Travis McGee

Replacing the head of Bureau of Labor Statistics with a stooge, proclaiming that crime is up when it’s down, and taking over the Smithsonian are all about trying to take over facts.

But facts are facts whether or not Trumpists agree.

Ding ding

HUGE. The first major court victory involving conditions of confinement at ICE field offices. The judge bars detention in any cell which isn't:

- Restricted by capacity
- Has mats for people to sleep on overnight
- Is cleaned 3 times a day
- Provides hygiene supplies
- Offers free legal calls

This is why they've taken a wrecking ball to government: they'd rather have no FEMA or USAID than have secular agencies that help people. They think it's better to have innocent people die than have the culture believe that secular institutions can be moral. Only right-wing Christians can be moral!

Jeff Bezos is about to make his wife, Lauren Sánchez, a star! Insiders recently revealed Bezos’ plans to launch his wife into a prominent acting role in the James Bond reboot, claiming the billionaire is fixed on seeing her in the film. “He’s obsessed,” a Hollywood insider dished to a news outlet. “This isn’t just fantasy casting — Jeff wants her on screen, period.”

They look like the villains who are killed before the credits

Number of Republicans who heard Trump talk about a D.C. crime wave and said, "That's false. He's misleading people": zero.

Number who said, "I need to back Trump up by telling outrageous, implausible lies": all of them.

Christian nationalist pastor Joel Webbon says America is under the "curse of feminism" and God will not bless the nation until women are forced out of all positions of leadership: "No more women in Congress. No more female state reps. No more women in any function of societal leadership."

The US conservative movement, for the last 5 or 6 decades, is so much more sinister, so much more of an *actual* shadowy conspiracy fueled by oligarchs, than the average American understands.

Republicans live in a mental Groundhog Day where crime and dysfunction are at still at their peak and will be every day for the rest of time. They don't understand that the rest of us know it's not 1977 or 1991 anymore .

RFK Jr. Learns He Is Not Also Denmark's HHS Secretary Splinter is your home for news and opinions that challenge power in our political and economic system that's becoming more unhinged each and every day.

"RFK Jr. is separating himself in terms of sheer unqualified hubris, a scion of century-old unearned American royalty somehow granted power over the entire concept of public health, spewing forth new garbage with a distressing regularity."

“It was not clear how Trump intended to end no-cash bail policies, which are often determined by state law.”

Should have been the lede, but at least it was in there.

Anyway, NYS got rid of cash bail for a whole mess of crimes, and NYC’s crime rates have LITERALLY NEVER BEEN LOWER.

MAGA is going through some things .

Over at @taskandpurpose.com @pjmatt.bsky.social was able to get Mingus' spokesperson to at least comment. "A spokesperson for Mingus told Task & Purpose that Groberg’s actions spoke for themselves." taskandpurpose.com/culture/grob...

It is always amusing that "serious newsman" Bret Baier hosts (and likely produces) these scripted telecasts. This is all he ever was, folks.

National Guard deployed to protect the Epstein Files.

NEW!! Apparently, Trump was not misspeaking. Sources tell me that there are indeed plans for Trump to briefly cross into russia after meeting with Putin in Alaska on Friday. This is going to more look like Trump-Kim DMZ summit

Turns out Trump wasn't misspeaking in his presser.

From Reddit's Mark My Words subreddit: MMW: ICE will be deployed en masse to polling locations for the Midterms The pretext will be to “prevent illegal immigrants from voting” which on its face is legal but it will be clearly able to suppress PoC voting. Any violence will be used as pretext for the next action and lack of violence will be ‘proof’ that it worked and the populace supported the action.

Yup.

Interesting visual experiment. I did not notice "December 12, 2023" until you mentioned it.

"December 12, 2023"

it's pretty frustrating how republicans can just spew endless lies about city life with zero repercussions but the moment a dem disparages a pickup truck it's open season

"For the president, this is something that hits home, because he is a visual person and the visuals of him driving to his golf course and seeing those homeless encampments" -- Politico's Dasha Burns puts on a masterclass in Trump sanewashing on Fox News

the only thing i'd add to this is that mainstream political media is very much taken with the idea that trump is some incarnation of the national spirit. it shows up everywhere and is used to explain his political success.

I should have been clearer: Both sides (implicitly) agree not to write down any deal. They understand Trump will fill the silence with outlandish claims, delivering him a political win. And our trading partners are obliged to deliver nothing, giving them the economic win.

JFC

I feel like everything got in the weeds that we're not making the argument for why govt funding of science and education is good.

"EVs are the best product by far for the customers we're going after"

As expected, people *want* EV's, mfrs will feed that market regardless of tax incentives (and Big Oil lobbyists).

The Military Occupied LA for 40 Days and All They Did Was Detain One Guy Sent over the objections of California officials, the military has detained one man who was rushing to an appointment in a federal building, not protesting.

With Trump set to deploy the National Guard to D.C., it's important to remember what they did in LA: Pretty much nothing.

She is 100 proof against crime

RFK Jr must resign and I believe those of us who work in healthcare, public health, health research, or any related field should demand his resignation