Nathan Kalmoe (he/him)

All those myths from the Vietnam War about the nation turning its back on its people in uniform? It's happening now. At the direction of the Department of Defense.

Why you might not know that 2024 was America's safest year since the 1960s An overwhelming majority of Americans, 64 percent, believe that crime increased across the country in 2024, according to a Gallup survey conducted late last year.

1. This week, the FBI released its comprehensive crime report for 2024, which revealed that both VIOLENT CRIME and PROPERTY CRIME reached their LOWEST LEVELS SINCE THE 1960s

This a massive story. But you might not have heard about it, even if you follow the news closely.

Here's why.

Video shows Department of Justice official urging Jan. 6 rioters to 'kill' cops The Department of Justice hired a former Jan. 6 defendant who was caught on tape urging rioters to "kill" police. The department calls him a "valued member" of the administration.

NEW: Police bodycam footage introduced at the trial of Jared Wise showed him berating police officers on Jan. 6, 2021, and yelling "kill 'em" as rioters attacked law enforcement. He’s now working as a senior adviser for the Department of Justice.

Workers at the VA spoke at public hearings earlier this year and talked about how important their union is to them.

Union-busting is disgusting. The labor movement will continue to fight the Trump administration's all-out assault on workers with everything we have.

Trans service members are being forced to do voluntary separation and take a pay out or be involuntarily separated and subjected to a loss of any separation payments at all and labeled a risk to national security.

This is a stab in the back to service members who have served for nearly 2 decades.

Exclusive: US Air Force denies early retirement for group of transgender service members The U.S. Air Force is denying early retirement to all transgender service members with between 15 and 18 years of military service, opting instead to force them out with no retirement benefits, according to a memo seen by Reuters.

Air Force service members with 15-18 years of service can be eligible for early retirement. The Trump admin just blocked early retirement for all trans folks in the Air Force leaving them without the lifelong pensions or healthcare they're owed for their service.

www.reuters.com/legal/govern...

adobe acrobat prompt - "Short on time? Save it with a quick document summary."

Dear Adobe

Thanks for asking. Yes, I'm a professor, and it's early August, so I am feeling short on time!

That's why I'd prefer you stop wasting it by asking if I'd like an AI summary of every pdf I open.

Top Jewish philanthropists say Netanyahu's gov't causing 'lasting damage' to world Jewry ***

good for them: www.haaretz.com/jewish/2025-...

We're writing to inform you of updates to our Account Use Policy that take effect on August 20th. These changes reflect our shared commitment to building a sustainable, high-trust fundraising ecosystem that serves the long-term interests of Democratic and progressive causes. Why These Updates Matter The digital fundraising landscape has evolved dramatically, and with it, we've seen practices emerge that undermine donor trust and hurt all of us. When donors encounter misleading solicitations, impersonation, or excessive spam, they lose confidence—not just in bad actors, but in our entire movement. These policy updates are designed to protect the ecosystem we've all worked hard to build. By establishing clear standards for responsible fundraising, we're helping ensure that: Donors feel confident their contributions are being used effectively Legitimate organizations can build sustainable, long-term fundraising programs Bad actors can't undermine the trust you've earned with your supporters

Key Changes That May Impact Your Operations: 1. Solicitation Standards We have strengthened our policies around impersonation, barring outside groups from using the name or likeness of any candidate, elected official, or organization in a way that falsely implies endorsement, affiliation, or authorization without documented written permission. Entities must not misleadingly suggest that donations will directly benefit specific individuals or entities without proper authorization, or misrepresent the destination or intended use of donor funds. We're also explicitly prohibiting false claims in solicitations, including references to fake voting records, non-existent memberships, or unverified matching programs. These changes ensure donors are making informed choices about their giving.

2. Responsible Stewardship & Transparency To help ensure donor contributions are being used effectively and as promised, we've introduced new provisions that allow us to request documentation when needed. These aren't blanket requirements - they're tools we can use to verify that funds are being stewarded responsibly and that fundraising claims are accurate in response to donor complaints. Impact documentation: We may request statements showing how contributions have been used to advance your stated mission Matching program verification: If you advertise matching programs, you must be able to provide documentation verifying your matching program upon request

3. Donor Relations We've all seen how excessive solicitations and aggressive fundraising tactics can drive donors away from our movement. When supporters feel bombarded or misled, they don't just unsubscribe from one organization—they often stop giving altogether. That's why we're establishing clearer standards for respectful donor engagement. If an entity becomes the subject of repeated donor complaints about excessive or aggressive solicitations, we'll investigate and work with them on corrective action. This isn't about policing every email, it's about addressing patterns of behavior that damage donor relationships across our ecosystem. All entities using our platform are expected to maintain respectful and transparent fundraising practices. By holding each other to these standards, we protect the donor relationships that sustain our collective work.

Some good news. ActBlue just announced major updates to crack down on deceptive fundraising. New rules ban impersonation, fake matches, and excessive spam. Big step in the right direction.

Shout out to Josh Nelson and everyone who has been advocating for these changes.

‘This is sending a message’: DOJ moves to sanction lawyer who took pro bono deportation case The move comes after Trump directed the department to seek to sanction lawyers “who engage in frivolous, unreasonable, and vexatious litigation.”

‘This is sending a message’: DOJ moves to sanction lawyer who took pro bono deportation case

Cop, texting: "I'm so glad there's a gov't agency more visibly viciously cruel than us right now -- really taking the heat off."

Heroes.

When all society's leaders are fully bought into the bullshit & experts are ignored, there's no accountability mechanism for the technologists. Their only goal is to make abominable sums of money for themselves -- and maybe also to receive god-like adulation.

A musical tribute to Melissa and Mark Hortman At 8 a.m. on the morning of Wednesday, Aug. 6, the Hortmans’ children, Colin and Sophie, joined The Current’s Morning Show to share songs and stories that embody their parents’ spirit and memory.

If you have a moment today, check out Colin and Sophie Hortman’s tribute to their parents on @thecurrent. It’s moving, powerful, and full of great music!

WOW. The Trump admin is rewriting reality, erasing accountability for any nation with close ties to Trump — including Russia, El Salvador, and Israel.

The El Salvador report changes are egregious, totally erasing well-documented abuses. And the impact will be severe. Quick 🧵.

Republican US Supreme Court justices

Including these hacks 👇

That “may” in the headline is hilariously bad.

Cementing rich white rule is (and has long been) the point of most GOP policy and that is definitely the case for selective admissions.

Those states have rural Republican precincts too.

Yes, potentially more help for publics, but also more limits due to state politics. Namely, states can't afford to make up the losses if Trump cuts everything. OTOH, the political image harms to Republicans with destroying publics are greater than for privates, tho that prob requires fair elections.

also raising my eyebrow at 'huh, so many historian briefs support liberal positions--I guess history profs are Dem elites'

or maybe historians felt compelled to respond to originalism's ascendancy and the Supreme Court's reliance on spurious historical arguments to advance a far-right policy agenda

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_Un...

Marquette profesors have books for the moment, part 2 kansaspress.ku.edu/9780700639687/

Here's what that looks like in the 2024 presidential results:

Pet peeve: When people say "We're not really a purple state; we have very blue urban areas but very red rural areas." This is every state.

After a convening, my 'zero concessions' view is shifting.

Trump's $ powers (grants/trans/"antisem"/DEI/visas/loans/admit/hire/tax exempt/accredit) can fully destroy unis.

Among bad options, indiv unis can only buy time: stall, min loss on core values, aim for regime change/joint action by AAU.

That Trump has never been asked about hiring foreign workers, something he’s done the entire time he’s terrorized immigrants, is in the top 1,000 of recent press failures

Bard president Leon Botstein says Trump’s campaign against colleges follows ‘a classic antisemitic routine’ Botstein, born in 1946 in Europe to Holocaust survivors, has led the liberal arts college for 50 years.

“I actually think the government is playing out a classic antisemitic routine... Blame it on the Jews — ‘The reason that all the research funding is gone is because of the Jews.’” forward.com/fast-forward...

Just from a logistical standpoint it is not feasible to conduct a "new" mid-decade census with accuracy. To give a sense of the scale of what is required, preparations are already underway for the *2030* census. This will add chaos to the Census Bureau and degrade the accuracy of the 2030 census

Donald Trump won 56% of the vote in Texas in 2024.

Republicans currently control 25 of the 38 House seats, or 66%.

If this plan goes through they'll control 30 of 38 seats, or 79%.

"The court’s steady effort to make the law an artifact of the past is of a piece with its broad expansion of executive power for the current president. Both work to undermine the basis for this more politically equal era of American democracy and clear the path to an American autocracy."