Ken Budd

There are so many obvious constitutional violations in this story. It is enraging.
There is no war, there is no foreign invasion, there is nothing that justify it. This is a choice to create a military presence that will brutalize residents of cities that do not support the President.

‘I love Hitler’: Leaked messages expose Young Republicans’ racist chat Thousands of private messages reveal young GOP leaders joking about gas chambers, slavery and rape.

EXCLUSIVE: Thousands of leaked messages show leaders of Young Republican groups joking about gas chambers, slavery and rape in a private Telegram chat.

Inside rising GOP leaders’ racist chats — obtained by POLITICO and spanning more than 7 months👇

Shubha Sunder Wins New American Voices Award - Fall for the Book Festival Shubha Sunder's Optional Practical Training wins 8th New American Voices Award, a post publication book prize celebrating immigrant writers.

Congratulations to @shubhasunder.bsky.social for winning the 8th Annual Institute for Immigration Research New American Voices Award for Optional Practical Training: A Novel, from @graywolfpress.bsky.social! Read more:

fallforthebook.org/shubhasunder...

The following is REAL footage from Portland, 2025. Viewer discretion is advised.

If you like yelling about misuse of the passive voice, THIS IS IT.

Add me to the list. Cancelled Disney+ on Friday.

Exciting news: Ariel Lawhon will be headlining Fall for the Book on Wednesday, October 8 at 7:30 p.m.! Free tickets go live soon. Thank you to the Friends of the Reston Regional Library & Friends of the City of Fairfax Library for your support!
www.eventbrite.com/e/frozen-riv...

How Trump's latest crypto launch enriches his family The president and his sons made $5 billion on paper as their cryptocurrency started trading — highlighting the extraordinary degree to which they are personally profiting from Trump's return to the Oval Office.

The president and his sons made $5 billion on paper as their cryptocurrency started trading — highlighting the extraordinary degree to which they are personally profiting from Trump's return to the Oval Office.

Grand Designs: the loss of American freedom Exactly seven months into Trump's second term, we have reached 1000 authoritarian actions. Here I lay out the enormity of what has happened.

yup. I wrote something similar last week
christinapagel.substack.com/p/grand-desi...

"the very word “America” conjures up the celebrated ideal of “America the free”. But “America the free” are just words and they are rapidly losing all meaning."

The authoritarian checklist It is time to admit that America is no longer a functioning democracy

New, from me:
America is no longer a functioning democracy. It is a competitive authoritarian system, hurtling rapidly toward authoritarianism.
This was a hard piece to write but we can't move forward if we don’t acknowledge where we are.
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/the-author...

an image of a handwritten checklist that says control government bureaucracy, the military, internal security, the legal system, civil society, higher education, the media, elections

Authoritarians who unwind democracy are similar in one respect.
They seek to take control of centers of power and dissent in society. Call it the authoritarian checklist. Trump’s second term is best understood by his systemic checking off of this checklist.
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/the-author...

Trump Is Strangling the Life Out of D.C.’s Restaurants “We’re back to a very pandemic-feeling city.”

@adriancarrasquillo.bsky.social: "Trump’s deployment of 2,300 National Guard troops and 500 federal law enforcement agents has hurt foot traffic, chilled business, and made people cancel trips and nights out. It is slowly choking the life out of Washington, D.C."
www.thebulwark.com/p/trump-is-s...

It’s always so easy to laugh at this, but it’s not funny. For 3hrs today, grown men & women all took turns getting down on their knees, fellating their dear leader. In front of the cameras. It’s sad. It’s gross. It’s North Korea. It shouldn’t happen here.

Don’t let them tell you he’s joking.

He’s putting armed troops in the streets.

Not a joke. Not a drill.

@billkristolbulwark.bsky.social: It's not backsliding, it's a march to dictatorship.

Only @thebulwark.com

YouTube video by Democracy Docket No Mail-in Voting? Trump Is One Step Closer To Stealing the 2026 Election | Marc Elias

NEW VIDEO: President Donald Trump announced he will issue a new executive order to get rid of mail-in voting and to control the counting of ballots in 2026. This is not a political stunt. It is an existential threat to democracy.

I explain.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6K4...

Thank you to everyone who has helped us reach our Double Your Dollar goal! We are so grateful to you! Our VIP Ticket raffle is still ON - anyone who gives 25+ during August will be entered in to win 2 VIP tickets to the headliner of their choice.
givebutter.com/DYD2025

National Guard Troops in Washington Stick to Tourist Areas

The places where Trump has sent troops in DC so far tell part of the story, writes Helene Cooper. Most have been seen near the National Mall, large monuments and other tourist-heavy areas rather than where the most violent crime happens. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/19/u...

Reservations plunge across DC restaurants after Trump's police takeover Online reservations dropped more than 25% in the days following President Trump's announcement that he was federalizing DC Police, according to OpenTable data.

Trump claims his militarized takeover of DC has made people feel safer to go out to restaurants, but in fact restaurants in DC have seen the number of diners plummet more than 25% since he sent feds into the street. @jordanonrecord.bsky.social www.wusa9.com/article/news...

As the new board chair for the @fallforthebook.bsky.social festival, I'm thrilled by our two headliners! I'll be interviewing Erik Larson at the event on October 10. Go to fallforthebook.org for info. #booksky #books

ICE’s Spectacle of Intimidation Immigrants showing up for court dates in Manhattan must now navigate past rows of masked federal agents.

Mark Peterson’s black-and-white images of ICE agents evoke film noir and the urban-crime photography of the 1930s and ’40s. “If someone is doing everything right, and then they still get detained, it’s a crime scene,” he said.

Fall for the Book’s Double Your Dollar campaign is back.

We have lost our funding from the National Endowment for the Arts for 2025. In one swift move, over 10% of our annual budget is gone—now, we’re asking for your help to make up the difference.

givebutter.com/DYD2025

On Epstein, Democrats have Mike Johnson running scared Resistance doesn’t always work. But failing to resist never does.

"The lesson for Democrats here is straightforward. Opposing Trump vigorously, even when — or especially when — doing so seems distasteful or risky, can in fact damage Republicans. Damaging Republicans makes resistance easier, which in turn can erode Trump’s standing, and so on."

South Park Just Did What CBS News Refused to Do Stand up to Trump and call out Paramount’s cowardice.

NEW: South Park showed courage last night, refusing to bow to political intimidation by delivering a fearless, uncompromising, (full) frontal assault on the president's authoritarian agenda.
newsletter.ofthebrave.org/p/south-park...

Together We Rise: A Story of Addiction, Fitness, and The Phoenix | The Saturday Evening Post Physical fitness helped him overcome his battle with addiction, and now he’s helping others conquer theirs.

Scott Strode used fitness—from rock climbing to hikes—to overcome his addictions, and now he helps others to do the same. He shared his powerful story for my "Everyday Heroes" column in the @satevepost.bsky.social.

www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2025/07/toge...

The Death of US AID The most consequential legacy of DOGE will be human misery on a massive scale

New, from me: Elon Musk talks about saving our species. But the greatest legacy of his time in government will be to condemn millions to death because he could not discern reality from a paranoid fantasy.
How Musk and Trump killed USAID.
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/the-death-...

It was an honor profile Calvin Mackie, who is bringing STEM education to often overlooked kids and at-risk neighborhoods.

The fact we have secret police whisking people off the streets doesn’t get enough attention. It ain’t normal and we’re further down the road to authoritarianism than you think.

Fred Wellman on the MAGA-fication of the military "They’ve bulldozed the traditions and norms. Now we’ve got the Pentagon itself putting out nasty tweets."

New in PN: @fpwellman.bsky.social on the MAGA-fication of the military

“At some point, will we be able to trust our military to represent all Americans, or just MAGA Americans?”