@#50 ... Casting aside the political reality that that which is "beyond what's politically acceptable" = that which is political poison ...

Deciding the difference between "political reality" and "political poison" depends upon the voters the Democrats are addressing.

For example. look at TX Rep Talarico. The positions and strategies he is espousing in his race for the Senate slot would have been political poison for the progressive Democrats in the past.

But those positions and strategies seem to be working for him.

@#3

... as Pres Trump moves significant military resources from the Far East to the Persian Gulf, possibly creating a weakness of the US military in the Far East. ...

More from the article ...

... Many Indians believe the diamond still belongs to India and that the British stole it.

The jewel came up when Mamdani was asked Wednesday about King Charles' visit.

"I would probably encourage him to return the Koh-i-Noor diamond," he said.
What's the significance of the Koh-i-Noor?

The 105.6-carat jewel is inside a crown given to Queen Elizabeth II's mother in 1937. It's on display at the Tower of London.

It has had many previous royal owners, including heads of the Mughal Empire, shahs of Iran, emirs of Afghanistan, and Sikh Maharajas, according to the Historic Royal Palaces.

In 2016, India's Culture Ministry said the government would make every possible effort to get the diamond back.

For many Indians, the loss of the Koh-i-Noor is symbolic of the country's subjugation under colonial rule.

Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan have also squabbled over who should have the jewel. ...

More from the article ...

... Only 40 percent of Republicans said they would select the passport with Trump's image, compared to 37 percent who said they would pick the passport without his portrait and 23 percent who were unsure which passport they'd select, the poll found. ...

@1 ... Former Attorney General Pam Bondi will appear May 29 for a transcribed interview before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, ...

So, now, instead of a deposition before Congress, fmr AG Bondi will only be subject to an "interview?"

... The former Massachusetts lawmaker says progressives in his party have "embraced an agenda that goes beyond what's politically acceptable." ...

Yeah. And?

The progressives of the Democratic party are not the Democratic Party.

What else he got?

From the reporting I saw, Mr Musk at no time received a documented commitment from OpenAI that they would never go into a for-profit business model.

So, in my view, this trial seems to be focusing upon whether Mr Musk entered into a business deal, one for which he did not know the terms?

... to present a sanitized version of history. ...

Isn't ~presenting a sanitized version of history~ a goal of Republicans?

... In a significant political retreat, House Speaker Mike Johnson allowed the measure to pass via a voice vote without including any funding for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ... [emphasis mine]

Oh, Pres Trump is not gonna be happy about, what I opine is, his private militia not receiving funding.

One of the goals that Pres Trump said going into his unprovoked war with Iran was "regime change."

At the time, he noted that the people of Iran would rise up and overthrow the current Iranian regime.

Unfortunately, that uprising did not happen, but what did happen is that the same regime seems to still be in place, with some changes that may result in a far more hardline regime.

More from the article ...

... While Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei assumed the highest office of supreme leader after the killing of his father and Parliament Speaker Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf has taken the spotlight in negotiations, the rise of Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi may prove most consequential of all the many shifts taking place within Iran's complex internal power dynamics.

Vahidi was named head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) upon the killing of his predecessor, Mohammad Pakpour, in the opening stages of the U.S.-Israeli war launched against Iran two months ago. It's a position that poises him as a top target, with Pakpour having only taken the role after the slaying of former IRGC chief Hossein Salami by Israel during the 12-Day War in June of last year.

But Vahidi's credentials are unique. In addition to having previously served as deputy IRGC commander, interior minister under former President Ebrahim Raisi and defense minister under former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Vahidi served as a founding chief of the elite Quds Force, later led by Major General Soleimani until his death in a 2020 U.S. strike ordered by Trump.

Today, with the Islamic Republic facing its most serious test since the 1980s Iran-Iraq War during which the IRGC and its Quds Force were forged, "Ahmad Vahidi is the one calling the shots," Kamran Bokhari, a strategic forecaster and senior resident fellow at the Middle East Policy Council who has written extensively on the internal evolution of Iran's leadership, told Newsweek. ...

Related ...

Is DHS trying to convince Americans that what they saw with their own eyes is not correct?

More from the article ...

... "He is targeting a lot of people, and the Justice Department is targeting a lot of the members of the club, like judges, nonprofit organizations and universities," said one member, who like others for this article was granted anonymity because the Met Club prohibits its associates from speaking to the media about internal business.

Outgoing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell for example " whom the DOJ was investigating as part of a probe into renovations at the central bank -- is a member of the club. The Justice Department dropped its criminal investigation into Powell and the Federal Reserve on Friday.

A second Met Club member, who told POLITICO they've penned a letter to the Met's leadership urging them to reject Blanche, called the acting DOJ leader's comments essentially supporting President Donald Trump's use of the DOJ to go after his perceived enemies "pretty startling" and noted that the Met Club has current and former judges among its ranks who could take offense.

"I am disappointed that the club's standards are slipping on so many levels and can only hope that the club leadership will recover, grab the rudder and set us on a smooth sail once again," said a third Met Club member opposed to Blanche's membership. Five members of the club have confirmed that Blanche is seeking entry into the club. ...

This is an unexpected result of Pres Trump's war on Iran.

How might this new development alter the landscape of oil prices in the future?

@#12 ... what a bunch of whiners. ...

The farmers of the Country are whiners?

... Republican Senators Losing Confidence in Hegseth ...

What took them so long?

Sec Hegseth managed, say, less than 100 people in his military career.

How many people does he need to manage as the Sec of Defense?

I remember an occasion back in the day when I was a director of a company, and I (and others from the company) participated in a ~gathering~ of military folk.

The military liaison asked me, quite directly, how many people do I manage? Based upon what I told him, he said that I should ~mingle~ with the Majors in the room.

imo, that conversation was most apropos.

And I now use it to look at Sec of Defense Hegseth, who seems to be totally over his head, and drowning, in his job.

imo, of course.

@#1 ... Discovery for this one should be quite interesting. ...

Perhaps, or not.

I'll wait to see the extent to which the Trump admin might go to continue the apparent cover-up..

... Republicans Push for More Farm Aid ...

OK, if I understand this situation correctly ...

The Republicans are supporting Pres Trump in all that he does and has done, without question or even a murmur of disagreement.

Now, Republicans want to give taxpayer money to those who suffer from the very policies they have been championing?

Am I the only person who sees a fault in that Republican math?

So, where was the yacht relative to the blockade line on the map?

Found this map ...

@#17

... and if neither of those work, blame regulations put into place to protect Americans.

More from th article ...

... A federal judge on Tuesday advanced former Assistant U.S. Attorney Maurene Comey's lawsuit against the Trump administration, in which she claims she was fired only because her father is outspoken Trump critic and former FBI Director James Comey.

The Trump administration sought to dismiss Comey's complaint, asserting the dispute should be handled through administrative proceedings by the Merit Systems Protection Board, an executive branch agency created by the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978.

However, U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman ruled Tuesday that Comey's suit was properly filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

"The court concludes that Comey's case does not fall within the purview of the CSRA's scheme because she was fired pursuant to Article II of the Constitution, not pursuant to the CSRA itself," he wrote in a 27-page opinion, referring to the president's executive power vested under Article II of the U.S. Constitution.

"Defendants' sole reliance on the Constitution -- rather than the removal provisions of the CSRA -- places Comey's case outside the universe of cases that Congress intended the MSPB to resolve," the judge wrote.

In a footnote to the ruling, Furman opined that whether the U.S. government could properly rely on the Constitution to fire Comey "is the merits question at the heart of this case -- and thus a question for another day." ...