Members phkrause Posted Monday at 08:10 PM Author Members Posted Monday at 08:10 PM US proposes AI incident alert system in talks with China, Bessent says Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Sunday the U.S. has proposed a new “notification mechanism” for artificial intelligence incidents that could affect national security. Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the groundwork had been laid for talks between President Donald Trump and China’s Xi Jinping at the White House this Thursday. Read more. Why this matters: Trump has resisted calls to slow down AI development, saying that would help China catch up to U.S. companies. “We think that just like any cross-border activity, that moving from opaque to more transparency between the No. 1 and the No. 2 AI powers in the world is very important,” Bessent told reporters after talks with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in New York. Bessent and Greer also said the two sides had agreed to operationalize a new “Board of Trade” that the two leaders had discussed when they met in Beijing in May. Greer said the countries were still discussing what “nonsensitive” items could be considered for lower tariffs, but that the list could potentially include consumer and agricultural goods, energy products and medical devices. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Oil prices are high but could be much worse. Trump has China’s Xi to thank for that CNN, MS NOW, Politico say they’ve notified Trump they’re suing over denied White House access Trump decries Democrats as ‘communists,’ even as he looks to impress China’s communist leader Trump and Mamdani plan to meet in New York during the president’s upcoming UN visit ICE agent shoots and wounds man in Austin, Texas, officials say Trump administration begins building border wall in Texas’ Big Bend region Federal Reserve rate hike reflects new world of sticky inflation and faster growth Redistricting arms race reshaped House districts for 1 in 10 Americans Alaskans will decide fate of ranked choice voting system after chaotic end to state’s primary Trump pushes his $5,000 ‘dividend’ pledge if GOP wins midterms. Republican candidates, not as much Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted Monday at 10:19 PM Author Members Posted Monday at 10:19 PM TV networks band together Photo illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios. Photos: Getty Images The five major TV networks, which share responsibility for pooled video coverage of President Trump, have ceased that work in solidarity with the three outlets he banned from the White House, Axios' Sara Fischer reports. ABC News, CBS News, NBC News, Fox News and CNN said in an unusual joint statement: "The public has a vital interest in receiving accurate, independent information about its government. No administration should restrict a news organization because it objects to its reporting." 📺 By backing CNN, MS NOW and Politico, the TV giants signaled that they're willing to use their combined leverage to pressure the White House into reinstating access. The networks' power is practical and cultural: They collectively manage the pooled video that puts the presidency on television, the medium that made Trump a national celebrity and that he has long closely monitored. 🧑⚖️ CNN, MS NOW, and Politico today filed a joint First Amendment lawsuit, arguing that the president and his administration violated their rights by blocking access over the weekend. The lawsuit is a historic show of solidarity amongst the banned outlets. Go deeper. (Disclosure: Sara is a CNN contributor.) Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted Monday at 11:44 PM Author Members Posted Monday at 11:44 PM Reality Bites View in browser President Trump is going through a rough patch—in foreign relations, in the economy, in the courts, and in election outlook—and he believes that he has found the culprits: CNN, MS NOW, and Politico. On Friday, Trump said he was banning the three outlets from the White House “as a result of their constant ‘reporting’ FAKE NEWS” and warned that more bans could come. When he feels beleaguered, he tends to lash out at familiar enemies, especially reporters. The idea that negative coverage is to blame for his predicament is perversely flattering. But Trump’s true scourge is reality, not how the news is covering it. Although the decision is part of a gradually intensifying attack on free speech, as I noted last month, it has drawn particular pushback. This morning, five major TV networks (including Fox News) agreed to suspend pool coverage of the president and White House events after CNN was blocked from its previously assigned spot in a pool rotation today. The three banned outlets also sued over their exclusion. How such a suit will fare is unclear; Trump banned the Associated Press from the White House press pool last year after it refused to adopt his renaming of the Gulf of Mexico, and a lawsuit challenging the ban is still pending. After Trump committed a Kinsley gaffe on Friday by calling his move “the ban on the free press,” he tried to clean up his spin this morning. “The White House is not instituting an assault on the Free Press, something which I cherish. It is instituting an assault on the FAKE NEWS,” he wrote, claiming that it “is a threat to our National Security, and must be stopped, NOW!” This is nonsense. Trump has every right to hate the way he’s covered, but if the government has the power to decide what is fake and what is true, then the press is not free. Trump’s post demonstrates his talismanic belief in the power of news coverage. The president himself has been obsessed with attention—how to get it and how to shape it—for his entire life, and he is a relic from an era when the media were so dominant, and had such control over the means of reaching an audience, that they seemed to shape reality. They are much diminished today, occupying a strange, unstable role: strong enough to be blamed for both Trump’s rise and his downfall, yet weak enough that they can be threatened with relative impunity. Though Trump’s attacks on free speech are unlike any in living memory, his is not the first administration to believe that its problems are about messaging and coverage. In 2012, Barack Obama said that the biggest mistake of his first term “was thinking that this job was just about getting the policy right,” because “the nature of this office is also to tell a story to the American people.” A decade later, Joe Biden’s administration was convinced that negative coverage of inflation and Biden’s age were bigger problems than inflation or the president’s evident frailty. Now Trump is making the same misjudgment. He is not unpopular because of Politico, an outlet that focuses largely on Washington machinations, or because of MS NOW or CNN, two cable channels that—as he is fond of pointing out—have relatively small audiences for television. The media cannot be “failing” and all-powerful at the same time. Trump is unpopular because (to name a few big reasons) he is losing a war of choice to Iran, making inflation worse without seeming to care how voters feel, overreaching with draconian immigration enforcement, and focusing on vanity projects that don’t matter to voters. Ironically, Trump is committing the same error as many liberal critics of the press, who seem to believe that popular support for the president would have collapsed long ago if the media had used harsher words to describe him. But the idea that tougher coverage would have stopped him is fantasy. Although the press has made many mistakes in how it has reported on the president, including giving him hours of uninterrupted TV air time in 2016, downplaying bigoted remarks, and “sanewashing” some statements, Trump has also received more intensive investigation and negative coverage than any president in American history. Some of that coverage has surely been hackish partisanship—which is protected by the First Amendment too—but much of it has been earned. Newspapers, magazines, wire services, and TV networks have turned out a series of scoops about the chaos inside the administration, Trump’s policy errors, and the pervasive corruption around him. In late 2023, The Atlantic published a set of prescient essays considering what would happen if Trump won back the White House. Voters had even lived through one Trump presidency already. They had access to the relevant information before they voted him in again. Believing that Americans might have chosen differently if only The New York Times had abandoned its obtuse headline conventions is comforting to some Trump critics, because it puts the blame on the press rather than acknowledging that a majority of those who voted wanted Trump. By the same token, Trump would rather blame news outlets he does not like than confront the reality that some of those same voters are rejecting him because of his choices. The president faces an additional risk in trying to ban these three outlets. He detests adversarial coverage, but he desperately desires attention. This afternoon, Trump spoke with reporters outside the White House. Usually, his comments are captured by the boom mics from the pool TV team, but without their presence today, he was inaudible. Censorship can silence anyone, it turns out—even the censor. Related: Trump’s attacks on the media are self-defeating. The pinball president Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted Tuesday at 06:15 PM Author Members Posted Tuesday at 06:15 PM Press Pool Protest ABC, NBC, CBS, and Fox yesterday suspended TV coverage of presidential events in response to President Donald Trump barring CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from the White House over reporting he characterized as fake news. The move came shortly after CNN, MS NOW, and Politico filed a lawsuit against Trump, arguing his decision violates the First Amendment. The three banned outlets are members of the White House press pool, alongside ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, and others. The pool was established in 1937 and has covered every president's daily activities since Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Outlets rotate traveling with the president, sharing footage, photos, and quotes with one another. The White House Correspondents' Association has historically selected the pool, but the Trump administration began exerting greater control last year, restricting wire services such as the Associated Press and adding startup media outlets. Last night, the White House launched a 24/7 streaming platform called "Trump TV" to broadcast real-time updates and highlights from major events. Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted Tuesday at 06:54 PM Author Members Posted Tuesday at 06:54 PM 🔨 Trump's executive sledgehammer Photo illustration: Maura Losch/Axios. Photo: Getty Images What do a White House ban on journalists, a 250-foot arch near the nation's capital and Greenland have in common? President Trump says he needs all of them for national security purposes, Axios' Avery Lotz writes. Why it matters: National security concerns have long fueled the expansion of presidential authority. But Trump has leaned on it for an unusually broad set of priorities — clearing obstacles that would otherwise slow him down. Photo: Jon Elswick/AP 🔎 Zoom in: On the morning that the three outlets banned from the White House (CNN, MS NOW and Politico) sued the administration, Trump posted that "FAKE NEWS" is "a threat to our National Security." He pitched his proposed "triumphal arch" as a dual-use facility housing snipers, drones and ammunition storage "for National Security purposes." Trump used the same reasoning for his White House ballroom. He touts a drone port on the roof and a huge underground military bunker. 📺 State of play: The other major television networks that make up the White House television pool — CBS, NBC, ABC and Fox News — suspended their participation over CNN's ban. The New York Times said it wouldn't "publish or distribute any images taken as part of the White House still photography pool today." The Washington Post said it wouldn't "publish any photographs of today's presidential events ... until midnight Eastern Time, joining a collective effort with photographers in other newsrooms covering the White House." NPR said it won't use audio from White House events until further notice. The White House argued in a statement titled "White House Access Is a Privilege — Not a Right" that "no President is required to host a hostile operation on the grounds." Keep reading ... How the pool works. Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted Tuesday at 06:56 PM Author Members Posted Tuesday at 06:56 PM 📸 Pic du jour Photo: @MargoMartin47 via X President Trump and New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani — facing the East River — take questions from reporters after a friendly meeting in Gracie Mansion on the Upper East Side yesterday. Trump said he wants Mamdani "to be a great mayor" and that he has "great potential." More from the meeting. Image: TRUMP TV/YouTube This "Simpsons" frame is from a montage that kicked off the White House's TRUMP TV YouTube channel, which was months in the making but was rushed to air last night amid the press-access fight. The channel, which'll have some theme days, promises: "All the top hits, wins, + more. Streaming 24/7 on your phone or tv." Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted Tuesday at 07:12 PM Author Members Posted Tuesday at 07:12 PM Trump returns to the UN at a moment of anxiety about Iran, AI and the future of the world body itself President Donald Trump is set to address the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday at a tumultuous moment for the world and for his presidency. Read more. What to know: The visit to the U.N. comes at a moment when Trump’s foreign policy approach — particularly his decision to start a war with Iran — has become a drag on Republicans’ hopes of retaining control of Congress in the upcoming midterms. Nevertheless, administration officials signaled Trump will make the case in his address that the world is better off for his leadership. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Diplomats describe a world in turmoil as UN opens annual meeting This truth emerges as political situations change fast: Maps show us our world, but not neutrally Why the White House press pool matters Trump inaugurates new White House helipad, but networks skip coverage during First Amendment fight Trump’s ‘grand conspiracy’ probe presses on with subpoenas after the lead prosecutor’s exit Judge won’t block Trump administration from giving SpaceX acres of wildlife refuge in land swap With the world’s leaders waiting, Trump meets with Mamdani Kamala Harris launches into the 2026 midterms as her 2028 decision looms Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted Tuesday at 07:46 PM Author Members Posted Tuesday at 07:46 PM Trump TV Immediately Flops in Embarrassing Numbers Disaster Nobody is paying attention to the self-declared “king of ratings.” Donald Trump’s 24/7 “TV” channel has immediately flopped, in a humiliating ratings disaster for the president. The 80-year-old former reality TV star, who calls himself “the king of ratings,” got a lot less than he bargained for after he banned CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from the White House on Friday. America’s major TV networks—NBC, ABC, CBS, and even Fox News—suspended their pooled coverage of Trump on Monday in solidarity, acting as the catalyst for the White House to launch “Trump TV: The Essentials Station,” a 24-hour YouTube livestream of Trump’s greatest hits. Plugging the stream, which is hosted on the existing White House YouTube channel, Trump’s deputy assistant Kaelan Dorr moaned that “the press, in some cases, reported inaccurately or not at all on the Administration’s many record-breaking accomplishments,” and floated Trump TV as a one-stop shop for all things Trump. The only issue is that people don’t seem interested. The channel launched at 7 p.m. with around 8,000 viewers, but the audience had dropped below 4,000 just 90 minutes later. By 9 p.m. Eastern, the stream was attracting only about 3,000 viewers, a tiny audience compared with the millions watching the major networks at primetime. By around 10:40 p.m., just 2,425 people were watching. The channel has 3.18 million followers, so that’s a measly .076 percent. It reached a new nadir at around 3.30 a.m. Eastern on Tuesday, with just 1,123 watching a rerun of a speech he gave alongside Britain’s King Charles in Windsor a year ago. The stream has been floated as a replacement for the “fake news” traditional media, but as their leading morning shows kicked off at 6 a.m. Trump’s channel floundered further at just above 1,000 viewers. This was during a speech on anti-fraud initiatives from May. As it switched to another old Trump speech, it dipped below 1,000. Trump announced the ban on Sept. 18, accusing CNN, MS NOW, and POLITICO of producing “FAKE NEWS.” In the Oval Office, he said the decision was based on “cumulative stories over the last two years” and complained that the outlets wrote “purposely negative” coverage intended to “diminish” him and his administration. The administration deactivated the reporters’ hard passes on Saturday, barring them from the White House grounds, before removing CNN from the shared pool coverage rotation on Monday. CNN, MS NOW, and POLITICO filed a lawsuit the same day. The suit, filed in federal court in Washington, argues that the administration’s move violates the First and Fifth Amendments. It also points to Trump’s own words as evidence that the ban was retaliation for coverage he disliked, rather than a legitimate security or logistical decision. “Without notice or process, the White House revoked our journalists’ credentials because it objected to our reporting,” the trio of organizations said in a joint statement. The ban reportedly stemmed from Trump’s favorite aide, Natalie Harp, who played the president clips of anchors on MS NOW “criticizing his administration” before he pulled the plug, sources familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal. Harp, who earns $150,000 a year as an executive assistant, usually screens what coverage reaches the president, acting as a buffer between him and negative press. But the whole saga has left Trump without an audience. The president now lacks a major network TV crew or photographers to cover him, as the pool has downed tools in solidarity with the banned networks. This culminated in an awkward ribbon-cutting ceremony for his $13 million helipad that descended into a farce, with his remarks rendered virtually inaudible amid the absence of the traditional TV pool. It all comes as Trump’s approval rating slumped to 32 percent, marking the lowest point of his second term and, according to Reuters, the lowest of his entire political career. https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-tv-immediately-flops-in-embarrassing-numbers-disaster/? ps:What a pathetic fool!!!!! Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted Tuesday at 07:59 PM Author Members Posted Tuesday at 07:59 PM George W. Bush Returns to Deliver Stunning Snub to MAGA A Texas fundraising event attended by the former president spurned a key midterm candidate. Former President George W. Bush has appeared at a major Republican fundraising event supporting multiple GOP midterm candidates, but not Ken Paxton, Donald Trump’s pick in the Texas Senate race. Bush was a special guest in Dallas on Monday night at a campaign event hosted by fellow Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn, who lost to Paxton in what was the most expensive GOP Senate primary ever, The New York Times reported. The event for the Maintain the Majority fundraising committee aimed to give a midterm boost to a number of GOP Senate incumbents and candidates in states including Iowa, Alaska, Michigan, Minnesota and Maine. However, the event, filled with old-guard Republicans, opted not to publicly back Texas Attorney General Paxton, the scandal-hit MAGA candidate who is so controversial that a Democrat could pick up a Senate seat in the Lone Star State for the first time in decades on Nov. 3. Multiple polls show Democrat James Talarico leading Paxton in what is one of the most closely watched and vital Senate races. If Talarico beats Paxton, it would go a long way toward helping Democrats flip the Senate, with the GOP also widely expected to lose control of the House in November. A number of Republicans have expressed fears that Paxton will torpedo the GOP’s chances of retaining what is usually a solid-red Texas Senate seat. Paxton was impeached by the Republican-controlled Texas House in 2023 after being accused of corruption, bribery and obstruction of justice. He was acquitted by the Texas Senate but continued to face scrutiny over allegations of corruption. His wife also filed for divorce last year, citing “biblical grounds,” after rumors of an affair surfaced. Establishment figures, including Senate Majority Leader John Thune, endorsed Cornyn in the Texas primary over Paxton, believing the veteran incumbent had a much better chance of retaining the seat and appealing to crucial moderate and independent voters than the MAGA candidate.This is not the first time Paxton has had to fight against the Bush dynasty during his political career. In 2022, Paxton defeated George P. Bush, the former president’s nephew, in the Republican primary for Texas attorney general. Bush is also not the only Republican openly snubbing a MAGA figure in Texas. Last week, Karl Rove, the veteran GOP strategist behind Bush’s successful campaigns for governor and president, said he would vote for Democrat Jon Rosenthal over Republican Bo French in the race for a seat on the Texas Railroad Commission. Rove said he was voting against French after he shared a photo of non-white University of Texas students celebrating a college football victory on X with the caption: “The problem is now obviously far worse than anyone imagined.” “The GOP has a growing number of Bo Frenches—and not only in Texas,” Rove wrote in an opinion piece for The Wall Street Journal. “There are ‘just asking questions’ Jew-haters, misogynists who worship hypermasculinity, conspiracy nuts seeking clicks for profit, and religious bigots who won’t differentiate between Muslim terrorists and Muslim American patriots.” The Daily Beast has contacted Ken Paxton’s office for comment. https://www.thedailybeast.com/george-w-bush-returns-to-deliver-stunning-snub-to-maga/? ps:Good for GWB!! Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted Tuesday at 11:06 PM Author Members Posted Tuesday at 11:06 PM Judge strikes down a Trump policy barring some immigrants from Head Start preschools A federal judge in Rhode Island has struck down a Trump administration directive that would have barred some immigrants from accessing certain federal programs, including Head Start preschools, community health clinics and adult education initiatives. Read More. Trump signs US-Denmark-Greenland agreement to bolster Arctic security after prolonged tensions President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed an agreement with Denmark and Greenland aimed at strengthening Arctic and North Atlantic security, paving the way for more U.S. bases in Greenland and easing tensions over his repeated calls for the vast island to become part of the United States. Read More. Trump signs US-Denmark-Greenland agreement to bolster Arctic security after prolonged tensions UNITED NATIONS (AP) — President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed an agreement with Denmark and Greenland aimed at strengthening Arctic and North Atlantic security, paving the way for more U.S. bases in Greenland and easing tensions over his repeated calls for the vast island to become part of the United States. https://apnews.com/article/trump-greenland-denmark-security-agreement-084ac2a82952c2dff403c48bd3564113? Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted Tuesday at 11:39 PM Author Members Posted Tuesday at 11:39 PM The Affordability Trap View in browser Of all the outrages and betrayals that Donald Trump has had perpetrated against him—by ungrateful subordinates, by obstreperous prosecutors, by treacherous journalists—perhaps his saddest falling-out is with a simple word. “Starting on day one, we will defeat inflation quickly, and we will make America affordable again,” he declared in an ad during his 2024 presidential campaign. A year later, Trump confessed to still having some affinity for the word. Speaking at a summit hosted by McDonald’s, the president promised imminent prosperity: “That begins with making America, we have to do—the word is affordable—and affordable should be our word, not theirs.” These days, the word itself is, like all of Trump’s enemies, the frequent target of invective. The president describes the concept of affordability as, variously, a Democratic “con job,” as “a new word—nobody ever heard the word,” and, most damningly of all, as “fake.” The reasons for this lexical animosity are clear. The word that the president once wielded with great effect against Democrats in 2024 is now being used against him with seemingly equal effect by his opponents. Affordability is the Democrats’ unifying theme, which, despite them lacking coherence on almost every other issue, may be enough to carry them to victory in the November midterm elections. (Nate Silver estimates that in the generic congressional ballot, Democrats are leading by a crushing 7.5 percentage points.) And no wonder. Inflation remains high; gas prices, which Trump promised in 2024 would settle below $2 a gallon, are now above $4 thanks to the president’s war with Iran; mortgage rates, which Trump said would drop to 2 percent, are instead near 7 percent. But Democrats shouldn’t expect to hang on to their advantage here; far more likely, the inversion will recur. You can imagine America settling into a persistent politics of affordability, in which the arguments are always the same but the positions of accuser and accused are swapped depending on who holds power. Democrats are, for example, pledging that if they win the midterm elections, they will crusade for lower costs “of groceries, of housing, of childcare and elder care.” Perhaps such competition would be salutary; more likely, it would be Sisyphean—an unending cycle of accusation, disappointment, and recrimination. There are three reasons for pessimism. The first is that affordability politics are a breeding ground for economically illiterate policy ideas. Popular anger over inflation is usually directed at cumulative price increases over the course of years. But literally decreasing prices is exceptionally hard to accomplish, even if that is what voters want. In this heady environment, discredited ideas such as price controls and even the direct provision of goods—as New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is attempting with government-run grocery stores—make their resurgence. Affordability politics also encourages unvarnished attempts at bribing voters, as Trump attempted with his pledge to give $5,000 to every American adult should Republicans keep control of Congress. (This is both a subpar reason to add another $1.3 trillion to America’s $40 trillion in national debt and a very good way to exacerbate inflation.) The second problem of affordability politics is what these proposed solutions do to what little remains of voter trust in government. Every election cycle, politicians make promises for widespread price relief, package them into neat advertisements, and relay these to voters a mind-numbing number of times, only for these promises to go undelivered—because they were unworkable from the start. This may not inspire apathy among voters so much as anger and irritability. It also encourages anti-incumbency of the kind that explains why Americans have, in every presidential election since 2016, opted for the challenging party’s candidate. The third problem is the cumulative cost of short-termist affordability politics. Neither party in this election cycle is making much reference to the national debt, even though the United States has surpassed, for the first time ever, $1 trillion in interest costs this year. Deficit spending shows no sign of slowing down, even though the American economy is not in recession and the country is only mildly at war. But there is no political incentive to suggest that such spending cannot persist. Instead, Democrats traditionally propose new social expenditures and subsidies, whereas Republicans propose general tax cuts. The new approach, favored by populists, is to offer both: Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic nominee for the Senate race in Michigan, has pitched “a cost-of-living exemption on federal taxes up to $50,000” while also establishing Medicare for All and universal child care—to be paid for by the rich. Ashley Hinson, the Republican nominee for the Senate race in Iowa, is pitching more government support for house purchases, child care, and rural hospitals while cutting taxes. Why begrudge the entire enterprise of affordability politicking? Isn’t the job of elected officials ostensibly to improve the lives of their constituents? Yes, indeed. And it is of course still possible to durably decrease prices with good governmental policy: You can, for example, slowly reduce the cost of housing by reducing restrictions on building, or reduce health costs by expanding the supply of doctors. This requires some forbearance and sophistication on the part of the politician—and, unfortunately, both qualities are negatively selected against in the current political-attention economy. It is better to make headlines with snappier pledges to freeze the rent or nationalize the health system. You can safely assume that at the conclusion of the midterms, the 2028 presidential election will begin in earnest and affordability will be one of its bywords. You can also dread the litany of bad ideas it will spawn. Related: The “consumer socialism” trap Marc Novicoff: Gas prices could cost Republicans the midterms. Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted Wednesday at 10:42 PM Author Members Posted Wednesday at 10:42 PM Trump-backed Missouri congressional map returns to the Supreme Court for the third time WASHINGTON (AP) — The fight over Missouri’s congressional map returned to the U.S. Supreme Court for a third time late Tuesday, after an appeals court ordered the revival of new districts backed by President Donald Trump. https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-missouri-redistricting-congressional-map-4359373974681c4170a6a4410ffd019d? ps:Pathetic!!!!! Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted Wednesday at 11:07 PM Author Members Posted Wednesday at 11:07 PM The "All-In"-ization of Trump Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Stock: Getty Images President Trump's accelerationist AI doctrine increasingly bears the stamp of the "All-In" podcasters, whose tech-investor network now feeds ideas and talent directly into the White House, Axios' Zachary Basu writes. Why it matters: An unlikely marriage of convenience between MAGA and Silicon Valley has proved remarkably durable, deepening as Trump sheds support elsewhere and stakes more of his legacy on dominating the AI race. The big picture: "All-In," now including lucrative events and luxe tequila, is a smash hit that grew out of four hyperconnected tech entrepreneurs kibitzing on air during COVID, when they could no longer gather for their weekly poker game. The co-hosts, who call themselves "The Besties," are Chamath Palihapitiya, Jason Calacanis, David Sacks, and David Friedberg. None of them has done more to bridge the two worlds than David Sacks, who spent Trump's first year as his AI czar and remains a powerful outside adviser with direct access to the president. Sacks helped build Trump's original AI agenda around a simple premise: Move fast, sweep away regulatory barriers and treat China — not catastrophic risk — as the overriding threat. 🔭 Zoom out: Sacks left the White House but not Trump's inner circle, shaping AI policy as co-chair of the Trump-created President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST). The broader "All-In" network is embedding itself deeper across Trumpworld: David Friedberg also serves on the science council, alongside investor Marc Andreessen, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and other tech leaders. Chamath Palihapitiya, another co-host and prominent Trump booster, is among the names being floated for the new AI czar job Trump announced last weekend. The intrigue: The show routinely defends Trump. Jason Calacanis, the moderator, is the political outlier — frequently criticizing Trump on Iran and inflation, while otherwise aligning with his co-hosts on the revolutionary nature of AI. 👓 Between the lines: Few platforms better capture the zeitgeist of AI accelerationism than "All-In," where the movement's leading investors, executives and political allies increasingly converge. After former Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon's safety warnings exploded across Washington, the hosts devoted much of their next episode to portraying the backlash as an orchestrated "doomer" campaign. Three days later, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang paused his live "All-In" Summit interview to take a call from Trump, who drew a raucous reception as he dismissed AI catastrophe fears as a "hoax." 👀 What to watch: "All-In" and the accelerationist wing of Silicon Valley are tying themselves unusually tightly to one president and one governing philosophy. Sacks has blessed a $100 million-plus midterm operation built to advance Trump's AI agenda and punish candidates who favor tougher regulation. Inside AI labs, that political fusion is feeding a deeper fear: that warnings about catastrophic risk will become coded as anti-Trump politics, turning AI safety into yet another partisan litmus test. Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted Wednesday at 11:17 PM Author Members Posted Wednesday at 11:17 PM $2B Gaza recovery plan Workers search the rubble of a Gaza City building that collapsed last week. It had been damaged by an Israeli strike earlier in the war. Photo: Dawoud Abu Alkas/Reuters President Trump's Board of Peace will unveil a six-month, $2.45 billion recovery plan for Gaza at a meeting of its members today, Axios' Barak Ravid reports from New York. Why it matters: The 66-project proposal offers one of the most comprehensive roadmaps yet for what the early months of post-war reconstruction and governance in Gaza would look like. The plan includes money for temporary housing, rubble removal, hospital repairs, economic recovery and the deployment of a multinational security force, according to a copy obtained by Axios. The plan estimates physical damage in Gaza at $35.2 billion and says full recovery and reconstruction will require about $71.4 billion over the next decade. A Board of Peace official said that "the plan shows how to stand up a government from nothing, an economy from shambles and a territory from disaster." 🥊 Reality check: For the plan to work, the Board of Peace needs Israel and Hamas to cooperate. While Bibi's government agreed in principle to aspects of the plan that were previously discussed, Israel refused to start implementing it, mainly for domestic political reasons ahead of next month's elections. And while Hamas has agreed in principle to disarm, that pledge hasn't been tested. More on the plan. Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted Wednesday at 11:38 PM Author Members Posted Wednesday at 11:38 PM 🗳️ Trump amps up hunt for voter fraud Photo illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios. Photo: Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images The Trump administration says Americans should prepare between now and Election Day for a wave of new arrests and prosecutions over alleged noncitizen voter fraud, Axios' Brittany Gibson writes. Why it matters: The Trump administration is deploying hundreds of federal investigators and attorneys to pursue President Trump's long-running fixation — and test a broader Republican claim that tougher enforcement will uncover far more illegal voting. A Justice Department official told reporters yesterday that the "initiative is a tier one priority. It's a top priority for the attorney general and for the White House." Across the country, there are now 1,600 open cases of potential voter fraud and 160 people have been arrested, a Homeland Security Investigations official said. To support these investigations, Homeland Security staff have shifted work time from other priorities such as smuggling, trafficking and financial fraud. Reality check: Instances of mistaken registrations and cases of noncitizen voting are rare, but they've long been investigated by the federal government. ps:The only voter fraud is trumps gerrymandering!!!!! Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
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