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Lefty Stacks
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Substacks by leftist commentators, with a bias towards concrete action and protest.
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Trump destroys our source of information about jobs. This is beyond irresponsible.
(robertreich.substack.com)
Friends,
Sorry to intrude again on your day, but this is urgent.
I spent much of the 1990s as Secretary of Labor. One unit of the Labor Department is the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
I was instructed by my predecessors as well as by the White House, and by every labor economist and statistician I came in contact with, that one of my cardinal responsibilities was to guard the independence of the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Otherwise, this crown jewel of knowledge about jobs and the economy would be compromised. If politicized, it would no longer be trusted as a source of information.
So what does Trump do? With one fell swoop on Friday he essentially destroyed the credibility of the BLS.
Trump didn’t like the fact that the BLS revised downward its jobs reports for April and May.
Well that's too bad. Revisions in monthly jobs reports are nothing new. They’re made when the Bureau gets more or better information over time, which it often does.
Yet with no basis in fact, Trump charged that Erika McEntarfer, the Commissioner of Labor Statistics, “rigged” the data “to make the Republicans, and ME, look bad.” Then he ordered her fired and replaced with someone else — presumably someone whose data Trump will approve of.
How can anyone in the future trust the information that emerges from the Bureau of Labor Statistics when the person in charge of the agency has to come up with data to Trump’s liking in order to stay in the job? Answer: They cannot.
Trump has destroyed the credibility of this extraordinarily important source of information.
When Trump doesn’t like the message he shoots the messenger, and replaces the messenger with someone who will come up with messages he approves of. So we’re left without credible sources of information about what is really occurring.
Trump is in the process of trying to do the same with the Federal Reserve — demanding that Jerome Powell, the Fed’s chair, cut interest rates. Trump is even threatening Powell with a Trumped-up expose of Powell’s supposed extravagance in refurbishing the Fed as a means of forcing Powell to do his bidding or resign.
What happens to the Fed’s credibility if Powell gives in to Trump? It loses it.
In the future, we wouldn’t have confidence that the Fed is fighting inflation, as rigorously as it should. And without that confidence, longer-term interest rates will spike because investors will assume that there’s no inflation cop on the beat, and therefore will demand a higher risk premium.
Trump hates facts that he disagrees with. That’s why he’s dismembering the Environmental Protection Agency, which has repeatedly shown that climate change isn’t a “hoax,” as Trump claims, but more like a national emergency.
It’s why Trump is attacking American universities, whose whose scientists are developing wind and solar energy, and whose historians have revealed America’s tragic history of racism and genocide of indigenous people.
He is killing off the Centers for Disease Control and the National Institutes of Health, which are showing the sources of sickness and disease and how we can guard against them.
This is a man and a regime that doesn’t want the public to know the truth. He is turning America into George Orwell’s dystopian 1984.
The Trumping of America is happening so fast and in so many places that it's hard to see the whole. Which partly explains why he doesn't want the facts out. He doesn't want us to know how bad it really is.
Help spread the truth. Help organize and mobilize against this calamity.
From Robert Reich via this RSS feed
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Hi, all, and happy Friday.
This opening will consist mostly of a couple of housekeeping bits. Why? Because I’m not sure it’s worth delving into Trump’s illegal new tariffs—the biggest news of the day—until we’re sure they’ll actually take effect in a week. I do know the markets are already freaking out about them—if they continue that way I almost guarantee Trump will “TACO” again. This has become predictable, ironically, as the only thing Trump does seem to care about is the stock market. But who knows? Maybe this time he’ll actually stick to his guns. Either way, I’ll weigh in once we know what’s actually real.
On to the housekeeping:
First, I’m aware that the link for dontinflateourplates.com didn’t work for everyone yesterday. I’m not sure why, as it worked for me. Anyway, sorry about that! Here it is again; this one works for sure. The timing on this website couldn’t be better, as inflation is worsening rapidly and it’s important that we draw a line between high prices and Trump’s policies.
Next, a word to anyone who attended last night’s You Tube event with Senator Wyden. I know that I, for one, was initially underwhelmed by it, mostly because I’d been expecting something longer. Upon further reflection, however, I do think there was some quite explosive information contained therein, and that Senator Wyden’s line of inquiry could prove to be critical over time.
Basically, Wyden’s staff has been researching the financial aspect of Epstein’s crimes for over three years now, working with Republican Senators’ staffers in a bipartisan way through the Senate Commerce Committee. They got access to a classified Treasury file and found over 4000 wire transfers related to Epstein, all through one bank, and worth 1 billion dollars in total. Wyden believes the transfers involve sex trafficking and that if we could see their details we would learn an enormous amount about who was involved in Epstein’s activities. It does seem as if there are ties to Russia there, as well. The whole thing stinks to high Heaven. I’m encouraged to know that Wyden and his staff are doggedly pursing this line of inquiry.
You can watch the 8-minute video here.
We will keep tabs on this investigation and do what we can to demand transparency from the DOJ. We likely won’t get it under this administration, of course, but if we make enough noise we might be able to move the needle a bit. And, of course, when we flip the House next year we will have subpoena power again. This will help immeasurably.
The takeaway from all of this? Let’s not let the Epstein issue die. It’s crucial that we get justice for the victims, and that whomever is involved not escape accountability.
Finally, I want to let you know that next week I will be taking a one-week break from the newsletter. I hate to do this—in fact I only do do it twice a year—but sometimes even I need to rest. By Saturday, too, we will have 17 family members here in Nova Scotia, and I want to enjoy them as much as I can.
Obviously if anything explosive happens I’ll pop in.
Barring that, have a glorious week, my friends. Don’t forget that 5 Calls is always there with scripts if you need them. But I hope you, too, get a bit of rest.
But for now let’s forgo talk of rest and get to work!
Call Your Senators (find yours here or use this list to find staffer contact info) 📲
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is ______.
First, I just learned that Trump has quietly put a Texas wealth manager with no conservation experience in charge of our national parks and wildlife refuges. His name is Kevin Lilly. Trump has a track record of keeping unqualified people like Lilly in their positions in an acting capacity because they would never get Senate confirmation. I want the Senator to make sure this doesn’t happen here. Our National Parks deserve qualified, Senate-confirmed leadership. Lilly is not it.
Second, I know that Democrats reintroduced the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act this week; I want the Senator to co-sponsor it. Every American, regardless of zip code, skin color, or income level, deserves to have their voice heard at the ballot box. We need this bill now. Thanks.
Call Your House Rep (find yours here or use this list to find staffer contact info) 📲 📲
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is _______.
I know that Democrats reintroduced the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act this week; I want the Congressmember to co-sponsor it. The bill number in the House is HR 14. Every American, regardless of zip code, skin color, or income level, deserves to have their voice heard at the ballot box. We need this bill now. Thanks.
Extra Credit ✅
Call your state’s Governor (find contact info for yours here) and say:
Hi, my name is [NAME] and I’m a constituent from [CITY.]
I'm calling to ask that the Governor publicly condemn the radical redistricting process happening in Texas. All state leaders must speak out against the dangerous precedent established by this blatantly partisan gerrymandering.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
[H/T 5 Calls]
Get Smart! 📚
Help Improve Local TV News — at the FCC and in our home towns!
The Media and democracy Project is hosting an event on Monday August 4 at 8pm ET with legendary media reform activist Sue Wilson (an Emmy-winning investigative journalist turned media reformer).
The event has two purposes: discuss what's brewing in local TV ownership and why that matters to democracy; and alsohow to engage as individuals and communities in media reform and advocacy.
Monday August 4, 2025 8pm ET via Zoom.
Messaging! Messaging! Messaging! 📣
Here are some key facts on Trump’s recent economic failures, courtesy of Defend America Action. Make sure you share them widely!
Today’s jobs report showed that the economy added just 73,000 jobs in July — well below market expectations
Layoff announcements are at their highest level since the first half of 2020.
Nearly two-thirds of Americans disapprove of Trump’s handling of inflation
Stellantis will lose $2.7 billion due partly to tariffs
GM’s second-quarter profits fell 32% due to Trump’s tariffs
Trump tariffs added $1.1 billion in costs to GM
Canada tariffs could add $14,000 to the cost of building a home by 2027
Beef prices are hitting record highs, rising nearly 9% this year
On Trump’s Deep Unpopularity:
Just 1 in 4 American adults say Trump’s policies have helped them
56% disapprove of Trump’s handling of the presidency
6 in 10 Americans oppose Trump and Republicans’ big, ugly bill
69% of Americans believe the Trump administration is hiding information about Jeffrey Epstein
Only 16% approve of the Trump administration’s handling of its investigation into the Epstein case
Give 💰!
Lots of us are worried about the Trump Administration’s attacks on the environment and our climate progress. Fortunately there’s one organization that’s fighting back and winning. That’s Earthjustice. It’s a nonprofit legal organization that has been fighting in the courts and alongside communities for planet earth–and clean air and water–since 1971! Simply put, they’re the Earth’s lawyers because our planet really needs a good one. They’re also in need of our support!
Earthjustice fights at every level to accelerate the transition to clean, renewable energy and end dependence on fossil fuels and protect public health. They represent hundreds of clients and partners – big and small – always free of charge. Why? Well, they believe that justice shouldn’t have a price tag. I agree!
Since Trump has been in office this second time around, Earthjustice has already filed several major lawsuits against his Administration—including against his huge EPA cuts and the building of a detention camp the Florida Everglades.
Earthjustice knows that at this moment, it’s not enough to focus solely on a strong defense against regulatory rollbacks.They are also committed to actively continue the work to build the thriving, sustainable, healthy world that is still within reach.
Anyway, if you’ve been wanting to support an environmental org, Earthjustice would be the one I’d pick. In fact I’m partnering with them to help them raise money because, well, I want my kid to have a livable future. If you do, too, please consider donating if you can. Individual supporters help to power their ability to fight back. We want them to keep being able to do the good work we really need! Donate Here!
P.S.
Check out their litigation tracker here–it’s really impressive. And if you want to see how often they’ve won just this year read this!
Win Races! 🗳
Want to write postcards that are data-proven to turn out environmentally-minded voters?
Sign up for the Environmental Voter Project’s postcarding training on Aug. 6, 1pm ET / 10am PT so you can take part in their upcoming Georgia postcarding efforts. Note: even if you've written postcards for other organizations, you still must attend an EVP training before writing postcards with them. But it’s worth it, I promise! EVP will send you the postcards and their scripts are blissfully short and effective!
Resistbot Letter (new to Resistbot? Go here! And then here.) 💻
[To: all 3 reps] [H/T] [Text SIGN PIBWZV to 50409, or to @Resistbot on Apple Messages, Messenger, Instagram, or Telegram]
(Note that for the most effective RESISTBOT it’s best to personalize this text. More about how to do this here. But if you’re short on time just send it as is using the above code.)
Senators Ron Wyden, Mike Crapo, and a bipartisan group of staffers have found evidence of over 4,000 wire transfers associated with Jeffrey Epstein’s sex-trafficking ring. Details of those transfers, which total over a billion dollars, are in the possession of the Treasury Department. I’m writing to say that they must now be made available to the Senate Finance Committee so that the bipartisan team there can uncover the truth. This is something that Pam Bondi can require immediately, and she should.
Senator Wyden’s team saw the names of women and girls in these transfers. It is almost certain that this money was for sex trafficking. We need more information about who was wiring this money and to whom.
No matter who was involved with Jeffrey Epstein the truth must come out. Please push the Dept. of Treasury to release all of these files to the Senate Finance Committee now. Thanks.
OK, you did it again! You’re helping to save democracy! You’re amazing.
Talk soon.
Jess
Chop Wood, Carry Water is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
From Chop Wood, Carry Water via this RSS feed
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Capital Vol. 1, Chapter 15, Section 3B (1867) by Karl Marx. Human-read Audiobook of Marxist Theory
(socialismforall.substack.com)
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Capital Vol. 1, Chapter 15, Section 3A (1867) by Karl Marx. Human-read Audiobook of Marxist Theory
(socialismforall.substack.com)
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[Join me for my Saturday livestream on 8/2/2025 at 9am PDT / 12pm EDT.]
It has only been three weeks since the last No King’s Day protest, but we are badly in need of No King’s Day 2.0! Trump entered full “Mad-King” mode on Thursday. Although Trump long ago took leave of his senses, Thursday’s actions portrayed the president in a pitched battle with reality. Reality always wins; it’s just a question of “when.”
Before reviewing Thursday’s events, it is worth reminding ourselves why it matters. Trump’s second term has been a continuous violation of the Constitution. He has destroyed long-standing norms of presidential ethics and respect for the rule of law. He has compromised the independence of the DOJ, FBI, and agencies designed by Congress to operate free from presidential influence. He has transformed the presidency into the cashier of a cryptocurrency scam. He has leveraged America’s global standing and military might into a deal-making platform for the Trump Organization golf resort empire.
All of the above (and more) undermine American democracy. Unfortunately, most of the legacy media have normalized or under-reported Trump's abnormal behavior. They are either intimidated by his bullying or besotted with their flawed commitment to “fairness” and “balance” in an asymmetrical world where one party is defending democracy and the other is doing its best to destroy it.
Here’s my point: Somebody needs to say the important part out loud, repeatedly and with vigor. That is us. We must speak for the rule of law, for democratic norms, for checks and balances, and integrity, honesty, and decency. If we don’t, no one will. If we raise our voices long enough and loud enough, others will notice.
Professor Erica Chenoweth of the Harvard Kennedy School has published a study on what it takes for resistance movements to succeed in saving democracies. See Harvard Magazine, The Harvard Professor Who Quantified Democracy. Take some time over the weekend to read the article in a moment of calm reflection. It will inspire confidence that if enough of us resist in a disciplined way over the long term, the odds favor our eventual success.
Professor Chenoweth’s study found that four conditions helped resistance movements to succeed:
· They mobilized mass participation by diverse groups of people, who stayed involved over time.
· They induced defections among those with power in the regime—economic and business elites, state media officials, security forces, and sometimes even members of the opposition party.
· They varied their methods to keep the pressure up, relying not only on protests but also strikes, boycotts, work slowdowns or outright stoppages, sit-ins, civil disobedience, and other forms of noncooperation.
· They were able to maintain discipline in the face of escalating repression without falling apart or turning to violence.
Chenoweth’s studies emphasize the need for increasing scale, persistence, and discipline. As I see it, the grassroots base is meeting each of those metrics in resisting Trump.
Trump's most recent efforts to exercise imperial authority over a constitutional democracy should spur us to greater action. Rather than looking away in fear and disgust, we must look forward with determination and confidence. If we do that, others will follow.
So, with that spine-stiffening perspective in mind, let’s take a look at the autocratic actions of an out-of-control and out-of-touch wannabe king.
Trump tells pharmaceutical companies that they must lower US prices to match prices in Europe.
US presidents do not control retail prices or the terms on which private participants in commerce conduct business. But Trump believes otherwise. On Thursday, he told US pharmaceutical companies that they must reduce the cost of some of their drugs to match European prices by September. See NYTimes, Trump Demands That Drugmakers Lower Some of Their U.S. Prices by September. (Accessible to all.)
Per the NYTimes, in a letter to pharmaceutical companies, Trump wrote
If you refuse to step up, we will deploy every tool in our arsenal to protect American families from continued abusive drug pricing practices.
In an egregious understatement that attempts to normalize unconstitutional and illegal demands by the president, the Times writes,
His administration has not put forward a clear legal authority to compel them to lower their prices.
Uh, let me rewrite that sentence for the Times: “Trump's demand is illegal and unconstitutional. Moreover, the president is suggesting concerted action to fix prices among competitors, a violation of US antitrust laws.”
Trump has no authority to order companies to change prices simply because he believes they are too high. He is detached from reality. That’s the story, legacy media!
Smithsonian removes references to Trump's two impeachments in exhibit on impeachment.
Trump is forcing the Smithsonian to remove references to his impeachments in an exhibit discussing impeachments. See Irish Star, Smithsonian gives in to pressure and removes references to Trump's impeachments from exhibit. (I am citing to the Irish Star so I can provide a link to the story other than the Washington Post, which is the original source.)
Per the Irish Star,
References to Donald Trump's two impeachments have been stripped from an exhibit at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.
A source with knowledge of the exhibit plans told the Washington Post that the modification occurred during a content review the Smithsonian agreed to conduct after White House pressure to oust an art museum director.
Trump is forcing a world-leading museum to rewrite American history to conceal his disgrace. Trump is out of touch with reality. And the Smithsonian has just destroyed its reputation as a trusted source for interpreting US history. What a disgrace.
The Smithsonian says that it will “update” the exhibit at some point in the future. Spare us, please! We know that the update will attempt to minimize, exonerate, and excuse the underlying criminal behavior that resulted in Trump's two impeachments.
Trump plans to build a $200 million “ballroom” at the White House.
Trump is attempting to remake the White House in the image of Mar-a-Lago, the once classic home of Marjorie Post, now a trashy “golf resort” that boasted Jeffrey Epstein as a member. (According to Trump, Epstein “stole” a sixteen-year-old intern, Virginia Giuffre, from the Mar-a-Lago spa. No reputable spa requires the services of a sixteen-year-old girl.)
Trump has already removed the iconic White House Rose Garden and replaced it with a sterile plaza of interlocking concrete paver stones featured prominently in driveways across America. See photo included in Talking Points Memo, President Trump Actually Paved Over the Rose Garden.
Trump is now proposing the construction of a $200 million ballroom at the White House—a feature appropriate for a convention hotel or a European palace, but not “the People’s House” in America. See ABC, Trump is building a new $200 million ballroom at the White House.
Worse, the ballroom will be larger than the existing White House! See Forbes, Trump’s $200 Million Ballroom Addition Is Larger Than The Existing White House.
The ballroom will radically change a building that is instantly identifiable as a symbol of America. Instead of symbolizing stability and strength, the White House will reflect opulence and entertainment—a slap in the face of the Constitution and the American people.
Trump wants to be a king. Congress must stop him. No president should have the authority to change a national landmark to assuage personal feelings of insecurity and deficiency.
Trump's tariff frenzy
The president has no constitutional or statutory authority to unilaterally impose reciprocal or punitive tariffs. On Thursday, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit gave Trump's arguments to the contrary a frosty reception. See Politico, Trump’s tariffs get frosty reception at federal appeals court.
The Federal Circuit judges were hearing arguments on the appeal from a ruling by the U.S. Court of International Trade, which ruled in May that Trump's tariffs violated the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). The Court of International Trade issued a preliminary injunction preventing the implementation of the tariffs. That preliminary injunction was stayed, pending appeal.
Based on the reaction of judges during oral argument on Thursday, it appears that the ruling of the Court of International Trade will be upheld. Accordingly, the only colorable statutory basis for Trump's tariffs will be eliminated. Thus, the gallons of ink spilled and trillions of electrons sent discussing Trump's tariffs are for naught. Trump's tariffs are illegal in the first instance, and accordingly, they are null and void. The discussion that follows must be qualified by the fundamental fact that Trump has no authority to impose tariffs unilaterally.
For once, the NYTimes’ headline captures the inanity of Trump's actions. See NYTimes, White House Forges Ahead with Global Trade War. Per the Times,
The order set tariff rates, ranging from 10 to 41 percent, for 67 countries, Taiwan and the European Union. In an unexpected move, Mr. Trump said the tariffs will take effect at 12:01 a.m. on Aug. 7. He had established an Aug. 1 deadline months ago.
Trump singled out Canada for harsh treatment because of the Canadian government’s plan to recognize the state of Palestine later this year. See AP News, Trump using Canada's recognition of Palestinian state in trade talks
Likewise, Trump is imposing punitive tariffs on Brazil because that country is prosecuting its former president for corruption.
Using tariffs to force compliance with Trump's foreign policy converts an already illegal tariff into an indefensible tariff.
We will likely hear from the Federal Circuit soon, telling us that all of Trump’s tariffs are invalid.
Concluding Thoughts
A proximate cause of the American colonists’ rebellion against King George III was “taxation without representation.” Trump is following in the footsteps of the Mad King—in more ways than one. Trump is devoting substantial time and effort to negotiating trade deals featuring illegal tariffs.
There will be a collision at some point in the future between Trump and reality. Reality will win. In the meantime, we must raise our voices in protest and indignation so that others understand that Trump is acting without the consent of the governed.
We must convince others to join us in resisting Trump's illegal actions. When enough of us come together, we can redeem democracy for all of us. Let’s get moving on No Kings Day 2.0 so that we can hasten the day when the rule of law will once again reign supreme in the United States.
Daily Dose of Perspective
The Gamma Cygni Nebula is 4,900 light years away from our solar system and 100 light years in diameter. The star that appears to be at the center of the nebula is “12 solar masses and 150 times the Sun’s radius, [and] about 33,000 times more luminous than the Sun.” Gamma Cygni Nebula (Sadr Region) – Constellation Guide.
From Today's Edition Newsletter via this RSS feed
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Friends,
This isn’t an investment letter and I’m not an investment advisor. But I want to warn you. The financial economy — stocks, bonds, and their derivatives — is in for a big reality check, and I think it will happen soon.
The real economy is showing worrisome signs. Yesterday’s Commerce Department report about the U.S. economy’s performance in the second quarter — April to June — revealed serious strains.
Although consumer spending is up from the first quarter, the 1.4 percent rate of growth in the second is nothing to write home about. It’s slower than the growth rate throughout most of the Biden administration.
Also worrisome is that U.S. exports fell during the second quarter, particularly in the auto sector.
And real final sales to private domestic purchasers — which reflect consumer spending and private investment — increased just 1.2 percent in the second quarter. That’s down from the first three months of the year.
And remember: Trump’s big tariffs haven’t hit yet. They go into effect tomorrow. That will cause prices to rise and consumers to pull back. Trump has set a 50 percent tariff on semi-finished copper imports. He has also imposed a 50 percent tariff on Brazilian goods, following through with his threat to punish the country over several political disputes. Canada will see tariffs on many of its exports to the United States increased to 35 percent from 25 percent.
Yet despite all this worrisome news, investors are going nuts buying up super-risky assets.
The financial economy is immersed in the kind of wild gambling we saw leading up to the 2008 financial crisis. We’re seeing it all over again — this time with cryptocurrency tokens, meme stocks, junk bonds, shares of Meta and Microsoft, and the reemergence of blank-check entities (better known as SPACs, or special purpose acquisition companies).
I attribute all the high-risk gambling to the high-risk gambling of the gambler-in-chief who sits in the Oval Office. He’s into crypto and meme stocks, and has done well with his own blank-check entity. Plus, he’s a conman’s conman.
Investors figure he must know what he’s doing — and even if he doesn’t, he’s shown no compunctions about using every lever of government power to keep the party going. So investors are following him, although more and more of these investments look like pyramid schemes — whose return depends on recruiting ever more people into buying and selling them, until some schnooks are left holding the bag.
Meanwhile, investors are pouring money into AI, without knowing what it is or which if any corporation will come out on top. Meta’s revenue jumped 22 percent year over year to $47.5 billion and beat Wall Street’s targets by the widest margin in more than four years. Microsoft has also made huge investments in AI.
The AI gold rush started three years ago with the launch of ChatGPT, and most of the financial rewards so far have gone to Nvidia — whose revenue has jumped 10-fold since ChatGPT’s launch, with its market cap crossing the $4 trillion mark earlier this month.
This does feel like a gold rush. And it’s taking place on top of the most blatant corruption this country has witnessed since the first Gilded Age of the late nineteenth century.
As Trump and his family make hundreds of millions of dollars off of crypto, Trump is pushing crypto and changing the laws to encourage more use of it. In a landmark report issued yesterday, the Trump regime laid out a series of recommendations aimed at further promoting cryptocurrency markets.
Senator Elizabeth Warren and two Democratic colleagues questioned the nation’s new stablecoin regulator, newly confirmed Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan Gould, over how he’ll respond to pressure from Trump as the agency begins overseeing the stablecoin market — where the Trump family business is now a player with its own stablecoin.
Gould is in the early stages of implementing the new stablecoin regulatory regime created under the GENIUS Act, which Trump signed into law earlier this month. The legislation gives the Comptroller expanded oversight of nonbank stablecoin issuers.
It’s starting to feel as if the financial economy is no longer moored to the real one. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent went so far yesterday as to characterize the new “Trump accounts” — tax-deferred investment accounts created in Trump’s sweeping Big Ugly tax law earlier this month — as a “transformative tool” for building long-term wealth and a “backdoor for privatizing Social Security.”
Hello? So the Trump regime wants us to give up on Social Security and become gamblers in the stock and bond markets? At the very time when the finance is becoming so frothy that such gambling is exceptionally risky?
Well, you know the outcome: The little guys will get hurt and the biggest gamblers will get away with it because they’ll get out just in time or they’ll get the government to bail them out. That was the story of 2008. It’s likely to be the story again.
So, my friends, please beware. I’m not suggesting you cash in your stocks and bonds, but if I were you I wouldn’t follow the crowd into more risky investments. Again, I’m not an investment advisor, but there’s so much wild gambling going on right now that I fear we’re soon in for another financial crisis.
From Robert Reich via this RSS feed
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Friends,
Some people tell me that I should be talking more about the climate crisis than the crisis of democracy.
But you know something? We can’t deal with the climate crisis unless our democracy is saved.
Lee Zeldin, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, just announced that the Trump administration will revoke the scientific determination that underpins the government’s legal authority to combat climate change — the “endangerment finding” of 2009, which concluded that planet-warming greenhouse gases pose a threat to public health.
That simple finding has allowed administration after administration to set strict limits on greenhouse gas emissions from cars, power plants, and other industrial sources of pollution.
Without it, the EPA will have no authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate the greenhouse gas emissions that are accumulating in the atmosphere from the burning of fossil fuels, leading to rising seas, fiercer storms, more deadly heat waves, and other extreme weather events.
What the hell are they doing?
I’m old enough to remember Rachel Carson’s 1962 classic Silent Spring and her riveting story about the widespread pesticide poisoning of man and nature. Her book fueled public demands for direct government action to protect the environment — not for its future exploitation, but for its own innate value.
Environmentalism became a political movement that sought not only to preserve the Earth but to regulate and punish those who polluted it.
Sensing the groundswell, Presidents Kennedy and Johnson added the environment to their speeches and legislative programs. In his 1964 and 1965 messages to Congress, Johnson spoke forcefully about safeguarding wilderness and repairing damaged environments.
The environmental movement continued to grow, boosted by a public increasingly concerned about the quality of air and water.
Richard Nixon invoked the environment during the bitter presidential election of 1968. Then, as president in 1969 and 1970, he directed a succession of sweeping measures that vastly expanded the federal regulatory protections afforded the environment, including the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency.
Why, then, are we heading backward — precisely at a time when greenhouse gases have begun to cause environmental disaster?
Because our democracy has been captured by large corporations, including the oil and gas industries, intent on turning back the clock on environmental protection. They poured money into the campaigns of politicians — like Trump — who promised to gut it. He openly promised Big Oil and gas he’d get rid of all environmental regulations if they supported him in the 2024 election.
We cannot deal with the climate crisis unless our democracy is strengthened to reflect the will of the people rather than the profits of giant corporations.
Democracy and the environment are not two separate issues, of which we must choose one. They are in many respects the same. But democracy is the foundation for all else. If we lose it — as we are in the process of doing — we can’t do anything, because there’s no “we.”
From Robert Reich via this RSS feed
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Hi, all, and happy Thursday.
So much going on! I don’t even know where to start.
I feel like I come here every day and say the same things: This is hard. I know we’re all exhausted. The Republican party is morally bankrupt. Trump is deeply corrupt. What happened today (fill in the blank) was awful and we shouldn’t normalize it. I know it hurts.
But also this:
You are heroes. We are doing this. One day at a time we’ll get through this. We are in this fight. We’ll survive if we stick together. Keep taking action. We will win.
They’re simple truisms, and I know they can’t bear all the weight you’re feeling. I know you still have to dig deep to find the strength to keep going another day. I know sometimes it feels like you simply can’t keep going. And yet you do.
You often write to me to say things like: “I don’t know how I’d do this without you.” And I appreciate it. But the truth is, you could do it without me, and you would. I’m like the feather Dumbo grips in his trunk that makes him think he can fly.
It’s not the feather.
You have all the strength you need for this moment. You are brilliant. You may not be fearless, but you are capable of acting through your fear—the essence of courage. You see no barriers—only opportunities to change direction or modify tactics. You are joyful. You are funny. You are hopeful in the truest sense, which isn’t so much about a feeling as it is about an attitude you take towards life. You keep going when all seems lost. You believe in the possibilities of tomorrow.
You, quite simply, are the reason we will prevail.
I love you so much, folks. I know this isn’t a newsy opening—heck, it’s not even a particularly coherent one—but sometimes we just have to remember the fundamentals.
And those are this: It’s not the feather. It’s you. Never forget it.
Let’s get to work.
On the Practivist Pod
Steve and I discuss Trump's continuing no good, very bad, terrible week both at home and abroad as the Epstein scandal and his asinine trade wars create ever-lower approval ratings. We also talk about the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Then we get some practical advice about how to make an impact by helping to amplify Democratic messages from the Executive Director of DemCast, Nick Knudsen.
Listen here or watch here (after 11:30AM ET).
Call Your Senators (find yours here or use this list to find staffer contact info) 📲
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is ______.
First, I understand that Senate Democrats are trying to force the Trump administration to release material connected to the Epstein investigation using something called the ‘rule of five.’ I support this move and want the Senator to as well. The American public is not going to forget about this. We want to see those files and we won’t stop asking until they are released.
Also, I know the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee advanced a bill yesterday that would prevent members of Congress, the president and the vice president from stock trading while in office. This bill is a must-pass. I expect the Senator to co-sponsor it. Thanks.
Call Your House Rep (find yours here or use this list to find staffer contact info) 📲 📲
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is _______.
First, I’m calling to express my horror and outrage that the confidential data of tax payers and Medicaid enrollees is being shared with ICE. I want the Congressmember to vocally oppose this illegal data-sharing, which furthers this administration's attacks against immigrant communities and endangers the privacy and civil rights of all Americans. [H/T]
Also, we want to see the Epstein files. We need to know if our president, any members of his administration, or any other lawmakers are covering for—or were involved with—a sex trafficker. This should be uncontroversial. Release the files or be complicit. Thanks.
Extra Credit ✅
Don’t Inflate Our Plates is a new digital platform tracking the rising cost of everyday groceries in real time— and connecting those price hikes to Republican-backed tariffs and economic policies that are making life harder for working families.
The cost of living is skyrocketing — and it’s hitting us in our kitchens. Essentials like eggs, meat, and coffee have gotten way more expensive — fast. These price hikes aren’t random — they’re being driven by Republicans in Congress. Congressional Republicans could have stopped these cost-raising tariffs – yet they voted to allow Trump to continue to raise prices on the goods we buy every week. Why? To fund their broader agenda – to give tax breaks to billionaires and major corporations.
The Don’t Inflate Our Plates website goes live TODAY! Please check it out and share with friends and family who don’t understand how Trump and Republicans’ tariffs are making everything more costly!!
Get Smart…on Epstein! 📚
The SCC is dropping an exclusive interview tonight with Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) on his 3 year investigation into the Epstein case. As one of the only people to have actually seen the classified Epstein files at the Treasury Department, Wyden will explain how America’s biggest banks enabled Epstein’s crimes, and how the Trump Administration helped cover it up. It should be very, very good.
The video goes live at 6PM PT / 9PM ET TONIGHT—or you can watch it anytime after. YouTube link is here.
Give 💰!
The National Day Laborer Network—an amazing and reputable org—posted this fundraiser for the Gonzalez family yesterday. If anyone can help please do.
From Mia Gonzalez:
I am the only child of an immigrant father who was taken from me on June 18, 2025. In an effort to help him, I hired a lawyer named Salvador Ortiz. Unfortunately, he deceived me—taking my money without ever opening a case for my father, who remains in a detention center. To date, I’ve spent over $6,000 on legal fees, and I’m now working multiple jobs to raise the funds needed to secure his release on bond.
My father is a good man, he has always respected the law and done right by others. I am doing everything I can to bring him home, and any support you can offer would mean the world to us. With faith and determination, I believe he’ll be home soon.
Win Races! 🗳
Have you always wanted to host a postcard party but weren't sure what supplies and instructions you needed? Markers For Democracy has you covered! Some of their postcarding gathering experts will lead a workshop on How to Host a Postcard Party on Wednesday, August 6 from 8 pm to 9 pm ET. Join them and you'll be ready to host your own party when everyone is writing postcards before the November elections. There will be a presentation, followed by a Q & A so come with questions!
Resistbot Letter (new to Resistbot? Go here! And then here.) 💻
[To: all 3 reps] [H/T ] [Text SIGN PMDEYP to 50409, or to @Resistbot on Apple Messages, Messenger, Instagram, or Telegram]
(Note that for the most effective RESISTBOT it’s best to personalize this text. More about how to do this here. But if you’re short on time just send it as is using the above code.)
Coleman Rogers wrote a great letter about an issue I think is REALLY important. It’s called “Congress must act immediately to federally manage fresh water resources**.”** It’s a bit on the long side so I’m not going to copy and paste the whole thing. Read the letter here and then send it by texting SIGN PMDEYP to 50409.
OK, you did it again! You’re helping to save democracy! You’re amazing.
Talk soon.
Jess
Chop Wood, Carry Water is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
From Chop Wood, Carry Water via this RSS feed
11
1
Capital Vol. 1, Chapter 15, Section 2 (1867) by Karl Marx. Human-read Audiobook of Marxist Theory
(socialismforall.substack.com)
12
Friends,
Today I want to describe for you the specific mechanism of control the Trump regime is using over the core institutions of America — the media, higher education, our largest corporations, and Wall Street.
It's all in the fine print.
Start with CBS. It’s now owned by Skydance Media. Under its Trump-appointed chairman, Brendan Carr, the Federal Communications Commission insisted, as a condition of allowing Paramount to sell CBS to Skydance, that the new owner install an “ombudsman.”
What will that ombudsman do? According to Skydance Media’s agreement with the FCC, the ombudsman will “receive and evaluate any complaints of bias or other concerns involving CBS” for at least two years.
The agreement doesn’t specify the meaning of “bias,” nor does it define whose “complaints” are to be responded to, nor enumerate what “other concerns” might trigger action. But none of this is difficult to imagine. Trump himself could complain of CBS’s bias or anything else. In fact, he probably will. He already has at least once.
If the ombudsman then decides that any complaint of bias or other concern is justified, CBS will have to remedy it. If the ombudsman decides that CBS has not remedied it, Skydance Media’s new president, David Ellison, must do so.
If Ellison does not remedy it — or if Trump believes the problem continues, regardless of what the ombudsman decides — the Trump regime can claim that CBS has reneged on its agreement, in which case Skydance’s ownership of CBS could be contested by the FCC. Its stock price would plummet.
Note that this method of Trump control is indirect but powerful. The regime doesn’t have to assert control over CBS; it just retains the power to do so. And it’s up to Trump to determine what CBS will have to do to avoid being found to be “biased” or avoid any “other concern.”
This mechanism of control is similar at Columbia University, whose new agreement with the Trump regime stipulates a mutually agreed-upon “monitor” who will, like CBS’s ombudsman, respond to complaints about “bias.”
Columbia will provide the monitor detailed information about the race of students who are admitted and rejected, including grade point averages and standardized test scores broken down by race. All data related to faculty and administrative staff hiring and promotion practices must be provided to the monitor annually, and hiring data will be subject to a “comprehensive audit.”
The monitor is also charged with assuring that the university establishes processes to guarantee “civil discourse, free inquiry, open debate, and the fundamental values of equality and respect.” And the monitor will review data to assure Columbia is meting out discipline without regard to a student’s immigration status.
The monitor’s decisions are advisory. If the Trump regime is dissatisfied with the monitor’s decision or feels that the university is not acting in accordance with it, the Trump regime reserves the right to open a new investigation of Columbia and possibly revoke current or future federal research funds.
Just like the CBS agreement, the Columbia agreement gives final power to the Trump regime. It allows the regime to maintain control over Columbia by holding a cudgel over the university. As Linda McMahon, Trump’s secretary of education, told Fox Business, “This is a monumental victory for conservatives who wanted to do things on these elite campuses for a long time because we had such far-left-leaning professors.”
Or consider the Trump regime’s agreement allowing Nippon Steel to acquire U.S. Steel.
During his 2024 campaign, Trump denounced Nippon Steel’s acquisition of U.S. Steel as a threat to American manufacturing. “I am totally against the once great and powerful U.S. Steel being bought by a foreign company, in this case Nippon Steel of Japan,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. “As President, I will block this deal from happening. Buyer Beware!!!”
On resuming office, though, Trump approved the deal. But this was after forcing Nippon Steel to give a “golden share” to the Trump regime — essentially giving Trump veto power over strategic decisions by the company.
You see the pattern? Veto power over strategic decisions. Ombudsmen. Monitors.
They’re all mechanisms for giving the Trump regime power to prevent these institutions — a television network, university, or corporation — from doing something that the Trump regime doesn’t want it to do. But because that power is held in reserve, Trump doesn’t have to display it. The heads of these institutions will do all the work for him; they’re likely to go out of their way to avoid offending the regime. The potential chilling effect is enormous.
It’s much the same with major law firms that have surrendered to Trump. And with ABC. And with Jeff Bezos’s control over The Washington Post’s editorial page — which appears to be motivated by fear that Trump might retaliate against Bezos’s other businesses unless Bezos forces the Post to toe the line.
It’s the same even with Wall Street. “I have been working on multiple deals where I have people inside the White House telling me what I can and can’t do,” a top dealmaker involved in mergers and acquisitions unrelated to the government recently told the Financial Times. “It’s a level of intrusion I have never experienced before.”
Note these words: A level of intrusion I have never experienced before. That from a dealmaker on Wall Street! The words apply to more and more institutions in America that used to be free from government control.
This level of intrusion inhibits public criticism of Trump, which is what Trump wants. It also deters so-called “conservative bias” in university hiring, however the Trump regime wants to define it. It eviscerates whatever Trump dislikes, such as corporate “diversity, equity, and inclusion” programs, or transgender women in women’s sports, or contracts with people or institutions against which Trump holds grudges.
In short, this level of intrusion gives the Trump regime potential control over almost every institution and organization in America, every aspect of American life — but indirectly, quietly, and as a default if the leaders of the institution go too far.
I’m old enough to remember when conservative Republicans stood for limited government and accused Democrats of wanting too much government. No longer.
We’re now at a point in American history when a so-called Republican regime in Washington is extending its control far beyond the wildest dreams of the most left-wing of Democrats — or even socialists.
But this control is not exercised publicly. It’s behind the scenes. It’s found in the fine print. And it is personal. It depends on Trump’s whims.
This is what fascist control looks like, people.
By the way, my memoir of my life and times, entitled Coming Up Short,will be out next Tuesday, August 5. If you wish, you can preorder here from Bookshop.org, which supports local bookstores, or find it wherever books are sold.
I wrote it to share what I’ve learned about stopping bullies — at a time in American history when we’re dealing with an authoritarian bully who is encouraging bullying throughout the nation and the world.
I hope you find it helpful for understanding how we combat the bullies. And why I believe so passionately that we will.
From Robert Reich via this RSS feed
13
On July 2, 2024, just about a year ago, president of the right-wing Heritage Foundation Kevin Roberts told the listeners of Steve Bannon’s War Room webcast: “[W]e are going to win. We’re in the process of taking this country back.” Roberts pointed to the Supreme Court’s decision in Donald J. Trump v. United States the day before giving the president absolute immunity for committing crimes while engaging in official acts.
“That Supreme Court ruling yesterday on immunity is vital, and it's vital for a lot of reasons,” Roberts said, adding that the nation needs a strong leader because “the left has taken over our institutions.” “[W]e are in the process of the second American Revolution,” he said, “which will remain bloodless if the left allows it to be.”
Roberts was the man who organized Project 2025, the blueprint for a new kind of government dictated by a right-wing strongman. Creating that new government would require a president willing to act illegally, stripping the secular language of civil rights from public life, packing the government with loyalists, ending the social safety net, killing business regulations, and purging American institutions of all but right-wing ideologues.
When Americans learned about Project 2025, they hated it. An NBC News poll from September 2024 showed that only 4% of Americans saw the project favorably. Even among Republicans, that number climbed only to 7%. For those identifying as MAGA Republicans, the number rose to just 9%.
So Trump and his campaign advisors denied that he had anything to do with the plan. “I know nothing about Project 2025,” he wrote on social media in July. “I have no idea who is behind it.”
And yet six months into the second Trump administration, on the sixtieth anniversary of the law that symbolized the modern American state by establishing Medicare and Medicaid, it’s clear we are indeed in a revolution designed to destroy the government we have known in favor of the radical right-wing government envisioned by those who wrote Project 2025.
From the beginning, the administration declared war on the words that protected equal rights for all Americans, fired women and racial minorities from leadership positions, and attacked transgender Americans. It worked to replace civil servants with loyalists who embraced the tenets of Project 2025, putting people like former Fox News host Pete Hegseth at the head of government agencies. Yesterday Greg Jaffe and Maggie Haberman of the New York Times reported that in a break with past practices, Hegseth, now secretary of defense, is requiring nominees for four-star general positions in the U.S. military to meet personally with Trump.
It worked to dismantle the government by refusing to release the money Congress had appropriated to fund the existing government. Thanks to billionaire Elon Musk at the “Department of Government Efficiency” and Russell Vought—another author of Project 2025—at the Office of Management and Budget, the administration illegally impounded funds, slashing through funding for foreign aid, cancer research, veterans’ benefits, air traffic control staffing, and so on, claiming to be eliminating “waste, fraud, and abuse.” That fight is ongoing.
But while it shrank government programs that helped ordinary people—programs like the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)—as part of their claim to be returning power to the states, the administration did not shrink the government itself. Instead, it dramatically expanded the government’s capacity to arrest and detain undocumented migrants.
The administration set out to purge the country of what extremists claimed was “leftist” influence in law firms, media, and universities. It illegally blocked lawyers from law firms that represented Democrats from access to federal buildings, making it impossible for them to represent their clients. It sued media outlets for alleged bias, and it withheld congressionally appropriated funds for universities for alleged antisemitism.
Last week, in order to obtain the Federal Communications Commission's approval of an $8 billion merger between CBS parent company Paramount and Skydance Media, Skydance agreed not to set up programs related to civil rights, or “diversity, equity, and inclusion,” and to produce “unbiased” journalism. Federal Communications Commission chair Brendan Carr approved the merger, then bragged on right-wing media shows that CBS has agreed to put in place an internal political “bias monitor” who will report to the president of Paramount to make sure the channel’s news coverage is favorable to Trump and the right wing.
Last week, after Columbia University agreed to pay $221 million and to promise it will not use “race, color, sex, or national origin” in hiring decisions in exchange for the government’s restoring the $1.3 billion in funding the administration had withheld over charges of antisemitism, Trump’s education secretary Linda McMahon told Maria Bartiromo of the Fox News Channel: “[T]his is a monumental victory for conservatives who’ve wanted to do things on these elite campuses for a long time because we had such far left leaning professors.”
On Monday the Office of Personnel Management issued a memo allowing federal employees to pray publicly at work, as well as to try to “persuade others of the correctness of their own religious views.”
The administration has worked to dismantle the regulations that protect Americans by using artificial intelligence to slash regulations in half by next January. With the blessing of the Supreme Court, Trump has claimed the power to fire the heads of independent agencies, effectively giving him power over agencies created by Congress.
Yesterday the administration took its fight against public protections a leap further when the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed a new rule that would get rid of a rule in place since 2009 establishing, on the basis of scientific evidence, that the emission of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane warms the planet and thus endangers human life. Most of the vehicle, factory, and power plant emissions standards currently in place come from this “endangerment finding.”
EPA officials told Lisa Friedman of the New York Times they intend to argue that it is climate regulations, rather than greenhouse gas emissions, that cause the real harm to human health because they lead to higher prices and less consumer choice.
As Roberts said, the Supreme Court’s decision giving Trump immunity was important because destroying the country’s institutions would require lawbreaking. In nothing has that been so clear as in the administration’s handling of the rendering of undocumented migrants to third countries. Whistleblowers from the Department of Justice claim that DOJ official Emil Bove told DOJ attorneys they could ignore court orders stopping migrant flights, saying they should consider telling the courts “f*ck you.”
Last night, the Senate confirmed Bove to a federal judgeship, with 50 Republicans voting in favor. Forty-seven Democrats voted no. They were joined by Republicans Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who said: “I don’t think that somebody who has counseled other attorneys that you should ignore the law, you should reject the law, I don’t think that that individual should be placed in a lifetime seat on the bench.”
But Thom Tillis (R-NC) voted in favor of Bove’s confirmation, illustrating that even those Republicans who have put distance between themselves and Trump are enabling the revolution in our government.
Republicans in Congress have enabled the dismantling of the country’s social safety net with dramatic cuts to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program while also extending significant tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations and pouring money into purges of undocumented migrants. Today Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told an audience at an event for the right-wing media outlet Breitbart that the new “Trump accounts” established by the budget reconciliation bill are “a backdoor for privatizing Social Security.”
Congress’s unwillingness to stand against Trump shows most dramatically in its reluctance to reassert the power the Constitution gives to it—and only to it—over tariffs. Trump has fought his tariff war only by asserting emergency power, but he has used that power to change world trade and to punish countries like Brazil for its prosecution of Trump’s political ally, former president Jair Bolsonaro. Tomorrow, the day before the August 1 deadline on which most of Trump’s tariffs will go into effect, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit will weigh in on whether those tariffs are legal.
When Kevin Roberts announced a year ago that the radical right was launching a second American revolution, he was telling the truth. But the new world they want to bring to life seems no more popular now than it was then.
And now the growing scandal around President Donald J. Trump’s connections to late convicted sex predator Jeffrey Epstein shows that the MAGA movement is apparently willing to accept the sexual abuse of children in order to cement their worldview.
Yesterday Trump tried to cast himself as a sort of protector when he claimed that he turned against Epstein because Epstein “stole people that worked for me.” When asked if those employees were young women, Trump answered “yes” and that they were hired “out of the spa” he ran. He said one of those girls was Virginia Giuffre, who was sex trafficked as a teenager by Ghislaine Maxwell and died by suicide earlier this year. Although Trump’s timeline did not add up—Guiffre left her job at Mar-a-Lago in 2000 and the friendship between the two men continued for several more years—the story itself suggests what’s on his mind. Today, a reporter asked Trump about those girls: “What did you think Epstein was stealing those women for?”
Today Dan Ruetenik of CBS News issued a detailed report on the video from outside Epstein’s jail cell that the DOJ has released as proof he died by suicide. A government source told Ruetenik that the released video is not raw footage—confirming a report by Dhruv Mehrotra of Wired on July 15—and that it is two videos stitched together. Ruetenik reported that the FBI, the Bureau of Prisons, and the DOJ inspector general all possess the longer video.
And perhaps there is also a story about Project 2025’s staying power in the fact that this damning report dropped less than a week after Trump officials celebrated their control over CBS.
—
Notes:
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/21/magazine/heritage-foundation-kevin-roberts.html
https://www.democracydocket.com/analysis/what-is-project-2025-and-why-is-it-alarming/
https://www.democracydocket.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/2025_MandateForLeadership_FULL.pdf
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/03/us/politics/heritage-foundation-2025-policy-america.html
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/here-we-are-2
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/29/us/politics/generals-trump.html
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/07/28/trump-federal-employees-preach-faith-work-00480696
https://www.npr.org/2025/07/25/nx-s1-5479240/columbia-trump-administration-settlement-details
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/24/business/media/fcc-skydance-merger-paramount.html
https://www.nationalreview.com/bench-memos/supreme-court-puts-humphreys-executor-on-death-bed/
American CrisisAmerican Crisis exclusive: The 'Media Capitulation Index'If you’ve been paying attention to the news lately, you know that the media has been on a capitulation-and-kowtowing spree…Read more2 days ago · 327 likes · 70 comments · Margaret Sullivanhttps://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/22/climate/epa-endangerment-finding-rescind.html
https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/27/politics/justice-department-official-second-whistleblower
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/senate-emil-bove/
https://thehill.com/newsletters/the-gavel/5426300-trumps-tariffs-back-in-court/
https://www.wired.com/story/the-fbis-jeffrey-epstein-prison-video-had-nearly-3-minutes-cut-out/
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cyvn7ee3539o
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/07/29/trump-epstein-virginia-giuffre-mar-a-lago-spa/
Meidas+The Epstein Crisis No One ControlsGuest article by Michael Cohen…Read more17 hours ago · 855 likes · 130 comments · Michael Cohen and MeidasTouch Networkhttps://www.cbsnews.com/news/jeffrey-epstein-jail-video-investigation/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/07/26/doge-ai-tool-cut-regulations-trump/
https://www.cms.gov/about-cms/who-we-are/history
Bluesky:
atrupar.com/post/3lupiv74kmm2n
thetnholler.bsky.social/post/3lv7afo2dzk2z
From Letters from an American via this RSS feed
14
As the Senate rushes to finish business before its summer break, Democrats are pushing back on several fronts. After Senator Cory Booker strongly criticized his fellow Democrats for supporting Trump's agenda, the Democratic caucus held a closed-door luncheon (regularly scheduled) at which they attempted to agree on a strategy for organizing their resistance to Trump's agenda through September. See Politico, Democrats’ fight-or-flight dilemma comes to a head in the Senate. (“On Wednesday, Democratic senators used a closed-door lunch to hash out what their strategy should be heading into the fall funding fights . . . . .”)
The results were immediate. Democrats on the Homeland Security Committee invoked a rarely used statute that authorizes five members of the committee to obtain documents from the administration. See Axios, Democrats invoke rare Senate rule to force release of Epstein documents.
Senator Schumer issued remarks identifying the materials requested:
Our request covers all documents, files, evidence, or other materials in possession of the Department of Justice or the FBI related to the case United States v. Jeffrey Epstein. This includes records and documents related to Epstein and his clients, while ensuring that the private information of any victims is protected.
The administration must produce the documents by August 15—which it will surely refuse to do, adding to the correct perception that Trump is attempting to cover up his involvement in or knowledge of Epstein’s crimes.
Although the “Epstein scandal” is about the pursuit of justice for the victims, not about partisan advantage, the Democrats are smart to push for the release of the files. As noted in the Axios article above, a recent YouGov poll shows that
82% of Americans think the government should release all the documents it has about the case. That includes 91% of Democrats and 76% of Republicans surveyed.
Almost no issue in American politics has achieved such unanimity of views between Democrats and Republicans. Disclosing the information in the files (while protecting the victims) is the right thing to do. Justice is long overdue for the victims. At the same time, Trump's breach of his promise to release the files is exposing him as one of the privileged elite whom he ran against in his 2024 campaign.
The mere fact that Democrats are taking the lead on an issue that has widespread support among all Americans is a breath of fresh air!
To similar effect is a statement by Senator Elizabeth Warren demanding that Democrats refuse to cooperate with Republicans on any appropriation bills until Trump stops withholding previously appropriated funds. See Talking Points Memo, Warren Demands Dems Refuse to Participate in Budgeting So Long As Trump is Freezing Funds
Senator Warren noted that Trump is illegally withholding funds appropriated by Congress. She also noted that Republicans are supporting after-the-fact changes to spending bills by voting in favor of “rescissions” that repeal specific appropriations in prior bills. As Senator Warren noted, it is silly for Democrats to support any spending bill that can be later undone by Trump with support from Senate Republicans.
Senator Warren said,
I voted no on that funding bill because even if this bill becomes law, I don’t believe Donald Trump has any intention of following that law
Consider his administration’s track record of the past six months on congressional spending laws. First, Trump tried to freeze billions of dollars that American families and businesses count on — money that Congress set aside to support everything from food assistance programs to scientific research.
Multiple federal judges blocked the illegal power grab, saying it blatantly violated the Constitution of the United States. Now, even Republicans are begging the administration to hand out the money for investments that Congress already passed and, by law, that their communities were promised.
Warren also noted that Trump has stated his intention to make an end-run around the rescissions process by submitting rescission requests with only a few days remaining in the Senate’s session. If the Senate doesn’t approve the rescission before the session ends, Trump will take the position that the “non-action” by the Senate is an approval of the rescission, which flips the rescission process on its head!
Under the Impoundment Control Act, the failure of Congress to affirmatively approve a rescission request means that the president must disburse the money appropriated by Congress. See Congressional Research Service, The Impoundment Control Act of 1974: Background and Congressional Consideration of Rescissions. (“Funds withheld under this authority must be released . . . unless Congress has completed action on a bill to rescind the budget authority.”)
Trump is continuously violating the Constitution by withholding funds without seeking rescission authority under the Impoundment Control Act. The remedy should be impeachment, conviction, and removal from office. But because Republicans will not hold Trump accountable for his ongoing violation of the Constitution, Democrats should withhold their consent to spending bills until Trump begins to comply with the Constitution.
Democrats are also applying pressure to Republicans by slow-walking fifty remaining nominations by Trump that are awaiting Senate confirmation. And by “slow-walking,” I mean that Senate Democrats are exercising their oversight authority under Senate rules. In response, Republicans are threatening to modify the cloture rules to allow confirmation of the fifty nominees in a matter of days. See Huffington Post, GOP Threatens To Go Nuclear And Change Senate Rules ― Again.
Of course, neither Republicans nor Democrats modified the cloture rule when Senator Tommy Tuberville prevented confirmation of all military promotions for over a year because he disagreed with the Pentagon’s policy authorizing travel for female personnel seeking reproductive healthcare. But when Democrats assert their right to scrutinize nominees of questionable fitness, Republicans are ready to overthrow rules for cutting off debate.
Per the Politico article cited above, Democrats are (finally!) attempting to get something in return for allowing some of Trump's nominees to proceed by unanimous consent. Per Politico,
Democrats are seeking a “quid pro quo,” in the words of Minority Whip Dick Durbin of Illinois. The main idea under discussion is getting the White House to release frozen agency funding while still holding up some of Trump’s most controversial picks.
The above developments are positive signs of life (and resistance) among Senate Democrats! They need to maintain the resistance and not capitulate at the last minute (as Schumer and eight other Democrats did in March on the continuing resolution to fund the government)!
Don’t believe Trump's “tariff deal” lies.
First, Trump has no authority to impose tariffs. Second, when he announces that he has reached a “deal,” he is lying. Two days ago, he announced a “deal” with the EU, proclaiming that it was one of the most significant trade agreements in a generation. On Wednesday, it became clear that Trump and the EU had not reached an agreement. See Euronews, EU and US spin conflicting versions of trade deal, sowing confusion
[T]he White House published a fact sheet about the agreement with multiple claims that mismatched or downright contradicted the version of events presented by the [EU] Commission just hours earlier.
I urge you to read the Euronews report in its entirety. The article reports that the EU disputes most of the major terms touted by Trump, including the applicability of tariffs to pharmaceuticals, the alleged investment of the EU in US industries, and alleged commitments by the EU to purchase energy from the US.
A rebuttal statement by the EU issued on Wednesday makes clear that the EU negotiating body (the European Commission on Trade) has no authority to commit to energy purchases or US investments on behalf of companies operating in EU states. (“While the Commission facilitates contacts between relevant EU buyers and sellers, commercial decisions naturally belong to companies.”)
This dynamic has repeated itself in other alleged trade deals, most notably the alleged trade deal with Japan. See Deccan Chronicle, Japan Disputes Key Claims in US Investment and Trade Deal.
On Wednesday, Trump announced a trade deal with South Korea. Don’t believe it until there is an agreement signed by both countries. Reports on the details of the alleged trade deal come entirely from Trump—claims that are repeated in the political press with little skepticism. See Politico, US and South Korea reach trade agreement.
But buried at the end of the Politico story is this curious statement:
South Korea did not immediately put out a statement of its own.
Indeed, as of Wednesday evening, the official website for the Republic of Korea includes a press release dated July 30, 2025, announcing a trade agreement with Bahrain, but does not include a press release announcing a trade deal with the US, allegedly struck on Wednesday.
The practice of accepting Trump's social media posts as evidence of a trade deal is journalistic negligence, as evidenced by the significant discrepancies between Trump's and the EU's statements regarding the alleged trade agreement reached on Monday of this week. On Wednesday, the NYTimes cited the deal with the EU without mentioning the major discrepancies noted by the EU on Wednesday.
Coda:
Trump has ratcheted up the unlawful nature of the tariffs being imposed without congressional consent by imposing punitive tariffs on Brazil for its prosecution of former President Bolsonaro. See Trump officials intervene to punish foreign judge trying MAGA-friendly politician, and Vox, Trump’s new Brazil tariffs and sanctions, briefly explained.
Whatever arguments Trump might make for imposing tariffs without congressional approval, there is no statutory or constitutional theory that would allow Trump to impose tariffs as punishment for a nation seeking to hold its leaders to account for criminal behavior.
Brown University capitulates to Trump
Sadly, Brown University has capitulated to Trump, promising to pay $50 million to a Rhode Island state workforce development program over the next ten years. See WSJ, Brown University Reaches $50 Million Deal With Trump Administration.
The pretext for the settlement was Brown’s alleged failure to address antisemitism on campus. But as the WSJ article notes, Brown “entered into a voluntary agreement with the Biden administration to resolve concerns around antisemitism, pledging to strengthen policies around discrimination complaints.”
Trump cited the need to combat antisemitism for a settlement that included the following provision:
The agreement prohibits Brown from performing gender-reassignment surgery or prescribing puberty blockers or hormones to any minor child “for the purpose of aligning the child’s appearance with an identity that differs from his or her sex,” according to the terms. The deal also commits the school to provide women-only, men-only and gender-inclusive housing and restrooms.
While antisemitism on Ivy League campuses has been an ongoing problem, attacking the rights of transgender students should not be any part of the remedy. Trump is using antisemitism as an excuse to discriminate against other vulnerable minorities—an outcome that should concern all Americans.
Concluding Thoughts
We are engaged in an asymmetrical battle. One party is working within the rules to defend democracy, while the other is ignoring the rules to undermine democracy. For example,
As noted above, Senate Republicans are considering changing procedural rules to allow for the rubber-stamp confirmation of fifty Trump nominees.
On Wednesday, Texas Republicans revealed a reconfigured map of congressional districts designed to gerrymander their way to five additional seats in the House.
Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said on Wednesday that a Trump plan for educational savings was a “backdoor for privatizing Social Security.” See HuffPost, Scott Bessent Calls New Tax Policy 'Backdoor For Privatizing Social Security'.
My point in raising the above examples is not to suggest that Democrats should ignore the rule of law in their effort to counter the antidemocratic efforts of the GOP. Instead, we should see the above actions as proof that Democrats should engage in aggressive resistance within the rules.
That is why Democrats are right to demand the release of the Epstein files, to refuse to support any appropriations bills until Trump begins to obey the Constitution, and to slow walk confirmations of unqualified nominees. It is long past time for Democrats to take off the gloves and exercise the maximum amount of lawful resistance to Trump’s unlawful agenda.
For the second day this week, it feels like Democrats are finally getting the message! And that feels good—for a change!
Talk to you tomorrow!
Daily Dose of Perspective
The Fireworks Galaxy is 25 million light years from our own galaxy and is 87,000 light years in diameter.
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Pope Leo XIV
The first American Pope hasn’t shied away from speaking critically about wars involving America. Or its allies. Or its adversaries.
Whether or not you’re Catholic (I’m not), that a figure as prominent as the Pope detests the world’s forever wars is a big deal: even more so since he’s a baseball-loving American from the birthplace of the military industrial complex.
Pope Leo made headlines last week for speaking out against the “barbarity of war” following an Israeli strike that destroyed the only Catholic Church in Gaza.
The vibe of the media coverage implied that the Pope cared because the casualties amongst the civilians who had taken refuge there included Christians. That’s a misread: Leo has been an outspoken critic of today’s wars since he was elected Pope on May 8. By my count of Vatican press releases, Leo has uttered the word “war” on at least two dozen separate days since, addressing not just Gaza but the wars in Ukraine, Iran, Syria and Myanmar, as well as about militarism in general. I’ve produced a timeline of Leo’s remarks on war below.
It’s understandable that Leo’s criticism of the war in Gaza has garnered the most press. Unlike his predecessor, Pope Francis, who tended to focus on humanitarian aid, Leo hasn’t been shy to address war itself or to rebuke the Israeli government, as he did in his call to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu following the church strike.
Leo’s comments to Netanyahu are the most pointed I’ve ever seen from an influential global leader, let alone one of the few examples there are of a moral voice in western society. Telling Netanyahu about the “agonizing price” being paid by Gaza’s “children, elderly and sick,” Leo called for an end to the fighting. Per the Vatican’s readout of the call.
“During the conversation, the Holy Father repeated his appeal for a renewed push for negotiations, a ceasefire and an end to the war. He again expressed his concern about the tragic humanitarian situation of the population in Gaza, whose children, elderly and sick are paying an agonizing price.”
In perhaps the most striking break with his predecessor, Leo has also proposed that the Vatican be used as a formal diplomatic channel to host peace talks between Ukraine and Russia, a move that even Donald Trump expressed support for. That surprised me, given Leo’s past characterization of the war as an “imperialist invasion” by Russia — a more pointed geopolitical judgement. (Vice President JD Vance, himself a Roman Catholic, has expressed his respect for the Pope despite their political differences.)
Leo’s most interesting remarks on war, in my view, came in a May 14 address, less than a week after becoming Pope, in which he seems to link war with heresy.
“Let us reject the Manichean notions so typical of that mindset of violence that divides the world into those who are good and those who are evil,” Leo said.
The word “Manichean” nowadays is understood to mean, roughly, black-and-white thinking that sees people as good or evil. But it comes from a historical religion called Manicheaism, espoused by a man called Mani, dating back to the Sasanian Empire in the 3rd century AD. Dualist in nature, Manichaeism elevated the belief in a struggle between good and evil, light and darkness, to a religious worldview, believing that existence itself is a war between these two forces. The Church designated the religion a heresy, in part, I assume, because it was a rival religion, but also on theological grounds that are interesting. Put simply, Christianity maintained that evil was simply the absence of good, not an entity in itself, much less a person, people or faction.
Leo surely knows all of this and is alluding to it when he invokes such a word. And he’s right: war does lead to black-and-white thinking and demonization. Every day on social media I see people snickering about videos depicting the deaths of some sad Russian conscripts, or Ukrainians, and the like.
Even the Pope’s choice of title, “Leo,” calls back to Pope Leo I, who famously met with Attila the Hun and helped to persuade him not to invade Rome in 452 AD.
There’s more to Leo than his anti-war orientation, of course. He talks a lot about the loneliness and atomization brought on by the internet age; and has also raised concerns about artificial intelligence which he urges be handled with care.
But it is Leo’s view on (and interest in) war that is most inspiring, given the state of the world with endless wars grinding on from Europe to the Middle East to Africa and now Asia.
It’s interesting that Leo, the first American Pope, should have such strong skepticism about war. I imagine he’s watched the same litany of endless conflicts that the rest of us have. In this sense I wonder if it’s so much him that’s antiwar as the era he inhabits. Who these days feels optimism about literally any war heading anywhere good, or that it is serving any party’s interest except for those profiting from it?
Chicago-born Pope Leo, a baseball fan, dons a White Sox hat
His sense of deep skepticism, almost cynicism, about war comes through in all sorts of statements he’s made. Here’s one example:
“War does not solve problems. On the contrary, it amplifies them and causes deep wounds in the history of peoples—wounds that take generations to heal. No military victory can ever compensate for a mother’s pain, a child’s fear, or a stolen future.”
Pope Leo XIV has expressed his hope for the din of arms to fall silent. “Let diplomacy silence the weapons!” he said. “Let nations shape their future with works of peace, not through violence and bloody conflicts!”
It is not the statement of some government official or some military commander or some realist expert or even some diplomat. Leo is a religious figure, an American, and a moral leader who represents the victims. He is the very opposite of the other American leader, the one who invokes the use of force gleefully.
Here’s a timeline I put together of the Pope’s most insightful comments on war so you can see for yourself.
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“Immediate ceasefire!”
(May 11)
I am deeply saddened by what is happening in the Gaza Strip: may there be an immediate ceasefire! Let humanitarian aid be provided to the stricken civil population, and let all the hostages be freed.
On the other hand, I have welcomed with satisfaction the announcement of the ceasefire between India and Pakistan, and I hope that through the upcoming negotiations, a lasting accord may be reached soon.
But how many other conflicts there are in the world! I entrust this heartfelt appeal to the Queen of Peace, so that she may present it to the Lord Jesus to obtain for us the miracle of peace.
“Reject the paradigm of war”
(May 12)
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus proclaimed: “Blessed are the peacemakers” (Mt 5:9). This is a Beatitude that challenges all of us, but it is particularly relevant to you, calling each one of you to strive for a different kind of communication, one that does not seek consensus at all costs, does not use aggressive words, does not follow the culture of competition and never separates the search for truth from the love with which we must humbly seek it. Peace begins with each one of us: in the way we look at others, listen to others and speak about others. In this sense, the way we communicate is of fundamental importance: we must say “no” to the war of words and images, we must reject the paradigm of war.
“War is never inevitable”
(May 14)
The Holy See is always ready to help bring enemies together, face to face, to talk to one another, so that peoples everywhere may once more find hope and recover the dignity they deserve, the dignity of peace. The peoples of our world desire peace, and to their leaders I appeal with all my heart: Let us meet, let us talk, let us negotiate! War is never inevitable. Weapons can and must be silenced, for they do not resolve problems but only increase them. Those who make history are the peacemakers, not those who sow seeds of suffering. Our neighbours are not first our enemies, but our fellow human beings; not criminals to be hated, but other men and women with whom we can speak. Let us reject the Manichean notions so typical of that mindset of violence that divides the world into those who are good and those who are evil.
The Church will never tire of repeating: let weapons be silenced.
“The first word is peace”
(May 16)
The first word is peace. All too often we consider it a “negative” word, indicative only of the absence of war and conflict, since opposition is a perennial part of human nature, frequently leading us to live in a constant “state of conflict” at home, at work and in society. Peace then appears simply as a respite, a pause between one dispute and another, given that, no matter how hard we try, tensions will always be present, a little like embers burning beneath the ashes, ready to ignite at any moment.
From a Christian perspective – but also in other religious traditions – peace is first and foremost a gift. It is the first gift of Christ: “My peace I give to you” (Jn 14:27).Yet it is an active and demanding gift. It engages and challenges each of us, regardless of our cultural background or religious affiliation, demanding first of all that we work on ourselves. Peace is built in the heart and from the heart, by eliminating pride and vindictiveness and carefully choosing our words. For words too, not only weapons, can wound and even kill.
… there is a need to give new life to multilateral diplomacy and to those international institutions conceived and designed primarily to remedy eventual disputes within the international community. Naturally, there must also be a resolve to halt the production of instruments of destruction and death …
“Gaza…reduced to starvation”
(May 18)
In the joy of faith and communion, we cannot forget our brothers and sisters who are suffering because of war. In Gaza, the surviving children, families and elderly are reduced to starvation. In Myanmar, new hostilities have cut short innocent young lives. Finally, war-torn Ukraine awaits negotiations for a just and lasting peace.
“‘No’ to the arms race”
(May 19)
To all of you, representatives of other religious traditions, I express my gratitude for your participation in this meeting and for your contribution to peace. In a world wounded by violence and conflict, each of the communities represented here brings its own contribution of wisdom, compassion and commitment to the good of humanity and the preservation of our common home. I am convinced that if we are in agreement, and free from ideological and political conditioning, we can be effective in saying “no” to war and “yes” to peace, “no” to the arms race and “yes” to disarmament, “no” to an economy that impoverishes peoples and the Earth and “yes” to integral development.
“Stop the war”
(May 28)
I strongly reiterate my appeal to stop the war and to support every initiative of dialogue and peace. I ask everyone to join in prayer for peace in Ukraine and wherever there is suffering because of war.
In the Gaza Strip, the cry of mothers, of fathers who clutch the lifeless bodies of children and who are continually forced to move in search of a little food and safer shelter from bombing, rises ever more intensely to the sky.
I renew my appeal to the leaders: cease fire, release all hostages, fully respect humanitarian law. Mary Queen of Peace, pray for us.
“The violence of weapons be replaced by the pursuit of dialogue”
(June 6)
Dearest friends, peace is a desire of all peoples, and it is the sorrowful cry of those torn apart by war. Let us ask the Lord to touch the hearts and inspire the minds of those who govern, that the violence of weapons be replaced by the pursuit of dialogue.
“Powerful and sophisticated weapons need to be rejected”
(June 18)
The Church is brokenhearted at the cry of pain rising from places devastated by war, especially Ukraine, Iran, Israel and Gaza. We must never get used to war! Indeed, the temptation to have recourse to powerful and sophisticated weapons needs to be rejected. Today, when “every kind of weapon produced by modern science is used in war, the savagery of war threatens to lead the combatants to barbarities far surpassing those of former ages” (SECOND VATICAN COUNCIL*,* Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, 79). For this reason, in the name of human dignity and international law, I reiterate to those in positions of responsibility the frequent warning of Pope Francis: War is always a defeat! And that of Pope Pius XII: “Nothing is lost with peace. Everything may be lost with war.”
“Nation shall not lift up sword against nation”
(June 25)
We continue to follow carefully and with hope the developments in Iran, Israel and Palestine. The words of the prophet Isaiah resound with urgent relevance: “Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more” (Is 2:4). May this voice, which comes from the Most High, be heard! May the wounds caused by the bloody actions of recent days be healed. Let us reject arrogance and revenge, and instead resolutely choose the path of dialogue, diplomacy and peace.
“Merchants of death”
(June 26)
Our hearts bleed when we think of Ukraine, the tragic and inhumane situation in Gaza and the Middle East, ravaged by the spread of war. All of us, by virtue of our humanity, are called upon to examine the causes of these conflicts, to identify those that are real and to attempt to resolve them. But also to reject those that are false, the result of emotional manipulation and rhetoric, and to make every effort to bring them to light. People must not die because of fake news.
It is truly distressing to see the principle of “might makes right” prevailing in so many situations today, all for the sake of legitimizing the pursuit of self-interest. It is troubling to see that the force of international law and humanitarian law seems no longer to be binding, replaced by the alleged right to coerce others. This is unworthy of our humanity, shameful for all mankind and for the leaders of nations. After centuries of history, how can anyone believe that acts of war bring about peace and not backfire on those who commit them? How can we think that we are laying the foundations of the future apart from cooperation and a global vision inspired by the common good? How can we continue to betray the desire of the world’s peoples for peace with propaganda about weapons buildup, as if military supremacy will resolve problems instead of fueling even greater hatred and desire for revenge? People are beginning to realize the amount of money that ends up in the pockets of merchants of death; money that could be used to build new hospitals and schools is instead being used to destroy those that already exist!
“Hunger as a weapon of war”
(June 30)
On the other hand, we are currently witnessing with despair the iniquitous use of hunger as a weapon of war. Starving people to death is a very cheap way of waging war. That is why today, when most conflicts are not fought by regular armies but by groups of armed civilians with few resources, burning land and stealing livestock, blocking aid are tactics increasingly used by those who seek to control entire unarmed populations. Thus, in this type of conflict, the first military targets become water supply networks and communication routes. Farmers are unable to sell their produce in environments threatened by violence, and inflation soars. This leads to huge numbers of people succumbing to the scourge of starvation and perishing, with the aggravating circumstance that, while civilians languish in misery, political leaders grow fat on the profits of the conflict.
“The barbarism of the war”
(July 20)
Tragic news continues to arrive in these days from the Middle East, especially from Gaza.
I express my profound sadness regarding last Thursday’s attack by the Israeli army on the Catholic Parish of the Holy Family in Gaza City, which as you know killed three Christians and gravely wounded others. I pray for the victims, Saad Issa Kostandi Salameh, Foumia Issa Latif Ayyad, Najwa Ibrahim Latif Abu Daoud, and I am particularly close to their families and to all the parishioners. Sadly, this act adds to the continuous military attacks against the civilian population and places of worship in Gaza.
I again call for an immediate halt to the barbarism of the war and for a peaceful resolution of the conflict.
I renew my appeal to the international community to observe humanitarian law and to respect the obligation to protect civilians, as well as the prohibition of collective punishment, the indiscriminate use of force and the forced displacement of the population.
“A renewed arms race”
(July 25)
The current global context is sadly marked by wars, violence, injustice and extreme weather events, which force millions of people to leave their homelands in search of refuge elsewhere. The widespread tendency to look after the interests of limited communities poses a serious threat to the sharing of responsibility, multilateral cooperation, the pursuit of the common good and global solidarity for the benefit of our entire human family. The prospect of a renewed arms race and the development of new armaments, including nuclear weapons, the lack of consideration for the harmful effects of the ongoing climate crisis, and the impact of profound economic inequalities make the challenges of the present and the future increasingly demanding.
Faced with frightening scenarios and the possibility of global devastation, it is important that there be a growing desire in people’s hearts for a future of peace and of respect for the dignity of all.
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— Edited by William M. Arkin
From Ken Klippenstein via this RSS feed
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Capital Vol. 1, Chapter 15, Section 1 (1867) by Karl Marx. Human-read Audiobook of Marxist Theory
(socialismforall.substack.com)
18
dThe news on Tuesday brought disturbing disclosures and developments that highlight the depth of corruption and depravity of the Trump administration and its supporters in Congress. But before turning to those stories, it is worth noting that there are signs of life among Democrats in the Senate and statehouses.
On Monday, I wrote about the frustration of grassroots activists with our Democratic leaders. See, “Concluding Thoughts in ‘Trump announces new 15% sales tax on US consumers.” The widespread frustration emanates from the “business as usual” attitude adopted by many Democrats in Congress and state houses. However, on Tuesday, Senator Cory Booker and Governor Gavin Newsom exhibited the passion and urgency that grassroots activists have been demanding from their leaders.
Let’s take a look.
On Tuesday, the Senate advanced a bill that would fund police departments in some states. Notably, Trump crafted the bill to “punish” blue states by denying them funds for local police departments. Among the states excluded from the bill’s grant of local funds are California, New York, New Jersey, Illinois, and Connecticut—states that did not vote for Trump in the 2024 presidential election. Those five states account for 25% of the US population but will receive 0.00% of the funds for local policing. See US States - Ranking by Population 2025.
Before Trump, using national legislation to “punish” those states that did not vote for the winning presidential candidate would have been unthinkable. But Trump has so normalized his partisan revenge playbook that Democratic Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) are supporting the bill. Indeed, Senator Cortez Masto moved for “unanimous consent” to send the bill to the floor for a final vote—a show of bipartisan support for a bill that punishes five states that did not vote for Trump in 2024.
That is when Senator Cory Booker rose to say the obvious: Democrats cannot be complicit in Trump's revenge politics. See The Hill, Sen. Cory Booker blows up at Democrats on Senate floor, and NBC News, Democrats clash over police funding in heated debate on Senate floor.
According to The Hill and NBC News, Senator Booker said,
What I am tired of is when the president of the United States of America violates the Constitution, trashes our norms and traditions, and what does the Democratic Party do? Comply? Allow him? Beg for scraps? No, I demand justice!
It’s time for Democrats have a backbone. It’s time for us to fight. It’s time for us to draw lines.
I say we reject this and, in a bipartisan way, that we demand and end this kind of constitutionally unjust carving up of the resources that we approve.
We are standing at a moment where our president is eviscerating the Constitution of the United States of America, and we’re willing to go along with that today. No, no, not on my watch.
This is a call, folks. This is a wake-up call.
I see law firms bending a knee to this president, not caring about the larger principles [of] free speech rights that [say] you can take on any client. Why are you bending the knee?
I see universities that should be bastions of free speech bending to the knee of this president.
I see businesses taking late-night talk show hosts off the air because they dare to insult a president. I see people who want mergers, suddenly think that they have to pay tribute to this president.
What are the very people here elected to defend the Constitution of the United States saying? Oh, well, today, let’s look the other way and pass some resources that won’t go to Connecticut, that won’t go to Illinois, that won’t go to New York, that will go to the states that [the president] likes.
That is complicity with a totalitarian leader. It is time for us to fight and draw the lines.
Off the floor, Senator Booker told reporters,
There’s a lot of us in this caucus that want to f-----g fight, and what’s bothering me right now is we don’t see enough fight in this caucus.
Senator Cortez Masto defended her cooperation with Trump's bill, saying,
I agree, withholding funding for law enforcement anywhere in the country, across the country, is just not acceptable. But I also agree that two wrongs don’t make a right.
Senator Cortez Masto’s comment is offensive. First, she notes that the bill’s withholding of funds from some states is “just not acceptable.” But there is nothing “wrong” about opposing legislation that disadvantages Americans in states that voted against Trump. And Senator Cortez Masto created a false equivalency between Senator Booker’s principled stand on behalf of all Americans and Trump's campaign of revenge against states that did not vote for him.
Senator Klobuchar chided Senator Booker for missing a vote on the bill in the Senate Judiciary Committee because, you know, missing a vote and disadvantaging 25% of Americans are equivalent acts, at least in Senator Klobuchar’s mind.
Senator Booker is right. Every word. He needs to make the same speech every day on the floor of the Senate. And other Senators need to rise beside him. Senate Republicans are hell-bent on destroying the Constitution. Cooperating with them in anything is constitutional suicide, especially so in a bill that punishes states that did not vote for Trump.
If you live in Nevada or Minnesota (or California, New York, New Jersey, Illinois or Connecticut), you might want to let Senators Cortez Masto (202-224-3542) and Amy Klobuchar (202-224-3244) know how feel about a bill that threw 25% of Americans under the bus because their state voted against Donald Trump in 2024.
To similar effect are remarks by California Governor Gavin Newsom given during an interview by Brian Tyler Cohen. During the interview, Cohen asked Governor Newsom about the effort by Texas to redraw its congressional districts in advance of the 2026 midterms. Texas Republicans hope that gerrymandering Texas congressional districts ahead of the midterm will generate five more Republican seats in Congress in 2026
Governor Newsom gives a two-minute answer about whether he is committed to trying to counter Texas’s effort with a similar effort in California. His answer is inspirational and speaks broadly to the mindset that Democrats should adopt in response to Republicans’ efforts to cheat in 2026.
I strongly recommend that you watch Newsom’s two-minute answer. (I have cued the YouTube video to the appropriate starting point.) See Brian Tyler Cohen on YouTube, Gavin Newsom hits Trump on Epstein, Texas gerrymander.
I am hopeful that Democratic leaders are beginning to hear our frustrations over their passive approach to a five-alarm emergency for our democracy.
Senate confirms Emil Bove
The Senate confirmed Emil Bove to a seat on the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. Bove was singularly unfit for the position. In six months in the DOJ, he supported the pardon of January 6 insurrectionists, attempted to craft a corrupt dismissal of charges against NY Mayor Eric Adams, oversaw the illegal deportation of immigrants to the CECOT prison in El Salvador, and allegedly told associates that the DOJ might have to tell district court judges to “go f*** themselves.”
When confronted with evidence from whistleblowers during his confirmation hearings, Bove claimed that he could not recall making the statement, a strong indication that he did make the statement but refused to testify truthfully about it.
Republicans rushed through the confirmation to suppress evidence from whistleblowers. Indeed, on Tuesday we learned that the DOJ “lost” a report from a whistleblower that corroborated Bove’s comments about disregarding rulings by district court judges. See Whistleblower Aid, Whistleblower Evidence on Emil Bove Languishes at the DOJ for Months.
Bove encountered widespread opposition from the legal profession, especially former DOJ attorneys who were horrified by Bove’s politicization of the DOJ during his six months as a senior official in the DOJ. See NYTimes, Senate, Rejecting Whistle-Blower Alarms, Confirms Bove to Appeals Court.
The worst part of Bove’s confirmation is that Democrats could have filled the vacant seat on the Third Circuit in 2023, when they had the votes in the Senate to confirm Adeel Mangi, who would have been the first ever Muslim American to sit on a US court of appeals. But Republicans launched a hateful, false, Islamophobic campaign against Mangi.
Despite the baseless nature of the attacks, several Democrats—including Nevada Senator Catherine Cortez Masto—said they would not support Mangi. President Biden withdrew Mangi’s nomination. See Balls & Strikes, Emil Bove Confirmed: How Senate Democrats' Cowardice Made It Possible.
The seat then remained vacant as Republicans stalled all Democratic judicial nominations. Senator Chuck Schumer then made a deal for the confirmation of a handful of district court judges in exchange for leaving the seat on the Third Circuit vacant. That seat is now occupied by Emil Bove—thanks in no small part to Senators Cortez Masto and Chuck Schumer!
The sad episode of losing the nomination of a fine candidate like Adeel Mangi to the likes of Emil Bove makes Senator Booker’s point: Democrats cannot accommodate Republicans, ever! We have ample evidence that such misguided efforts at faux bipartisanship will eventually be weaponized against Democrats!
CBS report raises concerns that Pam Bondi lied about videotape of Epstein’s jail cell.
A report by CBS raised the possibility that Attorney General Pam Bondi lied about the surveillance videotape of Jeffrey Epstein’s jail cell that was released to the public. In a written memo and public statements, Bondi claimed that the DOJ released the entire “raw footage” of the surveillance of Epstein’s jail cell on the night he allegedly committed suicide.
The videotape released by the FBI and DOJ contained a one-minute gap (at least), which Bondi claimed was an artifact of the antiquated videotaping system. She said that all tapes of the area surrounding Epstein’s jail cell had a similar short gap each evening.
A blockbuster report by CBS News casts substantial doubt on the truthfulness of Pam Bondi's statement. See CBS News, There was no "missing minute" in the original Epstein jail video, government source says.
As explained by CBS News,
When the Justice Department and FBI released nearly 11 hours of footage earlier this month, the time code on the screen jumped forward one minute just before midnight, prompting questions about the one-minute gap. The video shows part of the area near the cell where Epstein was being held the night he died in what the medical examiner ruled a suicide.
A government source familiar with the investigation says the FBI, the Bureau of Prisons and the Department of Justice inspector general are all in possession of a copy of the video that does not cut from just before 11:59 p.m. to midnight on the night Epstein died by suicide in his cell. [¶]
Experts in surveillance video, including video forensic professionals, told CBS News that a nightly reset would have been unusual and was not something they encountered in most video systems.
CBS’s article also explains that although the DOJ represented that it was releasing the “raw” video,
One thing that is clear, forensic experts say, is that the version of the recording released by the FBI was edited and not raw, as the government stated.
In short, the DOJ did not release the raw video as promised and has a copy of the video that does not have a one-minute gap at midnight.
We should not allege cover-ups and conspiracies simply because we do not have all of the relevant facts. But CBS’s story gives rise to a strong inference that Pam Bondi, Kash Patel, the DOJ, and the FBI are lying to the American people.
Our elected officials must not accept half-truths and evasive answers regarding a matter that may implicate the president, especially when it appears that Trump is preparing a pardon of Ghislaine Maxwell. See Talking Points Memo, Don’t Be Surprised When Trump Pardons Ghislaine Maxwell, and Other Epstein News
Trump executive order regarding AI will make responses less accurate and biased.
The US government is quickly becoming one of the largest users of AI. In a series of executive orders, the Trump administration has required that ChatGPT and other AI models conform to the Trump administration’s views regarding DEI. In addition, those executive orders require that energy used to power AI training exclude renewable energy sources. See Public Notice, Tech elites are turning AI into ChatGPTrump.
As explained in the Public Notice article,
One of Trump’s orders says that only “dispatchable baseload energy” — that is, anything but wind, solar, and hydro power — can qualify to power data centers on federal land.
The executive order also bans references to “DEI” in AI licensed to the federal government. Because AI creators would prefer to create only one version of an AI model, the government mandates will likely control AI models used by consumers.
Again, as explained by Public Notice,
In order to stamp out “pervasive and destructive” DEI ideology, the order insists that AI models must be free of “incorporation of concepts like critical race theory, transgenderism, unconscious bias, intersectionality, and systemic racism.” . . . . [The order] also insists that “LLMs shall be neutral, nonpartisan tools that do not manipulate responses in favor of ideological dogmas such as DEI.”
We have seen where the prior efforts to avoid “wokeness” have taken AI models. Twitter’s GROG AI model took to calling itself “MechaHitler” within hours of being “tweaked” to avoid “woke” answers. See NPR (7/9/2025), Elon Musk's AI chatbot, Grok, started calling itself 'MechaHitler'.
While AI models can be helpful in many situations, users should understand that in the near future, it is highly likely that all AI models licensed to the government will be programmed to minimize or i
gnore any facts that suggest non-white Americans have contributed to the success of our country. Trump has ensured that outcome by imposing such criteria on the government version of AI models, which may drive private sector AI models to follow suit.
Concluding Thoughts
The Democratic Party is experiencing growing pains. Institutional inertia is slowly giving way to the passion and urgency of the grassroots movement. Change is hard, especially when people have invested their professional lives in a system that values hierarchy and seniority over innovation and daring. Feelings will be hurt and territorial boundaries will be crossed.
So be it. We have no choice. We are facing an emergency in an asymmetrical battle for the future of democracy. The old rules no longer apply. We must be bold, resourceful, and resilient. Above all, we must never give up. Our opponents are those who seek to undermine the Constitution, not the members of our own party. But we must be frank and unflinching in telling our elected officials that they must lead us or allow others to do so.
I am feeling more hopeful this evening because two elected Democrats have taken off their gloves to speak the truth in short, plain words that the American people understand.
Talk to you tomorrow!
Daily Dose of Perspective
Sharpless 2-129 is about 2,300 light years from Earth
From Today's Edition Newsletter via this RSS feed
19
1
Office Hours: Is Trump out of his f*cking mind accusing Obama of treason?
(robertreich.substack.com)
Friends,
Last Tuesday, Trump claimed President Barack Obama committed treason, a crime punishable by death.
Trump’s stooge was Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s director of national intelligence, who (presumably prodded by Trump) asked the Justice Department to investigate whether officials in the Obama administration faked evidence of Russian efforts to influence the 2016 election.
When Trump was then asked at an Oval Office press availability whom the Justice Department should target in that investigation, he said:
“It would be President Obama. He started it. … This was treason. This was every word you can think of. They tried to steal the election. They tried to obfuscate the election. They did things that nobody’s ever even imagined, even in other countries.”
Trump’s history of baseless charges has earned him a perverse kind of immunity. The more outrageous his claims, the faster they tend to be dismissed.
But words have consequences. Trump is president of the United States. Accusing his predecessor of treason goes well beyond anything he has said before. It is itself treason.
So here’s today’s Office Hours question — one with enormous consequences for the future: Does Trump really believe that Obama committed treason, or does he know that his allegation is a bunch of crap? (Or is Trump telling the truth and Obama is actually guilty?)
I’ll discuss each, briefly, and then ask you for your view.
From Robert Reich via this RSS feed
20
Trying to take some time off this summer, and after a bunch of work calls this morning, decided that today was too good a day to stay on the land. Found these boats on the back side of the island. I'm going to head to bed early tonight. Will see you tomorrow.
From Letters from an American via this RSS feed
21
Hi, all, and happy Tuesday.
We had a bit of good news yesterday. Per PBS:
A federal judge on Monday ruled Planned Parenthood clinics nationwide must continue to be reimbursed for Medicaid funding as the nation’s largest abortion provider fights President Donald Trump’s administration over efforts to defund the organization in his signature tax legislation.
This was a much-needed victory on a day that otherwise brought the usual torrent of difficult news. Why do I mention it? Because we have to celebrate every win. Every. One. The fact that they’re few and far between makes this more, not less true.
Another win? Trump tried to talk to reporters in Scotland and was drowned out by bagpipes.
Call me petty, but I love this for him. I only wish there could always be a bagpipe playing over his voice. We should be so lucky.
Something else I was delighted by yesterday? The newly-launched U.S. Senate campaign of Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA) released an ad that misspelled Georgia. Literally.
Why do these things matter? First, because we must maintain our defiance, and ridicule helps fuel it. Second, because would-be dictators have fragile egos and they can’t stand to be mocked. Third, Trump’s base sees him as a dominator, so any time we can highlight moments of weakness for him we should.
So as much as I would normally eschew such behavior, let’s amplify every humiliation, every stumble, every flub of every MAGA, every time.
One more thing before I go. Most of you know that I’ve made an effort to keep Middle Eastern issues out of this newsletter. My goal has been to keep this community united at all costs; in an effort to do that I created an entirely different publication to post calls to action around Israel and Gaza. And I will keep posting them there as I have the bandwidth. But I hope we will all use the script below to demand US intervention in the famine in Gaza, which threatens the lives of a shocking number of human beings, many of them children. Trump—and the US government in general—has more influence with Bibi Netanyahu than anyone. Regardless of where we stand on Middle Eastern politics we can’t deny that fact.
I truly hope that saving babies—and millions of people in general—from starvation is something upon which we can all agree.
OK, all. Please be good to yourselves, take care of one another, and remember to stay in the day. One minute, one action, one heartbeat at a time we can and will get through this.
So let’s get to work, remembering Pablo Neruda’s words: “You can cut all the flowers but you cannot keep Spring from coming.”
Call Your Senators (find yours here or use this list to find staffer contact info) 📲
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is ______.
I understand that a new whistleblower has come forward to testify that Emil Bove lied during his confirmation hearings last month. This is the third such whistleblower. How many will be enough? This man is unfit and a danger to democracy. Don’t confirm him.
Also, I’m calling to express my horror about the man-made famine devastating the people of Gaza. I urge the Senator to pressure the Trump administration to intervene. The US has the power to influence Netanyahu and it must, immediately. What he’s doing is a war crime and should be treated as such. Thanks. [H/T and more script options here.]
Call Your House Rep (find yours here or use this list to find staffer contact info) 📲 📲
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is _______.
First, I’m calling to express my horror about the man-made famine devastating the people of Gaza. I urge the Congressmember to pressure the Trump administration to intervene. The US has the power to influence Netanyahu and it must, immediately. What he’s doing is a war crime and should be treated as such. Thanks. [H/T and more script options here.]
Second, Congress must do everything they can to release the Epstein files. If Donald Trump is covering for a pedophile we need to know it. If he was, himself, abusing underaged women we need to know that too. If Democrats are on the list we need to know that. We need transparency abut whomever is there. The victims deserve no less.
Extra Credit ✅
Fight back against ICE.
ICE continues to intimidate and harm.If you have a Democratic Attorney General, use Indivisible’s tool call or email to ask him or her to fight back against ICE’s aggressive campaign to target and deport hundreds of thousands of people—often without respecting their rights.
Get Smart! 📚
Sign up for Indivisible’s One Million Rising call this Wednesday, July 30, to learn strategic non-cooperation strategies. It’s falling on us to lead the fight against fascism and force vital institutions off the sidelines. In this week’s call, you’ll be trained to lead active non-cooperation in your community and pass those skills on to others.
Register Voters! 🗳️
Help Voters Get the ID They Need To Cast a Ballot That Counts
VoteRiders is seeking dedicated volunteers to provide free voter ID assistance — both virtually and in person — to eligible voters in key communities where VoteRiders has staff on the ground, including Atlanta and Columbus, GA, Madison and Milwaukee, WI, Orlando, FL, Charlotte, Pittsburgh, PA, and Houston, TX. This unique opportunity will make an immediate impact and directly help folks secure the ID they need to cast a ballot that counts.
If you’re detail-oriented, reliable, computer savvy and passionate about people, you can help! Attend one of their orientations and receive sign-up information for one buddy training session.
Tuesdays, 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm PDT
[H/T Donna Jaffe]
Messaging! Messaging! Messaging! 📣
Fair Share America has released new state-specific impact graphics about Trump’s Big Brutal Bill for every state in the country. You can download them here to show your followers how many jobs in your state will be killed by Trump’s new bill, as well as how many people will lose healthcare, how much gas prices will go up, and more. Here’s a sample graphic for VA.
Give 💰!
A couple of weeks ago I did a webinar for Swing Left San Gabriel Valley about smart political giving. I’ve had a few requests to post the link to the recording, so here it is. The passcode is g31&+dJJ
My Strategic Giving doc, to which I refer in the webinar, is here. It has the links to most of the orgs I mention.
Get in the Streets! 🪧
The next nation wide protest is being organized by 50501. It’s on Saturday August 2 and it’s called RAGE against the REGIME. Find more info here.
Win Races! 🗳
A couple of weeks ago I mentioned Cartoons for Democracy - a new nonprofit that uses political cartoons to deliver messages directly to voters of all political stripes. Well, they just created a "Poke the QAnon Bear" campaign that lets YOU fan the flames of Trump's dumpster fire by sending postcards directly to QAnon supporters reminding them of the GOP's broken promises and asking THEM to demand Town Halls. The goal? More MAGA infighting! And hopefully fewer MAGA voters in November.
Cartoons for Democracy currently has several campaigns writing to the crucial swing district VA-02, which will impact both the upcoming gubernatorial election as well as prime the pump for a critical house race in 2026.
Chop Wood, Save the Planet 🔥
Pine Forest Media, a production company dedicated to stories at the intersection of science, environment, and society, just launched a brand new podcast, Oceanography. The first episode is out today (July 29)!
Oceanography is a marine science podcast that is like your favorite 101 science class meets environmental journalism. Episodes feature marine biologists and climate specialists unpacking everything from deep-sea ecosystems to bio-illumenescent sharks, whale communication, and fishing gear to protect endangered species.
As Chop Wood, Carry Water readers know, the future of science is at risk. And, because science doesn’t exist in a vacuum, Oceanography makes space for the politics, policies, and activism shaping the future of our oceans - from global treaties to local grassroots action. Listen now on your favorite podcast app.
Resistbot Letter (new to Resistbot? Go here! And then here.) 💻
[To: all 3 reps] [H/T Coleman Rogers] [Text SIGN PBSZJB to 50409, or to @Resistbot on Apple Messages, Messenger, Instagram, or Telegram]
(Note that for the most effective RESISTBOT it’s best to personalize this text. More about how to do this here. But if you’re short on time just send it as is using the above code.)
The decision to illegally impose a 15% tariff on goods imported from the European Union creates essentially a new 15% sales tax levied directly on American consumers. This illegal tariff deal masquerading as a trade agreement will drive up costs for everyday products, disproportionately burdening working families already struggling with rising prices.
Rather than proclaiming a "preliminary agreement," we should call this what it is: an unlawful additional financial burden placed squarely on the backs of American households. This tax hike will reverberate through our economy, impacting businesses and workers across various sectors that depend on imports of European goods and materials. Higher costs get passed on to consumers in the form of increased prices for clothing, vehicles, food products and countless other essential items.
American families have endured enough economic pain from years of inflation, supply chain disruptions and stagnant wages. They cannot afford another regressive tax that sacrifices their financial security for the illusion of protectionism. Previous tariffs imposed during this administration have already led major retailers like Walmart to raise prices on a wide range of consumer products. Extending this failed policy to our largest trading partner will only compound the harm.
We implore you to publicly denounce and reverse these illegal and misguided tariffs that act as de facto sales taxes punishing American consumers and companies rather than purported trade offenders. Your constituents deserve economic policies that improve their lives, not rob their paychecks under the guise of tough negotiating.
OK, you did it again! You’re helping to save democracy! You’re amazing.
Talk soon.
Jess
Chop Wood, Carry Water is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
From Chop Wood, Carry Water via this RSS feed
22
Friends,
The world’s leading hunger monitor, Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, said Gaza is in a famine that has “worsened dramatically” in the last few months. The number of Palestinians killed has officially surpassed 60,000. A new Gallup poll shows 6 in 10 Americans disapprove of Israel’s military actions in Gaza.
Occasionally I come across an article in the foreign press that strikes me as so important that I want to share it with you. The following was originally published on July 27 in Haaretz, the longest-running newspaper currently in print in Israel. It was published in Hebrew.
Orit Kamir is an Israeli professor of law who drafted Israel’s law against sexual harassment and its law prohibiting bullying in the workplace (which was adopted by Israel’s labor courts). She is the author of “Betraying Dignity: The Toxic Seduction of Social Media, Shaming, and Radicalization,” published in 2020. I am grateful for her permission to republish this.
Silence in the Face of Gaza’s Starvation is Absolute Betrayal of Holocaust Victims
By Orit Kamir
In her childhood, my mother was starved by a dark regime. When the Nazi army occupied Poland and Jews were pushed into ghettos, they were forced to make do with less and less food. Eventually, food disappeared almost entirely. My mother was seven years old when the Lvov ghetto closed in on her. Fortunately, both her parents were alive and did everything to ensure her survival. The nutrition they managed to obtain for her was very meager: lengthy searches in the streets and trash cans sometimes yielded potato peels or edible plants. My grandmother would cook them and the water was drunk as soup. Proteins, sourced from various insects, were rare. Nevertheless, my mother was lucky. Other children wasted away and died.
The Nazi regime reduced the ghetto's boundaries and squeezed its residents, whose numbers dwindled daily, into increasingly smaller areas. My mother and her parents found themselves sharing an apartment with a family named Mintzer, consisting of two parents and four children. Both parents and the eldest son were captured in aktions and sent to extermination. Another son, hungry and weak, fell ill and languished for many days until he breathed his last. My grandparents tried to revive the two orphaned children who remained, but they couldn't help: they had nothing to give. The entire Mintzer family was annihilated. Bella, the youngest daughter, was ten years old when she died.
My mother somehow survived the starvation and the war, but the Mintzer children who wasted away before her eyes remained with her always. They accompany me to this day. The survivors' guilt doesn't dissipate and the scar still burns. On my first visit to Lvov, I searched for that building in the ghetto and lit memorial candles for them. Who would have believed that eighty years after they were starved to death, my country, the Jewish state, would decree that I bear real guilt for the starvation and extermination of tens of thousands of children like them. The state that arose from the ruins of that destruction has brought a hundred thousand children in Gaza to the danger of death from starvation.
Whether our mother was there in body or not - we are all second, third, and fourth generation to victims of starvation and extermination. And the one commandment the victims left us, all of us, is simple: never again. Because every person, as a human being, has absolute and inviolable value, "human dignity," and our supreme duty is to recognize and ensure it. Simply because they are human. All the more so for children. They are always entitled to life, to protection, without question and without qualification. This is the entire Torah and there is nothing else. And it dictates our responsibility and our moral duty.
But in 2025, the Israeli army, on orders from the political echelon, is destroying Gaza and exterminating its population. Neighborhood after neighborhood and city after city in the Strip are destroyed to the foundations, and people are expelled with nothing and pushed to crowd into increasingly smaller areas. Like then. After we destroyed all infrastructure, including hospitals, the mortality is relentless. Families constantly shrink and thousands have already been erased from the face of the earth. Others leave behind hopeless orphans, abandoned to their fate. Like then.
Since Israel broke the ceasefire in March, Gaza's besieged population has also been deliberately and systematically starved. Israel allows only very little food to enter the Strip, and what little is allowed in is brought in a way that cannot reach all residents. Children, the sick, the elderly, people weakened by hunger - cannot reach the four food distribution stations Israel created, instead of the 400 stations that operated before. We have decreed their fate to languish until they die of hunger, weakness, and disease. Relatively strong young people who do reach the distribution stations to get some relief are shot to death daily by Israeli soldiers.
There is no electricity, no gas, no clean water; if someone finds a potato peel - there isn't even a way to cook it. And all this time, Israel prevents the entry of food, medicine, and other vital supplies that could save lives, and which are available in large quantities at hand (because they are held by UN organizations that Israel decided to boycott), and denies its actions - even now, as it tries to make minor corrections at the margins.
This is conduct of incomprehensible cruelty. It creates horror beyond the ability to imagine, and this allows most Israelis to deny it: if it's too terrible to be true - it's probably not true. And so they allow the horror to continue happening.
What value does our freedom have if we don't use it to stop dispossession, killing, and starvation? What do we need the rule of law for if not to ensure human dignity?
The Israeli public's silence is a betrayal not only of the entire world of values it claims to hold; it is an absolute betrayal of Holocaust victims, in whose name we demanded a state for ourselves where we could ensure our existence. It is a betrayal of the Mintzer family and the millions of other families who were slaughtered and perished throughout Jewish history. It is a betrayal of the entire long legacy of Jewish existence as a persecuted minority. It is a betrayal of humanity in general - and of our collective identity in particular. It is such a monumental betrayal that it's hard to contain.
I don't usually invoke the name of the Holocaust, because too many bear it in vain, but now it's unavoidable.
Those who rejoice in Gaza's destruction and annihilation, those who justify or rationalize the horror with talk of revenge for the terrible massacre of October 7 - have lost their souls. But those who can still feel human emotion must wake from the paralyzing slumber and shake off this unforgivable betrayal.
You who cry out against the firing of the Shin Bet chief and the attorney general and the chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee - but fill your mouths with water regarding the extermination and starvation we are carrying out in Gaza: your concern for Israeli democracy and the future of the state pales against your silence in the face of mass extermination. What value does our freedom have, which you fight for, if we don't use it to stop dispossession, killing, and starvation? What do we need the rule of law for if not to ensure human dignity?
You who organize rallies to bring back the hostages, whom the government wickedly abandons with unbearable evil - but don't address the destruction of the lives of another two million women and men who are also languishing in Gaza alongside the hostages: what kind of human solidarity is this, that applies only to the twenty "our" hostages, and closes its eyes to the fate of millions?
You who run WhatsApp groups with many participants and broadcast hope for a healthier and saner future - and close your eyes to the unforgivable crime: what rosy future can there be here, when the tens of thousands of children who died through our fault will accompany us wherever we go?
And you who presume to lead, in various ways, the sane public - but are careful not to say "controversial" things that might upset someone: shame on you. If children dying of hunger don't disturb you enough to cry out without political calculations, what alternative are you offering? What leadership?
Where are the Holocaust researchers from Yad Vashem? The Medical Association? The nurses? Professional associations - of psychologists, sociologists, lawyers, social workers? Where are the student organizations? When children become Muselmänner and die in agony because of us - don't you think it's your duty to cry out until the horror stops? So what are you here for?
If a million Israeli women and men took to the streets, as one person, with an uncompromising demand to end the war immediately - this horror would end. Even a monstrous and disconnected government cannot ignore the entire public. When a million Israelis took to the streets, the hostages will finally be returned to their homes; the lives of soldiers, 896 of whom have already been sacrificed, will be saved; their souls will be saved from the insane trauma their state imposes on them; and two million people in Gaza will be rescued from the inferno Israel has trapped them in.
From Robert Reich via this RSS feed
23
Friends,
We are living in an age of bullies. Those with power are less constrained today than they have been in my lifetime, since the end of World War II.
The question is: How do we lead moral lives in this era?
Putin launches a horrendous war on Ukraine.
After Hamas’s atrocity, Netanyahu bombs Gaza to smithereens and is now starving to death its remaining occupants.
Trump abducts thousands of hardworking people within America and puts them into detention camps — splitting their families, spreading fear. His immigration agents target people with brown skin and Mexican-sounding names.
He usurps the powers of Congress, defies the courts, and prosecutes his enemies.
He and his Republican lackeys cut Medicaid and food stamps — lifelines for poor people, including millions of children — so that the wealthy can get a tax cut.
Hate-mongers on right-wing television and social media fuel bigotry against transgender people, immigrants, Muslims, people of color, and LGBTQ+ people.
Powerful men (such as Trump) sexually harass, abuse, and rape women. Some of the abused are children.
Powerful male politicians make it impossible for women to obtain safe abortions.
CEOs rake in record profits and compensation while giving workers meager wages and firing them for unionizing. Billionaires make large campaign donations — legalized bribes — so lawmakers will cut their taxes and repeal environmental and safety regulations.
Each such abuse of power encourages other abuses. Each undermines norms of civility.
Every time the stronger bully the weaker, the social fabric is tested. If bullying is not contained, the fabric unwinds. Those who are bullied — who feel powerless, vulnerable, bitter, and desperate — become fodder for “strong men” demagogues who lead them into violence, war, and tyranny.
This is hardly new. Throughout history, the central struggle of civilization has been against brutality by the powerful. Civilizationis the opposite of brutality. A civil society doesn’t allow the strong to brutally treat the weak.
Yet in my lifetime, I’ve witnessed a breakdown. I’ve seen a change occur — from support of decency and constraints on brutality, to tolerance of indecency and support for unconstrained cruelty.
Trump is not the cause. He’s the culmination.
So how do we lead moral lives in this age of bullies?
We do everything we can to stop the brutality, to hold the powerful accountable, and to protect the vulnerable.
Putin and Netanyahu are war criminals whose criminality must be stopped. Trump is a dictator who must be deposed.
Right-wing politicians who encourage white Christian nationalism must be condemned and voted out of office. Pundits who amplify racism and xenophobia must lose their megaphones.
Powerful men who sexually harass or abuse women or children must be prosecuted.
Women must be given full control over their bodies, including access to safe abortions.
Police who kill innocent people of color must be brought to justice. Immigration agents must be prohibited from abducting people off the street or from their homes or courthouses or places of work.
CEOs who treat their employees like manure must be exposed and penalized. Billionaires who bribe lawmakers to cut their taxes or exempt them from regulations must be sanctioned, as should lawmakers who accept such bribes.
This isn’t a matter of “left” or “right.” It’s a matter of what’s right.
Living a moral life in an age of bullies requires collective action; it cannot be done alone. Each of us must organize and participate in a vast network of moral resistance.
This is what civilization demands. It’s what the struggle for social justice requires. It’s why that struggle is so critical today, and why we all must be part of it.
From Robert Reich via this RSS feed
24
25
C-17 Globemaster III
The United States has quietly deployed nuclear weapons to the United Kingdom for the first time since 2008, or 17 years ago.
The move has taken place literally without comment by Congress and very little from the American press, both of which seem more interested in Jeffrey Epstein than the threat of thermonuclear war.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, apparently busy with more important things — like fussing with military grooming standards and doing pushups with the troops — has said nothing about deployment of new nuclear bombs to Britain. President Donald Trump hasn’t said anything either, most likely because he doesn’t even know it’s happened.
Defense Secretary doing pushups
The past three years has seen consistent nuclear brinksmanship over Ukraine, with Putin and company making constant threats (and Washington under the Biden administration counter-threatening). Moscow has threatened to alter its own nuclear posture to “counter” NATO, including making its first deployment of nuclear arms to Eastern Europe (in Belarus) since the end of the Cold War.
“Our relevant departments are monitoring developments in this area and formulating tasks to ensure our security against the backdrop of what is happening,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says.
Moscow has been actively preparing nuclear storage facilities in Belarus, though experts like Hans Kristensen of the Federation of American Scientists believe that the warheads have not yet been deployed. The U.S. sent new B61 nuclear bombs to its base at RAF Lakenheath, where F-15E Strike Eagles are deployed, earlier this month.
The world’s two largest nuclear powers beefing up their nuclear warfighting capabilities in Europe might seem like something Congress would want to weigh in on; but the two officials in charge of the Armed Services Committee, Senators Roger Wicker and Jack Reed, haven’t said a word about it. Neither even responded to my request for comment about the new deployment.
In fact, no one in Congress has. And it’s not like they’ve got anything better to do, having knocked off for an over month-long recess that ends on September 1. But who wants to do homework during summer break? Certainly not Congressman Eric Swalwell, who posted a video of himself lifting weights on X with the caption:
“I should be working right now. But Republicans shut down Congress. So instead, I’m pumping iron at the gym.”
From Hegseth to Swalwell, our leaders are working out while Rome smolders.
Meanwhile in the UK, the Chair of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament Tom Unterrainer called the new American deployment “a major escalation in nuclear dangers” and is demanding that Prime Minister Keir Starmer publicly acknowledge it so there can at least be a debate.
Per Unterrainer’s statement:
"It is completely inappropriate for the public to be finding out about such a major escalation in nuclear dangers via reports in British newspapers and the assessments of security experts.”
He makes a good point: it really is a disgrace that we often only learn about national security matters of immense public interest like this when the details tumble out into the open source record, as happened here. In this instance, aviation enthusiasts earlier this month noticed a C-17A Globemaster III depart from Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico, home to the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center, before landing at the British air base Lakenheath, which is also known to have contracted for new nuclear storage sites to be built (thanks to another unintentional disclosure).
We know everything about Hegseth’s interest in things like false eyelashes, but knowing about the Pentagon’s change in nuclear posture shouldn’t have to happen by accident.
The UK Defence Ministry responded to inquiries by local experts by saying that it can “neither confirm nor deny the presence of nuclear weapons at a given location,” a statement echoed by the Pentagon as a matter of course. They could confirm it — if sufficient pressure was put on the military by their civilian leaders (or by members of the supposed coequal branch of government). But there isn’t pressure, so the deployment of nuclear weapons will be known by the Russians, and by the experts, but not by the people.
Better put pressure on the civilian leaders, then. Not just in the Defense Department, but Congress as well, which seems to think it can get away without exercising oversight of the national security state on even the most obvious matters of public interest, as this case shows.
If pressed, apologists for congressional laziness might argue that American nuclear weapons are already currently deployed to Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, and (very precariously) to Turkey. But unlike the UK, all of these countries are vulnerable to local politics and European anxiety about nuclear war, so the prospects of their being thrown out is somewhat possible.
But now that Europe and NATO has adopted an all-for-one-and-one-for-all policy in response to the Ukraine war, where “solidarity” is more important than sanity, throwing the UK into the mix all but ensures that the controversial nuclear bombs will likely remain forever. In the case of the UK the United States has a partner that embraces nuclear weapons (having its own arsenal), but one who will stand against others who agitate to remove theirs.
The other possibility for the future is that the UK deployment is to allow nuclear bombs to be removed from the other countries, NATO then being able that the UK-based nuclear bombs makes sufficient linkage between what happens in Europe and Washington.
In either case, nuclear war in Europe is back on the table, launched in London, so one-for-all the Europeans are working against their own security.
Correction: the nuclear deployment represents the first since 2008, not the Cold War, as an earlier version of this article said.
Subscribe if you think nuclear escalation should be a bigger story.
— Edited by William M. Arkin
From Ken Klippenstein via this RSS feed
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