Reading

In the middle of delicate negotiations, he posts this: Complete batshit lunacy on the president's Truth Social account. Yes, he really posted this. pic.twitter.com/MaFIqUH1r0 — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 26, 2025 Tell me he isn’t suffering from extreme delusions of grandeur. Between the gutting of the Intelligence community and the FBI and the crude, dismissive way he’s dealing with the Palestinians, it will be a miracle if we don’t have a catastrophic terrorist attack.

The Bibas family demands the Israeli government cease exploiting the deaths of their family members for propaganda purposes as layers of evidence support claims an Israeli airstrike killed them. The relatives of an Israeli family killed while in Hamas captivity in Gaza have demanded the government stop making statements attributing blame for the killings of their loved ones, threatening to “take all legal measures at their disposal” if the Netanyahu administration refuses to comply. The request came three days after […]

The post Bibas family threatens to sue Israeli govt as official propaganda on hostage killings unravels first appeared on The Grayzone.

The post Bibas family threatens to sue Israeli govt as official propaganda on hostage killings unravels appeared first on The Grayzone.

THE much-anticipated rehabilitation of Darkwood Road has now commenced, with funding through the Regional Roads and Transport Recovery Package (RRTRP) offered by the State and Federal Governments. Bellingen Shire Mayor Steve Allan said the rehabilitation of Darkwood Road marks a significant milestone in enhancing road infrastructure across the Shire. Advertise with News of The Area...

The post Work commences on Darkwood Road rehabilitation appeared first on News Of The Area.

While questioning Penny Wong, Michaelia Cash advises the LNP under Peter Dutton will reject international law and the arrest of Netanyahu should he come to Australia. Penny Wong reminds her of the previous government’s hate speech. In the UN, Noa Argamani describes the moment when the building she was in collapsed under Israeli bombardment, while Continue reading »

Jesus H. Christ: U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday floated the idea of replacing a visa program for foreign investors with a so-called “gold card” that could be bought for $5 million as a route to American citizenship. Trump told reporters he will replace the “EB-5” immigrant investor visa program, which allows foreign investors of large sums of money that create or preserve U.S. jobs to become permanent residents, with a so-called “gold card.” “We are going to be selling a gold card,” Trump said. “We are going to be putting a price on that card of about $5 million,” he added. “It’s going to give you green card privileges plus its going to be a route to (American) citizenship, and wealthy people would be coming into our country by buying this card,” Trump said, adding that details about the scheme will come out in two weeks. I honestly have no words except Jesus H. Christ. Trump added it is possible Russian oligarchs could qualify for the gold cards, when asked by a journalist if those people would be eligible. “Yeah, possibly. Hey.

“The Trump administration’s pick for FBI deputy director is Dan Bongino, a former U.S. Secret Service agent-turned-conservative commentator whose fiery support of President Trump has earned him a massive following — and seen him banned from YouTube for promoting misinformation.” — NPR

For years, the United States government hired people for all the wrong reasons. It filtered candidates based on integrity, experience, and diversity of perspective. The new administration is replacing this approach with a better, fairer system: hiring whoever yells the loudest.

Source - Patreon

Source - Patreon

Source - Patreon

The real impact of DOGE isn't going to be seen in macroeconomic variables because pretending you've made massive savings is not the same thing as actually making massive savings. But a microeconomic lens yields the more important insight… (1 of 2) pic.twitter.com/Ap7o8Wc92y — Justin Wolfers (@JustinWolfers) February 25, 2025 Let's use that microeconomic lens and look line-by-line at what DOGE is doing. In each case, the key issue is whether the benefit exceeds the cost. And in dozens of cases Elon is creating huge costs for very little benefit. pic.twitter.com/1MXlBFwibN — Justin Wolfers (@JustinWolfers) February 25, 2025 I thought that was a nice succinct rundown of the actual economics of Musk’s trainwreck. Unsurprisingly, they will not end up benefiting Americans in either the short or the long term. He didn’t even mention the cutting off of scientific and medical research funds which will actively cause suffering and death. And I won’t be surprised to see them get rid of any kind of credible data collection and analysis by the government, including the economic data the markets rely upon, which means the world will end up flying blind.

Michelle Goldberg on the appointment of the internet troll Dan Bongino to be the second in command of the FBI. Oh boy: In writing about our country’s rapid self-immolation, I try to ration Hannah Arendt references, lest every column be about the ways “The Origins of Totalitarianism,” published in 1951, foreshadows the waking nightmare that is this government. But contemplating Bongino’s ascension, it’s hard to avoid the famous Arendt quote, “Totalitarianism in power invariably replaces all first-rate talents, regardless of their sympathies, with those crackpots and fools whose lack of intelligence and creativity is still the best guarantee of their loyalty.” Trump could have found a smoother and more sophisticated ideologue to help him transform the F.B.I. into a tool of his will, perhaps someone from the Claremont Institute ready to put an erudite spin on authoritarianism. He wanted the jacked-up hothead. This administration professes a devotion to merit-based hiring, blaming diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives for fostering mediocrity.

The German elections show we don’t need to moderate fascism, we need to oppose it.

The post Grow a Spine: Democrats Have a Lot to Learn From the German Left appeared first on The Intercept.

Today’s newsletter by Dan Pfeiffer on how to make the GOP pay for this insanity: I have seen this movie before, beat for beat. In August of 2010, in the middle of the effort to pass the Affordable Care Act, Congress went home for a month-long recess. At every townhall and interaction with their constituents, they were bombarded with complaints from voters angry about the pending health care bill. Democrats were shaken. The process slowed as the party brainstormed a response to this backlash. More importantly, a media narrative was born. The Affordable Care Act became polarizing — something to fear. Previously, most Americans paid little attention to the arcane efforts towards health care reform. They learned about it from news coverage of people angrily screaming about the dangers of the bill. We’ve since learned that much of that energy was “astro-turfed” by Republican groups funded by Right Wing billionaires like the Kochs and the Tea Party Movement. It was as much about the election of a Black president as it was the size and scope of government. The angry townhalls are back.

The Australian media’s favoured future Prime Minister, Peter Dutton, has moved to assure voters of his economic credentials by promising to tame the budget with a bit of creative accounting and a stock tip that he got from a guy... Read More ›