Brian Houser

Centrists should understand progressives aren’t going away, nor will all be convinced of the errors of their ways.

Progressives should understand centrists aren’t going away, nor will all be convinced of the errors of their ways.

The anti-fascist common front needs each wing to tolerate the other.

A DOGE kid gets beat up in DC and it’s DefCon1; hundreds of bullets into federal buildings with officer killed in Atlanta and it’s crickets; violent mob attacks Capitol wounding dozens of officers and it’s pardons for all.

American corporations are on pace to spend $1.1 trillion on stock buybacks in 2025, an all-time high.

Buybacks don't create more jobs, increase wages, or grow the economy — but they do help juice CEO pay that's often tied to stock performance.

Nothing trickles down to workers.

A total of 12 people have walked on the Moon. Most people can name at least one (Neil Armstrong). Some can name two (Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin). Few can name more than that.

Jim Lovell never walked on the Moon, but everyone knows him as the guy who got his crew back safely. Hell of a legacy.

RIP.

Public health experts dismayed by RFK Jr.'s defunding of mRNA vaccine research The Trump administration canceled about $500 million for research into mRNA vaccines. The move slows progress in using the technology to prevent a future pandemic or treat disease, experts say.

You don't have to listen to RFK Jr. long to realize his voice & brain have been fried from years of cocaine use. The mRNA vaccines were spectacularly successful against covid-19 and show promise for cancer. Defunding this research is totally insane.
www.npr.org/sections/sho...

Not clear about the intent of the petition. Need to understand more about State of Florida v Huminski.

Weather Service is now hiring back hundreds of positions that got cut in the DOGE chaos | CNN The National Weather Service has received permission to hire 450 meteorologists, hydrologists and radar technicians just months after being hit hard by Department of Government Efficiency-related cuts...

We yelled and screamed and it worked. It worked for the microwave satellite data. And now it worked for the extremely unwise massive cuts to National Weather Service staffing done earlier this year. Never stop making your voice heard! www.cnn.com/2025/08/05/w...

Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's former girlfriend, transferred to a prison camp in Texas The federal Bureau of Prisons said Friday that Maxwell had been transferred to a prison camp in Texas, but did not explain the circumstances.

This is pure evil. Maxwell is a monster who recruited, groomed and participated in the rapes of hundreds of underage girls. She is ineligible for this transfer being a felon sex offender. Unacceptable!
www.npr.org/2025/08/01/g...

There are sources of hope all around us. Find them. Cling to them. Never give up. https://robertreich.substack.com/p/sunday-thought-hope

Go here to look up your PBS member station: www.pbs.org/stations/

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Make a donation. Get your friends and family to make a donation.

Another conflict resolved:

When asked about a pardon for Ghislaine Maxwell, Trump says, “I’m allowed”. NO! Any sense of justice and human decency would rule out any reduction of her sentence. She is a child sexual predator of the worst kind. Her victims must be considered first.

Speaker Johnson shuts down House early to avoid voting on the Epstein files.

anntelnaes.substack.com/p/the-immora...

Just realized that this is a perfect time to reread "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy".

Socialism is what they called public power.

Socialism is what they called social security. 
 
Socialism is what they called the growth of free and independent labor organizations.
 
Socialism is their name for almost anything that helps all the people.

—Harry Truman, 1952

Health Insurers Are Hiking Premiums as Their Profits Balloon The US’s six largest health insurers reported massive profits last year, doling out billions on stock buybacks and divid

UnitedHealthcare is raising premiums for policyholders in New York and Washington after spending $9B on stock buybacks last year.

Healthcare companies are robbing you blind to enrich their executives and shareholders.

This is why we need Medicare for All.

When I was little, the U.S. military came to our home at gunpoint and took me and my family away. We were imprisoned for years in barbed wire camps simply because we were Japanese American. I have spent my life telling that story, hoping it would never be repeated.

As Heather Cox Richardson writes, The Epstein story is about more than the sex trafficking of girls. It's also about rich and privileged people evading accountability for breaking the law." People like Donald Trump, in other words.

Army veteran and US citizen arrested in California immigration raid warns it could happen to anyone A U.S. Army veteran arrested during an immigration raid at a California marijuana farm says he was sprayed with tear gas and pepper spray before being dragged from his vehicle on his way to work.

ICE detained a veteran and U.S. citizen for three days.

They didn’t let him contact his family or a lawyer. They didn’t let him change or shower. They didn’t give him a reason for his detention.

Under this regime, no one is safe. apnews.com/article/us-a...

'I don’t want to be addicted again': Fifth-graders unplug for a 21-day digital detox A group of Miami fifth-graders embarked on an experiment: a 21-day digital detox. No phone, tablets or video games, with students measuring effects on sleep, focus and social connections. The challeng...

www.wlrn.org/education/20...

1960s pop star Connie Francis has died. The singer's life was touched by tragedies 1960s pop star Connie Francis has died. The first female singer to chart a number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100, she sold over 40 million records before the age of 25.

There was a time when Connie Francis had the kind of popularity that Taylor Swift has today. She was affected by multiple personal tragedies, but came back from them time & time again. RIP.
www.npr.org/2025/07/17/1...

Medical debt shouldn’t ever be a thing in a developed country. No other Western industrialized nation has it.

RFK Jr. just fired thousands of federal workers at crucial health agencies, including the FDA, CDC, and NIH.

These are the people who inspect our food, track infectious diseases, and research life-saving treatments and cures.

How is this "Making America Healthy Again"?

Seriously? Of all the lies & conspiracy theories Trump has spewed, the one that has the maga base upset is the non-existent Epstein client list? We live in truly stupid times.

Tyrants view educated citizens as their greatest enemy.

Slaveholders stopped the enslaved from learning to read. Nazis burned books. Dictators censor media.

That’s why Trump is attacking the Dept. of Education, science, and the arts – to prevent us from learning.

It's fascism.

Because billionaires needed more tax breaks:

As Trump's family businesses invest heavily in crypto...

-He's instructing the government to ease up on regulating the industry
-His SEC is dropping major lawsuits against crypto companies
-His DOJ terminated a team focused on crypto crimes.

See the problem?

Be careful with Amazon Prime Days.
Before: Kardia Moble ad said $99, but showed $79. Prime Day now marked down from $129 to $99.
Before I bought Epson printer ink at reg. $45, PD now marked down to $45 from higher price...

Trump has cut FEMA grants for communities recovering from disasters as he plans to phase out the agency.

He's also taking an axe to NOAA — the agency that warns us of severe weather.

Trump is declaring fake "emergencies" while reducing our ability to deal with real ones.