Jennifer Harris

Can’t a book and a piece of furniture get along? <group hug>

In Chicago, state Rep. Ann Johnson, D-Houston, criticizes Texas Republicans for bending to President Trump on redistricting, while dismissing the governor’s attempt to potentially have a court determine whether Dems on quorum break have vacated their seats. #txlege

A Podium Is the Same Thing as a Lectern We'd say it from a podium if we had to

I’ll stick with @merriam-webster.com but you are adorable lectern…

www.merriam-webster.com/grammar/wait...

"the great replacement of white people" -- Kirk is repeating a white supremacist talking point.

DOD Rapid Response & • @secdef has great jeans @DO... •20m 133 17 263 1.7K Ill 29K Version history RAPID RESPONSE DOD Rapid Response • @secdef29 has great jeans

The Department of Defense tried to make a joke about the Sydney Sweeney ad but seems to have initially tagged the wrong account instead of Pete Hegseth.

I appreciate Talarico but I think this time calls for something other than a white guy. I nominate attorney and Texas House member (representing the Houston Medical Center area), Ann Johnson. They should have had her at the podium last night. Wu just rambled.

a man and a woman are sitting on an airplane and the man is asking the woman if it is first time ALT: a man and a woman are sitting on an airplane and the man is asking the woman if it is first time

It is a *little* amusing watching the rest of the country discover the bloodsport that is the Texas legislature in a given session.

Greg Abbott put redistricting over Texas flood recovery. Now he’s threatening democracy l Editorial

www.houstonchronicle.com/opinion/edit...

I think the saddest thing about this is there ARE still good journalists who attempt to tell the truth and serve their readers, but are being undermined (if not outright silenced) by their superiors and/or ownership that exists solely to service the Trump administration.

The White House Announces White House Ballroom Construction to Begin Washington, D.C. — For 150 years, Presidents, Administrations, and White House Staff have longed for a large event space on the White House complex that

Wait ... is this a proposal to demolish and replace the East Wing of the White House?

The press release is so badly written it's hard to tell.

"The site of the new ballroom will be where the small, heavily changed, and reconstructed East Wing currently sits."

Gov. Greg Abbott threatens Texas House Democrats with removal from office for fleeing state The governor also alleged absconding Democrats may have committed felonies by fundraising to cover the $500-a-day fines they will face under House rules.

Buried in this story is Abbott's threat to charge citizens who donate to their Democratic legislators with criminal bribery.

www.texastribune.org/2025/08/03/t...

171. Partisan Gerrymandering After Rucho The Supreme Court isn't responsible for partisan gerrymandering. But current events in Texas underscore how much its 2019 ruling in Rucho has left (some) states free to radically abuse the practice.

#SCOTUS may not be directly responsible for what's happening right now in Texas.

But the Court's 5-4 2019 ruling in Rucho necessarily cleared the way for legislatures in at least some states to race to the bottom when it comes to maximizing partisan political advantage.

Me, in today's "One First":

The economy is on the precipice of recession. That’s the clear takeaway from last week’s economic data dump. Consumer spending has flatlined, construction and manufacturing are contracting, and employment is set to fall. And with inflation on the rise, it is tough for the Fed to come to the rescue. Unemployment remains low, but that’s only because labor force growth has gone sideways. The foreign-born workforce is shrinking, and labor force participation is declining. Telling is the economy-wide hiring freeze, particularly for recent graduates, and the decline in hours worked. It’s no mystery why the economy is struggling; blame increasing U.S. tariffs and highly restrictive immigration policy. The tariffs are cutting increasingly deeply into the profits of American companies and the purchasing power of American households. Fewer immigrant workers means a smaller economy. Any notion that the economic data misrepresents the reality of how the economy is performing is way off base. There are revisions to the data, even big revisions, but they universally say the economy is doing worse. That’s because it is. BTW, the DOGE cuts are a key factor in the revisions—not because BLS has cut staff, although that can’t help, but because the government often reports payrolls to BLS late. It didn’t matter when government employment was stable, but now that it’s declining, the cuts are picked up in the revisions.

Trump is panicking because the economic numbers are giving a recession vibe.
From the Chief Economist at Moody's.

This thread is worth your time ⬇️

“For many survivors who lost their homes, it remains unclear how much support they’ll receive from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and other government programs. Even if help comes, it won’t be quick.”

Image of the president in front of a yellow Soviet made Lada 2105 with the caption "Making Automobiles Great Again"

What foreign car would be better than a Soviet made Lada 2105 if you wanted to actually champion great American cars?

I look forward to reaping the rich reward of drug companies paying me exorbitant sums to use their products!

YEONSOO GO: 20-YEAR-OLD KOREAN AMERICAN PASTOR'S DAUGHTER AND PURDUE UNIVERSITY STUDENT WITH LEGAL VISA- ABDUCTED AND DETAINED BY ICE

TAE HEUNG "WILL" KIM: KOREAN AMERICAN PH.D. STUDENT & MEDICAL RESEARCHER AT TEXAS A&M, LAWFUL PERMANENT U.S. RESIDENT - ABDUCTED AND DETAINED BY ICE

A growing number of the new victims of Trump’s cruel, illegal ICE terror are young Asian Americans with LEGAL STATUS who have grown up their entire lives in this country and are being swept up for minor infractions or technicalities.

If you can, call my state representative who happens to be Speaker, and let him know what you think about him following Trump’s and Abbott’s orders to “find me 5 more votes” in Congress.

Dustin Burrows

(512) 463-0542

Absolutely making a mockery of the state’s constitution and laws just to please Trump.

Thread ⬇️

Headline from Harvard Crimson: "Harvard President Garber Tells Faculty He Is Not Considering a $500 Million Deal With Trump."

Text of story: Harvard prez Garber says report of a deal "was apparently leaked to the press by White House officials." NYT ran with it as a story.

Important details from this story:

1) Yet another news-break by student journalists (this time @theharvardcrimson.bsky.social) www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...

2) Harvard saying "see you in court," not "let's make a deal."

3) Per Garber, WH/MAGA leaked news of a "deal." NYT then ran with it.

“On June 15, 1992, [Dan] Quayle altered 12-year-old student William Figueroa's correct spelling of "potato" to "potatoe" at the Muñoz Rivera Elementary School spelling bee in Trenton, New Jersey. He was the subject of widespread ridicule for his error.” — @wikipedia.org

Also <angry-panda.gif>

Jesse Watters?

It really is. Like we are living through the worst Idiocracy remake ever

cartoon of a printed bar chart that says ‘monthly job creation / bureau of labor statistics’ and a hand holding a sharpie marker draws black lines extending the last three months’ bars upward. on the shirt cuff it says ‘45 & 47.’

Senate confirms Jeanine Pirro as U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia The Senate on Saturday approved the nomination of Jeanine Pirro​, confirming the cable news personality to a top prosecutor post in Washington, D.C.

Fox fans are grabbing some boxed wine and raising a glass to celebrate.

www.cbsnews.com/news/senate-...

“.. what Trump is doing now is something different. Confabulation is sometimes called ‘honest lying,’ because the person doing it genuinely believes what he’s saying, even if it is obviously and patently false.”

@thehill.com
thehill.com/opinion/camp...

Donor List Suggests Scale of Trump’s Pay-for-Access Operation

The most corrupt White House in history. Here is an account of what people are paying, directly to a PAC called MAGA Inc, in order to meet the president, get pardons, change policy

www.nytimes.com/2025/08/02/u...

Chilling: "speaks to the intent to use the military within the United States at a level not seen since Japanese internment" newrepublic.com/article/1987...