The Conversation -- May 24, 2025
Josh Marshall has a nice, short post on the Supreme's do-it-yourself Constitution. Marshall's commentary is in line with Justice Kagan's dissent in yesterday's decision to let Trump run roughshod over "independent" agencies -- except the Federal Reserve.
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Marie: Dana Milbank of the Washington Post shares my feelings about Trump's behavior: "This is just embarrassing -- maybe not for our president, who seems incapable of such a sentiment, but for the rest of us. Everywhere I looked this week, I cringed for my country." Besides ambushing South African President Cyril Ramaphosa with racist lies & his solicitation for Qatar Force One (which he pretended was a surprise gift), there were other Trumpian embarrassments. For instance, "Asked this week for his thoughts on the first American pope, Trump turned it into a celebration of himself. The pope's brother 'is a major MAGA fan,' Trump said. 'He's got MAGA and he's got Trump, and I look forward to getting him to the White House.'... To be sure, 'embarrassing' isn't the only adjective that comes to mind. There&'s also 'lawless.'" This is a gift link. (Also linked yesterday.)
David Fahrenthold, et al., of the New York Times: "The invitees for ... [Donald] Trump's private dinner for customers of his cryptocurrency business on Thursday included a Chinese billionaire fighting a lawsuit from U.S. regulators, a lawyer for Justice Clarence Thomas and a former basketball star, according to a guest list obtained by The New York Times and social media posts. The dinner, at which Mr. Trump gave remarks, was an extraordinary moment in which the president leveraged his position to make money -- for his crypto business and for his Virginia golf club, which hosted the event.... The following [people] were among those who were invited to the festivities." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: I have bad news for the influence-seekers. They have paid only the entrance fee. To get what they want, more is required. Dana Milbank (linked above) provides one example: "Vietnam is in talks with the Trump Organization to build a new Trump Tower in Ho Chi Minh City, Reuters reported -- a transparent attempt to buy Trump's favor while it tries to persuade him to drop tariffs he imposed against the country. Vietnam just approved a $1.5 billion golf project by the Trump Organization, and has offered favorable terms to Musk's Starlink internet service." ~~~
~~~ Eric, et al., Launch Another Trump Bribe Repository. David Fahrenthold & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: Donald "Trump's son Eric and son-in-law Michael Boulos have founded a new nonprofit to raise money for Mr. Trump's presidential library, according to incorporation papers filed Friday in Florida. The nonprofit, called the Donald J. Trump Presidential Library Foundation, is intended to 'steward, preserve, and celebrate the legacy and historical record of President Donald J. Trump and his presidency,' the filing said. It was signed on May 19, but filed on Friday.... The foundation's trustees include Eric Trump, Mr. Boulos -- who is married to Mr. Trump's daughter Tiffany -- and James Kiley, a Long Island attorney who has represented Mr. Trump.... The foundation's address, at least for now, is at a Trump golf course in Jupiter, Fla. This is the second nonprofit set up in Florida to raise money for Mr. Trump's presidential library. The first, the Donald J. Trump Presidential Library Fund, was incorporated in late December.... Mr. Kiley did not immediately respond to an email asking why there were two."
Mitchell Berman in a Washington Post op-ed: "Trump uses federal funds and other government benefits to pressure individuals and institutions [-- universities, law firms, media, Democratic-run states] into exercising their constitutional rights as he prefers. This is extortionate. And therefore unconstitutional.... If Trump can use threats over tariffs to pressure nations into opening their markets or strengthening their currencies or ordering more U.S. arms, why can't he do the same with American institutions? Because foreign nations have no constitutional rights, but American universities, lawyers, journalists and states do -- rights protected by the First, Fifth, Sixth and Tenth Amendments.... This is a well-established legal principle."
"From the Idiot-King Dept." Karl Bode of TechDirt: "Last week we noted how Trump illegally declared he was killing the $2.75 billion Digital Equity Act. The law, passed as part of the infrastructure bill, was slated to bring millions in new broadband grants and digital literacy tools to Americans of all kinds long stuck on the wrong side of the digital divide. The bill helped everybody (including Trump-supporting rural veterans), but because Trump's team assumed that the word equity meant 'exclusively help minorities,' the program has become the latest victim of our mad, incoherent, con man king and his army of mindless earlobe nibblers. It hasn't taken long for the decision to have ripple effects in the real world. South Dakota, for example, says it's cancelling $5 million in broadband investment because of the uncertain future of the grants that were going to be funding the plan[.]" Thanks to RAS for the link. (Also linked yesterday.)
Jack Detsch, et al., of Politico: "... Donald Trump ... can't build [his 'Golden Dome' missile defense system] without Canada. And it's not clear America's northern neighbor wants in. Canada would need to play a pivotal role in Trump's signature, potentially $500 billion effort to build the so-called Golden Dome, according to U.S. officials and experts, with Ottawa providing radars and airspace needed to track incoming missiles in the Arctic.... Trump, in his Golden Dome announcement on Tuesday, dismissed what Canada could offer the project. 'They want to have protection also, so as usual, we help Canada,' he said. Yet whether he realizes it or not, Trump suddenly finds himself in need of an ally he has largely forsaken. He has singled out Canada for free riding on American military might and preferential trade ties, and has engaged in a tariff battle that has stilted relations. Prime Minister Mark Carney has warned the United States can't take Ottawa for granted and has begun searching for other security partners. The shield, therefore, gives Canada some new leverage in the countries' tenuous relationship.... Canada has always played a big role in air and missile defense for North America." ~~~
~~~ Marie: IOW, here's more proof that Trump's whiney complaints about Canada's being a defense freeloader are fake-victimhood lies. So, gosh, it looks like all those "51st state" insults and steep tariffs have yet another downside. Although to be fair to Trump, the whole Golden Dome thing appears to be nothing more than a kleptocratic excuse to give Elon Musk some huge Starlink contracts.
David Lynch & Rachel Lerman of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump appeared to approve a long-pending deal between U.S. Steel and its Japanese rival Nippon Steel on Friday, posting on his Truth Social account that there will be a 'planned partnership' between the companies. But no details of the transaction were made public.... The president's celebratory declaration skirted the central question about U.S. Steel's fate: Will it remain American-owned, as Biden and the steelworkers union had insisted, or will it become part of a Japanese rival?... The lack of detail about a transaction that has been in the works for nearly two years left key stakeholders, including investors and the affected union, frustrated." The AP's story is here.
Ellen Nakashima & Adam Taylor of the Washington Post: "Scores of staffers at the White House National Security Council were abruptly dismissed on Friday, as the Trump administration moved to dramatically downsize the coordinating body.... The staff sent home included both career officials who were detailed to the NSC and some political appointees.... The cuts were made under ... Donald Trump's new national security adviser, Marco Rubio, who also is serving as secretary of state.... Most NSC staffers are detailed to the White House from other parts of the federal government and were expected to go back to their home agencies, including the State Department, Pentagon and intelligence agencies, said people familiar with the shake-up." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Robbie Gramer, et al., of Politico: "The Trump administration is carrying out a dramatic overhaul of the White House National Security Council, shrinking the nerve center of the American foreign policy machinery, according to five people familiar with the plans. The plans involve slashing the number of staffers at the NSC to less than 150 from around 350 currently -- and some of those cuts have already begun. The White House also plans to cut the number of NSC committees and for those that remain to meet less often.... Some staffers have been told they are being put on administrative leave and others who were on temporary detail to the NSC have been told they are going back to their agencies, two ... people said." MB: It was national security staff who during Trump's first term flagged his scheme to bribe President Zelensky to frame Joe Biden. That "perfect call" led to Trump's first impeachment. So you can see that it's impossible for Trump to conduct his usual business with those busybodies nosing around.
Amanda Marcotte of Salon: "I'm not so sure that [Kristi] Noem, who has been neck-deep in [the] debate about basic human rights for months, is as dumb as she seemed in that moment [when she got the definition of 'habeas corpus' ass-backwards].... Whether Noem comes by her confusion honestly or she was just play-acting, she's there to play the role of the proud MAGA bimbo, in the grand tradition of figures like Sarah Palin.... She's contemptuous of people who actually know what they're talking about, especially if those facts-laden human beings are fellow women.... It's in reality TV where the [traditional, unthreatening] bimbo morphed from the sweet-but-stupid image portrayed by [Marilyn] Monroe to the vindictive trophy wife [-- 'Real Housewives' --] who takes out her pointless grievances by throwing glasses of wine.... The vision of the wine-throwing real housewife is the stereotype that Noem has shaped herself around, pairing her expensive clothes and plastic surgery with displays of breathtaking sadism, all performed as if she is literally too stupid to know better." (Also linked yesterday.)
Stephanie Saul of the New York Times: "Harvard University sued the Trump administration on Friday, less than 24 hours after the Department of Homeland Security said it would block international students from attending the nation's oldest university and one of its most prestigious. The administration action, and Harvard's response, signified a dramatic escalation of the battle between the administration and Harvard. And the university's forceful and almost immediate response served as evidence that stopping the flow of international students to Harvard, which draws some of the world's top scholars, would destabilize Harvard's very existence. In a letter to the Harvard community delivered Friday morning, Dr. Alan M. Garber, Harvard's president, wrote, 'We condemn this unlawful and unwarranted action,' adding that it 'imperils the futures of thousands of students and scholars across Harvard and serves as a warning to countless others at colleges and universities throughout the country who have come to America to pursue their education and fulfill their dreams.'" The NBC News story is here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ The NYT story has been updated: "Later Friday morning, at the university's request, a federal judge in Boston moved swiftly to block implementation of the federal government's order. The judge, Allison D. Burroughs issued a temporary restraining order against the federal edict, agreeing that Harvard had shown that its implementation would cause 'immediate and irreparable injury' to the university." The Harvard Crimson story is here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Oh, Dear. We Are Not Amused. Charlotte Van Campenhout of Reuters: "Princess Elisabeth, the 23-year-old future queen of Belgium, has just completed her first year at Harvard University but the ban imposed by ... Donald Trump's administration on foreign students studying there could jeopardise her continued studies.... '... The impact of (the Trump administration's) decision will only become clearer in the coming days/weeks. We are currently investigating the situation,' the Belgian Royal Palace's spokesperson Lore Vandoorne said." (Also linked yesterday.)
Michael Bender of the New York Times: "Kristi Noem, the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, sent a letter to Harvard requesting, among other things, coursework for every international student and information on any student visa holder involved in misconduct or illegal activity.... [Ms. Noem] also expanded [the government's] request for records to include any videos of international students, on campus or off, involved in protests or illegal or dangerous activity. The administration's attempt to vacuum up vast amounts of private student data opens a new front in Mr. Trump's crackdown on dissent from his political agenda. The strategy is aimed at realigning a higher education system the president sees as hostile to conservatives by stamping out what it says is antisemitism on campus and the transgender and diversity policies it says are rooted in 'woke' ideology. Harvard counters that it has provided all the data that is legally required and that the administration's unrelenting pressure campaign -- including the termination of billions in federal research grants -- amounts to an attempted takeover of the institution, bullying the university into changing what it can teach and whom it can hire. Harvard said the government's latest action 'is the culmination of an unprecedented and retaliatory attack' on the school's freedom of speech....
"Earlier this month, the Justice Department ... demanded records, written statements and sworn testimony from Harvard about its admissions policies.... The Justice Department also requested all documents and communications related to the university's evaluation of undergraduate applicants. The agency also asked for all internal deliberations about the Supreme Court decision that struck down affirmative action and all records related to the university's compliance with that ruling. The department also told Harvard to produce all texts, emails, Signal chats and other correspondence from current or former employees discussing [one of] Mr. Trump's executive orders.... [Ten days earlier,] the Education Department had asked for access to data and personnel related to Harvard's admission policies. A second Education Department investigation, opened on April 17, included a records request that is three pages long -- but no specific allegation of misconduct.... The move [to block all international students] was the 'unfortunate result,' Ms. Noem wrote in a letter to the university, 'of Harvard's failure to comply with simple reporting requirements.'" ~~~
~~~ Marie: Even if none of Noem's request violated privacy rights, the purpose of these demands is obviously to harass the university by drowning it in records requests. Does anybody think that, should Harvard comply, DHS will pore over thousands and thousands of student records?
One reason the Trump administration keeps losing cases is that its lawyers, though they "have a duty of candor" (i.e., a duty to be truthful to the trier of fact) keep lying to the courts. Fer instance ~~~
~~~ Mattathias Schwartz of the New York Times: "A federal judge ordered the Trump administration late Friday night to facilitate the return of a Guatemalan man who had been deported to Mexico, despite fearing persecution and having told U.S. authorities about the violence he had experienced there. The man, known by the initials O.C.G., is gay and is now living in hiding in Guatemala.... The ruling, by Judge Brian E. Murphy of the U.S. District Court in Boston, criticized the government for first claiming that O.C.G. had said he was not afraid of being sent to Mexico, where he said he was raped and held captive, but later admitting that it was 'unable to identify' the officials to whom he had supposedly made that statement. Judge Murphy also found that O.C.G. was likely to 'succeed in showing that his removal lacked any semblance of due process.'... The judge also ordered the government to investigate and report in more detail on how it had come to claim that O.C.G. did not fear being deported to Mexico, after a Department of Homeland Security official said the statement was based on data from a software tool.... 'It really is a big deal to lie to a court under oath,' Judge Murphy said at a hearing on Wednesday."
Arelis Hernández & Maria Sacchetti of the Washington Post: "Masked officers descended on courthouses across the country this week and arrested stunned immigrants showing up for scheduled immigration hearings as part of a new directive from federal officials aimed at dramatically accelerating deportations. U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in Arizona, Virginia and more than 20 other states have been instructed to arrest people immediately after a judge has ordered them to be deported or after prosecutors move to drop their cases, according to internal documents issued this month.... The Trump administration is planning to then place immigrants whose cases are dismissed and who have been in the country less than two years into a fast-track removal process that does not involve a hearing before a judge.... [Trump] made a similar attempt during his first term in 2019 but was stopped by a federal judge. The American Civil Liberties Union and other groups filed a federal lawsuit in January in the District of Columbia seeking to block the latest expansion, saying it violates immigrants' constitutional rights as well as other U.S. laws. They said asylum seekers 'would get less due process contesting their deportation than they would contesting a traffic ticket.'" ~~~
~~~ According to the report, immigration judges oversee civil courts and have no power to stop ICE officers from detaining and deporting immigrants.
Suzanne Gamboa of NBC News: "A U.S.-born citizen who was wrestled into the dirt, handcuffed and detained in a vehicle as part of an immigration raid had a REAL ID on him that was dismissed as fake, the man's cousin said Friday. Video of the arrest, aired by Noticias Telemundo, showed authorities grabbing Leonardo Garcia Venegas, 25, while at a job site in Foley, Alabama, on Wednesday and bending his arms behind him. Someone off-camera can be heard yelling, 'He's a citizen.'... Garcia said he was released from the vehicle where he was held after he gave the arresting officials his Social Security number, which showed he is a U.S. citizen." A relative said the officers also arrested Garcia's brother, who is not in the U.S. legally.
Angie Hernandez of the Washington Post: "A private security officer at an immigrant detention center in Texas was criminally charged last week with choking a handcuffed detainee, who was later transported to the facility's medical unit. Charles Siringi is accused of putting his hands around the detainee's neck and throat and slamming him against walls March 31 in Conroe, Texas, according to a criminal complaint."
Mark Berman of the Washington Post: "A federal judge on Friday struck down ... Donald Trump's executive order sanctioning the law firm Jenner & Block, the second time a court has struck down one of Trump's efforts to punish a firm. U.S. District Judge John D. Bates wrote that Trump's order was unconstitutional, saying the president was trying 'to chill legal representation the administration doesn't like, thereby insulating the Executive Branch from the judicial check fundamental to the separation of powers.'... Trump has targeted firms with ties to his perceived political opponents or that have challenged his policies and actions, highlighting some of these people by name in his orders." (Also linked yesterday.) The Guardian's report is here.
So now our very excellent Chief Justice is covering for former Co-president* Elon Musk: ~~~
~~~ Justin Jouvenal of the Washington Post: "Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. temporarily blocked a government watchdog group from obtaining records from the Trump administration's cost-cutting U.S. DOGE Service, whose inner workings have largely been shielded from public view. The brief administrative stay issued Friday will give the court more time to consider the underlying issues. Trump officials asked the high court to block a judge's order requiring DOGE's administrator, Amy Gleason, to give a deposition and disclose details about its operations. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) filed a Freedom of Information request seeking details about DOGE's secretive operations. Trump officials rebuffed it, saying that DOGE was a presidential advisory board, not a government agency, so it was not subject to disclosure laws. CREW then sued to obtain the information."
~~~ Lawrence Hurley & Gary Grumbach of NBC News: "CREW's lawyers said in court papers said that [the district judge] had merely issued a 'narrowly-tailored discovery order' to ascertain whether DOGE is a federal agency. The Supreme Court, they added, 'rarely intervenes in ongoing discovery disputes' and there was 'no basis for such extraordinary intervention here." MB: No, there was not. And isn't this convenient?: the government argues that DOGE is not subject to FOIA requests because it's not really a government department. Most of its employees, including the titular head of the not-department Amy Gleason, are federal workers. Some workers are regular federal employees assigned to DOGE & others are special federal employees (SGEs). DOGE has taken or tried to take charge of large swaths of the administration. By Trump's executive order, all government departments have to accommodate DOGE teams. So to argue their work product is not subject to federal laws is ridiculous. And so is Chief Johnnie's DOGE Protection Order.
Michael Gold of the New York Times: "The sprawling domestic policy bill Republicans pushed through the House on Thursday would limit the power of federal judges to hold people in contempt, potentially shielding ... [Donald] Trump and members of his administration from the consequences of violating court orders. Republicans tucked the provision into the tax and spending cut bill at a time when they have moved aggressively to curb the power of federal courts to issue injunctions blocking Mr. Trump's executive actions.... Under the rules that govern civil lawsuits in the federal courts, federal judges are supposed to order a bond from a person seeking a temporary restraining order or a preliminary injunction. The amount is supposed to be set at what 'the court considers proper' to cover any costs that might be suffered if that injunction is later found to have been incorrectly issued.... Samuel L. Bray, a Notre Dame law professor, said many judges do not order injunction bonds in cases where people are seeking to stop government actions.... The language in the House-passed bill would block federal judges from enforcing their contempt citations if they had not previously ordered a bond.... The provision would apply retroactively to court orders that were made before it was enacted...." Democracy Docket's post is here. ~~~
~~~ Marie: It seems to me that requiring a plaintiff to post bond in an amount sufficient to cover any government costs is a violation of the First Amendment's guarantee that the people have a right "to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." If an ordinary person has to post, say, a billion-dollar bond to redress her grievance, then she effectively does not have a right to sue the government. But then I'm no Sam Alito. I'm sure he can think of a specious reason to apply this right only to members of the Federalist Society and right-wing religious petitioners. Thanks to Ken W. & Patrick, who discussed this new wrinkle in yesterday's thread & linked to other articles covering the bill's provision.
Joe Heim of the Washington Post: "More than three years after its installation was approved by Congress, a plaque honoring law enforcement personnel for defending the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, is instead sitting in a Capitol basement utility room surrounded by tools and maintenance equipment. The cast bronze memorial to the officers ... was required by law to be installed by March 2023 near the west front of the building.... At a House Appropriations subcommittee hearing last month, Architect of the Capitol Thomas E. Austin said that modifications on the House side of the Capitol are directed by the office of the speaker and that he had not received instructions to install the plaque.... 'The reason why the law hasn't been complied with and a plaque hasn't been erected is because Republicans, directed by their puppet master Donald Trump, have been told try to erase January 6 as if it has never happened,' House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York) said in a news conference last week. (Also linked yesterday.)
Let's see how the cowards & collaborators are doing: ~~~
~~~ Marc Tracy of the New York Times: "The executive producer of the Emmy Award-winning 'American Masters' series insisted on removing a scene critical of /a> ... [Donald] Trump from a documentary about the comic artist Art Spiegelman two weeks before it was set to air nationwide on public television stations. The filmmakers say it is another example of public media organizations bowing to pressure as the Trump administration tries to defund the sector, while the programmers say their decision was a matter of taste. Alicia Sams, a producer of 'Art Spiegelman: Disaster Is My Muse,' said in an interview that approximately two weeks before the movie's April 15 airdate, she received a call from Michael Kantor, the executive producer of 'American Masters,' informing her that roughly 90 seconds featuring a cartoon critical of Trump would need to be excised from the film.... [Stephen] Segaller [of the WNET Group that produces the series] said WNET felt the scatological imagery in the comic, which Spiegelman drew shortly after the 2016 election -- it portrays what appears to be fly-infested feces on Trump's head -- was a 'breach of taste.' that might prove unpalatable..." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Yes, indeed, a portrayal of feces on the head of the president* (or anybody) is a "breach of taste" and people will find it disgusting. I think that was the idea. You can't make an honest, informative film about an artist who declares "Disaster is my muse" without including the occasional "breach of taste." As for criticizing Trump, well, he's a lot more dangerous than an artistic "breach of taste." ~~~
~~~ Michael Schmidt, et al., of the New York Times: "our top partners at Paul Weiss announced late Friday that they were leaving the law firm, a major blow to the firm in the wake of its decision to cut a deal with ... [Donald] Trump to head off an executive order that would have restricted its business. The partners -- Karen Dunn, Bill Isaacson, Jeannie Rhee and Jessica Phillips -- said they would form their own law firm. Ms. Dunn is a prominent Democratic lawyer, having overseen debate preparation for former Vice President Kamala Harris and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during their presidential campaigns. She has also been a key partner at Paul Weiss, representing Alphabet, Apple, Uber and Amazon. Ms. Rhee served as a top prosecutor in Robert S. Mueller III's special counsel investigation and oversaw the firm's Washington office. Mr. Isaacson is considered one of the country's top antitrust lawyers. Ms. Phillips clerked for Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr.... Two other prominent lawyers at Paul Weiss -- Jeh Johnson, a former secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, and Steven Banks, the leader of the firm's pro bono practice -- also announced recently that they were departing." ~~~
~~~ Marie: It's not clear why the four partners left Paul Weiss. The reporters note, "Ms. Dunn was supportive of the decision to strike a deal with Mr. Trump and was part of the firm's leadership team that worked with Mr. Karp in getting other partners' support...."
Kate Kelly of the New York Times: "Two commercial flights were diverted from Ronald Reagan National Airport on May 1 in part because of a communications glitch between an Army Black Hawk helicopter and Pentagon air traffic controllers, according to an Army official who was briefed on an internal review of the matter. The Black Hawk helicopter had tried to land on the helipad near the Pentagon but was asked to fly around and land a short while later, according to an Army statement issued Friday. That request, which came from air traffic controllers at the Pentagon, arose from a short period in which the controllers lost audio and visual contact with the helicopter just moments before it was set to land, the official said. The helicopter 'initiated a go-around due to a delay in clearance from the Pentagon Tower,' the Army wrote in its statement.... The May 1 episode, which included the aborted landings of a Delta Air Lines flight and a Republic Airways flight, has been under unusual scrutiny because of the recent spate of problems in U.S. aviation." The AP report is here.
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New York. Flippity-Doo-Dah. Jacob Weindling of Splinter: "... New York's State Senate District 22 produced a margin [in a special election] that defies all conventional political logic and wisdom. Trump won this south Brooklyn district 77 percent to 22 percent in November, then Democrat Sam Sutton won his election this week by a margin of 35 points -- a gobsmacking 90 percent swing from how this district voted in the presidential election just a little over six months ago.... [This] should come with the caveat that ever since 2017, special elections have favored Democrats...." Thanks to RAS for the link. (Also linked yesterday.)
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Israel/Palestine, et al. Louisa Loveluck, et al., of the Washington Post: "Fifteen World Food Program trucks carrying aid were looted overnight in Gaza, the U.N. agency said Friday, underscoring the insecurity and desperation more than two months into Israel's blockade on food, water and aid to the shattered enclave. The trucks were among the trickle of humanitarian supplies that Israel has allowed to enter Gaza in recent days amid mounting international criticism. Ninety trucks carrying flour, baby food and nutritional supplements entered the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, the U.N. humanitarian affairs agency said, the first aid to enter in 80 days. There were 107 trucks on Thursday, according to COGAT, the arm of Israel's Defense Ministry that coordinates aid in Gaza. Relief workers say the population needs 500 truckloads of aid a day.... Looters sacked the World Food Program trucks in southern Gaza late Thursday, the agency said in a statement.... 'Hunger, desperation, and anxiety over whether more food aid is coming, is contributing to rising insecurity,' the agency said. 'We need support from the Israeli authorities to get far greater volumes of food assistance into Gaza faster, more consistently, and transported along safer routes.'" ~~~
~~~ Marie: And it is appalling that the trucks are not getting the Israeli support they need to ensure the safety of aid workers and to get the food & supplies to the starving Palestinians.
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Run away, run away!
Fat Hitler gets his horrific, murderous bill passed by a single vote, largely because three Democrats have died in office. Had one PoT member had the guts to say “no”, Trump testicle cleaner, Bible Mike, would have had to wipe that shit eating smirk off his face. All the country needed was for one lying scum bucket traitor who has promised up and down they would not vote to cut Medicaid (AND Medicare!).
Someone like Rep. Miller-Meeks (PoT-IA) who, when called on her lies, literally runs away.
Here she is race walking down a hallway to try to jump on an elevator to avoid having to answer a reporter for her lies as he asks for a comment about the 67,000 citizens—just in her district—who will lose healthcare so Trump can hand that money to billionaires.
Yes, cruelty and sadism are the goals here, but those goals are achieved through rank cowardice and mendacity, the four hallmarks of this disgraceful party.
Interestingly, that Iowa liar’s full name is Marianette Miller-Meeks.
She’s a marionette alright. But like all the other puppets who voted for this abomination, you just can’t see the strings.
Four major partners depart Trump toady law firm Paul, Weiss to start their own firm.
“The departures include Karen Dunn, who co-chaired the firm’s litigation department and has helped Democratic presidential and vice presidential candidates prepare for debates in every election since 2008.
Also leaving the firm is Jeannie Rhee, a former Obama-era Justice Department official who previously represented Hillary Clinton in a lawsuit regarding her use of a private email server and later joined special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigative team.
Rounding out the departures are Jessica Phillips, who has represented some of the nation’s largest technology companies in court, and William Isaacson, another high-profile trial lawyer once named litigator of the year by The American Lawyer.”
At least some lawyers at Paul, Weiss had some balls, even if most of them were women.
Good luck to them in their new firm, and here’s hoping their former employer goes belly up, like everyone else who knuckles under to that fat pig.
Fat Hitler’s latest attempt to destroy Harvard University will boot the future queen of Belgium out of the school.
“Princess Elisabeth, the 23-year-old future queen of Belgium, has just completed her first year at Harvard University but the ban imposed by Donald Trump’s administration on foreign students studying there could jeopardise her continued attendance.
The US president’s administration revoked Harvard’s ability to enrol international students on Thursday, and is forcing current foreign students to transfer to other schools or lose their legal status in the US, while also threatening to expand the crackdown to other colleges.”
Guess Fatty won’t be getting snappy honor guard salutes and giant parades to honor his fat authoritarian ass when he visits Belgium to insult the locals and say stupid things.
Oops, looks like I’ve added a couple of posts Marie has already covered. The bullshit is so deep it’s hard to keep up. I guess that’s part of the idea. Chaos at all times. The thing is, it’s easy to be a destructive asshole. Just stomp on things it’s taken years, in some cases generations to build. But creating things that are useful (and I don’t mean chiseling grifts that line your own pockets)? Things that help everyday Americans, that address real problems? That sort of thing is as foreign to this lazy dolt as fluency in Swahili. Hell, he can barely speak English.
Test
@Akhilleus: It IS impossible to keep up.Yesterday, I was half-listening to the news when someone mentioned a "big story" that "had just come out" about how Trump had solicited Qatar Force One and his story about how he was all surprised that the emirs had offered it to him out of the blue was pure bull.
I knew I had linked to pieces of that story as they emerged, but I thought I'd missed the "big story" and I had better get right on it. But then when I found the "big story," it turns out I had linked it two days earlier. Too much
winninggrift.I think Trump's Great Big Presidential Liberry will be something
like an ATM. Put in thousand dollars and get a Trump token and
then you can tour the almost empty library and learn about all his
great accomplishments (for himself, not for the country).
@Forrest Morris: But there's more. You know how Trump says he's going to issue Trump visa gold cards (with Trump's picture on them!) where, for the low, low price of $5 million foreigners can get permanent U.S. residency.
Well, I predict that, besides your $trump tokens, there will be special Trump Library cards where, for the low, low price of $5 million (or maybe more, price TBD), Trump will do you some favor -- probably at taxpaper expense.
David Rothkopf
"Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ Should Doom the GOP. But It Will Doom Many Americans Too
The good news is that the GOP’s budget bill is a political suicide pact. And more power to them. Oblivion could not happen to a more odious bunch of people.
The tragically bad news, however, is that it is not just a suicide pact. It is a murder-suicide pact. It may end Republican careers, but it will also end tens of thousands of American lives. Many more will suffer.
The bill is, in fact, proof that we no longer live in a functioning democracy. Because if we did, Republican office holders would be concerned about the well-being and reaction of their constituents when proposing or passing legislation. But they don’t care about voters. Instead, they care far more about the dark money donors and power players who fund their campaigns—people who, thanks to the Supreme Court (also purchased with dark money), hold hugely disproportionate power in our elections."
The Intercept
"U.S. Spy Agencies Are Getting a One-Stop Shop to Buy Your Most Sensitive Personal Data
The government wants to build a centralized platform where spy agencies can more easily buy private info about millions of people."
Laughing Stock
Politico
"The Pro-Trump Cuban Rapper About to Be Deported
The predicament of the rapper known as ‘El Funky’ reveals the deeply conflicted anti-Castro and pro-Trump politics of South Florida.
Despite Márquez Duany’s troubles, Rubio, now the secretary of State, has remained silent. So have other influential Cuban American figures and politicians who had embraced the #CubaLibre cause, such as Florida Reps. Carlos Giménez and Mario Díaz-Balart, who celebrated Márquez Duany and submitted the lyrics of “Patria y Vida” into the Congressional Record."
Geography
"Florida GOP Congressman Changes Photo After Getting Called Out by Reporter for Using One from Ohio
Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL) drew mockery after it was discovered that the photo he was using on a social media profile did not represent his coastal Florida congressional district, but Dayton, Ohio — a landlocked city about 900 miles away."
Forrest and Marie,
I recently heard a newscast from the future…
“This just in: the Trump Presidential Library has burned to the ground. Both books were lost. The real tragedy is that he hadn’t finished coloring the second book.”
When it does happen (the liberry thingie) it’ll be grift-a-rama. There are no books to go into it, but you can be sure he’ll be putting out calls for the mentally deficient to send him millions so’s they can take a picture with the fat load, where he does that stoopid used car salesman grin and gives his patented (and patently stoopid) thumbs up.
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/05/24/us/trump-news
Huh?
No "yes men" in the Army? Only independent thinkers?
Who writes this goofball's speeches?