Mike Johnson on the Pope: "If you wade into political waters, you should expect some political response & the Pope has received some. Frankly I was taken a bit aback by him saying something about 'those who engage in war, Jesus doesn't hear their prayers' or something. There's 'just war' doctrine.'"

Rerun the Biden presidency with him spending 30 minutes a day having 7 four-minute “interviews” with national press. Do editors give him better coverage?

The Birth of a Nation (1915)

KERNEN: We'd never be able to send anyone back if you needed a judicial warrant every single time

RAND PAUL: Well, I don't think that's true. Obeying the 4th Amendment of the Constitution shouldn't be too difficult. It's something we fought the revolution over.

CDC Caught Burying Report on Real Effects of COVID Vaccine Tipsters revealed the acting director for the Centre for Disease Control is blocking publication of a pro-vaccine research article.

“… the acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has secretly blocked publication of a report that concludes COVID-19 vaccines are a significant boost to public health…the report found that COVID vaccines drastically minimize risk of hospitalization after catching the virus.”

Disappointed, though not surprised, I began to describe various life- saving components of USAID’s global health portfolio, highlighting how we prepare for and respond to emerging pandemic threats; support the diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis, malaria, and HIV; and immunize millions of children from the deadliest childhood diseases. I spoke for about five minutes, focusing primarily on our infectious diseases work and hoping to keep the attention of people who seemed to have no experience—or interest—in global health. When I finished, the room was silent, the political appointees looking at one another in what appeared to be disbelief. The silence was broken by Ken Jackson, who chuckled softly and shook his head. “Wow, there really is so much that USAID does that we never knew,” he said. “This is the story that needs to get out there.” Joel, also smiling, chimed in next, echoing Jackson’s amazement. “I had no idea you did all this,” he said. “As a Republican, when I think of what USAID does in global health, I assumed it was just, you know, abortions.”

This is NUTS

www.thehandbasket.co/p/trump-usai...

Ezra Klein opinion column in the New York Times entitled “Hasan Piker Is Not the Enemy”

The same Ezra Klein NYT opinion piece, now titled “This is why there’s no liberal Joe Rogan”

Somebody got yelllllllledddd attttttt

FT: Talks between the United States and Iran in Pakistan have reached a stalemate over control of the Strait of Hormuz, two sources briefed on the negotiations say, with Iran insisting it retain authority over the waterway and rejecting joint control proposals

HERE YOU GO. That’s the reality.

Please gird yourself for months of shameless self-promotion, mute me on socials, feel free to avoid me in public etc, because my next book — A Fabulous Debt: The Epic Story of How Bonds Built the Modern World — is now available for pre-orders. www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/750210...

Exclusive | Casey Wasserman Putting His Talent Agency Up for Sale After Epstein Fallout Wasserman has said he “never had a personal or business relationship with Jeffrey Epstein” and told staff he felt that he had “become a distraction” to the firm’s work.

Breaking WSJ:

Casey Wasserman is putting his talent and marketing agency up for sale, he said in a memo to staff Friday night.

The move follows the release of suggestive emails he exchanged years ago with Ghislaine Maxwell and the departure of high-profile talent from his firm.

may have just scolded the lady next to me on this flight for leaving her trash in the seat right before we deplaned. “i don’t think you should leave your trash.” “who cares what you think” [observes she has a copy of the new york times in her hands]

What Happens When Trump Loses? A guide to the chaos ahead.

"Bush’s approval didn’t drop because Democrats and independents soured on him after 2006. He was already at lowest-low with those voters. What happened after the midterms is that Republican voters bailed." Will they abandon Trump like that?

I can’t get over how increasingly desperate and worried district judges are — they are doing all the right things — and how they’re being betrayed by appellate judges and a Supreme Court, both too cowardly to stand behind their decisions.

They want to tell you a kid with a Spider-Man backpack is evil Liam Ramos' innocence, like the innocence of all kids, is unimpeachable. The visuals of his arrest are excruciating.

At least 3,800 kids, including 20 infants, have been detained since Donald Trump returned to office.

Stand With Minnesota Donation Directory Stand With Minnesota is a hub for supporting, learning, and taking action to support Minnesotans impacted by ICE and federal enforcement.

Help Minnesota
www.standwithminnesota.com/

Resist anywhere
#rapidresponse
share.google/0WDY5CcA1nnz...

#mutualaid
www.mutualaidhub.org/table-of-networks

#visibilitybrigade
visibilitybrigade.com/group-directory

5calls.org
www.nokings.org
Indivisible.org
fiftyfifty.one/
workingfamilies.org/

The most damaging thing is that the scale of the corruption is so vast that he has made it virtually impossible to keep up with — which, if only out of a kind of fatigue and resignation — ends up normalizing it.

“Of course he’s a crooked piece of shit. We all know that. But what are we gonna do? 🤷‍♂️”

This isn’t fully true! You can request a manual postmark at a post office, you just need to know to do it. Just another thing to educate mail-in voters about.

nstp.org/article/usps...

🧵1/12: Russia’s economy hasn’t collapsed, but it is suffering immensely. It still runs, but only because the central bank keeps it alive with constant REPO liquidity. What was once emergency support is now the daily operating system.

📷: @evgen-istrebin.bsky.social

JUST IN:
FBI creates a list of Americans to target as “extremists”. 😑

Ed Luce watching democracy die in the United States of America

genuinely wild the number of quote tweets that see this as an insult toward mamdani rather than as praise for his discipline and skill at translating personal charisma into political appeal

The con worked, until it didn’t?

ROGAN: “I really thought they were just going to go after the criminals… I really thought there was enough gang members.”

ME: He still doesn’t get it. That’s what Trump wanted everyone to believe. They’re not even trying to go after “the criminals”.

A 3,000-Pound Ice Sculpture Of 1 Word Is Melting In Front Of The U.S. Capitol “It's time for all of us to resist, speak up and save our democracy before it's too late,” artist Marshall Reese said of his 17-by-5-foot installation.

A 3,000-pound, 17-foot-long "DEMOCRACY" ice sculpture is melting away on the National Mall today, a statement from activists and artists on the weakened state of American democracy under the Trump administration.
www.huffpost.com/entry/democr...

North Carolina Republicans Plan to Redraw Congressional Map to Add a Seat The Trump administration has pushed Republican leaders to redraw House district maps before the midterm elections next year. His party already holds 10 of North Carolina’s 14 congressional seats.

Republican lawmakers in North Carolina announced plans on Monday to redraw the state’s already gerrymandered congressional maps to further favor their party. The most likely target is the First Congressional District, which has the state’s only competitive House seat.

Jeffries: "Donald Trump's strategy during this government shutdown that he has created has been to play golf and issue deep fake videos. Mike Johnson's strategy is to keep House Republicans on vacation."

Not as much as Browns fans

Repubs won’t even acknowledge that Dems are trying to keep health insurance premiums from skyrocketing for 20+ million Americans?

They are just going pretend that isn’t happening & keep repeating this “free healthcare for illegals” bs?

What do the 20+ million think about that?

October 2024: Project 2025…never heard of it.

October 2025: