Graphic Granola

NEW: Trump says it is "seditious, perhaps even treasonous" to question his health.

BTW, I really like this creator, Cult College. She has been in a cult & knows what it looks like to break out of a cult. Now she goes into the MAGA social realm to report what they're posting. Many are waking up to the biggest con man & the most destructive con job in our country's history.

YouTube video by Cult College NICK FUENTES OUTING TRUMP #maga #groyper #billionaire #trumpadministration #trump #trumpnews #gop

Sure, he's a neo-notsee and the worst of the worst misogynists, but it says a lot when Nick Fuentes (one of MAGA's biggest early supporters) abandons MAGA and calls out Trump.

We truly DO live in the upside-down.

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www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMuY...

Trump's new security strategy endangers democracy The president's retrograde National Security Strategy emphasizes profit and bluster at democracy's expense

With its embrace of nationalism, chauvinism and a world of great powers, each dominant in its sphere of influence, the 33-page document reads like it was pulled from a time capsule. If Trump gets his way, the late 19th and early 20th centuries will be reborn.

www.salon.com/2025/12/09/t...

The Trump Administration Actually Backed Down Alina Habba’s resignation is a sign that some checks are still checking.

Still, amid the legal technicalities and blustering X posts, something quietly important happened: The judiciary stood up to the Trump administration’s abuse of power—and the administration backed down.

www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...

Americans overwhelmingly reject Trump-Vance administration’s illegal national citizenship database - CREW | Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington Elected officials, state agencies, privacy experts, state and national organizations and thousands of Americans across the country oppose the government’s dramatic expansion of the SAVE system.

Elected officials, state agencies, privacy experts, state & national orgs representing millions of Americans and thousands of individuals across the country just sent a clear message to the Trump-Vance administration:
STOP ABUSING OUR PERSONAL DATA

www.citizensforethics.org/reports-inve...

SCOTUS poised to ‘destroy the structure of government’ in Trump v. Slaughter case Three takeaways from the hearing in a case with dramatic consequences for presidential power and modern government.

SCOTUS decides on whether presidents have the power to fire heads of independent fed agencies & overturn a 1935 precedent that has bolstered protections for almost a century.

The court doesn’t care about “destroy[ing] the structure of gov't” —at least not in the way that Sotomayor is worried about.

US downgraded from democracy to banana republic The United States has officially traded its democracy credentials for the banana republic starter pack, and there do not appear to be any safeguards left to get us back on…

The US has officially traded its democracy credentials for the banana republic starter pack.

For the first time in modern history, the US is being treated as a country in structural democratic decline.

And spoiler alert: that decline has one author. His name is Donald Trump.

Jared Kushner, the President’s Son-in-Law, Is Part of Paramount’s Bid for Warner Bros. Discovery

Affinity Partners adds a new political twist to the fight for Warner Bros. Discovery. Trump will need to approve of any deal. The president has long been critical of CNN. If the Ellisons close an agreement with Affinity’s help, a piece of the parent company would be owned by the Trump family.

Sure, makes sense. Most likely, his innate misogyny is worsening with his decline. As if we thought it was possible, he is indeed getting MEANER.

However, I also like to think that he knows he's going down, feels cornered like a rat, and lashes out in defense. That feels a little better somehow.

The K-shaped Christmas: wealthy few drive holiday spending splurge while many struggle to get by A soaring stock market rewards the already well-off but Trump’s handling of the economy has caused his approval ratings to plunge

Luxury spending is surging among the richest Americans, while most families face rising prices, shrinking wages, & cuts to food & housing aid. Tariffs add an estimated $1,700 per household.

The US is locked into a K-shaped economy: the wealthy thrive as everyone else confronts scarcity.

Tariff Threat Forces U.S. Ports to Rethink Upgrade Plans Operators shy from buying Chinese ship-to-shore cranes despite one-year pause to Trump’s 100% import duty.

The uncertainty is destabilizing supply chains, slowing port capacity, & guaranteeing higher future costs. With few non-Chinese mfrs available, Trump’s standoff risks long-term logistical choke points that weaken US competitiveness & further raise consumer prices.

www.wsj.com/articles/tar...

For small businesses hit by soaring costs, layoffs are painful and personal Lacie Carroll-Marsh had to lay off 17 of her 31 employees this year: “We have Christmases together. And it hurts. There’s tears on both sides.”

Small businesses cut 120K jobs in November as inflation, tariffs, labor shortages from mass deportations, & doubled health insurance premiums collide.

While the White House blames “temporary factors,” the structural damage makes clear that small businesses are reaching a breaking point.

Winter is coming. Not all weather offices are ready. Vacancies remain in National Weather Service offices across the country, including in some of the coldest, snowiest parts of the country.

National Weather Service is entering winter with severe staffing shortages. Musk wiped out roughly 550 meteorologists, technicians, & scientists. Vacancies remain widespread, shutdown delays stalled onboarding, & critical offices report vacancy rates as high as 40%.

FDA in turmoil after exit of veteran cancer researcher | CNN Politics Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary is under renewed scrutiny by Trump officials amid continued turmoil at the agency, including a series of high-profile departures that have raised...

The meltdown is now a full-blown governance crisis, eroding drug safety, vaccine oversight, & public trust. With political appointees overriding science, speeding risky reviews, & questioning existing vaccines, Trump and RFK Jr. are dismantling public health protections.

www.cnn.com/2025/12/06/p...

Minnesota Somalis fearful but defiant after Trump insults, ICE surge “I don't even feel myself because I'm scared everywhere I go. Am I a target? I don't even know. That's very sad,” said Ifrah Farah, a U.S. citizen from Somalia.

Somali Americans (most US-born or legal residents) report being stopped on streets, in cars, & outside homes as the lawless regime uses a fraud case to justify broad racialized targeting.

Trump is weaponizing federal power against a single minority community.

Trump Border Czar Seems Totally Fine With Detaining Citizens ICE keeps targeting people who aren’t immigrants. Tom Homan doesn’t appear to think this is a problem.

The regime is openly normalizing the detention of US citizens, wiping out the assumption that Americans don’t have to prove their right to exist in their own country. Homan’s stance shows these aren’t mistakes but a built-in feature of Trump’s dragnet—erasing due-process protections for anyone.

ICE has arrested nearly 75,000 people with no criminal records, data shows The figures don't include arrests made by Border Patrol, which has launched aggressive immigration operations in several cities in recent months.

1/3 of the 220K arrested had no criminal history.

The data confirms Trump’s mass-detention system targets anyone undocumented, & not criminals, gutting industries, terrorizing communities, & erasing due process. ICE & Border Patrol have effectively built a nationwide police state with no oversight.

US waives $11 million Southwest Airlines fine imposed over 2022 holiday meltdown The 2022 holiday meltdown that prompted the fine stranded more than 2 million passengers.

During the 2022 holidays, SW stranded more than 2M passengers. Trump waived $11M of Southwest Airlines’ $140M penalty.

Trump is stripping away airline accountability & dismantling consumer protections, signaling that carriers will face fewer consequences for mass disruptions.

How Florida lost track of 30,000 students, a ‘cautionary tale’ for vouchers The state’s auditor general found “a myriad of accountability problems” in the nation’s largest voucher program.

FL lost track of 30K students and $270M in taxpayer funds in its $4B school-choice voucher program. An audit cites mismanagement, duplicate payments, and lack of accountability as the program DOUBLED in size & costs.

www.washingtonpost.com/education/20...

ICEBlock developer sues U.S. government after DOJ demanded Apple remove app from store The developer of the ICEBlock app sued the U.S. government for alleged free speech infringements.

ICEBlock [an app that tracks ICE agents’ locations in real time] sues the US government after the DOJ pressured Apple to remove the app from the App Store, potentially violating the First Amendment's free speech rights.

www.cnbc.com/2025/12/08/i...

Mother of Karoline Leavitt’s nephew granted bond after ICE arrest An immigration judge agreed to allow Bruna Ferreira to be released on bond as she fights potential deportation.

ICE releases Bruna Ferreira, mother of WH Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt’s nephew, on $1,500 bond. She claims the Trump administration targeted her despite decades in the US, no criminal record, & joint custody w/father, who threatened to have her deported.

www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...

ICE threatened to dump Cuban immigrants in Mexico after Fort Bliss ‘torture’: letter Detainees describe guards routinely beating and pressuring immigrants to hop border fences

ACLU lawsuit claims that detainees at Fort Bliss face routine beatings, crushed testicles, torture, mental torture, and pressure by masked agents to cross the Mexican border or risk being deported to Africa or CECOT in El Salvador.

www.the-independent.com/news/world/a...

Donald Trump calls female reporter "obnoxious" for asking question In recent weeks, Trump has drawn attention after slinging insults at several female journalists.

"You are terrible!— I didn’t say that. You said that! This is ABC fake news.”

Trump reverses and crashes out on ABC’s Rachel Scott after she asks him about 2nd-strike footage he said he’d have ‘no problem’ releasing.

www.newsweek.com/trump-clashe...

Mike Johnson strips military IVF coverage from defense bill – report House speaker worked behind the scenes to strip provision after it was added as an amendment earlier this year

Anti-abortion House Speaker Johnson quietly strips IVF coverage for active-duty service members from new defense bill (NDAA), reversing earlier bipartisan approval despite Trump’s public claims to expand access.

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Congress to withhold Pentagon travel funds until it sees boat strike videos Lawmakers quietly stuck the requirement into their must-pass annual defense policy bill.

Am I finally seeing some Congressional backbone?

Congress to withhold 25% of Hegseth's Pentagon travel funds from new defense bill until unedited drug-smuggling strike videos are released amid possible war crime concerns.

www.politico.com/news/2025/12...

Pentagon Awards $620M Contract to Startup Backed by Donald Trump Jr.’s Venture Capital Fund A startup funded by a venture capital firm with backing from President Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr. has been awarded a $620 million contract from the Pentagon, according to reporting from the Financia...

Pentagon awards $620M contract (largest-ever issued) to startup backed by DJT, Jr.'s venture capital firm 1789 Capital, which he joined as a partner last year. So far, the firm has received at least 4 government contracts.

www.democracynow.org/2025/12/8/he...

‘Ruthless neo-Nazi terrorist’ grooms new attackers from inside jail: feds - NewsBreak While awaiting sentencing in a county jail in the Sierra Nevada foothills, a 36-year-old woman described as a leader of a “transnational terrorist group” h

Dallas Humber (36), ‘ruthless neo-Nazi terrorist,’ caught grooming new terrorists from jail while awaiting sentencing. She ran ‘Terrorgram,’ a Telegram-based neo-Nazi network spreading violent propaganda directly linked to global terror attacks.

www.newsbreak.com/raw-story-20...

‘Very unfair’: Trump threatens extra 5% tariff on Mexico over water dispute President accuses neighbor of violating treaty governing water-sharing and urges water to be released ‘immediately’

In a post on Truth Social on Monday, Trump said that Mexico “owes” the US 800,000 acre-feet of water due to violations of the treaty over the past five years.

He demanded Mexico release 200,000 acre-feet of water before 31 December, and more “soon after”.

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Trump announces $12bn package to aid US farmers hurt by his tariffs Farmers have been dogged by trade wars that have seen reduced purchases and increased prices on seeds and fertiliser.

All told, farmers were set to receive a near-record $40B in government payments this year, fuelled by an array of disaster relief funding and economic aid.

www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/12...