December 29, 2025

A small number of people whose extreme wealth exerts a political gravitational force that distorts the entire political system is bad, actually. It has been recognized as a threat to free liberal republican government since the first time it emerged in the Gilded Age.

Under the Biden administration, the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) got private firms to pledge to hit certain memory-safety goals. This was called Secure by Design. Then Trump cut CISA's budget and Musk's goons forced out much of CISA's staff, ending Secure by Design

This is the very essence of Twitter under Musk. Did you know that the biggest Medicare fraudster in Minnesota—Philip Esformes—is a well known MAGA activist who was pardoned by Trump? He then moved to Florida, where he was arrested again for fraud activities. Medicare fraudsters should be prosecuted

Exclusive: A year after Tenet Media was busted for funneling Russian money to MAGA pundits like Benny Johnson and Tim Pool, a Trump administration effort involving State and the FBI has welcomed Tenet's founders back into the US. @thebulwark.com: www.thebulwark.com/p/lauren-che...

Not sure people are getting the real importance of the Russians fooling Trump about the Ukrainians attacking Putin's house. It was to demonstrate just how much they control his thinking--how much he is in their pocket. And it worked.

This is an act of war and illegal under both US and international law, let’s just be clear about that:

"Biden debate bad" was still LEADING the NYT **3 weeks** later & was only knocked off front page by Trump getting shot. They can create & sustain front-page news out of thin air, when they want to! But Trump's visibly declining physical & mental health gets zero coverage. None at all.

One thing I wish I'd added is that in Trump's first term, the Democrats should have impeached Trump for abuse of the pardon power. It was one of his most dangerous offenses, and they ignored it, which created a terrible precedent. They could impeach him for abuse of the pardon power now.

Thank you to all the performers who are canceling their events at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Everything in the Epstein Files about Trump is true, even the craziest shit. You know it, and I know it. “Derek will have his life snuffed out soon. Better watch his back.”

Hey so this seems like something more people should be talking about 🤔 🗳️ www.npr.org/2025/10/23/n...

Of all the dirty tricks: juking USPS rules so that the postmark of mail-in ballots won't reflect the date they were put in the hands of the Postal Service, creating a pretext to throw out the votes.

A lot to unpack here

Seems like fraud, waste, and abuse to us

We're covering this on tomorrow's @dailybeanspod.com

I spoke with @axios.com "If the United States conducted such an operation, I could understand why it would be covert -- to minimize blowback from the international community, including our allies." Trump Claims U.S. Struck Facility in Venezuela Campaign, But Offers No Details

countdown until Clarence Thomas puts "work will set you free" without a hint of irony in the 6-3 ruling allowing slave labor camps

While I truly dislike year end stories, I did one, and I’m breaking it into two parts. It’s important for us to remember where we were at the beginning of the year, the damage thats been done, but ultimately how we are on a better trajectory and should take hope. open.substack.com/pub/adamkinz...

Hey question: Have any of the police leadership that sat outside of Uvalde during the shooting been held to account? Good guys with guns

This is not how a normal Justice Department talks about an ongoing investigation—or about putative targets and their uncharged conduct.

New: ‘Complete fabrication’: Zelenskyy denies attack on Putin residence, Kremlin threatens to escalate open.substack.com/pub/diplomat...

My contrarian take is that there’s actually some robust regulatory proposals for AI and social media coming out of academia and think tanks, and that some lawmakers are even in conversation with folks about it. But the political *coalition* required to build a legislative campaign has yet to form…

something very important for Dems to realize is that the tech overlords are not people you can win back by promising a lighter touch and saying a few nice things they’ve gotten a taste of mask-off fascism and they are not going back, they don’t want to play nice with the peons anymore

OPINION: "And for all the talk about saving the American people money by gutting this agency, I can tell you that the federal government cutting AmeriCorps is the equivalent of me deciding to save money by not spending $10," Kevin Edwards writes. buff.ly/N5M6RLH

Remember: When Tylenol was poisoned *by an outsider* and killed people, the company recalled all their products & redesigned them. When Intel’s Pentium had a bug so obscure it affected 1 in _9 billion_ long division calculations, they recalled their chips. ChatGPT was made deadly *by its team*.

MAGA uses conspiracy theories and false accusations of "groomer" to spin a tale where they're the heroes and liberals are villains. In 2025, the Epstein files revealed the truth: they are, as MAGA voters always were, supporters of sexual violence. www.salon.com/2025/12/29/i...

“You are not entitled to a response from us, or anyone, ever,” is what a US Education Department spokesperson wrote to one of our reporters, @megomatz.bsky.social, after she repeatedly tried to get comment from the department and its officials. My column on the condemnation of good journalism.

🚨 Why is the Trump administration waging a holy war against America's largest corporations? Project 2025: Heritage Foundation's blueprint for white Christian nationalist regime change. OMB Director Russell Vought, Project 2025 architect, Christian nationalist. www.propublica.org/article/russ...

Requested a correction from @princetonupress.bsky.social. Let's see what happens.

Old & poor people are accused of #Medicare & #Medicaid fraud when the fraudsters are folks like #SenRickScott & his ilk ALWAYS! www.nytimes.com/2024/10/14/u...

#Resist #visibilitybrigade #Maine Freeport Maine Rush Hour Brigade Fridays Jan 2 through Jan 30, 2026 3 – 4:30pm EST Desert Road/ Exit 20 Overpass and Mallett Drive/Exit 22 Overpass Freeport, ME 04078 www.mobilize.us/mobilize/eve...

very convenient that the rich ruling class techbros solution to income and wealth inequality will be solved by letting them accumulate even more wealth

Friends — Here's one "big idea" for how we can start to fix the system in 2026. Let me know your thoughts. https://robertreich.substack.com/p/how-to-get-rid-of-citizens-united

“Russia wants Ukraine to succeed.” Donald J Trump, December 28, the year of our Lord 2025. Actual real quote from the dumbest man

Both of the homes Trump claimed as principal residences in the ’90s were used as investment properties and rented out, according to an interview with his longtime real estate agent — exactly the sort of scenario he’s pointed to as evidence of fraud.

All these guys have terminal cases of "l'etat, c'est moi:" when they say "the state" will pay a price, they mean "I, your overlord" will pay a price. In the minds of Ackman, Thiel et al. they already rule us, they are the state, they're just letting us pretend to have a democracy--like a doll house.

The President of the United States appears to be getting regular IV infusions, the public doesn’t know anything about it, & the DC media evidently doesn’t care. We are months into the mystery of Trump’s hands, the White House is lying, & I’ve seen a grand total of one serious news story about it.

Speaking as someone who just wrote a book on the Manhattan Project, I can assure you that refugee immigrants were the *entire* reason the US mastered the atom first. The most chilling part of writing my book was reading about them fleeing fascism … abroad. www.doomsdayscenario.co/p/fleeing-on...

Trump had Mike Johnson remove Turner as House Intel Chair because he was perceived as too sympathetic to Ukraine. Turner was upset at the time and called it out. But now he’s a completely broken and beaten man. bsky.app/profile/atru...

The law I helped pass is clear: the deadline for the Justice Department to release the Epstein Files was December 19, 2025. We will enforce the law.

The reason that SpaceX is going public and announcing nonsense about data centers in space: 1. The outside client launch manifest is flat and becoming more competitive 2. The total TAM for starlink was never going to justify the valuation 3. Growth for commerical/residential Starlink is shrinking

MSNOW reported the pipe bomber was a trump supporter. Marcy Wheeler pointed out the 22-day gap missing from the arrest affidavit. Now DoJ wants you to believe this guy has no political affiliation?

"And I never say no" We need to have a serious talk about the way "AI companion" apps not only prey on the vulnerable, but are priming their users to ignore consent and to conflate love with control. We need AI regulations across so many sectors, but this area is particularly horrifying.

It’s pretty wild that the most rabidly anti-immigrant administration in recent memory is comprised of a President married to an immigrant, a VP married to the daughter of immigrants, an assistant AG in charge of Civil Rights who’s an immigrant (Dhillon), & it was all funded by an immigrant (Musk).

Sometimes I recall that my great grandpa was an egg-candler. Held eggs in front of candles to check yolks Brought double yolks to his family And I’m a college professor And I think: the US, land of immigrants, land of hope It takes a nanosecond to see how out of step this regime is w/that truth

Nothing about this is normal. I don't even know where to start other than to say again -- this is not normal.

This is how you know a wealth tax is the right thing to do

LEFT: @asharangappa.bsky.social four weeks ago RIGHT: new NYT report Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2025/12/27/u...

Pelosi: "Right now, Republicans in Congress have abolished the Congress. They just do what the president insists that they do. That will be over as soon as we have the gavel."