Comments

  2. says

    About as long as the blog has existed, although there was a period in the middle where I had a snit and closed it for a while.

  7. says

    https://proxy.freethought.online/pharyngula/2025/01/03/infinite-thread-xxxiv/comment-page-10/#comment-2260287
    JM @148, thanks for the correction. Sorry I didn’t see that before. The link above leads back to the previous set of comments on The Infinite Thread. (That thread has two limits: One is time, which I think is one month, but I’m not sure. The other limit is number of comments, which is 500. Sometimes the time limit runs out first, and then PZ has to give the thread a new lease on life.)

    https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show
    Donald Trump fired the man who likely saved his life: Former medical official
    Video is 10:36 minutes

    https://www.msnbc.com/all
    ‘Worst case scenario’ Chris Hayes says Trump is waterboarding the U.S. economy
    Video is 3:54 minutes long

  9. Audley Z Darkheart says

    Not great, honestly! Besides [gestures at everything] I went through treatments for colon cancer in 2023 and I’m still not fully recovered. So, yeah. :(

  10. says

    For the convenience of readers here are a few more links back to the previous set of comments on The Infinite Thread.

    https://proxy.freethought.online/pharyngula/2025/01/03/infinite-thread-xxxiv/comment-page-10/#comment-2260270
    Some government health employees who were laid off Tuesday were told to contact Anita Pinder with discrimination complaints. But Pinder, who was the director at the Office of Equal Opportunity and Civil Rights at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, died last year.

    https://proxy.freethought.online/pharyngula/2025/01/03/infinite-thread-xxxiv/comment-page-10/#comment-2260268
    Federal drug regulators have missed the deadline for making a key decision regarding a Covid-19 vaccine from Novavax, days after the Food and Drug Administration’s vaccine chief was pushed out. The agency was set to give full approval to Novavax’s shot, but senior leaders at the agency are now sitting on the decision and have said the Novavax application needed more data and was unlikely to be approved soon […]

    https://proxy.freethought.online/pharyngula/2025/01/03/infinite-thread-xxxiv/comment-page-10/#comment-2260261 Borowitz Report

    https://proxy.freethought.online/pharyngula/2025/01/03/infinite-thread-xxxiv/comment-page-10/#comment-2260263
    Naval Academy Staff Removed Display on Female Jewish Graduates for Hegseth Visit

    https://proxy.freethought.online/pharyngula/2025/01/03/infinite-thread-xxxiv/comment-page-10/#comment-2260257
    How a 27-year-old codebreaker busted the myth of Bitcoin’s anonymity

  13. says

    Pentagon inspector general opens investigation into Hegseth, Signal chat scandal

    “The White House said this week the “case has been closed” on the Signal scandal. The Pentagon’s inspector general opened it back up.”

    A few days after the White House’s Signal chat scandal erupted, it became clear that Congress’ Republican majority would not launch any oversight investigations, but some key lawmakers voiced support for a different kind of probe.

    For example, the top two members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Republican Chairman Roger Wicker and Democratic Ranking Member Jack Reed, formally requested that the acting inspector general at the Department of Defense open an inquiry into the potential “use of unclassified networks to discuss sensitive and classified information, as well as the sharing of such information with those who do not have proper clearance and need to know.”

    Soon after, Republican Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma appeared on CNN’s “State of the Union” and rejected the suggestion that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth needed to resign, but added that it’s “entirely appropriate” for the Pentagon’s inspector general to take a closer look.

    As it turns out, officials at the Department of Defense agreed. NBC News reported:

    The Pentagon Office of the Inspector General just announced a subject evaluation into allegations that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth used an unclassified commercially available messaging app — Signal — to discuss classified information about military actions in Yemen. … In addition to looking at whether Hegseth complied rules governing classified information, the inspector general will also look at whether rules about record retention were followed.

    […] The final paragraph of Goldberg’s [The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg’s] piece read, “All along, members of the Signal group were aware of the need for secrecy and operations security. In his text detailing aspects of the forthcoming attack on Houthi targets, Hegseth wrote to the group — which, at the time, included me — ‘We are currently clean on OPSEC.’”

    “OPSEC” referred to “operations security.” In other words, the defense secretary was certain that he and his colleagues — while chatting on a free platform that has never been approved for chats about national security and classified intelligence — had locked everything down and created a secure channel of communications.

    […] put there by Hegseth himself.

    “1215et: F-18s LAUNCH (1st strike package),” Hegseth told his colleagues in the chat. “1345: ‘Trigger Based’ F-18 1st Strike Window Starts (Target Terrorist is @ his Known Location so SHOULD BE ON TIME) — also, Strike Drones Launch (MQ-9s).” At one point, the defense secretary literally wrote, “THIS IS WHEN THE FIRST BOMBS WILL DEFINITELY DROP.”

    All of this comes against a backdrop of other damaging headlines about the former Fox News personality, including reports this week that he gave an important Pentagon job to his unqualified younger brother and included his wife in meetings in which sensitive information was discussed, despite her lack of a security clearance. […]

  14. chigau (違う) says

    Audley, if it’s been that long, then everything has changed with me.
    I hope your recovery is proceeding.

  16. says

    JD Vance peddles a familiar (and false) claim about the Social Security hotline

    “It was a problem when Elon Musk pushed a bogus claim about the Social Security hotline. The vice president just made the problem worse.”

    […] Elon Musk, declared at a campaign event: “One interesting statistic was that 40% of the calls into Social Security were fraudulent, meaning that it was someone trying to get a Social Security payment that was going to a senior instead to go to a fraud ring.”

    This week, JD Vance made his latest Fox News appearance, and the vice president echoed the line. [Social media post and video are available at the main link.]

    Referring to Musk and the Department of Government Operation, [Vance] said: “You look at all of the fraudulent grants they found, you look at people who are 150 years old fraudulently collecting Social Security payments, you see our Social Security system, 40% of the people who are calling in are actually committing fraud. That means the 60% who need their Social Security checks are waiting in line.”

    For now, let’s put aside the fact that DOGE has not, in reality, uncovered a flood of fraudulent grants. Also, let’s not dwell on the fact that the claims about 150-year-old Social Security beneficiaries have already been discredited, as Vance really ought to know.

    Let’s instead focus on the idea that 40% of people calling into the Social Security hotline are fraudsters. Is that true? The New York Times published a fact-check report noting that the claim is rooted in a misunderstood statistic from the Social Security Administration.

    The agency recently estimated that 40 percent of direct deposit fraud, one specific type of fraud, occurred via calls to the agency. That is not the same thing as 40 percent of all telephone calls being fraudulent. [!] … It is unclear what percentage of calls are requests for information or forms and what percentage are requests for services that directly affect benefits. But there is no evidence that 40 percent of answered calls, or 20 million to 24 million annually, fraudulently reroute benefits.

    [Musk] has no real background in government or public policy, so it was easy to understand why he would peddle a bogus claim about a system he failed to understand.

    But Vance is a former senator and now an elected national officeholder. It’s hardly unreasonable to think he should know better.

    The larger question, though, is whether he does know better. Last fall, as Election Day approached, Vance lied about Haitian immigrants living in Springfield, Ohio. When he was pressed to explain why he said things that were untrue about a community in his own state, Vance said that he was willing “to create stories so that the American media actually pays attention.”

    All of which leaves us with a familiar question about the reality-challenged vice president: Was he simply wrong about the 40% claim, or was this an instance in which Vance was simply creating stories in pursuit of a political goal?

    I’ll go with the latter.

  17. says

    JFC. Befuddled fool speaks:

    […] “It’s such an old-fashioned term, but a beautiful term: groceries,” Trump said. “It says ‘a bag with different things in it.’”

    Last week, he said something similar, declaring at another White House event that “groceries” is “a beautiful word.”

    A day earlier, the president appeared on Newsmax and said, “I haven’t used the word ‘groceries.’ It’s like an old-fashioned word, but really it’s not. And people understand it.”

    Around the same time, at a White House Cabinet meeting, he again referred to “groceries” as “an old-fashioned word,” adding, “but it’s a very descriptive word.”

    This came on the heels of a pre-inaugural appearance on “Meet the Press,” in which Trump told NBC News’ Kristen Welker, “I won on groceries. Very simple word, groceries. Like almost — you know, who uses the word? I started using the word — the groceries.”

    Of course, Trump says all kinds of foolish things on a daily basis, and it’s probably best not to get too worked up about every random absurdity. But as the White House appears to be pushing the country closer to an easily avoidable recession and the president is setting your 401(k) on fire, that he considers “groceries” to be an exotic term doesn’t exactly inspire confidence.

    Complicating matters, during the 2024 campaign, Trump assured voters that “grocery prices will come tumbling down” if he won a second term. […]

    Maybe Trump should just stop talking about old-fashioned bags with different things in them altogether?

    Link

  18. says

    Bits and pieces of news, as summarized by Steve Benen:

    * New York City Mayor Eric Adams was a Republican; then he was a Democrat; and now he’s running for a second term as an independent. Adams announced the partisan switch the day after the federal corruption charges against him were dismissed in court under highly controversial circumstances. [summarized from NBC News]

    * In New Hampshire, Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas confirmed weeks of rumors and launched a U.S. Senate campaign. If elected, the congressman would be the first openly gay man to serve in the Senate. [summarized from NBC Boston]

    […] In Wisconsin, a Democratic-backed candidate in the race for state school superintendent also won this week. [summarized from The Hill]

    * One day after Republicans won two congressional special elections in Florida, Reps. Jimmy Patronis and Randy Fine were sworn in to office, creating a new balance of power in the U.S. House: There are now 220 Republicans and 213 Democrats. [summarized from NBC News]

    * In Aurora, Illinois, the city’s incumbent mayor, Republican Richard Irvin, lost his re-election bid this week, coming up short against John Laesch, who enjoyed the support of several prominent Democratic leaders in the state. [summarized from webz.org]

    * In California, there’s still plenty of speculation about whether former Vice President Kamala Harris will run for governor next year, but in the meantime, Xavier Becerra isn’t waiting: The former health and human services secretary kicked off his statewide bid this week. [summarized from The New York Times]

    * And in Michigan, a high-profile state senator, Mallory McMorrow, launched a Democratic U.S. Senate campaign this week. The 38-year-old lawmaker is the first major candidate to jump into the race, though the Democratic primary is expected to be quite crowded. [summarized from NBC News]

  19. says

    As the CDC’s IVF team is gutted, Trump is haunted by ‘fertilization president’ claims

    “When it comes to IVF, the president is saying one thing while doing the opposite.”

    Related Rachel Maddow video is available at the link. It is a good one.

    It was just last week when the White House held an event to commemorate Women’s History Month, which included some curious remarks from Donald Trump.

    “We’re gonna have tremendous, tremendous goodies in the bag for women, too,” the president said, referring to his administration’s agenda. “The women, between the fertilization and all the other things we’re talking about, it’s gonna be great. Fertilization. I’m still very proud of it, I don’t care. I’ll be known as the fertilization president, and that’s OK, that’s not bad. I’ve been called much worse. Actually, I like it. I like it, right? Thank you.” [video of Trump speaking]

    […] the Trump administration just gutted its own IVF team. NBC News reported:

    A team that tracked how well in vitro fertilization worked across the U.S. was abruptly cut Tuesday as part of the sweeping layoffs at the Department of Health and Human Services. The elimination of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Assisted Reproductive Technology Surveillance team — a group of six epidemiologists, data analysts and researchers — shocked public health experts and IVF advocates.

    […] It doesn’t. Trump seems to realize that IVF enjoys broad public support, so he positioned himself with the American mainstream before Election Day. But now that he and his administration are engaged in policymaking, the president is saying one thing while doing the opposite.

    As for those who might’ve voted for Trump because they believed his rhetoric about IVF, I have some very bad news.

  20. birgerjohansson says

    (Waves to all of you)
    We have nice northern lights right now.

    But if they start being visible down south, it means a solar magnetic storm is about to fry your electric grid, so I hope you DON’T see them!
    (If you see them, it might also be a portent that something bad is happening in the US, so…damn! That got old fast)

  21. birgerjohansson says

    Meidas Touch podcast
    “FURIOUS World Leaders Destroy Trump on Trade War ”
    .https://youtube.com/watch?v=RTjzXoQrAjk

    The claim the tariffs are reciprocal is a LIE. South Korea does not have 50% tariffs on US imports. EU does not have 39% on US imports. 

    Instead, the administration make up the fictional tariffs by looking at trade going in one direction and the opposite direction.

    For Indonesia, that is 17 billion from US to there and 28 billion from Indonesia. Then they claimed Indonesia has a 60% tariff (see the first 3 minutes).
    It is made-up rubbish.

  22. says

    […] The disastrous tariffs that Trump proudly unveiled in the Rose Garden take a sledgehammer to the tentpoles of a U.S.-centered trade and financial system that accrued often invisible benefits to American consumers, businesses, diplomats, and war fighters. […]

    The damage will be so vast and foreseeable that it’s hard not to veer into wondering about Trump’s motives in unleashing this much destruction on his own country. But as with the simultaneous destruction of American science and medicine, research and development, and civic and governmental capacity, taking away things in order to extort more power, privilege, and baubles remains the best explanation for Trump’s rampage. There is no public good, only what is good for Trump.

    Link

    Chris Murphy:

    Those trying to understand the tariffs as economic policy are dangerously naive.

    No, the tariffs are a tool to collapse our democracy. A means to compel loyalty from every business that will need to petition Trump for relief.

    1/ A 🧵 to explain his plan and how we fight back.

    https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:y77n77kdqzhbg647blkfypyr/post/3lluxkmx7wc2m
    More at the link.

  23. birgerjohansson says

    Kosta at The Daily Show.
    .
    “But in Trump’s defence…he lied!”

  25. birgerjohansson says

    Lynna, OM @ 22
    To understand Trump’s ambition, see the quote of Doctor Mabuse:
    “Die Herrschaft des Verbrechens!”
    This film came in 1932.

  26. says

    […] The newly released budget resolution indicates that the Republican leadership is plowing ahead with their plan to utilize an unprecedented “budget gimmick” to make portions of the 2017 Trump tax cuts permanent.

    Republicans plan to make up their own numbers and cost estimates as a way of shoehorning in the “current policy baseline,” in order to zero out the nearly $4 trillion cost of their tax cuts and claim on paper that the extension will be costless, budget and tax experts told TPM.

    That math trick means Republicans may be able to avoid the reality of the huge offsets taxpayers will ultimately pay over time for the Trump tax cuts making it possible for them to bypass a Senate rule that guards against increases to the deficit in any year beyond the 10-year budget window.

    Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) called Senate Republicans’ attempt to fudge the numbers, “cheap, shameless, embarrassing.”

    “They’re engaged in trickery,” Warnock, a member of the Senate Finance Committee, told TPM Wednesday afternoon. “If you’re busy trying to hide what you’re doing, deep down, you must know that you’re doing the wrong thing. Because if you really believe in it, you ought to own it.”

    […] Budget and tax experts told TPM, the math is simple. No matter what Republicans claim, the tax cuts will increase the deficit over the years and will not erase the impact it will have on the country’s economy.

    […] Warnock also reflected on the consequences of using what some Democrats are describing as “funny math.”

    “They are literally digging a hole for our children, exploding the debt. I think it would be foolish to do that. Period. But they’re doing it for … the noble cause of giving the wealthiest people in the country a tax break,” the Georgia senator told TPM sarcastically.

    While Trump’s 2017 tax cuts did lower taxes for the majority of Americans, they primarily benefited the wealthy — those making $400,000 or more a year.

    The Senate is expected to take the initial procedural vote on the budget resolution Thursday, with a vote-a-rama set to begin Friday afternoon. If everything goes as leadership plans, the Senate could pass the blueprint by early Saturday morning. The House will then take up the same text. […]

    The play on numbers that help Republicans claim that the tax cuts will not add to the country’s debt is also a calculated political move. If the numbers point to a no or small increase in the deficit, Republican leadership can pretend the deficit won’t grow as much as it will, helping them to ease the concerns of many of the hardliners in Congress. […]

    “You can play funny math with the scoring of a reconciliation, but you can’t play funny math with the debt ceiling,” Kaine [Sen. Tim Kaine] told TPM. “And so they would make their problem on the debt ceiling worse.”

    “There is a day of reckoning so they can run but they can’t hide.”

    Link

  27. says

    RFK Jr. fired veterinarians working on bird flu because he’s incompetent

    Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s purge of almost a quarter of the federal workforce under his control includes senior veterinarians who focus on response to bird flu outbreaks, according to sources that spoke with the Washington Post.

    The laid-off veterinarians, who worked under the Food and Drug Administration, included those who designed studies showing that pasteurized milk would kill the virus. This was particularly important as the bird flu rampaged through dairy herds last spring. Officials who oversaw efforts to protect Americans by recalling pet food that may have been contaminated by the avian disease also lost their jobs.

    […] “This is one of the dumbest things you could possibly do with your government, laying off the very people you need to combat one of the biggest problems affecting our food supply right now,” Democratic Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois, a ranking member of the Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services, told the Post.

    The news comes more than a month after the Department of Agriculture promised to rehire “several” employees they had “accidentally” let go, who had been involved in the avian flu outbreak response. […]

    Democrats in the House have launched a subcommittee to investigate Kennedy’s weak response to the bird flu outbreak, which has sent egg costs skyrocketing, threatening public health and impacting the farming industry. [Eggflation graph at the link]

    Kennedy’s first months as head of the HHS have been disastrous. His poor management of a historic measles outbreak, which began in Texas and quickly spread to New Mexico, has claimed a child’s life. New cases have now appeared in Kansas.

    At the same time he is firing thousands of qualified staff, Kennedy has found time to hire a discredited anti-vaccine activist, known for spreading false information about vaccines and autism treatments. […]

    Additionally, Kennedy’s stance against fluoride in water has had real-world consequences. More and more communities have been encouraged to remove fluoride from their water supply, increasing the risk of childhood tooth decay and disease.

    Kennedy’s qualifications made him uniquely unfit to lead our country’s public health into the modern age, and each day he continues to prove it.

    Embedded links to additional sources are available at the main link.

  28. Reginald Selkirk says

    Schrodinger’s Economics

    databasecowgirl writes:

    Commenting in The Times on the absurdity of Meta’s copyright infringement claims, Caitlin Moran defines Schrodinger’s economics: where a company is both [one of] the most valuable on the planet yet also too poor to pay for the materials it profits from…

  29. says

    People are already losing their jobs:

    On Thursday—one day after […] Trump’s self-branded “Liberation Day”—900 auto workers in Michigan and Indiana were “liberated” from their jobs, thanks to Trump’s new tariffs.

    Stellantis NV, which manufactures Ram trucks and Jeeps, announced on Thursday that 900 U.S. workers across five facilities were being temporarily laid off, directly citing Trump’s 25% tariffs on imported cars as the cause. […]

    Link

    Trump’s Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on CBS News:

    “You’re going to see employment leaping starting today,” he said.

  31. Reginald Selkirk says

    Trump’s new tariff math looks a lot like ChatGPT’s

    ChatGPT, Gemini, Grok, and Claude all recommend the same “nonsense” tariff calculation.

    When President Donald Trump began yesterday’s announcement of the White House’s latest trade policy brandishing a novelty-sized cardboard sign labeled “Reciprocal Tariffs,” the immediate and nearly unanimous response was bafflement. Trump slapped a 10 percent baseline tariff on all imports into the US, including from uninhabited islands, plus absurdly high rates on specific countries, supposedly based on “tariffs charged to the USA” — which didn’t match up to other, non-cardboard-sign-based estimates. Stock markets have plummeted and consumers are facing down sharp price hikes on potentially almost everything they buy.

    Where did these numbers come from? Apparently, an oversimplified calculation that several major AI chatbots happen to recommend.

    Economist James Surowiecki quickly reverse-engineered a possible explanation for the tariff pricing. He found you could recreate each of the White House’s numbers by simply taking a given country’s trade deficit with the US and dividing it by their total exports to the US. Halve that number, and you get a ready-to-use “discounted reciprocal tariff.” The White House objected to this claim and published the formula it says that it used, but as Politico points out, the formula looks like a dressed-up version of Surowiecki’s method.

    In case you weren’t sure, Surowiecki calls this approach “extraordinary nonsense.” …

    Critics suspect Trump’s weird tariff math came from chatbots

    … But while Trump expressed intent to push back on anyone supposedly taking advantage of the US, some of the countries on the reciprocal tariffs list puzzled experts and officials, who pointed out to The Guardian that Trump was, for some reason, targeting uninhabited islands, some of them exporting nothing and populated with penguins.

    Some overseas officials challenged Trump’s math, such as George Plant, the administrator of Norfolk Island, who told the Guardian that “there are no known exports from Norfolk Island to the United States and no tariffs or known non-tariff trade barriers on goods coming to Norfolk Island.”

    On social media, rumors swirled that the Trump administration got these supposedly fake numbers from chatbots. On Bluesky, tech entrepreneur Amy Hoy joined others posting screenshots from ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and Grok, each showing that the chatbots arrived at similar calculations as the Trump administration.

    Some of the chatbots also warned against the oversimplified math in outputs…

    From the comments of the latter article, someone quotes Navin Pokala:

    Also note that the tariffs are not broken down by country, they’re broken down by top level internet domain. It’s why islands that are populated entirely by penguins (the .hm domain) and why the Diego Garcia military base on BIOT (.io) are listed, also why Reunion (.re) and Gibraltor (.gi) are listed separately from France and the UK…

  32. says

    https://www.wonkette.com/p/oh-laura-loomer-is-now-running-the

    “Oh, Laura Loomer Is Now Running The National Security Council. IS THAT FINE?”

    Laura Loomer, the online conspiracy person who regularly says more completely crazy things than even Donald Trump, is now dictating staffing decisions for Trump’s national security team, Axios reports. […]

    Several members of Trump’s National Security Council were fired the day after Loomer had a nice visit with Trump in the Oval Office, where she urged Trump to fire people she decided were disloyal to him. The New York Times followed that with a story confirming that six NSC staff had been shitcanned based on Loomer’s List […]

    The six officials were among those vilified by Ms. Loomer during the meeting on Wednesday, the official said. Ms. Loomer walked into the White House with a sheaf of papers, which amounted to a mass of opposition research attacking the character and loyalty of numerous N.S.C. officials. She proceeded to excoriate them in front of Michael Waltz, the national security adviser, who was also in the meeting.

    Even with all the Signalgate clouds hovering over Waltz, the lucky ducky wasn’t one of the people Loomer wanted removed. […]

    All very normal, really, as long as you leave aside the minor detail that the president of the United States is taking orders from a deranged conspiracy theorist. Right, we know: we’ll have to be more specific.

    […] Trump was very busy Wednesday meeting with friends who want him to fire a lot of people; the Times notes that Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pennsylvania) was in the room with a “separate list of staff concerns he wanted to discuss with the president, and his planned meeting with Mr. Trump collided with Ms. Loomer’s,” […]

    Also very awkward: another person in the room was Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick […] The Times notes that Lutnick’s brother was killed in the September 11 terrorist attacks […] Loomer is a HUGE 9/11 truther, and you can only imagine how awkward that must have been. […]

    The sudden firings apparently unsettled some people in the government who considered them “arbitrary,” possibly because they forgot who they’re working for. The report says “Most if not all of the officials who have been targeted by Ms. Loomer were put through a personnel vetting process run by the Trump administration,” […]

    As for Loomer, she seems close once again to being the main character she so longs to be, having gotten these NSC staffers fired, and also last week getting an assistant US Attorney in California, Adam Schleifer, shitcanned for running for Congress as a Democrat in 2020 and being what she called a “Trump hater.”

    […] Ms. Loomer […] speculated that Mr. Wong [Deputy National Security Adviser Alex Wong] was responsible for adding [Atlantic editor Jeffrey] Goldberg to the Signal chat “on purpose as part of a foreign opp to embarrass the Trump administration on behalf of China.” […]

    [I snipped details revealing Ms. Loomer’s racist and inaccurate comments about Mr. Wong’s wife.]

    Anyway, just another very normal day in Trumpland, where everyone has knives out for each other as they all work to make America great […]

  33. says

    https://www.wonkette.com/p/south-carolinas-please-let-us-defund

    “South Carolina’s ‘Please Let Us Defund Planned Parenthood’ Argument Was Not Too Impressive”

    “Even some of the conservative judges had a hard time buying it.”

    Yesterday, the Supreme Court heard arguments in the case of Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic — which will determine whether or not Medicaid beneficiaries can sue the state over being denied the right to see the “willing and qualified” doctor of their choice. Given the fact that this court overturned Roe v. Wade, we were not too hopeful.

    However, South Carolina’s argument that patients should not be able to do this was actually so bad that, according to a report from the Washington Post, both Justice Neil Gorsuch and Chief Justice John Roberts (at least) seem poised to side with Planned Parenthood. Impressive! And given that liberal Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson are pretty much a given on this one, those two siding with PPSAT would give them a majority.

    […] The justices were largely focused on whether or not Congress could just say that people are entitled to something without actually allowing them to do anything about it if they are denied.

    […] As it stands Medicaid patients are able to choose any “willing and qualified” doctor they want

    Via Washington Post:

    To allow enforcement, Bursch said, the statute must have what he called clear “rights-creating language” that puts states on notice of the risk of litigation.

    Just as private insurers don’t provide coverage for any doctor patients may want, Bursch said, the state decides which providers are qualified and “you get to choose among them.” In this case, he said, South Carolina “decided that Planned Parenthood was unqualified for many reasons, chiefly because they’re the nation’s largest abortion provider.”

    […] It’s fairly clear that in writing “a beneficiary enrolled in a primary care case management system or Medicaid managed care organization (MCO) may not be denied freedom of choice of qualified providers of family planning services,” Congress meant for “qualified” to mean “competent.” […]

    It should be noted that all the Planned Parenthood clinics are doing is following South Carolina’s own law, which allows abortion up to six weeks. Why would that be the law if it were something that made them somehow “unqualified” to do pap smears?

    That statute is not for decorative purposes only. […] It’s meant to protect beneficiaries from being denied their choice of provider based on the personal whims of the governor or any other elected officials.

    While we’re certain that Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito will rule in favor of South Carolina regardless of how bad their arguments are, it (thankfully) seems possible that the other judges will not.

  34. CompulsoryAccount7746, Sky Captain says

    Re: Reginald Selkirk @31:

    the tariffs are not broken down by country, they’re broken down by top level internet domain

    Rando:

    It’s iso 3166. The system that is used for the codes for internet top level domains.

    It’s always used incorrectly by know nothing tech people to generate a list of countries, who don’t understand it also includes dependent territories and places of special interest. GenAI will get it wrong too.

  35. says

    Followup to comment 32.

    Among those let go were senior officials Brian Walsh, Thomas Boodry and David Feith, the sources said.

    Followup of sorts to Reginald @31: Investors flee U.S. stocks as markets react sharply to Trump’s tariff plan

    Related video at the link.

    Global markets reacted sharply and swiftly […] with investors fleeing U.S. stock indexes and stocks of companies that rely on global supply chains plummeting.

    Global markets posted significant losses just minutes into their trading days. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index plunged more than 4.1%, and South Korea’s Kospi stock average fell more than 2.5%. Australia’s ASX 200 dipped about 2%. ETFs (exchange-traded funds) that track specific countries, such as India, tumbled about 3%, while one that tracks Europe slid 2%, and the China ETF fell 3.8%.

    […] Shares of Apple dropped nearly 7%, Amazon 6% and Walmart 5%.

    Nike, which produced 50% of its footwear in Vietnam last year, plummeted 7% in after-hours trading.

    […] Goldman Sachs estimated that the price of a foreign-made car could soar by up to $15,000 under Trump’s tariffs. Even a vehicle assembled in the United States could face a price hike of up to $8,000, according to the bank’s analysts.

  36. Reginald Selkirk says

    North Dakota voters banned lawmakers from seeking term limit changes. They did it anyway

    When North Dakota voters approved term limits for state legislators, they specified that the Legislature couldn’t seek to change the new restrictions.

    On Wednesday, the state House opted to propose a big change, anyway.

    “You have plain language in the constitution restricting what the Legislature can do,” said Republican Rep. Jared Hendrix, the leader of the term limit ballot initiative in 2022.

    The Senate earlier passed the measure. Now it appears set up for the November 2026 election.

    The 2022 measure, which amended the state constitution, said the Legislature “shall not have authority to propose an amendment to this constitution to alter or repeal the term limitations established in … this article.” …

    Hmmm. The 2022 measure would have the force of a constitutional measure, so a mere legislative act could not alter it. But if the 2022 measure says that no future amendment can alter it, that probably would not stand. IANAL

  37. Reginald Selkirk says

    American arrested after leaving can of Coke for world’s most isolated tribe

    An American tourist has been arrested after sailing to a remote island and leaving behind a can of Coke and a coconut for the world’s most dangerous and isolated people.

    North Sentinel Island…

    Yet Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov, 24, made an illegal visit to the island on Saturday using a makeshift craft to cross a 25-mile strait, Indian police said.

    They arrested the American, who has a Ukrainian father, on his return as the island has been off limits since 1996, with Indian navy vessels patrolling a five-mile exclusion zone to prevent any unauthorised landings…

    “They”? Lousy journalism. It’s a new paragraph. Anyway…

    From his boat, he scanned the area with binoculars but saw no sign of the Sentinelese. For about an hour, he blew a whistle to try to attract attention but received no response.

    He then briefly stepped onto the island, left a can of Coca-Cola and a coconut as offerings, collected sand samples and recorded a video before departing…

    Police said the 24-year-old had previously attempted illegal interactions with the archipelago’s other indigenous tribes…

    Police have filed a case against him for breach of protection of aboriginal tribes and informed the ministry of external affairs and the US embassy.

    Caroline Pearce, the director of indigenous rights group Survival International, said Polyakov’s attempt to make contact with Sentinelese people was “deeply disturbing”.

    She said: “It beggars belief that someone could be that reckless and idiotic. This person’s actions not only endangered his own life, they put the lives of the entire Sentinelese tribe at risk.

    “It’s very well known by now that uncontacted peoples have no immunity to common outside diseases like flu or measles, which could completely wipe them out.” …

  38. birgerjohansson says

    38 years and two days since the album Solitude Standing by Suzanne Vega. I just thought I should mention something not touched by corruption.

  39. Reginald Selkirk says

    Wealthy Americans have death rates on par with poor Europeans

    It’s well-established that, on the whole, Americans die younger than people in most other high-income countries. For instance, an analysis from 2022 found that the average life expectancy of someone born in Switzerland or Spain in 2019 was 84 years. Meanwhile, the average US life expectancy was 78.8, lower than nearly all other high-income countries, including Canada’s, which was 82.3 years. And this was before the pandemic, which only made things worse for the US.

    Perhaps some Americans may think that this lower overall life-expectancy doesn’t really apply to them if they’re middle- or upper-class. After all, wealth inequality and health disparities are huge problems in the US. Those with more money simply have better access to health care and better health outcomes. Well-off Americans live longer, with lifespans on par with their peers in high-income countries, some may think.

    It is true that money buys you a longer life in the US. In fact, the link between wealth and mortality may be stronger in the US than in any other high-income country. But, if you think American wealth will put life expectancy in league with Switzerland, you’re dead wrong, according to a study in the latest issue of the New England Journal of Medicine…

  41. says

    NBC News:

    Major U.S. stock indexes on Thursday saw their worst one-day drawdowns since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. The S&P 500 fell 4.8%, while the Nasdaq fell 6% — both their worst since 2020. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 4%, or more than 1,600 — its worst sell-off since 2022.

    The Hill:

    […] Trump on Thursday insisted that the rollout of his new reciprocal tariffs is ‘going really well’ despite markets taking a plunge and foreign leaders appearing rattled by the prospect of a global recession.

    NBC:

    The government of Canada will be responding to automotive tariffs from the United States by matching 25% tariffs on all vehicles imported from the U.S. that are not compliant with CUSMA, our North American free trade agreement, and on the non-Canadian content of CUSMA-compliant vehicles from the United States, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced today.

  42. says

    New York Times:

    Hungary said on Thursday that it would pull out of the International Criminal Court, announcing its decision just hours after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel arrived there for a visit despite facing an international arrest warrant.

  43. says

    Associated Press:

    U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the Trump administration’s new envoy to NATO are seeking to reassure wary members of the U.S. commitment to the alliance. Rubio on Thursday decried ‘hysteria and hyperbole’ in the media about U.S. President Donald Trump’s intentions, despite persistent signals from Washington that NATO as it has existed for 75 years may no longer be relevant.

  44. says

    Yahoo News:

    Another Washington Post staffer is ditching the paper over owner Jeff Bezos’ recent changes to its coverage. Eugene Robinson, the longtime political columnist, told staff on Thursday he is leaving WaPo after 45 years due to the ‘significant shift’ Bezos recently implemented, where the opinion section will focus on the ‘two pillars’ of personal liberties and free markets.”

  45. says

    Judge Puts Screws To Trump DOJ On Who Exactly May Have Ignored His Orders On Alien Enemies Act

    The Trump Justice Department was at times squirrely, at times withholding and at times quick to whip out attorney-client privilege Thursday as a federal judge tried to discern who exactly in the administration may have violated his orders.

    U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, in his Washington D.C. courtroom, pressed Deputy Assistant Attorney General Drew Ensign on who exactly told planes carrying Venezuelan detainees deported under the Alien Enemies Act not to turn around, even after he’d ordered that those detainees not be removed from U.S. custody.

    “You’ve said that it was perfectly appropriate for the government to act as it did, so who made that perfectly appropriate decision?” Boasberg asked.

    “Your honor, I don’t know that,” Ensign replied.

    Boasberg, chuckling, asked: “Were you told?”

    “Your honor, I haven’t been told,” Ensign said.

    “So you, standing here, have no idea who made the decision to not bring the planes back, or have passengers not disembark upon arrival?” Boasberg asked incredulously.

    “Your honor, I do not know those operational details,” Ensign replied.

    Boasberg then asked the government how it wanted to proceed, as he’d need names of people to hold in contempt of court, should he make that finding. The lawyer for the detainees, in his comparatively brief conversation with the judge, advocated for some kind of sworn evidence, preferably hearings or depositions, as he argued that the government hadn’t been forthcoming in its written declarations so far.

    Boasberg went far deeper than in previous hearings towards trying to learn who in the government knew about his order, when they knew it and who specifically chose to potentially disregard him. […]

    [The judge] will rule on whether to find probable cause to begin contempt proceedings. From there, Boasberg could use the contempt process to haul in senior officials and, as the judge put it at a hearing last month, “get to the bottom” of who decided that the planes would continue on to El Salvador after the court ordered their reversal.

    Boasberg [said] at one point that “ICE clearly knew about this proclamation before 3:53 p.m.” while expressing disbelief that the Trump administration could have moved three planeloads of people to El Salvador without extensive preparations.

    […] He remarked at one point that “one could infer” that ICE had begun working on this long before the Alien Enemies Act invocation was publicly proclaimed.

    After Ensign agreed, Boasberg followed up: “What other inference could you draw from that?”

    Ensign squirmed as Boasberg hammered the point.

    There was a “fair likelihood” that “the government acted in bad faith throughout that day,” the judge said. “If you really believed everything you did that day was legal and could survive a court challenge, I can’t believe you ever would have operated the way you did.”

    Boasberg tallied the human cost of such haste, pointing out that “at least one” person “that we know of” shouldn’t have been deported at all, referring to the mistaken deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who had been granted protection by a judge from being deported and was in the United States on a work permit.

    Meanwhile, the case is continuing on the merits. Boasberg will gather the parties again next week for a hearing on the detainees’ motion for a preliminary injunction, a more permanent ban on Trump’s deportations under the Alien Enemies Act.

  47. CompulsoryAccount7746, Sky Captain says

    US Trade Rep – Reciprocal Tariff Calculations
    https://ustr.gov/issue-areas/reciprocal-tariff-calculations

    Brendan Duke (Center on Budget & Policy Priorities):

    Incredible stuff—they wanted to make the [formula] seem more sophisticated than it is so they threw in two Greek letters but selected values that cancel out so it’s still just trade deficit divided by imports.
    [Screenshot of a fraction with “epsilon * phi” cluttering its denominator, defined in caption text as 4 and 0.25.]

    Rando 1: “We need math majors to weigh in on this ground-breaking Trump and Musk genius formula that uses 4 x 1/4 = 1.”
    Rando 2: “As a mathematician I feel extra angry at this.”
    —
    CNN – Trump aide says tariffs will raise $6 trillion, which would be largest tax hike in US history

    Ben Raderstorf: “This press conference cost the U.S. stock market somewhere in the realm of $1-2 trillion dollars.”

    Aaron Rupar:

    Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins next to a ticker showing the Dow down 1,200 points: “We are really, really excited, and very grateful for President Trump’s leadership.” [Video clip]

    Rando 3: “Just 14 people are holding us hostage to the mad king. 4 GOP Representatives and 10 GOP Senators could end this all anytime they wanted.”

    Josh Marshall (TPM): “a US President has no inherent power over tariffs whatsoever. It’s not like war powers or pardons. It’s entirely delegated by Congress to deal with emergencies.”
    —
    Rando 4: “Funniest fucking way to violate the One China policy lmao.
    [Screenshot: Taiwan among tariffed countries]”

    Anna Bower: “No tariffs on the invading foreign government, tren de aragua??”
    —
    Aaron Fritschner (House staffer):

    List of countries not subjected to tariffs: Russia, Belarus, North Korea, Cuba. […] The White House says tariffs on Russia (and presumably these others) are unnecessary because we don’t trade with them on account of trade embargoes. 3 points:
    1) Not true.
    2) Iran and Syria are heavily embargoed, but still got tariffs.
    3) Trump put tariffs on several uninhabited islands.

    Eric Columbus: “It’s almost like three of these tariff-exempt countries are included as window-dressing for the fourth.”
    —
    Reuters – Trump’s tariffs already have a major carve-out. Oil and gas

  48. John Morales says

    Josh Marshall (TPM): “a US President has no inherent power over tariffs whatsoever. It’s not like war powers or pardons. It’s entirely delegated by Congress to deal with emergencies.”

    Quite evidently, that claim is incorrect.
    This USA president indeed has that inherent power.

    (You can tell because he actually has done it. Whatever one does, perforce one has the power to do that)

  49. StevoR says

    Misleading to call what was really probly a lesser Neptune a “Super-Earth” and likely not really a single explosion but probly a sustained ejection over I’m thinking time but this is still rather staggering :

    Yet if TOI-152b had been reduced by stellar radiation, there would be no water or atmosphere left at all. Instead, Rodrigues’ team suggest that the core-powered mass loss is the better explanation, particularly for TOI-152b’s age of 8.235 billion years (albeit with an uncertainty of 4.386 billion years), since core-powered mass loss is a process that can last billions of years.

    That’s not to say that all planets that pass through the hot Neptune desert lose their gaseous envelopes in this same way. It’s possible that their gaseous layer can be removed by one or both of solar radiation and core-powered mass loss, depending upon the planet and the star.

    Source : https://www.space.com/the-universe/exoplanets/this-newly-found-super-earth-might-have-blown-off-its-own-atmosphere

  50. Jean says

    John Morales,

    You have problem understanding English. He doesn’t have inherent power, he has delegated power which is what he is exercising (in an abusive way but the GOP Congress is letting him abuse that power).

  52. StevoR says

    @48. John Morales : “You can tell because he actually has done it. Whatever one does, perforce one has the power to do that.”

    I guess in practice but legally speaking? People commit murder and all sorts of crimes all the time. Does that mean they have the power to do that?

    Just because someone can do something doesn’t mean they have the right to do it or that it is legal for them to do so. Just because Trump is effectively now acting as a dictator doesn’t mean it is right or legal or constitutional for him to do so. He might have done it but not supposedly been able to do it and committed a crime or legal as wellas ethical violation in doing it.

  53. says

    One day after Trump’s delusional press conference before an audience of similarly deluded sycophants, in which he proudly touted his justifications for imposing a battery of farcically-calculated tariffs upon the goods and services of most developed nations on the planet (Russia being curiously exempted), the editors of The Economist have weighed in on the all-but-certain ramifications of those tariffs:

    If you failed to spot America being “looted, pillaged, raped and plundered by nations near and far” [quoting Trump] or it being cruelly denied a “turn to prosper”, then congratulations: you have a firmer grip on reality than the president of the United States. It’s hard to know which is more unsettling: that the leader of the free world could spout complete drivel about its most successful and admired economy. Or the fact that on April 2nd, spurred on by his delusions, Donald Trump announced the biggest break in America’s trade policy in over a century—and committed the most profound, harmful and unnecessary economic error in the modern era.

    The “most profound, harmful and unnecessary economic error” indeed. And it’s not clear why anyone possessing even a rudimentary understanding of America’s place in the world economy would sign on to a program that virtually assures its utter and complete annihilation. One plausible explanation for such weird credulity is that many in the financial press expect Trump’s fixations to be temporary and that somehow, some way, everything will return to normal before too long. That once Trump perceives the stock market crashing— as investors flee to whatever safe havens they can scrounge — cooler heads will at last prevail upon him to move on to another distraction. This ignores the fact that there are no longer any members of his economic “team” willing to tell Trump that his ideas are catastrophic. And it ignores the fact that they were specifically selected for just that reason.

    The other, darker (but seemingly more likely) explanation, is that they themselves are so petrified that they cannot bring themselves to acknowledge what is happening right before their eyes, or worse, that they will, by their fealty to Trump, somehow be insulated from its consequences.

    The authors of the Economist’s editorial duly reiterate what should be self-evident to anyone with a functioning brain, or at least one capable of recalling and processing even the tiniest fragment of our country’s history:

    Almost everything Mr Trump said this week—on history, economics and the technicalities of trade—was utterly deluded. His reading of history is upside down. He has long glorified the high-tariff, low-income-tax era of the late-19th century. In fact, the best scholarship shows that tariffs impeded the economy back then. He has now added the bizarre claim that lifting tariffs caused the Depression of the 1930s and that the Smoot-Hawley tariffs were too late to rescue the situation. The reality is that tariffs made the Depression much worse, just as they will harm all economies today. It was the painstaking rounds of trade talks in the subsequent 80 years that lowered tariffs and helped increase prosperity.

    […] As the editors laconically put it, “This catalogue of foolishness will bring needless harm to America. Consumers will pay more and have less choice.”

    But even that understates the ultimate destructive economic effect of these tariffs. Consumer spending will inevitably tank as Americans see their disposable income drying up before their eyes. Investment in the stock market will collapse as market gains become more and more elusive and unpredictable. We’ve already lost the confidence of our former trading partners […] What we’re potentially risking is not simply a recession, but a permanent devolution in most Americans’ standard of living.

    As the editors observe, Trump’s tariff bludgeon will simply prompt our former friends to seek out sane trading partners rather than risk further trade losses in dealing with an unstable regime led by a mercurial incompetent:

    Instead, governments should focus on increasing trade flows among themselves, especially in the services that power the 21st-century economy. With a share of final demand for imports of only 15%, America does not dominate global trade the way it does global finance or military spending. Even if it halted imports entirely, on current trends 100 of its trading partners would have recovered all their lost exports within just five years, calculates Global Trade Alert, a think-tank.

    The Economist counsels other nations to be cautious on retaliation, predicting (accurately) that it would only cause Trump to double down. But that is like asking someone not to stand up to a bully because he might hit you again if you do. Other countries are still answerable to their own citizens, and those citizens are going to become increasingly anti-American on just about everything that matters (On top of all this, Trump’s draconian immigration practices are rapidly transforming us into a pariah state no one wants to visit).

    Finally, the idea — actually espoused by Trump at his press conference — that other countries will simply cave to Trump’s demands and rush to open factories in the U.S. is preposterous. Does anyone think Vietnam or Indonesia have any possible interest in moving their manufacturing base here? What sort of hallucinatory world do these people live in?

    There is no favorable outcome for Americans with these tariffs. None. It’s all bad, a wholly pointless, self-inflicted wound, apparently all premised on the irrational whims of someone whose own horrendous business record should have prohibited him from ever leading this country in the first place, let alone implementing its economic policies.

    Link

  54. StevoR says

    Occassional reminder for fellow Aussies or those visiting my hometown now that there’s an ongoing Vigil for Refugees locked up on Manus & Nauru and left in limbo here by the racist and sadistic anti-refugee policies of the Australian govt held every Friday night – including tonight in a few hours time – in Adelaide city centre – middle of Rundle Mall near the giant metal pigeon sculpture and Gawler place intersection starting 5 pm and going for an hour and a quarter. All welcome.

    Its been going for years now as this old link complete with map shows athough, again, we now start at 5 pm.:

    https://justiceforrefugeessa.org/event/weekly-vigil-for-manus-and-nauru/

    Plus about this issue :

    Since 2001, the Australian government has passed several laws that allow the detention of asylum seekers in offshore centres located on the islands of Nauru and Manus. … (snip).. These actions contravene international law, with our “paltry commitment to the Refugee Convention” deemed one of the worst in the world. Detention makes little sense, given that 90% of cases are found to be “genuine refugees.” The majority of asylum seekers have been in detention for at least two years. Even after they were released into the community, they were initially not allowed to work.

    In 2014, the Government offered migrants up to $10,000 to go back home to face certain persecution; a scheme that was resolutely condemned by human rights experts. The Government simultaneously cut legal aid to refugees, making it even harder for them to receive informed support.

    The ensuing health damage suffered by asylum seekers is woefully inhumane. Australia’s humanitarian program has been criminally pared back, along with our collective morality. We must not accept this unfair system in the name of so-called “Australian values.”

    Source : https://othersociologist.com/2017/05/01/australias-unfair-unjust-refugee-policies/

    In addition to :

    https://www.amnesty-international.be/sites/default/files/2018-10/offshore_processing_fact_sheet_updated_28-8.pdf

    A lot of small print, tightly spaced text there, sorry., You’d think Amnesty would have kinder easier to read formatting but still.

  55. StevoR says

    Our Fossil Fools Lobby at “work” as usual :

    The Coalition’s internal pollster is helping orchestrate a campaign to boost public support for the gas industry ahead of the federal election in what has been described as “textbook astroturfing”. An ABC investigation has discovered the public relations and research firm Freshwater Strategy is working with Australians for Natural Gas, which claims to be a grassroots movement representing households and small business.

    Source : https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-04-04/coalition-pollster-working-with-australians-for-natural-gas/105129478

    Deliberately deceptively nice name for a very nasty group.

  56. John Morales says

    I guess in practice but legally speaking? People commit murder and all sorts of crimes all the time. Does that mean they have the power to do that?

    They do if nobody stops them or punishes them, StevoR.

    de jure vs. de facto is the distinction at hand.

    (Can’t argue with reality)

  57. John Morales says

    “A lot of small print, tightly spaced text there, sorry.”

    Ahem. Save the .pdf as a different format, one that allows you to fiddle with the font size.

  58. says

    […] if you’re a white South African farmer whose alleged persecution at the hands of the majority-Black nation has filled the spank banks of innumerable white supremacists over the years, it’s your lucky day. Not only are we going to recruit you to come to America, but we’re also going to open refugee centers in South Africa itself, where you can walk in […]

    From The New York Times:

    Under Phase One of the program, the United States has deployed multiple teams to convert commercial office space in Pretoria, the capital of South Africa, into ad hoc refugee centers, according to the documents. The teams are studying more than 8,200 requests expressing interest in resettling to the United States and have already identified 100 Afrikaners who could be approved for refugee status. The government officials have been directed to focus particularly on screening white Afrikaner farmers.

    The administration has also provided security escorts to officials conducting the interviews of potential refugees.

    Isn’t that a treat? We are revoking visas and refugee status and rounding up and selling into Salvadoran supermax any foreigner who so much as looks at an ICE agent funny. We have taken a scythe to USAID and every other agency that the nation has built since World War II to spread America’s soft power by providing food and medication and educations and clean water and shelter and God only knows what else, mostly to developing countries. […]

    America will go so far as to [install] armed security teams to make sure you’re safe in the office space we rented in the crime-ridden hellhole that is Pretoria. […]

    The whole idea that white South African farmers are an endangered group is, in a word, horseshit. The Trump administration has tried to claim they are being murdered at a high rate. They are not. The administration has claimed the majority-Black government is seizing whites’ land as some sort of revenge for decades of apartheid. It is not.

    And despite all the whining about the South African government seizing their homesteads, whites in the country own about half the land while making up only seven percent of the population. We’re not talking about an oppressed minority being shut out of society here.

    But the shibboleth that white South Afrikaners are being persecuted has been a longtime obsession of the Right, and it has permeated the mainstream of the GOP […]

    As one observer told the Times, there is no subtext with Trump administration policy. This is simply government ordered around the idea that the Great Replacement theory is real, and not a paranoid construct invented by people for whom the sight of brown skin induces panic attacks. So the administration is kicking out many of the dark-skinned people it thinks have been imported to vote Democratic, and bringing in the white people it is sure will vote Republican.

    The white South Africans certainly appreciate America’s help. Ernst Roets, a South African who has lobbied hard for the rights of his fellow white people, told the Times that Afrikaners feel “seen” by Trump.

    On top of that, the US just named L. Brent Bozell III as ambassador to South Africa. Bozell’s father was […] a huge fan of the theocratic authoritarianism of Francisco Franco. His son is a January 6 rioter who was serving a four-year prison sentence when Trump pardoned him.

    This is a family of racism royalty, is the point we’re trying to get at here. Lucky for them, the rest of the GOP is no longer pretending it hasn’t caught up.

    https://www.wonkette.com/p/us-refugee-centers-to-help-white

  59. StevoR says

    @ ^ John Morales : true – folks can copy’n’paste and then resize, add white space for readability, etc..as suits but it’s still a pain to have to do that & be nicer if formatetd better and in larger font to begin with.

    Aklso, yeah. Laws were suppsoed to mean something and be applied equally and pout limits on everybody once. I hope we’ve not seen the final demise of that basic notion but, well.. here we are. Depressing that.

  61. CompulsoryAccount7746, Sky Captain says

    Marisa Kabas (The Handbasket):

    Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) staffers who were put on admin leave on Monday just got letters letting them know they’re a part of a Reduction in Force (RIF) and that their job will be “abolished” effective May 4th in accordance with Trump’s EO

     
    Marisa Kabas:

    DOGE is canceling congressionally-appropriated grants to state libraries across the entire country. Libraries are getting notice that funding was canceled as of 4/1. Look at these fucking assholes celebrating defunding libraries. [Screenshot]

    Lauren Donohue:

    Was the University of Tennessee actually studying LGBTQIA+ library users’ metadata? […] unlike all the other programs they’re crowing about, that on its face, sounds QUITE BAD.

    * Nope. Media tagging schemes for borrowers to more easily search.
    * IMLS Grant: “focus groups to better understand how adult LGBTQ+ library users make use of current library catalogs and metadata, and how this metadata could be enhanced to better reflect the language, needs, and uses of this diverse group of library users.”

    Portia Kapraun (Librarian): “On top of everything else, canceling $25M in grants to ‘save’ $15M sounds to me like you wasted $10M and have nothing to show for it.”

    Rando: “The government gives Elon Musk 25 million dollars every three days.”
    * $8 million/day in grants circa 2023, say Rep. Greg Casar, usaspending, and NYT.

  62. CompulsoryAccount7746, Sky Captain says

    WaPo – South Korean court removes president from office

    the country’s Constitutional Court upheld a parliamentary vote to impeach him over his December effort to impose martial law. […] South Korea must now hold an election within 60 days to choose a new president. The head of the liberal Democratic Party, Lee Jae-myung, is the front-runner, while Yoon’s People Power Party has no clear candidate to succeed him.
    […]
    [Former President] Yoon still faces a separate criminal trial, which begins on April 14; he was indicted and charged with leading an insurrection

  63. Silentbob says

    Well, I don’t know this is the “friendly engagement” requested but content note for sexual violence:

    This is incredible: A transgender women in Florida (who happens to be a devout Catholic) notified authorities that she intended to engage in civil disobedience by breaking a law banning trans women from women’s restrooms in the state capitol building. She told them the date and time. She said she fully expected to get arrested, sent a male prison, and raped. She sent a photo so they could identify her!

    https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/trans-woman-arrested-sent-to-mens

    Officers were waiting to arrest her when she arrived. She did it anyway. She went in and washed her hands, they arrested her, they sent her to a male prison.

    As I’m sure will be no surprise to anyone, trans women have been raped and murdered in male prisons. They prison guards deliberately place them with violent men. That last one was in California. My blood runs cold at what will happen to her in Florida.

    I’m just astonished any human being can have such courage.

    Her name is Marcy Rheintgen. She’s a Rosa Parks for our time except more so. She’s barely 20.

  64. birgerjohansson says

    Science Fiction
    Neal Asher’s “Dark Diamond” set in the Polity narrative universe sees the return of Ian Cormac.

  69. Reginald Selkirk says

    Sen. Grassley Introduces Bipartisan Bill to Claw Back Tariff Power From Trump

    …
    Sen. Chuck Grassley, a Republican from Iowa, and Sen. Maria Cantwell, a Democrat from Washington, introduced the Trade Review Act of 2025. The bill would require the president to notify Congress of any new tariff within 48 hours of its imposition. And it would mean that any new tariffs would need to be approved by Congress within 60 days or they would expire.

    “For too long, Congress has delegated its clear authority to regulate interstate and foreign commerce to the executive branch,” Grassley said in a statement to NBC News. “Building on my previous efforts as Finance Committee Chairman, I’m joining Senator Cantwell to introduce the bipartisan Trade Review Act of 2025 to reassert Congress’s constitutional role and ensure Congress has a voice in trade policy.”
    …

    The wind direction must be changing if Grassley is pretending to stand up to Trump.

  72. JM says

    CNN: Trump administration fires director of National Security Agency

    The Trump administration has fired the director and deputy director of the National Security Agency, the United States’ powerful cyber intelligence bureau, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the situation, members of the Senate and House intelligence committees and two former officials familiar with the matter.
    The dismissal of Gen. Timothy Haugh, who also leads US Cyber Command — the military’s offensive and defensive cyber unit — is a major shakeup of the US intelligence community which is navigating significant changes in the first two months of the Trump administration. Wendy Noble, Haugh’s deputy at NSA, was also removed, according to the former officials and lawmakers.

    The news of the dismissals comes as the White House also fired multiple staff members on the National Security Council on Thursday, after Laura Loomer, the far-right activist who once claimed 9/11 was an inside job, urged President Donald Trump during a Wednesday meeting to do so, arguing that they were disloyal.

    No indication they did anything bad or wrong. Loomer just felt they were not personally loyal to Trump and convinced Trump they couldn’t be trusted.
    If the country manages to survive and elect a rational president they will be able to fill a bunch of positions just by inviting the people Trump removed to take their old jobs back.

  73. Audley Z Darkheart says

    chigau:
    I think it’s been even longer. I hope your change has been good? Or at least healthy.

    I just realized that I knew you long before DarkFetus was born and she’s turning 13 this year.

  74. says

    https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show
    Ayman Mohyeldin hosts the show.

    Children put at risk in Donald Trump’s petty vendetta against the state of Maine
    Video is 8:53 minutes

    Lack of answers from Trump on tariff game plan leaves investors uneasy
    Video is 6:27 minutes

    Needless economic pain from Trump not even worth it if his tariff gambit works: Economist
    Video is 4:40 minutes

  76. says

    Reginald @69, Trump can do a lot of damage in 60 days with a Tariff. Good to see Chuck Grassley stiffening his spine even a little bit, but I think his proposed bill is inadequate.

    Text quoted by Sky Captain @61:

    DOGE is canceling congressionally-appropriated grants to state libraries across the entire country. Libraries are getting notice that funding was canceled as of 4/1. Look at these fucking assholes celebrating defunding libraries. [Screenshot]

    I have always loved libraries. In most cases, they serve everyone in their community and they do it well.

  77. chigau (違う) says

    Audley
    Changes mostly involving inevitable stuff that goes with aging. So good, some bad.
    But I’m comfortable.
    DarkTeenager! Forsooth!

  78. says

    The good news on job growth comes with some important fine print

    “The good news on job growth is encouraging, but it in no way validates the White House’s radical agenda on tariffs and mass layoffs.”

    Expectations heading into this week showed projections of about 140,000 new jobs having been added in the United States in March. As it turns out, according to the new report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the totals easily exceeded expectations. NBC News reported:

    The U.S. added 228,000 jobs in March, far more than the 140,000 economists had expected. Unemployment ticked up slightly to 4.2% from 4.1% the month before. … The March report shows a resilient U.S. economy, though it’s already a snapshot in time. After […] Trump’s sweeping tariffs announcement Wednesday slammed into global markets, analysts say the labor market is likely to enter more uncertain terrain.

    By any fair measure, 228,000 jobs in a month is a good number, and 4.2% is still low by historical standards. The totals from January and February were revised down, and job growth in the first quarter of 2025 was the worst first quarter since Trump’s first term, but all things considered, it’d be a mistake to suggest that the latest data is discouraging.

    But there is some fine print: The job totals were collected in early March, long before the Trump administration roiled the global economy and sent markets into tailspins.

    About a half-hour after the jobs report reached the public, the president published an item to his social media platform that read, “GREAT JOB NUMBERS, FAR BETTER THAN EXPECTED. IT’S ALREADY WORKING. HANK TOUGH, WE CAN’T LOSE!!!”

    The idea that the Republican’s agenda is “already working” isn’t just wrong, it’s absurd. The likelihood of a recession is growing. Key businesses have announced layoffs. Consumer prices are poised to climb. Domestic markets are reeling.

    The good news on job growth is encouraging, but it in no way validates the White House’s radical and dangerous agenda.

    […] In other words, there’s nothing wrong with feeling good about a solid jobs report, but it’d probably be best to keep the champagne on ice.

  79. says

    Whoopsie. RFK Jr. scrambles to rehire some public health officials after firing them

    “Some of those fired by the Department of Health and Human Services have been rehired. Amid mass layoffs, this keeps happening.”

    Even those who marveled at the Trump administration’s mass firings in recent months were stunned by this week’s personnel bloodbath at the Department of Health and Human Services. Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. carried out layoffs throughout the nation’s public health infrastructure, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health.

    […] The Bulwark’s Jonathan Cohn added, “The sheer breadth of the cuts is staggering: The layoffs affected agencies that exist to fight deadly pathogens, to protect the nation’s drug supply, to finance and carry out cutting-edge research — along with countless other divisions and offices that touch everything from rural health to early childhood care.”

    […] Two days later, as The New York Times reported, RFK Jr. started undoing some of what he’d done.

    After moving to fire 10,000 employees at the Department of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the health secretary, said that ‘some programs’ that were cut in the mass firings ‘were being reinstated,’ including one branch at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that monitors and works to reduce lead levels among children.

    […]
    “[…] Personnel that should not have been cut were cut — we’re reinstating them, and that was always the plan.”

    Really? It was “always the plan” to scrap much of the nation’s public health infrastructure, only to reverse course on part of the agenda 48 hours later? Why would anyone come up with such a “plan”?

    […] Team Trump fired National Nuclear Security Administration officials and then rehired them (or at least tried to rehire them). Team Trump also fired CDC officials working on bird flu and then rehired them. Team Trump also fired National Park Service officials and then rehired them. Team Trump also fired officials at the FDA who work on medical device safety and then rehired them.

    About a month ago, The New York Times published a related list of other federal workers who were fired and rehired — in some instances, within days — and the list wasn’t especially short.

    A month later, that tally is still growing, reinforcing concerns that these guys simply don’t know what they’re doing […]

  80. says

    WTF moment for sure.

    All it took for President Trump to fire keys members of his own national security team was the urging of right-wing conspiracist Laura Loomer in an insane Oval Office meeting Wednesday.

    Loomer, who was a peculiar figure accompanying Trump on the campaign trail last year, has previously described herself as “pro-white nationalism” and a “proud Islamophobe,” as TPM’s Hunter Walker has noted.

    Following the meeting, Trump yesterday proceeded to fire:
    – six members of his own National Security Council;
    – Air Force Gen. Timothy D. Haugh, who was the head of the National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command;
    – Wendy Noble, the civilian deputy to Haugh at the National Security Agency.

    (Note: The National Security Council is a White House entity overseen by the president’s national security adviser; whereas, the National Security Agency is an intelligence agency within the Defense Department tasked primarily with scooping up vast quantities of signals intelligence.) […]

    https://talkingpointsmemo.com/morning-memo/laura-loomer-says-jump-trump-asks-how-high

  81. says

    Mel Gibson Is Gonna Get His Gun Rights Back

    The U.S. pardon attorney was fired by the Trump Justice Department after she refused to endorse restoring gun rights to Mel Gibson, who lost them after a 2011 domestic violence misdemeanor. Elizabeth Oyer had resisted internal pressure from a DOJ official who said Gibson “has a personal relationship with President Trump.” Now, Attorney General Pam Bondi has approved Gibson for the list of those getting their gun rights back.

    Same link as in comment 80.

  82. says

    […] Donald Trump isn’t attending the dignified transfer of four American soldiers who died in Lithuania, because he has instead chosen to attend a Saudi-backed golf tournament at his country club in Doral, Florida.

    Staff Sgt. Jose Duenez Jr., Staff Sgt. Edvin F. Franco, Pfc. Dante D. Taitano, and Staff Sgt. Troy S. Knutson-Collins, all in their twenties, died during a training exercise in the Baltic region of Europe when the military vehicle they were driving sank into a swamp, Military.com reported.

    Their bodies began their dignified transfer back to the United States on Thursday and are expected to arrive on Friday at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. In place of Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will be present at the transfer, according to Fox News.

    “The President of the United States as of now will not meet the remains of our service members when they land at Dover…because he will be at a golf tournament,” Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego of Arizona wrote in a post on X. “Now you see why we are worried about his cuts to the [Department of Veterans Affairs]?” [Calendar showing how often Trump plays golf]

    Unlike Trump, thousands of Lithuanians have honored the soldiers, lining the streets of Vilnius as the hearses carrying their bodies drove to the airport on Thursday.

    [I snipped other examples of Trump disrespecting military personnel and veteran.]

    Trump choosing golf over honoring fallen soldiers is par for the course—pun not intended. The selfish commander-in-chief left for Florida on Thursday just one day after tanking the stock market due to his idiotic tariff policy.

    Link

  83. says

    https://www.wonkette.com/p/should-we-talk-about-the-weather

    “Should We Talk About The Weather? Should We Talk About The Government?”

    Severe storms this week have caused tornadoes, high winds, and flooding across large parts of the country since Wednesday, killing a least seven people so far, with more storms expected in the Midwest and Southeast in the next few days. The wave of storms comes as the National Weather Service (NWS) is coping with huge job losses thanks to Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s war on government agencies, especially the ones that deal with climate change, which Trumpers consider a made-up “religious” belief that can be safely ignored. The current storms follow another heavy storm system in March that killed at least 39 in tornadoes, high winds, and wildfires.

    The weather service’s parent agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), has lost at least 2,000 workers between firings, layoffs of “provisional” employees, and people taking/being pushed to take buyouts, leading to about 20 percent fewer staff dealing with the same amount of weather, which the administration has been unable to cut.

    In addition to the staff cuts, NOAA will shut down a number of its research division’s websites because its contracts with web services providers have been cancelled, according to Bloomberg News (gift link). [Lots of embedded links to additional sources are available at the main link.]

    As a result, almost all external websites reliant on Amazon, Google and WordPress services are poised to vanish early Saturday morning in Washington, wiping the bulk of the unit’s work, which includes climate and environmental science research, from public view.

    Scientists have been warning that the mass firings will harm weather forecasting and endanger the public, especially as hurricane season approaches. Of course, it’s extremely difficult to prove any links between the staff cuts and potential loss of life due to extreme weather, which kills people no matter how good the forecasts are. But any loss of lead time in warning the public, especially in the case of tornadoes, will make it harder for people to take shelter.

    Already this week, the National Weather Service office in Louisville, Kentucky, announced that because of staffing shortages, it wouldn’t be able to send teams out to survey the damage from tornadoes that hit the area Wednesday, at least not until after currently forecast storms have cleared, probably near the end of this weekend. […]

    The staffing cuts have also forced multiple NWS locations to cut weather balloon launches from twice daily to just one a day. Some locations will halt balloon launches altogether […]

    The NWS uses these weather balloons, until recently launched twice per day from 100 total locations, to gather temperature, wind, pressure and other data from the ground up to approximately 100,000 feet. The results are compiled along with data from satellites, radar stations, surface weather stations, buoys and aircraft to build weather models and forecasts that are public and freely available.

    […] “Does it mean every single forecast is going to be poor? No, but it does mean that the uncertainties in our forecast will grow over time.”

    […] The tragic thing here is that improvements in weather forecasting have led to significantly fewer deaths from extreme weather in the US and around the world. That’s primarily because forecasters have been able to give the public greater lead time in warning of conditions that will spawn tornadoes, as well as more accurate forecasts of the track of hurricanes […]

    staffing cuts in the NWS will enshittify forecasts overall, and it’s only logical to expect crappier forecasts will leave the public with less ability to prepare for or escape storms. But unless reduced staff causes some really glaring bit of information to go missing, it’ll be very hard to connect the job cuts to particular storm losses. We forecast dangerous levels of gaslighting on all this.

  84. says

    https://www.wonkette.com/p/here-come-the-layoffs

    According to a report from recruiting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas released on Thursday, 275,240 people lost their jobs last month. That is a fuckton of people. In fact, it is the third highest number of jobs lost in a single month since they first started tracking job cuts in 1989, the other two being the first two months of the COVID pandemic. […]

    It should come as a shock to absolutely no one that roughly 80 percent of those job losses were caused by Elon Musk and his merry band of incels running around federal agencies and firing people at random. That’s so many jobs! […]

    In fact, the Warren Stamping plant [affected by Stellantis layoffs] is located in Macomb County, Michigan (55.81 percent to Trump), which is pretty interesting given that pro-Trump autoworkers from Macomb joined Trump in the Rose Garden for his big “Liberation Day” announcement.

    Luckily for those workers, they are unionized, which means they will still get paid — for now. If it goes on for much longer, however … that could change.

    Whirlpool also announced this week that they would be laying off 651 workers at their plant in Amana, an unincorporated place in Iowa County, Iowa, as a result of “necessary adjustments … to align with current market conditions driven by consumer demand.”

    The company said the layoffs were unrelated to tariffs, but it seems safe to say that the “market conditions” are likely related to Trump’s general nonsense.

    Would you like to guess who Iowa County, Iowa voted for? Also Donald Trump, with 62.95 percent.

    […] It would likely take from one to two years for Stellantis to open plants in the United States to replace the plants in Canada and Mexico. Were Trump to really be acting in the interests of American workers, he would figure something out to protect their jobs while Stellantis built those plants and put the company on some kind of timeline to bring those jobs to the US before any tariffs are enacted. He hasn’t.

    […] On Xitter, there were tons of people excitedly proclaiming that we could bring clothing and textile manufacturing back to the United States, which sounds great in the hypothetical. The fact is, we do still have garment workers in the United States, but they often make far less than minimum wage. Because they are frequently paid on a piece-rate basis, many only make about $1.58 an hour. That needs to be fixed before we bring more of it over here, because “more jobs that pay $1.58 an hour” is not something that helps anyone. […]

    Related video at the link.

  85. says

    Dow and S&P 500 continue declines as U.S. markets endure another chaotic day

    “Friday’s slide comes after U.S. markets suffered their worst day since 2020.”

    Related video at the link.

    U.S. stocks are in the middle of another brutal and chaotic day, with major indexes dropping more than 3% each.

    The broad-based S&P 500 had fallen 4.5% as of early Friday afternoon, and is now down more than 16% from its mid-February high.

    The tech-heavy Nasdaq was down even further, sliding about 3.9%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 1,500 points, or about 4%.

    The Russell 2000 Index, which tracks the stocks of smaller U.S. companies, dropped by 5.3%.

    […] It’s shaping up to be a second straight day of turmoil on trading floors. On Thursday, the S&P had its worst day since the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic. Among the biggest names falling Friday were Elon Musk’s electric-vehicle maker Tesla (down about 10%), farm equipment giant Caterpillar (down about 6%) and market-leading AI chipmaker Nvidia (down about 7%).

    […] Heavy selling in markets around the globe preceded the U.S. declines. European stocks veered toward a correction, having now declined 10% from recent highs. Asian markets also cratered.

    […] Early Friday, China unveiled 34% duties on goods brought in from the U.S. in response to Trump raising taxes on U.S. importers of Chinese goods by as much as 79%.

    […] Dan Ives, an analyst with Wedbush Securities financial group, wrote in a note Friday morning that Trump’s tariffs will lead to “economic Armageddon” if not dialed back.

    “Never have we … seen a self-inflicted debacle of epic proportions like the Trump tariff slate over the last 36 hours,” he wrote.

    JPMorgan analysts published a research note titled “There will be blood” and raised their odds of a global recession to 60% due to White House trade policies. […]

  86. CompulsoryAccount7746, Sky Captain says

    Re: Lynna @76: “I have always loved libraries.”

    I’m hoping the podcast Welcome to Nightvale will do something special for the flesh-hungry librarians, when the writers catch up to current events. Googling transcripts indicates they last featured prominently in an episode last February (“The New Branch“).

  87. JM says

    MSN: Inside President Trump’s whirlwind decision to blow up global trade

    After weeks of work, aides from several government agencies produced a menu of options meant to account for a wide range of trading practices, according to three people familiar with the matter.
    Instead, Trump personally selected a formula that was based on two simple variables — the trade deficit with each country and the total value of its U.S. exports, said two of the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to recount internal talks….

    So Trump did get a competent analysis of trade restrictions and tariffs along with well designed options to deal with them. He then ignored that and went with the stupid simple analysis and plan because he understood it.

    After deliberations that went late into Tuesday, Trump didn’t decide on the final plan until about 1 p.m. Wednesday — less than three hours ahead of his Rose Garden announcement.

    That explains why nobody seemed to have any idea what was coming, how to prepare or what to say ahead of time. It’s because nobody did, he only made the decision a few hours before the press conference.

    Inside and outside the White House, advisers say Trump is unbowed even as the world reels from the biggest increase in trade hostilities in a century. They say Trump is unperturbed by negative headlines or criticism from foreign leaders. He is determined to listen to a single voice — his own — to secure what he views as his political legacy.
    “He’s at the peak of just not giving a f— anymore,” said a White House official with knowledge of Trump’s thinking. “Bad news stories? Doesn’t give a f—. He’s going to do what he’s going to do. He’s going to do what he promised to do on the campaign trail.”

    Having selected and committed to the plan himself he doesn’t care what anybody else thinks. Changing course now would mean admitting he was wrong and that is something Trump hates to do. Worse, he is now surrounded by advisors and officials that will agree with anything he says and implement any plan he hands out.

  88. CompulsoryAccount7746, Sky Captain says

    Follow-up on North Carolina’s State Supreme Court race, last seen in December.

    The Griffin List – A searchable list of contested voters, so they can proactively contact the Board of Elections to fix problems and try to get counted.
     
    Bad news, for now.
    Republican Jefferson Griffin wins NC appeals court challenge

    a case that could determine the outcome of last year’s election for an open seat on the North Carolina Supreme Court. If the ruling stands, the State Board of Elections would be required to ask more than 60,000 voters to provide proof of their identity. Anyone who doesn’t respond will have their ballot thrown out
    […]
    Griffin, who is a judge on the Court of Appeals, challenged Democratic incumbent Supreme Court Justice Allison Riggs for her seat on the high court. Recounts showed that Riggs received 734 more votes than Griffin. But the winner of the race hasn’t been made official, while Griffin challenges the voters’ registration and the validity of their ballots. […] He didn’t challenge all of the ballots that fell into those contested categories. Instead, he primarily targeted voters from certain demographics and counties that lean Democratic.
    […]
    The North Carolina State Board of elections rejected Griffin’s initial challenge, with board chairman Alan Hirsch calling Griffin’s efforts “anathema to the democratic system.” Griffin challenged the board’s decision in court; he lost at trial in Wake County Superior Court before taking his case to the Court of Appeals. […] With Riggs having also recused herself, there’s a chance the remaining six members of the state Supreme Court could deadlock at 3-3 in the decision. If that happens, the most recent ruling would stand. […] An election victory for Griffin would shift the Supreme Court to a 6-1 GOP majority.
    […]
    Most of the voters in this case are being challenged because the state’s database of voter registrations doesn’t include information it is required to have about them, such as driver’s license numbers or Social Security numbers. In other cases there are misspelled names or a missing hyphen for a name that should be hyphenated.
    […]
    The elections board says Griffin’s entire argument is moot because, in order to cast a ballot, the voters all had to either show their photo ID or provide their Social Security number on an exception form. So even if their information isn’t included in a spreadsheet, the state argues, elections officials still verified those voters’ identities.

    Griffin has also not been able to point to any cases of real or suspected fraud in the election, but he has argued that shouldn’t matter. The lack of information in the spreadsheet alone is enough to throw out the ballots, he says.

    The appellate judges agreed. They wrote in Friday’s ruling that they felt they had the power to simply throw out all the ballots and disallow people from trying to fix the issues. But they said they’d give the voters the chance to correct the errors.

    State officials say those voters shouldn’t be punished for mistakes made by other people

  89. Reginald Selkirk says

    Microsoft employee disrupts 50th anniversary and calls AI boss ‘war profiteer’

    A Microsoft employee disrupted the company’s 50th anniversary event to protest its use of AI.

    “Shame on you,” said Microsoft employee Ibtihal Aboussad, speaking directly to Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman. “You are a war profiteer. Stop using AI for genocide. Stop using AI for genocide in our region. You have blood on your hands. All of Microsoft has blood on its hands. How dare you all celebrate when Microsoft is killing children. Shame on you all.”

    Sources at Microsoft tell The Verge that shortly after Aboussad was ushered out of Microsoft’s event, she sent an email to a number of email distribution lists that contain hundreds or thousands of Microsoft employees. Here is Aboussad’s email in full:
    …
    According to AP news, there is “a $133 million contract between Microsoft and Israel’s Ministry of Defense.”

    “The Israeli military’s usage of Microsoft and OpenAI artificial intelligence spiked last March to nearly 200 times higher than before the week leading up to the Oct. 7 attack. The amount of data it stored on Microsoft servers doubled between that time and July 2024 to more than 13.6 petabytes.”

    “The Israeli military uses Microsoft Azure to compile information gathered through mass surveillance, which it transcribes and translates, including phone calls, texts and audio messages, according to an Israeli intelligence officer who works with the systems. That data can then be cross-checked with Israel’s in-house targeting systems.”

    Microsoft AI also powers the most “sensitive and highly classified projects” for the Israeli military, including its “target bank” and the Palestinian population registry. Microsoft cloud and AI enabled the Israeli military to be more lethal and destructive in Gaza than they otherwise could.
    …

  90. Reginald Selkirk says

    Hackers Strike Australia’s Largest Pension Funds in Coordinated Attacks

    Hackers targeting Australia’s major pension funds in a series of coordinated attacks have stolen savings from some members at the biggest fund, Reuters is reporting, citing a source, and compromised more than 20,000 accounts. From the report:

    National Cyber Security Coordinator Michelle McGuinness said in a statement she was aware of “cyber criminals” targeting accounts in the country’s A$4.2 trillion ($2.63 trillion) retirement savings sector and was organising a response across the government, regulators and industry. The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia, the industry body, said “a number” of funds were impacted over the weekend. While the full scale of the incident remains unclear, AustralianSuper, Australian Retirement Trust, Rest, Insignia and Hostplus on Friday all confirmed they suffered breaches.

  91. says

    Sky Captain @88, the Republicans are looking for a way, any way no matter how unethical, to say that their guy won. He didn’t win, but it looks like they are going to say he did, and then they’ll give him the seat on North Carolina’s State Supreme Court. Very discouraging.

  93. says

    Trump’s tariffs are costing his rich pals billions

    The billionaires who gleefully bought front-row seats to President Donald Trump’s inauguration in January seem to now be living out a horror movie—except, instead of dying, they’re bleeding billions from their fortunes.

    Trump’s reckless economic policies were already scorching their portfolios, but his retaliatory tariffs this week have sent the stock market into a free fall, dragging his new buddies’ personal wealth down with it.

    The 500 richest people in the world lost a combined $208 billion on Thursday due to the stock crash that Trump caused, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. And one of the biggest losers is Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, whose fortune shrank by $15.9 billion after Amazon shares tanked 9% on Thursday, giving the company its worst day since April 2022.

    Somehow, though, even that got eclipsed by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who lost a staggering $17.9 billion in one day, or about 9% of his total net worth.

    And then there’s Trump’s “first buddy” Elon Musk, whose ride-or-die status with the White House has been as volatile as his social media feed. Musk has lost $110 billion this year, including a loss of $11 billion on Thursday alone. (His car company, Tesla, is already in rough shape.)

    Of course, everyday Americans are feeling the pain too. […]

    According to Bloomberg’s index, other casualties in Trump’s economic massacre include Google co-founder Sergey Brin (down $4.5 billion in a single day), Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison (down $8.1 billion), and Republican megadonor Miriam Adelson and right-wing media magnate Rupert Murdoch, who lost $942 million and $590 million, respectively.

    […] Trump, as always, remains delusional. “I think it’s going very well,” he said Thursday of his tariff policy. Then, on Friday, he doubled down in a post on his Truth Social platform, claiming his economic vision will “NEVER CHANGE.”

    “THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO GET RICH, RICHER THAN EVER BEFORE!!!” he added.

    But his billionaire friends probably aren’t exactly popping champagne over that one.

  94. says

    Divided Supreme Court sides with Trump to block teacher grants

    A divided Supreme Court sided with the Trump administration by allowing officials to block $65 million in teacher development grants frozen over concerns they were promoting diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices.

    The 5-4 emergency ruling, for now, lifts a lower order that forced the Education Department to resume the grants in eight Democratic-led states that are suing.

    Five of the court’s six conservatives sided with the administration to grant the request. Chief Justice John Roberts and the court’s three liberal justices dissented.

    The decision is not a final ruling in the case, and the dispute could ultimately return to the Supreme Court. Friday’s order enables the administration to keep the grants blocked until any appeals are resolved.

    “Respondents have represented in this litigation that they have the financial wherewithal to keep their programs running. So, if respondents ultimately prevail, they can recover any wrongfully withheld funds through suit in an appropriate forum,” the majority said it its unsigned ruling.

    […] the court’s three liberals chastised the majority for getting involved at the early stage of the case.

    “The risk of error increases when this Court decides cases—as here—with barebones briefing, no argument, and scarce time for reflection,” Justice Elena Kagan wrote in a two-paragraph solo dissent.

    “[…] in my view, nothing about this case demanded our immediate intervention. Rather than make new law on our emergency docket, we should have allowed the dispute to proceed in the ordinary way.”

    In a much lengthier dissent, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, joined by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, said it was “beyond puzzling” that the majority viewed the dispute as an emergency.

    “This Court’s eagerness to insert itself into this early stage of ongoing litigation over the lawfulness of the Department’s actions—even when doing so facilitates the infliction of significant harms on the Plaintiff States, and even though the Government has not bothered to press any argument that the Department’s harm‐causing conduct is lawful—is equal parts unprincipled and unfortunate. It is also entirely unwarranted,” Jackson wrote.

    […] The states, whose lawsuit alleges applicable regulations don’t permit the administration to stop the grant programs, noted the lower ruling is temporary and normally not appealable.

    “The district court acted appropriately in granting a narrow and time-limited restraining order while it proceeds to a prompt ruling on the motion for a preliminary injunction. There is no sound basis for this Court to stay or vacate that order,” the states wrote.

    […] A similar case filed by private education groups remains at a mid-level appeals court. […]

  95. says

    […] The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed with a loss of 2,231 points Friday, plunging 5.5 percent on the day. The S&P 500 index plummeted by 6 percent, and the Nasdaq composite sank 5.8 percent on the day. […]

    Link

  96. says

    NBC News:

    A federal judge ordered the detained Tufts University student’s petition for her release to be transferred from Massachusetts to Vermont. U.S. District Judge Denise J. Casper for Massachusetts denied the government’s motion to dismiss the petition and its alternative request to transfer it to the Western District of Louisiana, where the student, Rumeysa Öztürk, is currently detained.

  97. says

    New York Times:

    The Trump administration has failed to disburse congressionally approved funding for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, the news network originally set up to counter Soviet propaganda during the Cold War, despite a judge’s order to keep it operating, according to court filings and officials at the news organization.

  98. says

    New York Times:

    The Trump administration intends to block $510 million in federal contracts and grants for Brown University, expanding its campaign to hold universities accountable for what it says is relentless antisemitism on campus, according to two White House officials familiar with the plans. Brown became the fifth university known to face a potentially dire loss of federal funding, leaving other universities that the administration has targeted wondering when their turn might come.

  99. says

    NBC News:

    U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the Trump administration’s new envoy to NATO are seeking to reassure wary NATO allies of the U.S. commitment to the alliance. Rubio on Thursday decried ‘hysteria and hyperbole’ in the media about President Donald Trump’s intentions despite persistent signals from Washington that NATO as it has existed for 75 years may no longer be relevant.

  100. says

    FFS.

    “Republicans are independently minded. Democrats are monolithic sheep that follow the Fuhrer Schumer’s orders,” said Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno of Ohio.

    Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is the highest-ranking Jewish lawmaker in the history of the U.S. Congress, which made it all the more notable when Donald Trump — who is not Jewish — told reporters last month, in reference to [Schumer], “He used to be Jewish. He’s not Jewish anymore.”

    […], there’s an inherent antisemitism in rhetoric like this: It is simply not up to Trump to decide who the “real” Jews are based on his personal whims or officials’ willingness to go along with his agenda.

    Three weeks later, it appears one of the president’s allies on Capitol Hill decided to go even further. The Columbus Dispatch reported:

    U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, called the Senate’s top Democrat Chuck Schumer — the highest-ranking Jewish U.S. elected official — ‘Fuhrer,’ a reference to the title used by Adolf Hitler. Moreno, who was elected in November, made the comment to reporters outside the Senate chamber as members of his caucus struggled to agree on a path forward to try to pass President Donald Trump’s sweeping tax-cut agenda.

    “Here’s the main thing you’ve got to understand. Republicans are independently minded. Democrats are monolithic sheep that follow the Fuhrer Schumer’s orders,” Moreno said.

    Asked about the comment, Schumer said “Look, let me say this. What Sen. Moreno did is absolutely despicable. It’s antisemitic, plain and simple. It’s outrageous. I lost lots of people in the Holocaust to Hitler. And for him to use those words, first, we demand he apologize immediately, but we also demand that his Republican colleagues start denouncing him on something that is so blatantly antisemitic.”

    Moreno, three months into his career in public office, appears to have burned a bridge that won’t soon be mended.

    But I’m also stuck on how little Moreno seems to understand about the contemporary American political parties and their members. As the rookie senator sees it, Republicans are “independent” thinkers, while Democrats are “monolithic sheep”?

    Even if we put aside the obvious offensiveness of Moreno’s use of the word “Fuhrer” — especially in reference to the highest-ranking Jewish lawmaker in the history of the Congress — it’s hard not to notice that he seems to describe an alternate reality with no relationship to our own.

  101. says

    […] The White House embraced a misguided policy on tariffs; it defended the policy with a formula rooted in faux sophistication; and everyone who knows what they’re talking about quickly recognized the unavoidable fact that the administration’s metrics are effectively gibberish.

    CNBC’s Steve Liesman told viewers, “Nobody ever heard of this formula. Nobody’s ever used this formula. So, I’m sorry, but the conclusion seems to be the president kind of made this up as he went along.” Douglas Holtz-Eakin, president of the conservative American Action Forum, told the Washington Post, “They’ve got an indefensible foundation to an indefensible policy.”

    Ian Dunt, a British journalist, added in reference to the White House’s methodology, “It’s hard to state just how nonsensical that actually is. You might as well divide the numbers of apples in your kitchen by the number of bagels and use it to calculate your mortgage rate. To criticize it on political or economic grounds is too generous. It operates below the level of rational thought.”

    […] It’s the worst possible combination of conditions: We’re left with a bad policy, based on a bad formula, embraced by indifferent officials who don’t know what they’re doing, but who are in positions of enormous power.

    Link

    An illustration showing the mathematical formula is available at the link.

  102. says

    https://www.wonkette.com/p/trumps-tariffs-send-stock-market

    “Trump’s Tariffs Send Stock Market Into Tailspin, And Fox News Is NOT ON IT”

    “The nation is in for economic ruin, and Fox News hopes you won’t notice.”

    Do you remember the Before Times — as in before Thursday — when the United States, for all its flaws, had not yet fully committed itself to a path towards economic and hegemonic suicide in the most stupid act of geopolitical self-harm since Napoleon looked east towards Russia and said, “Come on now, winters there can’t be that bad”?

    […] Trump […] said fuck it, let’s tariff the hell out of every nation on Earth except our suddenly great allies Russia and Belarus, upend the almost-century-long world economic order that has led to levels of prosperity for America unseen by any nation in recorded history […]

    The markets and the rest of the planet reacted as predictably as literally anyone with a functional brain stem could have told the MAGA Right it would. World leaders denounced the US and started contemplating trade pacts that would completely exclude America. Economists everywhere drank themselves into comas just before tariffs on booze imports make the cost of French wine and tequila far too pricey for their salaries.

    But you would not know any of that if you get all your news from Fox. The right-wing network spent its day […] doing all it could to hide the damage from its viewers. If you turned on Fox or navigated to the home page of its website, you might have been unaware that your 401k was losing value like it was a copy of Action Comics #1 that someone just set on fire: [social medial post at the link showing that Fox removed the stock market ticker from their broadcasts]

    We’ve watched a lot of Fox News over the years, and we can say that the stock market ticker comes and goes. But is there any doubt the network would have showed it if stocks had gone soaring? Of course not.

    But because tariffs are bad policy that are dropping the value of Americans’ retirement funds, we get this message instead: The Golden Age is starting! No need to check, just trust us on this!

    Fox spent the day alternating between this sort of context- and information-free soothing, and trying to distract its viewers with its usual culture war tripe. For example, here is Harris Faulkner on her midday show bringing viewers the news that really matters: [Social media post shows Harris Faulkner talking about trans athletes]

    […] Stephanie Turner, was supposed to face off against a transgender woman. She instead took a knee and was awarded a black card, which in fencing is a penalty resulting in disqualification.

    Would you be surprised to learn that Turner is a Christian? You wouldn’t? Good for you:

    Despite the repercussions, Turner told OutKick that her Christian faith led her to take a stand against unfair competition.

    “I prayed to God and I just asked him for guidance and I called members of my church to help me to figure out what I wanted to do,” Turner said.

    Turner said that, in the past, she would simply avoid events that had transgender fencers competing. But in this case, she decided to leave it in God’s hands.

    Ah, so she specifically went in with the intention of making a point and getting herself some sympathetic coverage in right-wing media, including at least one hit on Fox News itself. Good to know.

    “I prayed, and I said, ‘God, if this is something that you want me to do, please put Redmond in my pool round or my direct elimination and I will take a knee. But, if this is not something that you want me to do, then… show me by not having… he and I fence face-to-face,’” she said.

    Of course, Turner and Sullivan were eventually paired against one another and Turner followed through with her protest.

    Congrats to Fox viewers. When their retirement accounts show a balance of zero, at least they can keep themselves warm with the rage of knowing that amateur fencing competitions allow transgender people to compete.

    […] If you flipped over to Fox Business with the thought that surely a business channel would be more honest, well, close. FBN did keep the stock ticker up all day. It also ran long segments in which its anchors praised Trump’s bravery, engaged in some xenophobia against China, and all but begged everyone to accept some suffering now in exchange for an imagined future where centuries of hard-earned economic knowledge turn out to be wrong and Donald Trump turns out to be right […]

    We’re not sure how higher prices are going to help people spend less of their paychecks, but we’re not the sorts of business geniuses that get hired by the Fox empire.

    By Thursday night, we guess it was getting a little tough for Fox to hide the day’s financial news, so it resorted to stuff like having Laura Ingraham go full-on “Kevin Bacon screaming ‘All is well’ at the end of ‘Animal House’”: [social media post at the link]

    Don’t panic, Dear Leader is right and every economist on the planet is wrong. Thanks, Baghdad Barb.

    Meanwhile, American companies started announcing layoffs that they tied directly to Trump’s tariffs hurting their businesses and giving them a need to retrench. Sorry to the newly jobless, but just think: In six months or a year or a decade or an eon or some unknowable length of time in between, something great will happen. Maybe. Probably. Probably maybe.

    See you in the shantytowns!

  103. says

    Elon Musk’s troubles:

    […] The European Union is considering fining Musk one billion, with a b, for the way he’s let disinformation promulgate on his hellsite. He’s getting sued by Twitter shareholders, accused of stock manipulation.

    He’s being sued by groups representing Social Security beneficiaries over DOGE cuts there, and the US African Development Foundation, and about 20 other groups for DOGE things, and, of course, the fourth lady he allegedly made a mother.

    Starlink contracts are getting cancelled all over Canada, and Germany is funding access for Ukraine to a satellite-internet network operated by France’s Eutelsat. [Good news.]

    […] But don’t cry for him, Muskintina, […] there will be lots of government contracts to be had for industrialist best-friendsies. Teslas use the least amount of foreign parts, and EV tax credits are still on the books, so Teslas may soon be cheaper than every other car by comparison, even if there’s nowhere to charge them and they have a way of trapping people inside while they burn alive, and self-crashing.

    […] MAYBE MAYBE MAYBE there will be a time in the near-ish future where we don’t have to hear about what dumb shit his DOGE AI accidentally-on-purpose broke into/ cut/ destroyed, every single day, and judges will successfully kick those kids the ef out.

    That would be ever so nice! We can dream!

    https://www.wonkette.com/p/elon-musk-peace-out

  104. says

    Texas measles outbreak nears 500 cases as virus spreads among day care kids

    “At least 6 children at a single child care facility in Lubbock have tested positive for measles.”

    Six young children at a Lubbock, Texas, day care center have tested positive for measles — a dreaded scenario with the potential to accelerate an already out-of-control outbreak that has spread to at least two other states.

    More than a dozen other states and Washington, D.C. are dealing with cases of measles unrelated to Texas.

    On Friday, the Texas Department of State Health Services said the toll rose to 481 confirmed cases, a 14% jump over last week. Fifty-six people have been hospitalized in the area since the disease started spreading in late January.

    At the Tiny Tots U Learning Academy, a center with approximately 230 infants, toddlers and preschool-age children, the outbreak began on March 24, when a little girl who had been sick with fever and vomiting tested positive. She later needed to be hospitalized for pneumonia and trouble breathing.

    Kids who have tested positive at the day care so far are between the ages of 5 months and 3 years old, said Maegan Messick, a co-owner of the center. None was fully vaccinated against measles.

    For nearly two weeks, Messick has been working with local health officials who are in contact with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about the situation. Messick said she’s not been given clear guidance on how to handle measles in such a large day care with so many vulnerable kids.

    […] According to an NBC News tally, 628 measles cases have been reported nationally in 2025. Other states with outbreaks include Kansas with 23 cases, Oklahoma with 10 cases, and New Mexico with 54 cases. Public health officials in Ohio have identified 17.

    […] Messick said she and her staff are trying to reduce risk of further spread by watching kids closely for symptoms and isolating certain classrooms.

    They’re also urging other child care facilities to encourage their families to get the MMR vaccine. Families who choose not to vaccinate their children have been asked to keep them home for at least 21 days.

    Two doses are almost always enough to give lifetime protection against measles, according to the CDC. Unvaccinated people who are exposed to the virus are almost certain to become infected. […]

  105. says

    Tomorrow, Saturday April 5th, people will be gathering in protest of the Trump-Musk regime all around the nation (and the world!). Jen Rubin and co-founder of Indivisible, Ezra Levin, discuss why this is the right moment, why people are fed up, and how we can demand accountability from the wealthy and powerful.

    Ezra Levin is the co-founder and co-executive director of Indivisible, a grassroots organization made up of thousands of group leaders and more than a million members taking regular, iterative, and increasingly complex actions to resist the GOPs agenda, elect local champions, and fight for progressive policies.

    Link

    Video at the link.

  108. Reginald Selkirk says

    Trump hosting $1 million a person super PAC dinner as stocks sink over tariffs

    I presume cake will be on the menu.

    As stocks continued to slide after markets opened, President Trump is speaking at a $1 million dollar-a-person candlelight dinner Friday at Mar-a-Lago, according to an invitation reviewed by CBS News. The fundraiser is for MAGA Inc, a super PAC that supports Mr. Trump.

    MAGA Inc. can raise unlimited money but is barred from coordinating directly with Mr. Trump’s campaign arm. The fine print for the Friday’s invitation says the president is attending as a guest speaker and not soliciting donations.

    Another $1 million-a-head MAGA Inc. dinner is scheduled for April 24 in Washington, according to the invitation. Donors can “co-host” that dinner for $2.5 million or become a “host” for $5 million.

    On Thursday, a day after Trump announced worldwide tariffs, the president attended a LIV Golf dinner in Miami ahead of a three-day LIV tournament taking place at Trump National Doral…

  109. says

    Reginald @108: “I presume cake will be on the menu.”
    LOL. Bitterly, but LOL

    Related, here are some excerpts from Susan Glasser’s “Donald Trump’s Ego Melts the Global Economy,” written for The New Yorker.

    […] Amid the chaos of eviscerated retirement savings, blown-up supply chains, and pissed-off allies, perhaps it’s a mistake to linger on just how wrong America’s business establishment continues to be about Trump. But, wow, has this been a case of near-catastrophic wishful thinking. [I agree.] And I think it speaks to much of what we are still not understanding about the ways in which Trump’s second term is off to a darker, more dangerous start than his first. “What’s striking to me is not just that Wall Street so badly underestimated downside risk—it’s that they piled all-in on post-election euphoria that assumed, contrary to all reporting, the tariffs wouldn’t happen,” Jeff Stein, the Washington Post’s economics reporter, wrote Thursday morning on X.

    But, of course, the real mistake has little to do with global trade policy, and much to do with a failed theory of the case about Trump. There is no rational analysis that would lead one to the conclusion that a President would single-handedly decide to blow up a century’s worth of globalization on a chilly Wednesday afternoon in April. I thought a response to Stein from Garry Kasparov, the international chess champion turned modern-day Russian dissident, was particularly revealing. Kasparov attributed the failure to anticipate Trump’s trade war to an epic level of denial about the President’s Vladimir Putin-like brand of autocratic personality disorder—after all, Putin’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine did not make much sense, either, to many of those presented with irrefutable evidence that he was planning it. Instead, Kasparov suggested a maxim for our unhappy times: “Dictators always lie about what they’ve done, but are often quite plain about what they want to do.”

    […] In this new political moment of the unthinkable made manifest, the sheer power rush for Trump should also not be underestimated. Imagine his joy as he sat down to sign an executive order decreeing the new tariffs on the basis of sweeping powers he may or may not legally possess to declare a “national economic emergency”—here was Trump transforming the world with a single flourish of his Sharpie pen. “It’s such an honor to be finally able to do this,” he said. At what other moment in modern times has a single man wielded so much unaccountable power over such a large swath of the world economy? There are whole businesses devoted to risk analysis for corporations; this is a situation in which Trump himself is the risk and the crisis being analyzed is one that he created. Talk about an ego trip.

    Beyond a misunderstanding of Trump’s psychology, there are a few other telling conclusions to be drawn from all this. One is about the maximalist approach the President has taken to his second term. […] Trump 2.0 has shown a striking willingness to act on his most disruptive ideas. This seems to have surprised many who assessed his rhetoric as just more hype likely to fall prey to the same institutional constraints and poor execution that hampered Trump in his first term. By such logic, the fact that Trump had not succeeded in gutting federal agencies or blowing up the global economic order at the end of his first four years in office was proof that he would not do so this time, either. Oops. […]

  110. says

    Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell:

    Looking ahead, higher tariffs will be working their way through our economy and are likely to raise inflation in coming quarters. We face a highly uncertain outlook with elevated risks of both higher unemployment and higher inflation,” he said. “While uncertainty remains elevated, it is now becoming clear that tariff increases will be significantly larger than expected. And the same is likely to be true of the economic effects, which will include higher inflation and slower growth.

    Commentary:

    […] Powell mentioned inflation more than 36 times during his speech […]

    Powell’s tenure at the reserve is up in 2026, but according to an April 2024 Wall Street Journal report, Trump’s goon squad has been secretly working up plans to “blunt the Fed’s independence,” in an attempt to give the executive branch control over interest rates. […]

    Link

  111. says

    Governor Newsom reportedly negotiating with foreign countries to bypass Trump tariffs. Mentioned in article excerpted here that California needs lumber to rebuild after massive fires. Quick search shows California to have 5th largest economy in the WORLD.

    In a post on X, Newsom addressed the U.S.’s global trading partners, writing “California is here and ready to talk.”

    It comes after a Fox News report revealed that Newsom is directing his state to pursue “strategic” relationships with countries announcing retaliatory tariffs against the U.S., urging them to exclude California-made products from those taxes. […]

    A Newsom official also told Fox News that the new Trump tariffs will hinder access to essential supplies, like construction materials, needed to rebuild after the Los Angeles wildfires. The U.S. currently imposes a 14 percent duty on Canadian lumber, with the rate possibly rising to nearly 27 percent this year. […]

    California, the world’s fifth-largest economy, plays a crucial role in driving U.S. economic growth. As the largest importer and second-largest exporter among U.S. states, with over $675 billion in two-way trade, it holds significant economic influence. Therefore, Trump’s tariffs could have a major impact, potentially increasing costs for California businesses, disrupting global supply chains, and putting pressure on vital industries within the state.

    Link

  112. says

    UK joined European officials at secret dinner to plot radical rearmament fund

    “A supranational bank would sidestep the European Commission, involve the British, and allow defense-spending off the balance sheet.”

    British officials met select European allies at a discreet dinner in Brussels last week to hatch plans for a new defense fund designed to sidestep the European Commission, keep a lid on public debt and rearm faster.

    The off-the-books gathering brought together senior finance ministry officials from Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Poland, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom to float the idea of creating a supranational bank specifically for the purpose of jointly buying weapons and slashing the cost of defense procurement, according to officials familiar with the matter.

    The secret gathering was hosted by Poland, according to one EU official, granted anonymity to speak freely about the confidential discussions, like others quoted in this story.

    At the center of the pitch was a proposal from the U.K. Treasury, detailed in a discussion paper seen by POLITICO, that would allow participating governments to avoid booking the upfront capital cost of military kit in their national budget, which would be of huge benefit to countries with tight spending rules.

    With […] Trump distancing the U.S. from the protection of Europe as he warms ties with Russia, governments are scrambling to rapidly increase investment in defense, and in many cases aim to go beyond NATO’s target of spending 2 percent of economic output. However they have a delicate balance to strike because of self-imposed restrictions on public spending.

    […] Circumventing the European Commission

    The scheme would allow the new fund to directly purchase weapons on behalf of members — a power the EU’s lender, the European Investment Bank, currently lacks — aiming to tap a dedicated pool of investors comfortable with backing the defense sector.

    […] key questions remain unanswered, including how the proposed institution would be governed or who would ultimately make decisions — a critical detail given the aim of operating outside the Commission’s remit.

    The U.K. isn’t the only one eyeing alternatives, however. Poland, currently holding the EU Council presidency, has asked the Bruegel think tank to draw up its own version of a “rearmament bank,” which will be discussed at an informal finance ministers’ gathering in Warsaw on Saturday.

    “That shows the appetite to look into a mechanism like this,” said a second EU diplomat.

    More details at the link.

  113. CompulsoryAccount7746, Sky Captain says

    ABC – DOGE arrives at Peace Corps

    staff have been informed that members of the DOGE team will be on site and working through the weekend, and should be granted access to internal systems. Staff have also been instructed to assist the team in setting up internal accounts […] Employees have been told to retain records of all DOGE requests and were told that “equivalent datasets” may be provided in lieu of direct system access

     
    Chris Williamson (HS history teacher):

    Returned Peace Corps Volunteer here. If there is one thing Peace Corps volunteers know how to do, is to organize with minimal resources. RPCVs, now is the time to do the work we have always done to save the work we have done to make sure it continues.

    Rando 1: “Peace Corps costs about $400 million out of a federal budget of $1.8 trillion—0.02% if my math is right. But hey, just ignore the $850 billion DOD budget and target the peace guys for cuts!”

    Nate Ela (Law Prof):

    This is just stupid if you actually care about soft power or efficiency.
    We PCVs come dirt cheap. And the level of [US] praising that happened when i revisited my site in Mozambique five years after leaving was honestly kind of embarrassing. But of course DOGE is just about burning it all down, not efficiency or muricah first.

    Rando (RPCV): “Most of those PCVs can’t afford what is usually an expensive plane ticket home, and their communities can’t easily replace them as teachers.”

    Rando (parent of an RPCV): “Wait until they strand some young adults in foreign counties similar to how they handled USAID employees… parents will lose their minds”

    Rando 2: “Peace Corps kids are basically working for free in remote areas as best American diplomats.”

    Rando 3: “Not just kids! I know a guy in his 70s who still works with the Peace Corps. They go into Afghanistan and Iraq and help suffering people. Nothing is more noble.”
     
    Rando 4: “DOGE is just going to show up in Greenland and start plugging in laptops, aren’t they?”

  114. CompulsoryAccount7746, Sky Captain says

    Marisa Kabas (The Handbasket):

    Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Doug Collins sent an email to employees this afternoon announcing a Reduction in Force (RIF) “of up to 15% from the roughly 470,000 full-time equivalent employees we currently have, to roughly 398,000 employees” + offering Deferred Resignation.

    Rando: “They already fired “non-essential personnel” like maintenance, janitorial, logistics, and suicide hotline workers. Who are they going to fire now?”
     
    WaPo – IRS will cut 25% of its employees, eliminating its civil rights office

    “This action is being taken to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the IRS,” one email viewed by The Post said.
    […]
    It’s unclear whether the expected reduction in force includes the 11,000 employees who have already left the agency through layoffs and deferred resignation offers. The IRS employed about 100,000 people in January.

     
    WaPo – A stunning number of electric vehicle, battery factories are being canceled

    Chris Hayes: “This is part of what’s so insane. As they talk about re-shoring and manufacturing they are actively trying to destroy an entire us manufacturing industry that already exists.”

  115. CompulsoryAccount7746, Sky Captain says

    WaPo – Trump administration accidentally tells some Ukrainians to leave country

    an urgent notice this week to some Ukrainians who fled the Russian invasion saying it was terminating their provisional legal status in seven days and ordering them to leave the United States “immediately,”
    […]
    “A message was sent in error to some Ukrainians” who entered the United States under the Uniting for Ukraine program, said [the DHS spox.] the “parole program has not been terminated.” […] Many Ukrainians have since [entering the US via parole] obtained temporary protected status, which is not set to expire until October 2026.
    […]
    “It is time for you to leave the United States,” the notice began, and warned that if they failed to heed the notice, “The federal government will find you.”
    […]
    “Telling Ukrainians they have to return to an active war zone in seven days or face criminal prosecution is unconscionable,”

    Marisa Kabas (The Handbasket):

    WaPo: The terse and threatening email […] leaving parents shaken and children in tears.

    Fuck these fucking people.

    Screenshots of both the threat and oops emails at the link.

  116. CompulsoryAccount7746, Sky Captain says

    Good news.

    Kyle Cheney (Politico):

    A federal judge just reinstated the head of the Inter-American Foundation, booted Pete Marocco and voided all his decisions.

    Judge AliKhan says it would be meaningles to reinstate IAF’s director only to preside over a “pile of rubble.”

    Judge: The current, ostensible leadership of the IAF intends to fire every employee except one by the end of the day today. And all of the organization’s grants—save a single agreement for $66,000—have been canceled. […] To argue that the IAF remains functioning when it has one employee, one grant, and little else is comically difficult to believe.

    Rando: “Ok. Do Trump next.”

  117. CompulsoryAccount7746, Sky Captain says

    An order to retrieve someone from El Salvador.

    A Judge found Kilmar Abrego Garcia was apprehended without basis, and ordered his return to the US by 11:59 on Monday.

    The WH Press Sec was snide about it. Bukele posted a confused bunny on Twitter.

    Cristian Farias (Legal journalist):

    Courts have power to do this.
    In the Alien Enemies Act case before Judge Boasberg, the plaintiffs included a lengthy list of examples, including from the first Trump administration, where courts ordered wrongfully deported people returned to the U.S.

    Gabriel Malor (Appellate attorney):

    This is generally correct, but there’s an added wrinkle here. Abrego is a Salvadoran citizen, and El Salvador may not want to let him go—say, on criminal grounds?—regardless of what the U.S. asks for.

    For folks writing and talking about the case of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, be aware that under Spanish-language naming convention, he would be referred to commonly by his first surname “Abrego,” not “Garcia,” although his lawyers and the Court has been using the compound “Abrego Garcia.”

    Eric Columbus (Obama DHS/DoJ): “Bukele will respond however the Trump administration wants him to respond. This guy’s return has always been just a matter of Rubio picking up the phone.”

    Rando: “Bukele has a pretty big swagger for a country whose Air Force is literally a dozen armed Cessnas.”

  118. StevoR says

    Four space tourists, including an Australian polar adventurer, have returned to Earth after orbiting the north and south poles in a privately funded polar tour. Bitcoin investor Chun Wang chartered a SpaceX flight for himself and three others in a Dragon capsule that was outfitted with a domed window that provided 360-degree views of the polar caps and everything in between.

    … (Snip!)…

    The quartet, who rocketed from NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre on Monday night (Tuesday morning AEDT), splashed down off the Southern California coast on Friday morning (Saturday morning AEDT).

    Source : https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-04-05/spacex-polar-exploration-splash-down/105141654

  119. birgerjohansson says

    Farron Balanced:
    “Analysis Finds That Most Of Trump’s Executive Orders Don’t Even Make Sense”
    .https://youtube.com/watch?v=7fTbTKgZcnk

    He has gone from posting random thoughts on Truth Social to posting them as executive orders. Farron Cousins makes a case that this is age-related cognitive decline.

  120. John Morales says

    Four space tourists, including an Australian polar adventurer, have returned to Earth after orbiting the north and south poles in a privately funded polar tour.

    One could hardly think of a better use for the resources required for that cramped trip.

    If only there were a cheaper way to get a 360° view!

    (But hey, it’s like a cruise trip, only pricier and more uncomfortable, so surely worth it)

  121. birgerjohansson says

    John Morales @ 120
    Yes, while a capsule theoretically offers an incredible view, the very cramped capsule severely limits the experience. It would be like travelling in the trunk of a car, and watching the landscape while curled up inside. The 360° domed window might have had space for one passenger at a time to look out, but not more.

  124. John Morales says

    Most amusing, Silentbob.

    Cramped and encased in spacesuits.

    Because, of course, if one goes to space one should wear a space suit.

    Looks great.

    —

    BTW, when I mentioned resources, I did not mean units of comfort.

    (I meant infrastructure, concrete, metal ores, fossil fuels, that sort of thing)

  126. lumipuna says

    It’s been two years since Finland officially joined Nato – the national broadcaster Yle has posted some analyses and interviews (in Finnish) on that.

    https://yle.fi/a/74-20154004

    Here, foreign minister Elina Valtonen maintains that Nato membership remains a good deal for Finland, despite (in my own words, not hers) Donald Trump doing his best to spoil it.

    (Two years ago, some people here celebrated the idea that we could now finally ditch “finlandization”, or the practice of being overly tactful in foreign policy and domestic discourse toward certain powerful nations. Now, the government has been very careful about criticizing the US, while president Alexander Stubb is busy buddying up with Trump to remind him that Russia is the enemy.)

    This week, prime minister Petteri Orpo announced that Finland will increase its defense spending to 3% of the GDP by 2029, from the current 2.5%. Meanwhile, Trump is working hard to mitigate the amount required for that by suppressing the GDP growth of various countries across the world.

    Also this week, it was announced that Finland will resign from the 1997 Ottawa Treaty (which it joined in 2011) and return to using anti-personnel mines in national defense, together with some other eastern European Nato nations.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottawa_Treaty

  127. Reginald Selkirk says

    Senate GOP approves framework for Trump’s tax breaks and spending cuts after late-night session

    Senate Republicans plugged away overnight and into early Saturday morning to approve their multitrillion-dollar tax breaks and spending cuts framework, hurtling past hardened Democratic opposition toward what President Donald Trump calls the “big, beautiful bill” that’s central to his agenda.

    The vote, 51-48, fell along mostly party lines, but with sharp dissent from two prominent GOP senators. It could not have come at a more difficult political moment. The U.S. economy is churning after Trump’s vast tariff scheme sent stocks plummeting, and experts are warning of soaring costs for consumers at home and threats of a potential recession. Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Rand Paul of Kentucky both voted against.

    But with a nod from Trump, GOP leaders held on, determined to march ahead. Approval paves the way for Republicans, in the months ahead, to try to power a tax cut bill through both chambers of Congress over the objections of Democrats, just as they did in Trump’s first term with unified party control in Washington.

    “Let the voting begin,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said Friday night.

    If the fate of the country depends on Susan Collins’ iron will*, we are all in trouble.

    * ironic intent

  128. StevoR says

    The U.S. stock market is in a freefall after President Donald Trump announced his all encompassing tariffs earlier this week, and Trump is trying to crash the stock market on purpose—at least according to a video he reposted to social media Friday riddled with inaccuracies.

    … (Snip)..

    According to the video, which traces back to a March 15 post from a TikTok account with less than 18,000 followers, Trump is making a “wild chess move” and playing a “secret game” to “force” the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates and refinance a chunk of the federal government’s $36 trillion in debt “very inexpensively.”

    To that theory’s credit, yields for U.S. Treasury notes, which are a starting point for loans from mortgages to corporate bonds, have collapsed this week, as the benchmark 10-year Treasury fell more than 10 basis points to a six-month low of 3.9%, which should translate to cheaper borrowing, but it’s arguably little more than a consolation prize if the U.S. sinks into a recession defined by higher inflation, cutting into consumer purchasing power, and far weaker corporate earnings from tariffs.

    Source : https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/trump-shares-claim-he-s-crashing-stock-market-on-purpose-as-he-lobbies-for-emergency-rate-cuts/ar-AA1Cj0Ot

    Bold added.

  129. Reginald Selkirk says

    Donald Trump says ‘time to get rich’ as Dow Jones crash sparks recession fears

    …
    President Trump, however, seems to be determined to stand by his tariffs decision, dismissing the market crash as a “great time to get rich” and adding that his policies “will never change”. In a post on his own social media platform Truth Social, Trump wrote, “To the many investors coming into the United States and investing massive amounts of money, my policies will never change. This is a great time to get rich—richer than ever before!!!” in all caps.
    …

    The sudden drop in the markets would only be an opportunity for enrichment if
    1) The loss of value was temporary. Since he insists his policies will never change, the only other way that could work is if his policies are successful, which seems very unlikely.
    2) You had a pile of cash sitting around to buy those stocks during their temporary drop in value. Very few people have a pile of cash sitting around; a rare exception is Warren Buffett. But if all your money is already in stocks, it will shrink as the stocks do. This is the position someone like Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos would be in.

  132. StevoR says

    @ ^ Bekenstein Bound : Huh?

    What “land mines” are you talking about there?

  133. StevoR says

    Good luck and best wishe sfor thsoe protesting peacefully today

    PEACEFUL PROTEST CHECKLIST
    For the National Protest – April 5

    Before You Go:

    • Tell a trusted friend your plans and check-in time
    • Fully charge your phone (+ bring a portable charger if possible)
    • Dress for comfort: closed-toe shoes, layers, sun protection
    • Avoid clothing with identifying logos unless intentional but bring an American Flag if you can

    Phone Safety:

    • Use passcode only (turn off fingerprint/Face ID)
    • Turn on airplane mode when not actively using phone
    • Disable location services if not needed
    • Back up your phone in advance

    What to Bring:

    • Water bottle
    • Light snacks (protein bar, fruit, etc.)
    • ID (but leave unnecessary items at home)
    • Small amount of cash
    • Face mask (health and privacy)
    • Notepad/pen (to write down names, details if needed)
    • Sign or banner (optional, keep it light and easy to carry)

    Mental Preparation:

    • Take a few deep breaths before leaving
    • Remind yourself of your purpose
    • Stay peaceful and composed, even if others aren’t

    During the Protest:

    • Stick with a group if you can
    • Stay aware of exits, surroundings, and crowd energy
    • Do not engage with agitators or provocation
    • Take photos/videos safely, especially if documenting events
    • If tensions rise or energy shifts, trust your instincts and leave calmly

    Afterward:

    • Let your contact know you’re safe
    • Drink water, eat something grounding
    • Give yourself space to reflect and decompress
    Stay safe. Stay strong. Stay grounded.
    Peaceful change is powerful change.

    Source : https://www.facebook.com/groups/50501movement/posts/995930222144307/

  134. birgerjohansson says

    A Different Bias 
    “Why America’s Reputation Will Not Survive This”
    .https://youtube.com/watch?v=COrd6uSAh0g
    .
    Sadly, this seems correct. The European leaders are not going to forget the wishful thinking of, first Russian agression and then USA political leadership. Nor will the other countries around the world.

  135. chigau (違う) says

    StevoR
    A number of countries close to Russia are pulling out of the landmine treaty.

  136. says

    https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show

    Donald Trump blows off dignified transfer of fallen U.S. soldiers for golf events
    Video is 3:39 minutes

    Hundreds of protests planned as Trump’s abuses generate wide array of grievances
    Video is 4:03 minutes

    The ridiculous real story behind the tariff plan that turned Donald Trump into a global disaster
    Video is 12:01 minutes

  137. says

    https://www.msnbc.com/all
    Chris Hayes hosting.

    ‘Absurd’: Sen. Kim on MAGA conspiracist Laura Loomer’s White House influence
    Video is 7:30 minutes. Alarming Laura Loomer video at the beginning.

    Trump is ‘steering the Titanic towards the iceberg,’ says CNBC reporter
    Video is 9:22 minutes.

  138. says

    lumipuna @126, thanks for that update. I, for one, continue to think that Finland joining NATO was/is a good thing.

    I appreciate the dry humor in this statement:

    This week, prime minister Petteri Orpo announced that Finland will increase its defense spending to 3% of the GDP by 2029, from the current 2.5%. Meanwhile, Trump is working hard to mitigate the amount required for that by suppressing the GDP growth of various countries across the world.

  139. says

    GOP Tax Cuts Will Be Even More Expensive Than Anticipated

    Democrats are pointing to new projections from the Congressional Budget Service that shows the price tag for extending the 2017 Trump tax cuts will be higher than previously estimated.

    The new estimate says the tax cuts would all-in-all cost $5.5 trillion, up from the previous estimate of nearly $4 trillion.

    The new numbers come as Senate Republicans are plowing ahead with their plan to utilize an unprecedented “budget gimmick” to make portions of the 2017 Trump tax cuts permanent. [See Reginald’s comment 127]

    The budget resolution text — that Senate GOP leadership put out on Wednesday — suggests Republicans plan to make up their own numbers and cost estimates as a way of shoehorning in the “current policy baseline,” in order to zero out the cost of their tax cuts and claim on paper that the extension will be costless.

    The Senate took the initial procedural vote on the budget resolution Thursday night — with Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) being the only Republican to vote against the motion to proceed. A vote-a-rama is expected to begin Friday afternoon, which means by the time you’re reading this Senate Republicans could’ve already passed their second budget blueprint.

    House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said he wants to push for a vote on the Senate’s resolution as early as next week. But the almost inevitable resistance from hardliners in his conference could easily slow that timeline down.

  140. says

    Followup to StevoR @133.

    […] The “Hands Off!” rallies are taking place in more than 1,000 cities across all 50 states, and nearly 400,000 people have signed up to attend them, according to the progressive organization Indivisible, which is one of the almost 200 groups partnering to organize the movement. […]

    Link

    Related video at the link.

  142. says

    TikTok deal scuttled because of Trump’s tariffs on China

    “[Trump] had initially given China’s ByteDance until Saturday to sell or divest its U.S. TikTok business. The company now has 75 additional days.”

    Related video at the link.

    […] Trump on Friday said he would extend by 75 days the deadline for TikTok’s owner to find a non-Chinese buyer, averting what could have been another disruption of the app.

    […] ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns TikTok, must find a non-Chinese buyer for the app or else it will be banned under a law passed in 2024. Trump had previously delayed the app’s ban via executive order on his first day in office, effectively giving ByteDance until April 5 — Saturday — to comply with the law.

    “My Administration has been working very hard on a Deal to SAVE TIKTOK, and we have made tremendous progress,” he wrote in a Truth Social post. “The Deal requires more work to ensure all necessary approvals are signed, which is why I am signing an Executive Order to keep TikTok up and running for an additional 75 days.”

    ByteDance has previously said it did not plan to sell TikTok. It has largely remained silent about whether it is in talks with bidders and has not publicly confirmed it would divest at all.

    On Friday, a spokesperson for ByteDance said the company “has been in discussion with the U.S. Government regarding a potential solution for TikTok U.S. An agreement has not been executed. There are key matters to be resolved. Any agreement will be subject to approval under Chinese law.”

    […] ByteDance representatives informed the White House on Thursday, after the tariffs were implemented, that China would not accept a deal until there could be negotiations around trade and tariffs […]

    […] In his Truth Social post, Trump referenced the tariffs, saying said the administration hopes “to continue working in Good Faith with China, who I understand are not very happy about our Reciprocal Tariffs (Necessary for Fair and Balanced Trade between China and the U.S.A.!). This proves that Tariffs are the most powerful Economic tool, and very important to our National Security!”

    […] TikTok’s future in the United States has been in limbo ever since former President Joe Biden signed the bipartisan legislation last year, with lawmakers citing national security concerns over the possibility of China accessing American users’ data.

    The app has about 170 million U.S. users.

    TikTok attempted to challenge the ban, but the Supreme Court upheld it in the final days of the Biden administration. […]

    The app briefly went dark in the U.S. just before Trump’s inauguration, but restored service after the president signaled that he would work with ByteDance to find a solution.

    […] Interested buyers include the likes of Wyoming entrepreneur Reid Rasner; Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, who joined billionaire investor Frank McCourt’s bid; artificial intelligence search engine startup Perplexity AI; and former Trump administration Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. On Wednesday, e-commerce giant Amazon and mobile technology company AppLovin became the latest companies to throw their hats in the ring.

  143. says

    Retirees ‘stunned’ as market turmoil over tariffs shrinks their 401(k)s

    Related video at the link.

    Americans nearing retirement and recent retirees said they were anxious and frustrated following a second day of market turmoil that hit their 401(k)s after […] Trump’s escalation of tariffs.

    As the impending tariffs shook the global economy Friday, people who were planning on their retirement accounts to carry them through their golden years said the economic chaos was hitting too close to home.

    Some said they are pausing big-ticket purchases and reconsidering home renovations, while others said they fear their quality of life will be adversely affected by all the turmoil. [I know my quality of life will be adversely affected. This is some trickle down shit that actually does trickle down to everyone.]

    […] Trump fulfilled his campaign promise this week to unleash sweeping tariffs, including on the United States’ largest trading partners, in a move that has sparked fears of a global trade war. […]

    As Wall Street reeled Friday after China hit back with tariffs against the U.S., millions of Americans with 401(k)s watched their retirement funds diminish along with the stock market.

    […] “MY POLICIES WILL NEVER CHANGE,” Trump posted to social media Friday. Later, he wrote, “ONLY THE WEAK WILL FAIL.”

    Trump’s tariffs are steeper and more widespread than any in modern American history. They are potentially even broader than the tariffs of 1930 that historians said worsened the Great Depression.

    […] One in five Americans age 50 and over have no retirement savings, and more than half, 61%, are worried they will not have enough money to support them in retirement […]

  144. says

    ‘Life-threatening, catastrophic, and potentially historic’ flash flooding persists in South and Midwest

    “At least eight people have been killed in powerful storms that have swept through the region in the past week.”

    Related video at the link.

    A week of powerful storms that swept through the South and Midwest, killing at least eight people, is still wreaking significant havoc in the region this weekend.

    Severe weather, including a “life-threatening, catastrophic, and potentially historic” flash flooding event will continue to impact the lower Ohio Valley through to the Ark-La-Tex region (where Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas join together) on Saturday, according to the National Weather Service. Around 37 million people are under Flood Alerts from Texas to western Pennsylvania.

    “Deep moisture pooling along the front combined with impressive dynamics will set the stage for persistent rounds of intense thunderstorms capable of producing torrential downpours throughout the region,” the weather service said in an update Saturday morning. “This will especially be the case for the Ozarks and Mid-South, where the best moisture, instability, and forcing overlap.”

    The same areas that were hit hard by storms throughout the week could receive “repeated rounds of heavy rainfall,” leading to historic rainfall accumulations over saturated soils, the weather service said.

    Rainfall totals since Wednesday have surpassed 4 to 8 inches, with over 12 inches of rain reported in parts of Kentucky and Tennessee. The highest rainfall report so far is 13.40 inches in Mayfield, Kentucky. Saturday is forecast to be the final day in this high impact flood event across the Mid-South and Mississippi Valley, with an additional 3 to 6 inches of rain possible by Sunday morning.

    […] “Unfortunately, the risk of major river flooding will likely continue into early next week, long after the last drop of rain has fallen,” the weather service said.

    This line of storms will move late Saturday, taking the heaviest rainfall eastward into portions of the Southeast on Sunday, according to the weather service. The front will still be capable of producing thunderstorms and flooding in the Southeast, but the risk of excessive rainfall will downgrade to a slight risk (around 15%) Sunday, and again to a marginal risk (at least 5%) by Monday. […]

  145. CompulsoryAccount7746, Sky Captain says

    Re: Lynna @140:

    “Hands Off!” rallies […] 400,000 people have signed up to attend

    The standard opsec advice for protests (like @133) kinda clashes with signing up to attend. It’s a floor estimate I guess, assuming most show up.

    I heard a drag queen saying she stumbled into a protest when she stopped at a gas station. Amusingly brought to mind the notion of a population of queens dressed to the nines idly doing errands as protests just spring up around them.

  146. says

    Democratic governor rips Trump for turning US into a bad reality show, an exclusive based on an interview with Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer.

    One day, Americans are being hit with […] Trump’s dreams of annexing Greenland, and the next, the U.S. government is creating a global trade war. Living in the United States in 2025 feels like an endless episode of a bad reality TV show. At least, that’s how Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer describes it.

    “It’s almost like we’re in ‘The Apprentice,’” the Democrat told Daily Kos in an exclusive interview. “We’re in this game show where there’s constant exciting, great headlines and Americans are just lurching from one headline to the next.”

    But just below the surface is a darker reality that Americans are living every day.

    “Our education system is getting destroyed,” Meyer said, referring to Trump’s attempts to completely dismantle the Department of Education.

    On April 3, the administration also threatened to pull funding to the country’s poorest public schools, and it has been slowly chipping away at funding for public universities that teach things Trump disagrees with. [video at the link]

    Meyer also emphasized how the U.S. health care system is on a downward spiral, to which the Trump administration has responded with even more massive layoffs and budget cuts.

    “We don’t need to take a chainsaw to the government, we need to make it work,” he told Daily Kos. “I think what Americans want is they actually want a government that works.[…]”

    “I bet you if Americans know … [they’re] getting the best schools in the world for those taxes, Americans will pay. Because there will be a return [on investment] to all of us if we know we’re paying for the highest quality health care,” he said.

    Meyer has already shaken things up on his own turf. In March, the governor proposed a 2026 budget that includes new tax brackets. placing some of the highest taxes on the wealthy that Delaware has ever seen.

    And while Meyer—like every other governor at the moment—is trying to protect his residents from the chaos at the federal level, he’s also struggling to hold onto the state’s largest source of revenue.

    As Daily Kos previously reported, Meyer has been under heat for creating a bill aimed at keeping businesses in Delaware. On one hand, critics called it a handout to billionaires. On the other hand, businesses and locals alike were advocating for it as a means to keep money flowing to crucial state programs.

    […] “For me, to be frank, it’s not necessarily about pushing back against Trump. It’s [about] fixing problems that Delawareans face every day, whether the people support Trump or not,” he told Daily Kos.

    Looking toward the future of the Democratic Party, Meyer said Democrats need to focus on the broken systems and not be afraid to call out what’s going wrong as it’s happening.

    […] “I think that’s ultimately what’s gonna win the country and win for the Democratic Party.”

  149. says

    Russia followed up its murderous cluster munitions strike on Kryvyi Rih that killed 18, including nine children, with another attack on the city. This new attack was with Shahed drones. [videos and photos at the link, scroll down to view]

    Zelenskyy blasted US Ambassador Bridget Brink for not even mentioning Russia in a statement about the attack.

    “The response from the US Embassy is surprisingly disappointing – such a strong country, such a strong people, and yet such a weak reaction. They are afraid to even say the word ‘Russian’ when speaking about the missile that murdered children.”

    Link

  150. says

    What an embarrassment:

    The following is from a newsletter on Moldova about how Trump came up with his bogus tariff figures.

    Economists have been scrambling to make these numbers add up. Nobel Prize Winning Economist Paul Krugman, on his excellent Substack, notes that the EU charges less than a 3% tariff on US goods. Trump claims 39% and uses that number to justify 20% new tariffs. Krugman notes that even if you add in Value Added Tax (VAT), which is not a tariff, you can’t get anywhere near 39%. Similarly the 61% number for Moldova is simply ludicrous.

    UNLESS… IT ISN’T WHAT THEY CLAIM IT IS

    James Surowiecki on X appears to have been the first to crack the code and figure out where all of these number come from. His conclusions were subsequently reported out by the NYTimes and later confirmed by the White House.

    Basically, what Trump is calling “Tariffs charged to the U.S.A. including currency manipulation and trade barriers” is actually the “Trade Deficit as a Share of Imports.” Here’s how it works in the case of Moldova.

    In 2024 the US-Moldova trade relationship was the following:

    US Exports to Moldova: $53.6 million

    Moldova Exports to the US: $136.5 million

    US-Moldova Trade Deficit: -$82.9 million […]

    Plugging in the 2024 numbers above you get a ratio of 60.7%. Trump rounded this up to 61% and then halved it to levy 31% tariffs on Moldova.

    Same link as in comment 149.

  152. Reginald Selkirk says

    Judge awards $6.6 million to whistleblowers who reported Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to FBI

    A district court judge on Friday awarded more than $6 million combined to four whistleblowers in their lawsuit against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton who were fired shortly after they reported him to the FBI.

    “By a preponderance of the evidence,” Travis County Judge Catherine Mauzy says in her judgment, the plaintiffs proved liability, damages and attorney’s fees in their complaint against the attorney general’s office.

    “Because the Office of the Attorney General violated the Texas Whistleblower Act by firing and otherwise retaliating against the plaintiff for in good faith reporting violations of law by Ken Paxton and OAG, the court hereby renders judgment for plaintiffs,” Mauzy states.

    The court found that the four Paxton aides were fired in retaliation for reporting allegations that he was using his office to accept bribes from an Austin real estate developer who employed a woman with whom he was having an extramarital affair. Paxton has denied accepting bribes or misusing his office to help Nate Paul, the real estate developer.

    The judgment also stated that the employees made their reports to law enforcement “in good faith” and that Paxton’s office did not dispute any claims or damages in the lawsuit…

  153. says

    https://www.wonkette.com/p/senate-republicans-reinvent-math

    “Senate Republicans Reinvent Math So They Can Make America Super Poor”

    Here is a riddle for the discerning Wonkette reader: When is a tax cut not actually a tax cut? The answer, of course, is whenever the Republicans say so!

    The specific Republican making the claim here, though he is doing it with the tacit permission of his caucus, is […] Lindsey Graham, chairman of the Senate Budget Committee. […] working on a budget resolution that would allow the Senate Republicans to pass much of Donald Trump’s agenda in what the emperor has called one “big, beautiful” bill. Then they can all take the rest of the year off and go play some golf at one of Trump’s clubs while the rest of us stare at our 401k balances and weep into our canned soup.

    Republicans would prefer that no one realize just how much all the tax cuts that are a centerpiece of the big, beautiful agenda will eventually cost. To get around that pesky problem, Graham announced that he is using an accounting trick known by its technical term, “making shit up.”

    Here is the issue. Budget resolutions project government spending and revenue in a 10-year timeframe. That means this new resolution has to account for the fact that the 2017 Trump tax cuts are set to expire in 2027. This is a problem because the Republicans would like to not only extend those tax cuts, but tack on many, many more. Add it all together, and suddenly this bill might blow out the deficit and add anywhere from $5 to $11 trillion to the national debt over the next decade.

    […] If the bill doesn’t pass the CBO’s [Congressional Budget Office’s] scoring, the Senate parliamentarian can advise that the bill does not qualify for a reconciliation vote, which requires only a simple majority to pass. Republicans would have to make all sorts of spending cuts to the bill for it to get through. Or they would have to reduce the size of the tax cuts. That is definitely a nonstarter for them.

    […] the Republicans came up with a neat trick: What if they just pretend the 2017 tax cuts don’t actually expire in 2027, but are simply the financial equivalent of How We Live Now? This is called using “current policy baseline,” and we’ll let Catherine Rampell of the Washington Post explain it in simple terms:

    Here’s how: Republicans say that because some (expiring) tax cuts have been in place since 2017, extending them shouldn’t be recorded as costing anything, because they wouldn’t feel different.

    As Rampell notes, this is like saying if the lease on your car expires, you should get a new one for free just because you got used to having a car. It’s utter horseshit. But then, so is everything else these weirdos have been doing.

    Republicans have asked the parliamentarian to accept scoring the bill using their bullshit math. But then Lindsey Graham announced he wasn’t even bothering to wait for the parliamentarian to decide. Why bother waiting for a ruling to ignore? Might as well cut out all the drama now.

    From The Hill:

    Graham in a statement said he has authority under Section 312 of the Congressional Budget Act “to determine baseline numbers for spending and revenue.”

    “Under that authority, I have determined that current policy will be the budget baseline regarding taxation. This will allow the tax cuts to be permanent — which will tremendously boost the economy,” he said.

    Translation: As Budget Chairman, I can just make up numbers on the spot. That $11 trillion we’re adding to the deficit? AKSHUALLY, we’re paying off $11 trillion of the national debt. Because I said so. Factories will boom and everyone will have a job. The economy will be booming. Also, fish are called birds now. Birds are called oomphyflagershtockers. Take it up with the voters if you don’t like it.

    This is the sort of math that Donald Trump has loved for his entire business career […] we’re pretty sure we remember Trump hiding spending through some shady accounting trips resulted in him being convicted of three dozen felonies.

    […] the GOP doesn’t feel it even needs to bother with the optics. […]

  154. Reginald Selkirk says

    Sahara desert, once lush and green, was home to mysterious human lineage

    The Sahara Desert is one of Earth’s most arid and desolate places, stretching across a swathe of North Africa that spans parts of 11 countries and covers an area comparable to China or the United States. But it has not always been so inhospitable.

    During a period from about 14,500 to 5,000 years ago, it was a lush green savannah rich in bodies of water and teeming with life. And, according to DNA obtained from the remains of two individuals who lived about 7,000 years ago in what is now Libya, it was home to a mysterious lineage of people isolated from the outside world.

    Researchers analyzed the first genomes from people who lived in what is called the “Green Sahara.” They obtained DNA from the bones of two females buried at a rock shelter called Takarkori in remote southwestern Libya. They were naturally mummified, representing the oldest-known mummified human remains.

    “At the time, Takarkori was a lush savannah with a nearby lake, unlike today’s arid desert landscape,” said archaeogeneticist Johannes Krause of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, one of the authors of the study published this week in the journal Nature.

    The genomes reveal that the Takarkori individuals were part of a distinct and previously unidentified human lineage that lived separated from sub-Saharan and Eurasian populations for thousands of years.

    “Intriguingly, the Takarkori people show no significant genetic influence from sub-Saharan populations to the south or Near Eastern and prehistoric European groups to the north. This suggests they remained genetically isolated despite practicing animal husbandry – a cultural innovation that originated outside Africa,” Krause said…

  155. Reginald Selkirk says

    Homeowner records man threatening to deport roof workers, gets punched

    Portland authorities are searching for a man who reportedly attacked and bloodied a homeowner in his car with his 5-year-old daughter in the backseat.

    The homeowner told KOIN 6 News he received a notification from his doorbell camera while picking up his daughter just after 3 p.m. on Thursday. Footage shows a man with light facial hair hurling a rock at a home at SE 42nd Avenue and Rex Street.

    In the video, a man can be seen yelling slurs in Spanish and cursing at workers on the roof, saying he could have them deported. Police said the man appeared to be “upset over the ethnicity of the crew.”

    When the homeowner arrived back at the property, he reported seeing the man down the block and driving up to ask what he was doing.

    He said that’s when the man threatened to come into his house and kill him.

    At that point, the homeowner reached for his phone to take a picture of the man. Cell phone footage shows the man slapping the phone out of the homeowner’s hands.

    The homeowner said that seconds later, the attacker reached into his car and punched him directly in the nose — causing extensive bleeding and requiring a trip to urgent care.

    Portland police said they have identified the suspect, but have not been able to locate him. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact law enforcement…

  156. says

    https://www.wonkette.com/p/of-course-its-medicare-and-medicaid

    “Of Course It’s Medicare And Medicaid Administrator Dr. Oz”

    Look who just got confirmed by the Senate as the next administrator of Medicare & Medicaid, it is Dr. Mehmet Oz, TV huckster! Because President Gameshow Host loves people on the teevee, and hucksters. And they can do an “aw, shucks” routine together. Remember how in 2016 Trump went on Dr. Oz’s show to performatively hand him his “medical records” that looked like two blank pieces of paper? [video at the link]

    “If your health is as strong as it seems from your review of systems, why not share your medical records?”

    “Well, I have really no problem in doing it. I have it right here. I mean, should I do it? I don’t care. Should I do it?” To whoops, and then Dr. Oz pretended to look at the two blank pieces of paper.

    Medical claims based on nearly blank pieces of paper is Dr. Oz’s specialty! For more than 10 years, until 2022, he had a nationwide show that was not much more than a half-hour infomercial for “magic” and “miracle” ingredients like “green coffee extract,” and “raspberry ketone,” which one could conveniently purchase as supplements at a site he had a stake in, iHerb.

    […]some of his medical claims were just pulled-out-of-thin-air kooky, like lavender soap curing restless-leg syndrome, or that taking human pregnancy hormones could help people lose weight. A 2014 study concluded that less than a third of the claims made on “The Dr. Oz Show” were backed by any “believable” evidence.

    In 2012, Oz paid a $3.5 million fine to the FTC for making “baseless weight-loss claims.” And then in 2018, Trump appointed him to the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition.

    And during the pandemic, Dr. Oz became a Fox quackflack, promoting chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine as a COVID cure in more than 25 appearances in March and April 2020 [!!] Then in 2022 he gave up his snake-oil show and seat on the Fitness Council to run for Senate against John Fetterman, a race he lost […] [video at the link]

    Most ominous Dr. Oz claim: that no one has a right to health care, though the uninsured should be generously allowed 15-minute checkups in a “festival-like setting.” Get ready to party with checkups in the parking lot, grandma, grandpa and poors!

    Trump and Oz go way back, via Oprah, and Trump and Oprah go way way back, to at least 1988. Trump appeared on her show multiple times through the years. (Oprah endorsed John Fetterman over her former protege, better late than never!)

    Dr. Oz has ties to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, too, and is an Armenian Genocide denier. And Trump and VERY DICTATOR-Y Erdogan have lots of ties too, like Michael Flynn, and the time Trump pulled troops out of northern Syria so Turkey could massacre some Kurds. It’s just all one big Turkish-dictator-loving family. […]

  157. says

    Elon Musk says he wants a ‘zero tariff situation’ and a ‘free trade zone’ for Europe amid Trump’s trade war

    “In streamed remarks at an event hosted by Italy’s right-wing deputy prime minister, Musk said Europe and the U.S. should move to ‘a zero tariff situation.’ ”

    […] I hope it is agreed that both Europe and the United States should move, ideally, in my view, to a zero tariff situation, effectively creating a free trade zone between Europe and North America,” Musk told “The League Congress” on Saturday, an event hosted by right wing Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini.

    “That’s what I hope occurs, and also more freedom of people to move between Europe and North America if they wish, if they wish to work in Europe or wish to work in America, they should be allowed to do so, in my view. So that has certainly been my advice to the president,” Musk added.

    Musk’s remarks come days after Trump unveiled tariffs on some of the nation’s largest trading partners. The U.S. is set to impose a 20% tariff on the European Union under Trump’s plan.

    [I snipped details about stock markets plunging.]

    […] In a post on Truth Social Saturday, after two days of the stock market falling, Trump was steadfast in his rationale for imposing these widespread tariffs, writing that China “and many other nations, have treated us unsustainably badly. We have been the dumb and helpless ‘whipping post.'” […]

  158. DrVanNostrand says

    Of course we already basically had a “zero tariff situation” between the US and Europe before Trump did this.

  159. CompulsoryAccount7746, Sky Captain says

    This week, USAID finally sent workers to assess the quake zone in Myanmar… three people… then sent emails firing them, in particular, while they slept in the rubble, days after arriving.

    NYT

    More than 3,300 people were killed and more than 4,800 injured in Myanmar […] The Trump administration has been criticized by Democratic lawmakers and others for what they called its paltry response. […] One of the aid workers had flown in from Washington, and the other two from Bangkok and Manila, where the aid agency has regional operations. […] It is unclear what they will now do in Myanmar and when they will leave their jobs.

    Lisa Desjardins (PBS Newshour):

    […] [Also] the State Dept has begun cancelling awards/aid programs in disaster zones that can be life and death, including food aid. Some programs have been cancelled in *Yemen, Syria, Gaza*. The source said this is contrary to State’s waiver policy.

  160. Bekenstein Bound says

    Democratic governor rips Trump for turning US into a bad reality show

    The word “bad” in that headline is redundant.

    Remember how in 2016 Trump went on Dr. Oz’s show to performatively hand him his “medical records” that looked like two blank pieces of paper?

    Shades of McCarthy and his notorious claim, “I have here in my hand a list of 205 — a list of names that were made known to the Secretary of State as being members of the Communist Party and who nevertheless are still working and shaping policy in the State Department”?

  161. CompulsoryAccount7746, Sky Captain says

    Chris Hayes (MSNBC):

    It’s very weird to me that in all the (genuinely comical) hermeneutic reading of Trump’s decision to annihilate the global trade system, no one actually quotes one of the major reasons he himself cites for it:

    he wants to abolish the income tax and fund the government almost entirely through tariffs, thereby delivering the most regressive bonanza to the rich in the history of American taxation. He has said this many many times. He said it *at the announcement* and yet [articles] just ignore it.

    A government withered so small, penguins will fund it.

  162. John Morales says

    A government withered so small, penguins will fund it.

    No, they won’t, because they can’t.

    You mean a government so big, it takes over an entire country (the USA) and changes everything overnight, because the executive branch has been given so much power and because it faces no particular impediment from either the legislative or judicial branches.

    I know, you were trying to be sardonic, but really!

    If you were gonna point out a particular stupidity, the inclusion of that place in the list is, well, the least of it.

    (E.g. Taiwan is a named country; China is not super-keen on that, and the USA has obfuscated for decades about it. Inadvertent concession, right there. That’s more indicative of the amateurish and ignorant government the USA elected in this cycle)

  163. StevoR says

    Aussie ABC news Op-ed :

    To many international observers, however, his first two months in office have felt more like the total eclipse of America: a darkening of the leader the world has known since it entered World War II.

    To those living in the most impoverished parts of the globe, such as Ethiopia, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Somalia, it has meant the world’s richest nation turning off life-saving funding to USAID. To soldiers on the frontline in Ukraine, it has meant the interruption of vital intelligence and military assistance in their fight against Vladimir Putin’s army. To close friends as well as foes, it has meant the imposition of punitive tariffs. To those who rely on the Voice of America in countries such as Russia, China, Iran and Venezuela, where information is heavily censored by authoritarian regimes, it has meant radio silence.

    Loud and clear, Canadians have heard their closest ally threaten annexation, and their absorption into America as its 51st state. In Europe, diplomats who attended the Munich Security Conference listened dumbstruck as the US vice-president aligned the Trump administration with the European hard and far right — a message JD Vance jack-hammered home by meeting Alice Weidel, the leader of the far right Alternative for Germany (AfD), on the eve of the German election.

    In Australia, we have watched the Albanese government pay $798 million into US coffers as a down payment on the AUKUS security pact only to be slammed afterwards with punitive tariffs on steel and aluminium.

    Source : https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-04-06/trump-tariffs-america-in-danger-of-becoming-a-friendless-state/105125122

  164. John Morales says

    That’s rhetoric, StevoR.

    Obs, it was not a sudden volte-face, but rather a culmination of trends that were already visible in his first term.

    He got elected, remember.
    Just over half of those who bothered to vote (around a third of the electorate) gave him the opportunity, and Congress and the Supreme Court are letting him get away with it all.

    So, in your allegory, of the five phases of an eclipse, this is the one before totality, but after the first contact.

    —

    Oh yeah, and USAid and whatnot were implements of soft power, not merely charity.

  165. CompulsoryAccount7746, Sky Captain says

    Re: John Morales @162:

    they won’t, because they can’t.

    Then there was no disagreement. My sardonic point was that solely relying on tariffs (the primary content of the comment) would be inadequate. I could’ve picked Taiwan, France, etc. I chose a nil-revenue location for absurdity. The penguins were only relevant in being trendy among the negligibly inhabited islands listed, all incapable of funding in that way.

    My use of ‘withering’ referred to the downsizing of personnel, assets, and services, and general sabotage of management, contracts, regulators, and tax collectors, and loss of international goodwill and soft power, not whatever metaphorical ‘big’ you had in mind associated with a few authoritarians within that hamstrung incompetent bureaucracy asserting more power than they are legally entitled to.

  166. JM says

    ISW: Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, April 3, 2025

    Russia seeks to leverage ongoing ceasefire and future peace negotiations to seize large amounts of territory in Ukraine and install a pro-Russian puppet government in Kyiv but will likely continue military operations in Ukraine if the Kremlin is unable to achieve a full Ukrainian surrender through diplomacy.

    Well duh. The important thing is that Ukraine is having none of it. Russia might be able to manipulate Trump but Zelensky and the other European leaders know what is going on and that Russia isn’t really interested in peace.

    The ODNI report assessed that Russia has suffered significant casualties in Ukraine and that Russia must contend with the poor quality of its new recruits.[5] The ODNI report assessed that the Russian economy is facing significant challenges as Russia continues to balance resource allocation between defense industrial production and civilian sectors. US European Command (EUCOM) Commander and NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) General Christopher Cavoli stated on April 3 that Russian forces have lost over 4,000 tanks in Ukraine.[6] Cavoli stated that Russia started the war with a total of 13,000 tanks and are “starting to approach near the end” of the viable tanks in storage.

    Russia is really starting to run into trouble keeping the war going. They continue to expand production of military supplies but are having trouble because of sanctions, they may not be producing heavy gear as fast as they did before the war. Production of drones, artillery and basic arms continues to rise.

    Ukrainian forces advanced near Pokrovsk. Russian forces advanced in Kursk and Belgorod and near Lyman, Toretsk, Kurakhove, and Velyka Novosilka.

    The overall level of activity has gone done. The Russians are stockpiling supplies and manpower for a summer offensive. Right now both sides are trying to grab small but important bits of ground rather then make any large offense.
    CNN: Rubio tells Russia the clock is ticking while allies doubt Putin wants peace in Ukraine

    US Secretary of State Marco Rubio revealed on Friday that he had met with an envoy for President Vladimir Putin this week and sent him back to Moscow with a message: the clock is ticking on when there needs to be a breakthrough in the peace talks to end the Ukraine war.
    “That time is coming,” Rubio said, “It’s pretty short.”

    Vague, extends an already extended multiple times dead line and US options that don’t involve putting US forces in Ukraine are limited. The Russian’s are probably having trouble keeping a straight face when given that threat. Stalling is what the Russians are trying to do right now, this just helps them.
    AP: Zelenskyy meets European military leaders to plan for a peacekeeping force

    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met the leaders of the British and French armed forces in Kyiv Saturday to discuss the potential deployment of a multinational peacekeeping force to Ukraine, despite the reluctance of U.S. President Donald Trump to provide security guarantees.

    This is important, what Lelensky can learn about the size, composition and orders of a security force plays into how strong his negotiating position is. He is also gathering information about support and supplies.
    Reuters: Exclusive: Germany funds Eutelsat internet in Ukraine as Musk tensions rise

    Berlin has been paying for Ukraine’s access to a satellite-internet network operated by France’s Eutelsat (ETL.PA) as Europe seeks alternatives to Elon Musk’s Starlink.
    Eutelsat’s chief executive Eva Berneke told Reuters the company has provided its high-speed satellite internet service to Ukraine for about a year via a German distributor.

    Ukraine is slowly working to phase out gear unique to the US. It’s a slow process because much of it is hooked together and Ukraine has to figure out different wiring and software. If push comes to shove Ukraine won’t accept a surrender level deal even if the US withdraws.

  167. John Morales says

    Yes, attempted hyperbole. Weak, but I get it.

    Thing is, you’re trying to diss the current administration thereby, but actually conceding its temporal power.

    They are doing this stuff, so clearly they can do it.

    A government withered so small, penguins will fund it.

    A government so powerful, ordinary people claim that penguins will fund it.

    My use of ‘withering’ referred to the downsizing of personnel, assets, and services, and general sabotage of management, contracts, regulators, and tax collectors, and loss of international goodwill and soft power, not whatever metaphorical ‘big’ you had in mind associated with a few authoritarians within that hamstrung incompetent bureaucracy asserting more power than they are legally entitled to.

    Yes, and my point was that this has actually, evidently, factually, truly happened.

    Not too fucking withered to achieve all of that, eh?

    I put it to you that, were the government withered (and thus impotent), this could not have happened.

    Now, if you truly, really think that getting what you actually want done is a sign of withered smallness, well, I shan’t be able to get through to you.

    But no. Penguins will most certainly not fund the USA goverment.

    (This is where a certain obsessed hatefan of mine would call me ‘hyperliteral’, purely because I point out bullshit rhetoric)

    —

    So.

    not whatever metaphorical ‘big’ you had in mind

    The reality of things, what is actually happening, the actual real-life events are exactly, precisely, unambiguously, definitively, clearly, accurately, specifically, explicitly, categorically what I had in mind.

    That is to say, what is happening now is a pure example of ‘big government’, or of ‘government power’.

    (Or are you gonna claim a puny government could do that?)

  168. John Morales says

    [lots of typing, fuck-all refreshing.
    My previous was to CompulsoryAccount7746, Sky Captain @165]

    —

    Oh, yeah.

    l have in the past told people that you exist and are a commenter here, JM, and that thus they could do better than to refer to me by those initials. And a good one you are, I reckon, FWTW.

  169. CompulsoryAccount7746, Sky Captain says

    Re: John Morales @167:

    what is happening now is a pure example of ‘big government’ […] you gonna claim a puny government could do that?

    Big Balls, indeed.

  170. John Morales says

    Was that a ‘yes’ or a ‘no’?

    It sure seems like an evasion.

    Feel free to go on and tell me how puny this current USA govermnent is, and thus justify your claim.

    —

    So.

    I checked with the Bubbly Useless Freebie A:

    Certainly! Here’s a concise response to your original question about the three branches of the U.S. government and their current controlling factions:

    Executive: Controlled by Donald Trump and the Republican Party.
    Legislative**: - House of Representatives: Controlled by the Republican Party.
    Senate: Controlled by the Republican Party (with a majority).
    Judicial: Independent, but the Supreme Court leans conservative due to its Republican-appointed majority.

  171. CompulsoryAccount7746, Sky Captain says

    Re: John Morales:
    You’re welcome to silently parse my last response in whatever way concludes the exchange most satisfactorily to you. I’m not interested continuing it and will accept disappointing you if that’s the interpretation you prefer.

  172. CompulsoryAccount7746, Sky Captain says

    Anna Bower (Lawfare):

    [A thread of court transcript snippets]
    The Court: why can’t the United States get Mr. Abrego Garcia back?

    DoJ’s Mr. Reuveni: […] when this case landed on my desk, the first thing I did was ask my clients that very question. I’ve not received, to date, an answer that I find satisfactory.

    The Court: Okay. Well, I, again, appreciate your candor.

     
    NYT – Justice Dept. accuses top immigration lawyer of failing to follow orders

    A senior Justice Department immigration lawyer was put on indefinite leave Saturday after questioning the Trump administration’s decision to deport a Maryland man to El Salvador—one day after representing the government in court.
    […]
    “At my direction, every Department of Justice attorney is required to zealously advocate on behalf of the United States,” Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote in a statement sent to The Times on Saturday. “Any attorney who fails to abide by this direction will face consequences.”
    […]
    Under questioning by a federal judge on Friday, Mr. Reuveni conceded that the deportation last month of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, who had a court order allowing him to stay in the United States, should never have taken place. Mr. Reuveni also said he had been frustrated when the case landed on his desk.

    Mr. Reuveni, a respected 15-year veteran of the immigration division, asked the judge for 24 hours to persuade his “client,” the Trump administration, to begin the process of retrieving and repatriating Mr. Abrego Garcia.

    Less than 24 hours later, Mr. Blanche, President Trump’s former criminal defense lawyer […] suspended Mr. Reuveni with pay, cut off access to his work email and blocked him from performing any duties related to his job.

    Rando 1: “Failure to zealously advocate for actions the department itself has admitted were illegal.”

    Rando 2: “Picture the quality of lawyers DOJ will have left after another year of this.”

    Aaron Reichlin-Melnick (American Immigration Council):

    And I [also] suspect it’s because Reuveni has, in his many years at OIL, been involved in previous noncontroversial efforts to bring back people wrongfully deported, so he knows it’s not something shocking or unusual, and it’s the norm.

  173. John Morales says

    You’re welcome You’re welcome to silently parse my last response in whatever way concludes the exchange most satisfactorily to you..

    Likewise, you are most welcome You’re welcome to silently parse my last response in whatever way concludes the exchange most satisfactorily to you, so that you can cope with the reality that this government action exhibits a shitload of power; new worldwide recession, 80 years of goodwill pissed down the drain, no biggie.

    So weak!

    I’m not interested continuing it and will accept disappointing you if that’s the interpretation you prefer.

    Heh.

    It’s not disappointment, it’s vindication you must accept.

    (I got you)

  175. Silentbob says

    @ 167 Morales

    Captain, since you seem confused, here’s a sketch of what Hyperliteriasm means:

    A: “It rained so hard I nearly drowned!”
    B: “No it didn’t, it was 6mm of rain.”

    Not hyperliteralism.

    A: “It was raining, so I had to take an umbrella to walk to work.”
    B: “That’s a lie. You always the option of leaving the umbrella and being drenched. Respond immediately and concede to my superior intellect.”

    Hyperliteralism.

    It means deliberately misinterpreting something someone has said in an absurd and obviously incorrect way so as to manufacture an excuse to attack them.

    You have only ever been criticized for the latter repeated rhetorical technique.

  176. Silentbob says

    @ Morales
    obsessed hatefan
    Speaking of hyperbole. X-D

    You mean, “random commenter who has pointed out nonsense in my comments on more than one occasion”.

  177. KG says

    If you were gonna point out a particular stupidity, the inclusion of that place in the list is, well, the least of it.

    (E.g. Taiwan is a named country; China is not super-keen on that, and the USA has obfuscated for decades about it. Inadvertent concession, right there. That’s more indicative of the amateurish and ignorant government the USA elected in this cycle) – John Morales@162

    China has no reason to be pissed off at Taiwan being listed: a number of non-independent territories are, including for example British Indian Ocean Territory, which as its name suggests belongs to the UK, and whose only residents are British and American service personnel – the native inhabitants were cruelly deported to Mauritius decades ago. Other places such as Aruba (a Dutch overseas territory), Bermuda and the British Virgin Islands (British overseas territories), French Polynesia (guess) etc. I’ve read that its a list of internet domains rather than of countries, but I haven’t checked that.

  179. John Morales says

    SoylentBlob:
    @ Morales
    obsessed hatefan
    Speaking of hyperbole. X-D

    So I am both hyperliteral and hyperbolic, simultaneously.

    (Tall and short, fat and skinny, good and evil, that’s me)

  180. redwood says

    @173 John Morales I enjoy your comments when you introduce news items of interest but your puerile attempts at one-upmanship (“I got you”) and “setting the record straight” by pointing out what you believe are mistakes by commenters are just tedious and tiresome.

  182. Reginald Selkirk says

    DOGE reportedly planning a hackathon to build ‘mega API’ for IRS data

    Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) plans to host a hackathon next week focused on the creation of a “mega API” that will provide access to taxpayer data, according to Wired.

    Wired says the hackathon is being organized by two DOGE staffers at the Internal Revenue Service — Gavin Kliger and Sam Corcos, who’s also CEO at healthtech startup Levels. Corcos has reportedly been telling others at DOGE that his goal is to build “one new API to rule them all.”

    This would make it easy for cloud providers to access IRS data including taxpayer names, addresses, social security numbers, tax returns, and employment information, which could all be exported to external systems. According to Wired, a third-party party vendor would manage parts of the project, with Palantir “consistently” brought up as a candidate.

    “It’s basically an open door controlled by Musk for all Americans’ most sensitive information with none of the rules that normally secure that data,” an anonymous IRS worker reportedly told Wired.

  183. birgerjohansson says

    One of the best signs during the demonstrations was carried by a little old lady saying (sorry, Lynna) “I would call Trump a c***, but he lacks the depth and the warmth”.
    .
    🚨….aand yet another Trump advisor caught in a scandal.

    .https://youtube.com/watch?v=_sM0NN_AxG4
    Yes Ron Vera was a made-up expert.

  185. says

    Musk must pay, DOGE steals a building, and Big Law bends another knee

    Wasn’t it a delight to see Elon Musk face-plant in his attempt to buy a Wisconsin Supreme Court seat? It has to irk Musk that there’s an election he couldn’t buy, even after being allowed to try to bribe Wisconsin voters with cold hard cash.

    Musk’s humiliation shouldn’t stop there, though. Just because Musk’s preferred candidate didn’t prevail shouldn’t insulate him from criminal prosecution in the state.

    Before the election, Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul brought a lawsuit against Musk, asking the court for an emergency injunction. After the Wisconsin Court of Appeals upheld the lower court’s denial of that injunction, Musk was allowed to continue his blatant vote buying. […]

    Although that request for emergency relief was unsuccessful, that isn’t the same thing as a ruling that Musk broke no laws. […]

    More at the link.

  186. KG says

    John Morales@178,

    Ah, yes, I’d forgotten that terminology! Thanks for the clarification.

  188. says

    Visas revoked for more than 3 dozen California university students and alumni

    “Sec. of State Marco Rubio said the government has revoked at least 300 student visas after high-profile detainments of several pro-Palestinian scholars.”

    Related video at the link.

    Stanford University is the latest California school to report several active students and alumni have had their visas revoked as part of a sweeping crackdown by the Trump administration.

    Stanford confirmed in a statement Sunday that six members of its community had their visas revoked. This included four currently enrolled students and two recent graduates, the university said.

    “The University learned of the revocations during a routine check of the [Student and Exchange Visitor Information System] database,” it said. “Stanford notified the students of the revocations and made external legal assistance available to them.” [Note that the federal government (certainly not Marco Rubio) notifies the people whose visas had been revoked.]

    Secretary of State Marco Rubio said last month the State Department has revoked 300 or more student visas, seemingly targeting foreign-born students who participate in political activism. This comes after several high-profile cases of pro-Palestinian scholars being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

    More than three dozen students and alumni of California universities have had their visas nullified in the last week, though schools did not provide detailed information on the students citing privacy concerns.

    […] Six people who attended the nearby University of California, Berkeley, campus also had their student visas revoked. The UC school said in a statement Saturday that two undergraduate students, two graduate students, and two alumni were impacted. […]

    More at the link.

  189. says

    Those in our organization that gather information have seen that history has always proven that the DNC and RNC are both corrupt, corporate, big money self-gratifying machines. The DNC cannot be trusted. They proved their deceit when they made backroom deals to destroy Bernie Sanders in 2016. We are convinced that the headline below is just another crumb thrown to the populace, calculatedly in advance of the massive protests, to calm the legitimate attack on the corporate political machines. It will be ‘fierce’ like a toothless old dog where a lot of happy-horseshit words are spoken, ignored by the corrupt corporate DNC and NO REAL CHANGE OR ACTION WILL BE TAKEN. They should have announced this on 01 April, ALL FOOLS DAY!

      Prove us wrong with facts, I dare you!

    https://democrats.org/news/dnc-chair-ken-martin-launches-peoples-cabinet-to-fiercely-counter-trump-administration-chaos-and-lies/
    DNC Chair Ken Martin Launches “People’s Cabinet” to Fiercely Counter Trump Administration Chaos and Lies April 4, 2025
    “People’s Cabinet” to feature subject matter experts on policy, elevating national and local leaders, and community voices on issues impacting working families

  190. CompulsoryAccount7746, Sky Captain says

    The Handbacket – Try that in a small town

    Principal Jaime Cook describes one of the third graders in her northern New York school as particularly rambunctious. […] last week this child was handcuffed and taken […] along with other family members—two of whom are high school-aged kids. While they all remain jailed in Texas, classmates leave cards on the student’s desk and hang a welcome home banner they hope will be seen.
    […]
    A worker on a local dairy farm who had no criminal record and was awaiting legal immigration proceedings was disappeared […] Agents were executing a search warrant for an unrelated suspected criminal who lived on the same block, and somehow the family was swept up and whisked away to Texas. And around 1,000 people came together this weekend to rally for their safe return
    […]
    The town of 1,300 people has just one school for all children K-12 where they graduate approximately 40 students each year. It’s an affluent and idyllic-looking town […] in a county that voted 61% for Trump in 2024. And when protesters marched down the streets […] they made sure to pass by the home of one community member in particular: Tom Homan, Trump’s Border Czar.
    […]
    Homan has been decidedly less concerned about his neighbors […] He claimed in a local TV news interview […] that the children and their mother were potential witnesses to the alleged crime and that they had to be detained for questions. And he was sure to make one thing clear: “First of all, the family is not in a jail. They’re in a family residential center, it’s an open air campus.”

    These types of arrests—known as “collateral detention”—are becoming more common. […] New York Immigration Coalition, told The Intercept. “They go in allegedly looking for someone else and then they’ll take whoever they can find just so they can meet their quota numbers that Donald Trump has put in place.”
    […]
    one of her teachers […] has been waiting for “the call” letting them know the family is free to go, and believes that call is imminent. But even once they’re freed, ICE will do nothing to transport them back to the home from which they were snatched. Fortunately the town has come together to make sure there are people on the ground in Texas waiting to accompany the family

    Aaron Reichlin-Melnick (American Immigration Council):

    It’s a jail. They’re surrounded by […] armed guards. It’s a jail. It’s a complex of trailers surrounded by barbed wire. People are not allowed to leave. It is a jail.

    […] Obama opened Dilley and Biden stopped using it for families. The Biden admin also cancelled contracts with multiple pretty bad detention centers. […]

    Rando: “I feel like they’re quickly beginning to argue something like: ‘it’s not a jail It’s a concentration camp’.”

  191. lumipuna says

    Well. shit.

    https://yle.fi/a/74-20154209

    Some of us remember Sanal Edamaraku, the famous Indian skeptic activist who fled his country in 2012 to avoid arrest and violence over religious blasphemy. He’s been living in Finland and doing speaking gigs in various countries. Now he’s been arrested in Poland (a country that apparently has sympathy for cranky Catholic zealots) and faces extradition to India.

  192. says

    lumipuna @191, yes, that is bad and discouraging news. Sorry to see that. Poland is in the wrong here.

    In other legal news: Federal judge in scathing decision calls Trump’s deportation of Salvadoran man ‘wholly lawless’

    […] The decision includes a number of new details about Garcia.

    […] The administration has argued that Xinis lacks the power to hear the case, but Xinis rejected all of their arguments, writing that “defendants are wrong on several fronts” in part because Abrego Garcia is not challenging his confinement in the United States but his deportation to the prison in El Salvador.

    She accused the administration of clinging “to the stunning proposition that they can forcibly remove any person — migrant and U.S. citizen alike — to prisons outside the United States, and then baldly assert they have no way to effectuate return because they are no longer the ‘custodian,’ and the Court thus lacks jurisdiction,” Xinis wrote. “As a practical matter, the facts say otherwise.”

    Xinis argued the administration is effectively saying that it does not have the power to return Abrego Garcia to the United States, but she wrote that their argument “rings hollow.” […]

    More at the link.

  193. says

    “Since Trump took office, the park service —- an agency charged with preserving American history —- has changed how its website describes key moments from slavery to Jim Crow.”

    For years, a National Park Service webpage introduced the Underground Railroad with a large photograph of its most famous “conductor,” Harriet Tubman. “The Underground Railroad — the resistance to enslavement through escape and flight, through the end of the Civil War — refers to the efforts of enslaved African Americans to gain their freedom by escaping bondage,” the page began.

    Tubman’s photograph is now gone. In its place are images of Postal Service stamps that highlight “Black/White cooperation” in the secret network and that feature Tubman among abolitionists of both races.

    The introductory sentence is gone, too. It has been replaced by a line that makes no mention of slavery and that describes the Underground Railroad as “one of the most significant expressions of the American civil rights movement.” The effort “bridged the divides of race,” the page now says. [images at the link]

    The executive order that […] Trump issued late last month directing the Smithsonian Institution to eliminate “divisive narratives” stirred fears that the president aimed to whitewash the stories the nation tells about itself. But a Washington Post review of websites operated by the National Park Service — among the key agencies charged with the preservation of American history — found that edits on dozens of pages since Trump’s inauguration have already softened descriptions of some of the most shameful moments of the nation’s past.

    Some were edited to remove references to slavery. On other pages, statements on the historic struggle of Black Americans for their rights were cut or softened, as were references to present-day echoes of racial division. The Post compared webpages as of late March to earlier versions preserved online by the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine.

    Changes in images, descriptions and even individual words have subtly reshaped the meaning of notable moments and key figures dating to the nation’s founding — abolitionist John Brown’s doomed raid, the battle at Appomattox and school integration by the Little Rock Nine. […]

    Washington Post link

    More at the link.

  194. says

    Followup to comment 193.

    Excerpts from an article written by David Remnick for The New Yorker:

    […] As is true of autocracies everywhere, this Administration demands a mystical view of an imagined past. In late March, Trump issued an executive order called “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History.” Its diagnosis is that there has long been among professors and curators “a concerted and widespread effort to rewrite our Nation’s history, replacing objective facts with a distorted narrative driven by ideology rather than truth.” It continues:

    Under this historical revision, our Nation’s unparalleled legacy of advancing liberty, individual rights, and human happiness is reconstructed as inherently racist, sexist, oppressive, or otherwise irredeemably flawed. Rather than fostering unity and a deeper understanding of our shared past, the widespread effort to rewrite history deepens societal divides and fosters a sense of national shame.

    The Smithsonian, the vast complex of museums that millions of Americans visit every year to see Lincoln’s top hat, the Spirit of St. Louis, Harriet Tubman’s shawl, a moon rock, and Dorothy’s ruby slippers, is at the center of the executive order’s indignation. The order takes particular issue with a sculpture exhibit at the Smithsonian American Art Museum called “The Shape of Power,” saying that it pushes “the view that race is not a biological reality but a social construct.”

    Perhaps it is rude or “revisionist” to question the scholarship of an executive order [not “rude” but essential during the Trump administration], but the curators got it right. As a wall text at the exhibit points out, human beings are “99.9 percent genetically the same.” The opposing view, racial essentialism, is hardly benign; it is the underpinning of virulent bigotry, from the description of Jews as vermin in Der Stürmer to the assertions in white-nationalist manifestos that Black people are cursed with inferior I.Q.s. [Important]

    The National Museum of African American History and Culture—which, until recently, was run by The New Yorker’s poetry editor, Kevin Young—comes in for particularly splenetic denunciation. Trump, in his first term, expressed a modicum of admiration while visiting what is affectionately called the Black Smithsonian. It is a spectacular museum, one that richly represents the story of African American struggle, suffering, and achievement. Daily, adults and schoolkids take in exhibits about chattel slavery and Jim Crow, ­Reconstruction and the civil-­rights movement, and leave with a deeper understanding of ­American history in all its darkness and its promise. But in a culture war that demands that political opponents be branded, en masse, as “woke revolutionaries,” there can be no complexity. And it will be the job, according to the executive order, of Vice-­President J. D. Vance, who sits on the Smithsonian’s board, to make matters simple. Vance is charged with leading the effort to remove from the museum what is called, in exquisite Orwellese, “improper ideology.”

    This urge to police the past is hardly unique to the Trump Administration. It is the reflexive obsession of autocrats everywhere. The history museums that were once a feature of many Soviet cities did not interrogate the life of Lenin. They were places of orthodox worship. His typescripts and teacups were sacralized, like the Shroud of Turin. More important, his ideological tenets were not left open to discussion. For decades, the second-most important figure in the Communist Party, after the General Secretary, was arguably the chief ideologist, who had the final word over what could and could not be said about history. […]

    New Yorker link

    More at the link.

  196. Reginald Selkirk says

    Witnesses: Man with gun threatened protesters in Lafayette anti-Trump rally; police: man was defending self

    Bystanders at an anti-Trump rally in downtown Lafayette on Saturday said a man angry about traffic jumped out of a truck, pulled on a Trump shirt, retrieved a gun from his vehicle and threatened protesters before being handcuffed and driven away by Lafayette police.

    A police spokesman said later Saturday that officers determined the man did not point the gun at anyone and he was later released…

  197. Reginald Selkirk says

    Al Green says he’ll present articles of impeachment against Trump in next 30 days

    Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) said he will bring articles of impeachment against President Trump in the next 30 days, telling protesters at an anti-Trump rally in Washington that he does not “deserve” to hold the executive office…

    White House assistant press secretary Liz Huston told The Hill in an emailed statement that Trump’s “position is clear: he will always protect Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid for eligible beneficiaries.” …

  198. John Morales says

    As usual, Perun has a most informative video out, in the usual Powerpoint format:
    The New U.S. Tariffs – Weird Formulas, Risks, & The Coming Trade War.

    Timestamps:

    00:00:00 — Intro
    00:00:33 — What Am I Talking About?
    00:03:41 — the Tariffs
    00:12:52 — Why?
    00:18:58 — Complications
    00:25:51 — What Makes Effective Tariffs?
    00:32:08 — Trade Warfare 101
    00:34:10 — US Advantages
    00:38:33 — US Vulnerabilities
    00:53:58 — an Alternative Strategy
    01:03:06 — Channel Update

  199. Reginald Selkirk says

    UConn dominates South Carolina, wins 12th national title

    It’s been a nine-year wait for UConn to get its 12th national championship. But in a lot of ways, it came at exactly the right time.

    The No. 2 seed Huskies finished their run through three No. 1 seeds — USC, UCLA and 82-59 vs. South Carolina in the NCAA final Sunday – with a title that perhaps means a little more because of the journey the program and its senior star Paige Bueckers has been on to get it.

    After winning four championships in a row from 2013 to 2016 behind superstar Breanna Stewart, the Huskies hit a series of roadblocks with tough losses and injury heartbreaks.

    But Sunday, the Huskies moved to the top of the women’s basketball world again, sending Bueckers — who is expected to be the WNBA’s No. 1 draft pick on April 14 — out with her first national championship…

  200. CompulsoryAccount7746, Sky Captain says

    From the article @190:

    Homan grew up nearby and still has his primary residence in Sackets Harbor, presumably splitting time in DC […] “This isn’t like a situation where a politician has multiple houses”

    Marisa Kabas: “An interesting coda to this story is that a house registered to Homan was put on the market two days before the raid.”

  201. Bekenstein Bound says

    “My use of ‘withering’ referred to the downsizing of personnel, assets, and services, and general sabotage of management, contracts, regulators, and tax collectors, and loss of international goodwill and soft power, not whatever metaphorical ‘big’ you had in mind associated with a few authoritarians within that hamstrung incompetent bureaucracy asserting more power than they are legally entitled to.”

    Yes, and my point was that this has actually, evidently, factually, truly happened.

    Not too fucking withered to achieve all of that, eh?

    I put it to you that, were the government withered (and thus impotent), this could not have happened.

    “He can’t possibly be dead, he clearly had the not-very-dead strength to put the gun to his head and pull the trigger!”

    I most specifically and directly addressed a claim by BB, so if there were any such debouchment, it is not oif my doing.

    Indeed, it is instead bedouchement that seems to be your specialty. :/

    Responses can only ever occur upon provocation, which is duly tautological.

    Thing is, you often post put-downs that were “provoked” by comments that were themselves completely benign, for some bizarre reason.

  202. John Morales says

    Thing is, you often post put-downs that were “provoked” by comments that were themselves completely benign, for some bizarre reason.

    No, you think that’s what’s going on.

    [Lynna, I’ve just deleted several pithy paragraphs, because, you know, the dynamic at hand.
    I do try]

  204. CompulsoryAccount7746, Sky Captain says

    Alt National Park Service:

    Yesterday was incredible. The official count is in—5.2 million people joined the Hands Off protest nationwide. So many are asking: what’s next? Mark your calendars: 4/19 is the next nationwide day of protest. Let’s go even bigger—our goal is to get 3.5% of America in the streets.

    50501 Movement said over 3 million.
     
    So it was comparable or bigger than the 2017 Women’s March.

    Between 3,267,134 and 5,246,670 people participated in the marches in the U.S., approximately 1.0 to 1.6 percent of the U.S. population.

    George Floyd protests had 15 million to 26 million.

  206. chigau (違う) says

    StevoR #23
    I’m registered to vote in Canada on 28 April, but I think I’ll go to an advance poll.
    It’s easier for my geriatric self.

  208. CompulsoryAccount7746, Sky Captain says

    60 Minutes

    238 Venezuelan migrants […] Tom Homan has said that immigration agents spent hours conducting rigorous checks […] But after cross-referencing the internal [government] documents with domestic and international court filings, news reports and arrest records, 60 Minutes could not find criminal records for 75% of the Venezuelans now sitting in prison in El Salvador.

    The analysis did show that at least 22% of the men on the list do have criminal records in the U.S. or abroad. Most of the offenses are non-violent, such as theft, shoplifting and trespassing. About a dozen are accused of more serious crimes, including murder, rape, assault and kidnapping.

    For 3% of those deported, it is unclear whether a criminal record exists.

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