Bethany

Anthropic responds to Hegseth. www.anthropic.com/news/stateme...

So let’s think about this.

A private company refused - on principle - to yield to the government’s demands.

The government then cancelled its contracts with the company and has set about destroying it

Voting rights groups sue Georgia for refusing to release voter purge records Without full access to the records, plaintiffs say they cannot determine whether eligible voters were wrongly removed.

NEW: Georgia removed nearly 471,000 voters from its rolls last summer — roughly 6% of all the state’s registered voters.

Now voting rights groups are suing, arguing the state is illegally hiding records about how the purge was carried out.

Dean W. Ball Y @deanwball X.com Think about the power Hegseth is asserting here. He is claiming that the DoD can force all contractors to stop doing business of any kind with arbitrary other companies. In other words, every operating system vendor, every manufacturer of hardware, every hyperscaler, every type of firm the DoD contracts with—all their services and products can be denied to any economic actor at will by the Secretary of War. This is obviously a psychotic power grab. It is almost surely illegal, but the message it sends is that the United States Government is a completely unreliable partner for any kind of business. The damage done to our business environment is profound. No amount of deregulatory vibes sent by this administration matters compared to this arson.

Scary af, by @deanwb.bsky.social

First he said he was “entitled” to 5 more House seats.

Now he says he’s “entitled” to a 3rd term.

No one is entitled to power in America. Donald Trump is a threat to our Constitution.

@hillaryclinton.bsky.social: "I don't understand why it's so difficult for the press to have a consistent narrative about how dangerous Trump is."

The stupid Republicans in Congress today set a precedent: It will now be OK for Democrats, when they take back control, to haul ex-president Trump into the chamber to testify under oath about his many crimes.

70% - Trump isn't honest or trustworthy

56% - Trump is not mentally sharp enough

56% - Trump is not committed to our rights

62% - Trump's using the presidency to enrich himself

(ht: @mmpadellan.bsky.social)

Anthropic Hits Back After US Military Labels It a 'Supply Chain Risk' Anthropic says it would be “legally unsound” for the Pentagon to blacklist its technology after talks over military use of its artificial intelligence models broke down.

"This is the most shocking, damaging, and over-reaching thing I have ever seen the United States government do," said one former Trump administration AI policy adviser. The DoD has created an impossible mess:

Presumably JD Vance is going to be right on this waste fraud and abuse right?

The Trans Panic: How Conservatives Duped Their Phobic Base and Sacrificed a Vulnerable Minority When you understand what motivates people, you can easily manipulate them.

Republican political and religious leaders have managed to fabricate a nonexistent national danger involving an infinitesimal number of people who are already among the most vulnerable and at-risk communities in this nation.

johnpavlovitz.substack.com/p/the-trans-...

Callers to Washington state hotline press 2 for Spanish and get accented AI English instead Callers to Washington state’s driver’s license agency who select automated service in Spanish are instead hearing an AI voice speaking English with a strong Spanish accent.

Callers to Washington state’s driver’s license agency who select automated service in Spanish are instead hearing an AI voice speaking English with a strong Spanish accent.

‘Horrifying’: Hollywood blasts Trump’s role in studio sale In the Warner Bros. deal, some saw Trump targeting not just programming choices, but questions of corporate structure once largely insulated from political influence.

‘Horrifying’: Hollywood blasts Trump’s role in studio sale

An Epstein survivor made serious allegations against President Trump that she says happened when she was a minor — serious enough that the FBI interviewed her multiple times.

Yet, those files have now gone missing. There has never been a bigger cover up in modern American history. End it now.

The Justice Department has filed lawsuits against Kentucky, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Utah, and West Virginia seeking access to their complete voter registration lists.

GTFO. This is insane. @muellershewrote.com @hcrichardson.bsky.social @meidastouch.com @meiselasb.bsky.social @murray.senate.gov @sanders.senate.gov @thebulwark.com @apnews.com

Judge: IRS broke law ‘approximately 42,695 times’ in giving DHS data A court on Thursday issued an opinion on a data-sharing agreement between the taxpayer agency and federal immigration authorities.

Breaking news: A federal judge found that the IRS violated federal law “approximately 42,695 times” when it shared confidential taxpayer addresses with immigration enforcement officials last summer.

Nurul Amin Shah Alam, Blind Rohingya refugee dumped by CBP, dies in cold "They just left him."

“They just left him.”

Shah Alam, 56, did not speak English. He was lost. He could not see. Border Patrol didn't contact his family or lawyer. They left him on the streets of Buffalo, where he died five days later.

Screenshot of a NYT article that says: 'Immigration Agents Arrest Student Inside Columbia Building, School Says Claire Shipman, the university’s acting president, said that the federal officials had misrepresented themselves to gain access.'

Federal agents misrepresenting themselves to enter a dorm at 6:30 a.m. is not routine enforcement. It’s a serious constitutional issue that demands answers. Fast.

ICE took their papers—and won’t give them back Immigrants are being released from detention without documents proving their status.

Again and again, immigrants in Minnesota have been released from detention centers without work permits, Social Security cards, and other documents that prove their status.

“As far as I can tell, it’s the practice of ICE to throw everybody’s documents into a black box and then lose it.”

The ultimate goal of the Kansas state government & other state governments like them is to torture and kill trans people.

Refusing to put trans people in the prison marching their gender identity & denying access to gender-affirming care kills.

You think we’re being hyperbolic? Google “V-Coding.”

Why indeed!

"Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member, Members of the Committee... as a former Senator, I have respect for legislative oversight and I expect its exercise, as do the American people, to be principled and fearless in pursuit of truth and accountability. As we all know, however, too often Congressional investigations are partisan political theater, which is an abdication of duty and an insult to the American people. The Committee justified its subpoena to me based on its assumption that I have information regarding the investigations into the criminal activities of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. Let me be as clear as I can. I do not. As I stated in my sworn declaration on January 13, I had no idea about their criminal activities. I do not recall ever encountering Mr. Epstein. I never flew on his plane or visited his island, homes or offices. I have nothing to add to that. Like every decent person, I have been horrified by what we have learned about their crimes. It's unfathomable that Mr. Epstein initially got a slap on the wrist in 2008, which allowed him to continue his predatory practices for another decade. Mr. Chairman, your investigation is supposed to be assessing the federal government's handling of the investigations and prosecutions of Epstein and his crimes. You subpoenaed eight law enforcement officials, all of whom ran the Department of Justice or directed the FBI when Epstein's crimes were investigated and prosecuted. Of those eight, only one appeared before the Committee. Five of the six former attorneys general were allowed to submit brief statements stating they had no information to provide. You have held zero public hearings, refused to allow the media to attend them, including today, despite espousing the need for transparency on dozens of occasions. You have made little effort to call the people who show up most prominently in the Epstein files. And when you did, not a single Republican Member showed up for Les Wexner's deposition. This institutio…

as the public who also want to get to the bottom of this matter. My heart breaks for the survivors. And I am furious on their behalf. I have spent my life advocating for women and girls. I have worked hard to stop the terrible abuses so many women and girls face here and around the world, including human trafficking, forced labor, and sexual slavery. For too long, these have been largely invisible crimes or not treated as crimes at all. But the survivors are real and they are entitled to better. In Southeast Asia, I met girls as young as twelve years old who were forced into prostitution and raped repeatedly. Some were dying of AIDS. In Eastern Europe, I met mothers who told me how they lost daughters to trafficking and did not know where to turn. In settings around the world, I met survivors trying to rebuild their lives and help rescue others - with little support from people in power, who too often turned a blind eye and a cold shoulder. If you are new to this issue, let me tell you: Jeffrey Epstein was a heinous individual, but he's far from alone. This is not a one-off tabloid sensation or a political scandal. It's a global scourge with an unimaginable human toll. My work combatting sex trafficking goes back to my days as First Lady. I worked to pass the first federal legislation against trafficking and was proud that my husband signed the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, which increased support for survivors and gave prosecutors better tools for going after traffickers. As Secretary of State, I appointed a former federal prosecutor, Lou CdeBaca, to ramp up our global antitrafficking efforts. I oversaw nearly 170 anti-trafficking programs in 70 nations and directly pressed foreign leaders to crack down on trafficking networks in their countries. Every year we published a global report to shine a light on abuses. The findings of those reports triggered sanctions on countries failing to make progress, so they became a powerful diplomatic tool to drive concrete…

Infuriatingly, the Trump Administration gutted the Trafficking in Persons Office at the State Department, cutting more than 70 percent of the career civil and foreign service experts who worked so hard to prevent trafficking crimes. The annual trafficking report, required by law, was delayed for months. The message from the Trump Administration to the American people and the world could not be clearer: combatting human trafficking is no longer an American priority under the Trump White House. That is a tragedy. It's a scandal. It deserves vigorous investigation and oversight. A committee endeavoring to stopping human trafficking would seek to understand what specific steps are needed to fix a system that allowed Epstein to get away with his crimes in 2008. A committee run by elected officials with a commitment to transparency would ensure the full release of all the files. It would ensure that the lawful redactions of those files protected the victims and survivors, not powerful men and political allies. It would get to the bottom of reports that DOJ withheld FBI interviews in which a survivor accuses President Trump of heinous crimes. It would subpoena anyone who asked on which night there would be the "wildest party" on Epstein's island. It would demand testimony from prosecutors in Florida and New York about why they gave Epstein a sweetheart deal and chose not to pursue others who may have been implicated. It would demand that Secretary Rubio and Attorney General Bondi testify about why this administration is abandoning survivors and playing into the hands of traffickers. It would seek out officers on the front lines of this fight and ask them what support they need. It would put forth legislation to provide more resources and force this administration to act. But that's not happening.

Instead, you have compelled me to testify, fully aware that I have no knowledge that would assist your investigation, in order to distract attention from President Trump's actions and to cover them up despite legitimate calls for answers. If this Committee is serious about learning the truth about Epstein's trafficking crimes, it would not rely on press gaggles to get answers from our current president on his involvement; it would ask him directly under oath about the tens of thousands of times he shows up in the Epstein files. If the majority was serious, it would not waste time on fishing expeditions. There is too much that needs to be done. What is being held back? Who is being protected? And why the cover-up? My challenge to you, Mr. Chairman, Members of the Committee, is the same challenge I put to myself throughout my long service to this nation. How to be worthy of the trust the American people have given you. They expect statesmanship, not gamesmanship. Leading, not grandstanding. They expect you to use your power to get to the truth and to do more to help survivors of Epstein's crimes as well as the millions more who are victims of sex trafficking."

Here is Hillary Clinton’s opening statement to House Oversight on Epstein.

Clinton says she does not recall ever encountering Epstein and says she knew nothing about his crimes.

She also says that Trump should testify under oath and criticizes the committee for not holding any public hearings.

National day of action. Save science. protect health. defend democracy. March 7th. Washington dc and nationwide! standupforscience.net/march7

Hey @hcrichardson.bsky.social! Can you help us get the word out about our SECOND National Day of Action on March 7th??

#standupforscience

Nurul Amin Shah Alam, Blind Rohingya refugee dumped by CBP, dies in cold "They just left him."

They killed him.

It takes a lot to infuriate me and break my heart only because you have to be able to tolerate a lot when covering Trump and fascism and try your best to stay centered and hopeful.

This story I can't let go.

They chose to let him just die.

www.motherjones.com/mojo-wire/20...

The Trump administration’s favorite nuclear startup has ties to Russia and Epstein Also, Christian nationalism.

If you've ever wondered what kinds of nuclear companies the Trump administration has in mind to power all the AI data centers, I just wrote about one: www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

A White House Staffer Appears to Run Massive Pro-Trump X Account A popular right-wing account that called a video depicting Barack and Michelle Obama as apes "a masterpiece" appears to be run by a White House staffer, according to records reviewed by WIRED.

A White House staffer is running an anonymous pro-MAGA X account with nearly 300,000 followers.

The account, JohnnyMAGA, has never disclosed formal ties, blurring the lines of official WH messaging and organic digital support.
www.wired.com/story/a-whit...

Screenshot of an X post by Aaron Rupar quoting a segment from MS NOW discussing missing 2019 FBI interviews from the Epstein files and referencing a woman identified in a 2025 FBI presentation as having accused Donald Trump of sexual assault when she was between 13 and 15 years old. The embedded image shows two women speaking on a news set with an on-screen banner reading “Breaking News” and “MS NOW.”

There are some fifty critical pages missing. It's a crime to cover up a crime.

I truly hope that House Republican leadership protecting a sexual predator like Rep. Tony Gonzales for the rest of the year ends up costing them 5 more seats in Nov. They should be asked about this relentlessly every single day until he’s gone.

Kansas Sends Letters To Trans People Demanding The Immediate Surrender Of Drivers Licenses "The legislature did not include a grace period."

This regime loves contributing to the genocide of trans people

This is why we must defend our neighbors, we cannot let this regime continue to attack our most vulnerable communities.

Those of us who are able must speak up against these injustices