What Happened Today - #317 open.substack.com/pub/gbounaco...

Horrific, disgusting, inexcusable, antisemitic

Warnock: "If you live in Claxton, Georgia, if you live in rural America, even if you have wealth and resources and you're having a stroke and there's no ICU within a reasonable distance because of these draconian cuts, your life is in peril. We can do better than this."

Sen. Jack Reed: "I must remind everyone that we follow the law of war, and because of that, we expect other countries. So that when our service members are in distress, they're not shot up in the water or if they're wounded, left to die. If we don't do it, then we can't expect other countries."

Assigned to a prison job paying $0.13 per hour, Abron Arrington refused to work, figuring his time could be better spent learning physics. The Colorado DOC punished him with bouts of solitary confinement.

> @miatretta.bsky.social

This is a textbook case of political asylum.

Rand Paul: "My plan is this -- let people on the Obamacare market, which is about 4% of America, a small number of people, let them buy their insurance through Costco, Sam's Club, Amazon ... "

Rand Paul: "The president also said, 'Be careful Colombia, you could be next.' I mean, if we're gonna go and topple regime after regime in South America, there's no amount of money that could be printed to pay for that and I don't think lives should be lost without a vote by Congress."

The solution to out of control healthcare costs? More corporate middlemen

Rand Paul on mid-decade redistricting: "I think it's gonna lead to more civic tension & possibly more violence in our country. Think about it: if 35% of Texas is solidly Democrat & they have 0 representation, how does that make Democrats feel? I think it makes them feel they're not represented"

If only Israel’s top court would be as bold in reining in Bibi’s war crimes and his other abuses of power! www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...

‘It’s not a coincidence’: journalists of color on being laid off amid Trump’s anti-DEI push www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Trump's malignant narcissism prevents him from understanding public anxiety about the cost of living. It could be his downfall. Some thoughts... https://robertreich.substack.com/p/sunday-thought-trump-tells-america

We were last in Australia in September and one theme we heard was concern over a surge of antisemitic attacks on the Jewish community there. The massacre at a Hanukkah event at Bondi Beach is a shocking culmination of what many had feared. For the latest: www.nytimes.com/live/2025/12...

Extraordinary courage from Ahmed al Ahmed, a Muslim, 43-year-old father of two, who bravely risked his life to save his neighbors celebrating Hanukkah. Praying for his full & speedy recovery. And so deeply inspired by his example.

Bovino on Abrego Garcia: "When he becomes deportable, he is going to get deported. And he needs to be deported now."

Guardian Australia has comprehensive coverage of the horrendous attack on the Sydney Jewish community: www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

Ron Johnson: "Obamacare has caused this consolidation. The solution is consumerism. Free market competition."

"Two survivors of the Brown University attack escaped other school shootings. Mia Tretta was shot in the abdomen in 2019 at a school near LA, and Zoe Weissman witnessed a Florida shooting in 2018." www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Pasteurization of milk means 'slightly heating it'. It's nothing scary or mysterious or transformative. It's not even cooking or boiling it. Here's a film from 1937 on how nearly a century ago grownups understood you needed to make milk safe, esp for children. www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6cG...

Oversight Dems just dropped a new trove of photos from Jeffrey Epstein's estate — including this one of Steve Bannon. @monacharen.bsky.social has a question: Where's the uproar over Bannon's connection to Epstein? Read it here: bit.ly/3Mq75uP

Former Reagan & Bush WH lawyer Alan Raul has a powerful message for the Supreme Court: “‘Move fast and break things’… is a dangerous modus operandi for the American judicial system and the rule of law.”

👀

An overview of standard accessibility services provided by American public libraries.

"Weissman was in her dorm room at Brown when a friend called to warn her that a shooting was under way. Her initial feelings of panic soon turned to anger, she told NBC. “I’m angry that I thought I’d never have to deal with this again, and here I am eight years later,” Weissman told NBC News."

After Kilmar Abrego Garcia was released from custody, ICE was almost immediately back on his trail. Why? An immigration judge, reporting to the DOJ, retroactively “corrected” a 2019 ruling prohibiting the Maryland man from being deported to El Salvador.

Australian news reporting that the hero bystander here is named Ahmed al Ahmed. Muslim, father of two.

FOX: The president is coming up on a year in office. When can Americans expect to see their energy bills drop? CHRIS WRIGHT: Very soon you'll see a stop in the rise in electricity prices, and with the continuation of Trump policies, you'll see declines in electricity prices later this term

Fiddler on the roof, but with ICE agents playing the part of Cossacks. I know people think of Fiddler as a heartwarming story about a funny man doing Ya-ba-dibba-dibbas, but it's literally about pogroms like this

They play their supporters like total rubes.

We are not as bloodthirsty as Stephen Miller wants us to be. French argues that Stephen Miller is miscalculating, and that it’s possible to awaken the country’s sleeping conscience. It may already be happening. French thinks we are already seeing a “vibe shift.” substack.com/profile/4298...

BRENNAN: The president said 'prices are coming down tremendously.' But the latest data shows the consumer price index up 3% year over year. What data is he looking at? HASSETT: He went through the individual items that we've already made a bunch of progress on

BRENNAN: When do you anticipate voters will feel this positive impact? HASSETT: It's definitely the case that consumer sentiment right now is lower than anyone would like, but we find that very often happens during a govt shutdown, but the sentiment will catch up with the reality

The question of the Trump era is how cruel are we collectively. Or perhaps this: How much cruelty will we collectively accept?

The Claremont Institute: The Anti-Democracy Think Tank newrepublic.com/article/1746... via @newrepublic.com

Please take the time to listen to this. Marc Elias is the real deal, and routinely argues cases in front of the Supreme Court, particularly cases the involving voting rights act. It’s imperative to understand what’s happening below the surface that main stream media is rather silent about.

Smiley: We know there will be misinformation available online. Please, when it comes to official updates, go to the city of Providence's social media channels… so you know you are getting an accurate and official update.

Trump: "I've been fully briefed on the Brown University situation. What a terrible thing it is. All we can do right now is pray for the victims." (Trump falsely posted that the shooter is in custody.)

Another rift in MAGA is growing www.nytimes.com/2025/12/13/s...

Trump’s Arithmetic of Make-Believe open.substack.com/pub/meidasto...

Fiasco for Trump as Judge Issues Harsh Rebuke in Ábrego García Case newrepublic.com/article/2043... via @newrepublic.com

“Total Loser”: Sleepless Trump Slams Indiana Republicans newrepublic.com/post/204374/... via @newrepublic.com

ICE Barbie Kristi Noem Spirals Under Intense White House Pressure newrepublic.com/post/204377/... via @newrepublic.com

Breaking: Fox “News” just attacked MeidasTouch co-founder Jordy and the MeidasTouch Podcast for refusing to buy the Trump administration’s excuse that the bruising and bandages on Trump’s hand are from “lots of handshaking.” Fox devoted an entire segment to smearing Jordy and the show. Our response.

Fox News’ Chief National Security Correspondent. We are about to go to war for oil, while citing a lie as justification. Again.

Wait, wait … Fox is SERIOUSLY, ACTUALLY trying to get their audience of lemmings to believe that the heavy makeup & band aids on Trump’s hand for months is from shaking hands?!? They are attacking Meidas for disputing that? They have nothing but contempt for their viewers. bsky.app/profile/acyn...