Edward F Gee

Pragmatic, diplomatic idealist possessing a penchant for Disney and the Dodgers.

[Mike Levin @MikeLevin]

Some thoughts on the new Epstein Files revelations:

I’ve now read everything that’s come out from the new Haberman and Swan book, and the thing I keep coming back to is the Situation Room. They held multiple meetings in the Situation Room about the Epstein files. That room is for war. It’s for national security emergencies. It is not for figuring out how to spin a scandal you’re telling the country is a hoax.

While the President was deflecting or calling this old news, his own Vice President and Chief of Staff were huddled in the most leak-proof room in America because they knew how bad it really was.

You don’t take a nothingburger to the Situation Room.

And I have to be honest, reading all this brings back a lot of frustration about what happened in the House of Representatives. I sat there and watched Mike Johnson send the House home early to dodge a vote on releasing these files. I watched him refuse to swear in a duly elected colleague for months just to stall the discharge petition. Month after month of excuses, arm twisting, and procedural games, all to keep this information from the public. We only got the files because survivors, families, and a handful of members in both parties simply refused to let it go.

So when people ask me why I talk so much about transparency and accountability, this is why. The truth eventually comes out. It always does.

The only question is whether your leaders helped reveal it or helped bury it.

Everyone who voted to keep these files hidden should have to answer for that.

Finally, notice what’s missing from all of this is any sign that Trump’s DOJ will actually investigate the powerful men named in these files.

Draw your own conclusions about why a Justice Department run by the President’s former defense lawyers might not be eager to pull that thread.

[Kathy Hochul @KathyHochul]

My parents instilled in me that sense of responsibility to others to improve your community. That’s what motivates me to fight for all New Yorkers.

I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished. And I’m ready to keep delivering for our state.

[Sophia A. Nelson @IAmSophiaNelson]

That part...

[Acyn @Acyn]

Elias: Why does California have signature matching? They have it to satisfy the same right-wing zealots who claim there’s fraud, right?

So they do this whole kabuki theater that takes all of this time in order to contend with the fact that people say that if you don’t do signature matching, there’s going to be fraud. And then they get attacked for taking the time to do that very thing.

The fact that the New York Times thinks there’s a middle ground here… Here’s my message: I don’t compromise with Republicans because there is no middle ground between a firefighter and an arsonist, and they are trying to burn down democracy.

[julie k. brown @jkbjournalist]

NEW: Woman involved with Epstein recruiter has been missing since 2015. Story by German magazine Der Spiegel. Her family says her name is in the Epstein files. Here is the Substack link: https://t.co/pcSPo1BYdX

[Jo @JoJoFromJerz]

@RepNancyMace 5th place fucking loser says what? 😂😂😂

[Democratic Wins Media @DemocraticWins]

BREAKING: In a stunning moment, CNN just played a devastating montage highlighting all the times that Donald Trump lied to the American people and told us he was "close to a deal." Nobody should trust his leadership anymore.

[Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez @AOC]

But taxing wealth so normal people can afford to see a doctor and not go bankrupt over inhalers is radical left. OK

[Congresswoman Chellie Pingree @chelliepingree]

Hi, Donald. Midcoast Mainer here.

You did not, in fact, “have to go to Japan” to get a Maine lobster before you. We sold millions. Our lobster fishery is one of the most valuable in the U.S.

It’s a big reason why people come here, in case you didn’t know!

If anything is hurting our lobstermen, it’s inflation (which you apparently “love”).

Also, exactly *zero* Maine fishermen run their boats at three knots. More like 30 knots—and some go even faster. You should check out a lobster boat race sometime!

I think it might be time for one of your famous Oval Office naps, because you have ZERO idea what you’re talking about.

[Kamala Harris @KamalaHarris]

Richard Loving had a message for the Supreme Court about interracial marriages: “Tell the Court I love my wife, and it is just unfair that I can't live with her in Virginia."

He and his wife Mildred won, guaranteeing interracial marriages are legal in the eyes of the law.

[Ana Cabrera @AnaCabrera]

With gratitude…today was my final show on MS NOW. More to come…. https://t.co/4ue9Wg8QUM

[Christopher Hale @ChristopherHale]

“Dear migrants, before I say any other word to you, I want to bow before your dignity.

“You are not numbers or case files.

“You are people — with a family and a home left behind, with dreams that no one has the right to scorn.” — Pope Leo XIV

[Team Talarico @TeamTalaricoHQ]

.@JamesTalarico: There's been a lot of talk in this race about what it means to be a real man.

Recently on the campaign trail I told the story of my adoptive dad, Mark Talarico. Every Saturday morning, he would mow our lawn, and then without anyone asking him to, he would go next door and mow our neighbor's lawn because she was a widow. My dad never talked about it — he just did it, because that's what a man does.

A man takes responsibility, upholds his commitments to his family and his neighbors, and does what's right, even when no one is watching.

Here's what real men don't do. They don't lie and cheat their way through life, sell their soul to the highest bidder, or steal from other people in order to enrich themselves. Real men serve others. Weak men serve themselves.

I welcome this debate about what it means to be a man, and I don't think Ken Paxton or Ted Cruz are in a position to tell anybody what a real man is.

[Fred Wellman @FPWellman]

28 years and Hegseth cancels it. This isn’t anti-DEI. It’s hate designed to push them out of service. — Air Force cites DEI ban in cancellation of wreath-laying honoring women vets https://t.co/Lu6vBCVJ8R

[Congresswoman Yassamin Ansari @RepYassAnsari]

We went from “help is on the way” for Iranian people to deporting Iranian asylum seekers - women fleeing persecution in Iran - to Central Africa.

Donald Trump is a vile, racist person surrounded by racist sycophants carrying out these insane policies.🧵

https://t.co/pKi7ueqqKj

[Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani @NYCMayor]

It’s official: the rooftop of the David Dinkins Municipal Building is now open — and free for all New Yorkers and visitors alike. 

Come one, come all!

[Decoding Fox News @DecodingFoxNews]

The workers at The Kennedy Center had to pause their work to remove Trump’s name due to rain but that means the UFC octagon is also being rained on. 🤷🏼‍♀️

[Brian Allen @allenanalysis]

BREAKING: This Is A Pretty Stunning "I Told You So."

A year ago, Sen. Alex Padilla warned that Los Angeles was being used as a testing ground for Trump's immigration crackdown.

Most people dismissed it.

Now Padilla says the same tactics have spread city by city across America.

Washington.

Chicago.

Portland.

Minneapolis.

And others.

Then came his bigger warning.

The highly publicized street operations may be fading from the headlines, but he says the crackdown has simply moved behind closed doors into detention facilities and immigration proceedings.

First came Los Angeles.

Then came the expansion.

According to Padilla, the test run became national policy.

[Jo @JoJoFromJerz]

LFG! 🔥🔥

[Mike Nellis @MikeNellis]

Talarico fires back at Ken Paxton and Ted Cruz for questioning his masculinity: Real men don't lie and cheat their way through life. They don't sell their soul to the highest bidder. Real men serve others, weak men serve themselves.

More of this please!!