Members phkrause Posted June 17, 2025 Author Members Posted June 17, 2025 Endless Summer (Photo Illustration by The Atlantic; Source: Saul Loeb/ AFP / Getty; Gam1983 / Getty) View in browser Here’s a fact that might surprise you: Only 12 days have passed since the catastrophic meltdown of the relationship between Elon Musk and Donald Trump—since the ousted Dogefather attempted to kill the president’s signature legislation, endorsed his impeachment, and claimed that Trump appeared in the “Epstein files.” That weird day of rubbernecking, alternatively terrifying and transfixing, was just June 5, but it feels like forever ago to me—largely because so much news has occurred since then. So much is happening that even Musk’s attempted rapprochement with Trump, customized hat in hand, barely made a ripple. Let’s review the tape. The next day, ICE officers began conducting raids in Los Angeles. As word of the raids spread, demonstrators filled the streets of Los Angeles to protest and confront federal agents. That evening, an important moment occurred in another immigration-related story: The executive branch announced both that Kilmar Abrego Garcia, whom it had said would never return to the United States, was back on American soil, and that he was being charged with human smuggling. (He has pleaded not guilty.) The following day, June 7, protests became tenser in Los Angeles, and Trump federalized the California National Guard over the objections of Governor Gavin Newsom, and despite local law-enforcement leaders saying it was unnecessary. As my colleague Tom Nichols wrote, that appeared to be a direct attempt to provoke unrest—and, as my colleague David Frum added, a way for the president to test how he could use emergency powers to seize control. These attempts to flex power also have the effect of encouraging more protest, though. Heavy-handed methods to suppress dissent are unpopular with many Americans. By the following weekend, the backlash would be very apparent. On Monday, June 9, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the secretary of Health and Human Services, announced that he was firing all 17 members of the CDC panel that guides federal vaccine recommendations—despite having previously promised a senator he wouldn’t meddle with the committee. Kennedy’s replacement members include multiple vaccine skeptics, as my colleague Nicholas Florko reported. In the evening, the Trump administration took another step toward domestic militarization in Los Angeles when the administration announced that it would send hundreds of Marines to the city. Tuesday, June 10, was a busy day. Trump traveled to Fort Bragg in North Carolina, where he delivered a nakedly political speech before soldiers who jeered at Democrats, including former President Joe Biden. A later report indicated that soldiers who attended had been screened for their politics. Trump also announced that he would revert the names of several bases that had previously honored Confederate officers—though the Pentagon insists, unconvincingly, that the names actually honor other veterans with the same surnames. Elsewhere, Interim U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba, Trump’s former personal lawyer, announced a dubious indictment against a Democratic member of Congress, and The New York Times reported that the EPA plans to drastically reduce limits on emissions of poisonous mercury. On Wednesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth testified before a Senate subcommittee, where he refused to answer questions about the planned acquisition of a 747 from Qatar and was unable to answer ones about the legal authority under which Marines were going to L.A. That evening, Trump attended a performance of Les Misérables at the Kennedy Center, following his hostile takeover of the D.C. performing-arts venue. Vice President J. D. Vance had no idea what the plot was, and although the president claims to love the musical, he doesn’t get it. Attendees booed him. On Thursday, the Congressional Budget Office published estimates finding that the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (yes, it’s really called that) would impoverish the poorest Americans while making the richest ones richer. That afternoon, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla, a California Democrat, was tackled and handcuffed when he interrupted a press conference by Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem. DHS claimed that Padilla hadn’t identified himself, a statement easily debunked by video. A federal judge found Trump’s federalization of the National Guard unlawful, though an appeals court has stayed the decision for now. That night, Washington time, Israel began strikes on Iran, targeting Iran’s nuclear program and defense leaders. As The Atlantic reported, Trump tried and failed to pressure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu out of the strikes, but once they’d begun, Trump embraced them. Meanwhile, his appointees at Voice of America’s parent agency suddenly realized that maybe this would be a good time to be able to communicate with Iranians and hurriedly recalled Farsi-language staffers who’d been placed on leave. The next day was Friday the 13th. Ironically, the day proved quiet. On Saturday, however, chaos returned. The day began with news of an alleged assassin killing a Minnesota state lawmaker and her husband, and injuring another and his wife. Although the man’s motivations have not yet been fully explained, the attacks are the latest in a string of incidents of political violence during the Trump era. One major factor is that the president has repeatedly and directly urged violence against his political adversaries, as Brian Klaas wrote. Republican members of Congress rushed to baselessly insist the shooter was a leftist. Saturday was also Trump’s birthday and the day chosen (supposedly coincidentally) for a big military parade in Washington, D.C. The parade was sparsely attended. Far more popular were the protests against Trump in cities across the country, which observers estimated saw attendance in the millions. That would make them some of the largest protests in American history. These enormous demonstrations against Trump were closely connected to what occurred in the days before. This kind of chaos wears on people. Whenever Trump does something provocative, such as the Los Angeles escalation, during the middle of an already negative news cycle, some pundits are quick to label it an attempt at distraction. Perhaps that’s the goal, consciously or not, but it’s not politically effective, and a big reason is that the distraction is almost always politically damaging. If you shift public attention from one unpopular thing to another, you’re not gaining anything. And a growing pile of data shows that Trump’s actions in Los Angeles are unpopular, just as he is personally unpopular; the One Big Beautiful Bill is unpopular; and Americans disapprove of his handling of most issues. A stretch of news like this is no longer unprecedented. During his first term in office, Trump had several of these disastrous runs of jaw-dropping news. Voters hated it. His approval rating cratered early and never recovered. Republicans lost big in the 2018 midterm elections; Trump lost in 2020; and the GOP underperformed in 2022, all of which pointed to the existence of an anti-MAGA majority in the electorate. Trump was able to win in 2024 only after four years out of office, and with the help of serious inflation and a faltering, denialist incumbent. Trump’s ambitions and the danger he poses may have expanded in his second term, but in many ways he’s the same old Trump—and voters still don’t like it. Related: Photos: “No Kings” protests across America In Minnesota, America’s luck ran out. 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 June 18, 2025 Author Members Posted June 18, 2025 ⚡ Trump's immigration whiplash President Trump surprised immigration hardliners last week when his administration announced it would pause some immigration raids that were hurting the agriculture and hospitality industries. Then just as quickly, the MAGA pendulum swung back. Trump said Sunday that a new wave of raids would target immigrants in Democrat-run cities — and yesterday there were signs that farms, hotels and restaurants again will be subject to raids. Why it matters: The whiplash in Trump's approach to his mass deportation plans is the latest illustration of how much his whims — and who speaks with him last — are shaping his decision-making, even on his signature policy issue, Axios' Marc Caputo and Russell Contreras write. ICE officials were told yesterday that agents should resume raids on hotels and restaurants, but also agricultural businesses, The Washington Post reported. ? Zoom in: The confusion began late Thursday, when Trump announced on Truth Social that his "very aggressive policy on immigration is taking very good, long time workers away" from farms, meatpacking plants, hotels and restaurants. Trump's announcement, followed by official guidance pausing these types of workplace raids, came after a call from Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins. White House staffers say she bypassed the president's top immigration policy officials — Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem — both of whom were angry about it. Miller, Noem and a host of immigration hardliners then mounted their own pressure campaign to modify the modified policy. It worked. 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 June 18, 2025 Author Members Posted June 18, 2025 ? Trump takes on team owners Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios President Trump and billionaire sports team owners are locked in an under-the-radar fight over Trump's push to significantly limit a tax break the owners have enjoyed for two decades, Axios' Alex Isenstadt writes. Why it matters: Trump wants to cut teams' tax deductions on key expenses — including player contracts — as part of his "Big Beautiful Bill." It's part of his effort to cast the massive bill as good for the middle class — and not a giveaway to billionaires, as Democrats and other critics call it. Trump's plan was approved in the House bill. But Senate budget writers removed it from their version yesterday — a win for team owners. ? The backstory: Trump has had a complex relationship with the NFL, the nation's most popular sports league. Trump's hard feelings toward the league date to the early 1980s, when the NFL rejected an overture he made to buy the Colts, then in Baltimore. White House officials point out that despite past tension, Trump has some good relations with the league and many owners. 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 June 18, 2025 Author Members Posted June 18, 2025 Judge rules some NIH grant cuts illegal, saying he’s never seen such discrimination in 40 years A federal judge ruled Monday it was illegal for the Trump administration to cancel several hundred National Institutes of Health research grants, adding that the cuts raise serious questions about racial discrimination. Read more. Why this matters: U.S. District Judge William Young in Massachusetts said the administration’s process was “arbitrary and capricious” and did not follow long-held government rules and standards when it abruptly canceled grants deemed to focus on gender identity or diversity, equity and inclusion. Young, an appointee of Republican President Ronald Reagan, said it was “palpably clear” that what was behind the government actions was “racial discrimination and discrimination against America’s LGBTQ community.” The NIH has long been the world’s largest public funder of biomedical research. Young’s decision addresses only a fraction of the hundreds of NIH research projects the Trump administration has cut. While Young said the funding must be restored, Monday’s action was an interim step as the ruling could be appealed. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Trump fires Democratic commissioner of independent agency that oversees nuclear safety Senate Republicans seek tougher Medicaid cuts and lower SALT deduction in Trump’s big bill Senate expected to pass crypto bill without addressing Trump’s investments Trump immigration policies targeting Democratic cities energize organizers, leave others confused After a calm night, LA mayor shortens downtown curfew hours imposed after violent protests Supreme Court to hear appeal from Chevron in landmark Louisiana coastal damage lawsuits Supreme Court agrees to hear appeal from New Jersey faith-based pregnancy center Supreme Court order gives religious organizations new chance to challenge New York abortion rule Anti-domestic violence groups are suing over the Trump administration’s grant requirements What to know about the shootings of 2 Minnesota lawmakers and the arrest of Vance Boelter Timeline: 40 hours of violence and fear as gunman stalks Minnesota politicians Officers who cover their faces could be charged with a misdemeanor under California proposal Florida budget puts millions in reserves as economic uncertainty brews Jury finds MyPillow founder defamed former employee for a leading voting equipment company Trial opens for lawsuit against pardoned Capitol riot defendant over police officer’s suicide 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 June 18, 2025 Author Members Posted June 18, 2025 Trump Administration Abandons Deal With Northwest Tribes to Restore Salmon Less than two years ago, the administration of President Joe Biden announced what tribal leaders hailed as an unprecedented commitment to the Native tribes whose ways of life had been devastated by federal dam-building along the Columbia River in the Pacific Northwest. https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-salmon-columbia-river-tribes-deal? ⚖️ Brad Lander, New York City's comptroller and a mayoral candidate, was arrested by federal agents today outside federal immigration court. Video of the incident shows several men pulling and pushing Lander down a hallway while he asks to see a warrant. 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 June 18, 2025 Author Members Posted June 18, 2025 Trump Throws Gabbard Under the Bus Over Iran Nuke Claim: ‘I Don’t Care What She Said’ Gabbard told Congress in March that U.S. intelligence shows Iran has not pursued a nuclear weapon since 2003. Donald Trump dismissed Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard’s assessment of Iran’s nuclear program with a claim that the country was “very close” to obtaining a nuclear weapon. “I don’t care what she said—I think they were very close to having them,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One after abruptly leaving the G7 summit in Canada. Trump’s comments came in response to testimony Gabbard gave before a House committee back in March. At the time, she acknowledged that Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile was “unprecedented” for a non-nuclear state but said the intelligence community’s assessment was that Iran was not actively building a nuclear weapon. Israel has now launched what it called a “preemptive” strike against Iran, targeting its nuclear facilities over concerns that Tehran was ramping up its weapons program. Iran has responded with a wave of missile strikes on Israeli cities, including Tel Aviv and Petah Tikva. The ongoing hostilities have thrown U.S.-led nuclear negotiations with Tehran into jeopardy and raised fears that the U.S. could be dragged into a full-blown war against Iran alongside Israel. Those fears intensified after Trump posted Monday on Truth Social that Iran “CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON” and urging all residents of Tehran to evacuate “immediately.” Trump has also denied that he is working on a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Iran. Speaking from Air Force One, the president said he is aiming for “a real end” to the crisis that would involve Iran abandoning its nuclear ambitions “entirely.” Asked whether the U.S. would consider launching military strikes to eliminate Iran’s nuclear capabilities, Trump said: “I hope it’s wiped out long before that.” Iran maintains that it has not tried to obtain a nuclear weapon since 2003—a claim backed by Gabbard in her March statement. Trump has doubled down on his insistence that he is not seeking a ceasefire, posting on Truth Social on Tuesday morning: “I have not reached out to Iran for ‘Peace Talks’ in any way, shape, or form. This is just more HIGHLY FABRICATED, FAKE NEWS! If they want to talk, they know how to reach me. They should have taken the deal that was on the table — Would have saved a lot of lives!!!” Trump cut short his appearance at the G7 summit in Canada a day early, citing vague reasons relating to the Israel-Iran conflict. Trump wrote in Truth Social that his early exit had “nothing to do with” working on a ceasefire between the two countries but was for something “much bigger than that.” The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Beast. https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-throws-tulsi-gabbard-under-the-bus-over-iran-nuke-claim-i-dont-care-what-she-said/? 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 June 18, 2025 Author Members Posted June 18, 2025 Trump ‘Reamed Out’ Hegseth for Flop Birthday Parade: Author The president wanted a “menacing” military parade but got the opposite instead, Michael Wolff tells The Daily Beast Podcast. President Donald Trump was unhappy with his sparsely attended military parade over the weekend and blamed it on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, biographer Michael Wolff revealed. Wolff told The Daily Beast Podcast that Trump wanted a “menacing” show of force to celebrate the Army’s 250th anniversary and his 79th birthday on Saturday—but got a “festive” parade instead. “He’s p---ed off at the soldiers,” Wolff said. “He’s accusing them of hamming it up, and by that, he seems to mean that they were having a good time, that they were waving, that they were enjoying themselves and showing a convivial face rather than a military face.” As thousands of soldiers flanked by tanks made their way past empty bleachers along Constitution Avenue in Washington, D.C., social media users pointed out that the soldiers were marching out of sync, and the muted atmosphere appeared to match the gloomy weather. That didn’t escape Trump, who pointed the finger at his defense secretary, according to Wolff. “He kind of reamed out Hegseth for this,” the Trump biographer said. “Apparently, there was a phone call, and he said to Hegseth, the tone was all wrong. Why was the tone wrong? Who staged this? There was the tone problem. Trump, he keeps repeating himself.” “Everybody was actually celebrating, celebrating the 250 years of the U.S. military—probably celebrating that more than Donald Trump’s birthday,” Wolff said. “But it didn’t send the message that he apparently wanted, which is that he was the commander in chief of this menacing enterprise,” he added. Wolff said Trump had put the word out, via his spokesperson Steven Cheung, that at least 250,000 people were in attendance. “That was from Trump,” Wolff said. ”‘Put it out, 250,000.’” Wolff said the people he knows who attended the event said it was actually “maybe” 40,000. Responding to the claims, the White House blasted Wolff once again as “a lying sack of s--t” who “has been proven to be a fraud.” “He routinely fabricates stories originating from his sick and warped imagination, only possible because he has a severe and debilitating case of Trump Derangement Syndrome that has rotted his peanut-sized brain,” White House communications director Steven Cheung told the Daily Beast. Publicly, Trump has insisted that his parade was a “tremendous” success even after it was overshadowed by “No Kings” demonstrations across the country, which drew in millions of Americans who protested against the president’s sweeping immigration agenda. “Last night was a tremendous success with a fantastic audience,” Trump told reporters on Sunday. “It was supposed to rain. They gave it a 100 percent chance of rain and it didn’t rain at all. It was beautiful.” The parade was still on the president’s mind on Monday as he bragged about it to his Canadian counterpart at the G7 Summit. “We had the parade the other day. They said 100 percent chance of rain. It didn’t rain,” Trump told Mark Carney as the Canadian prime minister smiled politely. Trump had long dreamt of a big military parade. During his first term, he was left feeling envious after watching a Bastille Day parade in France in 2017. “We’re going to have to try and top it,” Trump told France’s President Macron a few months after the event. His attempts to hold such a grand military spectacle on American soil were repeatedly frustrated over the following years. Washington officials worried about the damage that heavy military vehicles would inflict on streets in D.C., and Trump eventually backed down in his first term as cost estimates for a parade spiralled into the tens of millions. Trump’s desire for troops to perform a military extravaganza persisted even as bombshell reports claimed he’d made disparaging comments about U.S. service personnel. In 2020, the Atlantic published claims that Trump had referred to fallen troops as “suckers” and “losers.” Trump has always denied making the remarks, but John Kelly, Trump’s second White House chief of staff in his first term, confirmed the reports to CNN. New episodes of The Daily Beast Podcast are released every Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday. Follow our new feed on your favorite podcast platform at beast.pub/dailybeastpod and subscribe on YouTube to watch full episodes. https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-reamed-out-hegseth-for-flop-birthday-parade-author/? 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 June 18, 2025 Author Members Posted June 18, 2025 Stephen Miller and ICE Barbie in Bitter West Wing Civil War Over Round-Ups The pair weren’t best pleased with an intervention from Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins regarding immigration raids. Two of the Trump administration’s top figures overseeing Donald Trump’s mass deportation plans were furious with a White House official who tried to persuade the president not to target workers in the agriculture and leisure industries. White House Deputy White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem—dubbed “ICE Barbie” for her stylized anti-immigration photo ops—were enraged after learning that Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins had called Trump and suggested that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents avoid deporting longtime workers in sectors heavily reliant on migrant labor, Axios reported. Rollins’ intervention—which one insider described as “minimal”—appeared to sway the president. Last week, Trump floated the idea of carving out exemptions from his mass deportation plans specifically to avoid targeting non-criminal workers on farms and in hotels. An official policy shift followed soon after. Senior ICE official Tatum King informed regional ICE offices Thursday that “investigations/operations on agriculture (including aquaculture and meatpacking plants), restaurants, and operating hotels” would be paused. Miller, the architect of many of Trump’s hardline immigration policies, had been pushing for ICE to detain at least 3,000 migrants a day and was especially opposed to any industry-specific exemptions. Miller, Noem and other hardline anti-immigration officials then sought to change the policy back to where it was before Rollins got in Trump’s ear, reported Axios. That pressure campaign seemed to work. On Sunday, Trump ramped up his rhetoric and urged ICE officials to “achieve the very important goal of delivering the single largest Mass Deportation Program in history,” including targeting Democratic-led cities like Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York. By Monday, the Department of Homeland Security reversed course, notifying staff that the previous guidelines were scrapped and that ICE would resume raids on agricultural businesses, hotels, and restaurants, The Washington Post reported. The White denied the reports of a fued within the White House over the deportation policies. “The entire Trump Administration is moving in the same direction to fulfill the President’s promises and remove illegal aliens from the United States,” White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson told the Daily Beast. “We will continue to prioritize removing the worst of the worst, especially in dangerous, Democrat-run sanctuary cities. But anyone who is in the United States illegally is, and has always been, at risk of deportation.” In a statement, Vanessa Cárdenas, executive director of pro-immigration group America’s Voice, said the flip-flopping underscores that “political blowback is building.” “Look no further than Trump saying he now wants to reverse course to stop deportation of farmworkers, restaurant and hospitality workers,” Cárdenas said. “Even if Stephen Miller gets his way and the supposed ‘pause’ isn’t real, the initial announcement from the Trump White House is a telling admission about the political and economic blowback of mass deportation.” https://www.thedailybeast.com/stephen-miller-and-ice-barbie-kristi-noem-in-bitter-west-wing-civil-war-over-round-ups/? 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 June 18, 2025 Author Members Posted June 18, 2025 ? Say goodbye to the tax police. The Department of Justice will close its special tax crimes unit and redistribute prosecutors’ work to the rest of the agency. In a recent budget request first reported by Bloomberg, Justice Department officials said the elimination of a separate tax division — which last year staffed over 500 people with a $106 million budget — will offer “more oversight” after Republicans accused the federal government of politically weaponizing tax enforcement during the Biden administration. ? A Pharma handout hits the cutting room floor. Finally, some good news out of budget negotiations on Capitol Hill. Senate Republicans have officially excluded a pharmaceutical industry-favored giveaway from the big beautiful bill. The legislation would have expanded a carveout on medications to treat rare diseases — known as orphan drugs — from Medicare price negotiations, allowing Big Pharma to keep the prices of these pharmaceuticals high and costing taxpayers an additional $5 billion over the next 10 years. ? The president’s crypto cash-out begins. President Donald Trump reported more than $600 million in income from his various businesses on new financial disclosure forms, boosting his personal net worth well into the billions. That includes a whopping $57.5 million from the president’s decentralized cryptocurrency investment venture, World Liberty Financial, which launched last fall. Recent reports indicate that between World Liberty Financial and the president’s $TRUMP and $MELANIA memecoins, Trump’s crypto schemes now account for nearly 40 percent of his personal net worth. Meanwhile, the crypto industry-favored GENIUS Act is expected to pass the Senate today with bipartisan support, even as a majority of voters believe Congress should include provisions to prevent Trump from personally profiting off crypto. ? Banking on the climate crisis. In an abrupt reversal, the world’s largest financial institutions are all-in again on fossil fuel investments, committing a whopping $869 billion last year to the coal, oil, and gas industries in direct opposition to these banks’ own previous climate commitments. While banks’ fossil fuel investments had been declining since 2021, two-thirds of the world’s biggest banks suddenly increased their fossil fuel financing last year. Four of the five banks with the biggest investments in oil and natural gas are American companies — which tracks, considering shortly before Trump’s inauguration this January, the largest banks in the country (Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, and Wells Fargo) all withdrew from a “net zero” pledge they made to drop all climate-destabilizing investments by 2050. 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 June 18, 2025 Author Members Posted June 18, 2025 “A corruption of the patent system.” Pharmaceutical companies are taking advantage of the drug patent system to keep prices of essential medications high, according to a new report — including blockbuster weight-loss drugs and other popular prescription drugs set for government price negotiations this year. The findings illustrate how drugmakers file extensive patents to cover minor modifications to the same drug to extend that drug’s market exclusivity, delaying the entry of cheaper generic alternatives and generating billions in extra revenue. Monopoly power preserved. Pharmaceutical companies typically receive 20-year drug patents, but to compensate for regulatory delays in the drug approval process, they can request up to five years of additional patent protection for each modification. Drugmakers abuse these extensions by filing excessive secondary patents to prolong their market monopoly, research found in 2023: Of the 236 top-selling drugs, 91 percent that received patent extensions preserved their monopolies well past the expiration of their five-year allotment, thanks to hundreds of ancillary add-on patents. Secondary patents cover everything from minor drug dosage updates to changes in formulation and manufacturing processes. In one case, “a company took an existing drug that already had a digestive coating and wrapped the pill in an ineffective capsule” to secure a new patent, experts noted. Getting rich while we get sick. The new research finds that the makers of several pricey and in-demand name-brand drugs have abused the patent system to expand their market monopoly. Novo Nordisk — which has already benefited from billions of dollars of U.S. taxpayer funding to develop its weight loss and diabetes drugs Wegovy, Ozempic, and Rybelsus — is projected to profit an additional $166 billion off these drugs thanks to 49 follow-on patents giving the company 16 years of extra patent protection. Meanwhile, Bristol Myers Squibb and Pfizer are expected to profit an additional $50 billion through 18 years of additional patent extensions for their blood thinner Eliquis. Taxpayers get screwed, naturally. Between 2023 and 2024, nearly 2.3 million Medicare enrollees were prescribed Wegovy, Ozempic, and Rybelsus, earning Novo Nordisk more than $14.4 billion in government payouts. But thanks to a 2022 Inflation Reduction Act provision requiring that Medicare bargain with pharmaceutical companies to lower the prices for expensive medications, some patients may soon get a break: All four of the medications mentioned here are subject to Medicare price negotiations expected to conclude by Nov. 1. Reporting contributed by Helen Santoro. 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 June 18, 2025 Author Members Posted June 18, 2025 Trump says the US knows where Iran’s Khamenei is hiding and urges Iran’s unconditional surrender President Donald Trump says the U.S. knows where Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is hiding but doesn’t want him killed “for now.” He urged, in a social media posting on Tuesday, Iran’s “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER” as the five-day Israel-Iran conflict continues to escalate. Read More. Trump says he won't call Minnesota Gov. Walz after lawmaker shootings President Donald Trump on Tuesday ruled out calling Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz after the targeted shootings of two state lawmakers, saying that to do so would “waste time.” Read More. Brad Lander, NYC comptroller and mayoral candidate, is arrested outside immigration court New York City comptroller and Democratic mayoral candidate Brad Lander was arrested by federal agents at an immigration court Tuesday as he was trying to accompany a person out of a courtroom. A reporter with The Associated Press witnessed Lander’s arrest at a federal building in Manhattan. Read More. A hillside of white crosses fuels a misleading story about South Africa's farm killings The white crosses are staked in the ground on an otherwise barren hillside on the edge of a farm, each one standing as a reminder of a terrible story of a person being killed. But the crosses, nearly 3,000 of them, do not tell the full story of South Africa’s farm killings. 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 June 18, 2025 Author Members Posted June 18, 2025 Trump considers joining war Smoke rises over Tehran today after an overnight Israeli strike. Photo: Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images President Trump is seriously considering launching a U.S. strike against Iran's nuclear facilities, sources tell Axios' Barak Ravid. Trump met with his national security team this afternoon to discuss options, after returning to Washington early from the G7 summit. ? Trump himself signaled his thinking in a series of belligerent posts on Truth Social ahead of the Situation Room meeting. "UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER," Trump wrote in one post. "Our patience is wearing thin," he said in another. ? What they're saying: Amid growing signs that the U.S. could strike Iran, Vice President JD Vance pushed back against criticism from prominent MAGA voices about Trump getting involved in the war. "The president has shown remarkable restraint in keeping our military's focus on protecting our troops and protecting our citizens," Vance wrote in a lengthy X post stressing Trump's consistency on the Iran nuclear issue. "He may decide he needs to take further action to end Iranian enrichment." 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 June 18, 2025 Author Members Posted June 18, 2025 Shrinking the Tent (Illustration by The Atlantic. Source: Ringo Chio / AFP / Getty; Getty.) View in browser This past weekend marked a high for opposition to Donald Trump, and another low for the opposition party. From Chula Vista, California, to Portland, Maine, and from Bellingham, Washington, to Key Largo, Florida, Americans demonstrated against the president, in “No Kings” protests scheduled to coincide with Trump’s military parade in Washington, D.C., on Saturday. The parade, desultory and poorly attended, set a striking contrast with the marchers, whom observers estimated to number in the millions. That would make Saturday’s protests some of the largest in American history. Three of the biggest sets of U.S. demonstrations have taken place while Trump has been president, an indication of intense grassroots opposition toward him and his vision for the Republican Party. So these ought to be boom times for America’s other major party. But Democrats seemed almost entirely irrelevant last weekend. While many ordinary Americans engaged in the most kinetic kind of politics, the Democratic National Committee was splintering acrimoniously, and some of the party’s most prominent leaders were busy attending a glitzy Hamptons wedding that brought together two venerable, aging dynasties: the Soros family and the Clinton political machine. Although Democratic officials attended and spoke at many of Saturday’s rallies, the No Kings protests were not driven by the Democratic Party—which may have been one of the protests’ strengths. Not every Democratic politician is missing in action. California Governor Gavin Newsom, who spent recent months clumsily attempting to moderate his image by inviting MAGA figures on his podcast, now finds himself as the nation’s foremost Trump foil. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz won praise for his handling of the response to the assassination of one state legislator and the wounding of another this past weekend. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York have drawn huge crowds at rallies around the country. As a whole, however, the Democratic Party seems unprepared and uninspired. Internally, the party is more consumed with relitigating 2024 than with looking toward 2026. It has no apparent leader: Barack Obama is apathetic, Joe Biden is obsolete, and Kamala Harris lost. The congressional leaders Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries are hapless, declaring red lines that they have no evident means or intent of enforcing. (Did they not learn their lesson from Obama’s red-line follies?) That means de facto leadership falls to the DNC. The party elected a new chair, Minnesota’s Ken Martin, in February, but Martin has so far failed to inspire or unify the party. Martin’s term has been most preoccupied with trying to manage David Hogg, the young gun-control activist who was elected DNC vice chair in February and then announced plans to spend millions backing primary challengers to sitting Democrats in safe seats. Challenging sitting officeholders isn’t bad per se—in fact, it’s often good for revitalizing politics—but for a top party official to be driving those seems to cut against the idea of a party organization. Democratic leaders first tried to badger Hogg into giving up the plan, but he refused. Then they stumbled on a solution of sorts that got rid of Hogg but validated every stereotype of Democrats as obsessed with procedure, consumed by elaborate diversity rules, and generally incompetent. A woman who’d unsuccessfully run against Hogg for vice chair argued that the DNC had violated its own rules and unfairly benefited two male candidates. The DNC concluded that the challenge was correct; invalidated the election of Hogg and another vice chair, Malcolm Kenyatta; and ordered a do-over. Hogg opted not to run in the new election. Problem solved! Along the way, however, audio in which Martin whined about how it had all affected him was leaked to Politico. “I’ll be very honest with you,” he said. “The other night, I said to myself for the first time, I don’t know if I wanna do this anymore.” Addressing Hogg, he went on: “I don’t think you intended this, but you essentially destroyed any chance I have to show the leadership that I need to. So it’s really frustrating.” No doubt, this has been unpleasant for Martin, but it’s not encouraging that the guy Democrats chose to lead them as they take on a budding authoritarian is crumbling in the face of a 25-year-old activist with a relatively small war chest. Then, on Sunday, reports surfaced that Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, and Lee Saunders, the president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, had left the DNC; they complained that Martin was, in Weingarten’s words, “not enlarging our tent and actively trying to engage more and more of our communities.” Both had backed one of Martin’s challengers for chairperson, and Weingarten had supported Hogg; before resigning, they’d been kicked out of seats on the powerful Rules and Bylaws Committee. Weingarten is a lightning rod, and teachers unions are controversial among Democrats. But the DNC can hardly afford to lose the buy-in of major unions. Organized labor provides both funding and foot soldiers for Democratic candidates. This has long been true, but the situation is more fragile than ever, as Trump has made gains among union members and union leaders. In 2024, he was able to persuade both the Teamsters and the International Association of Fire Fighters to forgo endorsements altogether. Forget enlarging the tent—the DNC appears to be in danger of shrinking it. The good news for Democrats is that the midterms are more than a year away, and the 2028 election is more than three years away—an eternity in politics. Trump can’t figure out his position on even his signature issue of immigration, his administration is understaffed and underprepared, and public disapproval is strong; when he’s been in office, voters have rejected him and his allies at the ballot box. But if anyone can figure out how to fumble the situation, it’s the Democratic Party. Related: Where is Barack Obama? The real problem with the Democrats’ ground game 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 June 18, 2025 Author Members Posted June 18, 2025 Trump's MAGA purity test Illustration: Allie Carl/Axios Ten years after Donald Trump hijacked the GOP with a promise to burn down the establishment, his own movement is warning him not to go soft, Axios' Tal Axelrod and Zachary Basu write. Why it matters: On two core articles of faith — no foreign wars and no protections for unauthorized immigrants — the Trump administration is facing a rare MAGA purity test. ? Zoom in: No debate has proven more divisive for the "America First" movement than Israel's war against Iran, and whether the U.S. should intervene to fully eliminate Tehran's nuclear program. MAGA's most outspoken isolationists — Tucker Carlson, Steve Bannon, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) — have warned that joining the war would betray Trump's legacy and potentially destroy his presidency. Pro-Israel hardliners — Laura Loomer, Mark Levin, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) — argue that nothing would be more "America First" than striking a regime that chants "Death to America" and has plotted to assassinate Trump. The intrigue: Amid mounting signs that the U.S. is considering joining the war, Trump says his fundamental position — that Iran cannot be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon — has never wavered. Trump even publicly smacked down Carlson over his criticism of U.S. involvement, telling The Atlantic: "Well, considering that I'm the one that developed 'America First' ... I think I'm the one that decides that." Vice President Vance, a fierce critic of foreign interventions, defended Trump's position in a lengthy X post in which he said the president "may decide he needs to take further action to end Iranian enrichment." Daily Wire commentator Matt Walsh. Screenshot via X Back at home, prominent MAGA voices were stunned to read Trump's Truth Social post last week suggesting that unauthorized immigrants who work in agriculture or hospitality might be spared from deportation. MAGA purists, including Bannon and Charlie Kirk, believe that every immigrant here illegally should be deported — with some claiming Trump's new guidance created unfair carve-outs for "big agriculture." Much of the backlash landed on Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, after Axios and others reported she had lobbied for the exemption, citing potential labor shortages. "She needs to be removed," activist Ned Ryun wrote Sunday. The latest: Amid the backlash, the Department of Homeland Security reversed Trump's guidance just a few days later, telling immigration agents to continue raids at farms, hotels and restaurants after all, The Washington Post first reported. Trump, sensitive to the outrage from his base and hardline immigration advisers, on Sunday ordered expanded operations in Democrat-run cities and stressed that "all" undocumented immigrants must be deported. ?️ The big picture: Some MAGA influencers see the Iran and immigration flashpoints as inextricably linked. Bannon warned on his "War Room" podcast that getting "sucked into" a prolonged war in the Middle East would distract from Trump's most important domestic priority: mass deportations. Other Trump supporters view the two issues — helping Israel attack Iran and deporting unauthorized immigrants — as part of the same fight to preserve "Western Civilization." 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 June 18, 2025 Author Members Posted June 18, 2025 ☎️ Trump-Bibi call President Trump spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last night after meeting with his national security team about the escalating war between Israel and Iran, Axios' Barak Ravid and Dave Lawler write. Why it matters: Ahead of the meeting, three U.S. officials said Trump was seriously considering joining the war and launching a U.S. strike against Iran's nuclear facilities, especially its underground uranium enrichment facility in Fordow. The meeting took place in the White House Situation Room and lasted about an hour and 20 minutes. Two Israeli officials told Axios that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli defense establishment continue to believe that Trump is likely to enter the war in the coming days to bomb Iran's underground enrichment facility. So far, the U.S. has helped Israel defend itself from incoming missiles but hasn't taken part in offensive operations. Share this story. Via Truth Social Happening overnight: Israeli warplanes pounded Iran's capital early today, after Trump demanded "UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER." Iran's foreign ministry spokesman said today: "Any American intervention would be a recipe for an all-out war in the region." Get the latest. Two front pages President Trump is sure to see this morning. 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 June 18, 2025 Author Members Posted June 18, 2025 India’s Modi Directly Calls Out Trump Over His Ceasefire Brag Trump had claimed the U.S. was involved in a ceasefire brokered between India and Pakistan. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has challenged President Donald Trump over his public boast that he was behind a ceasefire brokered last month between India and Pakistan. Modi called Trump on Tuesday night from the sidelines of the G7 summit in Canada, which the Indian PM is attending as a guest, and called him out for his claim that the U.S. was involved in mediation between the South Asian nuclear rivals who were on the brink of a full-blown war. A White House official confirmed to the Daily Beast that the call took place. “PM Modi clearly told President Trump that during this entire incident, at no time, at any level, were there any talks on issues like India-U.S. trade deal or mediation between India and Pakistan through America,” Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri announced in a video statement. “PM Modi stressed that India has never accepted mediation, does not accept it, and will never accept it.” “Talks for ceasing military action happened directly between India and Pakistan through existing military channels, and on the insistence of Pakistan. Prime Minister Modi emphasised that India has not accepted mediation in the past and will never do,” Misri said. Trump claimed on his Truth Social platform on May 10 that “India and Pakistan have agreed to a FULL AND IMMEDIATE CEASEFIRE” after “a long night of talks mediated by the United States.” The president added: “Congratulations to both Countries on using Common Sense and Great Intelligence.” The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House for comment. The conflict between India and Pakistan was triggered by a deadly attack on tourists in Indian-controlled Kashmir on April 22. The brutal assault at a popular scenic meadow in the town of Pahalgam in the Himalayan mountains left at least 26 tourists dead and 17 more wounded. In response, India launched missile strikes, ratcheting tensions up between the nations to their highest levels in more than two decades. At the time, Trump delivered a casual response to the escalating crisis, calling it “a shame.” “Just heard about it,” Trump said at the Oval Office on May 7. “I guess people knew something was going to happen based on a little bit of the past. They’ve been fighting for a long time.” Trump then added: “I just hope it ends very quickly.” His claim that the U.S. had helped broker a ceasefire came days after that. Indian officials also swiftly shot down Trump’s claim last month that U.S. trade pressure helped bring about a ceasefire between India and Pakistan, contradicting the president’s version of events. “I said, come on, we’re going to do a lot of trade with you guys. Let’s stop it. Let’s stop it,” Trump told reporters at the White House on May 12, referring to talks with both India and Pakistan. “If you stop it, we’re doing trade. If you don’t stop it, we’re not going to do any trade.” But Indian officials told reporters trade never came up in any of the conversations with U.S. officials leading up to the ceasefire with Pakistan, Bloomberg reported, adding that the claim left senior figures furious. Trump’s remarks were seen as not only upstaging Modi but also undermining India’s longstanding position that the Kashmir dispute must be resolved directly between India and Pakistan, without any foreign involvement. Trump and Modi’s phone call Tuesday was their first direct contact since the India-Pakistan conflict. https://www.thedailybeast.com/indias-modi-directly-calls-out-trump-over-his-ceasefire-brag/? 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 June 19, 2025 Author Members Posted June 19, 2025 Why Trump’s Unhinged War on Democrats Threatens Democracy Itself In just a few days the president has show his opponents will be harassed, targeted, and punished. We need to resist. President Trump is seeking to unleash the full power of the federal government to punish Americans who do not share his political views. It is a step toward the single-party state of an autocracy. It is chilling. It is very likely illegal on many levels. And for a man who loves to wrap himself in the American flag, it is among the most profoundly un-American acts ever proposed or perpetrated by a citizen of this country. This week alone, he announced two initiatives that seek to make Americans pay a high price for supporting the Democratic Party. First, in a social media post, he announced is targeting cities “such as Los Angeles, Chicago and New York” which he described as “the core of the Democrat Power Center” for more of his draconian anti-immigration raids. He asserts—falsely—that in such cities Democrats “use illegal Aliens to expand their Voter Base, cheat in Elections, and grow the Welfare State.” Continuing the post, he asserts, “These Radical Left Democrats are sick of mind, hate our Country and actually want to destroy our Inner Cities—And they are doing a good job of it! There is something wrong with them.” He condemns Democrats for supporting “Open Borders, Transgender for Everybody and Men playing in Women’s Sports” and asserts those beliefs are the reasons he wants “ICE, Border Patrol, and our Great and Patriotic Law Enforcement Officers to FOCUS on our crime ridden and deadly Inner Cities.” @realDonaldTrump/TruthSocial The president is not beating around the bush. He is explicit that the reason he wants to target these cities and subject them to the kind of tactics that have made ICE reviled and fueled demonstrations from coast to coast is because they are the home to people who did not vote for him, who do not see the world as he does. Admittedly his assertions are all lies. No Democrats believe in “open borders” or making everyone transgender. Being a Democrat is not, as he asserts, a mental illness or a sign someone hates our country. But none of that matters both because the truth never matters to him and because facts are immaterial to his goal, which is to send a message to voters in these cities that they will be penalized for supporting Democrats and, conversely, that the best way to avoid punishment by the federal government is to support Trump and the Republican Party. The statement would be outrageous enough, but it is not simply one of Trump’s dyspeptic late-night posts, lashing out at America as a manifestation of whatever inner demons keep him up, posting on social media while the country tries to sleep. It is part of a pattern of actions that make it clear, Trump will use every tool at his disposal to torment his opponent and to intimidate voters who might oppose the GOP in 2026 and 2028. Indeed, what is perhaps an even more egregious manifestation of Trump’s serial abuses of power was subsequently revealed when multiple media outlets reported that new rules at the Veterans Administration allow hospitals and medical professionals to “refuse to treat unmarried veterans and Democrats.” Furthermore, according to The Guardian, “doctors and other medical staff can also be barred from working at VA hospitals based on their marital status, political party affiliation or union activity.” The basis for the new rules is traced to a Trump executive order promulgated at the end of January entitled “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.” This was one of the first, but hardly among the last of administration initiatives actively penalizing individuals and institutions for opposing Trump. These have included threats made to block law firms from doing business with the federal government because they were affiliated with individual lawyers that participated in cases against Trump, targeting universities for “DEI” programs which of course cover a range of ideas and ideals associated with Democrats, blocking funding to doctors and scientists whose research focus is associated with ideas linked to Democrats like combating climate change to gender-related research to, well, sadly, actually practicing medicine or scientific research based on facts. (Science, medicine, concern for our environment, equal opportunity, promoting the stories of heroes of color or who were women, in short, many of the tenets a rational person might associate with being a decent human being, are beliefs that Trump is seeking to use the power of the federal government to stamp out.) As reported here frequently, programs that promote ideas opposed by Trump and the extremists in his administration are being shut down and scrubbed at museums, in libraries and in cultural institutions across the country. Sending in the Marines and the National Guard to suppress dissent is another egregious form of this anti-democratic, un-Constitutional effort to strip away Americans’ fundamental freedoms of speech, assembly and to vote for whomever they choose. Foreigners, in this country legally or seeking to enter the country in ways that are fully compliant with the law, are being subjected to similar screening, with those who have written articles or posted items on social media critical of Trump being detained or turned away. Make no mistake about it, this is what dictators do. These are steps that send a message to Americans that they will be harassed, targeted, and punished for openly expressing views contrary to the administration. It is no exaggeration to say that such measures are consistent with the actions of the Nazis, the Soviet Union and police states throughout history. A decision by a federal court in Massachusetts to declare “void and illegal” ideologically-based cuts in grants issued by the National Institutes of Health was also issued on Monday (and reported by Stat News), illustrating both the efforts to push back on Trump’s abuses and the grounding in law of such initiatives. Nonetheless, while many such decisions are being contested, it will be many months or perhaps years before final decisions reversing many of Trump’s actions may be reached. In the meantime, of course, the would-be “strongman” in the White House is continuing to reveal his inner weakness and fear of those who are rejecting his lies, corruption, recklessness, and indecency by flexing his muscles. Regardless therefore of court rulings, the administration’s campaign against the very system via which they gained power will continue. It is illiberal democracy in action. For Americans who seek to preserve our fundamental freedoms, there can be only one response. It is the one that has already been manifested in the streets of the cities targeted by Trump and in over 2000 municipalities across America. It is the one that led over five million of us, our friends and neighbors, to stand up and say, “No kings. We will not be intimidated.” Because as in the first days of this country we are once again being called upon to demonstrate that not only does power in a democracy flow from the people, that all elected officials report to all of those people, but that in the end, the final defenders of that democracy will not be public officials, institutions or courts. It will be each of us, acting together, on behalf of those “certain inalienable rights” with which we have been endowed, as the Declaration of Independence asserts, not by those in power but by our Creator. https://www.thedailybeast.com/why-trumps-unhinged-war-on-democrats-threatens-democracy-itself/? 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 June 19, 2025 Author Members Posted June 19, 2025 Iran President Trump is reportedly warming to the idea of using US military assets to strike Iranian nuclear facilities, two officials familiar with the ongoing discussions told CNN. Although intelligence assessments showed Iran was not actively pursuing a nuclear weapon — and was up to three years away from being able to produce and deliver one to a target — Trump met with his national security team on Tuesday and spoke by phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He also took to his social media site to demand Iran’s “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER” and called Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, an “easy target.” Trump may have some difficulty selling a war with Iran to the American people, however. A poll conducted last year showed many more Americans felt China (64%) and Russia (59%) were major military threats than Iran (42%). And only 37% of Americans said limiting Iran’s power and influence should be a “top priority.” In the meantime, Israel and Iran continued to trade strikes for a sixth day. 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 June 19, 2025 Author Members Posted June 19, 2025 Trump administration demands action from 36 countries to avoid travel ban The countries, most of them in Africa, have a Wednesday deadline to commit to improve vetting of travelers or face a ban on their citizens visiting the United States. The current travel ban includes 12 nations. Read more. Why this matters: Trump has said some countries have “deficient” screening and vetting or have historically refused to take back their own citizens. Some countries condemned the travel restrictions and vowed reciprocal actions, while some resettlement groups say the ban sows division. The list includes some countries that have been traditional U.S. partners, including Egypt and Djibouti, both of which have military relationships with the United States, and others that have long been friendly with the U.S., including Liberia, Nigeria and Ethiopia. Syria and Congo, which were left off the initial travel ban, are both on the new list. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Texas stops providing new funding for border wall construction Cuban diplomat defends foreign medical missions under pressure from US Firms led by US military veterans deliver aid in Africa and Gaza, alarming humanitarian groups 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 June 19, 2025 Author Members Posted June 19, 2025 Trump says supporters ‘more in love’ with him than ever, as MAGA world splits over Iran President Donald Trump on Wednesday downplayed any notion that his supporters are cooling on him amid uncertainty over whether he will order a U.S. strike on Iran, addressing a rift between some of his most vocal MAGA backers and national security conservatives. Read More. Nezza's Spanish anthem at Dodger Stadium ignites debate over team's immigrant support After Latin pop and R&B singer Nezza's viral controversial performance at Dodger Stadium, Dodgers fans have grown frustrated over the team’s lack of vocal support for local immigrant communities impacted by the rise of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests and raids. 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 June 19, 2025 Author Members Posted June 19, 2025 A Grudge Against Intelligence (Nathan Howard / Reuters) View in browser Back in March, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard delivered a view of Iran to the House Intelligence Committee that was in line with Trump-administration policy: hostile toward Tehran, but also skeptical of the need for American intervention. Unfortunately for her, though, things have changed in the past three months. “Iran continues to seek to expand its influence in the Middle East,” Gabbard said. Nevertheless, she said, the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC) “continues to assess that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon and Supreme Leader Khomeini has not authorized the nuclear-weapons program that he suspended in 2003.” (Presumably she was referring to Ali Khamenei and not his long-dead predecessor, Ruhollah Khomeini.) That may have been President Donald Trump’s view in March too, but this week, Trump told reporters that Iran is on the verge of getting a nuclear bomb. When asked about Gabbard’s testimony, Trump dismissed it. “I don’t care what she said,” he said. “I think they were very close to having one.” This kind of harsh dismissal of American intelligence was a hallmark of Trump’s first term in office. Shortly before his inauguration, he compared intelligence agencies to Nazis, and somehow things got worse from there. He infamously sided with Russia’s Vladimir Putin rather than the intelligence community on the question of Russian interference in the 2016 election, accused former officials of treason, and reportedly clashed with DNI Dan Coats over his unwillingness to take his side in political conflicts. That problem was supposed to be solved in his second term. Rather than choose someone like Coats, a former senator who had experience with intelligence, or his successor, John Ratcliffe, who claimed he did, Trump nominated Tulsi Gabbard, a former Democratic member of Congress who had endorsed him for president. (Ratcliffe, having proved his loyalty to Trump in the first term, was named CIA director.) Gabbard shared a few things with Trump: an odd affinity for Putin’s government, and a public stance of opposing American intervention. But above all, her qualification for the job was that she, like Trump, bore a huge grudge against the intelligence agencies, making her an ideal pick in his Cabinet of retribution. Now the limits of this approach to appointments are coming into view. Gabbard’s beef with the IC was her sense that it was too belligerent and interventionist, especially with regard to her pals in places such as Syria and Russia; she was also angry because she had reportedly been briefly placed on a government watch list for flying. Gabbard opposes foreign wars, and it appears that she doesn’t want intelligence to implicate her friends overseas. But when the intelligence points against American intervention, as it does with Iran, she is happy to stand behind it despite her skepticism of the analysts. Trump, by contrast, doesn’t want the intelligence to complicate his choices at all. The president was fine with the IC assessment from earlier this year, when his line was that he opposed wars and would keep the United States out. But now that he has made a quick shift from trying to restrain Israel from striking Iran to demanding Iran’s “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER”—a baffling demand of a country with which the U.S. is not at war—and contemplating American attacks, the conclusion that Iran isn’t that close to a bomb is a real hindrance. Politico reports that Trump was annoyed by a video Gabbard posted earlier this month in which she warned about “political elite and warmongers” risking nuclear war, and she was reportedly excluded from a Camp David meeting. (The White House has insisted that all principals are on the same page, though Trump’s dismissive comments about Gabbard earlier this week are telling.) Cutting out the DNI at a crucial moment like this is an unusual choice, though the role has never been well defined: Although it was created to sit atop the U.S. intelligence agencies and coordinate among them, officials such as the director of the CIA have often wielded more power. Trump’s saber-rattling has created rifts within the MAGA coalition, as my colleagues Jonathan Lemire and Isaac Stanley-Becker reported yesterday. In reality, Trump was never the dove that he made himself out to be. He has consistently backed American involvement overseas. During the 2016 election, he claimed that he had been against the Iraq War from the start, placing the idea at the center of his campaign even though there is no evidence for it. As president, he escalated U.S. involvement in Syria, backed the Saudi war in Yemen and vetoed Congress’s attempt to curtail it, and—in one of his major foreign-policy successes—assassinated Iranian General Qassem Soleimani. Throughout his first term, he treated the troops as a political prop. These tendencies have become more pronounced in his second term, though Trump’s favorite places to send troops remain within national borders: in the streets of Los Angeles or parading through Washington, D.C. He launched a series of major strikes against Yemen’s Houthi rebels, despite the misgivings of his dovish vice president, and then abruptly stopped them when it became clear that no easy victory was forthcoming. This is the crux of the matter with Iran too. Although he may be hesitant about American involvement overseas, Trump loves displays of strength. He sees one in Israel’s attacks on Iran, and he wants in on the action. Whether the MAGA doves believed Trump really was one of them or simply hoped they could persuade him in the moment is something only they can answer. But his actions this week show that his real resentment was not toward intervention or even intelligence itself. It was toward anything and anyone who might restrain his caprices. Related: Isn’t Trump supposed to be anti-war? The thing that binds Gabbard, Gaetz, and Hegseth to Trump 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 June 19, 2025 Author Members Posted June 19, 2025 MAGA's new attack on Powell Bernie Moreno is providing some supporting Senate fire in Trump's unrelenting assault on Fed Chair Jerome Powell. Why it matters: Senate Republicans have largely defended Powell in the face of Trump's attacks and guarded the Fed's independence. But Moreno (R-Ohio) is sending a clear signal that tariffs and interest rates will be part of the conversation for whoever succeeds Powell at the Fed. Driving the news: The Fed today left interest rates unchanged for the fourth straight meeting, with Powell citing concerns that Trump's tariffs could lead to higher inflation this summer. That set Moreno off. "After raising inflation expectations with fearmongering, the Fed uses this as justification for not cutting rates," Moreno wrote to Powell today, in a letter obtained by Axios. "This circular logic is intellectually dishonest." Zoom out: Unlike any president before him, Trump has gone to remarkable lengths to publicly humiliate the Fed chair, as he tries to convince him to lower interest rates. But after initially scaring the markets about a potential midnight firing, Trump's tantrums over the Fed appear to be more for show than substance. In April, Trump said he had "no intention" of firing Powell, a pledge he repeated last week. Senate Republicans have mostly ridden to Powell's defense, with Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) saying in April that Powell has "tiger blood." The bottom line: Powell's term ends in May of 2026, and Trump said last week he plans to name his successor "very soon." — Hans Nichols 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 June 19, 2025 Author Members Posted June 19, 2025 Elected officials detained In recent months, at least five elected officials have been arrested or confronted by police for protesting President Trump’s sweeping deportation efforts. New York City comptroller and mayoral candidate Brad Lander was arrested at Manhattan’s immigration court on Tuesday. Sen. Alex Padilla, California's first Latino elected to the Senate, was forcefully removed from a news conference in Los Angeles last week and handcuffed on the ground after attempting to ask Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem a question. Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested for attempting to join three members of New Jersey’s congressional delegation inside an immigration detention facility on May 9. Rep. LaMonica McIver was indicted last week on federal charges alleging she interfered with immigration officers outside the same detention center. And Milwaukee judge Hannah Dugan was arrested in April for allegedly helping a defendant evade immigration officials. Suicide hotline The Trump administration plans to end the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline’s specialized services for LGBTQ+ youth. According to the Department of Health and Human Services’ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, anyone who reaches out to the 988 Lifeline will still receive help, but the “Press 3 option,” which connected callers to crisis counselors trained to work with LGBTQ+ youth and adults under 25, will no longer be available. Since the specialized service launched in 2022, nearly 1.3 million callers have reached out for assistance. The change was announced on the same day the Supreme Court upheld Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors. Roughly half of US states have bans similar to Tennessee's. Transgender advocates framed the ruling as a “devastating loss.” 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 June 19, 2025 Author Members Posted June 19, 2025 US resumes visas for foreign students but demands social media access The U.S. State Department said Wednesday it is restarting the suspended process for foreigners applying for student visas but all applicants will now be required to unlock their social media accounts for government review. The department said consular officers will be on the lookout for posts and messages that could be deemed hostile to the United States, its government, culture, institutions, or founding principles. Read more. Why this matters: Students around the world have been waiting anxiously for U.S. consulates to reopen appointments for visa interviews, as the window left to book their travel and make housing arrangements narrows ahead of the start of the school year. Foreign students make up more than 15% of the total student body at almost 200 U.S. universities, according to an Associated Press analysis of federal education data from 2023. International students in the U.S. have been facing increased scrutiny on several fronts. In the spring, the Trump administration revoked permission to study in the U.S. for thousands of students, including some involved only in traffic offenses, before abruptly reversing course. The government also expanded the grounds on which foreign students can have their legal status terminated. Jameel Jaffer, executive director at the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, said the new policy evokes the ideological vetting of the Cold War, when prominent artists and intellectuals were excluded from the U.S. “This policy makes a censor of every consular officer, and it will inevitably chill legitimate political speech both inside and outside the United States,” Jaffer said. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Trump administration removing 988 hotline service tailored to LGBTQ+ youth in July Trump remakes the White House with new flagpoles Trump’s latest judicial pick is someone that Joe Biden almost nominated In Virginia and New Jersey governor’s races, Democrats reprise a 2018 roadmap for opposing Trump 2.0 Nippon Steel finalizes $15B takeover of US Steel after sealing national security agreement Immigration raid at Louisiana racetrack ends with more than 80 arrests ICE takes custody of Spanish-language journalist arrested at Georgia protest Fed leaves key rate unchanged as it awaits the impact of tariffs and Trump again scolds Powell Families of trans kids worry about what’s next after Supreme Court rules on gender-affirming care Acting head of civil rights agency defends decisions undercutting transgender workers Man charged with killing prominent lawmaker could face a rarity for Minnesota: the death penalty California senators demand Trump immigration officials stop using Medicaid data FDA approves the world’s only twice-a-year shot to prevent HIV New CDC advisers will skip some expected topics and explore a target of anti-vaccine activists Government says Harvard researcher accused of smuggling frog embryos brought ‘biological materials’ Three more DeSantis allies to take the helm of public universities in Florida 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 June 19, 2025 Author Members Posted June 19, 2025 Congress Has One Way to Stop Trump From Going to War With Iran As President Donald Trump draws the United States perilously close to war with Iran, some members of Congress are working across the aisle in an attempt to rein him in. https://theintercept.com/2025/06/17/iran-war-powers-resolution-congress-israel-trump-massie-khanna/? U.S. Intel Says Iran Isn’t a Nuclear Threat. Israel Wants the U.S. to Bomb It Anyway. The U.S. is helping Israel wage war on Iran over its nuclear program. But U.S. intelligence says Iran is not building a bomb. https://theintercept.com/2025/06/17/iran-nuclear-israel-us-intel/? Troops Deployed to LA Have Done Precisely One Thing, Pentagon Says The nearly 5,000 soldiers in Los Angeles detained one man, briefly. Was that worth $134 million and a constitutional crisis? https://theintercept.com/2025/06/16/la-ice-protests-military-cost/? Tucker Carlson Outdid the Mainstream Media — But Still Missed This Crucial Point “Heartbreaking: The worst person you know just made a great point.” https://theintercept.com/2025/06/18/tucker-carlson-ted-cruz-iran-israel/? Under GOP Budget Bill, You’d Have to Be Rich to Sue the Trump Administration Federal judges around the country have blocked the Trump administration’s executive orders, policies, and dictates dozens of times as unlawful and even unconstitutional. Now Republicans are trying to use the massive budget bill, which is currently being overhauled in the Senate, to limit the judiciary’s power to curb presidential abuses. https://theintercept.com/2025/06/17/senate-trump-big-beautiful-bill-injunction-contempt-courts/? Meet the Billionaires Profiting the Most From Trump’s Draconian Policies It may come as little surprise that President Donald Trump’s administration is benefitting the wealthy. Trump’s plan to fund $5 trillion in tax cuts for corporations and the uber-rich relies on cutting hundreds of billions of dollars in services for working people, including Medicaid. https://theintercept.com/2025/06/18/trump-oligarchs-billionaires-profits/? 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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