Mother Jones editor; author of "Jackpot," an "entertaining and eviscerating" (Jane Mayer) book on America's wealth insanity (readjackpot.com); piano player turned punk rock drummer turned old-time fiddler; dad of Gen Zers; gardener; curmudgeon about town.
That Congress is even considering confirming a guy who enabled that "settlement" between Trump and his IRS shows how deeply fascism has become embedded in the Republican DNA.
Kyle GriffinSenate Democrats are demanding answers from Todd Blanche about subpoenas he authorized to New York Times journalists — including whether Trump pressured the Justice Department to issue them.
Trump and Elon Musk gutted the IRS so it couldn't audit and investigate wealthy tax cheats. In the process, it kneecapped IRS customer service, and now everyday taxpayers—the ones who aren't cheating—are deal with the infuriating fallout, as my colleague @smencimer.bsky.social reports.
The IRS is imploding.The CEO says the agency is proving it's possible to have “less people and better results.”www.motherjones.comYes, this is entirely absurd. And yes, the harassment is the point. And yes, Trump needs to be impeached a third time—and finally convicted. May we live to see it happen.
Comey Seeks Dismissal of Charges Accusing Him of Threatening TrumpThe filing focused on the question of whether a photograph of seashells arranged to read “86 47” constituted a true threat under federal law.www.nytimes.comThere's a solution: to this kind of thing: Congress could simply hold up funding for everything Trump cares about until his administration spends the $$ Congress has allocated without all the games and BS. But that would require a spine.
Congress Budgeted Billions for Big Transit Projects. Trump Isn’t Spending It.“It’s hard to look at the last year and see anything other than a deliberate slowdown of these grants.”www.nytimes.comAnother collassal, deadly fuckup brought to you by Stephen Miller and Donald Trump.
What ICE should have known when it hired David BrouilletteThe officer who killed a young father in Maine had been accused of abuse by two ex-wives. He was also eligible to skip weeks of training in Georgia.www.motherjones.comThis fiasco was brought to you, as widely predicted, by Republican lawmakers in order to fund tax cuts for people who don't need them. Literally taking from the poor to give to the rich. It's morally indefensible.
Faced With Piles of New Paperwork, People Are Losing Food StampsArizona’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program rolls have plummeted, offering a possible preview of national trends as states try to avoid new federal penalties.www.nytimes.comAlways a good reminder to think before blurting out some misguided assumption.
Why Do White People Assume Successful Black People Are Athletes or Entertainers?A cultural bias with real-life consequences.michaelmechanic.comThis is exactly how media companies should respond to bullshit claims, including, for instance, the ones Donald Trump keeps filing.
WIREDYesterday, WIRED learned that Madison Square Garden was suing us for our accurate reporting. We stand by our work. That’s why we’re removing the paywall from two of the MSG stories they don’t want you to read, making them free for everyone.
People used to throw around the term Orwellian too loosely, but Trump is all like, up is down, two plus two equals five.
Jen BenderyNEW: Trump is now threatening to punish Canada for wildfire smoke blowing into the U.S., as a GOP senator intros a bill to sanction Canadian officials “responsible” for the fires driven by climate change. “Insane," says one leading Canadian enviro group. www.huffpost.com/entry/bernie...
Oh, no biggie, just the president of the United States breaking the law again in order to enrich himself.
Mark ChadbournTrump Media plans to charge trading firms for access to Trump’s Truth Social posts milliseconds before they appear publicly, the FT reports. The product, Truth API, is aimed at firms that rely on ultra-fast data to trade in markets that are often moved by those posts.
1. Lots of people have similar names, and I don't trust these clowns to determine who's who or be truthful, and yet... 2. No doubt there are indeed noncitizens on the voter rolls, but the key question is... 3. How many voted illegally? A dozen? This is complete horseshit propaganda bait.
Ahead of Trump speech, DHS says it found thousands of non-citizens on voter rollsA draft press release viewed by POLITICO said non-citizens were registered in California, Nevada, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.www.politico.comThis guy may well end up our next president.
Aaron RuparOssoff: "Here's what's going to happen tonight: the world's most famous sore loser will deliver a prime-time presidential sour grapes address to pursue his 6-year-old grievances about the 2020 election, while his war in the Middle East spirals out of control & the cost of living continues to rise.."
An administration should be judged not only on what it does, but on what it tries to do. And this, like so many things it tries to do, is just horrendous.
White House Faces Stiff Pushback on Subjecting Grants to Political ReviewAcademics, city leaders and congressional lawmakers number among the thousands to urge the Trump administration to reconsider a plan to assert more control over grants.www.nytimes.comActually draining the swamp would mean getting rid of pretty much the entire Trump administration.
Kyle GriffinProPublica: Trump's FCC Chairman Brendan Carr and fellow Republican commissioner Olivia Trusty received pricey gifts valued at tens of thousands of dollars from Paramount while the company had deals pending before the commission.
Good god.
Aaron RuparOSSOFF: Are you aware that Gabbard was present at the Fulton County raid? CLAYTON: ... O: What is going on here? C: ... ... O: Are you aware that members of this committee are probing Gabbard's potential misconduct? CLAYTON: .... Uh uh .... COTTON: Senator Ossoff your time is expired!
Oh my gosh, the ridiculous acrobatics of this foolish man who wants to run US intelligence services.
Ossoff's OfficeSen. Ossoff asks Trump's Director of National Intelligence nominee who won the 2020 election.
