"Of all the tools that I use to maintain my equilibrium in these dark days, none is so important as remembering the distinction between happiness, optimism and hope." An important reminder from the brilliant Cory Doctorow: pluralistic.net/2026...

Governor Walz addresses the Trump regime's attack on Minnesota. He implores people to show solidarity with their neighbors -- by, among other things, documenting the federal thugs' violent attacks on unarmed people so that, someday, the criminals will face justice.

Media Matters, the invaluable (please contribute) watchdog of right-wing media, is leaving xTwitter -- for practical but not moral reasons.

US Big Tech is conspiring with European (and American) fascists to wreck the EU's ability to even modestly regulate this rogue industry, which has unparalleled -- and growing -- power over people's lives. Fascism and tech are an unholy, and maybe unstoppable, alliance.

As the Trump regime steamrolls everything in sight, congressional Democrats are demonstrating weakness with more enthusiasm every day.

This suburban Denver cop's bogus accusation -- based on "evidence" from a Flock spy-on-everybody camera -- forced a woman to prove her innocence. The cop didn't care, and wasn't punished in any way. Rogue cops plus Flock equals a cancer on our communities.

We need to stop calling techlords like Mark Zuckerberg (and Tim Cook, et al) "cowards" for their nuzzling up to Trump. Call them what they are: supporters of America's metastasizing fascism. And for god's sake, stop supporting their businesses.

Think of ICE's masked thugs -- committing murder in public, with impunity -- as members of a revived KKK. Trump's KKK goons carry federal badges. ICE is a clear, present, and escalating danger to everyone.

Cory Doctorow implores non-US governments to understand that they can fight Trump's wave of economic destruction -- and help average Americans in the process -- by repealing insane laws that enforce technology lock-in and reward Big Tech: See this in the Guardian:

Open source project aims to help you remove Microsoft's super-invasive and altogether shitty "AI" from Windows 11.

We love to see it! Community-created harm reduction infrastructure to contest the alarming integration of AI agents into the Windows operating system (which is currently the most reckless deployment environment) ♥️ github.com/zoicware/Rem...

Here's the New York Times helping the Trump regime normalize murder -- by federal thugs against anyone they decide to kill -- on America's streets. The modest caveats in the sub-head and story are not remotely sufficient. Both-sides treatment of obvious murder -- journalistic malpractice.

"We are far past the stage of permissiveness with white-supremacist violence inside DHS. We are at the stage of active, enthusiastic commission of it." Big Journalism doesn't get it, because it doesn't want to. So we have to rely on independent reporting that does.

Damn right:

"Ponzi America is breaking down. It's run out of suckers." -- Cory Doctorow pluralistic.net/2026...

This New York Times video journalism about Trump goons' murder of a Minneapolis woman is essential. No both-sides bullshit when one party -- the regime and its vile propagandists -- is relentlessly and provably lying.

One of our most important tasks in saving American democracy is to help the wider public understand this: When the Trump regime's masked immigration thugs injure or kill people, as is becoming more common, government statements about what happened are likely to be lies.

On the press list for the annual Consumer Electronics Show, and one helpful way of sorting the many PR pitches is to send all that contain the word "revolutionary" straight to trash.

Stewart Cheifet, R.I.P.

"The reason it is important to identify the Court as corrupt is because it is in fact corrupt." Essential commentary from Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo, one of the news sites that is doing the journalism we need right now.

Note to journalists, particularly headline writers: All murders are brutal. You don't need to use that adjective.

One of the best journalists in recent history has a new and scary scoop: The feds are pouring HUGE amounts of cash into big banks, apparently to avoid a new (and predictable) meltdown. Once again, Wall Street makes reckless bets, and gets rewarded for failure.

Today's example of why buying a "smart" device is stupid:

Big Journalism's stenographic tendencies are never more on display than right now, as so-called news organizations faithfully report Trump claims that US bombed a drug "facility" and that a Ukraine "peace" deal was almost done -- without noting that he lies about everything. Lies are his default.

Violations of antitrust laws don't get any more blatant than this. But when the criminal-in-chief only enforces antitrust laws against people he doesn't like, lawbreaking is legalized for the ones he does like.

I donate annually to a lot of news organizations, and not one of them updates its fundraising mail lists to reflect that I've already donated this year. So I spend too much time unsubscribing (sometimes unsuccessfully) to their email pitches.

All corruption, all the time in Trump world, Exhibit 56,304:

With its standard credulous, stenographic political coverage style, the NY Times reports with a straight face that Trump's "Justice" Department just "found" a million more Epstein documents. On some days, the Paper of Record struggles to be merely pathetic.

The minute the Ellisons took over the former news operation at CBS, it became CBS "News" -- and the network's propagandist-in-chief proved it beyond a shadow of a doubt. Glad to say the "60 Minutes" segment was posted publicly, though not by the company that produced it.

Under the word "naive" the dictionary should list anyone who ever believed Trump's "Justice" Department would release the actual Epstein files, as opposed to the heavily censored -- and possibly altered? -- documents that credulous journalism organizations are pretending is the real thing.

Trump, Musk, Rubio, and their henchmen destroyed USAID -- directly causing hundreds of thousands of deaths, mostly children. The apparatchiks celebrated while bosses lied about what they'd done. I can't overstate my incandescent rage at these monstrous people. www.propublica.org/a... #pitchforks

Somewhat surprisingly, given the routine normalization our mainstream press gives to Dear Leader, this headline gets it right: "Trump says he’s ‘surprised’ and ‘honored’ his handpicked board voted to rename Kennedy Center"

Trump-supporting VC firm Andreessen Horowitz puts money into at least one sleazy company beyond the corrupt cryptocurrency "industry" -- see this reporting from the excellent 404 Media: www.404media.co/hack-reveals...

Post of the day: "The Hater’s Guide To The Williams-Sonoma Catalog"

A media/advocacy organization I otherwise respect responds to my message -- regarding a donation I want to make -- using their own "Contact Us" link with this: "Thanks for reaching out and for reading [Site]! Please note that this inbox is not regularly monitored." So, no donation for now...

O hive mind: Can you point me to 501(c)(3) nonprofit news organizations that are explaining the depth and breadth of Trump world corruption? The "mainstream" press is doing such an abysmal job on this, and I want to donate to journalists who get why this is so important to flag for public notice.

Collaboration and cooperation are essential in countering facists, and people in some American cities are doing both to resist Trump's kidnap-and-deport goons.

Trump Derangement Syndrome exists in two ways: 1) Trump is visibly deranged and it's accelerating. 2) People who imagine that Trump's cult will ever be disgusted enough by anything he says or does to cut themselves -- that's derangement, too. There's no bottom to his vileness, or their support.

Trump regime wants to force ALL visitors to the U.S. to install government-controlled spyware on their phones, and submit detailed personal data -- even DNA, apparently -- to the authorities. (If they're trying to wreck tourism, including the World Cup, this is the way.) papersplease.org/wp/...

"...Natalie Allison, Dan Diamond and JM Rieger in The Washington Post, as well as Frank Bruni in The New York Times and David Graham in The Atlantic have all recently discovered to their surprise that the current President is extremely old and demented."

All corruption, all the time in Trump world. Trump's sons (including/especially the youngest) helped get one of most vile people on the planet out of legal trouble. Fine NYT reporting here: archive.md/uAYtL

“I understand I’m just an independent developer—the kind of person Google doesn’t care about" -- developer whose accounts were wiped by Google for what the company later, but only after being contacted by a journalist, admitted was an unfounded, machine-decided "violation".

The NYT's top editor did an "interview" with a staff sycophant and the result was an embarrassment to him and his organization. Press critic Dan Froomkin explains why:

Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo has posted one of his most important pieces, in which he brings historical context to the ascendance -- and profound malignity -- of the ultra-wealthy who are on the verge of destroying us. talkingpointsmemo.co... #pitchforks

The corruption of the Roberts court expands and expands. There's no longer even a tiny pretense -- what Donald Trump and his Republican apparatchiks and lackeys want is what the court will approve.

When a Big Journalism organization says a Trump world action "raises ethical questions" it is effectively SHOUTING about corruption, which is the norm in Trump world. Case in point is Kushner involvement in the Ellison-Saudi-Qatar bid to buy Warner Bros Discovery.

For those who fret about the future of CNN under Ellison/Saudi/Trump or as a Netflix spin-off, the channel's deal with a Trump-connected online betting operation gives you a sense of CNN's commitment to honorable news coverage. It leaves me with increasing doubt.

Betting <1 percent of the population knows that a manifestly corrupt "industry" bought itself a Congress that puts cryptocurrency holders first in line -- ahead of you and your money -- if there's a run on your bank. Yep, you're subsidizing the sleaziest speculators.