Jan

Retired RN/Nurse Practitioner, dog, nature, and music lover, crafter. Intrepid truth seeker & fact finder. Utahn for 50+ years, now back in my native Kansas.

[Ed Krassenstein @EdKrassen]

BREAKING: Trump has just preemptively filed a lawsuit seeking to block certification of Alaska's US Senate election if the Republican incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan loses.

It’s happening folks! Trump is once again trying to overturn the results of an election before it even takes place.

[Jan @ExpressiveP]

@rv_ivankatrump B.

[Jan @ExpressiveP]

@jasonllevin Newton

[Barack Obama @BarackObama]

It is a basic principle of American democracy that the government can’t selectively target individuals simply because of their political beliefs or what they say. But that’s exactly what the Trump Administration is doing to Congresswoman Ilhan Omar of Minnesota.

To understand why this is so appalling, it’s important to know the facts. Congresswoman Omar came to this country with her father when she was 12 years old. Five years later, her father became a naturalized citizen. If Ilhan had been 18 at the time, she would have had to apply for citizenship separately. But because she was 17, she became a naturalized citizen automatically.

Congresswoman Omar went on to graduate from college, work as a community organizer, become the first Somali-American legislator elected to public office in the U.S., and win a seat in Congress. There, she has been one of the Trump Administration’s fiercest critics, which has led the president to repeatedly single her out as someone who he believes does not belong in this country.

Now the Administration is actively trying to deport Congresswoman Omar, seemingly based solely on the unsubstantiated theory that she was actually 18 when her father was naturalized, and therefore is not a citizen. Federal agents have raided her home, confiscated personal records, and seized her phone — all to try and uncover a nonexistent smoking gun from 20 years ago that will somehow make their case.

Think about that. The full weight of the federal government is being brought down on a law-abiding elected official because she has dared to criticize the president. And it’s not the first time this has happened. Under President Trump, the Justice Department has repeatedly gone after those he considers his political enemies — from the Attorney General of New York, to the former head of the FBI, to members of the Federal Reserve.

In those cases, the prosecutions either stalled or were dismissed for having no basis in law, and the same is likely to happen in this case. But not before Congresswoman Omar’s life has been turned upside down, her legal bills have piled up, and she’s been forced to spend time fighting unsubstantiated charges instead of serving the people of Minnesota.

The fact that any president, or any administration, is willing to engage in such transparent efforts to intimidate someone should outrage all Americans, regardless of how they feel about Congresswoman Omar’s political views. Because if this becomes the new normal, there’s no reason to believe it will stop with her — or that future presidents, in either party, won’t do the same.

[Rep. Pramila Jayapal @RepJayapal]

ICE has notified me that another person has died in their custody. This is the 58th death under ICE’s watch since Trump returned to office.

That’s 58 too many. We need to dismantle ICE, eliminate private, for-profit detention centers, and reform our broken immigration system.

[Cory Booker @CoryBooker]

Social Security is a contract that working people keep every payday.

The Trump administration is breaking that contract — firing thousands of Social Security workers, closing offices, and making it harder for seniors to get the benefits they already earned.

I will keep fighting for the benefits you’ve already earned, the offices that serve you, the staff who answer the phone when a senior needs help.

Op: @pullupspastapolitics

[Elizabeth Warren @ewarren]

A teacher earning $60,000 pays Social Security taxes on every dollar she earns.

A worker earning $184,500 does, too.

But someone earning $1 million pays the tax on just the first $184,500. Nothing more.

Yes, the country’s billionaires pay into Social Security as if they make $184,500.

That doesn’t make sense.

So I have a bill to eliminate this arbitrary cap on Social Security taxes.

If those with the highest incomes just paid the same share as everyone else, we could inject around $3 TRILLION into the program over the next 10 years.

I'm fighting hard to protect Social Security.

[Gianl1974 @Gianl1974]

When the man who investigated Trump firsthand — before Republicans refused to let us see and hear everything he found - says the danger
Is "greater than anything he has seen in his lifetime," we should LISTEN.
Former Special Counsel Jack Smith didn't mince words:
"I think we are facing an attack on the rule of law that is different in kind and scope to anything I've seen in my lifetime."
This isn't coming from a political commentator or a random pundit. It's coming from the prosecutor who spent years examining the evidence against Trump, reviewing classified documents, interviewing witnesses, and seeing how power was used behind the scenes.
Whether you're a Democrat, Republican, or independent, the rule of law is supposed to be the foundation of our democracy. It means NO ONE is above the law, no matter how wealthy, powerful, or politically connected they are.
And, ask yourself, what's the harm in seeing the FACTS!?
If Trump didn't do anything wrong, he shouldn't have anything to worry about, right?
When someone with Jack Smith's experience warns that the threat is unprecedented, it shouldn't be dismissed because of politics.
It should prompt every American to ask what's happening to the institutions that are supposed to protect democracy.

📸 Really American

[Brian Krassenstein @krassenstein]

Chilling words.

Senator Dick Durbin at the Jack Smith Hearing just now:

“There are moments I’ll never forget. Twenty-five years ago, 9/11 was one of those moments when we were asked to evacuate the Capitol for fear of what might happen if the terrorists attacked.

“But the day I’ll also remember as long as I live is January 6, 2021, when this cathedral of democracy was overrun by violent insurrectionists at the direction of the President of the United States.”

[Occupy Democrats @OccupyDemocrats]

BREAKING: REAL LEADERSHIP! Senator Jon Ossoff delivers a showstopping speech shredding Trump for refusing to meet the moment as AI CEOs warn that their tech could destroy our entire species.

Everything is at stake and Trump is asleep at the wheel...

"This week, we were warned again of existential risk to the human species. Did you see it?" Ossoff said at a rally in Athens, Georgia on Sunday. "And what fills us with dread is the crushing weakness of our politics against the massive stakes of our times."

"Tech titans dig bunkers, while warning us the new intelligence they're creating risks human extinction," he said. "Congress debates youth sports, and the President builds a ballroom. An ancient establishment barely capable of email sleepwalks into a technological revolution while the President dismantles precautions and calls us fools for worrying."

Over the weekend, the CEOs of Anthropic, OpenAI, and xAI publicly called for AI development to be slowed, citing profound, accelerating threats to human civilization. The eyebrow-raising remarks came just days after a former Anthropic researcher resigned from the company and warned that AI could “kill us all by the end of the decade."

Rather than soberly urging caution, Trump attacked Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei earlier today for voicing his warning, writing on Truth Social that "the only control or 'guardrails' that AI needs is a STRONG AND SMART (High IQ!) PRESIDENT, and the U.S.A. has that, in spades!"

Even if that were the case, we don't have a smart President. We're currently saddled with the stupidest, most ignorant, least informed, least curious leader in American history. As if that weren't bad enough, he's clearly in a profound state of cognitive decline.

Trump went on to claim that the government already has "tremendous CRIMINAL and REGULATORY power" over AI and alleged that a "sick conspiracy" is working "against AI and Data Centers."

It's not hard to puzzle out why Trump is throwing caution to the wind here. He knows that the AI bubble is the only thing propping up the stock market. A development slowdown risks crashing the market but if the stakes are literally the survival of our species, we have no other choice. Of course, Trump doesn't care about the future of mankind. He's a narcissistic sociopath nearing the end of his life. He'd rather stretch the AI bubble out, even if it means our planet's demise, if it means he can hold onto a few more approval points in the short term.

"Just listen to this," Ossoff continued. "On day one, Donald Trump rescinded the AI safety order meant to guard against catastrophic risks, including the engineering of bioweapons. Meanwhile, Don Jr.'s 1789 capital bought big money stakes in data centers and AI labs."

"Four days before inauguration, the Emirati spy chief committed $500 million to the Trump family crypto business," said the senator. "And four months later, the Trump administration granted the Emirates the rights to buy our most sensitive AI chips. See, a capable President would move swiftly to secure and reassure the American people, rush inspectors into frontier labs, fortify the nation against bioterrorism, demand legislation from Congress, and lead the world toward an AI treaty."

"But President Trump is compromised. A capable Congress would engage every committee in investigation and legislation to act swiftly and wisely. Those CEOs would be under oath next week," he continued. "But instead, the President and the Speaker of the House sit on their hands and hope for the best. So you see this scenario, and you look at the state of our politics, and it shakes your faith in the future. I understand."

"But Athens, we can and will reclaim control over our own destiny. We can and will meet our obligations to our children, and that begins with victory this fall," Ossoff concluded.

One final thing worth remembering is that we cannot trust these AI CEOs. While we should certainly seize on this opportunity to regulate the hell out of this industry, there is a distinct possibility that these calls for a slowdown are an effort to hide the fact that AI growth is slowing. These companies are struggling to make money and letting in regulation would allow these executives to concoct an excuse for flagging profits, or delaying IPOs. Instead of admitting that their companies can't scale properly, they can claim they're playing things safe for our benefit.

Ultimately, it doesn't matter what their goal is. It's time for the government to step in and rein these corporations in for good.

Please ❤️ and share if you support regulating AI!

[Occupy Democrats @OccupyDemocrats]

BREAKING: HELL YES! A Trump-appointed federal judge delivers him a CRUSHING defeat by ordering the U.S. Postal Service to ignore his illegal executive order restricting mail-in voting.

This is a massive win for democracy itself...

“Plaintiffs have demonstrated that, absent an injunction, there is an increased risk that a significant number of otherwise appropriate absentee or mail-in ballots will ultimately not be counted in the upcoming elections,” wrote U.S. District Judge Carl J. Nichols, issuing a preliminary injunction. “The public has a strong interest in ensuring that doesn’t happen.”

This ruling adds to a separate ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani against Trump's blatant attempt to undermine the midterm elections. Fully aware that he is historically unpopular and his party is heading into a midterms disaster, Trump is trying to erect as many barriers to the ballot box as possible. He knows that if fewer people are able to vote, Republicans stand a better chance of avoiding a total electoral collapse. If the executive order is enforced, millions of Americans could end up disenfranchised.

The Supreme Court is currently considering the administration's appeal of Talwani's order, and Nichols' decision further weights the case against the White House.

It's worth noting that Trump's executive order would not simply rework our elections. Since there isn't sufficient time to properly implement the changes — which would require ALL ballot envelope designs to be pre-approved by the Postal Service, as well as the uploading of data identifying mail voters to an online portal that is currently non-functioning — Trump is clearly just trying to inject chaos into the midterms. He doesn't care if his order can be implemented properly, he wants to be able to point to the failure of implementation as a pretext to claim that the election was illegal or stolen once his party loses.

"No statute grants the Postal Service the power to issue key parts of the rule," wrote Nichols.

Please ❤️ and share to thank the judge!

[Jan @ExpressiveP]

@Fruit_Pulses 93

[Jan @ExpressiveP]

@farman4x 95

[Jan @ExpressiveP]

@AmazingEyes1122 16

[Joe Walsh @WalshFreedom]

The President of the United States is at war with you. He’s trying to disenfranchise you, he’s trying to take away your vote, he’s trying to steal the midterms. You need to accept this horrible truth, and you need to fight back/retaliate against him. So for starters, when voting this year:

1. Use drop boxes.
2. Vote early in person.
3. If voting by mail, put your ballot in the mail at least 2 wks before Election Day.

4. Share these instructions with everyone you know. He’s at war with us. We must be at war with him. And defeat him.

[Joe Walsh @WalshFreedom]

Let’s hope so. A party that sold its soul to a cruel, ignorant, corrupt, lawless, anti-democratic, un-American sociopath certainly deserves to lose both the House and the Senate.👇

[Occupy Democrats @OccupyDemocrats]

BREAKING: SHAME! Trump refuses to attend the ceremony commemorating the 25th anniversary of 9/11 because the event organizers won't let him give a MAGA speech.

This man makes everything about himself...

According to people with "knowledge of the events" who spoke to The New York Times, Trump was originally planning on attending the event. He even had his team perform advance visits to Manhattan’s National September 11 Memorial & Museum, a customary security check when the President travels anywhere.

His minions also informed the museum that he would like to give a speech at the event. But under the organization's official rules, politicians are forbidden from delivering speeches at anniversary events. This restriction prevents things from descending into political partisanship and ensures that attendees can focus on "honoring the victims and their families in a way free of politics.”

Since, Trump is pathologically incapable of empathy and is uninterested in anything that doesn't revolve around him and his turgid ego, he has now cancelled his plans to attend.

The self-centeredness itself is unsurprising, because this is not a man who has any genuine care for the victims of 9/11 or their families. On the day that the towers came down, he publicly boasted that their destruction meant he now owned the tallest building in Lower Manhattan. He also falsely claimed to have helped clear the rubble.

Since he was blocked from giving a speech at the museum, Trump will now "commemorate" the anniversary at the Pentagon, where he'll be able to rant and rave into a microphone for as long as he likes. The smart money predicts an Islamophobic tirade and we wouldn't be surprised if he tries to conflate Al Qaeda and Iran, in order to draw an imaginary connection between the 9/11 attacks and his ongoing illegal war.

Vice President J.D. Vance will be attending the memorial event at the museum in Trump's stead.

The organization's statement about this brewing scandal was reserved and nonpartisan as expected.

“For more than a decade, the ceremony at Ground Zero has featured only family members solemnly reading the names of their loved ones. Elected officials of both parties have borne witness to this solemn occasion over the years, and we have been honored that every living President, including President Trump, has attended. Of course, President Trump is always welcome,” the museum stated.

The most enraging thing about Trump's refusal to attend this solemn and sacred event is the silence from MAGA world. The very same people who are furious that Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a Muslim, will be attending the event have nothing to say about their petulant cult leader disrespecting the entire ceremony.

And it should go without saying, but the the museum made the right decision by refusing to let Trump speak. The last thing that the families of 9/11 victims need to hear is a longwinded, rambling diatribe from a sundowning pedophile.

Please ❤️ and share if you think that Trump is an AWFUL American!

[Suzie rizzio @Suzierizzo1]

Holy Crap U.S District Judge Loretta Preska has just ruled that the late Virginia Guiffre 2015 civil lawsuit against Ghislaine Maxwell can be unsealed.The Federal Judge has ordered the Public release of the files from Virginia’s defamation case against Ghislaine Maxwell. Hell yes!

[Suzie rizzio @Suzierizzo1]

AOC is brilliant! 👇👇