“To the extent that reality is relevant to the debate, the House speaker emerita didn’t tell anyone to arrest ICE agents or obstruct any investigations. Rather, the California Democrat endorsed the arrests of those who break state and local laws, which seems like the sort of statement a responsible

1/2 “But addressing the root of economic systems that oppress Americans is exactly what the Democratic Party leadership, dependent on big corporate donors, has rigorously refused to do.

1/2 “This project is a desecration. It began with a lie, is proceeding without proper oversight, and is being funded by money from corporate interests seeking influence.

The amount is meaningless — less than one day of salary. But the principle is important: once the armed services are paid by the oligarchs, they become a private militia, and we no longer have a country. www.nytimes.com/live/2025/10...

The U.S. has conducted 10 strikes on alleged drug-carrying boats, killing 43 people. Remember: no judge or jury has found these boats were trafficking drugs. We're simply taking Trump's word for it. He’s unilaterally acting as judge, jury, and executioner. This is a danger to us all.

“San Francisco was one of only two U.S. cities, the other being Honolulu, that ranked in the worldwide survey by travel insurance company Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection. Honolulu came in 5th, and San Francisco ranked 15th safest. European cities made up the majority of the list.”

While the rest of the nation was stunned by the haphazard destruction of one of the nation’s oldest and most cherished democratic symbols, at least two individuals moved to stop it. trib.al/qbOdMLq

Rents are up nearly 4% — the largest increase since 2011. Natural gas prices are up 14%. The cost of meat, fish, and eggs is up over 5%. And now some families will see their health insurance premiums go up by $22,000 a year. This is Trump’s economy.

“On average, gross premiums, or the overall cost of the premium, has gone up about 10 percent. And the net premium, or the amount the consumer pays after the tax credit has been applied, has increased about 75 percent.”

“There is enough money to bail out Argentina with $20 billion. There is enough money to purchase a brand new aircraft for $173 million for the DHS Secretary. There is enough money to renovate the White House ballroom. What there is not enough money for under this Republican government is you.”

1/2 “Trump’s efforts at autocracy depend on the use of emotional propaganda and imagery to obscure a very basic reality: That he and the MAGA movement are the cause of rising political violence.

“How do you top ordering your appointees to cut you a check for $230 million taxpayer dollars…. What thing can be more unimaginable and beyond belief than the president just saying, Cut me a check for a quarter billion dollars? What can be weirder than his bulldozing a big chunk of the White House?”

Stay tuned for more updates here: missionlocal.org/2025/10/ice-...

Things like this keep happening.

“Shortly after the project was originally announced in July, the president had said that the construction of the 90,000 square foot ballroom wouldn’t “interfere with the current building.” He lied???!!!

“The case has increased scrutiny of U.S. collaboration with Bukele, whose administration is accused of negotiating with MS-13 to reduce crime statistics, while facing allegations of human rights abuses and undermining democratic norms.”

1/2 “This isn’t about law and order. It is the cynical weaponization of our legal system to silence dissent. By creating a fictional enemy and targeting it with the most powerful tools of state, the administration is not just attacking a political movement;

“Hakeem Jeffries makes a speech in a few days in NYC I cannot allow this terrorist to live,” Moynihan allegedly wrote, according to court documents. “Even if I am hated, he must be eliminated, I will kill him for the future.” Where is the GOP outrage???

Senator @merkley.senate.gov has been speaking for over 4 hours about President Trump’s threats to our democracy. Watch here ⬇️

“And you know that decision would have to go across my desk, and it’s awfully strange to make a decision where I’m paying myself.” This is what happens when people elect a CRIMINAL!!!

1/2 “It’s fair to question whether Trump’s concern for his alliance with Milei is his priority. Not to mention that numerous hedge fund executives and associates of Bessent — who has been overseeing the aid to Argentina — stand to benefit greatly from Trump’s taxpayer-funded generosity.

I'm not a West Wing obsessed lib or anything but the more I see pictures of this the more fucked up I think it is. It's like he cut off one of the hands of the Lincoln memorial with an angle grinder so he could add a big gun to it.

1/3 “No sane person can look objectively at the "No Kings" protests and say they weren’t focused, well-organized and peaceful. And no sane person can look at the grotesque, poop-splattering video the president of the United States posted and say the man running this country has a shred of decency.

“Together, Johnson’s absurd defense, Roy’s “Jesus is King” line, and our ever-online vice president crystallized the official voice of the US government: cruel, gross, and weird. It’s 2025 agitprop as Trump imagines the world under his shit-dumping rule.”

Dark Money and Citizens United greatly distorts the balance of power. State level action is needed now, as federal (& SCOTUS) solutions are unlikely in the near term. see below.

Because “to mislead a court with intent"" is a form of contempt of court, it’s telling that two Trump judges blocked the contempt hearing that would have exposed the facts. www.cbsnews.com/news/erez-re...

Putin is Lucy, Trump is Charlie Brown, and peace in Ukraine is the football. wapo.st/49eip6r

1/4 “Lower courts already are up in arms, condemning the MAGA justices’ terse emergency docket edicts disregarding their findings of facts. Trial courts are in the business of determining facts, applying the law to them, upholding the integrity of the judicial system, and sustaining

SCOTUS spent Wednesday morning trying to figure out a way to legalize racial gerrymandering. trib.al/TvPE4dc The justices appeared to single out Section 2, which (if gutted) would wipe out Black congressional representation in the South—at a scale unseen since the end of Reconstruction

1/2 “History reminds us that every expansion of freedom in this country came because ordinary people refused to be silent: when abolitionists organized against slavery, when suffragists demanded the vote, when civil rights leaders braved fire hoses and jail to dismantle Jim Crow,”

About 13 officers in a crowd of community members and protesters were exposed to the tear gas. This is the second time CPD officers have been gassed by ICE while trying to work with them. The move violates a judge’s order telling federal agents to rein in excessive force. trib.al/TiKgLI5

“The New York Republican was sentenced in April after admitting last year to deceiving donors and stealing the identities of 11 people — including his own family members — to make donations to his campaign.” But according to trump, he’s just “a rogue.” The truth is he’s a CRIMINAL—just like trump!

Trump campaigned on “releasing the Epstein files.” Then the FBI found his name and picture all over the files, photos and videos—now they’re keeping it under lock and key.   What else is in there? Who else are they protecting?

Wow. New Economist poll finds only 34% of Americans say ICE's use of force has been justified, vs 51% who say it's been excessive. And they oppose agents wearing masks by 52-35. Yep, ICE is becoming a pariah agency, and that's gaining deep penetration in the culture:

OMG Speaker Johnson, wait til you hear about January 6th!

1/2 “It’s been quite a week for undeniable Republican gutter racism. And, as Vance’s comments attest, what’s arguably most disturbing about it is how mainstream, established and non-fringe within the MAGA movement it is —

“The high court majority’s discomfort with race carried into Wednesday’s hearing. There was a tone of: Can we just be done with all this race stuff already? The law and the constitutional amendments at issue don’t have the time limits that the majority appears to wish they did.”

“Together, the messages reveal a culture where racist, antisemitic and violent rhetoric circulate freely — and where the Trump-era loosening of political norms has made such talk feel less taboo among those positioning themselves as the party’s next leaders.”

1/2 “Vought is a creature of the far-right, billionaire dark-money operation that captured the Supreme Court. Before he went to OMB the first time, he was vice president at Heritage Action, a billionaire-funded dark-money group advocating for things that dark-money billionaires want.

1/2 “For Trump, the United States is just one large, privately held corporation, controlled and dominated by a few people who perceive themselves as able to do whatever they want. No stockholders, no activist shareholders, no debates or discussion, no annual meetings, no publicly released reports,

1/2 “Always concerned foremost with himself, Trump could see the political costs of the largely unqualified green light that he had given Netanyahu and his quest for endless war. This is something Netanyahu has needed to maintain his governing coalition, and avoid pending corruption charges and

1/2 “We should not vote to fund a government that rewards corruption, enriches billionaires at the expense of the working class or rips health care away from millions of Americans. The White House and Republicans can keep trying to intimidate us.

1/3 “We’re seeing kids and their parents being violently separated by masked men with guns. We see a smarmy young aide to the president who sees himself as a “prince” who enforces his master’s diabolical programs. We see retribution being vigorously exacted by an increasingly senile man who wants

1/2 “No, Speaker Johnson, the No Kings Rally on October 18th is not a ‘hate America’ rally. In fact, it’s quite the contrary: it’s a love America rally.”

“President Donald Trump appeared to forget that he was the president during the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot in Washington, D.C. — and instead blamed former President Joe Biden and “The Biden FBI” for the violent and unprecedented attack.”

“Miller and the rest abhor the word ‘fascist’ because they know it fairly describes their politics and they worry that, as more Americans come to recognize that, the country might turn against the nationalist project. As the saying goes: A hit dog will holler.” thedispatch.com/newsletter/b...

I hope he keeps it up. The more he says outrageously false things like this, the more he undermines whatever “credibility” he has with his moronic supporters. I’m sure even they have limits!

1/2 “We’ve had two and a half centuries of democracy. Often challenging, sometimes messy, always essential. And we fought in two world wars to preserve it.” “Now, we have a would-be king who wants to take it away. King Donald I.” “Fuck. That!”

Rather than it being a “hate-America” rally, Saturday’s No Kings rally is an opportunity for all of us who love America to express our determination that our nation’s ideals not be crushed by the Trump regime. Some thoughts... https://robertreich.substack.com/p/theyre-calling-it-a-hate-america