Paul Heimann

In politics, being deceived is no excuse.

— Leszek Kołakowski

How conspiracy theories about Politico led Trump to cancel subscriptions Less than 24 hours after misleading claims started circulating that tied Politico to USAID, the White House vowed to end subscriptions for the insider news outlet's services and others.

Less than 24 hours after misleading claims started circulating that tied Politico to USAID, the White House vowed to end subscriptions for the insider news outlet's services and others.

Trump has asserted that drug cartels are terrorists. He has branded all undocumented immigrants as terrorists, drug traffickers, human traffickers, etc. I think his administration is trying to lay the ground work to make anyone assisting undocumented immigrants liable for material cooperation with terrorists. This would allow them to use the most powerful tools the federal government has to crush anyone standing up for migrants.

HUGE news hardly anyone is talking about it. The Federal Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is basically the gov't HR department & is purging non-loyalists. An unvetted ally of Elon Musk w no OPM experience is using OPM to collect info on civil servants outside OPM who are seen as a threat 1/3

House Republicans announce new subcommittee to investigate Jan. 6 Congress previously investigated Jan. 6 and the efforts by Trump and his allies to overturn the 2020 election when Democrats controlled the House.

They're trying to rewrite history. This is too much.

www.nbcnews.com/politics/con...

Trump commutes sentences of Proud Boys and Oath Keepers leaders as he pardons over 1,000 January 6 US Capitol rioters | CNN Politics President Donald Trump on Monday pardoned more than 1,000 people charged in the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol, and commuted the sentences of leaders of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers.

Those who wish to destroy our democratic institutions through violent means are vindicated. The service of those who have tried to protect our nation is scorned.

www.cnn.com/2025/01/20/p...

"It needs to be said clearly: There are those who systematically work by all means to drive away migrants, and this, when done knowingly and deliberately, is a grave sin." -- Pope Francis

Biden shortens sentences for nearly 2,500 people, setting a record Democratic lawmakers had urged President Biden to use his clemency powers to address disparities in sentences for offenses involving crack cocaine.

This is a good and fitting way for Biden to end his term. For all the mistakes he's made, this is a bright moment.

It's a stark contrast to the incoming president who relishes making people suffer.

www.npr.org/2025/01/17/g...

Trump avoids punishment at hush-money sentencing Donald Trump will be the first president to take office with a felony criminal conviction.

"The considerable, indeed extraordinary, legal protection afforded by the office of the chief executive is a factor that overrides all others," Merchan said. "Despite the extraordinary breadth of those protections, one power they do not provide is the power to erase jury verdicts."

North Korean Troops Rolled A Rare Air-Defense Vehicle Into Kursk. Confused Russians Blew It Up. The unusual vehicle combined a wheeled chassis with a radar and missiles from a Russian Tor launcher.

"Desperate for some relief from the relentless drone strikes, the Russians need every air-defense battery they can get... The North Koreans obliged with a missile launcher few have seen outside of a Pyongyang parade.

"And then Russian drones destroyed it."

www.forbes.com/sites/davida...

Think of the time being wasted by diplomats and experts in Europe and Latin America, as they start planning how to counter American attacks on Panama or Greenland. Time that could be spent thinking about a unified response to Russia and China.

Never forget. Remember. In all the darkness, there were and will continue to be bright lights standing up for truth.

And then we saw that Trump sat watching events unfold on TV, only to issue a half hearted call to stand down when he could see that his scheme wasn't going to work. We witnessed the chaos and violence of traitors attacking our Capital. We saw. We heard. We will not forget.

January 6 is a day of national trauma. Many of us feel it deeply and carry scars. We witnessed the preceding weeks of lies, denials, and vague threats, and then watched when Trump incited a mob to storm the Capital to try to stop Congress from certifying the election and kill his own VP.

But it leads to unfreedom and we must resist. First and foremost, we will resist by remembering.

We need to recover fidelity to reality if we are to stop our spiral into madness. With help of the most powerful propaganda tools in history (courtesy of silicon valley robber barons), Trump will be asserting his own "truth", a "truth" that is useful for his ambitions for expanding his power.

But we must remember that Trump voters too are victims. They have been deceived. They are not the monster themselves, even if they have enabled him.

It's hard not to be angry at the hapless fools who voted for Trump after he had shown his true colors time and again. One only needed to listen to his words to see his unrestrained ambition and contempt, expressed most clearly in his love of violence and demonization of marginalized people.

Ever the narcissist, Trump called January 6 "a day of love". His fans attacked Congress on his behalf and he must have relished such devotion expressed through violence. The needless death, destruction, and weakening of our rule of law were all "loving" in his mind.

Much like the million plus American deaths caused by Covid, and the massive harm caused by millions of cases of long Covid, were made all the more tragic by the spite of anti-maskers, Covid-deniers, anti-vaxxers and suchlike, so does this mournful anniversary feel especially painful.

In a few weeks, we can expect full pardons of all the traitors and a federal effort to rewrite history so as to cover over the largest disenfranchisement attempt in our checkered history.

Today is the anniversary of the violent attack on our Capital, where a mob attempted to block our democratic process so that manchild Trump, who couldn't accept his loss, might illegally stay in power.

Why are US flags being flown at half-staff on Inauguration Day? President-elect Donald Trump has expressed frustration that flags will be flying at half-staff when he takes office later this month.

How fitting that US flags will be at half staff during the inauguration. How unsurprising that Trump is disparaging the memory of President Carter and the US flag code.

apnews.com/article/why-...

New Orleans attack updates: Suspect 'inspired by ISIS,' was military veteran Fifteen people were killed and dozens injured when a pickup truck plowed into a crowd on Bourbon Street in New Orleans.

What is Trump lying about today? He's blaming a terrorist attack carried out by a *US-born Army veteran* on immigrants. He's desperately looking for his Reichstag fire.

abcnews.go.com/US/1-dead-ve...

It's weird how time works. It's already 2025 in Polynesia, in the USA it's still 2024 but in Russia it's 1951.
#HappyNewYear

American clergy should take note. In other countries, there are those willing to stand up for their neighbors at great personal cost. What are US clergy afraid of? Offending some people? Losing tax exempt status?

www.euronews.com/2024/12/30/c...

Congress stripped IRS of another $20 billion in government shutdown fight Republican lawmakers have now clawed back half the investment the Biden administration made in the tax agency.

They're practically telling people to go ahead and cheat on their taxes.

www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

Costco is pushing back — hard — against the anti-DEI movement Walmart, John Deere, Tractor Supply and other companies are changing or walking away from diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs in response to right-wing pressure. But Costco believes DEI imp...

Here's another reason to shop at Costco:

finance.yahoo.com/news/costco-...

YouTube video by The Wall Street Journal How Trump Plans to Deport 4% of the U.S. Population | WSJ

Hate is expensive.

youtu.be/eqPgAU1JRL4?...

Bethlehem marks melancholic Christmas for second year in shadow of Gaza war The excitement and cheer that typically descends on town in the occupied West Bank on Christmas are nowhere to be found.

www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/12...