egs

[Mike Levin @MikeLevin]

This is so insanely corrupt, I can’t even believe it.

More than half the donors to Trump’s $400 million White House ballroom just won over $50 billion in new federal contracts in six months.

And here’s the part that should make your blood boil.

Sixteen of these 27 donors were facing federal enforcement actions, antitrust reviews, labor cases, securities charges. Many of those cases have been quietly dropped or scaled back since Trump took office. You write a check, your legal problems disappear. That’s not a coincidence.

The White House won’t even release the full donor list. They’re hiding it on purpose, because daylight is the one thing pay-to-play can’t survive. A federal judge already ruled ballroom construction has to stop until Congress authorizes it.

Government is supposed to serve the people, not auction itself off to the highest bidder. When access goes to whoever pays the most, working families always end up paying the price.

We either end the corruption, or the corruption will end us.

https://t.co/4MGFzSseFl

[Occupy Democrats @OccupyDemocrats]

BREAKING: Pope Leo XIV enrages MAGA by formally apologizing for the Church's role in legitimizing slavery and for failing to condemn it for centuries, calling it a "wound in Christian memory."

This is truly historic and Republicans are furious...

“It is impossible not to feel deep sorrow when contemplating the immense suffering and humiliation endured by so many in stark contrast to their immeasurable dignity as persons infinitely loved by the Lord. For this, in the name of the church, I sincerely ask for pardon," Leo wrote in “Magnifica Humanitas,” his much-anticipated first encyclical.

While previous popes have apologized for the Christian involvement in the trans-Atlantic slave trade, none has ever delivered such a direct apology for the broader role that the Church played in the survival of that deeply evil institution.

The Vatican at times gave European monarchs express permission to colonize and enslave foreign peoples, slathering their brutal crimes against humanity in a veneer of Christian piety. In the 15th century, Pope Nicholas V went so far as to give the Portugese throne authority to subjugate and rob “Saracens, and pagans, and other infidels, and enemies of the name of Christ” as well as "reduce their persons to perpetual slavery.”

Leo took that history on head-first—

"Already in the early modern period, the Apostolic See of Rome, responding to the requests of sovereigns, intervened several times in order to regulate and legitimize forms of subjugation, and, in certain cases, including the enslavement of ‘infidels,'" he wrote.

"In the development of her doctrine, the Church has gradually come to a deeper awareness of the gravity of these issues," Leo stated. "It is true that past events cannot be judged anachronistically, as though the moral criteria that matured over time had always been available. Yet neither can we deny or diminish the delay with which both society and the Church came to denounce the scourge of slavery."

He added that it "took eighteen centuries" for the Church to "explicitly" recognize its "full incompatibility with slavery."

“This constitutes a wound in Christian memory, one from which we cannot consider ourselves detached,” Leo added.

The pronouncement has already been met with outrage from many members of the online right, who believe that the Western world should never apologize for anything it's done, not even slavery. Social media is aflurry with MAGA accusations that Leo has succumbed to "suicidal empathy" and "white guilt." These are the same people who believe that the Civil War was fought for "states' rights" and that the Confederacy was an admirable endeavor.

“For descendants of enslaved persons, this is once again a much needed apology from the pope,” said Anthea Butler, senior fellow at Oxford University's Koch History Center. She added that the apology empowers Leo to “speak to the current issues of technological enslavement.”

The Pope's slavery apology was part of a much lengthier document whose title translates to "Magnificent Humanity." It's largely focused on humanity's roles and responsibilities as artificial intelligence reshapes the world around us. Leo connected the topic to slavery by warning that these emergent technologies are leading to new forms of human exploitation and debasement, as neocolonialist labor practices are implemented to provide the rare minerals necessary to build AI chips.

The situation in the Congo is particularly dire, with untold masses of men, women, and children being paid next to nothing — and in some cases nothing at all — to work in inhumane, unhealthy conditions mining cobalt.

While so many of our world leaders are failing to confront the challenges and evils of the modern world, Pope Leo is boldly leading the way.

Please ❤️ and share if you're a big fan of Pope Leo!

[Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський @ZelenskyyUa]

Our intelligence services reported receiving data, including from American and European partners, about Russia preparing a strike with the Oreshnik missile. We are verifying this information.

We are seeing signs of preparation for a combined strike on Ukrainian territory, including Kyiv, involving various types of weaponry. The specified intermediate-range weapons could be used in such a strike. It is important to act responsibly on air-raid alerts, starting this evening. Russian madness truly knows no bounds, so please protect your lives – use shelters.

Second, we are drawing the attention of our partners in the United States and in Europe to the fact that the use of such weapons and the prolongation of this war also sets a global precedent for other potential aggressors. If Russia is allowed to destroy lives on such a scale, then no agreement will restrain other similar hatred-based regimes from aggression and strikes. We count on a response from the world – and on a response that is not post factum, but preventive. Pressure must be put on Moscow so that it does not expand the war.

Third, we are preparing our air defense as much as possible, and we will respond fully justly to every Russian strike. We have given permission for a parade, but Russia has no permission for madness. This war must be ended – we need peace, not some missiles satisfying the sick ambitions of one individual. I thank everyone helping to protect lives. Once again, please take care of yourselves and use shelters tonight.

[Pope Leo XIV @Pontifex]

No nation, no society, and no international order can call itself just and humane if it measures its success solely by power or prosperity while neglecting those who live at the margins. Indeed, Christ’s love for the least and the forgotten compels us to reject every form of selfishness that leaves the poor and the vulnerable invisible.

[Ursula von der Leyen @vonderleyen]

Russia’s public threats against our Baltic States are completely unacceptable.

Let there be no doubt.

A threat against one Member State is a threat against our entire Union.

Russia and Belarus bear direct responsibility for drones endangering the lives and security of people on our Eastern flank.

Europe will respond with unity and strength.

We will continue reinforcing the security of our Eastern flank with strong collective defence and preparedness at every level.

[Pope Leo XIV @Pontifex]

We must remain vigilant regarding the development and application of artificial intelligence in both military and civilian contexts, so that it does not remove human responsibility from decision-making or worsen the tragedy of conflicts. Events in Ukraine, Gaza and the Palestinian territories, Lebanon, and Iran describe the inhuman evolution of the relationship between war and new technologies, which creates a spiral of annihilation.

[Pope Leo XIV @Pontifex]

What kind of world are we leaving behind? Unfortunately, it is a world distorted by war and war-like language. This pollution of reason comes from the geopolitical sphere and invades every social relationship. Any simplification that creates enemies must be corrected, especially in universities, through complexity of thought and wise exercise of memory.

[Brian Allen @allenanalysis]

🇺🇸BREAKING: The Supreme Court just rejected 9-0 Louisiana’s bid to reconsider their racial gerrymandering ruling.

Nine justices. Zero dissents.

Louisiana cancelled an ongoing election to redraw those maps.

People had already voted.

The court didn’t budge.

Never stop connecting the dots.

[George Conway ⚖️🇺🇸 @gtconway3d]

hey do you guys think I need a lawyer

[Gianl1974 @Gianl1974]

Trump just fired all 24 members of the National Science Board. Every single one. By email. No warning. No reason given. The board has existed since 1950.

The National Science Board is the independent body that oversees the National Science Foundation, the agency that distributes $9 billion in research grants every year.

Its members are scientists and engineers from universities and industry. They serve six-year staggered terms specifically so they cross presidential administrations and stay independent of whoever is in power.

On Friday, every single one of them got the same boilerplate email from Mary Sprowls of the Presidential Personnel Office: "On behalf of President Donald J Trump, I am writing to inform you that your position as a member of the National Science Board is terminated, effective immediately. Thank you for your service."

That's it. That's the whole letter. For 76 years of institutional independence.

The NSF funds the basic science behind MRIs. Cellphones. LASIK eye surgery. GPS. The internet itself. The Antarctic research stations. The deep-space telescopes. The research vessels mapping the ocean floor. Every breakthrough that made America the world's leader in science for the better part of a century traces back through grants this agency made and this board approved.

The board chair, Victor McCrary, was actively advising Congress on Trump's proposed 55% cut to NSF's budget. The board was helping fight back. So Trump fired the board.

Marvi Matos Rodriguez, one of the fired members, told reporters she had been reviewing an 80-page report as part of her board duties just days before being terminated.

Keivan Stassun, a physicist at Vanderbilt, said NSF's leadership had already stopped responding to board oversight requests months ago. "We would ask them, 'Are you following board governance directives?' And their answer would be, in effect, 'We don't listen to you anymore.'"

Now there's no board to answer to.

Rep. Zoe Lofgren of California, the top Democrat on the House Science Committee, called it "the latest stupid move made by a president who continues to harm science and American innovation. Will the president fill the NSB with MAGA loyalists who won't stand up to him as he hands over our leadership in science to our adversaries?"

That's the actual question.

Because while Trump is firing American scientists, China is building research universities at a rate we cannot match. The CDC just buried a study showing vaccines work.

RFK Jr. runs HHS. The EPA is gutted. The Forest Service is being broken. Half of American children are breathing dangerous air. And now the people who decide what gets researched in the United States have all been fired by email on a Friday afternoon.

[Patrick Webb @Patrickwebb]

BREAKING: President Trump reportedly told Pam Bondi not to release the Epstein files, according to Marjorie Taylor Greene.

[Joe Walsh @WalshFreedom]

This is a masterclass in how to deal with an illegal stop by an ICE agent.

https://t.co/rYrBQqyuu1 says to legally stop your vehicle, officers must have at least one of the following:

1. Reasonable suspicion

2. Probable cause

3. A valid warrant

If stopped:

1. Ask one clear question
“Am I being detained, or am I free to go?”

* If free → leave calmly
* If detained → continue

2. Provide required driving documents
License, registration, insurance (if you’re driving)

3. Remain silent beyond that
You have the right to remain silent.
You do not have to answer questions about immigration status. Say: “I am exercising my right to remain silent.”

4. Do not consent to searches
Say: “I do not consent to any searches.”

5. Do not argue or resist
Stay calm. Do not escalate.
Anything unlawful can be challenged later.

FIGHT ICE, FIGHT TRUMP: https://t.co/hN8SiV9y02

[Pope Leo XIV @Pontifex]

I am deeply saddened by the recent escalation of attacks against Ukraine, which continue to afflict civilians. I express my solidarity with those who are suffering and assure all the Ukrainian people of my prayers. I renew my appeal for weapons to fall silent and for the path of dialogue to be pursued.

[Brian Krassenstein @krassenstein]

This one is so much more accurate than the original.

[Lakota Man @LakotaMan1]

Absolutely

[Gavin Newsom @GavinNewsom]

Make America Great Again

[Brian Krassenstein @krassenstein]

HOLY SHIT. THIS IS A REAL POST.

[Jo @JoJoFromJerz]

Holy shit. He just said it all. 😂

[Ursula von der Leyen @vonderleyen]

Following very closely the situation in Venezuela. We stand by the people of Venezuela and support a peaceful and democratic transition. Any solution must respect international law and the UN Charter.

With HRVP @kajakallas and in coordination with EU Member States, we are making sure that EU citizens in the country can count on our full support.

[Joe Walsh @WalshFreedom]

If We Don’t Care About Democracy, We’ll Lose It https://t.co/L44uK2kmVv