The problem is not just Trump

Sam Smith – Our problem is not just that Trump is our president but also a lying, manipulating, self-absorbed convicted felon. Part of our problem is how did this happen?

There are a few factors we don’t deal with enough. The first being the role of various media in creating our presumed realty. A recent report by Pew Research Center found that 56% of American adults get their news mainly from digital devices. Only 32% use TV and 11% radio. And the once major source  of news – i.e. newspapers and magazines – only get 7% of the public’s attention.

Given the vast difference in standards between, say, a biased internet news site and the New York Times it is not hard to see how the effect of news has changed with time.

Another major factor that hardly gets discussed is the relationship of community in our society.  If you examine the culture of media, education, and business there is little doubt that priority is given to individual achievement and power over what we can do together. We are trained, publicized and taught by standards that emphasize individual skills, while what we can learn and do about community, joint action and common goals is quietly ignored.

It doesn’t have to be this way. In fact, I was just wrestling with this matter when I got an email from a school one of my sons had gone to and enjoyed. The front page headline said “THE POWER OF COMMUNITY. MARET ANNUAL FUND.” and I realized I had never seen a pitch for a school fund that had emphasized community.

When I look back over my life, I realize I was blessed with learning that whatever skills or wisdom came my way they were to be shared and learned with others. With five siblings around you, going to a Quaker high school, serving as a white activist in a majority black city, playing in a jazz band where you had solos but most of the time were backing someone up, serving on a Coast Guard cutter where everyone depended on everyone else, and helping to start groups that could turn personal ideas into something with some collective power …. With all this I learned to be part of a community and to respect and admire the power of joint effort.

These are just two examples of how our culture – with its emphasis on individual publicity and power  – has not only failed to serve us as well as  been often claimed but has created the likes of Donald Trump.

Murder rates per 100,000

Trump Tracker: Notice anything?

 

Quebec to ban public prayer in sweeping new secularism law

The Guardian -  Quebec says it will intensify its crackdown on public displays of religion in a sweeping new law that critics say pushes Canadian provinces into private spaces and disproportionately affects Muslims.

Bill 9, introduced by the governing Coalition Avenir Québec on Thursday, bans prayer in public institutions, including in colleges and universities. It also bans communal prayer on public roads and in parks, with the threat of fines of C$1,125 for groups in contravention of the prohibition. Short public events with prior approval are exempt.

Donald Trump

Politico - A federal appeals court has upheld a penalty of nearly $1 million against President Donald Trump and attorney Alina Habba, concluding they committed “sanctionable conduct” by filing a frivolous lawsuit against Hillary Clinton and former FBI Director James Comey.

“Many of Trump’s and Habba’s legal arguments were indeed frivolous,” 11th Circuit Court of Appeals Chief Judge William Pryor Jr. wrote for a unanimous, three-judge panel, including Trump appointee Andrew Brasher and Biden appointee Embry Kidd.

Peter Baker - Trump and his administration have targeted at least 470 people, organizations and institutions for retribution since he took office, according to a Reuters tally – an average of more than one a day.

Nearly 500 Earthquakes Strike Alaska Over Past Week

Meanwhile. ..

Music may ease surgical pain and accelerate recovery, researchers in India found (read more)

 

Child safety organization warns against giving AI toys to kids.

NPR - The nonprofit children's safety organization Fairplay is urging gift-givers to refrain from purchasing AI toys for kids this holiday season. In an advisory, Fairplay and other child and consumer advocacy groups highlight the potential dangers of toys such as interactive dolls and children's robots designed to mimic human behavior and engage with kids as if they are friends. The advisory points out that these toys exploit children's trust and can disrupt human relationships, among other negative effects.

Potential Democratic contenders for 2028 run

Polls

 Newsweek -  A new Economist/YouGov poll shows that more Americans now favor reducing the number of legal immigrants entering the United States, but immigration continues to rank low on the list of national priorities—even as President Donald Trump doubles down on the issue in his second term.

According to the poll, conducted November 21–24, 35 percent of U.S. adults said the number of legal immigrants accepted annually should be either "decreased" (26 percent) or "reduced to zero" (9 percent). 

By comparison, 23 percent favored increasing legal immigration, and 26 percent supported keeping levels the same. The data underscore a modest but noticeable shift in sentiment amid a political climate increasingly shaped by Trump's hardline policies.

Newsweek - According to The Economist/YouGov polling, the proportion of people earning less than $50,000 a year who approve of Trump's job performance is 34 percent, while 62 percent of people disapprove.

Newsmax - A new Rasmussen Reports and Heartland Institute poll found that a slim majority of likely voters ages 18 to 39 want a democratic socialist to win the 2028 presidential election.

The survey of 1,496 likely voters showed 51% favored a democratic socialist victory, while 36% said they opposed that outcome and 17% were unsure.

Axios - Nearly two-thirds of registered voters believe a college degree isn't worth the cost — a stunning shift in sentiment from just one decade ago, according to an NBC News poll out this morning. 

The eye-popping shift "comes against the backdrop of several major trends shaping the job market and the education world, from exploding college tuition prices to rapid changes in the modern economy" — namely, AI.
 

63% agreed that it's "not worth the cost because people often graduate without specific job skills and with a large amount of debt to pay off."

Just 33% agreed that a four-year college degree is "worth the cost because people have a better chance to get a good job and earn more money over their lifetime."  In 2013, 53% in a CNBC poll said a degree was worth it. 40% said it wasn't.  More

Senate seats most likely to flip

Immigration

Axios -  President Trump said late Thursday he "will permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries to allow the U.S. system to fully recover."

The big picture: Trump has stepped up his hardline immigration crackdown since authorities identified an Afghan national as the suspect in Wednesday's deadly shooting attack on National Guard members.

    Spc. Sarah Beckstrom, 20, died from her injuries Thursday and fellow West Virginia National Guard member Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, is "fighting for his life," Trump said.

State of play: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services suspended all immigration applications from Afghan nationals with immediate effect on Wednesday night.

Bloomberg  - Donald Trump called for “reverse migration” in the US as he outlined a further crackdown on immigration following the shooting of two National Guard members in Washington. Hours after announcing that one of the soldiers had died from her injuries, the president proposed measures such as permanently pausing admissions from “third world” countries and revoking citizenship for some naturalized migrants.

He also increased his hostility toward South Africa, saying he won’t invite the country to next year’s Group of 20 summit, which the president will be hosting at his private golf course in Miami. It may be a breach of protocol for a leader to decide which of the bloc’s members can attend the summit—let alone to host the event at their own hotel—but Trump has demonstrated he cares little for convention or the multilateral order. 

Meanwhile....

Brian Allen - CNN just confirmed the [National Guard] shooter applied for asylum in December 2024 and was approved in April of this year under Trump.

Where home values have increased the most

Heavy snow and high winds in many states

Newsweek -  Residents across many states in the U.S. have been given winter storm warnings, with some areas expected to get up to 24 inches of snow and blizzard-like conditions from Thursday through Sunday, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). 

Snow and blustery conditions are likely to disrupt travel plans over Thanksgiving and into the weekend, with the NWS issuing warnings that visibility levels may fall to below a quarter of a mile in some affected areas, causing “treacherous” travel and “potentially life-threatening” conditions.”
What To Know

Several states across the U.S. are likely to experience high levels of accumulated snowfall and high winds, including Montana, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Alaska, Missouri, Iowa, Wisconsin, South Dakota, and Illinois. 

Trump regime puts restrictions on housing for immigrants

Newsweek - The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has updated its interpretation of immigration verification requirements on Wednesday, introducing changes that immigrants advocates say “effectively deny” immigrants lawfully present in the country access to housing programs.

For Protecting Immigrant Families (PIF) Coalition, which unites more than 800 organizations nationwide fighting for the rights of immigrants in the U.S., the consequences of the HUD’s redetermination are likely to extend “well beyond immigrants excluded under the notice,” the group said in a statement shared with Newsweek.

UPS, FedEx’s Cargo Planes To Be Grounded Over Christmas

Newsweek - United Parcel Service's (UPS) and FedEx's fleet of MD-11 cargo aircraft will likely remain grounded for months rather than weeks as had initially been expected, according to an internal memo obtained by Newsweek, potentially increasing pressure on shipping over the Christmas holiday.

The vast grounding of the Boeing-made planes follows the November 4 crash of Flight 2976 in Louisville, Kentucky, which killed 14 people, including all three crew members, and injured at least 23 others.

In the new memo, UPS Airlines president Bill Moore told employees on Wednesday that Boeing’s “ongoing evaluation shows that inspections and potential repairs will be more extensive than initially expected,” and return to service “will take several months instead of weeks.”

Polls

Newsweek -  The likelihood that Vice President JD Vance will become the Republican Party's nominee for the 2028 presidential election is declining, according to polls. According to polling by McLaughlin & Associates, Vance's net lead over President Donald Trump's son, Donald Trump Jr.—in a hypothetical contest between them and other Republican figures—has decreased in recent months.....

.According to the polling, in August Vance had a 20-point lead over Trump Jr., who is in second place, with 36 percent of the vote share to Trump Jr.'s 16 percent. This lead actually increased to 28 points in September.

However, in October, his lead decreased and while Vance still enjoyed 38 percent of the vote share, Trump Jr.'s 20 percent of the share meant that just a few weeks ago Vance had a narrower 18-point lead. And in November, this lead decreased again to 10 points, with Vance on 34 percent and Trump Jr. on 24 percent.

Trump's golf tab

New Republic -  Donald Trump has already spent $70 million of taxpayer money on golfing in less than a year as president. If this pace keeps up, he will spend $300 million playing golf by the time his second term ends. 

20 states sue the Trump administration over cuts to homeless permanent housing funding

Politico - A coalition of 19 attorneys general and two governors on Tuesday sued the Trump administration over policy changes that would place new conditions on and significantly cut funding for permanent housing for people experiencing homelessness.  The coalition, led by New York Attorney General Letitia James, is seeking a court order blocking the “administration’s cuts and illegal new conditions” on the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Continuum of Care program funding.

How healthy are potatoes?

NY Times -  Sweet potatoes tend to get most of the nutritional glory, but regular potatoes (russets, fingerlings, red and Yukon Golds) deserve another look. The tubers help to support your immune system, aid in various bodily functions and keep you energized.

“Potatoes often get a bad reputation” because they’re commonly eaten in the form of French fries or potato chips, said Tal Kleiner, a clinical nutrition manager at NYU Langone Health. But when they’re prepared in a healthy way, potatoes are an “amazing, nutrient-dense” food, she added.

Potatoes are high in carbohydrates (a medium-size peeled russet potato has about 35 grams), but that doesn’t make them “inherently bad,” explained Tara Schmidt, a dietitian and instructor of nutrition at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. — it just means they may not be considered an “unlimited” food.

Potatoes are complex carbs that take longer for the body to break down and digest than simple carbs, so they provide a steadier source of energy, which helps you feel fueled and fuller for longer, Ms. Kleiner said.

But certain varieties do have a high glycemic index, meaning they can rapidly spike blood sugar, Ms. Kleiner said. Diets rich in foods with a high G.I. have been linked to an increased risk of diabetes and heart disease. Waxy potatoes, like fingerlings and red potatoes, tend to have a lower G.I. than russet or Idaho potatoes, she explained, and boiled and roasted potatoes have a lower G.I. than fried or mashed ones.

To help manage blood sugar spikes and slow digestion, Ms. Schmidt suggested “meal balancing” by pairing potatoes with lean protein, healthy fats and nonstarchy vegetables.

North Carolina congressional map may add one Republican to House

NY Times -  A panel of three federal judges in North Carolina on Wednesday allowed the state’s newly redrawn congressional map to go into effect for the 2026 midterm elections, a victory for the Trump administration and Republican efforts to retain control of the U.S. House next year.

The judges, at the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, unanimously sided with the state’s Republican leaders, whose lawyers had argued that their motivations to draw a new map were partisan — not because of race or political retaliation, as the plaintiffs had claimed. That distinction was important because the U.S. Supreme Court effectively blessed partisan gerrymandering in a 2019 ruling.

The new North Carolina map is very likely to give Republicans an extra House seat. It was redrawn in October by the state’s Republican-controlled legislature, after Texas kicked off a redistricting effort over the summer at President Trump’s behest to help Republicans. Since then, Ohio and Missouri have also passed new maps to help the party.

Nearly 82 Million Americans Projected to Travel over Thanksgiving

A native American Thanksgiving

Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images

NIce News - By the time the sun has risen over San Francisco’s Alcatraz Island today, Native Americans and visitors from all over the world will have already gathered there in droves. The Indigenous Peoples Thanksgiving Sunrise Gathering, held by the International Indian Treaty Council, celebrates the resilience of Native Americans and gives thanks for the survival of their way of life.
​
The annual gathering, held since 1979, carries several layers of meaning, beginning with the fact that Alcatraz is within the traditional Ramaytush Ohlone territory. During the event, the council shares the “true history” of the first Thanksgiving: According to the Wampanoag Tribe of Massachusetts, that inaugural 1637 holiday was declared by colonizers to give thanks for the massacre of hundreds of Pequot Native Americans.

Word

Via Annie

National Guard shooter worked for CIA

NY Times - The Afghan man accused of shooting two members of the National Guard in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday had worked with C.I.A.-supported military units in Afghanistan, the agency said. The suspect worked for multiple U.S. government agencies in Afghanistan, including a C.I.A.-backed unit in the southern province of Kandahar, a stronghold of the Taliban insurgency during the two-decade war there, the C.I.A. said. Officials identified the suspect as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29.

American Psychological Association warns against over use of Tik Tok and Instagram

Independent UK -  Excessive usage of TikTok and Instagram Reels is damaging cognitive performance, the American Psychological Association has said in a recent study.

Data from 98,299 participants across 71 studies found that the more short-form content a person watches, the poorer cognitive performances they had in terms of attention and inhibitory control - meaning the more complex they found it to focus.

Researchers found that “repeated exposure to highly stimulating, fast-paced content may contribute to habituation, in which users become desensitized to slower, more effortful cognitive tasks such as reading, problem solving, or deep learning.” In short, researchers said it can contribute to brain rot. 

Higher education

Student Loan Update: Changes Impacting Millions Explained by Trump Official

Donald Trump

The Guardian -  Donald Trump on Sunday appeared to endorse the discredited conspiracy theory that Venezuela’s leadership controls electronic voting software worldwide and caused his 2020 election defeat to Joe Biden.

White House officials have previously said that Trump’s increasingly bellicose policy toward Venezuela is driven by concerns about migration and the drug trade. But the president’s new comment, made on Truth Social, hints that his hostility to Venezuela may also be based on an outlandish, implausible theory ruled to be false by a judge in 2023.

Fox News paid $787m in 2023 to Dominion Voting to settle a lawsuit that was based in part on identical claims about Venezuela’s supposed role in the 2020 election.

 Trump wants a bigger White House ballroom. His architect disagrees.

People -     Donald Trump called a White House correspondent for The New York Times "ugly, both inside and out" in a lengthy social media post on Wednesday, Nov. 26.  Trump, 79, targeted reporter Katie Rogers after the outlet published a story about how his age has appeared to impact his ability to travel during his second term in office. The remarks come less than two weeks after Trump called Bloomberg correspondent Catherine Lucey "Piggy" while aboard Air Force One on Nov. 14.

Trump has argued at least 28 times that a national TV network should lose its licence

The Guardian - Trump has suggested at least 28 times over the last eight years that a television network should lose its license, according to analysis by the Guardian. But while the FCC does not actually license national networks, it does license the local television stations they own or strike affiliate deals with.

Anna M Gomez, the lone Democrat on the FCC, said after a commission meeting last week that Trump’s threats are hollow. “Aside from the ability to make things difficult for those we retaliate, this FCC is powerless to truly retaliate against a news network,” she said, noting that no local station licenses are up for renewal “any time soon.”

Polls

Newsweek -  President Donald Trump's approval rating is negative with every pollster for the first time.As of Wednesday morning, Trump currently has an average disapproval rating of 55 percent, while 41 percent approve, according to The New York Times' polling aggregator. Polls, including Morning Consult, Ipsos, HarrisX, Quinnipiac, YouGov, and Pew Research, all show more Americans disapprove than approve of Trump's performance or favorability.

Independent, UK -  Throughout the past 10 months, Trump’s deportation operation has been on full display as chaotic raids take place in Los Angeles, Chicago and most recently, Charlotte, North Carolina.

It seems Americans are not liking what they are seeing, as a new Daily Mail/JL Partners poll found that ICE has just a 34 percent approval rating. This is a four percentage point drop since last month