Jonathan Freedland: Trump's dictator-like behaviour is so brazen, so blatant, that paradoxically, we discount it. It's like being woken in the night by a burglar wearing a striped shirt and carrying a bag marked "Swag": we would assume it was a joke or a stunt or otherwise unreal, rather than a genuine danger. So it is with Trump. We cannot quite believe what we are seeing. read more
Someday, the president may need the American people to believe something he says"and they won't. read more
Robert Reich: How to explain the rise of so many incompetent and unprincipled people? Easy. They could never succeed on their own merits. As soon as their incompetence became apparent " which was likely to be as soon as they took the first job that required some degree of intelligence and integrity " they were fired. read more
The woman thought to have the most direct knowledge of Jeffrey Epstein's decades-long sex-trafficking operation claims there was no client list, no blackmail scheme and -- to her knowledge -- no high-profile Epstein associates who committed illicit acts in connection with the notorious sex-offender's crimes. That's according to an account provided by Epstein's convicted co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell to a top official of the U.S. Department of Justice during a highly unusual two-day interview session last month, according to a transcript and audio of the conversation released Friday by the DOJ. read more
Moscow threw Donald Trump's Ukraine peace initiative into disarray on Thursday, insisting it must have a veto over any postwar support for the country as its forces carried out a large-scale overnight missile barrage. In a series of hardline remarks, Russia's foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, said European proposals to deploy troops in Ukraine after a settlement would amount to "foreign intervention", which he called absolutely unacceptable for Russia. Lavrov said Russia wanted to return to discussing a framework first proposed during the initial peace talks held in Istanbul in 2022, under which Moscow and Beijing would help guarantee Ukraine's security alongside European allies " terms Kyiv considers unacceptable.V
From "Fast Times at Immigration and Customs Enforcement: Flush with cash and soaring with hubris, Trump appointees are supersizing ICE. " Nick Miroff at www.theatlantic.com
New deportation officers at ICE used to receive about five months of federal-law-enforcement training. Administration officials have cut that time roughly in half, partly by eliminating Spanish-language courses. Academy training was shortened to 47 days, three officials told me, the number picked because Trump is the 47th president. DHS officials said the training will run six days a week for eight weeks.
Yup, only the very bestest.
I'm not saying they couldn't do it, because they could. They are simply lacking, just not up to it.