrecking ball to the separation of powers
https://share.newsbreak.com/d9v1p6sc
USA Today: How Trump's clash with the courts is brewing into an 'all-out war'
Video: Judge Luttig: Trump’s war the judiciary could see 'catastrophic end' - May 25, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwFS68lyXT4
Trump’s Alarming Escalation in Rhetoric Against the Judiciary
https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-alarming-escalation-rhetoric-against-175348803.html
How Trump's clash with the courts is brewing into an 'all-out war'
https://www.yahoo.com/news/trumps-clash-courts-brewing-war-090159143.html
Trump’s ICE Detains U.S. Citizen, Claiming His REAL ID Was Fake
https://share.newsbreak.com/d9v1687w
The Daily Beast: Trump Admin Says Due Process for Immigrants Is ‘Burdensome’
Politico: Trump’s contract-cutting blitz rattles a once-flourishing DC industry
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/05/25/trump-government-consulting-contracts-cuts-00362158
‘Roadmap for corruption’: Trump dive into cryptocurrency raises ethics alarm
https://share.newsbreak.com/d9v1fqdf
Video: International students being targeted at Harvard bring 'billions of dollars' to the US - May 25, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/t8Pw2p5CFbc
Trump Brags to West Point Grads He Can Do Whatever He Wants Now
https://share.newsbreak.com/d9vlkynh
Trump slashing half of National Security Council staff
https://share.newsbreak.com/d9voep2i
Video: 'Fired for telling the truth': U.S. intelligence being twisted to serve Trump's narratives - May 24, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=antxxinKfHc
Military.com: The Fatal Cost of Twisting Intelligence
https://www.military.com/daily-news/2025/05/24/fatal-cost-of-twisting-intelligence.html
Pentagon Press Association calls Defense Secretary Hegseth’s access restrictions ‘a direct attack’
https://www.yahoo.com/news/pentagon-press-association-calls-defense-165416016.html
NPR: Justice Department cuts to public safety grants leave police and nonprofits scrambling
The Guardian: ‘Fiscally irresponsible’: Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ benefits the rich at the expense of the poor
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/24/trump-tax-bill-analysis
Comment: "Bill will make permanent huge tax cuts to the wealthy and cost the government $4.6tn over the next 10 years"
NPR: Trump's massive spending bill & the GOP's priorities
https://www.npr.org/2025/05/24/nx-s1-5407899/trumps-massive-spending-bill-the-gops-priorities
"Not with a bang, but a whimper": Experts say charging NJ Democrat will backfire on Trump DOJ
https://www.yahoo.com/news/not-bang-whimper-experts-charging-130005672.html
The White House rejects a watchdog finding that it's breaking the law over halted funds
https://www.npr.org/2025/05/23/nx-s1-5409080/trump-white-house-impoundment-gao
Trump says he’s ‘not looking for a deal’ with the EU after threatening a 50% tariff
https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/23/economy/trump-eu-tariffs
Video: White House purges Trump transcripts - May 23, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ZXXcj-LUAkI
Video: Trump’s image of dead ‘white farmers’ came from Congo, not South Africa - May 23, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvqyunEhclo
Trump could be held liable on Civil RICO charges
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/5/22/2323775/-Trump-could-be-held-liable-on-Civil-RICO-charges
Comment: Wishful thinking by author, or real possibility?
Axios: Trump defies ethics warnings with private meme coin dinner
https://www.axios.com/2025/05/22/trump-meme-coin-dinner
Video: Mystery guests pay $1M+ for access to Trump at private dinner - May 22, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/hRCQz4qYumI
Politico: Trump’s hands-off megabill strategy to face test in Senate
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/05/22/trump-hands-off-strategy-senate-00366597
AP News: Defense Secretary Hegseth, bedeviled by leaks, orders more restrictions on press at Pentagon
https://apnews.com/article/military-pentagon-hegseth-press-access-ff9ed0431848cae8816108a8b19c640f
A Single Server Holds All Navy Pay and Promotion Data. DOGE Canceled a Contract to Upload It to the Cloud.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/single-server-holds-navy-pay-213304961.html
Guardian: The new Trump-led tax bill promises an American ‘golden age’ – that conveniently ends with his presidency
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/22/tax-cuts-republican-trump-bill
NBC News: Solar stocks plunge as Republican tax bill is worse than feared for clean energy
Forbes: More Than 7 Million Could Lose Medicaid After House Passes Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill,’ Estimate Says
Counterterrorism nominee Joe Kent under scrutiny as emails show he pushed for edits to intelligence assessment - CBS News
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/counterterrorism-nominee-joe-kent-emails-edits-intelligence-assessment/
Comment: "President Trump's nominee to head the National Counterterrorism Center is under fresh scrutiny as emails show he pressed senior intelligence analysts to amend an assessment of links between the Venezuelan government and the criminal gang, Tren de Aragua, known as TDA, to align the assessment more closely with Trump administration policies and to include references critical of Biden-era immigration programs."
ABC News: New head of Social Security, hired from Wall Street, tells staff he had to Google the job when he was offered it
https://abcnews.go.com/US/new-head-social-security-hired-wall-street-tells/story?id=122075152
The Intercept: U.S. Spy Agencies Are Getting a One-Stop Shop to Buy Your Most Sensitive Personal Data
https://theintercept.com/2025/05/22/intel-agencies-buying-data-portal-privacy/
Comment: "The government wants to build a centralized platform where spy agencies can more easily buy private info about millions of people."
Military.com: Here Are All the Big Cuts and Changes Coming to the Army
https://www.military.com/daily-news/2025/05/22/here-are-all-big-cuts-and-changes-coming-army.html
US Treasury confirms the end of the penny - BBC News
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2j07858lno
Trump administration bars Harvard from enrolling international students - ABC News
Busy hurricane season expected as forecasters fear Trump cuts. - BBC News
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp855prygj1o
Video: Fallout after tense confrontation between Trump and South African president - May 22, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcA5xMygeiQ
In making his case against South Africa, Trump relied on ‘evidence’ that wasn’t real
The Hill: No one voted for more pollution — so why is the EPA trying to cut half its budget?
https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/5309554-epa-funding-cuts-pollution/
FEMA senior officials exit en masse as Trump targets agency
https://www.aol.com/news/fema-senior-officials-exit-en-022055690.html
FEMA rescinds strategic plan less than 2 weeks before hurricane season - CBS News
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fema-rescinds-strategic-plan-less-than-2-weeks-before-hurricane-season/
CNN: How the White House orchestrated Trump’s Oval Office ambush of South African president
https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/21/politics/trump-ramaphosa-oval-office-ambush
ABC News: Trump confronts South Africa's president in Oval Office, pushes false claims of white genocide
NAP News: Kristi Noem says habeas corpus lets Trump ‘remove people from this country’
Comment: "Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem says the constitutional provision that allows people to legally challenge their detention by the government is actually a tool the Trump administration can use in its broader crackdown at the U.S.-Mexico border. She called habeas corpus “a constitutional right that the president has to be able to remove people from this country and suspend their rights.”
Comment: Noem's ignorance and incompetence in regard to basic constitutional rights, coupled with the power of her office, makes her a danger to all inhabitants of this country.
Pentagon says it has accepted Boeing jet from Qatar that will be used for Trump - CBS News
NPR: These 7 executive actions show how Trump wants to reshape American history
https://www.npr.org/2025/05/21/nx-s1-5389638/trump-executive-actions-american-history-culture
ABC News: Army prepares tanks for DC military parade that could cost $45 million
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/army-begins-preparing-tanks-cross-country-trip-dc/story?id=122043939
Comment: "The parade marks the Army's 250th year and falls on Trump's birthday."
Tanks, heavy vehicles on their way to Washington as the Army prepares for its 250th anniversary celebration | Stars and Stripes
https://www.stripes.com/branches/army/2025-05-21/army-parade-washington-250th-birthday-17868320.html
Democrats sound alarm as Trump cuts flood prevention projects in blue states
https://www.yahoo.com/news/democrats-sound-alarm-trump-cuts-120050756.html
NPR: Diseases are spreading. The CDC isn’t warning the public like it was months ago
https://www.npr.org/2025/05/21/nx-s1-5387723/cdc-communications-cuts-social-media-public-health
Trump’s pick for IRS chief gives oddly evasive answers on presidential targeting
Comment: "Billy Long wouldn’t give a direct response when asked if the president can order the Internal Revenue Service to strip someone’s tax-exempt status."
The Hill: Patel and Bongino draw scrutiny from MAGA World
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5310342-fbi-kash-patel-dan-bongino-maga/
The Guardian: Kash Patel scraps FBI unit monitoring surveillance rules compliance
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/20/kash-patel-fbi-surveillance-unit
Comment: "Bureau’s office of internal auditing was set up to uncover misuses of Fisa surveillance during Trump’s first term"
Ron Wyden says he has proof of favors 'promised' by Billy Long, Trump's IRS pick
https://thehill.com/business/5309889-long-expected-favors-irs-debate/
US launches unit to target DEI policies at colleges with civil fraud probes | Reuters
How Trump's Policies Are Already Upending Special Education
NPR: A stricter FDA policy for COVID vaccines could limit future access
https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2025/05/20/nx-s1-5405013/fda-covid-vaccine-limits
Video: Kristi Noem defends Trump admin's deportations without due process - May 20, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/wc3OqqZg8-U
DOJ sends warning to judges and lawmakers who stoke Trump’s wrath on immigration - POLITICO
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/05/20/justice-department-charges-lawmaker-judge-00361906
Politico: Alina Habba targeted Democrats when she became New Jersey’s top prosecutor. Now she’s following through.
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/05/20/alina-habba-new-jersey-prosecutor-00360470
Comment: "Habba, who had no prosecutorial experience but represented President Donald Trump in three civil trials in recent years, found an opening this month to make her mark, when three Democratic House members and a progressive mayor running for governor showed up to inspect a migrant detention center in Newark."
AP News: Democratic Rep. McIver charged with assault after skirmish at ICE center, New Jersey prosecutor says
Gabbard signals shift in U.S. intelligence collection priorities - SpaceNews
https://spacenews.com/gabbard-signals-shift-in-u-s-intelligence-collection-priorities/
Comment: "Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard announced a reorientation of U.S. intelligence collection efforts toward border security and counternarcotics operations, describing it as 'the biggest shift in collection priorities in ODNI history.' "
CNN: Analysis: Trump’s FBI bosses are angering the MAGA media bubble they once stoked
https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/19/media/dan-bongino-kash-patel-fbi-trump-maga-media-conspiracies
AP News: RFK Jr. pledged not to upend US vaccine system, but big changes are underway
70% of the DOJ's Civil Rights Division lawyers are leaving because of Trump's reshaping : NPR
https://www.npr.org/2025/05/19/g-s1-66906/trump-civil-rights-justice-exodus
Politico: Outgoing Capitol Police chief blasts reported settlement in Jan. 6 shooting
CNN: Trump administration to settle Ashli Babbitt wrongful death suit for $5 million, source says
https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/19/politics/ashli-babbitt-settlement-capitol-riot
Comment: "The Trump administration has agreed to pay nearly $5 million to the family of Ashli Babbitt, a pro-Donald Trump rioter who was shot and killed after breaching the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, according to a person familiar with the matter."
Politico: A federal agency goes full Trumpist
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/05/19/brendan-carr-fcc-cbs-media-00299588
Comment: "Four months into his tenure as head of America’s top communications regulator, Brendan Carr appears to be running a Trumpian playbook to transform a long-independent agency."
NBC News: Trump taps his most trusted officials to do as many as four jobs — at the same time
Opinion | Why Trump is making an unprecedented effort to scrub the historical record
https://www.yahoo.com/news/opinion-why-trump-making-unprecedented-191457306.html
Comment: "Trump also gets to avoid accountability for future investigations, whether from Congress or elsewhere. Much as a mob boss detests a paper trail, Trump is averse to the idea of keeping records of everything he and his inner circle are considering, as he constantly pursues schemes that push up against or transgress the law."
Trump's tussles with the courts could lead the nation into uncharted waters | AP News
Comment: "Tucked deep in the thousand-plus pages of the multitrillion-dollar budget bill making its way through the Republican-controlled U.S. House is a paragraph curtailing a court’s greatest tool for forcing the government to obey its rulings: the power to enforce contempt findings."
Comment: "But the fact that GOP lawmakers are including it shows how much those in power in the nation’s capital are thinking about the consequences of defying judges as the battle between the Trump administration and the courts escalates."
Medical and Scientific Research Makes America Great | TIME
https://time.com/7286127/medical-scientific-research-makes-america-great/
Comment: "We have witnessed a decline in trust for basic research in recent years. This has been accompanied by significant cuts in government financial support leading to sharp cuts in vital personnel in critical scientific and medical research programs at universities, laboratories, and highly regarded medical and scientific centers throughout the country."
Video: Psaki: Trump's takeover of the Library of Congress is about 'more than just books' - May 18, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/XOnFbdwJ4_U
CBS News: Rubio says intelligence community is incorrect in assessment of Tren de Aragua: "They're wrong"
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/marco-rubio-intelligence-community-tren-de-aragua/
Comment: Why do we spend so much on the intelligence community, if Trump administrative officials are just going to ignore any assessments that conflict with the political narrative they are trying to convey to the public?
CNN: Social Security drops controversial anti-fraud review amid growing claims backlog
https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/17/politics/social-security-anti-fraud-policy
Justice Department deal ends a ban on an aftermarket trigger. Gun control advocates are alarmed
https://www.yahoo.com/news/justice-department-deal-ends-ban-130649955.html
NPR: How DOGE has tried to embed beyond the executive branch
https://www.npr.org/2025/05/17/nx-s1-5401392/doge-federal-agency-nonprofits-cpb-usip-vera-institute
DOGE said 40% of the Social Security Agency’s calls were ‘fraudulent.’ Data suggests it was actually less than 1%
https://www.yahoo.com/news/doge-said-40-social-security-171438243.html
CNN: Trump brings emergency appeal over mass firings to Supreme Court
https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/16/politics/mass-firings-supreme-court-trump-appeal
USA Today: Donald Trump slams Supreme Court ruling blocking deportation without a court hearing
Politico: Army to place large metal plates on DC streets to protect them from tanks during June parade
In remarks to U.S. troops, Trump renews talk of a third term, despite the Constitution
The Hill: The actual cost of a US ‘Golden Dome’ could be staggering
Moody's lowers U.S. credit rating to 'Aa1'
Reuters: Moody's pushes U.S. out of elite 'AAA' club citing rising debt
https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/moodys-downgrades-us-aa1-rating-2025-05-16/
Comment: "Trump is pushing lawmakers in the Republican-controlled Congress to pass a bill extending the 2017 tax cuts that were his signature first-term legislative achievement, a move that nonpartisan analysts say will add trillions to the federal government's debt."
NPR: Cuts to the federal government may impact nation's weather forecasts
Some Social Security recipients face 15% cut to benefits starting next month - al.com
Comment: "The Trump administration announced in May it would restart the Treasury Offset Program, a collections initiative for people who in currently in default on their student loan payments."
Department Of Education Reveals 96% Of Student Loan Repayment Applications Remain Unprocessed - Forbes
Video: Psaki: Being asked about your agency shouldn't come as a surprise - May 16, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/N7EVS97ITD0
The Guardian: Forget the DEI hires – meet Trump’s latest WTF hire | Arwa Mahdawi
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/may/16/trump-casey-means-surgeon-general
Trump admin permits sale of device that allows standard firearms to fire like machine guns
https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-admin-permits-sale-device-001010506.html
Reuters: US Justice Dept takes next steps to merge ATF and DEA, sources say
‘Open season for corruption’: FBI shuts down public corruption unit that investigated Trump
VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pp5vq3_6HQk
CNN: Exclusive: FEMA is "not ready" for hurricane season, internal agency review shows
https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/15/politics/fema-review-concerns-hurricane-season
Politico: US space chief warns of emerging threats from China and Russia
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/05/15/space-chief-saltzman-china-russia-threats-00351616
AP News: Homeland Security looks to buy a new $50M jet for secretary and Coast Guard officials
https://apnews.com/article/noem-homeland-security-jet-coast-guard-2ddb552a871a6409c8de11b776a0939c
Stephen Miller re-emerges as an ‘untouchable’ force in Trump’s White House
'The president's id:' How Stephen Miller is driving Trump's agenda: From the Politics Desk
The Guardian: Stephen Miller is wrong: the president can’t just suspend habeas corpus | Austin Sarat
Exclusive: DHS civil rights office opened investigation into Mahmoud Khalil’s arrest days before office was dissolved | CNN Politics
https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/15/politics/homeland-security-mahmoud-khalil-investigation
Comment: Coincidence?
AP News: Older people in crosshairs as government restarts Social Security garnishment on student loans
https://apnews.com/article/student-loans-debt-social-security-67a3a50a90aee3e6dda1ae4428094f97
Forbes: Department Of Education Prepares To Seize 15% Of Student Loan Borrowers’ Pay
Axios: U.S. to spend $1 trillion on nuclear weapons over next decade
https://www.axios.com/2025/05/14/nuke-spending-cbo-report-criticism
Military.com: 2 Educational Programs for Troops Eliminated Amid Cost-Cutting Efforts at Pentagon
Mother Jones: We Still Don’t Know What Kash Patel Did as a Consultant for Qatar
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/05/kash-patel-qatar-fbi-trump/
Among the problems with Trump’s ‘free’ luxury jet from Qatar: It’s not actually free
AP News: Trump marvels at wealth of his Arab hosts while he eyes White House and Air Force One upgrades
NBC News: FBI field offices ordered to shift agents to immigration crackdown
Comment: "The shift will likely reduce federal law enforcement resources devoted to counterterrorism and counterintelligence. A separate effort will reduce white-collar crime probes."
Trump cabinet member’s links to El Salvador crypto firm under scrutiny
https://share.newsbreak.com/d3acb2vh
NPR: Multiple Trump White House officials have ties to antisemitic extremists
https://www.npr.org/2025/05/14/nx-s1-5387299/trump-white-house-antisemitism
Republican tax bill could slap ‘terrorism’ label on non-profits opposed to Trump
https://share.newsbreak.com/d3a48u82
Politico: GOP leaders draw the line at Trump’s Library of Congress takeover
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/05/14/library-of-congress-trump-takeover-carla-hayden-00349275
Comment: "A White House push to seize control of the Library of Congress over the past week has run temporarily aground due to quiet but firm resistance from Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, according to three people granted anonymity to describe the sensitive situation."
Trump’s new ‘librarian’ shows he’s running out of yes-men
https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/trump-library-of-congress-todd-blanche-rcna206506
DOGE promised to send Americans $5,000. What happened?
CNN: Social Security reminds workers about ‘resurrecting’ people wrongly declared dead
https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/14/politics/social-security-death-resurrection
Comment: "Spurred by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, the Social Security Administration is combing through its databases to check whether beneficiaries are alive or dead. .... The problem: Some people who have recently been declared dead are actually alive, forcing them to go to Social Security offices to be 'resurrected' and stop the financial havoc that such a mistake can have on their lives.
NPR: What to know about a federal proposal to help families pay for private school
https://www.npr.org/2025/05/14/nx-s1-5397945/private-school-vouchers-choice-reconciliation
AP News: What the EPA’s partial rollback of the ‘forever chemical’ drinking water rule means
EPA announces rollback for some Biden-era limits on 'forever chemicals' in drinking water
https://www.yahoo.com/news/epa-announces-rollback-biden-era-134020660.html
U.S. AG Pam Bondi Sold More than $1 Million in Trump Media Stock the Day Trump Announced Sweeping Tariffs
https://share.newsbreak.com/d3a58crl
The Guardian: US transportation secretary changed wife’s flight from Newark after ongoing issues at airport
Comment: "Airport has seen multiple serious failures in past weeks while Sean Duffy has assured the public it’s safe to fly from there"
NBC News: Birthright citizenship dispute at the Supreme Court has broad implications for Trump's agenda
Comment: "A long-simmering issue -- individual federal judges blocking policies nationwide -- is taking center stage Thursday in oral arguments.
Why Trump’s effort to end birthright citizenship may be a legal loser but still give the president a major boost | CNN Politics
https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/13/politics/trump-birthright-citizenship-legal-boost
Comment: "On Thursday, the Supreme Court will be considering nationwide orders issued in multiple lawsuits challenging Trump’s birthright citizenship executive order – brought by Democratic-led states, immigrant advocacy groups and individuals who are pregnant with children who would be denied citizenship under the Trump proposal. Trump is asking the high court to limit the current injunctions to just the handful of individual plaintiffs – or at the very least, just in the roughly two-dozen Democratic states-led that challenged the policy in court."
Comment: Is The Trump Administration asking that birthright citizenship be denied to children born in Alabama to non-citizen parents, just because Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall (and officers of other Republican led states) did not join the lawsuits as plaintiffs?
Breaking Defense: At nearly $142 billion, White House claims largest defense deal ‘in history’ with Saudi Arabia
Comment: "Details about purported deals are scarce, but one analysts told Breaking Defense, 'When the Trump factor is involved, we should not dismiss any possibilities.' "
AP News: Mexican security chief confirms cartel family members entered US in a deal with Trump administration
The Hill: Gabbard fires top National Intelligence Council officials
NBC News: Turning Qatari 747 into Air Force One could cost $1 billion and take years, experts say
DOGE continues to publish misleading or inaccurate claims on its "Wall of Receipts" - CBS News
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/doge-wall-of-receipts-misleading-inaccurate-claims/
DOJ 'weaponization' group will shame individuals it can't charge with crimes, new head says
Comment: Isn't the DOJ responsible for prosecuting crimes, not actions it subjectively labels "shameful?"" Why didn't Ed Martin find the actions of the January 6th rioters shameful? I thought the GOP blamed Democrats for "weaponizing" government.
The Hill: Trump’s executive orders are a direct attack on free speech
NPR: Trump is looking to use the IRS for his own political ends. Nixon tried it too
https://www.npr.org/2025/05/12/nx-s1-5379585/irs-harvard-trump-nixon
AP News: What is the Emoluments Clause? And how might it apply to Qatar giving Trump a plane?
https://apnews.com/article/emoluments-clause-trump-jet-qatar-56f995acb57eb741b0214aba5e7e8220
Pam Bondi's Qatar Links Under Scrutiny Over Trump's Luxury Plane Gift - Newsweek
https://www.newsweek.com/pam-bondi-qatar-links-under-scrutiny-over-trump-luxury-plane-gift-2070774
Defense News: Experts: Qatar-gifted Air Force One may be security, upgrade disaster
Axios: Backstory: How Trump got a free "palace in the sky"
https://www.axios.com/2025/05/12/trump-free-jet-qatar
The Hill: Trump wants to make natural disaster victims a state problem
https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/5292949-federal-disaster-assistance-future/
Axios: Trump naming his former defense attorney as acting Librarian of Congress
https://www.axios.com/2025/05/12/trump-former-attorney-acting-librarian-congress-blanche
Trump sacked Copyright Office director a day after she refused to rubber-stamp Musk’s plan to train AI models, top Dem says
https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-sacked-copyright-office-director-142551502.html
The Hill: Energy Department proposes to cut 47 rules in ‘largest deregulatory effort in history’
The Hill: RFK Jr. goes swimming in DC’s Rock Creek despite NPS guidance on bacteria
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5295429-rfk-jr-rock-creek-swimming/
Comment: Not only was it very unhealthy for his grandchildren, wasn't it also against the law?
Trump admin's threat to suspend core U.S. legal right sparks outcry and alarm
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/legal-experts-habeas-corpus-stephen-miller-rcna206130
10% tariffs are here to stay, Lutnick says, insisting consumers don't pay
https://www.axios.com/2025/05/11/trump-trade-war-lutnick-tariffs
Comment: "Economists generally disagree, and sentiment surveys say consumers don't believe it, either."
NPR: Dr. Casey Means, Trump's pick for Surgeon General, faces criticism across the spectrum
Qatar calls reports of pending jet gift to Trump 'inaccurate' - POLITICO
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/05/11/qatar-calls-jet-gift-trump-inaccurate-00341084
Comment: "The president might end up with a luxury jumbo jet, but it won’t happen this week."
ABC News: Trump administration poised to accept 'palace in the sky' as a gift for Trump from Qatar: Sources
Comment: "The highly unusual -- unprecedented -- arrangement is sure to raise questions about whether it is legal for the Trump administration, and ultimately, the Trump presidential library foundation, to accept such a valuable gift from a foreign power."
Trump officials ‘created confrontation’ that led to arrest of Newark mayor
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/11/trump-officials-newark-mayor-arrest
Comment: Includes Video. You decide if the Newark mayor or Democratic members of Congress did anything to merit threatened arrests. By the way, the small gray haired women at the center of the video, who some are trying to protect, is 80 year old Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman.
Federal workplace safety workers say gutting their agency will lead to preventable deaths on the job
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/federal-workplace-safety-workers-letter-to-congress-rcna206076
Donald Trump’s firing of FEMA leader plunges disaster agency into uncertainty
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5292914-fema-leader-fired-amid-agency-cuts/
The Daily Beast: Is Trump Out of Touch, Senile, Nuts, or Something Worse?
https://www.thedailybeast.com/is-trump-out-of-touch-senile-nuts-or-something-worse/
Trump DHS eyes arrests for House Democrats over New Jersey ICE incident
https://www.axios.com/2025/05/10/trump-ice-arrest-house-democrats-new-jersey
DHS spokesperson threatens arrests of House Democrats who were at N.J. ICE facility
Trump's dismantling of Education Department gives states 'green light' to pursue voucher programs
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna205406
Comment: " ... an uptick critics fear will erode the public education system."
Judges have a warning about Trump’s rapid deportations: Americans could be next - POLITICO
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/05/10/donald-trump-immigration-deportations-due-process-00339319
AP News: Experts call Kennedy’s plan to find autism’s cause unrealistic
https://apnews.com/article/autism-kennedy-rfk-science-e4a5795275042c29e4a5721b2b163970
Trump administration halts research to help babies with heart defects
Ars Technica: Industry groups are not happy about the imminent demise of Energy Star
Trump has sat for only 12 ‘daily’ intelligence briefings since taking office
https://share.newsbreak.com/d0l86pjl
FedEx board member David Steiner to be next US postmaster general
https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2025/05/09/politics/usps-postmaster-general-david-steiner
Comment: "Rep. Gerry Connolly, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, warned that Steiner’s appointment would be a 'blatant conflict of interest and an attempt by President Trump to install a handpicked loyalist.' ”
Thousands in West Region being booted out of military’s Tricare
It took 250 years to build what Trump is trying to undo
https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/09/politics/federal-agencies-trump-irs-usps-photo-essay-what-matters
Mother Jones: Trump’s Killing of Energy Star Program Will Cost Families a Bundle
Comment: "The federal Energy Star program is among the most successful government initiatives in modern history. Its signature blue label is now nearly as recognizable as the Nike swoosh or a Coca-Cola can, and appliances bearing it save American consumers some $40 billion annually in energy costs, or about $350 for every taxpayer dollar that goes in."
The WH says Trump is considering suspending habeas corpus. What would that mean?
https://www.yahoo.com/news/wh-says-trump-considering-suspending-221407447.html
Trump involved in discussions over suspending habeas corpus, sources say
https://www.yahoo.com/news/stephen-miller-says-white-house-223322813.html
White House considering suspending habeas corpus, Stephen Miller says
https://www.axios.com/2025/05/09/habeas-corpus-white-house
Opinion: Trump’s chaotic government is no accident — it’s strategic neglect
https://share.newsbreak.com/d0l5s2p5
AP News: ‘Don’t get in my way,’ the new acting head of federal disaster agency warns in call with staff
Comment: "The new head of the federal agency tasked with responding to disasters across the country warned staff in a meeting Friday not to try to impede upcoming changes, saying that 'I will run right over you' while also suggesting policy changes that would push more responsibilities to the states."
Trump rips program to bring high-speed internet to rural areas as ‘racist’ and ‘totally unconstitutional’
https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-rips-program-bring-high-181416432.html
Comment: Really? How so?
Politico: Lawmakers did not seek Hayden’s firing as Librarian of Congress
Comment: " 'The president acted on his own in this decision,' said one person, who like the others was granted anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter."
Comment: "White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Friday that Hayden, the first Black person and first woman to lead the Library of Congress, 'did not fit the needs of the American people.' ”
Trump fires Librarian of Congress, continuing to shape cultural institutions : NPR
https://www.npr.org/2025/05/09/nx-s1-5393737/carla-hayden-fired-library-of-congress-trump
Pentagon orders military to pull all library books on diversity
https://www.yahoo.com/news/pentagon-orders-military-pull-library-192211948.html
5 ways the Trump administration is implementing Project 2025 - Los Angeles Times
NPR: Trump tightens control of independent agency overseeing nuclear safety
Comment: "Going forward, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) must send new rules regarding reactor safety to the White House, where they will be reviewed and possibly edited. That is a radical departure for the watchdog agency, which historically has been among the most independent in the government."
FDA stalls in posting food safety warning letters amid staff cuts
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna204879
USDA, DOGE demand states hand over personal data about food stamp recipients
https://www.npr.org/2025/05/09/nx-s1-5389952/usda-snap-doge-data-immigration
Trump to sign order discouraging criminal enforcement of regulatory offenses
https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-sign-order-discouraging-criminal-195931231.html
The Guardian: White House to take choice of Pentagon chief of staff out of Hegseth’s hands
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/09/white-house-pentagon-hegseth-chief-of-staff
NBC News: Kash Patel's new way of leading the FBI: Fewer morning intel briefings, more pro sports events
Fears grow FBI head Kash Patel isn’t taking his job seriously as he skips morning briefings and frequently attends UFC fights
https://www.yahoo.com/news/fears-grow-fbi-head-kash-160018357.html
The New Republic: RFK Jr. Caught Lying About New Surgeon General Nominee
https://newrepublic.com/post/195057/robert-f-kennedy-jr-lying-new-surgeon-general-nominee
The Hill: RFK Jr. on damage control over surgeon general nominee
NPR: Casey Means, Trump's new pick for surgeon general, faces pushback
Inside the salacious scandal that derailed Jeanine Pirro's political career
https://www.yahoo.com/news/inside-salacious-scandal-derailed-jeanine-220404980.html
Forbes: The National Science Foundation Is Being Dismantled. What The Economy Needs Is More Investment In Research, Not Less
The Guardian: US House approves ‘dumb’ legislation renaming Gulf of Mexico ‘Gulf of America’
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/08/us-house-gulf-of-mexico
Yahoo: Hiltzik: RFK Jr.'s plans for vaccine testing are highly unethical and a danger to your health. Here's why
https://www.yahoo.com/news/hiltzik-rfk-jr-plans-vaccine-100000685.html
Trump appoints Fox News host Jeanine Pirro as top prosecutor in DC - ABC News
https://abcnews.go.com/US/trump-eying-fox-news-host-jeanine-pirro-top/story?id=121604820
Comment: "Following Trump's loss in the 2020 election, Pirro pushed false allegations of election fraud involving voting machines and was later among the Fox News employees named in the Dominion Voting Systems defamation lawsuit for broadcasting false claims about the company. Fox News eventually settled for $787.5 million and admitted the statements were false."
Comment: "In 2019, Pirro was reportedly suspended by Fox News after she questioned the loyalty of Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar to the U.S. Constitution, citing Omar's Muslim faith."
Trump: China tariffs slowing down ports is a "good thing"
https://www.axios.com/2025/05/08/trump-tariffs-china-ports-slowdown
Trump administration cut more than $1.8 billion in NIH grants
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/trump-administration-cut-18-billion-nih-grants-rcna205568
Comment: "The Trump administration terminated $1.81 billion in National Institutes of Health grants in less than 40 days, including $544 million in as-yet-unspent funds."
NPR: Economists warn Trump's research cuts could have dire consequences for GDP
https://www.npr.org/2025/05/08/nx-s1-5383918/economists-trump-research-science-cuts-gdp-recession
NASA Spent Billions to Bring Rocks Back from Mars. Trump Wants to Leave Them There
Opinion: Trump’s legal strategy: If you can’t win in court, threaten the judge
https://share.newsbreak.com/d0kyq577
The Guardian: Federal prosecutors open criminal investigation into New York attorney general
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/08/trump-fbi-investigation-letitia-james
Comment: Retribution for convicting Trump or is investigation actually justified?
The Daily Beast: FEMA Boss Fired Just One Day After He Stood Up to Trump
https://www.thedailybeast.com/ice-barbie-fires-fema-boss-just-one-day-after-he-stood-up-to-trump/
The IRS has lost almost one-third of its tax auditors after 2 months of DOGE cuts, report says - CBS News
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/irs-doge-cuts-layoffs-31-percent-auditors-tax-revenue-impact/
Comment: "Losing a large share of auditors could impact the federal government's ability to collect tax revenue, given that these agents typically handle cases involving wealthy taxpayers or corporations, experts say."
The Guardian: Ukraine war briefing: Hegseth’s sudden arms halt ‘cost US up to $2.2m’ – report
The Hill: Ed Martin’s conduct in office raises serious questions about his ethics
https://thehill.com/opinion/judiciary/5285979-federal-prosecutors-ethics-abuse/
The Guardian: Trump reportedly eyes $26m in funding cuts for US national parks
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/07/trump-cuts-national-parks-grants
Trump plans to announce that the US will call the Persian Gulf the Arabian Gulf, officials say
https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-plans-announce-us-call-011252613.html
Trump’s Birthday Parade to Cost Eyewatering Amount—and Could Get Worse
https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-birthday-parade-cost-eyewatering-184828821.html
NBC News: The best and brightest young scientists are looking beyond the U.S. as cuts hit home
Donald Trump taps wellness influencer close to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for surgeon general
https://www.yahoo.com/news/white-house-withdraws-nomination-fox-203159525.html
FDA Chief Downplays COVID Boosters After Suggesting No Updated Shots This Season
https://www.yahoo.com/news/fda-chief-downplays-covid-boosters-215425055.html
Trump administration abruptly removes the vice chair of the National Transportation Safety Board
https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-administration-abruptly-removes-vice-011139983.html
DOGE bro helped fire ethics lawyers who warned him over his $715,000 in banned company stocks: report
https://www.yahoo.com/news/doge-bro-helped-fire-ethics-213104061.html
DOGE Staffer Fired the Lawyers Trying to Help Him Avoid Corruption
https://www.yahoo.com/news/lawyers-warned-doge-staffer-shady-161820943.html
ProPublica: DOGE Aide Who Helped Gut CFPB Was Warned About Potential Conflicts of Interest
Voice of America planning partnership with OAN: Kari Lake
https://thehill.com/homenews/media/5287219-voice-of-america-one-america-news-partnership/
Comment: "OAN is small conservative media outlet known primarily for promoting Trump’s unsubstantiated allegations of voter fraud after losing to former President Biden in 2020 — as well as other false claims about the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccines."
Comment: "The network has in the years since been dropped by a number of leading cable providers and sued by voting system companies over its coverage of the 2020 election."
The Daily Beast: Trump Doubles Down on Wrong World War II End Date
https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-doubles-down-on-wrong-world-war-ii-end-date/
Mother Jones: RFK Jr. May Have Inspired Acting US Attorney’s Harassment of Medical Journals
Daily Kos: Trump’s lunacy on full display in meeting with Canadian prime minister
Fact check: Trump claimed the US doesn’t do ‘much business with Canada.’ Canada is the world’s top buyer of US exports
https://www.yahoo.com/news/fact-check-trump-claimed-us-195239917.html
Bessent says US has not engaged in trade talks with China, contradicting Trump
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/05/06/trump-china-talks-bessent/83473027007/
Critics warn DOJ is being politicized despite vows to end its purported weaponization : NPR
https://www.npr.org/2025/05/06/g-s1-64305/weaponization-doj-trump-bondi-justice-department
ProPublica: Millions of People Depend on the Great Lakes’ Water Supply. Trump Decimated the Lab Protecting It.
https://www.propublica.org/article/noaa-michigan-lab-toxic-algae-blooms-great-lakes-drinking-water
The Hill: Trump cuts to weather monitoring, climate research put millions at risk, expert warns
Time Magazine: The Historic Dangers of Slashing Medicaid Funding
https://time.com/7278035/the-dangers-of-slashing-medicaid/
Trump administration has shut down CDC's infection control committee
FDA names oncologist Dr. Vinay Prasad, a Covid vaccine critic, as the new vaccine chief
https://www.yahoo.com/news/fda-names-oncologist-dr-vinay-214301563.html
Trump plans to end Energy Star home appliance program amid EPA reorganization
https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-administration-plans-end-energy-164634417.html
NPR: Trump expands military use at the southern border. Are there legal limits?
https://www.npr.org/2025/05/06/g-s1-63778/military-border-zone-posse-comitatus-explained
The Independent: White House caught off guard by Hegseth’s request to cancel weapons supply to Ukraine
Reuters: Order by Hegseth to cancel Ukraine weapons caught White House off guard
AP News: The federal Bureau of Prisons has lots of problems. Reopening Alcatraz is now one of them
https://apnews.com/article/trump-alcatraz-prison-federal-government-97a0dfb07951c9f3295ebe3b88235d8d
A hard cell? Alcatraz tourists dismiss Trump’s ‘insane’ plan to revive it as a prison | California | The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/06/alcatraz-tourists-trump-prison-reaction
NPR: Most Americans use federal science information on a weekly basis, a new poll finds
https://www.npr.org/2025/05/06/nx-s1-5387367/federal-science-opinion-use-poll
Comment: "The Trump administration has made deep budget and personnel cuts to federal agencies that collect weather data and do safety inspections at factories that make food and prescription drugs, among many science-related functions."
Yahoo Finance: US Treasury Ramps Up Borrowing Needs To $514 Billion, Marking A Surprising 320% Jump From Its Previous Forecast
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/us-treasury-ramps-borrowing-needs-191042866.html
NPR: Trump's spending cuts are hitting communities of his supporters
https://www.npr.org/2025/05/05/1249236665/trumps-spending-cuts-are-hitting-trump-voters
President Trump’s Proposed Budget Could Decimate At Least 350 National Park Sites · National Parks Conservation Association
Military Times: Hegseth directs 20% cut to top military leadership positions
Politico: Hegseth orders Pentagon to slash top ranks of military
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/05/05/pentagon-officer-cuts-00329990
Messaging app seen in use by Mike Waltz suspends service after hackers claim breach
Comment: "Mike Waltz seemed to use the App at last week's Cabinet meeting, according to a photograph published by Reuters."
CNN: Phone app Mike Waltz was photographed using is investigating a hack
https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/05/politics/telemessage-hack-mike-waltz-signal
The Times of Israel: Trump says he is considering Stephen Miller as new national security adviser
Comment: Would Stephen Miller alienate any ally that we have left?
Stephen Miller’s Former Colleague Reveals Why He Is a ‘Horrible Human Being’
https://www.yahoo.com/news/stephen-miller-former-colleague-reveals-025821772.html
ABC News: CPB fires back at Trump's executive order demanding it stop funding for NPR, PBS
Comment: "The public broadcasting group said only Congress controls its funding."
Europe unveils $567 million push to attract researchers as French president decries US ‘mistake’ over science policy
https://www.yahoo.com/news/europe-unveils-567-million-push-134232614.html
NBC News: Europe drives to attract scientists after Trump freezes US funding
Comment: Brain drain from U.S. to Europe?
Critics blast Trump’s Alcatraz plan over cost: Everything you need to know about reopening the notorious prison
https://www.yahoo.com/news/critics-blast-trump-alcatraz-plan-151438765.html
CNN: Trump wants to reopen one of America’s most notorious prisons. Here’s how Alcatraz earned its reputation
https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/05/us/trump-alcatraz-prison-history-hnk
BBC: Trump orders reopening of notorious Alcatraz prison
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cze17n02gego
NBC News: Jon Voight met with Trump before president proposed tariffs on foreign film productions
The New Republic: Here’s Where Trump Got His Idiotic Idea to Tariff Foreign Movies
https://newrepublic.com/post/194830/where-trump-got-idea-tariff-foreign-movies
Time Magazine: Why Trump’s Foreign-Film Tariff Doesn’t Make Sense
AP News: Trump administration says Harvard will receive no new grants until it meets White House demands
https://apnews.com/article/harvard-trump-grant-f677055d7536ab1478ee9b836ca11bf7
Reuters: Trump says he's unsure whether people in the US are entitled to due process
PBS: Trump says he doesn’t know if he backs constitutional due process rights in new interview
Time Magazine: Trump on Desire to Annex Canada, Upholding the Constitution
https://time.com/7282450/trump-annex-canada-economy-recession-upholding-the-constitution/
Axios: Trump says he isn't defying the Supreme Court over Ábrego García case
https://www.axios.com/2025/05/04/trump-deportations-abrego-garcia-supreme-court
Politico: Trump when pressed on if he needs to uphold the Constitution: ‘I don’t know’
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/05/04/i-dont-know-trump-constitution-00326040
Trump says he can't run again in 2028: 5 takeaways from 'Meet the Press' interview
https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-says-cant-run-again-170557720.html
CNN: Trump posts AI image of himself as pope, leaving Catholics offended and unamused as conclave nears
https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/04/world/trump-ai-image-pope-intl-hnk
The Guardian: Trump announces 100% tariffs on movies ‘produced in foreign lands’
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/04/trump-tariffs-foreign-movies
Trump defends the high price tag for his military parade: 'Peanuts compared to the value'
https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-defends-high-price-tag-130040944.html
ABC7 Los Angeles: White House backtracks on renaming Veterans Day
Military.com: Don't Dishonor Veterans with Broken Promises and Empty Gestures
Politico: Hegseth attorney’s dual roles trip conflict-of-interest alarms
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/05/03/parlatore-hegseth-navy-conflict-00323266
AlterNet: Medicare Advantage bribery scheme highlights 'bad behavior' Trump wants to reward
https://www.alternet.org/medicare-advantage-scam-2671886708/
CNN: Laura Loomer has Donald Trump’s ear. What she wants is a White House press credential
https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/03/politics/laura-loomer-trump-white-house-briefing-room
NBC News: White House 'influencer briefings' bring conspiracy theorists, former Trump officials
AP News: Trump administration asks Supreme Court to let DOGE access Social Security systems
NPR: Trump says he's ending federal funding for NPR and PBS. They say he can't
https://www.npr.org/2025/05/02/nx-s1-5384790/trump-orders-end-to-federal-funding-for-npr-and-pbs
Axios: Trump signs order to ax federal funding for NPR and PBS
https://www.axios.com/2025/05/02/trump-npr-pbs-order-federal-funding
As Trump sets his sights on public broadcasting, a decades-old institution frets about the future
https://apnews.com/article/trump-pbs-npr-media-funding-8b51113b8edd932aa850235318b73e53
Group Founded by Trump Ally Stephen Miller Sues John Roberts in Bid to Control Courts - Democracy Docket
Trump turns civil rights upside down in ‘biggest rollback’ since Reconstruction | CNN Politics
https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/02/politics/trump-civil-rights-rollback-what-matters
Kash Patel Spotted in Nightclubs More Than at Work, Former FBI Director Says
https://www.yahoo.com/news/kash-patel-spotted-nightclubs-more-193801267.html
CNN: US weather forecasting is more crippled than previously known as hurricane season nears
https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/02/weather/nws-forecasting-layoffs-trump
AP News: Email mistake reveals secret plans to end research on Head Start and other child safety net programs
U.S. Secretary of Commerce says the ‘new model’ is factory jobs for life—for you, your kids, and your grandkids
https://www.yahoo.com/news/u-secretary-commerce-says-model-172111761.html
Comment: "With America’s increasingly dire need for manufacturing workers, Lutnick’s vision of technicians as an inter-generational career may be a pipe dream. After all, only 25% of Americans think they’d be better off working in a factory, according to a 2024 poll from the CATO Institute."
NPR: Scientists reel as turmoil roils National Science Foundation
https://www.npr.org/2025/05/02/nx-s1-5371720/national-science-foundation-budget-grant-cuts-turmoil
CNN: Trump says the government will revoke Harvard’s tax-exempt status. The university’s president says that would be illegal
https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/02/us/white-house-harvard-tax-status
ABC News: Trump says he's 'taking away' Harvard's tax exempt status
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-taking-harvards-tax-exempt-status/story?id=121391407
Trump: GOP should start thinking about expelling Democrats pushing impeachment
https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-gop-start-thinking-expelling-125800375.html
Axios: RFK Jr. calls for CDC plan for alternative measles treatments
https://www.axios.com/2025/05/02/kennedy-cdc-alternative-measles-treatments
The Bulwark: Mike Waltz Is Out. Pete Hegseth Is Probably Next.
Comment: "It’s time for a more responsible secretary of defense."
The Guardian: Photos reveal Trump cabinet member using less-secure Signal app knockoff
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/02/trump-cabinet-signal-chat-app
Comment: After the scandalous and unauthorized use of the Signal app to communicate sensitive military information, then national security advisor Mike Waltz is caught using an even less secure Signal knockoff clone app. Take a look at who is on his chat contact list.
I'm a corruption expert — and I’ve never seen a grift as blatant as Trump’s meme coin dinner
https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/trump-meme-coin-dinner-crypto-white-house-rcna204504
Comment: Includes Video.
President Trump orders Corporation for Public Broadcasting to end federal funding for NPR and PBS
https://www.yahoo.com/news/president-trump-orders-corporation-public-052309976.html
AP News: Trump signs executive order directing federal funding cuts to PBS and NPR
Comment: "It’s the latest move by Trump and his administration to utilize federal powers to control or hamstring institutions whose actions or viewpoints he disagrees with."
Trump Removes Mike Waltz as National Security Adviser and Taps Him For UN Role
https://time.com/7281981/mike-waltz-trump-ambassador/
Trump ousts Mike Waltz, naming Marco Rubio as acting national security adviser after Signal chat mishap
Trump’s Corruption Hits Next Level With Shady $2 Billion Crypto Deal
https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-open-corruption-hits-next-194013720.html
Trump nominee gives misleading testimony about ties to alleged 'Nazi sympathizer'
https://www.npr.org/2025/05/01/nx-s1-5380933/ed-martin-trump-hale-cusanelli-antisemitic
The Guardian: Trump’s attack on federal unions a ‘test case’ for broader assault, warn lawyers
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/01/trump-federal-unions-labor-bargaining-rights
Interview: Musk says DOGE may be here to stay
https://www.axios.com/2025/05/01/elon-musk-doge-interview
NPR: Trump's VA strands thousands of veterans by ending a key mortgage program
https://www.npr.org/2025/05/01/nx-s1-5382448/va-veterans-affairs-mortgages-foreclosure-vasp
Breaking Defense: Hegseth orders 'comprehensive transformation' of US Army, merging offices and cutting units
Comment: "Other moves of note include orders to 'Reduce and restructure manned attack helicopter formations and augment with inexpensive drone swarms capable of overwhelming adversaries,' and 'Divest outdated formations, including select armor and aviation units across the Total Army (Active, Reserve, National Guard).'"
Comment: If manned helicopters are being deemphasized, will this, in the long term, adversely impact the degree of helicopter training conducted a Fort Novosel and result in an economic impact to Dale County and the Wiregrass?
For News Articles links from before May 1st, 2025, please go to:
https://sites.google.com/view/dem2oldnews/home/old2-second-trump-administration
There you will find a continuation of the news links & comments from the period prior to May 1, 2025 (Including article links prior to the November 2024 election, found by clicking a second google sites website link at the end of the site referenced immediately above). The article history can be viewed as follows:
www.dalecodemocrats.com (latest)
sites.google.com/view/dem3oldnews/home/ (May 1, 2025 - October 31, 2025)
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