We just haven't seen anything like this': Facing higher inflation and economic uncertainty, farmers have less cushion to face tariffs than they did during the first Trump administration. read more
Tom Rogers: Like Trump, Clinton and Gore used presidential directives and executive orders to implement many of their downsizing efforts. But unlike the current effort, the cutting didn't start until they had gone through a six-month study process and developed a blueprint of how to best reinvent the federal government. read more
Mike Masnick: The program that promised efficiency through targeted destruction is instead delivering chaotic and costly destruction through incompetence. read more
After weeks of "Tesla Takedown" protests, extremist groups are showing up to back Elon Musk's beleaguered car company. read more
They see the election results, and they know women are a threat to their majority. The U.S. House of Representatives will vote this week--as early as Tuesday--on the bogusly named SAVE Act. The so-called Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act would make it really, really hard to register to vote, especially for women. read more
More perspective:
When American Soldiers Were in Trouble, Our Allies Showed Upwww.thebulwark.com
Inside the allied effort to find four soldiers lost in a training exercise.
OVER THE LAST WEEK, amid government turmoil, massive new tariffs, a stock market free-fall beckoning a possible recession, and other major news, many Americans likely missed a story that was unfolding in the normally quiet forests of Lithuania. Four U.S. soldiers, including three seasoned and professional non-commissioned officers, tragically lost their lives when their M88 Hercules recovery vehicle was swallowed by a hidden sinkhole during a training mission. The remains of Staff Sgt. Jose Duenez Jr., Staff Sgt. Edvin F. Franco, PFC Dante D. Taitano, and Staff Sgt. Troy S. Knutson-Collins were recovered after an exhaustive eight-day operation that showcased not only the unwavering commitment of American forces to their fellow soldiers, but also the profound solidarity of our allies in Europe.
Perspective:
Lithuanians bid farewell to 4 US troops who died in training accident
Lithuania's political and religious leaders joined thousands of people on Thursday to bid farewell to four American soldiers who died during a training exercise in the Baltic nation.
President Gitanas Nausda and other dignitaries were among those who stood in respect as hearses carried the bodies of the four young Americans to Vilnius airport before being flown to the United States for burial.
Many of the onlookers were in tears, and Nausda said that the reaction of the population and the military to the disappearance of soldiers was rooted in Lithuania's own difficult history.
www.yahoo.com
Why hang out honoring suckers and losers when you could be making some cold hard cash:
Trump Family's Cash Registers Ring as Financial Meltdown Plays Outwww.nytimes.com
The party was on at a Saudi-backed LIV Golf tournament at the president's Doral resort in Florida and a fund-raiser at Mar-a-Lago, even as markets tumbled.
The financial market meltdown was underway when President Trump boarded Air Force One on his way to Florida on Thursday for a doubleheader of sorts: a Saudi-backed golf tournament at his family's Miami resort and a weekend of fund-raisers attracting hundreds of donors to his Palm Beach club.
It was a fresh reminder that in his second term, Mr. Trump has continued to find ways to drive business to his family-owned real-estate ventures, a practice he has sustained even when his work in Washington has caused worldwide financial turmoil.
More on the topic:
Trump Shares Video About How He Is Purposely Crashing the Stock Marketwww.rollingstone.com
Several close allies of the president and ex-officials told Rolling Stone they were "at a loss for words" when asked about the video
Speaking to Rolling Stone, several close Trump allies and administration officials, who often defend Trump's most fanatical actions, outbursts, or policies, did not or would not even bother defending the wisdom of a president promoting to the world the idea that he is tanking the stock market deliberately.
Aside from Sen Bernie Sanders, Rep Ocasio-Cortez and Sen Booker, I've not seen a lot of attempts of persuasion to support Democrats.
What I did see was Sen Schumer surrendering to MAGA in the Senate recently.
So, I ask, again, will the Democrats be able to channel this enthusiasm and energy?
Upcoming elections will be critical for the future of the Republic and for Democracy.
Will the Democrats blow it ... again?
#51 | Posted by LampLighter
Perhaps you haven't heard about the Democrats holding town halls in red districts/states where Republicans aren't holding them. You can Google it, but here are a few examples to get you started:
The Tennessee Holler
@thetnholler.bsky.social
JUST NOW at the @SenWarren town hall in NASHVILLE: "How can kids help things get better?" "
@MarshaBlackburn & @SenatorHagerty wont do town halls because they can't face these tough questions. So Senator Warren is.
bsky.app
.
Bay Area Democrats turn to town hall meetings " even in GOP territory--to connect to voters
Voters are also packing town halls in their Democratic districts
www.mercurynews.com
Democrats are organizing town halls across the country as part of an effort to exploit GOP lawmakers' reluctance to meet with angry constituents face-to-face. They're also hoping to make inroads with voters in unlikely areas of the country and flip control of Congress in next year's midterms.
Over the weekend, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) teamed up for a town hall in Warren, Michigan, while Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) held massive rallies as part of their "Fighting Oligarchy" tour earlier this month.
www.huffpost.com
Abrego Garcia, who is married to a U.S. citizen and has a 5-year-old disabled child who is also a U.S. citizen, has no criminal record in the United States, according to his attorney. The Trump administration does not claim he has a criminal record, but called him a "danger to the community" and an active member of MS-13, the Salvadoran gang that Trump has declared a foreign terrorist organization.www.theatlantic.com
Sandoval-Moshenberg said that those charges are false, and that the gang label stems from a 2019 incident when Abrego Garcia and three other men were detained in a Home Depot parking lot by a police detective in Prince George's County, Maryland. During questioning, one of the men told officers that Abrego Garcia was a gang member, but the man offered no proof and police said they didn't believe him, filings show. Police did not identify him as a gang member.
Abrego Garcia was not charged with a crime, but he was handed over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement after the arrest to face deportation. In those proceedings, the government claimed that a reliable informant had identified him as a ranking member of MS-13. Abrego Garcia and his family hired an attorney and fought the government's attempt to deport him. He received "withholding of removal" six months later, a protected status.
It is not a path to permanent U.S. residency, but it means the government won't deport him back to his home country, because he's more likely than not to face harm there.
Abrego Garcia has had no contact with any law-enforcement agency since his release, according to his attorney. He works full time as a union sheet-metal apprentice, has complied with requirements to check in annually with ICE, and cares for his 5-year-old son, who has autism and a hearing defect, and is unable to communicate verbally.
Billionaire know nothings are going to be our donwfall:
Aaron Rupar
@atrupar.com
Lutnick: "The army of millions and millions of human beings screwing in little screws to make iPhones -- that kind of thing is going to come to America."
James Fallows @jfallows.bsky.social
Q for Lutnick:
Find a single iPhone factory where "millions of human beings are screwing in little screws"
I've been inside a lot of these places. He is now proving that he never has. Even 5 years ago you'd see people monitoring robots, and doing quality-check. not the little screws
bsky.app