A judge’s opinion moves the nation closer to a collision between the executive branch and the courts. Xand, iStock / Getty Images Plus Cassandra Burke Robertson, Case Western Reserve University A battle between the Trump administration and federal courts over the deportation of more than 100 immigrants to a prison in El Salvador intensified … [Read more...] about Federal judge finds ‘probable cause’ to hold Trump administration in contempt – a legal scholar explains what this means
Trump Team Eyes Politically Connected Startup to Overhaul $700 Billion Government Payments Program
Trump Team Eyes Politically Connected Startup to Overhaul $700 Billion Government Payments Programby Christopher Bing and Avi Asher-SchapiroProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox.Four days before Donald Trump’s inauguration, financial technology startup Ramp published a … [Read more...] about Trump Team Eyes Politically Connected Startup to Overhaul $700 Billion Government Payments Program
Signal, noise and the coming violence
Embed from Getty Images One can waste a lot of time thinking about the most recent stupid thing said by Trump loyalists. Every time Marjorie Taylor Greene or Lauren Boebert open their mouths the collective IQ of public discourse drops several points. But that doesn't mean everything said from that camp is meaningless. We should listen very carefully because some of that … [Read more...] about Signal, noise and the coming violence
Adolf Hitler: From Democracy to Dictatorship
Adolf Hitler became German Chancellor (prime minister) because his party, the National Socialist Party (Nazi), received more votes in parliamentary elections in 1932. Hitler cynically used the democratic process; he was never a believer in democracy. His dictatorial ambitions were published in Mein Kampf (My Way) in 1925, a clear declaration of his global domination plans. It … [Read more...] about Adolf Hitler: From Democracy to Dictatorship
The Trump Administration continues to lie about Kilmar Abrego Garcia
On FOX News Wednesday night, Attorney General Pam Bondi continued to lie about the background and status of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, joining the lies spun by Stephen Miller on Monday. Abrego Garcia received court protection in 2019, temporary protected status, during the first Trump Administration. In October 2019, an immigration judge denied Abrego Garcia’s asylum request … [Read more...] about The Trump Administration continues to lie about Kilmar Abrego Garcia
EVOLUTION AND TRUMP (CARTOON)
Why capitulation should never be an option when dealing with Trump
In yet another head-shaking moment in the early days of Trump's second term in office, the New York Times is reporting that those law firms that agreed to provide free legal services for the administration on what they believed to be "uncontroversial causes" may actually be called on by the president to support his agenda in any way he deems useful. To back up a bit, you … [Read more...] about Why capitulation should never be an option when dealing with Trump
Are individual journalists safe in Trump’s America?
Four journalists in Russia were sentenced on Tuesday to spend five years and six months in a penal colony. The crime is their association with the late Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny. More specifically, they were convicted of having worked with a banned organization founded by Navalny, which is considered by the Russian government to be an extremist group. The nature … [Read more...] about Are individual journalists safe in Trump’s America?
On stage but out of the spotlight – the quiet struggle of being an opening act
Getting heard has never been easier. Being recognized and staying relevant is the real challenge. PeopleImages/E+ via Getty Images Jeff Apruzzese, Drexel University I grew up playing in a lot of different bands, and my bandmates and I always held onto the belief that if we could just open for a more established act, it would pave the way to … [Read more...] about On stage but out of the spotlight – the quiet struggle of being an opening act
‘Full-Blown Constitutional Crisis’ Deepens as Bukele Refuses to Release Maryland Resident
Embed from Getty Images "If this holds," said one critic, "there is no law but Trump's law." by Julia Conley Common Dreams "Everyone here is pretending," said immigration policy expert Aaron Reichlin-Melnick as a video of Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele speaking in the Oval Office circulated on Monday. Bukele, said the senior fellow at the American Immigration … [Read more...] about ‘Full-Blown Constitutional Crisis’ Deepens as Bukele Refuses to Release Maryland Resident
Satire: My DOGE Seder
By Laurie Baron The Trump administration has revoked the visas or “removed” individuals who have green cards or some sort of resident status for protesting the war in Gaza. It also threatened television networks like CBS and MSNBC with cancelling their FCC licenses for airing interviews and news stories critical of the president’s policies. Perhaps I am being paranoid, … [Read more...] about Satire: My DOGE Seder
NOT ASHAMED TO BE WHITE (CARTOON)
The War on Science Continues
Under President Trump’s astute guidance, the federal government is working to destroy support for scientific research in all fields, ceding control of innovation and scientific advances to China. The People’s Republic of China produces significant multiples of STEM scientists than the U.S. and we are in the process of deporting foreign scientists and making our nation hostile … [Read more...] about The War on Science Continues
How Trump’s Tariffs Hurt Workers
Upending Free Trade Won’t Help the Losers of Globalization By Rick Wartzman “We’re standing up for the American worker,” Donald Trump said from the Rose Garden during his “Liberation Day” address announcing sweeping new tariffs. That’s no surprise. Upending the global trading system is a major goal for a key part of his political base: those walloped by free trade with … [Read more...] about How Trump’s Tariffs Hurt Workers
CHUNKY CULT (CARTOON AND COLUMN)
There's something wrong with Trump's scale Rep. Jack Kimble tweeted that “President Trump is now 6’3” 224 pounds with 4.8% body fat. We might lose him to the NFL draft.” Captain Barbarella, the physician to the president (sic), failed to hide in his memorandum about Donald Trump’s physical that he’s a Trump sycophant. Or at least he failed to hide that he was controlled … [Read more...] about CHUNKY CULT (CARTOON AND COLUMN)
Did SNL’s White Lotus parody go too far? SNL apologized to actress
When does a parody seemingly go too far? When hours after the parody gets exposure the target of the parody speaks out against it -- and gets an apology from the people doing the parody. And so it went with NBC's Saturday Night Live. The 50-year-old comedy show did an ornate parody of the smash streaming hit The White Lotus. Except this time it centered on Donald Trump and … [Read more...] about Did SNL’s White Lotus parody go too far? SNL apologized to actress
ICE has broad power to detain and arrest noncitizens- but is still bound by constitutional limits
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers restrain a detained person on Jan. 27, 2025, in Silver Spring, Md. Associated Press Rose Cuison-Villazor, Rutgers University - Newark News reports of noncitizens unexpectedly being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, have dominated headlines in recent weeks. Those being … [Read more...] about ICE has broad power to detain and arrest noncitizens- but is still bound by constitutional limits
AN ELDERLY MAN WORRIES ABOUT SOCIAL SECURITY (CARTOON)
Working the refs
The latest Trump tirade is being directed at CBS's "60 Minutes" after the show's Sunday broadcast in which they ran stories on Ukraine and Greenland. In a Truth Social post the president wrote that "Almost every week, 60 Minutes...mentions the name "TRUMP" in a derogatory and defamatory way, but this weekend's "BROADCAST" tops them all." He said the network was out of control … [Read more...] about Working the refs
The dumbing down of higher education
In 2016, Donald Trump famously said that he "loved the poorly educated." That must be true as he is doing his best to undermine some of the most important institutions of higher learning in America as his administration announced earlier this month that it was reviewing about $9 billion in federal funding that Harvard receives. Along with that threat was a list of demands that … [Read more...] about The dumbing down of higher education