JUST IN: Under pressure from Sen. Andy Kim and the Mayor of Newark, federal officials confirmed the death of a Salvadoran immigrant, Edwin Jovanny Lopez Cornejo, who was being held at the Delaney Hall detention center in Newark. Lopez Cornejo died during the weekend. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/03/n...
Профиль
Barbara Kaskosz
Профиль VivelyBarbara Kaskosz, Ph.D., a mathematics professor at a university in New England. Concerned about democracy in America and the future of our country. Lifelong Democrat. 🏳️🌈 Opinions expressed here are my own and do not reflect the opinions of my employer.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry rejected Trump’s suggestion that talks were under way, noting that Iran hadn’t sent any delegations or negotiators to take part in any discussions. Iran’s Foreign Ministry did acknowledge that Iran was in talks with Oman on the Strait of Hormuz. 🎁 www.wsj.com/world/middle...
“It’s one thing for Trump to have a personal fascination with one of the world’s most expensive metals. It’s another for the president to flaunt it at a time when many Americans are struggling to pay rent, losing their health insurance, and seeing high prices at the gas pump.” @mviser.bsky.social
Trump has discussed ousting Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for DC, after Pirro’s office contradicted his contention that the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was damaged by vandals. Jeanine Pirro’s days as U.S. attorney are numbered. 🎁 www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
Blanche’s rescission of a $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization fund” and his assurances about the scope of the audit protections are meaningless. They don’t do anything to stop Trump from trying to bring back the fund, as he threatened to do this weekend. 🎁 www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
“I do not think that world war is inevitable, nor do I think it is probable. But it is more possible now than it has been at any other time since the end of the Cold War, and the American government is led by the worst rulers in the modern history of the United States.” @davidfrenchjag.bsky.social
An excellent comparison of McCarthyism and Trump’s campaign of political repression. There are many parallels between the two, argues Judith Levine, but the current Trumpian version is much more dangerous to our democracy. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
“Trump apparently cares more about preserving the slush fund than he does about Todd Blanche.” About the slush fund and about the rest of the IRS “settlement” that gives Trump and his family immunity from the IRS audits for the past and *future* actions. Sen. Cornyn wanted to curtail that part.
BREAKING: The DOJ moved to dismiss the criminal case against Olympian David Hearn, who they alleged damaged the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting pool, acknowledging the damage to the pool "was the result of flawed installation by the contractor." What an embarrassment for Trump and the DOJ!
“Calling such facilities ‘detention centers’ sanitizes their brutal and increasingly deadly reality. […] The word camp best captures the political function they serve: concentrating, immobilizing and excluding populations deemed unwanted.” A deeply affecting article by @jwashing.bsky.social
Trump floats pulling Blanche’s nomination rather than agree to the modifications of the IRS settlement suggested by Cornyn and Tillis. The Senators want the administration to make clear that the settlement covers only existing audits and does not protect Trump and his relatives from future audits.
“On the night of May 15, 2025, agents at the U.S. Secret Service faced what some considered an improper and possibly illegal request from higher-ups in the administration: secretly access former FBI Director James Comey’s phone so they could monitor his movements.” www.ms.now/news/secret-...
“Just as the manosphere and its galaxy of hucksters want you to fork over your cash so you can feel better about yourself as a man, Republicans want to make you feel insecure about your masculinity so that you vote Republican.”—Adam Serwer @adamserwer.bsky.social
The intrepid Jay Clayton, who is too afraid of Trump to admit that Joe Biden won the 2020 election, has been confirmed as the DNI. Everyone agrees that he is not as horrible as Bill Pulte. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/28/u...
Yesterday’s show trial of Dr. Fauci showed breathtaking ignorance of the Republican lawmakers and their complete inability to distinguish between science and superstition. They had placards comparing the dangers of mRNA vaccines to those of ivermectin. Zero progress since the Salem witch trials.
Aaron RuparFauci accuses Rand Paul of having an "unhinged obsession with calling for my prosecution" and of making "repeated slanderous comments," then says "although it pains me to do so... under advice of my attorneys, I will invoke my right under the 5th Amendment to refrain from answering your questions."
Democrats voted against the defense bill registering their dissent about the war in Iran and the size of the Pentagon ask. “It is hard to go home and say we need this level of increase when I just learned that, for example, over 4,000 kids are losing SNAP benefits in Maine,” Sen. Angus King said.
Tariffs are an obsession for Trump. How else to explain his imposition of yet another round of border taxes three months before the November election despite their political unpopularity and economic harm? 🎁 www.wsj.com/opinion/dona...