digby

I think the "AC=bad" intuition people have comes from the fact that traditional heating methods burn a ton of fuel, and they think AC is the same. It's not! AC's just shuttle heat around, you aren't converting fuel into coldness or whatever bsky.app/profile/hype...

This is important to listen to.

For tourist visas?! It's dumber than bricks to make people do this for work visas, but for tourist visas?

Let it never be said the administration didn’t do the dumbest thing it could possibly do.

Well, maybe they could stick each tourist with two MAGA minders who do nothing but grouse about foreigners and snap, “You think you’re better than me?” throughout their stay.

This would more or less halt the ability of scientists and academics from visiting the US to give talks, attend meetings and workshops, collaborate with peers on research and I think that is the primary point. 🧪

1: Ends the tourism sector, and its supporting industries.

2: Like tariffs these are reciprocal.

Opposition Party Decides to Oppose Today on TAP: Democrats are fighting in Washington and Austin, denying quick victories to authoritarians.

-Schumer wouldn't advance Trump noms without an end to illegal withholding of federal funds,so Senate Rs left town
-Trump couldn't do recess appointments because House Dems would force an Epstein vote if Rs returned to adjourn
-Texas Dems fled the state to deny Rs a quorum
Is our Democrats learning?

I stopped by twitter

I checked a few times to see if this was the onion

This is the guy who knows what the real BLS numbers are.

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.

You see stuff like this and you really have to wonder if we're headed for a break-up or civil war.

UPDATE: Governor Abbott just threatened to REMOVE THE TEXAS DEMS FROM THEIR SEATS if they don’t return by 3pm Monday (so Republicans can steal 5 seats in Congress using a special session about the flooding as cover) — and charge them with FELONIES.

We are over the cliff.

the USA built a system of higher education so good that smart/rich people from across the world came here, spending billions to learn here, subsidizing education for Americans while spending money to live in our cities and towns. our government arbitrarily decided we should stop doing that

White House has no plan to mandate IVF care, despite campaign pledge President Donald Trump has said he wants a “baby boom,” but critics say his administration has yet to make significant family policy changes — and that Medicaid cuts will hurt.

All those Trump surrogates who touted this, and news orgs that reported it credulously, owe Americans a big fat apology www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

At his own clubs, of course.

University sidelines scientist who exposed toxic metals in Lake Maurepas The SELU scientist who discovered alarming levels of toxic chemicals in Lake Maurepas was abruptly removed from her research position without explanation.

A university scientist who discovered alarming levels of toxic chemicals in a lake in southeastern Louisiana was abruptly removed from her research position this week without explanation

Paul Ingrassia (lawyer) - Wikipedia

The guy Trump picked to lead the office that’s now investigating Jack Smith:

— said Niki Haley is ineligible to be president
— has neo-Nazi ties
— was Andrew Tate’s lawyer
— 2x Claremont fellow
— wrote for Gateway Pundit
— called for Pence to be hanged
— called for secession after 2020 election

GOLDMAN: Friday’s jobs number “brings payroll growth closer in line with big data indicators of job gains and the broader growth dataset, both of which have slowed significantly in recent months. ..

“.. the economic data confirm our view that the US economy is growing at a below-potential pace.”

Days After the FBI Announced an Investigation, Russian Spies Deliberately "Put More Oil into the Fire" - emptywheel Joke's on us! Nine years into this influence operation, that phrase, "put more oil into the fire," a phrase that someone at the FBI should have recognized as a Russian idiom at least five years ago, i...

Reup: Days After the FBI Announced an Investigation, Russian Spies Deliberately "Put More Oil into the Fire"

www.emptywheel.net/2025/08/02/d...

Teen models, powerful men and private dinners: when Trump hosted Look of the Year In the early 90s, Donald Trump judged contestants at the world’s biggest modelling competition - since hit by allegations of abuse. This is how the people who were there remember it

If you haven't read this 2020 story about Trump and his modeling company you really should. He and Epstein were engaged in exactly the same behavior in the 90s. 40+ year old men preying on teen age girls. It's really something

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020...

Brown: Brad Edwards deposed Epstein’s accountant—she worked for Epstein’s modeling company

She gave more detail than we had heard before, including the fact that when Epstein formed that company, he told her he wanted it to be set up just like Trump’s modeling agency.

**FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE**

**Palm Beach, FL – August 2, 2025**

### President Trump Has Appointed John Barron as the Director of the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

US judges recount death threats, 'swatting' after rulings against Trump A group of federal judges took the rare step of speaking out publicly about receiving death threats and mysterious pizza deliveries in the name of a judge's murdered son after they issued decisions blocking major parts of U.S. President Donald Trump's agenda.

Also, other US judge recounts being targeted for misconduct complaint from DOJ just for contemplating ruling against Trump. www.reuters.com/legal/govern...

Just wild watching the "lefties yelled at me" to "Trump is great actually" pipeline work in real time, right in front of us.

They came for the king and missed. Jack Smith needed to start earlier. That is not his fault. Merrick Garland should have appointed a special counsel, and Trump would have been indicted for his role in the insurrection. That could’ve happened immediately.

Lemme just say if President Bernie Sanders had unilaterally imposed, by executive fiat, hundreds of billions of new taxes, personally browbeat executives about job cuts and investments and then fired the head of BLS, the Chamber of Commerce and the business orgs would not be sitting idly by.

Trump on Hillary Clinton: "We had her. And I had her right under the sights ... I think they should pay a price. By the way, it's a very big price."

Sean Combs' Allies Have Upped Pardon Talks. His Survivors Want to Shut Them Down Some Sean "Diddy" Combs’ survivors are in talks to send a letter to President Donald Trump urging him against the idea of pardoning the mogul.

As Sean "Diddy" Combs’ camp ramps up efforts to secure a presidential pardon, Rolling Stone has learned there are ongoing talks among survivors to send a personal letter to President Trump urging him against the idea www.rollingstone.com/music/music-...

Jesus. He just can't help himself.