Of course they are concentration camps. And @anatosaurus.bsky.social is right that once you accept the euphemism you are halfway to normalizing the thing.

The Enabling Act of 1933  | Holocaust Encyclopedia Learn about the Enabling Act of 1933 and how it allowed Adolf Hitler to issue laws without the consent of Germany’s parliament.

I should just pin this

Federal Judge Vacates Kennedy Declaration, Permanently Blocks Trump's Trans Youth Care Hospital Threats The judgment overturns the Kennedy Declaration which has been used to force 40 hospitals to drop trans youth care.

1. This weekend, a federal judge permanently blocked funding threats to providers and hospitals that provide trans youth care.

The judge also blocked "any similar policy."

Hospitals have NO excuse and must return to providing care under many blue state laws.

Subscribe to support our journalism.

Pledge to Boycott REI Learn why co-op members are boycotting REI after years of broken promises and anti-worker, anti-democratic behavior.

Every day, thousands of REI co-op members are signing the pledge and joining us by committing not to shop during REI's biggest sale of the year (May 15 - 25).

If you haven’t signed our boycott pledge yet, sign today! Head to BoycottREI.com.

Headline: Breaking: AFL-CIO Endorses REI Boycott. Subhead: The country's largest federation of unions added REI to their national boycott list last week in solidarity with our union. image: hands holding pro-union signs in front of an REI store.

IT'S OFFICIAL: @aflcio.org has endorsed the
@REI Anniversary Sale boycott! Huge thank you to the House of Labor for having our backs.

US spending on ‘reckless’ Iran war could have saved 87m lives, says UN Head of UN’s humanitarian agency frustrated that $2bn weekly cost of conflict comes amid big cuts to aid budgets

After working on climate-related humanitarian work around the world for the past 20 years or so, this is the thing that gets me the most.

$2 billion a week would go such a long way towards solving the vast majority of issues for the world's 5 billion poorest.

www.theguardian.com/world/2026/a...

Punchbowl: "The House will consider a number of environmental bills, such as a rewrite of the Endangered Species Act and a geothermal energy bill. The American Broadband Deployment Act of 2025 and the Reliable Federal Infrastructure Act are also on the agenda."

Bills to Gut the Endangered Species Act, Deregulate Geothermal Projects, Fast-Track Communications Infrastructure, and Roll Back Energy Conservation and Fossil-Fuel Phaseouts in Federal Buildings House Rules Committee H-313 Capitol 04/20/2026 at 04:00PM The Committee on Rules will meet Monday, April 20, 2026 at 4:00 PM ET in H-313, The Capitol on the following measures: H.R. 1897 – ESA Amendments Act of 2025 (Text, Report) H.R. 5587 – Harnessing Energy At Thermal Sources Act of 2026 (Text, Report) H.R. 2289 – American Broadband Deployment Act of 2026 (Text, Report) H.R. 4690 – Reliable Federal Infrastructure Act (Text, Report) H.R. 1897, as amended, would fundamentally weaken the authority and effectiveness of the Endangered Species Act (ESA)

In many ways Punchbowl News is essential Hill reporting. But in important ways it's toxic trash.

Compare these mentions of the House bills this week...

CERTIORARI -- SUMMARY DISPOSITION 24-1099 SMITH, KYLE, ET AL. V. SCOTT, ROCHELLE, ET AL. The petition for a writ of certiorari is granted. The judgment is vacated, and the case is remanded to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit for further consideration in light of Zorn v. Linton, 607 U. S. ___ (2026) (per curiam). Justice Sotomayor, Justice Kagan, and Justice Jackson would deny the petition for a writ of certiorari.

By a 6–3 vote, and with no opinion, the Supreme Court throws out a lower court decision denying qualified immunity who killed an unarmed, mentally ill man by using "bodyweight force" to restrain him. All three liberals dissent. www.supremecourt.gov/orders/court...

Articles about Jared Kushner's diplomatic role with Iran that mention Kushner has received billions from the Saudi government (2/28-4/19):

NYT: 5 of 58
WashPost: 1 of 43
WSJ: 0 of 40
AP: 0 of 26
CNN Wire: 0 of 18
NY Post: 0 of 17
Chicago Tribune: 0 of 4
LA Times: 0 of 4
Boston Globe: 0 of 2

also blowing a hole in an Iranian ship probably didn’t advance negotiations

Justices to Hear Case on Catholic Preschools That Reject Children of Gay Parents

The Supreme Court is taking up a case on whether Catholic schools that refuse to accept the children of gay parents are entitled to taxpayer funding.

I'm sure it will be 6-3 with the answer being yes.

www.nytimes.com/2026/04/20/u...

btw when DC pundits and pols complain about "purity politics" what they mean is "stop complaining about my concentration-camp-lobbyist contributions"

Contributor name Recipient State Employer Receipt date Amount SULLIVAN, RICHARD DCCC NC STATE FEDERAL STRATEGIES 02/26/2026 $2,000.00 SULLIVAN, RICHARD FOUSHEE FOR CONGRESS NC STATE FEDERAL STRATEGIES 02/06/2026 $1,000.00 SULLIVAN, RICHARD SCHOLTEN FOR CONGRESS NC STATE FEDERAL STRATEGIES 01/22/2026 $1,500.00 SULLIVAN, RICHARD DCCC NC STATE FEDERAL STRATEGIES 01/08/2026 $25,000.00 SULLIVAN, RICHARD CHRIS PAPPAS FOR SENATE NC CLEARY GOTTLIEB STEEN & HAMILTON LLP 12/30/2025 $3,500.00 SULLIVAN, RICHARD MALINOWSKI FOR NEW JERSEY NC STATE FEDERAL STRATEGIES 12/30/2025 $500.00 SULLIVAN, RICHARD GRANITE VALUES PAC NC STATE FEDERAL STRATEGIES 12/29/2025 $2,000.00 SULLIVAN, RICHARD BLACK BEAR PAC, INC. NC STATE FEDERAL STRATEGIES 11/12/2025 $5,208.65 SULLIVAN, RICHARD MALINOWSKI FOR NEW JERSEY NC STATE FEDERAL STRATEGIES 11/12/2025 $1,000.00 SULLIVAN, RICHARD TEAM MORRISEY NC STATE FEDERAL STRATEGIES 11/12/2025 $5,208.65 SULLIVAN, RICHARD MASSACHUSETTS DEMOCRATIC STATE COMMITTEE - FED FUND NC STATE FEDERAL STRATEGIES 11/04/2025 $1,000.00 SULLIVAN, RICHARD MILLS FOR MAINE NC STATE FEDERAL STRATEGIES 10/14/2025 $3,500.00 SULLIVAN, RICHARD SCHOLTEN FOR CONGRESS NC CAPTIOL COUNCIL 07/30/2025 $1,000.00 SULLIVAN, RICHARD LYLES JR COOPER VICTORY FUND NC STATE FEDERAL STRATEGIES 07/27/2025 $7,000.00 SULLIVAN, RICHARD LYLES JR COOPER FOR NORTH CAROLINA NC STATE FEDERAL STRATEGIES 07/27/2025 $3,500.00 SULLIVAN, RICHARD LYLES JR COOPER FOR NORTH CAROLINA NC STATE FEDERAL STRATEGIES 07/27/2025 $3,500.00 SULLIVAN, RICHARD STEFANY SHAHEEN FOR CONGRESS NC STATE FEDERAL STRATEGIES 06/30/2025 $3,500.00 SULLIVAN, RICHARD CHRIS PAPPAS FOR SENATE NC STATE FEDERAL STRATEGIES 03/31/2025 $3,500.00 SULLIVAN, RICHARD NEVADANS FOR STEVEN HORSFORD NC STATE FEDERAL STRATEGIES 03/26/2025 $1,000.00 SULLIVAN, RICHARD DEBORAH ROSS FOR CONGRESS NC STATE FEDERAL STRATEGIES 03/09/2025 $2,500.00 SULLIVAN, RICHARD DEBORAH ROSS FOR CONGRESS NC STATE FEDERAL STRATEGIES 02/21/2025 $1,000.00

GEO Group's top D lobbyist Richard Lyles Sullivan has been showering Democrats across the country with Trump concentration-camp cash

The UMich Regent who allegedly spearhead efforts to prosecute student protestors lost his endorsement to the Lebanese immigrant who represented those students in court.

US Southern Command: On April 19, at the direction of #SOUTHCOM commander Gen. Francis L. Donovan, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations. Intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Caribbean and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations. Three male narco-terrorists were killed during this action. No U.S. military forces were harmed. @DeptofWar #OpSouthernSpear UNCLASSIFIED

We murdered three more people in boats today

In California, It's Either Tax the Billionaires or Face a Health Care "Catastrophe" An interview with the union leaders pushing a state wealth tax.

Spoke to the SEIU union leaders heading up the push for a billionaire tax in California. They say it is a pretty clear choice: A small tax on 200 of the richest people on earth, or millions of Californians losing access to health care.

www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/in-califor...

Weekend Update #181; Germany Raises The Pot For Ukraine The USA Boasts, Bluffs And Then Folds; More On Ukraine Fighting Humans With Machines

Just sent out my free weekend update. This week the big story was that Germany bet on Ukraine, not as a supplicant but as a defense partner. The USA, otoh, bluffed and then, as it always does, protected Putin. Shame on you who fell for it. open.substack.com/pub/phillips...

Read this essay - except for the first sentence, which is false.

Sky Defense A New Way to Save Lives in Ukraine

Since Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, it has fired wave after wave of missiles, bombs, and drones at Ukrainian civilians—at their homes, businesses, water supply, & energy infrastructure.
Please join me in raising funds for defense equipment
snyder.substack.com/p/sky-defense

No Cards, huh?

The Christian Nationalist Schism: Fascist Religion at the End of Empire The fight between MAGA and the pope is a preview of something much larger and more dangerous

MAGA has always been a cult, but the fight with the Pope represents something much larger taking place.

Christian Nationalism is settling into place as a post-Trump religious movement that supports neo-fascist brutality at the end of American Empire.

jaredyatessexton.substack.com/p/the-christ...

Behind Trump’s Public Bravado on the War, He Grapples With His Own Fears The president’s impulsive style has never been tested in a sustained military conflict, and he’s been ruminating on Jimmy Carter’s failure in Iran.

This must-read @wsj.com article (gift link) is overflowing with compelling evidence of Trump’s mental derangement and incapacity. But by not calling it that, it normalizes the dangerously abnormal. We are all in terrible danger as long as he remains in power. www.wsj.com/politics/nat...

Excited to attend the ribbon-cutting for the next segment of California’s solar canal initiative later this month in Hickman. Imagine generating solar power over 4,000 miles or so canals across the state. A lot of Sierra and Colorado River water to save via avoided evaporation.

Notable Sanchez is unapologetically pro-immigration and also the only major European leader with positive approval ratings.

🛢️ OIL & IRAN WAR CONTEXT WEEKLY 🛢️

Crude prices cratered and term structure flattened on Friday following Iran’s declaration that Hormuz is “open” despite the fact that little traffic has actually managed to cross the Strait today.

Summary below, link in reply.

ANOTHER death in ICE detention.

Thanks! Interesting

Jill Abramson former editor of @nytimes.com calls it "strange and troubling" that Trump's mental capacities haven't received "rigorous and concerted" coverage. She calls for "news media attention that would be commensurate with the problems they pose to the world" www.bostonglobe.com/2026/04/16/o...

Orbánism was, more or less, a model for what Trump and the Republican Party are trying to do in the United States. The Trump administration was so desperate to prevent Orbán’s defeat that it sent J. D. Vance to ask Hungarians to “stand for Western civilization” and “freedom, for truth and for the God of our fathers.” Few vice presidents have more consistently debased the office, to the point that most people hardly noticed that Vance had praised as godly a man who publicly condemned “race mixing.”

It's not the MOST pathetic thing Vance has done, but him going to Hungary to applaud man who condemned "race mixing" is absolutely wretched (🎁) www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

If you had to be entirely cut off from any other news, markets and other data, what 4 economic or market metrics would you follow?