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“In the first case to reach the Supreme Court arising from the blitz of actions taken in the early weeks of the new administration, lawyers for President Trump asked the justices on Sunday to let him fire a government lawyer who leads a watchdog agency.” — New York Times

Look, I get it. You’re stressed. Trump’s executive orders are coming in fast and furious. Birthright citizenship? On the chopping block. Federal agencies? Slashed to bits. A ketamine-addled billionaire demolishing social security? Yeah, not great.

Things are pretty stressful right now, but don’t freak out. Our democracy was built for this.

Remember what you learned in civics class about checks and balances? The three equal branches of government? The separation of powers? The restraints on executive overreach?

You’d think Trump would because of his family history. But no. Greg Sargent writes today about the latest atrocity at the NIH: [O]ne downsizing just started attracting notice among insiders at the National Institutes of Health, because it seems particularly inexplicable: According to people familiar with the situation, approximately one-tenth of the workers have now been let go at the NIH’s Center for Alzheimer’s and Related Dementias, or CARD, including its incoming director, a highly regarded scientist credited with important innovations in the field. What makes this particularly jarring is that it could set back efforts to treat and develop cures for these awful afflictions, as these insiders and other experts fear. But it’s also that the potential for this center to do good—and the importance of the broader cause of battling Alzheimer’s—have both been championed by Republicans.

Aviation and antitrust expert Bill McGee breaks down recent airplane disasters and reveals the real risks to our airspace.

Aviation and antitrust expert Bill McGee breaks down recent airplane disasters and reveals the real risks to our airspace.

Source - Patreon

Source - Patreon

Source - Patreon

Source - Patreon

It’s National Chocolate Mint Day! At least, according to one of the many “National Day” or “National Food Holiday” websites. I should probably pick one and stick to it. My reference used to be Foodimentary. But the site no longer exists. Oh, there’s a book! *1 minute later* OK, I just bought the book. It’llContinue reading 2-in-1 International Recipe Card Collection: Mocha Mint (1977) →

Dr Hussam Abu Safiya seen in an interview with an Israeli journalist from an Israeli jail draws a statement from his family of psychological terrorism. Owen James speaks of Palestinian children tried in military court while settlers are tried in civil court. Zelenskyy pushes back on Trump with facts. Dan Duggan was one of many Continue reading »

This week on The Intercept Briefing, politics reporters Jessica Washington and Akela Lacy assess the full scope of Trump's first month in office.

The post One Month Under Trump: Are You Keeping Up? appeared first on The Intercept.

A former campaign staffer said Sen. John Fetterman’s single-minded focus came at the exclusion of the progressive positions he ran on.

The post Fetterman Staff Quit Amid Frustration Over “Just Working on Israel All the Time” appeared first on The Intercept.

A federal prosecutor actually wrote this piece of garbage: That letter was sent around by Ed Martin the Acting DC US Attorney Trump has now nominated to be permanent based upon his lib-owning tweets and DOGE boot licking. He tweeted this two days ago: Right. Remember this? Trump pardoned all of them. “EagleEd” was also at January 6th, he raised money for the rioters and defended some of them, even going so far as to dismiss a case as acting US Atty on which he was also the defense attorney. Hypocrisy can’t begin to describe it. You should see the shrieking on twitter over some protesters with posters that say “off with their heads” and the like about Trump and Musk. Fuck ’em. Trump pardoned all those people for violently threatening the whole US Congress during a joint session of congress to stop the peaceful transfer of power. If EagleEd wants to throw people in jail for some signs at a peaceful protest I think he should try. The result will clarify our situation once and for all.

Unless he’s going to ignore a court ruling, he may be getting ahead of himself: The Trump administration on Wednesday nixed federal approval of New York’s “congestion pricing” automobile tolls, which had been instituted just last month to raise funds for the region’s aging mass transit system. In a letter to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the federal government has jurisdiction over highways leading to Manhattan and that these additional tolls posed an unfair burden in motorists outside the city. Duffy called the tolls, targeting Manhattan-bound drivers, “backwards and unfair.” “New York State’s congestion pricing plan is a slap in the face to working class Americans and small business owners,” Duffy said in statement. […] MTA Chairman and CEO Janno Lieber said Wednesday the New York transportation agency will go to court to fight any federal efforts to end the tolls.

“We live in a bureaucracy.” Lol. No, it does not make sense. Here’s a little lesson for Elon that he must have missed when he became a citizen: He does seem to be familiar with this: The Führerprinzip  was the basis of executive authority in the government of Nazi Germany. It placed the Führer’s word above all written law, and meant that government policies, decisions, and officials all served to realize his will. In practice, the Führerprinzip gave Adolf Hitler supreme power over the ideology and policies of his political party; this form of personal dictatorship was a basic characteristic of Nazism. The state itself received “political authority” from Hitler, and the Führerprinzip stipulated that only what the Führer “commands, allows, or does not allow is our conscience,” with party leaders pledging “eternal allegiance to Adolf Hitler.

The ambitious intentions of Peter Beinart’s new book are evident from the title: Being Jewish...

Bad Wolf executive Julie Gardner offered insights into the second season of Showrunner Russell T. Davies's Doctor Who, Ncuti Gatwa, and more.

Australia’s next Prime Minister, according to the country’s press pack, Peter Dutton, has refused to rule out whether or not he will blow, billionaire Clive Palmer’s trumpet in order to form a minority Government. ”Clive is someone I admire deeply... Read More ›

Trump: "Inflation is back" pic.twitter.com/r9CStL0xrP — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 19, 2025 It isn’t his fault though, naturally. Nothing ever is. But people aren’t buying it. He promised to fix it on day one: A pillar of Trump’s political strength has been public belief that his policies will be good for the economy, and his rating on the economy remains significantly higher than the final readings of his predecessor in office, Democrat Joe Biden, who ended his term with a 34% approval rating on the economy. But Trump’s rating for the economy is well below the 53% he had in Reuters/Ipsos polling conducted in February 2017, the first full month of his first term as U.S. president. In the latest poll, only 32% of respondents approved of Trump’s performance on inflation, a potential early sign of disappointment in the Republican’s performance on a core economic issue after several years of rising prices weakened Biden ahead of last year’s presidential election. Trump defeated Biden’s vice president, Kamala Harris, in the Electoral College and narrowly won the popular vote.

Trump is leaving Ukraine with impossible choices: fight a losing war without U.S. support, or submit to economic vassalage.

The post Trump Doesn’t Care About Ukraine or Russia — Just Money appeared first on The Intercept.

Venue was set to host a cigars, cocktail and DJ night for British Trump-backers attending a conference addressed by Nigel Farage and Kemi Badenoch

Trump’s nominee for health secretary is leading a crusade on junk food, and the industry is getting ready to fight back.

If national governments across the globe are prepared to put minimising the climate threat ahead of protecting the fossil fuel industry, they will have to make major changes to how the net zero concept is being applied. This will require carbon offsetting to be brought in line with its intended application, and a consequential major Continue reading »

The board of Creative Australia, formerly the Australia Council, has betrayed its mission by enabling censorship and gross political interference in the arts, and its members must resign or be sacked. Five days after Lebanese-born artist Khaled Sabsabi was appointed to represent Australia at the next Venice Biennale in 2026, he was unceremoniously dumped by Continue reading »