One lightning strike just recorded inside DC, NE part. S of the city, it's weird & kind of sinister feeling. Gloomy clouds, National Airport reported light rain, but here nothing. Unsure if I've heard a crackle of thunder or only an early firework. Honestly we could use a bit of rainfall.

Great American State Fair :-/

Silver Spring now And uh-oh, winds whipping the trees here, not far south of the city. Btw, the lightning map can be two-finger zoomed to see more labels and quite a bit of detail. Can almost pick out our street. (No, they aren't paying me to plug the site, I just enjoy stuff like this.)

Lightning struck just now in Rockville, Md. Closest yet.

"'We can only assume that Defendant is seeking...to buy time so he can try to concoct some new basis to put off paying Plaintiff.' "Carroll's attorney was responding to the motion Trump filed...requesting...more time so his new attorney could get caught up...." www.rawstory.com/trump-e-jean...

If anyone likes following thunderstorms in real time, try link below. Fresh lightning hits are red-ringed. Older ones yellow & gradually fade. Right now I see storms converging on DC from both NW & SW, < 50 mi out. Worry, mass power outages in >100° heat again tomorrow. :-/ www.lightningmaps.org

This an official Vatican photograph of Leo at Lampedusa, Italy - one of the world’s heaviest migrant sites - where he went this morning to pray for migrants who died at sea. This is after turning down the offer to come to the United States.

I’ve spoken with Jason Watson. He knew exactly what this would cost him. He gave up his military career to take a brave stand for democracy. Patriotism that only works with obedience isn’t patriotism.

What a picture from cheney orr of @reuters.com — a Black woman on a train surrounded by masked white supremacists, emboldened in Trump’s America. One for the history books.

Happy Fourth. On this day, I like to revisit Frederick Douglass’ “What to a Slave is the Fourth of July,” and in particular, this video NPR produced a few years back of portions of the speech being read by Douglass’ descendants. youtu.be/NBe5qbnkqoM?...

July 4, 1418 S.R. Boromir sets out from Minas Tirith to seek Imladris. According to a dream, this near-mythical place holds "the sword that was broken" and the key to defeat Sauron. #LOTR

Huh. "traveled to Beijing and met with Chinese Vice President Han Zheng just days after McConnell’s hospitalization. "Photos circulating in Chinese media show Chao sitting across from Zheng on June 17, reportedly discussing efforts to strengthen China–U.S. relations."

One of those photos that's a sucker punch to the gut. This is exactly what Trump wants.

1/ At some point this weekend someone is going to state a completely wild claim at the table like it’s settled fact. Here’s how to handle it without starting a food fight and without just sitting there nodding along. #DV1 #ProudBlue #Voices4Victory #USDemocracy

They going to try J6 again?

ICYMI: The decision to ban social media could have unintended consequences for LGBTQIA+ young people, who often use social media to find community, support and safety.

Right?! Half of the country is in a cult and the other half has PTSD 😵‍💫

Saturday (7/4) News: For July 4th, “Trump Pardons Violators of the Clean Air Act and a Major Donor”; At Mt. Rushmore, Trump “read a half-baked red scare speech straight out of 1950”; "Brutal heat cancels Fourth of July events"; Climate Change Endangers Jamestown bluevirginia.us/2026/07/satu...

In case you missed it. Among other things, Trump solicited donations for America 250 but provided bank info for those donations for Freedom 250, his private entity. Oh, and the blatant selling of access, including to foreign entities. And more. huffman.house.gov/media-center...

1/ Fog Data Science and Venntel built a business selling your phone's location: buy the pings, package them by address, sell "everyone who visited here" to cops with no warrant needed. That's geofencing. It's legal, and it's huge. 🧵 #DV1 #ProudBlue #Voices4Victory #USDemocracy

"Conservatives wasted no time signalling their next targets. "Blue states with boys on girls' podiums ... you're next," declared Kristen Waggoner, president of the Alliance Defending Freedom. The Trump administration has already initiated legal proceedings against California, Maine and Minnesota."

The Trump admin went too far going after trans people for even Judge Reed O'Connor. Great writeup by @chrisgeidner.bsky.social www.lawdork.com/p/ftc-wpath-...

Absolutely gutted to hear about Victoria Cruz. I had the honor of receiving an award from the Brooklyn borough president in 2020 alongside her. When so many of our trans siblings rarely get to old age, I felt so privileged to be able to know her. Rest in power. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/03/n...

I had a lot of older clients who were exceptionally alone after their partners passed because their entire social circles died during the height of the epidemic. There's effectively a missing generation of gay and bisexual men and trans women that never got to grow old.

Woo hoo!!!!

Damn I need a cigarette after this sentence.

Is it true, as rumored, that Vance is literally the stupidest currently sitting official in the U.S. government? How did he even get a law degree?

July 4, 1418 S.R. Boromir sets out from Minas Tirith to seek Imladris. According to a dream, this near-mythical place holds "the sword that was broken" and the key to defeat Sauron. #LOTR

Fact Cambodia is the most bombed country in history. 2,756,941 tons of bombs were dropped by the united states on Cambodia. To put 2,756,941 tons into perspective, the Allies dropped just over 2 million tons of bombs during all of World War II. gsp.yale.edu/sites/defaul...

Patriots don’t sell US out to Putin!

Yes. Its been like that for decades going all the way back to people like smedley butler in the 1930s. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smedley...

A former beauty queen who says Donald Trump groped her at a 1993 pageant has leveled a new claim at the president's first wife, alleging Ivana Trump helped funnel young women into Jeffrey Epstein's orbit.

The Emperor, stark naked, Still must be placated www.rawstory.com/trump-dement...

Glad we passed our moratorium before a single one of these things got built here, but watersheds don't understand political boundaries and there are a number upstream from us.

Chief judge Boasberg and Chief Judge Reed O'Connor spoke and defused the situation. The emergency TRO was denied as moot. The other pending motion in DC is still ongoing and the hearing will be next week on July 9th.

Same here. 👍 🇺🇸

Recent European heat wave killed more than 2,000 people in France www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...

#trumptrash pissing all over the Nations Capital.

WHY JACK SMITH IS MY CAPTAIN AMERICA open.substack.com/pub/ifloz/p/...

#BadPastor #NotADragPerformer #NoTransIndividualsInvolved

If you live in the DC metro area, this is what you're hearing - and will hear over the next day - whether you like it or not bluevirginia.us/2026/07/frid... h/t @wtopnews.bsky.social

The fucking LIES that these people spin. Texas ROUTINELY asks people to conserve energy during major heat waves. But when Mamdani does it they cry "OOHHH SOCIALISM HAS FAILED!" www.joemygod.com/2026/07/ging...

Schrödinger's Lemon: Harmeet Dhillon's Team Treats "Organized Protest Activity" as a Crime emptywheel.net/2026/07/03/s...

After rewarding insurrectionists, Trump contemplating rewarding polluters. www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-w...

Republican literally suggests we cover the Statue of Liberty. www.joemygod.com/2026/07/gop-...

🧊 REFOULEMENT 😲 The complaint alleges that Ghana is “facilitating removals to unsafe countries.”