B. Baur

“The same critics who are wrongly claiming there are conflicts of interests, would complain if taxpayers were footing the bill,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.
Sounds right:
#FightCorruption ✅
#OpposeWaste ✅
Americans oppose the demolition of the annex 2:1
#Resist

He Alone Tracked Leaky Oil Wells in National Parks. He Was Let Go.

NYT: He Alone Tracked Leaky Oil Wells in National Parks. He Was Let Go.

By Maxine Joselow

Forrest Smith was forced to step down last month as the National Park Service’s chief petroleum engineer. He wasn’t replaced. @maxinejoselow.bsky.social

Gift link!

Opinion | This Is the Way You Beat Trump — and Trumpism

The problem is that if you don't have principle, then you'll wind up like Keir Starmer. He won by a ridiculous landslide but is now losing to extremist Nigel Farage. We have to do two things:
--Compete in all 50 states;
--Restore the New Deal of FDR and JFK.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/02/o...

Opinion | Are We Losing Our Democracy? (Gift Article) Donald Trump has wielded power as no previous president has.

As much as I loathe how much the NYT has sanewashed trump, this is a great rundown of all the ways he is emulating authoritarians of the past.

Still, as Jimmy Kimmel said, if you set a house on fire and then attempt to put it out, you're not a firefighter. You're just an arsonist with a hose.

A River Restoration in Oregon Gets Fast Results: The Salmon Swam Right Back

It was the culmination of decades of efforts by Native American tribes, along with environmental organizations and others, when the last of four major hydroelectric dams that had blocked salmon and other fish from traveling up Oregon's Klamath River was removed . . .

Here’s Who Will Be Affected by Disruptions to Federal Food Aid

Here’s Who Will Be Affected by Disruptions to Federal SNAP Food Aid www.nytimes.com/2025/10/31/u...

On the shutdown: “This supposed budget impasse isn’t only preventing the House from opening up the Epstein can of worms, but from doing any real oversight of a president who seems to have two or three Nixonian Watergates every week, including his family’s shady crypto deals…” Will Bunch

Dozens of States Sue Trump Administration Over Planned Food Stamp Cuts

The Trump administration has a rainy day fund that will keep SNAP from expiring in November. Trump is refusing to use it.

Funding SNAP isn't a choice he can make. It's a legal obligation. USDA must release the funds and stop punishing the American people.
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/28/u...

“Following the jewel heist at The Louvre, [Bari] Weiss suggested they interview author Dan Brown…Brown is well known as the bestselling author of the 2003 mystery novel, The Da Vinci Code…”

bringing by an old favorite to celebrate

The Military’s Missile Defense System Cannot Be as Good as It Says Kathryn Bigelow’s new movie, A House of Dynamite, is more accurate on this point than the Defense Department itself.

In response to "A House of Dynamite," the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency sent around an internal memo for its leadership with the talking point that US defenses are *100 percent accurate*.

Ah, no.

www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

Majority in U.S. Still Say Gov't Should Ensure Healthcare A majority of U.S. adults continue to think the federal government should ensure universal healthcare coverage, while they also prefer that the U.S. healthcare system be based on private insurance rat...

m4a polls at +17

saying that dems should support popular economic policies and then grossly misidentifying what economic policies are popular is the commentariat brainrot in a nutshell

news.gallup.com/poll/468401/...

YouTube video by Rep. Melanie Stansbury Rep. Stansbury: Families are about to lose their food assistance

Just flew in from Albuquerque and had to come down to see the White House for myself.

As our communities are facing a crisis—Trump is CHOOSING to cut off food assistance to 40 million Americans—while building a $300 million ballroom for himself.

Cruelty is the point.

Just 34% of Americans approve of Trump's policies on inflation and the cost of living, with 62% disapproving.

Starbucks' unionized workers are holding a massive strike vote.

If approved, more than 12,000 baristas in 45 states and the District of Columbia could strike.

@sbworkersunited.org says the strike would be open-ended, potentially continuing through the holidays.

UAW workers at Volkswagen's only US assembly plant are holding a strike authorization vote this week.

After more than 13 months of negotiations and unfair labor practices, Volkswagen still won't agree to a decent contract.

Volkswagen made $20.6 billion in profits last year.

Amazon is planning to cut as many as 30,000 employees, starting tomorrow.

The corporate giant made nearly $60 billion in profits last year.

The last time I sat down with Bill Ritter on @abc7.bsky.social was the day after the primary. Since then, our coalition has only grown — including in some unexpected ways.

Bill Melugin @BillMelugin_ BREAKING: Per four senior DHS & Trump admin sources, a mass removal of ICE leadership around the country is underway, with up to 12 ICE field office chiefs being removed & reassigned in an effort to increase deportation numbers. I'm told the move is spearheaded by Corey Lewandowski, and a handful of the ICE Chiefs will likely be replaced by Border Patrol & CBP officials, some of whom will be hand-picked by aggressive & controversial Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino. I'm told some of the ICE leadership removed from their positions include the ICE Field Office Directors in: - Los Angeles - Phoenix - Philadelphia - Denver - El Paso - San Diego - Seattle/Portland - New Orleans Border Patrol officials taking over ICE leadership positions would be extremely significant, as Border Patrol and ICE do different things, and I've done numerous ride-alongs/embeds with both.

Generally speaking, ICE typically conducts very targeted operations, largely going after criminal illegal aliens or those with deportation orders, but almost always knowing who they are targeting for arrest, often conducting surveillance to learn their schedules before and waiting hours before arresting them if needed. Border Patrol, under Trump 2.0, while sometimes doing their own targeted operations, has been extremely aggressive and has been at the forefront of some of the most controversial immigration enforcement operations we've seen so far, carrying out roving patrols in Los Angeles, Chicago, etc, often at Home Depot, car washes, flea markets etc, leading to a handful of federal judges around the country issuing injunctions against them. A majority of the viral videos you see online are Border Patrol agents, including the use of a Trojan horse style Penske moving truck at a Los Angeles Home Depot, an operation organized by Bovino. ICE often gets blamed for what Border Patrol does, as the media and activists often cannot tell the difference between federal agents, and everyone is called "ICE". I'm told there are growing concerns about the political and PR fallout associated with some of the roving patrols Border Patrol is conducting as lawsuits continue to stack up and mid-terms approach next year.

I'm told there is significant friction within different wings of DHS and the administration, with Border Czar Tom Homan & ICE Director Todd Lyons preferring to prioritize targeting criminal aliens & the "worst of the worst" or those with deportation orders, while DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, Corey Lewandowski, and BP Commander Bovino prefer to use aggressive tactics to arrest anyone in the US illegally, including but not limited to criminals, to ramp up deportation numbers and achieve President Trump's promises of mass deportations. I am hearing from both sides of this friction. One senior DHS official tells me: "ICE started with the worst of the worst, knowing every target they are hitting, but since Border Patrol started in LA in June, we've (DHS) lost our focus, going too hard, too fast, with limited prioritization. It's getting numbers, but at what cost?". Border Patrol agents I've talked to defend their tactics, with one telling me: "What did everyone think mass deportations meant? Only the worst? Tom Homan has said it himself, anyone in the US illegally is on the table."

It's quite a situation, as both sides of this are on the same team, with the same end goals, but different perspectives on how to get there. Another DHS official confirmed the personnel changes to me on deep background, adding that the moves are based on performance and doing what is needed to achieve the best results. Official statement to @FoxNews via @TriciaOhio : "While we have no personnel changes to announce at this time, the Trump Administration remains laser focused on delivering results and removing violent criminal illegal aliens from this country." 7:57 PM · Oct 27, 2025 · 29.6K Views

🚨BIG changes happening -- ICE leadership is being purged tonight. The old guard, which prioritized targeted enforcement operations aimed at people with criminal records, is being replaced with Border Patrol and Gregory Bovino's "Midway Blitz" style.

Think things are bad now? It'll get worse.

Opinion | For Shame, North Carolina. For Shame.

"And here I sit, purple with rage, not just because the voters of North Carolina are being betrayed, but also because citizens across our embattled country are being given more and more reason to believe that this whole democracy thing is a sham" #ncpol

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/27/o...

Trump is creating two classes of federal workers: Paid and unpaid Within the same agencies, some employees are drawing their salaries during the shutdown, and others are working without pay.

Trump is creating two classes of federal workers: Paid and unpaid

The Trump administration is creating a two-tier system within the shuttered federal government, paying some staffers required to be on the job even as it leaves many of their colleagues working without salaries.

wapo.st/43CE1FQ

Will Trump’s Tariffs Survive Supreme Court’s ‘Major Questions’ Test? The justices used the doctrine, a judicially created method of reading statutes, to thwart several major Biden programs.

The Supreme Court used the “major questions doctrine” to reject much of the Biden administration’s efforts to address climate change, Covid and student debt. The court’s commitment to the doctrine will be tested next week when it hears arguments about President Trump’s tariffs program.

Your guide to the 2025 general election in Philadelphia, from district attorney to Pa. Supreme Court From important dates to who’s on your ballot.

Gift Link for the 2025 PA General Election Voters Guide by the @inquirer.com

share.inquirer.com/bT28xn

Loving @emmbadger.bsky.social's clear analysis of how to make buses faster, more frequent and more reliable. Gift article www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

The mysterious rise of cancer among young adults in the Corn Belt Communities across the Corn Belt are confronting a rise in cancers among young adults — and few clear explanations.

"Mounting scientific evidence has linked long-term exposure to fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides with heightened cancer risks — most notably non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, leukemia and prostate cancer. Studies suggest these chemicals may damage DNA, disrupt hormone function..."
wapo.st/3Le1yXo

Ben Rhodes:
“Alongside uncounted human remains, any semblance of a rules-based international order lies buried in Gaza’s mountains of rubble.”
…
“history shows that when might makes right, things go terribly wrong.”

🤣🤣🤣🤣

Citing Renewables, Appalachian Power To Lower Virginia Bills - West Virginia Public Broadcasting That’s in contrast to the company’s April filing in West Virginia, which asked regulators to charge customers $5 more a month to pay for fuel expenses.

A reminder that facts are stubborn things. Appalachian Power is lowering rates in their VA subsidiary because of renewable-driven savings and raising rates in WV because of mandates to burn coal. wvpublic.org/story/energy...

Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act at the Supreme Court The Supreme Court is considering whether a key provision of the Voting Rights Act remains constitutional.

What’s at stake in Louisiana v. Callais? The Court could weaken — or eliminate — the last nationwide protection against racially discriminatory voting maps. bit.ly/42LuCLV

Pritzker on Fox on ICE agents: "The problem is, who's holding the bad ones accountable? Because the bad ones, frankly, are the ones we're seeing all the time."