U.N. ambassador nominee Mike Waltz denied any sensitive information was shared during a controversial mobile app chat in March while undergoing a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Tuesday. read more
Afghanistan was granted Temporary Protected Status in 2022 under the Biden administration following the U.S. military withdrawal and the Taliban's return to power. read more
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said Democrats that deny quorum for an emergency special session called by Governor Abbott, 'should be hunted down'
Louisiana voted for Trump. But it also relies heavily on Medicaid benefits, which are set to face steep cuts under the president's new One Big Beautiful Bill Act. read more
House Republican leaders are under fierce internal pressure to send members home for the summer amid deepening anxiety over a possible vote on the Jeffrey Epstein controversy.
@#2
Wow.
Dinner with Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago
en.wikipedia.org
... On November 22, 2022, Donald Trump hosted Fuentes and Kanye West for a dinner at Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida. The meeting was at West's request. West said that Trump was "really impressed with Nick Fuentes".[85] ...
Much (most?) of the cane sugar the US uses is imported.
Coca-Cola Will Get More Expensive if it Changes to Cane Sugar. Here's Why
www.newsweek.com
... While cane sugar is still used in many coke variants made overseas, since the 1980s, Coca-Cola sold in the U.S. has primarily relied on corn syrup as a sweetener because of its relative cost-effectiveness.
The U.S. imports both corn and sugar, but its domestic agricultural base has significantly reduced reliance on imports of the former. According to the Observatory of Economic Complexity, the U.S. imported $2.58 billion worth of raw sugar, of which $1.66 billion was cane, compared to only $258 million worth of corn in 2024.
Domestic corn production has been boosted by nearly a century of subsidies in the form of direct payments, crop insurance programs, and price supports for American farmers. These totaled reached $3.2 billion in 2024, making corn the most-subsidized crop in the country. ...
... Democrats in Congress ...
Nothing really new here.
I've been seeing the Democrats in Congress having a low (very low) approval for months now.
Likely because Democrat voters have been saying they want a new generation of Democrats in Congress.
For comparison...
Favorability Ratings: Political Leaders
www.realclearpolling.com
...
Pres Trump
RCP Average 4/25 - 7/14
Favorable: 45.0
Unfavorable: 51.5
VP Vance
RCP Average 4/25 - 7/14
Favorable: 40.9
Unfavorable: 47.6
Spkr Johnson
RCP Average 4/4 - 7/14
Favorable: 32.1
Disapprove: 36.9
Minority Leader Jefferies
RCP Average 4/4 - 6/4
Favorable: 31.3
Unfavorable: 32.7
Leader Thune
RCP Average 4/4 - 5/27
Favorable: 21.0
Unfavorable: 27.4
Minority Leader Schumer
RCP Average 4/4 - 7/8
Favorable: 28.3
Unfavorable: 47.3
...
"My closest friend for 10 years": Epstein discusses Trump friendship in newly released tapes (November 2024)
www.yahoo.com
... The notorious sex trafficker and financier Jeffrey Epstein once called Donald Trump his "closest friend."
That reveal came on Saturday night when journalist Michael Wolff shared tapes of an interview he held with the late criminal via The Daily Beast.
In the clips shared by Wolff, Epstein notes the way that Trump is able to charm people by telling them what they want to hear. He also accused the former president of being a "horrible human being" who had affairs with his "best friends' wives." ...
Epstein said that his "closest friend for 10 years" had a great mind for real estate, but was otherwise a complete dullard.
"With respect to real estate deals, he's brilliant," Epstein said. "Anything else but that, he knows nothing." ...
Trump bashes foolish Republicans' for getting duped' on Epstein
thehill.com
... Trump during an Oval Office meeting with the crown prince of Bahrain repeated his claim that the documents connected to Epstein were a "hoax" started by Democrats. Epstein was arrested on sex trafficking charges and died by suicide in 2019, during Trump's first term.
"Some stupid Republicans and foolish Republicans fall into the net, and so they try and do the Democrats' work," Trump said.
"I call it the Epstein hoax. Takes a lot of time and effort. Instead of talking about the great achievements we've had ... they're wasting their time with a guy who obviously had some very serious problems, who died three, four years ago. I'd rather talk about the success we have with the economy," Trump added.
Prominent Republicans and Trump supporters, including Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), have in recent days called for greater transparency from the administration around files related to Epstein's case. Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), an ardent Trump supporter, called for a special counsel to review the administration's handling of the Epstein files.
Trump's backers, including some now serving in his administration, have for years espoused conspiracy theories around Epstein's death and suggested the government was covering up information that connected prominent Democrats to the convicted sex offender. ...
Loomer delivers searing warning: Epstein could 'consume' Trump presidency
www.politico.com
... Right-wing activist Laura Loomer warned that President Donald Trump's handling of the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein threatens to "consume his presidency" in an interview on Wednesday, a dramatic rebuke from a presidential confidante that illustrates the growing rupture in the MAGA coalition. ...
re: the Epstein Files ...
Shriekback - This Big Hush (1985)
www.youtube.com
Lyrics excerpt ...
...
[Verse]
Is there a fire in the sky?
Is there a moon up there?
Is there anything alive now?
This darkness is what I hear
This is a breathless silence
A moment out of time
I see your face in the shadows
The telltale signs are in your eyes
[Chorus]
More than I can hold in my hands
Running through the gaps like water
Aching with a passion inside
Deep as the river
All desire, the ashes and the fire
Turning this night inside and the light from you
...
... Trump: I'm 'disappointed But Not Done' with Putin ...
American Comedy Network - Krapco's Mr. Cardboard Tube (1984)
www.youtube.com
Lyrics excerpt ...
OK, unsurprisingly, no lyrics seem to be available..
But the closing line of that song is, "if you buy this, you'll buy anything."
@#22
This just popped up on a playlist here. Apropos?
You decide ...
August Campbell - I-95 ------- Song (1982)
www.youtube.com
Lyrics excerpt ...
...
Well I was driving down I-95 the other night
When somebody nearly cut me right off the road
I decided it wasn't going to do any good to get mad
So I wrote a song about him instead. It goes like this...
Were you bo-rn an -------, or did you work at it your whole life?
Either way it worked out fine, 'cause you're an ------- tonight
Yes you're an -------, and don't you try to blame it on me
You deserve all the credit, you're an ------- tonight
You were an ------- yesterday, you're an ------- tonight
And I've got a feeling, you'll be an ------- the rest of your life
And I was talking to your mother, just the other night
I told her I thought you were an -------, she said "yes, I think you're right"
...
@#25 ... And holding the responsible people responsible. ...
Yup.
An excerpt from the Border Patrol Union webpage that was deleted during Pres Trump's first term:
web.archive.org
Walls and fences are temporary solutions that focus on the symptom (illegal immigration) rather than the problem (employers who knowingly hire illegal aliens).
Walls and fences are only a speed bump. People who want to come to the United States to obtain employment will continue to go over, under, and around the walls and fences that are constructed.
Walls and fences will undoubtedly result in an increase in fraudulent documents and smuggling through the Ports of Entry.
Walls and fences do not solve the issue of people entering the country legally and staying beyond the date they are required to leave the country, a problem which will undoubtedly increase as more walls and fences are constructed.
Walls and fences are temporary solutions that focus on the symptom (illegal immigration) rather than the problem (employers who knowingly hire illegal aliens).
Yup.
The problem is the employers who hire and give incentive for illegal aliens to come into the US.
Hüsker Dü - Love is All Around (1985)
www.youtube.com
Lyrics excerpt ...
genius.com
...
[Verse 1]
Who can turn the world on with her smile?
Who can take a nothing day
And suddenly make it all seem worthwhile?
[Pre-Chorus]
Well it's you, girl, and you should know it
With each glance and every little movement you show it
[Chorus]
Love is all around
(Why don't you make it?)
You can have this town
(Why don't you take it?)
You're gonna make it after all
...
@#7 ...Who would be surprised to find out that this condition has been long known...
From the cited article...