Brain exodus

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service could soon declare that pygmy rabbits or Florida manatees are threatened with extinction. But under a policy change issued by the Trump administration, Americans could still kill, trap and harass them.

Today in North America.

Woopsie

Markwayne Mullin threatened local election officials on Friday with prison time if they did not comply with the Trump administration’s efforts to change election policies, while reiterating many of the president’s unsubstantiated claims about the security of American elections.

Court-watchers have overlooked what may well prove to be the single most radical, atextual, consequential—and, for long-standing liberal programs and constituencies, most catastrophic—decision of the term: Landor v. Louisiana Dept. of Corrections and Public Safety.

Getting hot out there.

Am I the only one who noticed that Trump promised to sic DHS on states to purge their voter rolls? Consider what that means in the context of his firings at the Election Assistance Commission. That's coup talk, yet neither Democrats nor the media seem to be picking up on it.

ProPublica: Trump's FCC Chairman Brendan Carr and fellow Republican commissioner Olivia Trusty received pricey gifts valued at tens of thousands of dollars from Paramount while the company had deals pending before the commission.

Trump ‘repairs’ White House lawn with unauthorized helipad. The UFC was supposed to fix the South Lawn after the arena came down. Instead, Trump forged ahead with another unsanctioned project.

From @pewresearch.org: Countries around the world are now liking China more than the US and nobody knows why. It's a total mystery.

How is this reality? I feel like I'm trapped in some parallel universe where the whole world has been swallowed by a supermassive black hole of stupidity.

"When the justices need protection, Congress is a coequal branch with an indispensable constitutional role. When lawmakers ask Supreme Court justices about undisclosed gifts, conflicts of interest or enforceable ethics rules, Congress is often treated like an intruder."

The American dream

Very disappointed that @aoc.bsky.social has promised her full support for re-electing Jeffries as Speaker.

Probably even less in the US.

That you, Elaine?

Irony is dead

If you want to watch a lesser-known Sam Neill film, check out this weird and wonderful, largely forgotten 1991 sci-fi by Wim Wenders. It's eerily prescient of the world we live in today, exploring our addiction to digital technology and how it can make us lose touch with reality.

Now this one cuts deep.

Imagine starting a war with a country for no reason. You have the biggest army in the world at your command. But not only do you fail to beat your enemy, you actually leave it more powerful than it was before. And still you believe yourself to be the bestest and smartestest presadont of all tyme!

Schrödinger's Mitch.

Reading between the lines, I think it's clear where they're going with this.

Whoa

"It’s long past time that we discarded the old, cobwebby mythologies about “American leadership” and our alleged defense of freedom and human rights, and look at our nation’s foreign policy for what it really is, in its full horror."

Oil and gas production is projected to reach 26.16 million barrels of oil equivalent per day by 2030, up 14% from 22.90 million in 2024. This planned increase is incompatible with the production cuts needed to keep warming to 1.5°C or below 2°C.

The message being that if you're on the Trump Train, you can be a foot soldier in a coup d'état, attack Congress, beat up cops, threaten to execute elected officials, and get off scot-free. But if you're a leftist blocking traffic, it's OK to murder you in cold blood.

Oil and gas production is projected to reach 26.16 million barrels of oil equivalent per day by 2030, up 14% from 22.90 million in 2024. This planned increase is incompatible with the production cuts needed to keep warming to 1.5°C or below 2°C.

The message being that if you're on the Trump Train, you can be a foot soldier in a coup d'état, attack Congress, beat up cops, threaten to execute elected officials, and get off scot-free. But if you're a leftist blocking traffic, it's OK to murder you in cold blood.

I have no words for how deep my hatred of Trump and his vile administration goes. This is unforgivable: the worst fucking thing this grotesque caricature of a human being and his gang of degenerate flying monkeys have done to date. To hell with the lot of them. May they rot in their own excretions.

Let's retire "tell me you didn't without telling me you didn't" now, shall we? It was fun for a while, but now it's just grating.

I have no words for how deep my hatred of Trump and his vile administration goes. This is unforgivable: the worst fucking thing this grotesque caricature of a human being and his gang of degenerate flying monkeys have done to date. To hell with the lot of them. May they rot in their own excretions.

I just posted this: www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

📌BREAKING: Trump has opened the habitats of imperiled animals to corporate raiders in the most severe erosion of protections for wildlife in 50 yrs. I hate him and anybody who supports him with the power of a million burning suns. They are sickening, bloodthirsty fucks. LEAVE THE ANIMALS ALONE.

Trump has fired the two remaining Democratic members of the bipartisan Election Assistance Commission. The final member, a Republican, resigned. It’s the independent federal agency that certifies voting systems, supports election officials and maintains the national mail voter registration form.

Kirsten Gillibrand’s 22-year-old son, a Stanford grad and former Andreessen Horowitz fellow, just raised $30M for his crypto startup in a round led by Peter Thiel-linked Lux Capital. Gillibrand has received major crypto donations and been a key Democratic ally of the industry.

Baby boomers are set to pass trillions of dollars on to their heirs in the next two decades, but the huge transfer of riches will mostly benefit Gen X and millennial heirs who are already wealthy.

Much easier than fighting Republicans I guess.

My money is on Troy Jackson.

Kevin McCarthy on Platner Allegations: That one thing I know about Republicans is when we had a very bad candidate, we didn't vote for that person. We walked away.

No worries, Trump will fix it.

Credible allegations of sexual assault cannot be ignored. Voters in Maine deserve a choice for US Senate that doesn’t force them to make a moral compromise between sexual violence or corporate servitude.

😕