Lisa R Schultheis

[Lisa R Schultheis @LisaRuthNimmo]

The problem of the new world, . . . will be to reassert the ordinary, the trivial, and even the ridiculous in the face of instability and dread: to mourn the dead and then try to awaken to our small humanities and our pleasurable daily nothing-much.

—Jonathan Franzen

[Jonathan Cohn @CitizenCohn]

Remembering https://t.co/3nGlthWya8

[Lorraine E-Van-Off @LorraineEvanoff]

"A war with no strategy now has no budget either.

The Pentagon faces an urgent shortfall driven largely by the Iran conflict, with parts of the Navy and Air Force operating budgets on track to run dry by the end of this month.

The military is already limiting and canceling the training exercises that keep units combat-ready, draining equipment and facility maintenance accounts, and begging Congress for permission to shift $4.3 billion from training and weapons purchases toward more urgent needs.

Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman Dan Caine testify before Senate appropriators today to plead for an immediate $67 billion infusion, and the House leaves Thursday for a month-long recess with nothing resolved.

The numbers underneath are worse than the headline.

The White House claims the war has cost about $30 billion so far, a figure independent analysts consider a lowball that conveniently excludes rebuilding the American bases Iran keeps hitting.

The military has burned through thousands of precision munitions and the Pentagon has stonewalled Congress for weeks on how many remain, even as officials privately fret about having enough left to deter Russia and China.

Hegseth went on television last month and declared the stockpiles “great, and they’re only getting stronger.”

His own building’s private message to lawmakers is closer to panic.

And the public has rendered its verdict: just 28 percent of Americans say this war has been worth fighting, against 68 percent who say it was not, numbers that rival the darkest days of Afghanistan."

BREAKING: US Intelligence Turns On Trump's War https://t.co/SREUCa7yyM

[Annie @AnnieForTruth]

For once Lyin’ Leavitt actually spoke the truth! 🤣

[Irlandarra @martinez_j7902]

Surgical center staff demand to see ICE warrant during arrest in a Hospital in California

Seeing people with integrity and an actual backbone makes me cry with joy and hope.

[The Kobeissi Letter @KobeissiLetter]

BREAKING: President Trump is preparing to announce 10% tariffs on "dozens of countries" this week, per FT.

Details include:

1. These new tariffs come as President Trump's current 10% tariffs expire later this week

2. President Trump's advisors have reportedly warned him against doing so

3. Advisors are reportedly worried about risking the economic shocks of the original trade war ahead of the midterm elections

4. The Trump Admin is also working on other investigations that could grant it the legal authority to propose higher tariffs

More tariffs are on the way.

[Scott Robertson @sarobertson_]

Eby: "I feel sorry for Americans. If you can't be friends with Canada, then you almost certainly do not have a friend anywhere in the world. And that is a very lonely place to be."

[FactPost @factpostnews]

CNN: An investigation finds that Trump cuts created a "perfect storm" for a slowed response to the Cyclospora outbreak. More than half of states are reporting Cyclospora infections. A former federal lab official said the cuts led to 'the loss of specialized staff needed to identify the source of the outbreaks.'

[🪴Laurie @Laurieluvsmolly]

REMEMBER:

The Trump admin, Ric Grenell, Don Jr., etc., convinced the Romanian officials to stop the travel ban on the Tates.

New charges:

Andrew Tate: 42 charges
~Rape
~Human trafficking
~Indecent images of a child
~Assault

Tristan Tate: 17 charges
~Sexual assault
~Rape
~Trafficking

[Moe Davis (U.S. Air Force, Retired) @ColMoeDavis]

The Tate brothers — Andrew and Tristan — were arrested in Miami yesterday by the U.S. Marshals Service and are being held pending extradition to England where they face 39 charges that include rape, sex trafficking, assault, charges related to sexual images of children, and other sex related crimes.

You may recall that the brothers were previously arrested on sex trafficking and other sex crime charges in Romania, but they were allowed to leave and travel to the United States after the Trump administration pressured the Romanian government to lift a travel ban on the brothers.

The Tates are manosphere royalty with over 10 million social media followers. Amongst their circle of influential supporters are Don Junior and Barron Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance, and UFC President and Trump pal Dana White.

The connections between the Tate brothers, the Trump clan, and prominent MAGA influencers are well documented. That’s not to suggest that anyone in Trump’s circle was involved in the Tate brothers actions, but the Trump world certainly hasn’t shown the slightest bit of discomfort rubbing elbows with the notorious Tates.

Human trafficking, sexual abuse of children, and immoral behavior were central tenets of the Republican Party’s transmogrification into MAGA. It’s ironic at a minimum that from Jeffrey Epstein to the Tate brothers, the fingerprints of MAGA’s Messiah turn up in abundance.

If someone smelled of smoke after every arson fire, you’d think at some point people would begin to get suspicious.

[Viral Reel Addict @ViralReelAddict]

Send Barron Trump to Iran instead.

The White House says Barron Trump is “too tall” at 6'9" for military service.

David Robinson was 7'0" and put his NBA career on hold to serve in the Navy.
Height clearly wasn’t an excuse then and it isn’t now.

[MeidasClips @MeidasClips]

Katie Phang blasts the Trump administration for its role in getting the Tate brothers travel restriction lifted: "This regime has the most fucked up priorities. It's not taking care of Americans. It's not making sure that gas prices and food prices are low. It's not making sure that we have affordable health care. It's not making sure that we have SNAP and child care ... It's let's make sure that we prioritize having a conversation about the Tate brothers getting off a fucking house arrest."

[Epstein File Search @epsteinsearchin]

Jeffrey Epstein's victims asked a court to unseal his non-prosecution deal, the one that shielded his unnamed co-conspirators.

The United States government filed a formal opposition to keep it sealed.

It fought the victims to protect the deal.

[ThePatrioticBlonde™🇺🇸 @ImBreckWorsham]

Crude Oil only has 43 days of supply left in the U.S., the lowest inventory in 45 years.

Graph courtesy: @Barchart

[Sean Davis @seanmdav]

Reminder that Mitch McConnell, who is literally AWOL from the Senate, is currently in violation of actual Senate Rules.

[Desmond Park @Parkdes]

@Jim_Jordan Are 83% of Americans republicans? Give every citizen of the USA a gov issued id for free that can be replaced easily and quickly if lost. Allow mail in voting if required . It might take a few years but I bet that would pass.

[Ryan Shead @RyanShead]

Supporting masked men stopping anyone not white to harass and attack them in America is wild.

[Dittie @DittiePE]

Border Patrol pulls over a 20-year-old in Slidell, LA for “white lights on the back of your vehicle… your reverse lights are on the whole time.”

Then, before writing a single ticket, the agent asks: “What’s your citizenship?”

The driver, Alan Laureano, was born in Slidell. His passenger — his 13-year-old stepbrother — was born in Pearl River, Louisiana. Both are U.S. citizens.

Didn’t matter. Twice, on camera, the agent tells Laureano he’s going to “check” the kid and “if he’s illegal, I will take him.”

He tries to open the 13-year-old’s car door himself. Laureano locks it and rolls the window down instead.

The agent then interrogates the child directly — full name, spelling, date of birth, birthplace — while Laureano stands his ground and refuses to hand over his own ID, telling the agent he doesn’t have the right to stop him over a taillight.

Immigration attorney Michael Gahagan reviewed the video and called it what it is: “an illegal detention.” Border Patrol isn’t authorized to detain someone over a traffic violation — they need independent reasonable suspicion of an immigration violation, and that has to come first, not get invented after the stop.

DHS’s after-the-fact statement claims the stop was based on “reasonable suspicion or probable cause of federal law violations” — but doesn’t say what that violation was. WWL Louisiana asked twice. No answer either time.

This is the pattern: pretext stop, pivot to citizenship, threaten a kid with removal before confirming anything. It only looks “routine” until you’re the one being asked to prove you belong in the country you were born in.

[Michael Freeman @michaelpfreeman]

Vandals!

[James Tepper @JTep]

DC Attorney Jeanine Pirro has fucked up again. She had David Hearn arrested and charged with felony destruction of a National Monument over his alleged vandalism of the Reflecting Pool. Only there is no evidence. Hearn took photos of the pool before and after he allegedly vandalized it. They look the same. And Pirro’s office has only the sworn testimony of two federal employees. Any physical evidence is either missing or never existed.

Hearn’s attorneys have filed for dismissal of the case. Looks like a slam dunk for Hearn and the others who were also arrested for misdemeanor damage to the pool.

[Jim Acosta @Acosta]

Shot/chaser… Judge in David Hearn reflecting pool case instructed government to leave the pool alone to preserve evidence.
Meanwhile the government is ripping up sections of the pool per photog on the scene.

[Boston Smalls @smalls2672]

This is an all out assault on our most fundamental sacred right as an american.