Tom

Elections in democracies determine who administers the government; they do not alter whom the government is for. Under any administration, Republican or Democratic, the United States government exists to serve the people of the United States, regardless of their partisan affiliation. Besides, Americans are not as easily divided as Trump might think. Millions of Republican voters live in New York, just as millions of Democrats live in Texas. He cannot tell whom he is punishing by glancing at an electoral map. But even if he could, Trump’s acts of extortion have no place in a democracy. They belong in a protection racket: If you support Trump, you are protected; if you do not, you are vulnerable. If you donate enough cash to Trump, you may receive favorable treatment, including immunity from the law. If you oppose Trump, you may be prosecuted.

This is not how a representative government works. It is how the Mafia works.

Went back to the history of the Sicilian Mafia to illustrate something obvious but worth stating explicitly: The Trump administration behaves like an organized crime syndicate running a protection racket, not a representative government www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...

We've got you 👍

Hit with higher insurance premiums? Trump is making them even higher.

Forced into bankruptcy by medical debt? Trump doesn’t care.

Worried that’ll impact your credit score? Trump wants it to.

Death Star

A very offline cousin sent this to fam group chat. This story is breaking containment.

Here are the companies destroying the east wing of the White House

Los Angeles-based activist and #1 NYT bestselling author and illustrator, Nikkolas Smith, draws 'AntifAmerica' featuring the Portland Frog and Portland Chicken, in response to No Kings Day yesterday.

Feels quaint, almost cliché, to say this about a Trump action, but just for the record:

This is all illegal, the President can't simply disregard the laws passed and agencies created by Congress, and both Vought & Trump would be impeached if the Constitution or the rule of law mattered to the GOP.

we need evidence of two things: first, that trump can distinguish fantasy from reality and second, that trump is actually president

Heads up: Disney/ABC put Jimmy Kimmel back on the air, but many viewers still can’t see him. Why? Because Sinclair and Nexstar, which own a huge number of local ABC affiliates, are blocking his return. Sinclair is demanding an apology and even a donation. Nexstar says it “wants assurances.” These are not private streaming choices. These are state-licensed stations that depend on local ad dollars, and they are using their gatekeeping power for political leverage. 👉 What you can do: 1. Check your local station. See if it is owned by Sinclair or Nexstar. 2. Watch the ads. Write down which brands are keeping these stations afloat. 3. Pressure advertisers. Let them know their dollars are funding censorship. 4. File a complaint with the FCC. These stations are supposed to serve the public interest, not political agendas. Remember: Disney does not control your local affiliate. Sinclair and Nexstar do. Advertisers are what keep them alive. This is not just about one late-night host. It is about whether powerful corporations can silence national programming for political reasons.

Disney/ABC put Kimmel back on air. Sinclair & Nexstar are blocking him. These are state-licensed stations funded by ads, not Disney. Pressure advertisers, file FCC complaints, and push back on corporate censorship.
#FreeSpeech
#NoKings
#Kimmel

Completely co-sign. This is basically how @sorayachemaly.bsky.social, @laurabates.bsky.social and I forced Facebook to take hate speech against women seriously in 2013.

Becoming increasingly clear we’re gonna have to build a parallel infrastructure for all the media we really love. The reason all of this is happening under the color of law is hyperconsolidation, dissent being traded straight up for merger approval, or fear of harassment.

Words/phrases Democrats should never use:

* bipartisan
* my Republican friends
* real, valid, legitimate, serious, important (to describe issue raised by Republicans)
* yea (when voting on Republican bills)
* distraction (to describe bad thing Republicans did)
* woke (in derogatory sense)

Scene is two people and four horsemen of the apocalypse in coloured robes instead of the dark ones. Instead of the normal "death, famine, pestilence" etc, they have banners saying "Hope", "Justice", "Empathy" and "Just basically not being a dick" Horseman 1 is saying to the two people "THe whole apocalypse thing got too depressing so we've reinvented ourselves as the Four Horsemen of Working Together to Get Us All Out of the Mess We're in"

ICYMI- Horses Changing Courses- yesterday's cartoon for @australia.theguardian.com

Hand holding a mini black and white zine with the title “How to Report ICE and help keep our neighbors safe”

It’s live! My new zine “How to Report ICE and Help Keep Our Neighbors Safe” is available in NYC and a Philly editions!! You can download and print both from here: drive.google.com/drive/folder... **Be sure to set your printer settings to print the zine at 100%!**

Justice Dept. Subpoenas Office of Letitia James, Who Sued Trump for Fraud

Attorney General James took on Trump's fraud and the NRA's rampant corruption—and won both cases.

So it's little wonder that Trump's politicized DOJ is now coming after her.

The people of New York stand with their lawyer and champion.

ICE is hiring! US immigration and Customs Enforcement is looking for highly motivated, morally indifferent individuals to join our team. Open positions include: Senior Goon Racism Enforcement Office Unmarked Van Driver (Part-Time) Experience with children a plus usajobs.gov

From this month's edition of The Onion.

"well we all are going to die" energy

U.S. military veteran Anthony Aguilar, who worked as a security contractor at Gaza Humanitarian Foundation sites, says he was horrified by war crimes being carried out against starving Palestinians. "The sites have not only become death traps, they were designed as death traps."

“Give the administration time” to sort things out.

A State Department employee shared with PBS News an image from inside the department. The image includes a piece of paper taped to a mirror with the words, "Colleagues, if you remain: RESIST FASCISM. Remember the oath you vowed to uphold."

⚠️ HEADS UP NYC ‼️

🧊🖕🚨 Heavy ICE activity reported across the region this morning 👀

“The New York Times collaborated with a white nationalist eugenicist hacker and agreed to keep his identity a secret to publish a Zohran Mamdani hit piece” is a way bigger story than “18 year old Zohran Mamdani ticked ‘African American’ on his Columbia application because he was a citizen of Uganda”

Congrats to Lisa Murkowski on voting for a bill that she herself admitted was not ready in hopes that the House would change it. Now it’ll become law. She had the power to stop it, and instead chose to become complicit. That’s her legacy.

He has REPEATEDLY condemned antisemitism. REPEATEDLYYYYY

He ran hand in hand with a Jewish man!!

He had a HUGE amount of support from Jewish New Yorkers!!!

JEWS ARE NOT A TOOL FOR YOU TO USE TO HIDE YOUR ANTI-MUSLIM BELIEFS BEHIND

a stone

"The morning of June 27th was clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth of a full-summer day; the flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green."

Happy Lottery day to you and yours.

BREAKING:

The White House lashed out at the creators of this ad for "fear-mongering".

It must have really struck a nerve. Maybe they don't like being outed as fascists.

You know what to do: SPREAD THIS EVERYWHERE!

#MAGAKidnappers

AOC during Zohran for Mayor rally: "There are people out there who say, 'If you go out and make this endorsement, your political career will be over.' And to that I say: I don't care. We will never get to a better place if everyone is just worried about themselves. If it's over, so be it."

Greta Thunberg, arriving back in Europe after her abduction by Israel in international waters, explains in 40 seconds why western governments are colluding in genocide:

Lela was abandoned in the park; now she’s terrified & desperate to get out of there. She’s failing to thrive in there, stressed. Need to save her life and get her out quickly. Please repost 🙏