Will Ragland

At the State of the Union, Trump’s Claims Betray Americans’ Reality At the State of the Union, Trump’s Claims Betray Americans’ Reality: Rising costs, cuts to basic programs and expiring health subsidies

Despite what Trump said in his SOTU address, our economy isn’t “roaring” — it’s straining working-class families already struggling to make ends meet. More from my colleague @sagewarner.bsky.social in @msmagazine.com: tinyurl.com/3semhehv

The President boasts of "no tax on tips", but this expires in 2028.
He boasts of "no tax on overtime," but it is taxed, and the break expires in 2028.
He boasts of "no tax on social security," but it is taxed, and his break expires in 2028.

He also passed tax cuts for the rich. They're permanent.

So were his grandparents on his father’s side.

Let’s talk about corruption

When I heard this, I drafted a skeet about it, then thought "naaah, there's no way his speechwriters would allow him to contradict himself within one sentence." But they really and truly did.

trump says we're gonna simultaneously make houses more affordable and also keep their prices high

just gonna re-up this here

President Trump and his family have made over $2 billion from selling the presidency mostly from his three primary crypto ventures. We're tracking in realtime.

TrumpsTakeCounter.org

Trump seems nervous about Gov. Spanberger delivering Dems' SOTU response tonight. WH is accusing her of supporting "soft-on-crime policies," saying she "undermines law enforcement at every turn."

Then why did Virginia’s largest police organization unanimously endorse her last year for Governor?

Trump's Caribbean Surge Nears $3 Billion Price Tag So Far The operations around Venezuela that eventually led to the capture of its president pulled in nearly a fifth of the US Navy’s surface fleet at a cost of more than $20 million a day.

Bloomberg says we've spent $3B on Trump's invasion of Venezuela.

Which is 6X more than the cancer, Alzheimer, diabetes, and heart disease cures they've cut to pay for it.

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Susan Collins voted for Trump's tax bill, making life even more unaffordable for Mainers—this mom is calling her out.

“.. With the vacancy-to-unemployed ratio now below 1.0, bargaining power is again shifting back to capital and away from workers. .. This is a marked contrast with an overall economy that is running hot.”

@elerianm.bsky.social
www.ft.com/content/298a...

(1/11) If you live in NY, you’ve probably started seeing a new warning: “THIS PRICE WAS SET BY AN ALGORITHM USING YOUR PERSONAL DATA.” This mandatory disclosure went into effect late last year, and it’s the first attempt by a US state to grapple with a new generation of surveillance pricing.

Today's Jobs Report reveals blue-collar industries are struggling in Trump's economy. Additionally, working-class people made up less than a quarter of total job growth in Trump's first year. Check out the latest analysis from @saraestep.bsky.social and me ⇣
www.americanprogress.org/article/work...

Karoline Leavitt's Old Congressional Campaign Remains Deep in Debt Karoline for Congress didn't raise a penny in late 2025 to refund donors who made excessive contributions.

Karoline Leavitt's old congressional committee: still deep in debt with dozens of creditors.

New details from @notus.com: www.notus.org/money/karoli...

2016 Tom Barrack—now US Ambassador to Turkey—was senior advisor on Trump campaign (& later chair of inaugural). 8-28-16 he texted Epstein, who asked him when he’d be in NYC. Epstein told him to download Signal. Next day Barrack met w Epstein, Ehud Barak, & Russian ambassador to UN Vitaly Churkin /1

There are 1400 mentions of DOGE founder Elon Musk in the Epstein files.

very kind words Bobby. I appreciate it!

If folks know of anyone interested, please send them my way. I promise you it won't be boring :)

Research Analyst, Advocacy and Outreach American Progress has an opening for a Research Analyst to join its Advocacy and Outreach Department, reporting to the Vice President of Research.

My phenomenal colleague @citizenwillis.bsky.social is hiring. Will is one of the absolute best in the business for doing good stuff with data. Looking for a relatively recent grad. Someone who feels comfortable digging into things and playing with tons of info — and is committed to the cause.

“.. U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard speaks on the phone while standing inside a vehicle loaded with boxes outside the Fulton County Election Hub and Operation Center after the FBI executed a search warrant there.”

@reuters.com

Tracking every known federal prosecution in Chicago tied to Trump’s immigration blitz Every known federal prosecution in Chicago tied to Trump’s immigration blitz

@chicago.suntimes.com put up a tracker of charges related to Midway Blitz in chicago

15/32 dismissed already, pretty much half

chicago.suntimes.com/2026/tracker...

‘CBS Evening News’: Tony Dokoupil Under Fire for Interviewing His Own Mom Viewers accuse CBS News of 'dumbing down.'

Tuesday morning:
New CBS boss promises “huge emphasis on scoops.”

Tuesday evening:
CBS Evening News anchor interviews his mom.

www.yahoo.com/entertainmen...

DARVO:

Denial: No. I don't think about her.
Attack: I think she's a fraud.
Reverse Victim and Offender: She probably had herself sprayed, knowing her.

I said this last time but their real position is “if you disagree with us we can kill you.”

I've always been a domestic politics guy, but it's clear our situation isn't unique. I don't know how to escape the cycle of popular frustration -> fascist -> ineffective opposition -> new fascist, but this sure seems like the global challenge for humanity that our generation gets to try to solve.

I assume that firing a weapon while trying to video a scene with a cellphone is against protocol.

The evidence is increasingly pointing to the probability that an ICE agent killed a woman after misreading her as a threat because he was distracted by his simultaneous effort to record her so he could upload her image to a facial recognition database.

Federal judge disqualifies 5th Trump-appointed acting U.S. attorney Read more here.

BREAKING: A federal judge rules John Sarcone, acting U.S. attorney for the Northern District of New York, has been serving unlawfully for months. The decision makes him the fifth Trump-appointed acting U.S. attorney deemed illegitimate by the federal courts during the president’s second term.

A Construction Worker’s Suicide Highlights a Wider Crisis

I was reporting another story about the construction industry when I came across a startling dataset: the industry has the second highest suicide rate and the highest rate of drug overdoses. I wanted to know why. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/08/r...

I hate to break it to you, but heavily-armed government militias are roaming unchecked through US cities and shooting human rights observers dead in the streets. That's happening in our country.