Jason Smith

It's Twitter, not X. Make sure you can vote & have your say in our democracy by visiting .

[Ed Krassenstein @EdKrassen]

Before a July 4th performance of "Party in the USA" Miley Cyrus stood up for equality, healthcare, and more.

"It's not a party in the USA if we don't have equality, unity, justice, compassion, kindness, opportunity, health care, education, non-violence. So f--k yeah, it will be a party in the USA, we'll see it, and if we all fu--ing come together, we'll fu--ing make sure that it is."

[Devin Nunes' Cattle Dog 🇺🇦 🇪🇺🇺🇸🇨🇦 🇦🇺 @Kaos_Vs_Control]

Larry David using sketch comedy to call Trump a crooked, murdering pedophile

[Henry Winkler @hwinkler4real]

who would have THOUGHT THAT ???

[Nicholas Kristof @NickKristof]

My weekend column is a long look at how the Nordic countries achieved economic success (Norway has higher per capita income than the US and also enjoys higher productivity), relative equality and some of the highest levels of happiness in the world. But I'm struck by how knee-jerk the reactions are: The American left is inclined to emulate Scandinavia and the right is inclined to savage it.

Partly, I think, that's because both tend to confuse the Nordic model with socialism, when it's basically about free markets coupled with wage compression and very heavy investments in human capital and in empowering women in the labor force: Excellent child care, family leave benefits, flexible work, education, etc.

But the model is under real strains from immigration and fiscal pressures, and it's rooted as much in norms as in laws. I don't think the US can adopt it wholesale, but I do think there are things we can learn from it -- especially the investments in young people. And when you see a model that generates such economic success and individual happiness, it's crazy to dismiss or fear it. Here's a gift link to my column: https://t.co/EwuZYSLeuO

[The Tennessee Holler @TheTNHoller]

“What kind of man would cheat at this golf?” 😂

[BrooklynDad_Defiant!☮️ @mmpadellan]

This clip, from Larry David's new show "Life, Larry, and the Pursuit of Unhappiness" is one of his FUNNIEST ever.

Awesome to have Rob Reiner as George Washington in possibly one of his final on-screen performances.

Cameo by Kimmel is chef's kiss.
RIP, Rob Reiner.

[Mike Levin @MikeLevin]

DOGE deletes itself on July 4th. It will be remembered as a hugely destructive failure.

Musk promised $2 trillion in savings.

What we got, by DOGE’s own unverified math, was $215 billion. Even that number was never proven.

The costs were atrocious. Nearly 140,000 federal workers pushed out. Veterans waiting longer for care. USAID dismantled while people died overseas as a direct result. 20-year-olds with Red Bulls and no college degrees rummaging through Americans’ most sensitive data.

Musk, the world’s richest man, a federal contractor with billions in government business, auditing the government that pays him, accountable to no voter anywhere. 

Even Musk now says he wouldn’t do it again. The guy who ran it calls it a mistake.

Government reform was there for the taking. Both parties know federal technology is outdated. Both parties know waste exists. Fixing it required serious people working with career civil servants who know where the problems actually are. Instead we got a chainsaw, a photo op, and years of lost expertise we now have to rebuild.

Now Trump’s budget director says there will be no final accounting or receipts. They promised transparency and they’re closing up shop in the dark.
They’re counting on us all to forget.
https://t.co/LhgbGUY2Ca

[Joe Walsh @WalshFreedom]

1. Communism is utterly un-American.

2. Authoritarianism/fascism is utterly un-American too.

3. The Democratic Party is not Communist. Not yet. Not even close.

4. The Republican Party IS
authoritarian/fascist. RIGHT NOW.

So…which party is the greater threat to America?

[CONSEQUENCE @consequence]

There may be no tradition more American than demanding better from America. As the country turns 250, here are 250 protest songs that captured unrest, challenged power, and pushed the nation forward.

https://t.co/cN4ODpGcsA

[Rich Raho @RichRaho]

Powerful moment in Lampedusa today as the Pope Leo climbs to the highest rock overlooking the Mediterranean where thousands of migrants drowned while seeking a better life.

[Jason Smith @jas__smith]

This!!

[LGBTQ Shrink @DrRonHolt]

Happy 4th of July.

[Strummer @Strummer2323]

#11780

[MeidasClips @MeidasClips]

Phang: Blanche maintains that FOIA was my only and remains my only option. And then he has the balls to say the following. He says that my lawsuit "threatens the interdependence and the reciprocity between Congress and the executive branch." You know, folks, last I checked, I don't see a lot of interdependence or reciprocity between Congress and the executive branch.

What I have seen, I've seen people like Todd Blanche, Pammy Jo with the bad hair, Kash Patel, Susie Wiles, JD Vance, and others, assembling repeatedly in the Situation Room at the White House with Todd Blanche quarterbacking strategy on how to avoid turning over the Epstein files to the American people.

Does that sound like interdependence or reciprocity?

[Chase Oliver @ChaseForLiberty]

I love my country.

I don't love my government.

The former makes me a patriot, the latter shows that I'm paying attention.

#America

[CONSEQUENCE @consequence]

Jack White: "Happy 250th to America! And even more importantly the concept that America is a possibility, a promise of an attainable ideal, all things achievable in the pursuit of happiness and true freedom. I believe in the rock and roll band in the garage, the protest in town square, the drive in theater, the workers on the way to the car plant, the melting pot and the integration of faiths, Woodie Guthrie and Leadbelly, Thanksgiving dinner, the soup kitchen feeding the homeless, the sunrise in the Grand Canyon and the building and climbing of the tallest sky scrapers. I leave you with a reminder: MAGA doesn't own our flag and never will, and definitely not on this anniversary of a nation currently in peril that was founded on the indelibly human right, duty, and endeavor to fight against tyranny and the current tyrant we suffer under today."

[Dennis Goris | Cartoons @DennisGoris]

Live update

[Pennsylvania Governor's Office @PAGovOffice]

250 years later, the message still stands. Happy Independence Day from the birthplace of American democracy.

[Fred Wellman @FPWellman]

No, Laura. These racists are yours.

[𝕊𝕦𝕟𝕕𝕒𝕖_𝔾𝕦𝕣𝕝 @SundaeDivine]

This is how a president talks when he understands America is not a prop, a brand, or a grievance machine, but a promise we keep trying to earn.