Jas Easterly

‘A shell of our former self’: How Trump and Musk’s spending cuts are hampering US government readiness amid the Iran war | CNN Politics Government cuts under Trump’s second term weakened U.S. emergency, security, and foreign response capabilities, now under scrutiny amid Middle East conflict.

CNN catalogs some of the many things that Trump defunded or fired before he needed them for his illegal war of choice on Iran:

1) Evac experts at State
2) CT at State
3) Cyber sharing at CISA
4) Disaster response at FEMA
5) CI at FBI

edition.cnn.com/2026/03/10/p...

A President who can’t spell but is immune from prosecution.

That sound you are *not* hearing is Donald Trump rebuking his pal Vladimir Putin for providing Iran with specific locations of American troops to kill them.

Instead, Donald is *easing* sanctions on Russia.

He is despicable.

They have no problem spending a billion dollars a day on war, but fight for every penny when it comes to caring for Veterans.

Says a man who is brainless, heartless, and gutless.

The work of the USAO-NJ is simply too important to continue throwing novel leadership plans at the wall to see what will stick. Compromise is part of the system, and I implore the Government to take that approach. If it does not, it is on notice that a third attempt at unilateral office- filling will be met with extremely strict scrutiny, and any deficiency in its method will be taken as bad faith and result in dismissal of cases at any stage

😬

28 states are still litigating. The case isn't over yet.

Memorandum Opinion – #317 in United States v. NAVIWALA (D.N.J., 2:24-cr-00099) – CourtListener.com MEMORANDUM OPINION as to RAHEEL NAVIWALA re: 281 Omnibus MOTION to Dismiss Superseding Indictment and Disqualify Counsel (REVISED) filed by RAHEEL NAVIWALA. Signed by Chief District Judge Matthew W. B...

BREAKING: Judge rules that Trump admin acted illegally, again, by installed triumvirate to run U.S. Attorney's office in NJ after Habba's acting appointment was ruled illegal. Judge Matthew Brann doesn't immediately void actions by the trio, though. Doc: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

Are we allowed to get the rest of the Epstein files now?

I don't think you have to Nostradamus to figure that bombing Iran might raise oil prices. And it seems pretty obvious that buying oil in advance of causing an oil price spike might just save Americans a lot of money. But...

...maybe there wasn't much planning?

The bombing of Iranian children is an unforgivable crime America has blood on its hands.

New in PN: The bombing of Iranian children is an unforgivable crime

"American disinterest in the lives of people abroad is a resource politicians use to justify cynical wars. It's hard to see on what moral grounds we claim a right to decide the fate of those about whom we clearly care so little."

They must know some people. 🤡

@wsj.com
www.wsj.com/politics/nat...

Has there ever been a Commander-in-Chief as blasé about the lives of US military in harms way?

In 2024, Donald Trump campaigned on two big promises: (1) he'd bring down gas prices; and (2) he'd not start any new wars.

In 2026, Donald Trump will cause gas prices to spike astronomically by starting a new war.

He's smart—and trustworthy—like that.

Dawg.

Pentagon Announces Seventh U.S. Death in War With Iran

Pentagon Announces Seventh U.S. Death in War With Iran www.nytimes.com/2026/03/08/w...

When are the flags going half staff?

One person making life and death choices for 330+ million Americans based on whimsy is mathematically unsound.

The idea of one man, one person, in charge of 330 million people is ludicrous.

We Are Witnessing the Self-Immolation of a Superpower With Donald Trump’s actions in Greenland, Minneapolis, and Venezuela, a foreign enemy could not invent a better chain of events to wreck the standing of the United States.

www.wired.com/story/donald... Bottom line: Trump has to go. Until he does, this will continue unabated.

The world is on fire right now because of him, but he’s not going to let that ruin his weekend.

How Trump’s War in Iran Has Echoes of Putin and Ukraine

The Trump administration keeps using Putin's language. from Anton Troianovski @nytimes.com

www.nytimes.com/2026/03/08/u...

Yes and dunno. I think consciousness, insofar as self-awareness and self-control/independent judgment are linked, is a spectrum. I think we’re more sapient than animals, but I think our pre-programming pretty powerful. Meditation seems like a good mechanism to escape that.

The congressional switchboard number is (202) 224-3121. Put it in your cell phone. Use it. If you're not calling at least once a week, you're not doing your part.

That’s what I’m saying—and that’s why I’m concerned about its targeting, even if it is arguably “dual use.”

Can AI meditate? Can it focus on the metaphorical breath and let thoughts go as they pop up into the consciousness? Human meditation seems to me like an effort to control our consciousness that of course itself could be an input, but it also could be true cognitive independence.

Tarrio is, quite literally, a pardoned terrorist.

I’m OK with requiring a literacy qualification from house members before voting.

YouTube video by FRONTLINE PBS | Official 2000 Meters to Andriivka (full documentary) | FRONTLINE

This documentary about the experience of Ukrainian infantry soldiers is devastating. Hard to watch but also one of the most extraordinary depictions of war I've ever seen, a kind of moral reset if you've been ingesting the 'hit 'em hard' platitudes of US politicians www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nf4C...

Lack of interest and participation will be the death of our democratic republic, but it couldn’t have happened without the polluted  information environment we live in.