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While you lost sleep over friends in L.A. For those of you not following the victim-blaming on Fox News: “We stoke hatred.” Is it on their business cards? Rude Pundit remarks: Not that it’s up to me (it’s up to LA County voters–home rule is cool & all that), but LA County in 2024 had a $49.2 billion budget (https://ceo.lacounty.gov/budget/), and I don’t see anything wrong with spending these amounts on these ⬇️ activities. ICYMI: The Supreme Court said Friday it will review the constitutionality of a provision of the Affordable Care Act that requires health plans to provide no-cost preventive care, including cancer screenings, immunizations and contraception, to millions of Americans. The case puts the law, commonly known as Obamacare, in the crosshairs once again and follows several challenges in recent years by conservatives hoping to overturn it, as well as a landmark 2012 ruling by the justices upholding its legality. In Becerra v.

He is normal to them. Also this which explains the GOP reversal on banning TikTok: What have we done?

Oh my, my. Steve Bannon has declared war on Elon Musk: “I will have Elon Musk run out of here by Inauguration Day,” Bannon told the Italian daily Corriere della Sera this week. “He will not have a blue pass to the White House, he will not have full access to the White House, he will be like any other person.” “He is a truly evil guy, a very bad guy. I made it my personal thing to take this guy down,” Bannon added. “Before, because he put money in, I was prepared to tolerate it; I’m not prepared to tolerate it anymore.” Bannon’s still beating the H-1B visas conflict, obviously banking on being able to continue his grift on the hardcore racist MAGA base. And he’s cleverly doing it by turning the racism on to the tech-bro Mafia that’s infiltrated the upper reaches of MAGA. Does he have his finger on the pulse? He said, “This thing of the H-1B visas, it’s about the entire immigration system is gamed by the tech overlords, they use it to their advantage, the people are furious. No blacks or Hispanics have any of these jobs or any access to these jobs.

The dead and missing aren’t all counted CNN’s landing page this morning blares: LA fires at critical stage as winds to return and death toll rises. The Washington Post: Death toll rises to 24 as region braces for return of dangerous winds The New York Times is more specific about the death toll: The Eaton fire has killed 16 people, making it one of the deadliest in California’s history, and at least eight people have died in the Palisades blaze. Another 16 people have been reported missing in the areas of the two fires, and officials have warned the number of fatalities is likely to rise. CNN has already begun profiling the lives lost: An amputee and his son with cerebral palsy were among the 24 deaths in the fires raging around Los Angeles. The father was found at his son’s bedside. One victim told a relative that he did not want to evacuate. He died trying to fight the blaze that consumed his home of more than 50 years. Another victim, an 85-year-old woman, refused to leave her home as the fast-moving Palisades Fire approached, preferring instead to stay behind with her beloved pets.

I live in Santa Monica, California and as you can imagine, the last few days have been traumatic. We are lucky to live a couple of miles from the fire zone and are not currently in any danger. But I know many people who were evacuated and some are still waiting to go back to their homes because the danger is still acute. Everyone I know knows someone whose house has burned; one of my closest friends lost everything and literally escaped with just the clothes on his back. We’re all still on alert here waiting to see if the winds pick up as predicted next week, praying that the worst is behind us. All natural disasters are frightening. I’ve been through a few earthquakes and one big hurricane. But I have to say that watching a firestorm threaten America’s second largest city right on my own doorstep is a particularly terrifying experience.

Tate’s a right wing star: Tech billionaire Elon Musk has voiced his support for Andrew Tate’s bid to become the UK Prime Minister, despite Tate’s controversial views and criminal allegations. Musk’s involvement in British politics, which includes criticism of Labour leader Keir Starmer and endorsement of far-right figures, has sparked significant debate. Conservative spokespersons have described Musk’s actions as irresponsible and dangerous. A video clip surfacing on social media shows Andrew Tate denouncing the “generational failure” of UK politics. Earlier this week, he referred to himself as the “unofficial Prime Minister of The United Kingdom” in a post and voiced support for Greenland being annexed into the US. What Andrew Tate is doing will be studied for many years. Even if he doesn’t win and become Prime Minister, his involvement will transform British politics & create an army of men demanding change.

The DOGE is operating in complete secrecy, speaking only on Signal and guarding against leaks. The NY Times did get some information about it, however. It’s not good. But parts of the operation are becoming clear: Many of the executives involved are expecting to do six-month voluntary stints inside the federal government before returning to their high-paying jobs. Mr. Musk has said they will not be paid — a nonstarter for some originally interested tech executives — and have been asked by him to work 80-hour weeks. Some, including possibly Mr. Musk, will be so-called special government employees, a specific category of temporary workers who can only work for the federal government for 130 days or less in a 365-day period. The representatives will largely be stationed inside federal agencies. After some consideration by top officials, DOGE itself is now unlikely to incorporate as an organized outside entity or nonprofit. Instead, it is likely to exist as more of a brand for an interlinked group of aspirational leaders who are on joint group chats and share a loyalty to Mr. Musk or Mr. Ramaswamy.

Not these guys So the GOP California House delegation hurried to Mar-a-Lago this weekend for an audience with Dear Leader while fellow Californians were trying to get through an epic firestorm. But why not? Their constituents won’t care. It’s just a bunch of Los Angelenos. Let ’em burn. The rest of the world is not as callous: Here are some locals with more compassion than GOP leaders:

What-iffing Trump troops in the streets Donald Trump talks tough about deploying troops in the streets. Why? For the same reason he muses about “acquiring” Greenland and the Panama Canal. Trump, Alex Shepard believes, “is driven almost entirely by his desire to appear strong—or, more to the point, his fear of looking weak. This is why he picks senseless fights with smaller allies while avoiding brawls with the strongmen he so greatly admires.” Yes, Greenland may have significant resources, but as we pointed out last week, that’s not really why Trump wants it. That’s about Trump’s obsession with size (The New Republic): As is almost always the case with Trump, though, the cleanest and perhaps most persuasive explanation is the simplest and dumbest: The territory, like Canada, looks really, really big on the commonly used (and widely distorted) Mercator projection. Adding it would be a huge ego boost for a man who, hours after planes hit the Twin Towers, boasted that he now owned the tallest building in New York City.