1.) Since when is ICE responsible for security at the Super Bowl? 2.) With the NFL trying to internationalize the game (see this weekend), shouldn't the NFL give Noem a fine here for not protecting the shield?

“A list of the 321 canceled grants obtained by Heatmap tells a different story. While much of the funding was awarded to blue state-based companies, the intended projects would have benefitted communities elsewhere, including in Texas, Florida, and Louisiana.”

Great @propublica.org graphic-driven story on Trump cuts to food assistance. The food bank where I get most of my groceries currently was hit hard by this.

NPR giving "Hillbilly Elegy" tons of friendly coverage, only for Vance to sign the de-funding of NPR, was one of the most ironic things I've lived through.

Trump's USDA is Engaging in Partisan Politics. That is a Threat to us All, and Could/Should Be Illegal.

Amazing essay by the great @sarahkendzior.bsky.social.

The National Pork Producers Council continues to be out of touch. That's been the case since the 1990s.

NEW: ProPublica obtained records from the Department of Agriculture that detail the millions of pounds of food, down to the number of eggs, that never reached food banks because of the Trump administration’s cuts to an aid program.

This song just came on and I was like "have I already liked this one" and I had it on my like list 4 times and had put it on 5 playlists. sl.bing.net/fSU9446yVdQ

I just typed in "best affordable" and the prompt in the search came up as "pet insurance." WTF????? I was looking for stick blenders, by the way. Pet insurance.

It's a cult and USDA's Brooke Rollins is 100% in thrall to the cult leader.

Some people

Democrats running for office in red states in the middle of the country should be mocking the Republican War on Windmills. Might seem like a fringe issue to some, but it is a pocketbook issue when people are being hit with higher electric bills.

IATP submitted comments to the USDA recommending against the reorganization plan. Read our full public comment here: www.iatp.org/iatp-comment...

The entire #rural hospital + rural advocacy community was banging this drum throughout the "debate" over the budget reconciliation wealth-transfer-to-the-rich budget bill. Props to Bernie for reading the rural room and calling bs on GOP talking points in the moment.

What Drives the Rural Economy #2? Here's Where manufacturing is a major player in a rural county near you. Or maybe not at all near you if you live west of the 100th meridian.

Who among us would have thought that voters prefer populism to sucking up to the rich, cutting taxes for the ruling class, and deregulating developers and polluters? Shocking. Just completely shocking.

Want to know which rural counties are the most farming dependent in the U.S.? Here's the data, courtesy of USDA's Economic Research and my latest rural newsletter. thecocklebur.substack.com/p/what-drive...

In Laramie County, Wyoming, concerned citizens are pushing back barnraisingmedia.com/what-happens...

@bryceoates.bsky.social on the overlap between farm-heavy counties and rural depopulation. What Drives the Rural Economy? Here are the U.S. Counties Where Farming is the Anchor. open.substack.com/pub/thecockl...

For what it's worth, here are the top 10 U.S. cities for violent crime: Memphis, Detroit, Baltimore, Kansas City, Milwaukee, Albuquerque, Houston, Nashville, Denver, DC. thehill.com/homenews/adm...

#EPA Plans To Dramatically Reduce Wetland Protection Miranda Wilson reports for @eenews.bsky.social www.eenews.net/articles/epa...

This #LaborDay, it’s hard to deny that this year has been especially hard for food and farmworkers, many of whom are immigrants. 🧵⬇️

Trump recently ordered the Department of the Interior to halt work on a huge wind farm. 1,000 union workers had already completed 80% of the project. Now they're fired. He made sure the oil and gas billionaires got their tax breaks, though. Happy Labor Day, I guess.

Happy Labor Day, from me and my newsletter. thecocklebur.substack.com/p/happy-labo...

Who will now raise their hand to become the next politician in the "make'em squeal" caucus of one?

Things are not OK in farm country: Karl Adam, SD Bankers Association president said many farmers are looking at losses of $125 - $200 per acre for their corn, due to prices falling from above $7/bushel to less than $4/bushel currently southdakotasearchlight.com/2025/08/28/g... #rural #farming #sodak

I think it's funny/terrible/ridiculous/should-be-scandalous/stupid that the Trump Cabinet bootlickers fired all these federal workers and now they grandstand about their new hires to do things for us. And also predictable. Republicans love a ribbon-cutting to solve problems they create.

During the August recess, Republicans told voters that the estate tax threatens 2M family farms. Truth: Only 0.2%—wealthy mega-farms—are affected. The Rural New Deal expands land access for small & mid-size farmers, not billionaires. Read More→ buff.ly/765Rzgl

Record-high prices for beef in the grocery store, record-high profits for the world's largest beef packer.

Cracker Barrel has biscuits and gravy. And cornbread.

Oh good. Gavin Newsom.

Always read @georginagustin.bsky.social. Whether through @insideclimatenews.org or from places that re-post like @motherjones.com in this case, she's one of the best agriculture reporters around.

The degree to which conservationists who identify as "hunters and anglers" refuse to say "Republican" is just mind boggling. Want to save public lands, tell the truth. Republicans are the problem. Their platform is privatizing public resources.

I'm a very-early bird. And that often means I listen to East Coast NPR when I get out of bed even though I live in the PNW. I get a lot of news reports from the Beltway b/c of this. Today, I heard about "juvenile curfews" and that just pisses me off/rubs me the wrong way/demonstrates Trump bs.

@bryceoates.bsky.social nails it. Development is the biggest threat to farmland. Much of ag land is not growing food. This is about using farmers/food supply to attack solar. And these programs are enormously popular among farmers. open.substack.com/pub/thecockl...

Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins Takes Steps to "Protect Farmland". . . From Farmer-owned Solar Panels??? The Trump Administration is continuing its war on the clean energy boom in rural America by restricting solar investment.

Excellent op-ed on public grocery stores from @civileats.com by @rajpatel.org and @grocerynerd.bsky.social. Props to @lisaelaineh.bsky.social for sharing through email newsletter.

Trump crony and rich USDA autocrat Brooke Rollins wants to send poor people literally to the fields to work-- even those most Medicaid recipients already have jobs. jimhightower.substack.com/p/is-ag-secr...

Let's say you're from California, Colorado, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Vermont, or Washington state. And you vote by mail. And you understand how awesome it is. And convenient. And have literally zero voter fraud. And you can look up ballot measures + judges, etc. before you cast your ballot.

📌 Read our new memo on Trump's manufacturing promises: rethinktrade.org/trumptradema...

If you've ever wondered about putting baba ganoush on your fried egg sandwich, I'd say go for it.

@bryceoates.bsky.social reports on an important #FarmBill program left behind in the Republican budget bill. Without Action by September 30th, One of USDA's Largest Private Lands Conservation Programs Would Start Winding Down. open.substack.com/pub/thecockl...

If he wanted to actually be effective, Donald Trump should just replace Kristi Noem with Barack Obama as head of ICE and that would really shake things up for 2026/8 elections.

I would absolutely vote for whatever brown guy who supports raising pay for the poors and working class in New York City. And for housing and for taxing the rich and all that. But mostly, I could give 2 shits about NYC politics and their impact on national politics.

There's a lot of difference between Millions, Billions, and Trillions.

New report from @rethinktrade.bsky.social drops some data and infographics on the growing U.S. food trade deficit. Growing under Trump, too. Featuring @khetti.bsky.social + @wallachlori.bsky.social. Also, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins has thoughts. So do I.

ICYMI: Rethink Trade's Katie Hettinga released an eye-opening analysis on how the U.S.'s reliance on food imports have worsened. 📌 Read it now: rethinktrade.org/food-deficit/

If the Republicans really wanted to make America great again, again, they would have put a provision in the Big Beautiful whatever to always make the 4th of July occur on a Friday.