Tom Champion

Two can play at this game. Dems in Congress should respond in kind by using their govt-funded websites to list this regime's myriad crimes -- unless and until the regime returns to non-partisan use of publicly-financed communications resources.

These websites would make news, give our Dem representatives a chance to speak out on a broader platform and serve as reference repositories of the growing mountains of evidence regarding criminal, unconstitutional and corrupt actions by the Mad King and his enablers.

Based on their committee assignments, various members could focus on the crimes relevant to their interests, from illegal use of armed forces to corrupt self-dealing to use of regulatory agencies and DOJ to threaten, harass and extort various public and private individuals and institutions.

Doesn't this latest travesty open the door to Democratic members of the House and Senate using their official governmental websites to troll the administration? Each entry would be prefaced with a statement that this will only continue until normal, constitutional procedures are fully restored.

Here's a roomful of people who -- with very few exceptions -- have actually read the Constitution, understand what it means, and take their citizenship very seriously. They deserve better than being forced to listen to inane lectures and veiled threats from the Mad King and his hench-thug.

No fatties, no beardos, no longhairs, for they do not embody the warrior ethos.

He's not thinking; he's decompensating.

Just the latest in a mounting series of daft behaviors: the auto-pen wall pic, the mistaking of 2020 Portland footage as current, the explosive rants after Kimmel's return; the rush to declare the MI shooting as a left "attack on Christians." (There's more.) He's not "thinking;" he's decompensating.

New details emerge on Hegseth’s unusual mass gathering of top brass Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has summoned hundreds of generals for what is expected to be a short lecture on the “warrior ethos.” But top brass is bracing for possible firings or demotions.

Because there's nothing general officers like better than having to drop everything and fly thousands of miles on short notice in order to be lectured on the topic of the "warrior ethos" by a retired National Guard major.
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

YouTube video by ABC News Illinois Gov. Pritzker responds to Trump's threat to send National Guard to Chicago

Like many Democrats, I am dissatisfied with the DC-based "leadership" of my party. But more and more, state and local Democratic leaders are embracing the plain speaking we need. This is the Way. youtu.be/H4vQWQzcm_A?...

"Allies? We ain't got no allies. We don't NEED no allies. I don't have to ally with you, you steenking Centrist!"

To the barricades! Well, not my barricade -- you go find your own.

Y'know, if it weren't for the slide into fascism, retirement really would feel like an extremely extended family vacation.

As Fascism Takes Hold in the U.S., How Will — and Should — the TV Landscape Depict Our Real-Life Horrors? In his Awards Circuit column, Michael Schneider looks at the U.S.' descent into fascism, and asks how the TV landscape should depict the horrors.

An eloquent and timely article in Variety (and yet another chance for me to recommend Andor).
variety.com/2025/tv/awar...

It's a good time for all of us to show our respect for Federal law enforcement officers by feeding them. When you see masked ICE agents in the street, offer them soft, delicious, well-made, well-wrapped sandwiches. Toss them in their direction. I'm sure they'll appreciate the gesture.

The rate of violent and serious crime in DC is LOWER now than it was during the presidencies of Reagan, Bush I or Bush II. (Numbers at link.)
The Mad King is simply flexing his dictator muscles. Which, it must be noted, look stronger every day.
publicleadershipinstitute.org/wp-content/u...

The GOP used merely to be "fascism-curious." The Mad King and his robber barons have pushed hard for them to become "fascism-adjacent." But it's now become all too clear that they're all-in fascist. It's a disease -- and it's spreading faster than measles.

Most Democrats vote for failed resolutions to block arms sales to Israel The votes by more than half of Senate Democrats highlight the party’s growing frustration with Israel’s handling of the war in Gaza, nearly two years after Hamas’s attack.

I still believe that Democrats can win elections and redeem our national promise. And Dem voters are over-performing everywhere in off-year tests. But the "leadership" -- Schumer, Jeffries, Martin -- are failing us. It's time for them to go.

www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

To riff on a recent coinage, the Freedom Caucus Always Chickens Out: FCACO! (Close relative, perhaps, to the Yiddish fakakta -- in meaning as well as pronunciation.) What amazes me is all the breathless media coverage about GOP "divisions." This abomination was always going to pass.

"In every stage of these Oppressions . . . Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people."
Best Wishes to All for a Hopeful and Resolute Independence Day.

No Kings, High Point NC

Opinion | What Makes Art ‘Left Wing’?

I'm not a fan of Ross Douthat but, if you love Andor, his interview with Tony Gilroy is well worth a read/listen. And if you don't love Andor, then you really, really should.
www.nytimes.com/2025/06/05/o...

In my family, "I am Akram" is already shorthand slang for "Everything's okay; I'm here to solve your problem and save the day."

Just finished Episode 6. I read the first couple of books and this, generally, is an improvement. Although, as played by Goode, Morck is even more damaged and unlikeable than the literary original.

Dept. Q is such a hit that it broke Netflix and has been taken out of their lineup. Outages reported globally. The site is back up, but Dept. Q has vanished. Check r/Netflix on Reddit

So satisfying that it broke Netflix and has been taken out of their lineup. Outages reported globally. The site is back up, but Dept. Q has vanished. Check r/Netflix on Reddit

7 ways Republicans are split over Trump’s ‘big bill’ Getting Trump’s tax and immigration bill through the Senate won’t be easy.

Don't be fooled by headlines about "GOP splits." It's all b.s. The Senate will pass a cruel, corrupt version of the bill.Yet the press corps will continue to cover the story as if the outcome is in doubt.
How stupid can they be? How stupid do they think WE are?
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

This is the way every journalist in America needs to be writing: we can't afford any more reporting that this regime's appalling actions are "unprecedented" or "raise ethical concerns, according to some experts."

That, too.

Trump Administration Halts Harvard’s Ability to Enroll International Students

Coercion. Extortion. Call it what you will, but it's illegal as hell.
www.nytimes.com/2025/05/22/u...