It must be miserable to genuinely think scientists, historians, and journalists spent their entire lives lying to you, but a reality TV celebrity with decades of documented fraud is your sole source of truth...
Apparently, one of the things that the Republicans snuck into the bill to appease some of the budget hawks was $500 billion in cuts to Medicare. I think these dumb fucks have finally licked the third rail. “In fact, as The Washington Post reported, the Congressional Budget Office found that the Republicans’ megabill would add so many trillions of dollars to the national debt, “it could force nearly $500 billion in cuts to Medicare” — with some cuts taking effect as early as next year. As the Post noted, the higher deficits would force budget officials “to mandate across-the-board spending cuts over that window that would hit the federal health insurance program for seniors and people with disabilities.” When legislation significantly adds to the national debt, which already exceeds $36.2 trillion, it triggers ‘sequestration,’ or compulsory budgetary reductions. In that scenario, Medicare cuts would be capped at 4 percent annually, or $490 billion over 10 years, the CBO reported in response to a request from Rep. Brendan Boyle (Pennsylvania), the top Democrat on the Budget Committee. Referencing Congress’ Pay-As-You-Go (“PAYGO”) Act, Boyle said in a written statement, “This Republican budget bill is one of the most expensive — and dangerous — bills Congress has seen in decades. The nonpartisan CBO makes it clear: The deficit will explode so badly it will trigger automatic cuts, including over half a trillion dollars from Medicare.” The Pennsylvania Democrat added, “This is what Republicans do — pay for massive tax breaks for billionaires by going after programs families rely on the most: Medicaid, food assistance, and now Medicare. It’s reckless, dishonest, and deeply harmful to the middle class.”
If only there weren’t that pesky little thing called “the Constitution”, the GOP could really do something “beautiful”.
Trump admin tells Supreme Court: DOGE needs to do its work in secret The Department of Justice today asked the Supreme Court to block a ruling that requires DOGE to provide information about its government cost-cutting operations as part of court-ordered discovery. President Trump's Justice Department sought an immediate halt to orders issued by US District Court for the District of Columbia. US Solicitor General John Sauer argued that the Department of Government Efficiency is exempt from the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) as a presidential advisory body and not an official "agency." The district court "ordered USDS [US Doge Service] to submit to sweeping, intrusive discovery just to determine if USDS is subject to FOIA in the first place," Sauer wrote. "That order turns FOIA on its head, effectively giving respondent a win on the merits of its FOIA suit under the guise of figuring out whether FOIA even applies. And that order clearly violates the separation of powers, subjecting a presidential advisory body to intrusive discovery and threatening the confidentiality and candor of its advice, putatively to address a legal question that never should have necessitated discovery in this case at all." https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy...me-court-doge-needs-to-do-its-work-in-secret/
The hidden provision in the Big Ugly Bill that makes Trump king Don’t let this happen Robert Reich May 22, 2025 Friends, I’ve been following with a mixture of dismay and disgust Trump’s One Big Ugly Bill, soon to emerge from the House. I’ll report back to you on it. But I want to alert you to one detail inside it that’s especially alarming. With one stroke, it would allow Trump to crown himself king. As you know, Trump has been trying to neuter the courts by ignoring them. The Supreme Court has told Trump to “facilitate” the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a legal resident of the United States whom even the Trump regime admits was erroneously sent to a brutal prison in El Salvador. Trump has essentially thumbed his nose at the court by doing nothing. Lower federal courts have told him to stop deporting migrants without giving them a chance to know the charges against them and have the charges and evidence reviewed by a neutral judge or magistrate (the minimum of due process). Again, nothing. Judge James Boasberg, chief judge of the federal district court for the District of Columbia, issued a temporary restraining order preventing the Trump regime from flying individuals to the prison in El Salvador without due process. Judge Boasberg has found that the Trump regime has willfully disregarded his order. What can the courts do in response to Trump’s open defiance of judges and justices? The courts have one power to make their orders stick: holding federal officials in contempt and enforcing such contempt citations against them. Enforcing a contempt citation means fining or jailing the Trump lawyers who argue before them and possibly invoking contempt all the way up the line to Trump. Boasberg said that if Trump’s legal team does not give the dozens of Venezuelan men sent to the Salvadoran prison a chance to legally challenge their removal, he’ll begin contempt proceedings against the administration. In a separate case, U.S. District Court Judge Paula Xinis has demanded that the Trump administration explain why it is not complying with the Supreme Court order to “facilitate” the release of Abrego Garcia. Xinis questions whether the administration intends to comply with the order at all, citing a statement from U.S. Department of Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem that Abrego Garcia “will never be allowed to return to the United States.” According to Xinis, “That sounds to me like an admission. That’s about as clear as it can get.” So what’s next? Will the Supreme Court and lower courts hold the administration in contempt and enforce contempt citations? Not if the Big Ugly Bill is enacted with the following provision, now hidden in the bill: “No court of the United States may use appropriated funds to enforce a contempt citation for failure to comply with an injunction or temporary restraining order if no security was given when the injunction or order was issued….” Translated: No federal court may enforce a contempt citation. Obviously, courts need appropriated funds to do anything because Congress appropriates money to enable the courts to function. To require a security or bond to be given in civil proceedings seeking to stop alleged abuses by the federal government would effectively immunize such conduct from judicial review because those seeking such court orders generally don’t have the resources to post a bond. Hence, with a stroke, the provision removes the judiciary’s capacity to hold officials in contempt. As U.C. Berkeley School of Law Dean and Distinguished Professor of Law Erwin Chemerinsky notes, this provision would eliminate any restraint on Trump. “Without the contempt power, judicial orders are meaningless and can be ignored. There is no way to understand this except as a way to keep the Trump administration from being restrained when it violates the Constitution or otherwise breaks the law. … “This would be a stunning restriction on the power of the federal courts. The Supreme Court has long recognized that the contempt power is integral to the authority of the federal courts. Without the ability to enforce judicial orders, they are rendered mere advisory opinions which parties are free to disregard.” With this single provision, in other words, Trump will have crowned himself king. No Congress and no court could stop him. Even if a future Congress were to try to stop him, it could not do so without the power of the courts to enforce their hearings, investigations, subpoenas, and laws. What can you do? To begin with, call your members of Congress and tell them not to pass Trump’s One Big Ugly Bill. While you’re at, demand that they preserve the federal courts’ power to enforce their rulings by holding an administration in contempt. (The Capitol Hill switchboard number is 202-224-3121.) https://robertreich.substack.com/p/the-hidden-provision-in-the-big-ugly
We're getting very close to pure facism. It makes me consider what is the last straw before I try and take my family to a different country.
Trump lectured South Africa president Ramaphosa about non-existent white genocide. Showed photo purporting to be mass grave if white genocide victims in South Africa. The photo was from Congo and the victims were Black women. Facts aren't important. His audience wasn't president Ramaphosa. His audience was his cult. Prices skyrocket, they lose health care, but only he can protect their whiteness from hordes of black savages.
Yes, but SA's President handled Trump perfectly. This account cracked me up. https://apnews.com/article/trump-south-africa-oval-office-drama-0080e7c7288860bd0511b8cc4efd06f6
Trump Administration Halts Harvard’s Ability to Enroll International Students The move was a major escalation in the administration’s efforts to pressure the college to fall in line with President Trump’s demands. The Trump administration on Thursday halted Harvard University’s ability to enroll international students, taking aim at a crucial funding source for the nation’s oldest and wealthiest college in a major escalation in the administration’s efforts to pressure the elite school to fall in line with the president’s agenda. The administration notified Harvard about the decision after a back-and-forth in recent days over the legality of a sprawling records request as part of the Department of Homeland Security’s investigation, according to three people with knowledge of the negotiations. The people spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. The latest move is likely to prompt a second legal challenge from Harvard, according to another person familiar with the school’s thinking who insisted on anonymity to discuss private deliberations. The university sued the administration last month over the government’s attempt to impose changes to its curriculum, admissions policies and hiring practices. “I am writing to inform you that effective immediately, Harvard University’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification is revoked,” according to a letter sent to the university by Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary. A copy of the letter was obtained by The New York Times. About 6,800 international students attended Harvard this year, or roughly 27 percent of the student body, according to university enrollment data. That was up from 19.7 percent in 2010. The move is likely to have a significant effect on the university’s bottom line. Tuition at Harvard is $59,320 for the school year that begins later this year, and costs can rise to nearly $87,000 when room and board are included. International students tend to pay larger shares of education costs compared with other students. A spokesman Harvard did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Ms. Noem posted the letter on social media later on Thursday. In a news release confirming the administration’s move, the Department of Homeland Security sent a stark message to Harvard’s international students: “This means Harvard can no longer enroll foreign students, and existing foreign students must transfer or lose their legal status.” Leo Gerden, a senior at Harvard from Stockholm who has been a staunch advocate on campus for international students, said he was devastated by the news. “Without its international students and without its ability to bring in the best people from around the world, Harvard is not going to be Harvard anymore,” said Mr. Gerden, who graduates next week. “The Trump administration is using us as poker chips right now,” he added. “It is extremely dangerous.” https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/22/us/politics/trump-harvard-international-students.html
Congress passed the big beautiful bill. All the GOPS grinned ear to ear at screwing over millions of Americans, applauded, and played Queens, We are the Champions.
The dude who’s all about increasing manufacturing jobs in America couldn’t wait 2 years for Boeing to manufacture new jets so they outsourced a Boeing 747 owned by Qatar?
Dean of UC Berkeley law School pointed out in article this provision is retroactive with no time limit. So it could be used to overturn judicial orders on birthright citizenship, labor law, civil rights, literally every past judicial order could be made null.
DUI hire held first of what are planned as official Pentagon sponsored Christian worship services for American service members. Theoretically voluntary but in hierarchical organization like military everyone learns quickly to go along with superior officer. Service conducted by pastor who said fighting for one's country is a man's duty but not women's. Also Trump was divinely chosen to be president. So presumably opposing Trump is against God.
Barron Trump tried to debate Jasmine Crockett. Did not go well for baby boy. Tried to shame her for having been a hairdresser. She retorted she worked her way through law school as she does not have a trust fund. He had talking points, she had facts. Maybe someone better at attaching videos could upload it. She was merciless. It's like he honestly thought he must know more than working class Black woman.
The curious case of Trump’s disappearing media transcripts The Trump White House, which touts itself as “the most transparent” administration in history, has removed a database of official transcripts documenting President Donald Trump’s announcements and appearances. The “remarks” section of the White House website now features YouTube videos rather than the transcripts that past administrations have published for decades. The change is yet another example of the Trump administration trying to exert more control. Rather than printing every transcript, thus creating a comprehensive record for the public, the White House is selectively publicizing some events and skipping others. The selection of “remarks” videos is noticeably incomplete, as it includes fewer than 50 Trump videos from the first 120 days of his second term. The White House publishes a much greater number of videos on YouTube, including highly partisan attacks and propagandistic mashups. HuffPost senior White House correspondent S.V. Date, who observed that the administration was cutting back on Trump transcripts earlier this spring, wrote last week that the White House was “excluding many of his most unhinged comments” from its website. In response, White House communications director Steven Cheung told Date to “stop beclowning yourself.” Now the transcripts have been removed altogether, with one exception: Trump’s inaugural address. Stenographers employed by the government still record and transcribe all of Trump’s remarks, including his interactions with the media. Those records just aren’t being posted. The YouTube videos are not a complete replacement because some of Trump’s remarks are not archived in video form, either. Other records typically published by previous administrations, like White House press briefing transcripts, have also been omitted in recent months. The website currently only includes the transcript of press secretary Karoline Leavitt’s very first briefing in January. The transcript purge impacts journalists and researchers more than the average taxpayer. However, searchable, text-based records of a president’s words are inherently valuable for holding an administration to account. Joe Biden’s White House understood that when it got caught attempting to alter the transcript of his “garbage” remarks about Trump supporters, despite official stenographer concerns. And so the disappearing Trump transcripts are revealing in terms of the administration’s priorities — and what Leavitt means when she touts “transparency.” Perhaps “visibility” is the more accurate word. The Trump White House is certainly visible, often prioritizing videos and photos over the written word. While Trump’s bombastic and improvisational speaking style demands heavy scrutiny and fact-checking, he often seems to care far more about images — specifically those of strength and dominance. In response to a CNN request for comment about the website change, Leavitt said, “The president’s remarks are live on the website for every person in the world, including journalists, to access and watch for themselves. The Trump White House is the most transparent in history.” he White House does, indeed, live stream Trump’s remarks. But the transcript purge is still quite telling. And it makes the existence of outside databases, like Roll Call’s Factba.se, all the more valuable. “The move certainly underscores the reason to have a free and independent record of the president’s statements and responses,” Factba.se founder and developer Bill Frischling told CNN. It also highlights Trump’s disregard for White House staff stenographers, a dynamic that former stenographer Beck Dorey-Stein described in a 2018 op-ed for The New York Times. “Mr. Trump likes to call anyone who disagrees with him ‘fake news,’” Dorey-Stein wrote. “But if he’s really the victim of so much inaccurate reporting, why is he so averse to having the facts recorded and transcribed?” https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/22/media/donald-trump-media-white-house-transcript-purge
