There’s No Such Thing as a 'Defensive Weapon' Politicians call them 'defensive weapons' to make arming Israel sound unobjectionable, but the US military, Netanyahu, and Trump all know better.

“The more ‘defensive weapons’ available, the bigger the offensive operations launched by the Israeli military and the higher the body count.”
zeteo.com/p/theres-no-...

NYT’s Investigation of How Trump’s War on Iran Started Leaves Out the Paper’s Own Silence A full accounting of how the disastrous Iran War came about must grapple with the US military/industrial complex's megaphone: the compliant US corporate media.

“Just like Democratic leaders, the New York Times failed to use its outsized influence to challenge this monstrous war. Instead, it participated in its genesis, through cowardice as much as through sanctimony.”
fair.org/home/nyts-in...

Will Jawando’s policy fights are defining the county executive race Montgomery County Council member Will Jawando has positioned himself as the most progressive candidate in the race for county executive.

“The most worrisome is Will Jawando.” — some developer
www.thebanner.com/politics-pow...

Potomac data center would sap more power than Baltimore. Is that good for the grid? TeraWulf, the Eastern Shore-based data center developer, says its massive Charles County data center complex would benefit the region’s buckling power grid. Gov. Wes Moore seems to back the idea, but ...

“there’s absolutely nothing typical about this.”
www.thebanner.com/community/cl...

We Act Radio co-founder Kymone Freeman noted on Facebook how his outlet lost an agreement with DC Cable after interviewing me in 2013 about then-DC Councilmember Jack Evans' corruption

WOW!
CNN announces that there is no longer a divide within the Democratic party on Israel - the party base (not its leadership) is overwhelmingly opposed to Israel!

No age divide or divide between Liberals and non-Liberals. A majority of all demographics oppose Israel.

Robert White Calls for Brooke Pinto to Withdraw From DC Delegate Race After She Posts Very Personal Opposition Research - Washingtonian The race between Brooke Pinto and Robert White for DC’s congressional delegate seat looks like it will be close. Maybe that’s why it’s starting to get personal. On Monday, reporter Tom Sherwood discov...

“Everybody knows politics is dirty, but even dirty has a line.”
washingtonian.com/2026/04/14/r...

A snapshot of our totally healthy democracy in action

From my latest at @counterpunchmedia.bsky.social www.counterpunch.org/2026/04/15/p...

Banner parent company to buy Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, staving off its closure The Venetoulis Institute will acquire the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, converting it to a nonprofit to prevent the historic paper’s closure.

very interesting and encouraging www.thebanner.com/economy/bann...

Maryland Legislature Passes the Nation’s First State Advertising Set-Aside for Local Newsrooms The legislation, backed by bipartisan support, will require state agencies to direct 50 percent of their advertising budgets to eligible local news outlets and mandate public reporting of their ad spe...

if we're gonna keep local newspapers alive, we need more of this
www.rebuildlocalnews.org/maryland-leg...

AIPAC 'slimeball' Eric Swalwell leaves the stage Antiwar reformer Rep. Pete Stark warned the public about Swalwell, and was destroyed for it

Max Blumenthal’s send-off of Eric Swalwell
thegrayzone.substack.com/p/aipac-slim...

Are the Republicans Killing You? There is a huge gap in life expectancy between Democratic and Republican states

“If the story was reversed, Fox News would be screaming endlessly about the short life expectancies in Democratic states,” writes Dean Baker
deanbaker22.substack.com/p/are-the-re...

Republican Donors Line Up For Brooke Pinto Pinto’s campaign for congressional delegate has received nearly $170,000 from donors with histories of contributing to Donald Trump and other Republicans.

“What was her fundraising pitch to these GOP donors and what did she commit to doing for them if elected?”
washingtoncitypaper.com/article/7832...

The ever-shrinking JD Vance After a series of setbacks, the vice-president is no longer Trump’s obvious successor

After Edward Luce got through with him, I almost felt sorry for JD Vance (gift link)
giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...

Vance Heckled in Antiwar Protest at Turning Point USA Event

“I recognize that young voters do not love the policy we have in the Middle East.” — JD Vance
www.nytimes.com/2026/04/14/u...

the pope showing some swagger

While Amazon isn’t mentioned in the story itself... it's named in the captions… which is a funny and recurring theme at the Post (one I touched on in the 2025 story below).

Whoever is sneaking these mentions of Amazon into captions, journalistic kudos to you! fair.org/home/wapo-de...

In this U.S. hot spot for data centers, voters have turned against them Findings from a new Washington Post-Schar School poll come as Prince William County on Tuesday abandoned plans for one of the country’s biggest and most controversial data center projects.

“Virginians now consider data centers almost as undesirable as nuclear power plants.”

Excellent story… but the Wash Post once again omits mention of its owner Jeff Bezos' deep ties to AI, including via Amazon
www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

this is an astounding upward transfer of wealth being carried out in broad daylight. PJM serves DC and all or parts of 13 states, mostly on the east coast

President Trump: Please Don’t Nuke Iran Last week, President Trump threatened Iran’s 93 million people with annihilation. This week, we’ve largely moved on, if only to keep up with the

I'm begging Trump not to nuke Iran, and my fellow Dems not to paint him into a corner. Trump clearly isn't doing too well — comparing himself to Jesus while making genocidal threats — but it's his itchy finger hovering over the nuclear button.
www.counterpunch.org/2026/04/15/p...

what's most disappointed you with DN's coverage?

In This Film About Amy Goodman, Independent Journalism Is the Real Star

Looking forward to watching this www.nytimes.com/2026/04/10/m...

NYT’s Excuses for Lack of Reporters in Iran Don’t Add Up The New York Times claimed that FAIR's article was a “false portrayal” of the Times’ work, but it failed to directly challenge any of the article's claims.

After FAIR's Drew Favakeh critiqued the total absence of New York Times reporters in Iran, the Times pushed back, sort of fair.org/home/nyts-ex...

In Montana, diesel was $3/gallon 6 weeks ago. This station has stopped advertising their prices. Trump's war in the Middle East has started an inflation spike that will last months if not years, however long the war lasts. Of course, local Republicans have nothing to say about it.

Authentic photo of a gas station in Montana. There are no cars at the pump. The prices are posted, but the space for the middle numbers are blank. An election sign for a local Republican sheriff is prominent in the foreground.

"Our Politics Have Reached Their Limit"

“I have spent the years since leaving the insurance industry trying to help people understand how spin works," writes Wendell Potter. "The Journal editorial board’s Medicare Advantage advocacy is a case study." healthcareuncovered.substack.com/p/wsjs-edito...

“on Thurs, first lady Melania Trump made the bizarre decision to hold a surprise press event, so she could draw attention away from the worst-run war in US history and bring the president’s ties to the world’s most famous pedophile right back into the national news cycle.”
zeteo.com/p/melania-ep...

What It Was Like Driving John Wayne As a teenager and college student, Charles Glass worked for John Wayne—driving him to studios, conventions, and movie sets during Hollywood’s most turbulent era.

Journalist Charles Glass has quite the backstory, and it includes John Wayne www.altaonline.com/dispatches/a...

Dave Zirin’s bar method. To Dave Zirin, a journalist who writes about sports and politics, “the newsroom just isn’t the newsroom anymore.” So he bought a bar for drinks, tacos, and gathering.

“I have no idea how to make a drink… I barely know what the word ‘inventory’ means. But I’ve been a journalist now for over twenty-five years. One thing I do know how to do is put on a meeting.” — Dave Zirin on opening a Brooklyn bar
www.cjr.org/feature/the-...