Julia Che

Law firm targeted by Trump agrees to provide $40m in pro bono work, says president – as it happened Democratic-leaning firm he targeted for retribution in an executive order says it’ll give free services to support administration goals

Trump threatening law firms to get free lawyers who will defend the regime? www.theguardian.com/us-news/live...

France 24 reporting US airstrikes in Yemen. That's the "no more wars" president.

BREAKING: A federal judge in Maryland has blocked Trump’s executive order to end birthright citizenship, finding the effort is likely in violation of the Constitution and federal law.

Judge Deborah L. Boardman of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland issued the preliminary…

Yes! Order to send trans women to men's prison blocked by judge
www.msn.com/en-gb/news/n...

How to survive the broligarchy: 20 lessons for the post-truth world | Carole Cadwalladr In the wake of Trump’s unnerving appointees, the investigative journalist and veteran of the libel court offers pointers on coping in an age of surveillance

NEW: The great Trump-Musk crackdown is coming. And it will hit hard & fast. Journalists will be first. But everyone else is next.

I urge you to read my 20 lessons in How to Survive the Broligarchy, inspired by & featuring the great @timothysnyder.bsky.social
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www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

We are members of Congress at the Treasury Department. We want to be let in to provide oversight on behalf of our constituents. @jasmineforus.bsky.social @sethmagaziner.bsky.social

“On Friday, February 7, 2025, at 11:59 pm (EST) all USAID direct hire personnel will be placed on administrative leave globally, with the exception of designated personnel responsible for mission-critical functions, core leadership and specially designated programs. Essential personnel expected to continue working will be informed by Agency leadership by Thursday, February 6, at 3:00pm (EST). For USAID personnel currently posted outside the United States, the Agency, in coordination with missions and the Department of State, is currently preparing a plan, in accordance with all applicable requirements and laws, under which the Agency would arrange and pay for return travel to the United States within 30 days and provide for the termination of PSC and ISC contracts that are not determined to be essential. The Agency will consider case-by-case exceptions and return travel extensions based on personal or family hardship, mobility or safety concerns, or other reasons. For example, the Agency will consider exceptions based on the timing of dependents’ school term, personal or familial medical needs, pregnancy, and other reasons. Further guidance on how to request an exception will be forthcoming. Thank you for your service”

USAID’s website has been deleted, all that is left is a note saying all personnel are now on administrative leave and personnel outside the US are to be brought home. Completely illegal, no act of congress or even executive order was signed to dismantle the agency

Word of the Day is ‘bayard’ (16th century): one who has the supreme self-confidence of ignorance.

Picture shows invitation from YouGov "we would like to invite you to our latest feature...which lets you earn extra points every day by sharing your bank transaction data with us."

What are YouGov up to? Should we be worried (considering it was co-founded by Nadhim Zahawi obviously as a political enterprise) that they are asking users to share their bank transactions? What are they after? Can we expect more headlines about benefit claimants buying Netflix?
#YouGov #UK

And it begins.

FBI class action lawsuit against the retaliatory purge.

First Amendment
Violation of Due Process
Rights to Privacy

www.justsecurity.org/wp-content/u...

Quote from Donald J Trump on Truth Social claiming autism has gone from 1 in 10000 to 1 in 34.

Why can't these idiots grasp simple facts about autism. Massive expansion of diagnostic criteria in 1994. Huge increase in awareness among professionals and public. Masking delays diagnosis. Adults now often diagnosed when their kids are. And autistic people breed!!
It's not witchcraft FFS.

YouTube video by LBC Ex-Twitter VP: Musk wants to 'dismantle' US government | LBC

"Smaller, poorer and worse than it was before" that's Twitter post-Musk, according to former VP, and it's where the US looks headed youtube.com/shorts/ZntWW...

Breitbart and One America News to move into the Pentagon. mediabiasfactcheck.com/breitbart/ rates Breitbart as extreme ring wing bias, OAN far right and both spreading propaganda and conspiracy theories mediabiasfactcheck.com/one-america-.... Flattery really will get you everywhere with Trump & co.

Sure. I accept you can't control who uses it. It's more how quickly people in that space - who'd preached about government overreach the entire time - just dropped their principles overnight. That sense of a community pulling in one direction has gone.

I love that he said 2016 was rigged.

Between unprovoked and foolish trade wars, threatening our allies, eliminating foreign aid, gutting our civil service, preparing to weaken the intel community and FBI, placing inexperienced clowns in key nat sec positions, and supporting our enemies’s agenda, we are weaker by far today than on 1/19.

This assumes tanking the economy would be an unintended consequence of their plan. What if tanking the economy is the plan? Make people desperate enough to accept whatever comes next? I feel like ignoring the Trump administration would hurt them the most.

I can't be the only one disillusioned with crypto because of ideology. The whole point was incorruptible money, outside of government control. So many people were so quick to throw that value away. Bitcoin will survive post-Trump but right now I'm stepping back, protecting what I have. Anyone else?

I loved Bitcoin and crypto for redistribution of wealth. It was my only hope for retirement. I sold in Jan. I can't predict the market when most influencers have gone full MAGA. I can see the President trying to set up a "strategic reserve" on World Liberty Fi (in other words robbing the Treasury).

Trump's diversity claims about the DC plane crash - fact-checked The President has alleged diversity hiring policies have lowered standards in the aviation industry

Why are journalists even bothering to fact-check the deranged rants of this President? This shows far too much deference and respect. Stop pretending this is normal. inews.co.uk/news/world/t...

Is Trump profiting from his office in violation of the Constitution? Judge allows emoluments case to move ahead The court carefully considered what the word ‘emoluments’ meant at the time the Constitution was drafted.

There was some debate about this in Trump's first term where everyone was holding their events on Trump properties. This time it's much more blatant though! theconversation.com/is-trump-pro...

It would seem to violate this clause of the constitution. press-pubs.uchicago.edu/founders/toc...

Four Hours at the Capitol A journey into January's storming of the US Capitol, featuring exclusive footage and interviews with the people at the heart of the action, many of whom are speaking publicly for the first time.

There's a lot of renewed interest in the Jan 6 attempted insurrection. Seems like a good time to share BBC's excellent documentary Four Hours at the Capitol. It's a must watch if you haven't seen it, and it's worth a re-watch if you have.
www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/epis...

...manipulating the market is super easy for the inner circle now. And I'm counting Saylor in that. Everyone was so quick to sell out the ethos of incorruptible money, free from political interference. In the short term at least (till the bubble bursts) crypto once again be looked upon as a joke.

It's bad for crypto. We had a real opportunity for redistribution of wealth. Now, like every other form of capital, crypto is concentrated in too few hands and institutions. That was already happening before $Trump coin but it's added a new layer to siphon $ from least wealthy to most...

This may be the biggest transfer of wealth in history. No, not from the state to the people but from the state *and* the people to the President and a small circle of technocrats. Expect Russia 2.0. All right-minded Americans, I'm sorry. Don't give up.

And as Americans usher in their own Armageddon with the inauguration of an anti-Christ, I hope the 'Christian' alt right remember Proverbs 13:20. "Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm". May they get everything they voted for.