In politics, being deceived is no excuse. — Leszek Kołakowski

Less than 24 hours after misleading claims started circulating that tied Politico to USAID, the White House vowed to end subscriptions for the insider news outlet's services and others.

HUGE news hardly anyone is talking about it. The Federal Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is basically the gov't HR department & is purging non-loyalists. An unvetted ally of Elon Musk w no OPM experience is using OPM to collect info on civil servants outside OPM who are seen as a threat 1/3

They're trying to rewrite history. This is too much. www.nbcnews.com/politics/con...

Those who wish to destroy our democratic institutions through violent means are vindicated. The service of those who have tried to protect our nation is scorned. www.cnn.com/2025/01/20/p...

"It needs to be said clearly: There are those who systematically work by all means to drive away migrants, and this, when done knowingly and deliberately, is a grave sin." -- Pope Francis

This is a good and fitting way for Biden to end his term. For all the mistakes he's made, this is a bright moment. It's a stark contrast to the incoming president who relishes making people suffer. www.npr.org/2025/01/17/g...

"The considerable, indeed extraordinary, legal protection afforded by the office of the chief executive is a factor that overrides all others," Merchan said. "Despite the extraordinary breadth of those protections, one power they do not provide is the power to erase jury verdicts."

"Desperate for some relief from the relentless drone strikes, the Russians need every air-defense battery they can get... The North Koreans obliged with a missile launcher few have seen outside of a Pyongyang parade. "And then Russian drones destroyed it." www.forbes.com/sites/davida...

Think of the time being wasted by diplomats and experts in Europe and Latin America, as they start planning how to counter American attacks on Panama or Greenland. Time that could be spent thinking about a unified response to Russia and China.

Today is the anniversary of the violent attack on our Capital, where a mob attempted to block our democratic process so that manchild Trump, who couldn't accept his loss, might illegally stay in power.

How fitting that US flags will be at half staff during the inauguration. How unsurprising that Trump is disparaging the memory of President Carter and the US flag code. apnews.com/article/why-...

What is Trump lying about today? He's blaming a terrorist attack carried out by a *US-born Army veteran* on immigrants. He's desperately looking for his Reichstag fire. abcnews.go.com/US/1-dead-ve...

It's weird how time works. It's already 2025 in Polynesia, in the USA it's still 2024 but in Russia it's 1951. #HappyNewYear

American clergy should take note. In other countries, there are those willing to stand up for their neighbors at great personal cost. What are US clergy afraid of? Offending some people? Losing tax exempt status? www.euronews.com/2024/12/30/c...

They're practically telling people to go ahead and cheat on their taxes. www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

Here's another reason to shop at Costco: finance.yahoo.com/news/costco-...

Hate is expensive. youtu.be/eqPgAU1JRL4?...

So, if you want to attend a worship service with President-elect Trump at his inauguration this year, you can. But so far, there's only one option, and there's a catch: you'll need to either donate $100,000 or raise $200,000. It's pay-to-pray. religionnews.com/2024/12/23/a...

Trump's top pick for Attorney General "violated House Rules and other standards of conduct prohibiting prostitution, statutory rape, illicit drug use, impermissible gifts, special favors or privileges, and obstruction of Congress", according to the House Ethics Committee.

Good. It's the least he can do considering the incoming president can't wait to use his authority to start killing people. www.cnn.com/2024/12/23/p...

The Democrats gave Trump the presidency in 2016 when they passed over Sanders for Clinton. They have learned nothing. thehill.com/homenews/hou...

ABC News Shows What It Looks Like When Corporate Media Bows to Trump

Facebook really is evil. They keep keep helping dictators and war criminals. www.bbc.com/news/article...

Unimaginable. The liberation of the women/children section of Sednaya prison. Cut off from the world, they’ve no idea what’s happened. A man shouts: “You are all free now. Don’t be scared. Go home.” “What happened?” a woman asks “The Regime fell. You are free.” #Syria 🇸🇾 (🎥Credit: Galyarahal)

"As The American Prospect so aptly put it, 'only about 50 million customers of America’s reigning medical monopoly might have a motive to exact revenge upon the UnitedHealthcare CEO.'" www.yahoo.com/news/murdere...

Republicans don't want Americans to know how bad Trump's picks are. They're only delaying the inevitable. www.cnn.com/2024/12/05/p...

Many of those defending Biden's pardon of his son seem to be displaying a greater concern for tribalism than for justice. Unfortunately, this does give Trump more ammunition.

The Georgian govt is trying to do what Lukashenka did in Belarus in 2020-2021. The question is whether the Georgian security agencies will go along to the bitter, violent, repressive end or will splinter, abandon, and bring the regime down.

Alex is doing God’s job. I don’t even know how to describe the amount of tear gas used. Yet people aren't going anywhere. #GeorgiaProtests

Timothy Snyder's "On Tyranny" is insightful and wise and very much needed. If you haven't read it yet, please do. It happens to be much discounted on Amazon right now: a.co/d/g6RWUAV

People are often surprised when I tell them this: both Twitter and Facebook/insta/threads are now specifically engineered to downgrade, hide, suppress real journalism. If this platform is different, that's a huge change

"Donald Trump’s transition team is planning for all political appointees to receive sweeping security clearances on the first day and only face FBI background checks after the incoming administration takes over the bureau and its own officials are installed in key positions..."

"There's economic impact whether it's bluster or not." www.bbc.com/news/article...

Gutting infectious disease research is insane. It will severely slow research progress on Long COVID (a condition I still suffer from), as well as other diseases we already face, and mean we will be less prepared for new infectious diseases. This is a big F-you to millions of Americans.

We're going to need higher interest rates to counter the increased inflation cause by Trump's tariffs, which of course means higher unemployment... Global recession, here we come! www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...

Once again, this is the evil which the US is about to unleash www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024...

Musk is an ignorant bully. Here he is mocking the assertion that Ukraine is an independent country.

Some good, if bleak, perspective.

Sturgill Simpson speaking some truth last night in Boston

I'm starting to see trolls on Bluesky... Just block and report, and then move on.

Some helpful tips for avoiding arguments at Thanksgiving. h/t @obviousplant.bsky.social

A good read.

Pete Hegseth has published three books in four years. Jonathan Chait spent the last week reading them—and concluded that Hegseth is almost certainly the most dangerous of Trump's cabinet picks. theatln.tc/s24Z8tF4

I wonder if she'll try to cut the government's secret weather control program used to create hurricanes. www.cnn.com/2024/11/21/p...