D C Fitzgerald

Science, culture, sociology, the arts, history, journalism, politics and grits with red eye gravy. Rarely follow back@

[D C Fitzgerald @paxlynx]

Great Examples of What a Democratic Congress & President Can Accomplish
https://t.co/Gvv8VyBXWY #SpiritDay #morningjoe #debatenight

[D C Fitzgerald @paxlynx]

https://t.co/owFnvXzJ8H Military officials have said the resulting “tingling effect” lasts between 10 and 15 minutes but also generates “an instinctive and irresistible urge to run from the effect.”

[D C Fitzgerald @paxlynx]

Under Miss. Code Ann. § 11-7-13, as Kohen’s mother, Vellesiya Wiley has legal standing to bring a wrongful death suit. Grounded in federal civil rights (§ 1983) and state tort law, her claim can argue the officer used unconstitutionally excessive, unreasonable force.

[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.

[Steve Rattner @SteveRattner]

Trump says prices are coming “way down.” Inflation is 3.7% and has risen in three of the last five months. Core inflation rose in September too. 

My @Morning_Joe Chart

[D C Fitzgerald @paxlynx]

@politicsusa46

[Occupy Democrats @OccupyDemocrats]

BREAKING: “I WILL NEVER STOP!” Activist "JoJo from Jerz" reveals how Trump and Melania tried to SILENCE her with legal threats – and the single mother REFUSED to surrender!
Joanne Carducci, the firebrand progressive blogger known to more than a million followers as JoJo from Jerz, has revealed a months-long legal ordeal that she says left her crying every day, terrified of losing her home, and desperately trying to protect her two children.

Her account begins with threatening letters from attorneys representing Donald and Melania Trump, demanding that she retract statements, apologize, and pay money over things she'd posted online. According to Carducci, the demands eventually became entirely about Melania.

According to Carducci, the Trumps' attorney initially demanded that she retract statements she'd made online, including her claim that Trump incited the deadly January 6 insurrection. She was also ordered to issue a full apology, admit that she had knowingly lied, and agree to a financial payment, with just days to respond and the threat of punitive damages hanging over her.

And the price of refusing? Carducci says the lawyers eventually demanded a staggering $1 MILLION from a single mother who had once earned $16 an hour as a school paraprofessional.

“They would take my home,” she wrote in a deeply personal and powerful Substack essay.

Carducci says she kept the ordeal secret from her children, even as she struggled with the possibility that the house she'd worked so hard to provide for them could be taken away.
“She was swinging a fucking wrecking ball at a mosquito, and my children lived in the building,” Carducci wrote of Melania.

But Carducci refused to retract her criticism or issue an apology.

Former New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin stepped in to help her without charge, providing legal advice and support while she faced demands she says she could never have afforded to fight alone.

Eventually, according to Carducci, the letters stopped. She never apologized, never retracted her statements, and never agreed to the demands.

What finally persuaded her to tell the world was watching Melania Trump promote women's empowerment on television.

“She’s for women’s empowerment, and I’m a fucking natural blonde,” Carducci wrote.

The contrast is striking: a first lady publicly encouraging women to find their voices, while a woman who had used hers says she spent months fearing the consequences of refusing to be silent.

Carducci acknowledges that she's still frightened. She also insists that her work as a satirist, mocking powerful public figures, is an exercise of her right to free expression.

And after months of keeping the ordeal from even her own children, she has a message for the people she says tried to intimidate her:

“Because I am never, EVER going to stop.”

[Jo @JoJoFromJerz]

Donald Trump is not well.

And there are undoubtedly many, many people in his inner circle who know this to be true.

HE knows he’s not well.

But they’re all covering it up, lying about it and pretending he’s fine, when they know damn well he’s not.

[D C Fitzgerald @paxlynx]

@NBCPolitics Any chance you could broadcast this.

[Ed Krassenstein @EdKrassen]

Isn't it amazing how @JDVance, @TulsiGabbard, Donald Trump and much of the Trump base suddenly are cheering on war with Iran after they all seemingly were against it?

How can you watch these clips below and not realize that you are getting played?

[Christopher Hale @ChristopherHale]

There has been no harsher critic to U.S. military action in Iran than Pope Leo XIV:

“War is back in vogue and a zeal for war is spreading.  The principle established after the Second World War, which prohibited nations from using force to violate the borders of others, has been completely undermined.

“Peace is no longer sought as a gift and a desirable good in itself, or in the pursuit of the establishment of the ordered universe willed by God, with a more perfect form of justice among men and women.”

“Instead, peace is sought through weapons as a condition for asserting one’s own dominion.

“This gravely threatens the rule of law, which is the foundation of all peaceful civil coexistence.”

[Ed Krassenstein @EdKrassen]

The House of Cards is falling down on Trump.

"To be clear, we have a survivor that made serious allegations against the president. Clearly, the FBI participated in some interviews and discussions with this survivor... I'm very aware of the survivor. And why these documents are missing is a critical question right now for the DOJ." -- Congressman @RobertGarcia

[Brian Krassenstein @krassenstein]

BREAKING: Muliple women are reporting similar things in Texas

They’re saying that their voter registration is in “suspense” meaning somebody challenged their voter registration.

Thanks to @AshleyDCan we’re reporting this. What’s going on Texas?

[Richard Blumenthal @SenBlumenthal]

Breathtaking revelations—whistleblower confirms that ICE agents are being deliberately & purposely trained to break the law & violate Americans’ 4th Amendment rights.

[CALL TO ACTIVISM @CalltoActivism]

🚨HOLY SH*T: A clip of Rep. Ted Lieu is going viral where he confirms there are serious allegations of Donald Trump R*PING a children and threatening to MURD*R them.

This is what Pam Bondi and Todd Blanche tried to hide from us all along. They need to resign and be in prison.

[Jessica Tarlov @JessicaTarlov]

Just so openly corrupt.

[Chuck Schumer @SenSchumer]

In yet another radical move, Trump's @EPA is set to reverse essentially all greenhouse gas regulations.

Every single community in America will pay the price.

It will hurt kids with asthma. It will hurt homeowners and destabilize insurance markets as extreme weather gets worse, and it will send shockwaves across the economy. https://t.co/1tTBCPTRjC

[Rep. Jason Crow @RepJasonCrow]

Donald Trump’s DOJ just tried—and failed—to indict me in front of a grand jury.

We will continue to fight back against their rising tyranny.

Don’t Give Up the Ship.

[CALL TO ACTIVISM @CalltoActivism]

🚨BUSTED: Trump tells NBC he “doesn’t know” why Tulsi Gabbard was there when federal agents seized ballots in Georgia.

But in a letter to Congress, Gabbard explained exactly why:

“My presence was requested by the President.”

Trump also claims “I wasn’t involved,” then immediately explains how “they got the ballots,” how they’re “inspecting” them, and how they’ll “find the true winner.”

That’s not speculation. That’s inside knowledge. He knew the plan, sent her in, then lied about it.

Election interference in broad daylight.

[Jessica Tarlov @JessicaTarlov]

The SAVE Act won't help America's elections. Quite the opposite.

The facts: over 20 million Americans don't have access to those documents and nearly 50% of Americans don't have a passport.

If Republicans get this through they'd be in for a rude awakening when women who have changed their names, young people, and people without passports struggle to vote.

[Chris Murphy 🟧 @ChrisMurphyCT]

A UAE investor secretly gave Trump $187 million and his top Middle East envoy $31 million. And then Trump gave that investor access to sensitive defense technology that broke decades of national security precedent.

Brazen, open corruption. And we shouldn't pretend it's normal.