RCP Average 2/21 - 3/12
Approve: 42.9
Disapprove: 54.4
Spread: -11.5
A fundraising email from President Donald Trump's political action committee has a provocative pitch: using an image from Saturday's dignified transfer honoring six fallen US soldiers, it promises access to the president's "private national security briefings." The email, sent by Never Surrender, Inc., promotes what it calls a "National Security Briefing Membership" and urges recipients to "claim your spot" with multiple links to donate, in what it describes as an exclusive group receiving updates about national security threats. Read more
President Donald Trump is replacing Richard Grenell as head of the Kennedy Center, he announced on Friday. Trump posted on Truth Social that Grenell would be replaced by Matt Floca, the arts center's current vice president of facilities operations. Grenell's tenure as interim president of the Kennedy Center since February 2025 has been marked by tumult, plagued by high-profile performance cancellations, protests, declining ticket sales and financial strain as he sought to execute the president's vision for the arts center. Read more
Connecticut Democrats are sounding the alarm over what they say are Republican-led efforts to subvert the electoral process. Two bill proposals being considered in the state legislature would usher in changes to the state's election laws, including provisions to allow absentee ballots to be submitted over the internet, prevent federal immigrations agents from being within 250 feet of polling places and banning guns from voting areas.
SACRAMENTO, Calif " Sacramento County law enforcement is again criticizing the elderly parole process after the Board of Parole Hearings granted parole for a convicted child molester after serving 27 years of his over 355-year sentence. Gregory Vogelsang, 57, was sentenced to prison for almost 30 counts of kidnapping and sex crimes against multiple children between the ages of 5 and 11 in the 1990s, according to Sacramento County District Attorney Thien Ho. He was sentenced to 355 years to life in prison. Read more
Marvin Gaye's What's Going On... #1 Album Rolling Stones Top 500 Albums All Time 2023 (thread link)
"Tops' bass singer, watched TV coverage of hundreds of club-wielding cops breaking up the People's Park, a protest hub in Berkeley. Aghast at the violence, Benson began to write a song with Motown lyricist Al Cleveland, trying to capture the confusion and pain of the times.
He knew he had something big in his nascent version of "What's Going On," but the rest of the Four Tops weren't interested, and Benson's efforts to get Joan Baez to record it didn't work out, either.
(more on the genesis of this song at the thread link)
The Pentagon is moving a Marine expeditionary unit and more warships to the Middle East, as Iran steps up its attacks in the Strait of Hormuz. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has approved a request from Centcom for an element of an amphibious ready group and attached Marine expeditionary unit, typically consisting of several warships and 5,000 Marines and sailors, according to three U.S. officials.
US issues up to $10 million reward for information on Mojtaba Khamenei, Larijani The US Department of State's Rewards for Justice programme has called for information on "Iranian terrorist leaders", including Mojtaba Khamenei. The State Department set the reward at up to $10m and said information could make people eligible for "relocation". Read more
Florida AG James Uthmeier threatened the state will take action if Mayor Jane Castor (D) continues to enforce "sanctuary policies" on the Tampa Police Department.
Just Another Corrupt AG from Florida Like Pam Bondi
A woman in the US had her life upended after she was wrongly imprisoned for six months in jail over a bank fraud case. Angela Lipps, 50, from Tennessee, was slapped with criminal charges last year when police jailed and later flew her to North Dakota after facial recognition showed she was the main suspect in an organised bank fraud case. Despite having never been to North Dakota or stepped on an aeroplane in her life, Lipps was apprehended and thrown behind bars. Lipps was babysitting her four young children when a team of US Marshals took her away at gunpoint, according to a report in the Grand Forks Herald. She was booked into her county jail in Tennessee as a fugitive from justice from North Dakota. After sitting in the Tennessee jail for four months, she was charged with four counts of unauthorised use of personal identifying information and four counts of theft in North Dakota.
Donald Trump bleated that Iran's national football team is welcome to compete in this summer's World Cup but warned it may not be safe for them to do so.
Donald Trump is Killing the People of Iran but Welcoming Their Football Team
An American military refueling plane taking part in the operation against Iran crashed in Iraq and rescue efforts were underway, U.S. Central Command said Thursday. It was not immediately clear if there were any casualties. A U.S. official, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss the developing situation, said the KC-135 aircraft that crashed had at least five crew members aboard. The crash was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire, the military said in a statement, which described the plane as "a loss."
The Israel Defense Forces dismissed the indictments of five soldiers accused of raping a Palestinian prisoner at the notorious Sde Teiman prison in July 2024"an attack that sparked worldwide outrage. "Israel's military attorney general just gave his soldiers license to rape, so long as the victim is Palestinian," said one Israeli rights group.
Other IDF Soldiers Have Been Accused of Raping Palestinian Detainees
Nasa says it's on track to launch its Artemis II mission in early April, which will see astronauts fly around the Moon for the first time in more than 50 years. The rocket had been set to blast off in March, but after a helium leak was discovered it was returned to the Vehicle Assembly Building in Cape Canaveral, Florida, for repairs. Nasa says it's confident the problem is fixed, and is planning to roll the rocket back out to the launchpad on 19 March, with the earliest possible launch date of 1 April.
In a post on social media platform X, the Iranian president said the conflict could only end if Iran's "legitimate rights" are acknowledged, compensation is paid for damages and strong international guarantees are provided to prevent future attacks.
Secular Talk, posted today
In which MAGA self-owns while trying to target Talarico.
