Members phkrause Posted April 17, 2025 Author Members Posted April 17, 2025 US judge presses Trump administration on its refusal to return Kilmar Abrego Garcia A federal judge said Tuesday that she will order sworn testimony by Trump administration officials to determine if they complied with her orders to facilitate the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was mistakenly deported to a notorious El Salvador prison. Read more. Why this matters: U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis in Maryland issued her order after Trump officials continued to refuse to retrieve Abrego Garcia. She said they defied a “clear” Supreme Court order. She also downplayed Monday’s comments by White House officials and El Salvador’s president that they were unable to bring back Abrego Garcia. Xinis wrote that Trump administration officials “have done nothing at all” toward returning Abrego Garcia. She wrote they “remain obligated, at a minimum, to take the steps available to them toward aiding, assisting, or making easier Abrego Garcia’s release.” An attorney for Abrego Garcia said contempt proceedings could be the logical next step after the fact-finding phase. “This is still a win, and this is still progress,” Rina Ghandi said. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ In their words: What judges and Trump’s government say about Abrego Garcia’s mistaken deportation Justice Department can cut funding for legal guidance for people facing deportation, US judge says Border deployment vehicle accident in New Mexico kills two service members, third in critical condition 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 April 17, 2025 Author Members Posted April 17, 2025 Trump IRS Pick Was Just Enriched By Tax Schemers President Donald Trump’s choice for Internal Revenue Service director just had his six-figure debt paid off by campaign donors whose firms have significant, often contentious business before the tax agency he would lead, according to federal records reviewed by The Lever. https://www.levernews.com/trump-irs-pick-was-just-enriched-by-tax-schemers/? ps:These people can't pay there taxes but can throw money at this guy????? Trump Is Spending Billions on Border Security. Some Residents Living There Lack Basic Resources. Within hours of taking office, President Donald Trump declared an emergency on the U.S.-Mexico border, giving him authority to unilaterally spend billions on immigration enforcement and wall construction. He has since reportedly urged Congress to authorize an additional $175 billion for border security, far exceeding what was spent during his first term. https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-border-security-spending-texas-arizona? From Lollapalooza to Detention Camps: Meet the Tent Company Making a Fortune Off Trump’s Deportation Plans In June 2005, a former employee from the Federal Emergency Management Agency toured the grounds of the Bonnaroo music festival in rural Tennessee. He wasn’t there to see the headliners, which included Dave Matthews Band and the lead singer of the popular jam band Phish. He was there to meet the guys setting up the toilets for the throng of psychedelics-infused campers in attendance: Richard Stapleton, a construction industry veteran, and his business partner Robert Napior, a onetime convicted pot grower, who specialized in setting up music festivals. https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-deportations-deployed-resources-tent-company? Congress Has Demanded Answers to ICE Detaining Americans. The Administration Has Responded With Silence. Just a week into President Donald Trump’s second term, Rep. Adriano Espaillat began to see reports of Puerto Ricans and others being questioned and arrested by immigration agents. https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-ice-immigration-detained-americans-congress-questions-unanswered? Trump’s DOJ Has Frozen Police Reform Work. Advocates Fear More Abuse in Departments Across the Country. When news broke in January that the Trump Justice Department was freezing significant work on civil rights litigation, including police reform cases, attention immediately focused on two cities: Minneapolis and Louisville, Kentucky. https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-doj-freeze-police-reform-abuse-phoenix-trenton-louisville-minneapolis? 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 April 17, 2025 Author Members Posted April 17, 2025 Trump DOJ sues Maine over refusing to comply with ban on transgender athletes in high school sports The Justice Department is suing Maine over its refusal to comply with President Donald Trump’s ban on transgender athletes in high school sports, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Wednesday. https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/16/politics/doj-maine-transgender-sports-lawsuit/index.html? ? Big Tech’s tariff bailout. President Donald Trump gave Silicon Valley a massive gift when he exempted a slew of the industry’s core products from tariffs issued on Chinese imports, including smartphones, data processing machines, computers, and machines used to manufacture computer chips. Trump’s exemptions helped reverse a drop in stock prices for giants like Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, and HP — the same companies whose leadership dumped millions of dollars into Trump’s inauguration fund and campaign coffers. ? Trump’s “Death File” scam could be his undoing. You read that right — the Trump administration is reportedly purposely adding the names of immigrants it knows to be alive to the Social Security Administration’s “Death Master File” to try to force them out of the country. The Death Master File, which is the list of beneficiaries for whom the SSA has received a death benefit claim, is often referenced by creditors and can affect individuals’ access to employment, loans, and even housing. According to the academic blog, Credit Slips, this means Trump is committing multiple violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act — making his administration a likely target for both private and public civil suits. We’ll be waiting. Boasberg finds ‘probable cause exists’ to hold Trump administration in contempt for violating orders on deportation flights US District Judge James Boasberg ruled Wednesday that “probable cause exists” to hold Trump administration officials in criminal contempt for violating his orders in mid-March halting the use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport alleged Venezuelan gang members. https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/16/politics/boasberg-contempt-deportation-flights? 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 April 17, 2025 Author Members Posted April 17, 2025 Why Trump Doesn’t Want You to Notice His Most Dangerous Move The blizzard of executive orders signed in the Oval Office is a smokescreen for a ticking timebomb: Accusing his own former official of treason. The pace at which President Donald Trump is inventing new purposes for Presidential orders reminds me of George Washington Carver’s success in finding over 300 uses for peanuts. But Carver accomplished his feat—as well as numerous other scientific and agricultural innovations—over the span of 47 years at Tuskegee University; Trump has taken less than 100 days in his second term to issue over 100 executive orders. Trump’s record-breaking pace seems dependent upon a penchant for inventing ways to use these orders to further personal grievances which are untethered to the law. A good (but also very bad) example is his using Presidential memoranda to accuse his own former officials, Miles Taylor and Chris Krebs of crimes including, in the case of Taylor, treason. Accusations of treason—a crime that carries with it a potential death sentence—made by an official Presidential decree are far more significant than mere rhetorical hyperbole. Neither Taylor nor Krebs may be names top of mind today, but they apparently retain a prominent place in Trump’s psyche. As the director of Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency, Krebs discredited theories put forward by Trump that the 2020 election had been stolen. After his tenure as Chief of Staff to the Director of Homeland Security ended, meanwhile, Taylor wrote a memoir criticizing Trump’s handling of classified information, which was built upon revelations he shared in a bombshell “anonymous” op-ed describing many senior Trump officials as being part of resistance efforts to limit Trump’s impulses. Trump explicitly accuses Taylor of treason in an order entitled “Addressing Risks Associated with an Egregious Leaker and Disseminator of Falsehoods.” After first asserting that Taylor “illegally published classified conversations,” it goes on to state: “Where a Government employee improperly discloses sensitive information for the purposes of personal enrichment and undermining our foreign policy, national security, and Government effectiveness—all ultimately designed to sow chaos and distrust in Government—this conduct could properly be characterized as treasonous and as possibly violating the Espionage Act.” Here, Trump is using the phrase “treason” with about as much legal precision as someone flipping off another driver in a fit of road rage. The constitutional definitions of treason—that it “shall consist only in levying War against [the United States], or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort”—do not come close to the facts Trump asserts. Nor does criminal law. One would have to impart complete literal truth to the adage “the pen is mightier than the sword” to construe writing an opinion piece or publishing a memoir as “levying war” against the U.S. And are the readers of the New York Times’ opinion pages to be deemed as “enemies” of our country? Maybe Trump thinks they are, but his opinion does not and should not carry the force of law. The order targeting Krebs fares no better. No matter. The real point of both is to attack those Trump holds grievances against—like his efforts to punish law firms whose employees had sought to investigate him. But in targeting individuals, the orders raise the stakes to an egregious, never-before seen exercise of Presidential power. Professor Harold Hongiu Koh, former dean of Yale Law School and former Legal Advisor at the State Department, makes the compelling argument that what Trump is doing constitutes a “bill of attainder”—that is, legislation that imposes punishment upon a specific person or group without a judicial trial—expressly prohibited in the Constitution. In answering this exact question posed by a federal judge, a government lawyer asserted that “bill of attainder” restrictions only impact Article I of the Constitution (Congressional power) and not on Article II (Presidential power). On face value, that’s correct But like so many of the Trump administration’s actions, it’s the answer’s negative space that reveals as much—or more—than what’s visible. What they are really saying (without saying) is that the administration believes the President is free to indict, adjudicate and impose punishments for criminal accusations against a group of people—or a single person like Taylor or Krebs—through a mere decree. Trump accusations against them appear nonsensical because they don’t fit the law. But maybe that’s the very point, namely that the Trump administration wants to change the law by any means possible. George Washington Carver’s ingenuity in inventing hundreds of uses for the peanut furthered the greater good by replenishing the over-worked soil of the South through crop rotation. The Trump administration’s inventive uses of Presidential power further only the pursuit of their own. https://www.thedailybeast.com/why-trump-doesnt-want-you-to-notice-his-most-dangerous-move/? ps:I believe Proverbs has a comment that covers this!!!!! 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 April 17, 2025 Author Members Posted April 17, 2025 Judge finds probable cause to hold Trump administration in contempt for violating deportation order A federal judge on Wednesday said he has found probable cause to hold the Trump administration in criminal contempt of court for violating his orders to turn around planes carrying deportees to El Salvador. The ruling marks a dramatic battle between the judicial and executive branches of government over the president’s powers to carry out key White House priorities. Read More. Trump administration plans to end the IRS Direct File program for free tax filing, AP sources say The program developed during Joe Biden’s presidency was credited by users with making tax filing easy, fast and economical. But Republican lawmakers and commercial tax preparation companies complained it was a waste of taxpayer money because free filing programs already exist, although they are hard to use. Read More. Trump administration sues Maine over participation of transgender athletes in girls sports The Trump administration on Wednesday sued Maine for not complying with the government’s push to ban transgender athletes in girls and women’s sports, escalating a dispute over whether the state is abiding by a federal law that bars discrimination in education based on sex. Read More. Older Arizona voters are closely watching Trump's tariffs — and their retirement accounts President Donald Trump was elected with a promise to improve the economy, lower taxes and control inflation, addressing voters who said overwhelmingly that the economy was the top issue facing the country. But for retirees, the president’s economic stewardship has been defined by the roller coaster of the stock market and fears his tariffs will lead to higher inflation. Read More. 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 April 18, 2025 Author Members Posted April 18, 2025 Homegrown Criminals (Mark Peterson / Redux) View in browser Late last month, Jonathan Braun was arrested on allegations of shoving a 3-year-old, “causing a red mark on his back and substantial pain.” This is only his latest brush with the law over the past four years. He was banned by federal and New York State judges from working in debt collection; fined $20 million; and accused of punching his wife and father-in-law, groping a nanny, and attacking a nurse with an IV-bag holder. He also allegedly threatened a man at his synagogue who asked him to pipe down during services. This crime spree is stunning, but what makes it national news is that it has all happened since 2021, when President Donald Trump commuted Braun’s 10-year prison sentence for smuggling marijuana. Braun, granted clemency during the last hours of Trump’s first term as president, is one of many recipients of a Trump pardon who has found himself back in trouble with the law. Some of them are people convicted of serious offenses on January 6, 2021, and then pardoned at the outset of Trump’s second term in office. Despite Trump’s depiction of the rioters as peace-loving patriots, more than a few of them have proved to be repeat offenders. Braun, who is now back in prison, is not the only first-term recipient of clemency to be rearrested. Eli Weinstein, a convicted Ponzi schemer who received a last-minute 2021 commutation, was convicted on March 31 in a $41 million fraud case. Philip Esformes, whose sentence for his role in a $1.3 billion Medicare fraud was commuted in 2020, was arrested last year on domestic-violence-related charges, but the state dropped them a month later. The rapper Kodak Black has also been repeatedly arrested since receiving a commutation. But the group of people convicted in connection with January 6 has been particularly likely to have found more trouble. Former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio, who was sentenced to 22 years for seditious conspiracy and other crimes, was arrested for assault just a month after being pardoned—at the Capitol, no less. (D.C. prosecutors declined to pursue charges.) He also tried unsuccessfully to stir up conflict at a conference of Trump critics in February. Matthew Huttle, an Indiana man who received a pardon for entering the Capitol on January 6, was fatally shot by a deputy on January 27 after reaching for a gun. Emily Hernandez, a Missouri woman, was convicted for causing a fatal drunk-driving crash in 2022; the sentencing came days after her pardon for January 6 offenses. Andrew Taake of Texas was pardoned in January, then arrested in February on an outstanding charge for allegedly sending explicit messages to an undercover cop he believed was an underage girl. It’s not just that clemency recipients have been accused of crimes since their pardons; they’ve also tried to use the pardons to get off for other offenses. Edward Kelley argued that his pardon from Trump for January 6 also covered his plot to kill the FBI agents who investigated him; a judge disagreed. Daniel Ball said that charges of illegally possessing a gun should be thrown out because the weapon was discovered in a search related to now-pardoned January 6 charges, and the acting U.S. attorney agreed, but Dan Wilson, a pardoned Capitol rioter who made a similar argument, had less luck with a federal appeals court. (Other defendants have made similar claims, with varying results.) David Daniel, who was charged with producing and possessing child pornography, also argued that a search that turned up the material was invalid because of his January 6 pardon, but the U.S. attorney in the case disagreed. (Daniel has pleaded not guilty to the charges.) Seeing so many people who received pardons get back in trouble with the law should be deeply embarrassing for Trump—though to be fair, pardoning people for a violent assault on the Capitol should have been embarrassing to him as well. He is not the first president to issue clemency for personal reasons, but presidential administrations usually carefully administer commutations and pardons, in part to avoid recidivism. The Trump White House, however, has shown little regard for the process. Last month, it fired Justice Department pardon attorney Elizabeth Oyer after she opposed restoring gun rights for the actor Mel Gibson, then tried to block her from testifying to Congress. Trump, the first convicted felon to serve as president, has long claimed that he will restore “law and order” in America, but his definition is highly selective. Some of the president’s commutations and pardons are simply favors granted to people who are well connected, but in the case of the January 6 commutations, he was eager to reward loyalty and to make a political point: that he and they had both been subjects of political persecution. This creates a nauseating contrast with statements this week in which administration officials have claimed that Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident living under protected legal status who was deported to El Salvador, is a terrorist, despite a total lack of evidence—and despite the fact that the government has previously acknowledged his deportation was “an administrative error.” The search for some offense to pin on Abrego Garcia is also being done to make a political point. If Trump is eager to find dangerous criminals, he could do so more easily by looking at his pardon list. Related: Radio Atlantic: Even some J6ers don’t agree with Trump’s blanket pardon. A sweeping January 6 pardon is an attack on the judiciary. ps:It would be interesting to see the stats related to these pardons given out by all presidents!! Just of the top of my head I don't recall any from the previous presidents back to Kennedy, but at least 5 from the trump ones!!!!! 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 April 18, 2025 Author Members Posted April 18, 2025 ⚖️ Tariffs could face court fights Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios U.S. courts have the potential to be the biggest threat yet to the central tenet of President Trump's economic agenda, Axios' Courtenay Brown writes. Why it matters: More entities — from legal groups representing Main Street businesses to the state of California — are trying to block some tariffs as their lawsuits against the levies make their way through the judicial system. California filed a lawsuit yesterday seeking an immediate injunction to stop Trump's tariffs, following other lawsuits on behalf of small businesses seeking to do the same. The suits all allege the same thing: Trump can't impose across-the-board worldwide tariffs without congressional approval. ? Between the lines: The White House relied on untested emergency powers to impose tariffs, a move that multiple lawsuits now argue is executive overreach. Trump invoked authorities under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), which gives the president wide-ranging powers in an emergency but has never been used to implement tariffs since its creation in 1977. Trump signed executive orders saying that illegal drugs, undocumented immigration and "large and persistent" trade deficits constituted national emergencies. Keep reading. 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 April 18, 2025 Author Members Posted April 18, 2025 ?️ Trump's MAGA-friendly press adds The White House is sprinkling the traditional press corps with an array of MAGA-friendly journalists who dilute scrutiny, denigrate Democrats and ultimately flatter President Trump, reports Axios' Tal Axelrod, our expert on MAGA media. Why it matters: As traditional media loses influence, the White House is giving increasing access to a growing cast of Trump-friendly reporters, podcasters and influencers who boost his narratives from inside the house. ?️ The big picture: The shift comes amid the administration's war on traditional media — including lawsuits, access restrictions for AP, and access reductions for Reuters and Bloomberg. ? Zoom in: MAGA podcaster Jack Posobiec has traveled with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to Ukraine and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to the northern border. ZeroHedge, a finance blog that U.S. intelligence accused of spreading Russian propaganda in 2022, was tapped by the White House for the New Media slot in the press pool last Thursday. Matthew Foldi of the Trump-friendly Washington Reporter tweeted Tuesday when he sat in the White House's "new media" seat: "@POTUS is truly well served by his all star comms team." Breitbart's Matthew Boyle has scored exclusive interviews with Trump, Vice President Vance and several Cabinet members. Mary Margaret Olohan, The Daily Wire's new White House correspondent, accompanied Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to Panama. Raheem Kassam, The National Pulse's editor-in-chief, was also on the trip. Natalie Winters, White House correspondent for Steve Bannon's "War Room," is all over the White House complex. White House officials note that Trump and his staffers still take hard-hitting questions. Assistant press secretary Taylor Rogers told Axios: "There has never been a White House that communicates as often and as openly with the American press [as] President Trump." "The president and the press secretary take questions from all outlets and have given more journalists a chance to cover this White House than any other administration." ? Trump targets Harvard's tax exemption Via Truth Social The IRS is taking steps to revoke Harvard's tax-exempt status after the Ivy League school pushed back on President Trump's list of demands, CNN's Evan Perez and Alayna Treene first reported. A final decision on rescinding the university's tax exemption — an extremely rare, and possibly unprecedented move — is expected soon. Why it matters: The tax-exempt status "lets donors get tax deductions for contributions and keeps the university from paying taxes on any net earnings," The Wall Street Journal notes. The school is also exempt from paying income taxes. The Trump administration also threatened last night to revoke Harvard's ability to enroll foreign students. Go deeper. 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 April 18, 2025 Author Members Posted April 18, 2025 Deportation flights A federal judge ruled on Wednesday that “probable cause exists” to hold Trump administration officials in criminal contempt for violating his orders on deportation flights. US District Judge James Boasberg held an emergency hearing on March 15 and ordered the administration to pause its historic deportation campaign and turn around any planes carrying migrants that were already in the air. The administration did not do so. Boasberg is now seeking sworn statements about the officials who decided to ignore his order. If those statements aren’t satisfactory, he plans to call witnesses to testify at a hearing or in depositions. Boasberg could then ask the Justice Department to prosecute the officials or appoint a special prosecutor to the case. Health budget cuts The Trump administration plans to cut roughly one-third of the federal health budget, according to a memo from White House budget officials reviewed by CNN. Slashing tens of billions of dollars a year from the Department of Health and Human Services would likely lead to the elimination of dozens of programs, including grants and residency programs for rural hospitals and state offices. According to the memo, the plan calls for slashing the CDC’s budget by more than 40% and eliminating both its global health center and programs focused on chronic disease prevention and domestic HIV/AIDS prevention. Programs on gun violence, injury prevention, youth violence prevention, drowning, minority health and others would be eliminated entirely. The National Institutes of Health’s budget would also be reduced by more than 40%. 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 April 18, 2025 Author Members Posted April 18, 2025 Proposed rule change on endangered species triggers alarm for environmentalists The Trump administration plans to eliminate habitat protections for endangered and threatened species in a move environmentalists say would lead to the extinction of critically endangered species because of logging, mining, development, and other activities. Read more. Why this matters: At issue is a long-standing definition of “harm” in the Endangered Species Act, which has included altering or destroying the places those species live. Habitat destruction is the biggest cause of extinction, said Noah Greenwald, endangered species director at the Center for Biological Diversity. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service said in a proposed rule issued Wednesday that habitat modification should not be considered harm because it is not the same as intentionally targeting a species, called “take.” Environmentalists argue that the definition of “take,” though, has always included actions that harm species, and the definition of “harm” has been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Trump administration issues order to stop construction on New York offshore wind project The Trump administration can’t end billions in grants for climate-friendly projects, a judge says Judge blocks worker protections for abortion and fertility care for Catholic employers ACLU sues Defense Department school system over banning race- and gender-related books International students file legal challenges over widespread US visa revocations California sues to stop Trump from imposing sweeping tariffs UC student association drops lawsuit challenging DOGE access to student loan data Why Elon Musk installed his top lieutenants at a federal agency you probably haven’t heard of AmeriCorps members who respond to disasters and help nonprofits are let go in DOGE cuts Head Start funding lags by nearly $1 billion this year, causing some preschool closures Trump taps Clayton as interim US attorney for New York’s Southern District amid procedural spat with Schumer The State Department closes the office that flags disinformation from Russia, China and Iran US imposes sanctions on a Chinese refinery accused of buying Iranian oil Japan reports a $63 billion trade surplus with the US as it talks with Trump on tariffs Vance to meet Modi, Meloni during trip to India and Italy with wife Usha North Dakota governor signs bill doing away with Fargo’s unusual voting system ps:He can't even leave the animals alone!! 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 April 18, 2025 Author Members Posted April 18, 2025 “How Can I Take Anyone Seriously Talking About Mohsen Being Antisemitic?” An Israeli associate of Mohsen Mahdawi, the Columbia University student detained Monday by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said his targeting is a clear sign that no kind of activism in support of Palestine — even efforts to build peace with Israelis — is the right kind of activism for the Israeli and American right. https://theintercept.com/2025/04/15/rubio-antisemitism-mahdawi-columbia-student-ice-palestine-israel/? Trump Team Eyes Politically Connected Startup to Overhaul $700 Billion Government Payments Program A little-known firm with investors linked to JD Vance, Elon Musk and Trump could get a piece of the federal expense card system — and its hundreds of millions in fees. “This goes against all the normal contracting safeguards,” one expert said. https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-peter-thiel-ramp-gsa-smartpay-expense-payment-system? Mortgage rates climb to highest level in two months as Trump’s tariffs continue to rock markets Springtime home shoppers may be feeling the impact of an intensifying trade war. https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/17/economy/mortgage-rates-trade-war-tariffs/index.html? Trump attacks on federal agencies have steep implications for Black workers In just over two months, the Trump administration has laid off tens of thousands of federal workers at several agencies. Probationary employees, foreign aid staff, and workers dedicated to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) were the first targets of these cuts that have since spread to include dismantling the U.S. Department of Education—with more to follow. These unprecedented cuts follow President Trump and billionaire Elon Musk’s mission to downsize the federal government under the guise of cost savings and improved efficiency. While courts have ordered some of these workers to be reinstated, the Trump administration’s efforts to reshape the federal government have serious implications for federal workers and their families—especially Black workers. https://www.epi.org/blog/trump-attacks-on-federal-agencies-have-steep-implications-for-black-workers/? "If I want him out, he'll be out" President Trump is giving the strongest indications yet that he may try to fire Fed chair Jerome Powell — a legal and economic showdown with little modern precedent, Axios' Courtenay Brown reports. "If I want him out, he'll be out of there real fast, believe me," Trump told reporters today in the Oval Office. "Powell's termination cannot come fast enough!" Trump posted earlier in the day on Truth Social. ? State of play: Trump is mad at Powell for not lowering interest rates. He said Powell should follow the lead of the European Central Bank, which cut rates again today because its outlook for the European economy is growing more pessimistic. Powell has said Trump's tariffs could cause inflation to spike. ? What we're watching: Federal law and Supreme Court precedent say presidents cannot fire the Fed chair over a policy disagreement. But the Trump administration is asking the Supreme Court to overturn that precedent and let the president fire the heads of independent agencies. The conservative court has generally sided with Trump in his push for more power to fire federal officials, but even a ruling in his favor in this case may not apply to the Fed. "I don't think that that decision will apply to the Fed, but I don't know. It's a situation that we're monitoring carefully," Powell said yesterday. Go deeper. Powell President Trump didn’t hold back his feelings about Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Thursday, even though he was the one who originally appointed him. In a social media post, Trump lashed out at Powell’s decision not to cut interest rates and said his “termination cannot come fast enough!” Later, while speaking with reporters, Trump reiterated his disdain for the Fed chair. “I don’t think he’s doing the job. He’s too late. Always too late. A little slow and I’m not happy with him. I let him know it,” Trump said. “And if I want him out, he’ll be out of there real fast, believe me.” Although the president has been unhappy with Powell for years, his most recent comments came after the Fed chair spoke at an event in Chicago and said the administration's sweeping tariffs were larger than expected and that the lingering uncertainty could inflict lasting economic damage. As to whether Trump can fire Powell, that may depend on an upcoming decision from the Supreme Court. 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 April 18, 2025 Author Members Posted April 18, 2025 Trump Leads MAGA Meltdown Against Powell for Telling the Truth About His Tariffs “Powell’s termination cannot come fast enough!” the president fumed. President Trump erupted at the Federal Reserve chair on Thursday after the central bank boss warned that Trump’s tariffs will hurt the American economy. Jerome Powell, speaking at the Economic Club of Chicago on Wednesday, said “the level of the tariff increases announced so far is significantly larger than anticipated,” which will cause “higher inflation and slower growth.” U.S. stocks tumbled as Powell spoke. “Powell’s termination cannot come fast enough!” Trump raged in response, writing on Truth Social. Powell, appointed by Trump in 2018 and reappointed by Joe Biden in 2022, suggested that while there is no immediate need to cut interest rates, trade disruptions caused by Trump’s economic policy will likely complicate the central bank’s path forward. He also cautioned that large tariff increases, by driving up consumer prices and weakening economic activity, could force the Federal Reserve to choose between its goal of lower inflation and maintaining a strong labor market. The Dow tumbled 700 points, or 1.73 percent, as Powell spoke. The S&P 500 fell 2.24 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq plunged 3.07 percent. This, of course, rattled Trump and his acolytes. Leading the charge against Powell, the president added in his Truth Social post Thursday morning that the chairman needs to cut interest rates. Trump’s post came shortly before the European Central Bank cut interest rates for the seventh time in eight meetings to soften the impact of Trump’s trade war. The ECB said the outlook for growth has “deteriorated owing to rising trade tensions.” The S&P 500 as of April 17. Google “The ECB is expected to cut interest rates for the 7th time, and yet, ‘Too Late’ Jerome Powell of the Fed, who is always TOO LATE AND WRONG, yesterday issued a report which was another, and typical, complete ‘mess!’” Trump fumed. Trump then tried to paint a positive picture of the U.S. economy, and his tariffs, adding: “Oil prices are down, groceries (even eggs!) are down, and the USA is getting RICH ON TARIFFS. Too Late should have lowered Interest Rates, like the ECB, long ago, but he should certainly lower them now.” On Fox News, former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy suggested to Laura Ingraham that Powell’s comments could have serious consequences for the markets, not Trump’s actions. “The Fed Chair should be working for America, not scaring America. What he said is hurting the economy,” McCarthy said on The Ingraham Angle Wednesday. ”The market reacts to what he’s said. President Trump is getting people to invest billions of dollars in America because of his policies.” He said that Powell’s analysis of the tariffs’ impact “is really out of the playbook of the Democrats.” Ingraham herself followed up with a strongly worded post on X, writing: “Jerome Powell’s irresponsible speculation about inflation and growth, which sent the market tumbling, requires a full-throated, clear refutation by the Trump Team. Get Scott Bessent out there.” Other MAGA figures were similarly outraged. Bill Mitchell, the CEO of conservative podcasting platform YourVoice, called for Powell’s head after his “scary talk.” “Jerome Powell just murdered the markets with scary talk on interest rates and inflation due to tariffs,” he wrote on X. “Can Trump fire him? Powell’s 4-year term as Chairman ends in 2026.” A stock trader posting under the name ‘Pro America Politics’ suggested that Powell “purposely tanked the stock market today.” “This piece of s--t needs to go,” he added in an X post. Trump has floated removing the Fed Chair from his post on several occasions. A president has no legal authority to fire someone from the position, but this has not been tested in court. https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-leads-maga-meltdown-against-powell-for-telling-the-truth-about-his-tariffs/? ps:Lets just blame everybody else, but the man who's really responsible!!!!! 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 April 19, 2025 Author Members Posted April 19, 2025 Appeals court calls Trump administration's defiance over mistakenly deported man 'shocking' The Trump administration’s claim that it can't do anything to free Kilmar Abrego Garcia from an El Salvador prison and return him to the U.S. “should be shocking,” a federal appeals court said Thursday in a scathing ruling in favor of the Maryland man. Read More. Trump administration takes aim at Harvard’s international students and tax-exempt status President Donald Trump’s administration has escalated its ongoing battle with Harvard, threatening to revoke the university’s ability to host international students as the president called for withdrawing Harvard’s tax-exempt status. Read More. Immigration judge denies bond for Tufts University student from Turkey, her lawyers say An immigration judge denied bond for a Tufts University student from Turkey who has been detained by authorities for three weeks over what her lawyers say is apparent retaliation for an op-ed piece she co-wrote in the student newspaper. The Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment. Read More. 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 April 19, 2025 Author Members Posted April 19, 2025 Peddling Propaganda (Illustration by The Atlantic. Source: Amanda Andrade-Rhoades / AP.) View in browser The United States of America is still a free country, and every private citizen has the right to speak to anyone, anywhere in the world, about anything. If the propaganda arm of an avowed enemy of the West calls and invites you to bash your own nation in public, you are free to do so. It might not be the most patriotic or sensible choice, but it’s your privilege. If you also would like to join the Department of Justice as a United States attorney, however, you should expect that appearing on the state television outlet of a neofascist dictatorship and engaging in conspiracy-laden anti-American rants might attract some attention—especially if it seems like you’ve tried to hide those appearances from the U.S. Senate committee responsible for voting on your nomination. And if you’re an ordinary American citizen, you should certainly be wary of any aspiring Justice Department official who gladly contributes to Russian propaganda efforts. Ed Martin is the Trump administration’s nominee to be the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia. A failed political candidate and former chairman of the Missouri Republican Party, he is now a right-wing podcaster and social-media figure—and a January 6 truther who believes that Justice Department lawyers are the president’s personal consiglieri. He has also, however, been a regular commentator on RT America, the English-language flagship for the Kremlin’s propaganda efforts until it was dropped by major content providers after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It has since gone off the air, but in its time, it featured Larry King, among some lesser American lights. (For example, have you been wondering whatever happened to Scottie Nell Hughes, who years ago shilled for Donald Trump on CNN? Me neither, but in watching Martin’s segments, I learned that she ended up at RT.) Martin, according to The Washington Post, was a guest some 150 times on RT America and its sister outlet, Sputnik, from 2016 to 2024. Now, everyone can make a mistake; public commentators sometimes find themselves on outlets that turn out to be wifty venues, or unexpectedly paired with guests they might otherwise avoid. But to appear 150 times—occasionally partnered up for friendly banter with unsavory characters such as George Galloway, a pro-Putin British politician who was kicked out of the Labour Party more than 20 years ago for, among other things, encouraging Arabs to fight British soldiers, and who has long been accused of various extremist views—suggests a genuinely comfortable relationship with the outlet. (For the record, over the course of my academic career as a professor of national-security affairs, I was occasionally invited to appear on RT America. I always declined.) Perhaps, one might hope, Martin agreed to appear so that he could be a voice of probity and reason in the face of Russian disinformation, exactly the qualities one would appreciate in a U.S. attorney. Not a chance: He was more often the source of conspiracy theories and anti-American accusations, all delivered with the kind of cheerful confidence that always translates well on television. I watched several of his appearances, which are still available on RT’s website. One major theme emerges: Russia is usually right and America (at least when led by anyone other than Donald Trump) is usually wrong. Martin, for example, accused the U.S. government of nefarious doings just before Russia’s second invasion of Ukraine, in 2022; Washington, he said during an appearance in February of that year, was “driving what’s happening in Europe,” while Putin was only trying to seek talks and a “clear peace.” This was apparently part of a long pattern. The Post also documented some of Martin’s statements on RT, including his false claim that a 2017 Syrian chemical-weapons attack—one to which Trump responded with force—was a situation “engineered” in Washington “by the people that want war in Syria.” (If his nomination as U.S. attorney doesn’t pan out, he could always become a spokesperson for Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, whose worrisome views he seems to share.) The day after his defense of Putin, Martin returned to RT to accuse President Joe Biden of seeking war with Russia now that the United States had left Afghanistan. (It makes no sense, of course, that Biden would try to start a war in Europe right after paying such a tremendous political price for ending America’s longest war, but as the frat boys said in Animal House: “Forget it, he’s rolling.”) Biden’s people, Martin said, “have a vision of regime change everywhere they look,” and he castigated then–National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan for creating a crisis by publicly sharing U.S. intelligence about Russia preparing for a massive attack on Ukraine. Of course, the Kremlin was preparing for an attack, and the Biden administration was trying to deter Putin from moving by showing that the Russians had lost any element of surprise. Beyond his parroting of Russian talking points about Syria and Russia, Martin also had plenty to say about the United States, which he depicted as a repressive nation in the grip of dark forces. “If you say elections are bad in America in 2020, you’d probably be arrested or de-barred”—I assume he meant disbarred—“or attacked in some very specific way,” he said in December 2023, oblivious to the irony that he was speaking on the television outlet of an authoritarian state. “Big Tech and Big Media are backed up by Big Government, and they’re forcing the message” about a looming war in Ukraine, he said in January 2022. Even that wasn’t the first time he made such accusations. “The largest threat to democracy in the world,” he declared in November 2021, “is the American media,” not least because they bought the “Russia hoax,” which Martin claimed landed ostensibly innocent people in jail. (Here, Martin name-checked the former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort, who was convicted of multiple crimes, including tax fraud and conspiracy against the United States, before being pardoned by Trump.) Again, Ed Martin is an American who can speak to anyone he chooses. The University of Chicago professor John Mearsheimer, who has staked his long and distinguished academic reputation on the now-laughable position that the West is to blame for the Ukraine war, came to Martin’s defense when contacted by the Post: “Although the U.S. government and other governments have been waging war on RT for some time, it is not illegal for an American to appear on its shows.” Lots of things aren’t illegal, but many things are unwise or even patently stupid. And no one was “waging war” on RT America, unless correctly identifying and opposing it as a relentless source of Russian disinformation is “war.” Major American cable and satellite providers decided to stop paying for it after Russia’s war of aggression began in 2022: Unlike Radio Liberty and the Voice of America, important news organizations with wide followings that are under attack by the Trump administration, RT America had the support of its government but lost its audience. Mearsheimer has claimed that Martin’s appearances are a matter of free speech, and indeed they are. But 150 hits on Russian media not only reflect poor judgment—unless Martin was unaware of what RT America was, which would be a problem in itself—they also have provided a trove of comments that should be of deep concern to senators who must decide whether to vest him with the power of a U.S. attorney. Martin seems to understand how bad it all looks: According to the Post’s reporting, he somehow avoided informing the Senate about these guest shots when he was first nominated. A spokesman for Martin told the Post that he “disclosed all of the identified links in a supplemental letter to the Senate” over the past two days, but CNN reported this morning that Martin also initially neglected to list several other appearances on right-wing media in the United States. Of course, in Trump’s political orbit, defending Russia while slagging America is hardly a disqualification for office, especially because the president himself has been doing the same for years. Certainly the Russians seem happy: Margarita Simonyan, the editor in chief of RT in Russia and Putin’s top propagandist, said yesterday on X that Martin’s record “proves only that appearing on RT 150 times can do wonders for your career.” Getting a pat on the back from a cheerleader for Russian war crimes is not exactly the kind of endorsement that should lead to the confirmation of a U.S. attorney. Martin’s willingness to become a regular commenter on Russian television is a significant warning sign about his lack of prudence and his evident political extremism. Worse, he apparently gambled that his appalling comments might be forgotten once RT America shut down, a deceptiveness that should give pause to the Senate before it approves a fringe-dwelling conservative media personality for a sensitive position in the United States government. Related: Law and order for some The Putinization of America 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 April 19, 2025 Author Members Posted April 19, 2025 U.S.-Born Citizen Arrested As ‘Unauthorized Alien’ A U.S.-born citizen was arrested in Florida on Wednesday and charged with illegally entering the state as an “unauthorized alien.” Twenty-year-old Juan Carlos Lopez-Gomez was detained for a day at the request of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, despite his mother producing his birth certificate and Social Security card at a court hearing. https://local.newsbreak.com/florida-state/3967646116901-us-born-citizen-arrested-as-unauthorized-alien? United States of Emergency Data: Brennan Center for Justice. Chart: Kavya Beheraj/Axios In the first 89 days of this term, President Trump has declared more national emergencies — more creatively and more aggressively — than any president in modern American history, Axios' Zachary Basu writes. Why it matters: Powers originally crafted to give the president flexibility in rare moments of crisis now form the backbone of Trump's agenda — enabling him to steamroll Congress and govern by unilateral decree through his first three months in office. So far, Trump has invoked national emergencies to impose the largest tariffs in a century, accelerate energy and mineral production, and militarize federal lands at the Southwest border. Legal scholars fear that with his assault on the judiciary, Trump is exploiting loosely written statutes to try to upend the constitutional balance of power. ? How it works: The president can declare a national emergency at any time, for almost any reason, without needing to prove a specific threat or get approval from Congress. The National Emergencies Act of 1976, which unlocks more than 120 special statutory powers, originally included a "legislative veto" that gave Congress the ability to terminate an emergency with a simple majority vote. But in 1983, the Supreme Court ruled that legislative vetoes are unconstitutional — effectively stripping Congress of its original check, and making it far harder to rein in a president's emergency declarations. ?️ The big picture: Since then, presidents have largely relied on "norms" and "self-restraint" to avoid abusing emergency powers for non-crises, says Elizabeth Goitein, senior director of the Brennan Center's Liberty and National Security Program. That precedent was broken in 2019, Goitein argues, when Trump declared a national emergency in order to bypass Congress and access billions of dollars in funding for a border wall. President Biden stretched his authority as well, drawing criticism in 2022 for citing the COVID national emergency to unilaterally forgive student loan debt. But Trump's second-term actions have plunged the U.S. firmly into uncharted territory — redrawing the limits of executive power in real time, and fueling fears of a permanent emergency state. ? Zoom in: Trump's justification for his tariffs cites the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), which can be invoked only if the U.S. faces an "unusual and extraordinary threat" to its national security, foreign policy, or economy. According to the White House, America's decades-old trading relationships — including with tiny countries and uninhabited islands — qualify as such threats. As a result, a 1977 law originally designed to target hostile foreign powers — and never before used to impose tariffs — is now being deployed to rewrite the global economic order. White House principal deputy press secretary Harrison Fields said in a statement: "Troubling times call for serious responses. The previous administration left President Trump a nation in decline — financially vulnerable, with unsecured borders and dangerously unfair trade deals. The President is leveraging every tool the Constitution provides to Make America Great Again." 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 April 19, 2025 Author Members Posted April 19, 2025 ? Mapped: Where Head Start cuts would bite Data: Center for American Progress. Map: Axios Visuals Drastic proposed cuts to the federal health budget are slamming into programs that are popular among many rural Republicans and some administration officials, Axios' Emily Peck writes. Why it matters: The Trump administration's potential elimination of Head Start — as outlined in budget documents that surfaced this week — would be particularly hard on rural America. The storied program provides child care and nutrition assistance to America's poorest families. ? By the numbers: 46% of Head Start funding goes to rural areas, many of which voted heavily for President Trump, according to federal data analyzed by the liberal Center for American Progress. Only 22% is for urban areas. 47% goes to Republican districts, particularly in those rural areas. Between the lines: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said last month he had a "very inspiring tour" of a Head Start program in Virginia, and said children were "getting the kind of education and socialization they need." Dozens of Republicans in Congress have voiced support for the program in recent years. Keep reading. ps:I thank God for this program!!!! 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 April 19, 2025 Author Members Posted April 19, 2025 ?? Putin tests Trump's patience The Trump administration's informal end-of-April deadline for Russia to agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine is drawing near without any commitments from the Kremlin, Axios' Barak Ravid writes. Why it matters: U.S.-Russia talks have shown little clear progress and President Trump's promise of a swift peace deal appears nowhere near fruition. Still, Trump insisted yesterday that a ceasefire was getting closer and that he'd be "hearing from Russia this week." U.S. officials have described the end of April as an informal deadline, after which Russia could face fresh sanctions. ? Behind the scenes: White House envoy Steve Witkoff met Russian President Vladimir Putin for more than four hours last Friday in St. Petersburg. Witkoff said he emerged with a clearer idea of Putin's demands for a peace settlement. But he didn't get Putin's approval for a 30-day ceasefire plan Trump has been pushing for six weeks as a first step toward longer-term peace, and which Ukraine has signed off on. Keep reading. Trump’s War on Measurement Means Losing Data on Drug Use, Maternal Mortality, Climate Change and More More children ages 1 to 4 die of drowning than any other cause of death. Nearly a quarter of adults received mental health treatment in 2023, an increase of 3.4 million from the prior year. The number of migrants from Mexico and northern Central American countries stopped by the U.S. Border Patrol was surpassed in 2022 by the number of migrants from other nations. https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-doge-data-collection-hhs-epa-cdc-maternal-mortality? ps:He could care less!!! Trump Team Eyes Politically Connected Startup to Overhaul $700 Billion Government Payments Program Four days before Donald Trump’s inauguration, financial technology startup Ramp published a pitch for how to tackle wasteful government spending. In a 4,000-word blog post titled “The Efficiency Formula,” Ramp’s CEO and one of its investors echoed ideas similar to those promoted by Trump and his billionaire ally Elon Musk: Federal programs were overrun by fraud, and commonsense business techniques could provide a quick fix. https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-peter-thiel-ramp-gsa-smartpay-expense-payment-system? Trump Is Spending Billions on Border Security. Some Residents Living There Lack Basic Resources. Within hours of taking office, President Donald Trump declared an emergency on the U.S.-Mexico border, giving him authority to unilaterally spend billions on immigration enforcement and wall construction. He has since reportedly urged Congress to authorize an additional $175 billion for border security, far exceeding what was spent during his first term. https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-border-security-spending-texas-arizona? 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 April 20, 2025 Author Members Posted April 20, 2025 Nearly 90% of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau cut as Trump’s government downsizing continues President Donald Trump is drastically shrinking the workforce and mission of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, eviscerating an agency created after the Great Recession with the goal of protecting Americans from fraud, abuse and deceptive practices. Read more. Why this matters: The plan, which is being challenged by an employee union, is the latest step in an extraordinary reshaping of the federal government. Conservatives and businesses have often chafed at the agency’s oversight and investigations, and Elon Musk made it a top target of his Department of Government Efficiency. Mark Paoletta, the chief legal officer for the agency, sent a message to employees describing the CFPB’s reduced mission. Problems with mortgages will be the top priority, while issues involving medical debt, student loans and digital payments will receive less attention, according to Paoletta. The change in focus could benefit Musk’s efforts to offer financial services through X, his social media company. Musk has long wanted to allow users to make peer-to-peer payments using his platform, and he announced in January that X would be working with Visa. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Strange sell-off in the dollar raises the specter of investors losing trust in the US under Trump US tariffs will weaken global economy and trigger inflation but not a global recession, IMF says Trump's attacks on Powell threaten the Fed's independence. Here's why it matters Trump's new plan to fire feds Illustration: Lindsey Bailey/Axios The Trump administration is making it easier to remove federal employees it believes are undercutting President Trump's agenda, Alex Isenstadt reports. Why it matters: By stripping protections from roughly 2% of the federal workforce, Trump is continuing his far-reaching effort to trim the bureaucracy and make it more answerable to him. ?? Driving the news: A new Office of Personnel Management rule will allow about 50,000 career civil servants to be classified as "at will" employees, making them easier to remove. Some federal agencies started making recommendations this month for which positions should be reclassified, a White House official says. ?️ Civil servants in nonpartisan roles traditionally have been shielded from the political whims of the president. But Trump and many of his backers have long believed that a "deep state" of Washington bureaucrats was undercutting his agenda. ✂️ The new wave of expected firings comes as the administration continues to make huge cuts in government personnel and funding. Critics say those cuts have threatened the functioning of the government, set back government health, education and research efforts, and threatened access to crucial programs such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Go deeper ... the new rule explained. 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 April 20, 2025 Author Members Posted April 20, 2025 White House pushes COVID lab leak theory with new website The Trump administration recast the White House's COVID information website on Friday to declare a virus leaking from a Chinese lab as the "true origins" of the pandemic. https://www.axios.com/2025/04/18/covid-lab-leak-website-trump-white-house? ps:Of course they would, and with no evidence!!!!! Judge pauses Trump administration’s plans for mass layoffs at Consumer Financial Protection Bureau President Donald Trump's attempt to fire nearly everyone at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was paused on Friday by a federal judge, who said she was “deeply concerned” about the plan. Read More. IRS whistleblower on Hunter Biden is out as acting commissioner just days after getting the job Just days after being promoted to acting IRS commissioner, the whistleblower who testified publicly about investigations into Hunter Biden’s taxes is out again, according to three people familiar with the decision. Read More. FDA hiring contractors to replace fired staff who supported safety inspections The Food and Drug Administration is scrambling to hire contractors to replace fired employees who helped plan thousands of food and drug safety inspections throughout the world. Read More. A US citizen was held for pickup by ICE even after proving he was born in the country A U.S. citizen was arrested in Florida for allegedly being in the country illegally and held for pickup by immigration authorities even after his mother showed a judge her son’s birth certificate and the judge dismissed charges. The man was released after his case received widespread coverage. Read More. Judge won’t take further steps to enforce his order in AP case against Trump administration A federal judge who ordered the Trump administration to stop blocking The Associated Press from presidential events refused Friday to take immediate steps to get White House officials to comply — an incremental development in a two-month dispute between the global news agency and administration officials over access. Read More. 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 April 20, 2025 Author Members Posted April 20, 2025 Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Scrambles to Defuse Outrage Over His Autism Claims Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is in full damage-control mode after causing outrage with his comments about autism during his first official press briefing as health secretary. https://www.thedailybeast.com/rfk-jr-scrambles-to-defuse-outrage-over-his-autism-claims-as-elizabeth-warren-calls-for-resignation/? Marco Rubio Hit by a MAGA Meltdown Over Bombshell Firing of Cuts Mastermind Marco Rubio caused anger among the MAGA faithful when he fired USAID hatchet man Pete Marocco after the pair allegedly butted heads over differing operating styles, according to Politico. https://www.thedailybeast.com/marco-rubio-hit-by-a-maga-meltdown-over-bombshell-firing-of-cuts-mastermind/? Musk’s DOGE Goons Hit With a Major Blow in Bid to Raid Social Security Secrets Elon Musk’s DOGE efforts to burrow into the private data of millions of Americans has been thwarted after a judge issued a temporary injunction banning the billionaire’s goons from getting “unfettered access” to Social Security servers. https://www.thedailybeast.com/musks-doge-goons-hit-with-a-major-blow-in-bid-to-raid-social-security-secrets/? 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 April 20, 2025 Author Members Posted April 20, 2025 “Anti-Totalitarian Laughter” (Bettmann / Getty) View in browser When I was in high school, my classmates and I marveled at the biting sarcasm of our Spanish teacher. (Shout-out to the peerless Señor Householder.) When someone finally asked him about his sense of humor, he attributed it to growing up during Francisco Franco’s regime: Under a repressive government, citizens gravitated to sarcastic jokes because they were a form of dissent more likely to escape official notice or punishment. I’m not sure why that anecdote has stuck with me for so long, but as the Trump administration seeks to ban disfavored language and disappear people, it’s felt disconcertingly relevant. Although journalists have long been aficionados of black humor—working in a collapsing industry will do that to you—I’ve sensed an uptick in black humor among others in my life recently. Living in a collapsing democracy will do that to you. “It’s a way of expressing solidarity in the face of overwhelming malice. Authoritarians depend on an appearance of inevitability, and satire and mockery at least help to undermine that, a (very) little bit,” the cartoonist Dan Perkins, better known as Tom Tomorrow, wrote to me in an email. “Satire provides an outlet, for both creator and reader—at the very least, you can laugh at the malevolent incompetence of it all.” Laughter is also self-defense. Sigmund Freud, who knew a thing or two about collapsing societies, argued that “humor acknowledges the existence of the threatening affect and transforms it through the mechanisms … into pleasurable affect,” the psychologists Maria Christoff and Barry Dauphin write, translating Freud into (slightly) more intelligible terms. That defense mechanism becomes more important in times of repression or chaos. In 1930s Poland, for example, Yiddish-language “joke pages” flourished. Yiddish humor “has often been characterized by a high degree of self-reflection in the form of self-irony … and read as a response to or defence against the steadily deteriorating living conditions of Jews in eastern Europe and elsewhere,” Anne-Christin Klotz and Gwen Jones wrote recently. Sardonic jokes circulated like samizdat in Communist East Germany. One gag: “Did East Germans originate from apes? Impossible. Apes could never have survived on just two bananas a year.” And like samizdat, this humor could get you in serious trouble: 64 East Germans were imprisoned for telling political jokes. Naturally, this became fodder for meta jokes: “There are people who tell jokes. There are people who collect jokes and tell jokes. And there are people who collect people who tell jokes.” Absurdity can seem like the only recourse in a situation where the state is, itself, absurd. After snarky Chinese social-media users noticed a striking similarity between Xi Jinping and Winnie-the-Pooh, the bear became a popular online stand-in for Xi, thus leading the government to at times censor Pooh images. (Commissars are more horrible than any heffalump could ever be.) Authoritarian leaders are adept at using humor for their own political purposes. Stephen Gundle writes that Italian fascists “were loud, raucous and thuggish and they prided themselves on their coarse, swaggering manner.” Their laughter, he writes, “was cruel, crude and mocking.” Perhaps this sounds familiar. The television critic Emily Nussbaum wrote in 2017 that jokes were an important part of Donald Trump’s appeal and success: “His rallies boiled with rage and laughter, which were hard to tell apart. You didn’t have to think that Trump himself was funny to see this effect: I found him repulsive, and yet I could hear those comedy rhythms everywhere.” She wondered, “How do you fight an enemy who’s just kidding?” With jokes, of course. The journalist M. Gessen wrote in 2018 about how humor can be a tool of resistance against cruel totalitarian humor. “Jokes,” they wrote, “reclaim the goodness of laughter, for regimes weaponize laughter to mock their opponents, creating what the cultural theorist Svetlana Boym called ‘totalitarian laughter.’ Its opposite is anti-totalitarian laughter.” Unlike citizens in a democracy, not all laughter is created equal. The comedian Sarah Cooper’s impressions of Trump were wildly popular among the president’s opponents during his first term. Watching them now, I feel not so much that her videos have aged poorly but that I can’t recall why they seemed comedic in the first place. Conventional satire also seems overmatched. What room is there for hyperbole when a 19-year-old known as “Big Balls” has been rampaging through the federal government, perhaps even accessing confidential data? By contrast, the Sweet Meteor of Death—a meme popularized in 2016 by anti-Trump conservatives who preferred a fiery end to life over either Trump or Hillary Clinton—still feels timely, perhaps because it is so bleak. Macabre jokes may also have special appeal in a moment when high-achieving knowledge workers are targets of Trump’s repression—according to some research, black humor is associated with higher levels of education. Humor can be a defense mechanism, as Freud argued, but part of the power of the blacker variants is that they acknowledge their own limitations. “I’m sure my wry, observational wit will provide great solace to the other residents of my cell block when I’m eventually renditioned to CECOT!” Perkins told me. One hopes he’s only joking. Related: The most striking thing about Trump’s mockery of Christine Blasey Ford Radio Atlantic: Laughing at Trump (From 2024) 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 April 20, 2025 Author Members Posted April 20, 2025 Trump threatens to abandon Ukraine peace efforts unless deal reached ‘very shortly’ Donald Trump has said the US is ready to “take a pass” on brokering a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine unless a settlement is reached “very shortly”, as Kyiv announced it has signed a memorandum with the US over a controversial minerals deal. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/apr/18/us-ready-to-abandon-ukraine-peace-deal-if-there-is-no-progress-says-marco-rubio? ps:Of course they're ready to let Ukraine sink, because Russia isn't playing ball!! 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 April 20, 2025 Author Members Posted April 20, 2025 Trump's tariff brain Photo illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images Stop trying to predict and appraise President Trump's tariff policies based on economic theories or market realities. Tariffs are pure psychology for the president, fused into his brain like no other topic, Axios' Marc Caputo reports. Why it matters: Trump's tariff brain is unpredictable to the outside (and to market analysts) but wholly knowable to those who know how his mind works. "There'll be trial and error. There'll be pushing the envelope. There'll be all of that Trumpian stuff," said a top adviser involved in trade discussions. ? The big picture: Trump approaches tariffs, the remaking of the U.S. economy and the reshaping of global trade as a continuation of his presidential campaign. He ignored experts and assembled a team dedicated to executing his will and shrugging off the consequences of his unpredictability. He's not changing now — rocky rollout and chaotic financial markets be damned. "Donald Trump works at his own tempo, and he doesn't change the subject until he's sure he's clubbed people into seeing it as he does," said a top adviser involved in trade discussions. Between the lines: In Trump's first term, free traders such as then-National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn controlled Trump's impulses to impose tariffs the way he has now. Trump's current NEC chief, Kevin Hassett, is pro-tariff. So is the rest of the economic team: Vice President Vance, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, White House trade adviser Peter Navarro, Council of Economic Advisers chair Steven Miran, and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. ⏳ The backstory: Trump's tariff-based chip-on-the-shoulder "America First" mindset has been part of his political DNA since his first presidential-style campaign visit to New Hampshire in 1987 — 38 years ago. "We should have these countries that are ripping us off pay off the $200 billion deficit," he told the Portsmouth (N.H.) Chamber of Commerce then. Today, the annual deficit is nearly $2 trillion. And the U.S. trade deficit is just over $1 trillion. In 1987, Trump's trade obsession was Japan. Today, it's China. ? Reality check: Trump's mammoth imposition of tariffs and his on-again-off-again implementation of them has shaken the global financial order, caused consumer sentiment to drop, spread recession fears and damaged Trump's poll numbers. Many traditional economists (and other critics) think Trump's ideas are crazed, and that his advisers are too scared to say it. Fed Chair Jerome Powell, arguably the most powerful voice in the U.S. economy, warned Wednesday that Trump's tariffs will ignite inflation. That led an angry Trump to suggest he might try to fire Powell. One outside adviser to the White House, who calls himself a "plan-truster," said there's a plan and "a method to the madness" — but that Trump's "grenades-first approach will also be bumpy." 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 April 20, 2025 Author Members Posted April 20, 2025 ? Wait, what?! Harvard MISTAKE?! Photo: Mostafa Bassim/Anadolu via Getty Images A Trump official frantically told Harvard that a three-page demand letter — which provoked a tectonic battle between the administration and the university — shouldn't have been sent and was "unauthorized," the N.Y. Times' Mike Schmidt and Michael Bender report (gift link). Three sources tell The Times the letter's contents were authentic, "but there were differing accounts inside the administration of how it had been mishandled." "Some people at the White House believed it had been sent prematurely," The Times says. "Others in the administration thought it had been meant to be circulated among [antisemitism] task force members rather than sent to Harvard." ? In a statement to Axios, a Harvard spokesperson pointed out that the letter "was signed by three federal officials, placed on official letterhead, was sent from the e-mail inbox of a senior federal official, and was sent on April 11 as promised. Recipients of such correspondence from the U.S. government — even when it contains sweeping demands that are astonishing in their overreach — do not question its authenticity or seriousness." "More importantly," the statement adds, "since then, the Administration has frozen $2.2 billion in funding, issued stop-work orders on contracts, begun considering revocation of Harvard's 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status, and initiated numerous investigations of Harvard's operations. Even assuming the Administration now wishes to take back its litany of breathtakingly intrusive demands, it appears to have doubled down on those demands through its deeds in recent days. Actions speak louder than words." "It remains unclear to us exactly what, among the government's recent words and deeds," the statement continues, "were mistakes or what the government actually meant to do and say. But even if the letter was a mistake, the actions the government took this week have real-life consequences on students, patients, employees, and the standing of American higher education in the world." A senior White House official told The Times that the administration stands by the April 11 letter. "It was malpractice on the side of Harvard's lawyers not to pick up the phone and call the members of the antisemitism task force who they had been talking to for weeks," said May Mailman, the White House senior policy strategist. "Instead, Harvard went on a victimhood campaign." Mailman said there's a potential pathway to resume discussions if, among other measures, Harvard apologizes to students for past antisemitism on campus. Read the article ... Read the administration letter ... Harvard public response ... Harvard legal response. Via X Less than an hour after the NYT bombshell, former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers — Harvard president from 2001-2006, and president emeritus — tweeted about the Trump administration: "Who is in charge?" Summers' tweet points to yesterday's revelation that the IRS now has its fourth leader since President Trump took office. (Today is Day 90.) Summers also notes yesterday's report by The Wall Street Journal that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick got Trump to agree to a tariff pause by racing into the Oval Office while Peter Navarro — Trump's tariff-loving trade adviser, "who was constantly hovering around the Oval Office" — was meeting with economic adviser Kevin Hassett in a different part of the White House. Gift link to Wall Street Journal story, "Trump Advisers Took Advantage of Navarro's Absence to Push for Tariff Pause." The New York Times It's not your imagination: Here's just two hours in Trump yesterday, via The New York Times. 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 April 21, 2025 Author Members Posted April 21, 2025 How Trump backed away from promising to end the Russia-Ukraine war in 24 hours During his campaign, Donald Trump said repeatedly that he would be able to end the war between Russia and Ukraine “in 24 hours” upon taking office. He has changed his tone since becoming president again. https://apnews.com/article/trump-russia-ukraine-war-633a216d0506c82353fc7745b69c0fe0? ps:"backed away?" He never had a plan in the first place. He thought that Zelensky would just cave!!!!! How war, money and the quest for discovery entwined the US government and universities NEW YORK (AP) — The showdown between the Trump administration and Harvard University is spotlighting bare-knuckled politics and big dollar figures. But in the battle of the moment, it’s easy to lose sight of a decades-long alliance between the U.S. government and the nation’s most prominent universities, forged to fight a world war. https://apnews.com/article/trump-harvard-research-universities-stanford-794eb7f35e55df48be5d03c9e18e383e? Some Jan. 6 rioters pardoned by Trump are now embraced as heroes and candidates for office JACKSON, Mich. (AP) — Ryan Kelley thought he had a good shot at becoming Michigan’s governor in 2022. That is, until he was charged with misdemeanors for participating in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. His campaign sputtered and he finished fourth out of five candidates in the Republican primary. https://apnews.com/article/capitol-riot-trump-politics-republicans-pardons-d70e8e27c1907ebb53a6b44d388eb703? The Evidence Linking Kilmar Abrego Garcia to MS-13: A Chicago Bulls Hat and a Hoodie The Trump administration is doubling down on depicting Kilmar Abrego Garcia as a dangerous gang member. The government’s proof for this claim appears to hinge on a Chicago Bulls cap and a hoodie. https://theintercept.com/2025/04/18/trump-kilmar-abrego-garcia-ms13-gang-database/? ps:I guess I'd better get rid of my baseball caps and my hoodies too!!!!! Trump’s Power Feeds on White Demographic Fears GETTYSBURG — This is the most American of towns. It is where Robert E. Lee tried to destroy the nation, where Abraham Lincoln tried to heal it, and where William Faulkner revealed a century later that the country was still irretrievably racist and broken. https://theintercept.com/2025/04/20/trump-racism-white-demographic-fears-immigration/? The Galaxy Brains of the Trump White House Want to Use Tariffs to Buy Bitcoin If Donald Trump’s sweeping global tariffs send household good prices soaring and drive the economy into recession, at least one industry could profit. https://theintercept.com/2025/04/19/trump-tariffs-crypto-bitcoin-reserve/? 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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