Mail In Ballot Rule

MS Now - As President Donald Trump’s effort to restrict mail-in voting has bounced between the courts this week, the result has been whiplash among voters and officials. State and local election officials have been watching closely as provisions that govern mail ballots become unlawful and then lawful and then unlawful again in a matter of days. Now, they are trying to figure out how to comply with a law that has become a bit of a moving target.

For about a day, the mail-in ballot restrictions remained in effect after the Supreme Court cleared a key hurdle to Trump’s mail ballot executive order on Monday. Then on Wednesday, a federal judge who had issued a similar injunction was pressured to remove a separate block on the order.

Those moves prompted two new legal challenges Wednesday from a coalition of Democratic states and voting rights groups, respectively. The new lawsuits specifically target the new United States Postal Service rule, issued last Friday, that governs who may receive mail ballots. Late Thursday night, a federal judge again granted their request and again blocked a key provision of Trump’s plan until at least Sept. 10.

With that court ruling, it’s back to business as usual — but even that could change again as soon as the clock continues to tick on state deadlines. North Carolina sends its first wave of absentee ballots Sept. 4. Officials there are in crunch mode, working to meet that deadline as they do every election.

Donnald Trump

New Republic- President Trump has his sights on taking over two Pacific island countries: Micronesia and the Marshall Islands.  The president posted a picture to his Truth Social account Thursday night labeled “U.S. Territories,” showing the flags of the Federated States of Micronesia and the Marshall Islands along with multiple U.S. territories. The image also included a map of the Strait of Hormuz, labeled “new.”

The Marshall Islands were occupied and administered by the U.S. during World War II, and Congress granted the islands their independence in 1979. Micronesia also was occupied by the U.S. during the war, gaining its independence in 1990. Both have a Compact of Free Association with the U.S., which means they get financial assistance and access to certain U.S. government programs, such as the U.S. Postal Service and National Weather Service.

Meanwhile. . .

Politvid Channel - Rep. Thomas Massie says he will read an Epstein “client list” live on the House floor — and Trump and House Republicans can’t stop him, because floor speech is protected by the Constitution’s Speech or Debate Clause.

Immigration

MS NOW - Trump once indicated he would protect undocumented minors from his hard-line immigration policies. But over two hours on a recent day, more than a dozen children, some as young as 12, filed into a Chicago courtroom for immigration hearings, writes Nnamdi Egwuonwu, who watched the hearings. The deportations have sped up after the Trump administration rescinded a policy that delayed them for young victims of abuse, abandonment or parental neglect who would be at risk if returned to their country of origin. Minors who would have typically appeared in court three or four times a year are returning every two weeks.

Wildfires

The Guardian - A fire in California’s Big Sur region doubled in size overnight, forcing the evacuation of nearby residents, in a coastal region where firefighters have battled another blaze for weeks.  The Plaskett fire, which sparked on Tuesday, had swept through more than 5,900 acres (2,400 hectares) in Monterey county as of Friday, and remained un-contained, according to Cal Fire. Its cause is under investigation.

Fire authorities have deployed helicopters and air tankers to suppress the flames with targeted water drops, but the remote area’s steep terrain and scarce roads have hindered ground crews’ ability to access the fire.

Meanwhile, to the north, the Timber fire continues to burn through more than 24,000 acres (9,700 hectares), as authorities have it under 21% containment. The blaze broke past certain containment lines. 

The America major media ignores

Sam Smith – During more than four decades of covering the capital, one of the things that fascinated me was how the national media ignored local stories. As Wikipedia notes, “Washington, D.C. has had several notable Black mayors, with Marion Barry being one of the most prominent, serving multiple terms from 1979 to 1991 and again from 1995 to 1999. The current mayor is Muriel Bowser, who has been in office since 2015.”

Although mostly ignored by the national media, ethnic relations were notably different in DC. One cause were matters that joined  ethnic groups together such as home rule and freeways.  For a native Washingtonian like me, there was nothing unusual in this. For example, in the 1960s I was helping black activist Marion Barry handle media issues.

Lately, I’ve been struck by current matters being poorly defined by the mass media, namely those in which local positions and problems are ignored in favor of those preferred by major political personnel. Thus, for example, the cost of gas is considered far less important than what Trump has to say today.

In part, thanks to my long experience with local and national Washington, I am struck by how matters that affect humans on a daily basis are so frequently ignored by the media. For example, when I scan the news  I look for stories that will directly affect ordinary Americans and, on a daily basis, I am repeatedly disappointed.

I have come to think that there are two Americas: one belonging to the powerful, the rest to just plain people. I try to find what is happening to ordinary Americans but find little news assistance.

One of the things I learned in Washington was to search out the local because the reality of life doesn’t only belong to newsworthy but to far less covered aspects of being such as what churches, schools, communities, and local organizations are up to.  Now living in small town Maine, I see this daily. I haven's met anyone as rotten as Donald Trump.

Unfortunately, us small times aren’t going to find a lot of the real because our society has chosen to let itself be defined by television, the internet, and mass promotion. But if you want to help save a decent America take another look at things that did work, like the 1960s,  and don’t define life only by what the bigshots say today.

Trump may hate Canada, but not all his backers do

New Republic  - Whether we “need” Canada or not, the fact remains that a lot of trade currently takes place between the two countries. You know who actually can’t afford for all this to be upended right now? Republican incumbents and candidates in the Midwest, that’s who. So “we” may not “need” Canada, but Republicans in the region really “need” Trump to not rupture trade relations with our ally for the next two months.

….These areas will very likely feel the political impact of Trump’s new trade war. Canada’s retaliatory tariffs are expected to hit American exports of agricultural machinery, and that could hit Iowa manufacturers. The state’s very competitive 2nd congressional district, for instance, includes facilities run by John Deere, Altorfer (which deals in Caterpillar products), and other farm equipment concerns.

“Tariffs don’t just hurt our farmers, they hurt our manufacturers, as well,” Lindsay James, the Democratic candidate in that district, told me. She added that her GOP opponent, businessman Joe Mitchell, will be a “rubber stamp” for Trump’s trade wars, which she labeled “impulsive.”

Such messages could land disproportionately in Iowa because Trump’s trade wars have already given the state’s agricultural economy a thorough pounding.

Since Trump took over

Via Jamison Daniel

Religion in schools

Patriotwise -   A new federal lawsuit says a public high school’s “social justice” field trip turned into a religious event inside a mosque, raising church–state and student privacy alarms. Parents from multiple faiths sued Palo Alto Unified over a 2025 mosque visit tied to a school program.

The complaint says students were encouraged to wear Islamic attire, given Qurans, and observed prayer. Plaintiffs argue the school promoted one faith and posted student photos without consent.

The superintendent says instruction must be academic, not devotional, and the district is reviewing practices.

Parents and students from Jewish, Hindu, and Zoroastrian backgrounds filed a federal complaint against Palo Alto Unified School District. They say a fall 2025 field trip to the Muslim Community Association mosque went beyond teaching about religion. The complaint says students were encouraged to wear Islamic clothing, were given Qurans, observed prayer, and heard messaging that linked Islam with social justice goals. Plaintiffs also say student photos from inside the mosque later appeared online without parental consent.

Word

“Arresting journalists. Fatally shooting protestors. Turning the military on citizens. Attempting to rig elections. Toying with the idea of declaring martial law. If this were happening in another country, what would you call it?” ‑Robert Reich

Renaming Lake Ontario violates 225 year old treaty

The Hill - Seneca Nation President J. Conrad Seneca called Friday for President Trump to rescind his order to rename Lake Ontario as “Lake America,” citing a 225-year-old treaty between Native Americans and the U.S. government. 

Seneca said in a statement that this name change, which President Trump authorized in a Thursday executive order, violated the terms of the 1794 Treaty of Canandaigua.  “The President cannot assert ownership over our culture or erase it through irresponsible political action,” he said in a statement. 

Black farming

New Republic – [There are] roughly 46,000 Black farmers in the United States today—just 1.4 percent of all American farmers, down from 14 percent in 1920 (Black farmers themselves contend that even the 1.4 percent figure is inflated). There are today just barely 30,000 Black-owned farms, mostly in the Deep South—with more than 11,000 Black farmers in Texas alone—covering roughly three million acres.

…The first great post-emancipation betrayal of Black Americans was, of course, over land. At the end of the Civil War, the federal government had its earliest chance—of what would later be many—to make a good-faith attempt at recompense for nearly 250 years of brutal chattel slavery by creating a Black landowning class. Instead, it restored the very white planter class that had waged war against the United States to preserve slavery. Thus, the famous promise of “40 acres and mule” to the formerly enslaved went unfulfilled. Union General William Tecumseh Sherman gave the order, and 400,000 confiscated coastal acres were given to freed families….

The famous promise of “40 acres and mule” to the formerly enslaved went unfulfilled. Union General William Tecumseh Sherman gave the order, but within a few months, President Andrew Johnson rescinded it and forced Black families off the land.

That remains this country’s most infamous Black land betrayal, but even that was hardly the first. The 1850 Donation Land Act offered parcels of Oregon Territory land to “every white settler,” but excluded Black people. The citizenship requirement for the 1862 Homestead Act—signed days after Congress created the USDA—implicitly excluded both free and enslaved Black folks, whom the Supreme Court’s 1857 Dred Scott decision had declared incapable of citizenship. An estimated 93 million living Americans descend from those original homesteaders. As sociologist Thomas Shapiro has argued, that means roughly one-quarter of the country’s current population “potentially traces its legacy of property ownership, upward mobility, economic stability, class status, and wealth directly to one national policy—a policy that in practice essentially excluded African Americans.”

Meanwhile. . .

Pew Research - This week, Meta agreed to change its policies for teens as part of a settlement with nearly every state and Washington, D.C. In our recent survey, 56% of U.S. adults said they would favor banning anyone under the age of 16 from using social media. Large majorities also favored parental consent, age verification and time limits.

Pew Research - Today, 42% of U.S. adults say they don’t use cash for any purchases in a typical week. This is up from 24% in 2015.  Fewer – 12% – say they use cash to pay for all or almost all of their purchases in a typical week. Another 46% say they use cash sometimes, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted from May 26 to June 1, 2026.

Trump announces big oil plan with Venezuela

NBC News -  President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. had reached an agreement with Venezuela to take control of the country’s 65 billion barrels of oil reserves, a move he said would more than double America’s reserves.  The announcement comes months after the U.S. military carried out an operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Trump is also facing increasing pressure ahead of the midterm elections, as gas prices remain high and the war in Iran approaches its six-month mark.

The uncertain role of Kamala Harris

The Hill -  Democratic candidates in competitive election races are taking different tacks this cycle over how close to affiliate themselves with former Vice President Kamala Harris, who’s lent her support to many of them but whose loss in the 2024 election has made her a more polarizing figure.

Iowa state Rep. Josh Turek (D) told reporters this week he didn’t want Harris to campaign for him as he pursues a Senate seat this cycle — a sentiment Iowa gubernatorial candidate Rob Sand, the state’s auditor, also shared about Harris and former President Biden.

Former Rep. Mary Peltola’s (D-Alaska) Senate campaign also voiced frustration after Harris’s PAC issued a fundraising email for the red-state Democrat earlier this month.

But not all Democrats are keeping Harris at arm’s length.

The former vice president joined a Women for Ossoff call set up by Sen. Jon Ossoff’s (D-Ga.) reelection campaign. She also made a fundraising appeal on his Facebook page.

And Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed said he was “grateful” to have Harris’s support after she endorsed him following his primary.

While the different tactics likely reflect the political realities of red and purple states, they’ve also raised questions about Harris’s political viability as she mulls a second presidential run.

Trump’s DHS is using an obscure law to secretly snoop on journalists, non-profits and unions

Just a spam

Just a spam - If you got a confusing invitation to a Sam Smith event, ignore it. It's a spam.

Meanwhile....

ABC -  A Florida grand jury found that Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration “misappropriated” $10 million in taxpayer money it diverted to a charity run by his wife and was later used for political purposes.

ABC News - A Florida grand jury found that Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration “misappropriated” $10 million in taxpayer money it diverted to a charity run by his wife and was later used for political purposes.

Mail in voting

The Hill - A federal judge has again blocked the Trump administration from going forward with its new mail-in voting restrictions from the president’s executive order, pausing the move for at least two weeks. That would extend beyond when the first states start sending out mail-in ballots for the midterms.

RF Kennedy Jr

The Guardian - A senior Democratic senator has called for a criminal investigation into Robert F Kennedy Jr after reporting by the Guardian that indicated he lied during Senate confirmation hearings last year. Ron Wyden said in a statement: “RFK’s platform is built on lies and grifts that leave a trail of dead children in their wake. There are consequences for lying to Congress.”

What did Kennedy purportedly lie about? A Guardian analysis of newly obtained documents found that the US health secretary had lied when he told lawmakers who held the key to his confirmation that a 2019 visit to Samoa had “nothing to do with vaccines”.

ICE

MS NOW -  Last night MS NOW’s Lawrence O’Donnell highlighted the case of Liam Tadeo, a five-year-old boy detained with his father by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Texas on August 16 as they were on their way to a soccer game and taken to the Dilley detention camp. Representative Greg Casar explained how ICE now routinely uses children as leverage to make parents turn themselves in or self-deport. And sure enough in this case, reports an ABC affiliate in Arizona, the father agreed for himself and Liam to be deported. The Marshall Project estimates that ICE has detained more than 6,000 children so far in Trump’s second term.

48 American scholars taking Canadian jobs

NY Times - Twenty-one universities in Canada announced on Thursday the hiring of dozens of researchers to join their top academic ranks, poaching the majority of the recruits from the United States. Of the incoming 64 researchers, 48 will leave American campuses including Harvard, Yale and M.I.T., and the remainder are from Europe, Asia and Australia.

Turmoil in American academia, precipitated by a crackdown on prestigious universities by the Trump administration and attacks on scientific research groups, has allowed Canada a rare opportunity to lure some of those schools’ top minds north.

Their hiring is paid for through a Canadian government investment of more than 500 million Canadian dollars (about $364 million) in research fields that are strategically important, from global warming to artificial intelligence.

Legal exceptions: 10 states with unique regulations

Middle East

MS NOW - When President Donald Trump launched his war of aggression on Iran earlier this year, he suggested it could end in as little as “two or three days.” The toppling of Iran’s government, he predicted, might take a little longer: within “four to five weeks.”

As of today, the U.S. has been at war against Iran for six months. And there is no end in sight. The White House says it’s not even on speaking terms with Iran after an always-shaky ceasefire collapsed last month.

Trump’s quagmire in Iran is one of the most shameful acts of his presidency. He has failed at what he haughtily presumed would be an easy victory — and left Iran strategically stronger and the world worse off than when he started. And what makes it doubly tragic is how much of this catastrophe was foreseeable. At the heart of his failure was a total incuriosity about the plausibility and the likely consequences of the “little excursion” he decided to embark upon.

Sam Smith – Once again this story fails to mention that it is Congress and not the president who gets to declare war. As US News explains, “The Constitution is pretty clear on the subject of which branch of government gets to decide when the United States is at war. It’s Congress. Only Congress has the power to formally declare war.”

Todd Blanche

"We will not prosecute the abusers named in the Epstein files or reveal their names to the public." - Todd Blanche, US Attorney General

Nation’s Largest Reservoirs Are Drying Up

NY Times-  Lakes Powell and Mead, the nation’s largest reservoirs, are drying up, sending a Colorado River system that provides water and electricity for millions of people into a state of crisis with no end in sight.

Water levels in Lake Powell, along the Utah-Arizona border, fell to a record low on Saturday. Lake Mead, the larger of the two and farthest downstream on the Colorado River, dropped to its lowest recorded point a week earlier.

The combined reservoir system, an essential water source for cities and farms across Arizona, Nevada and Southern California, has not held so little water since 1957, before Lake Powell was filled. That was long before climate change brought three decades of drought, the worst dry spell for the Southwest in at least 1,200 years, scientists said.

Federal and state officials and communities across the region have taken emergency steps to try to head off catastrophe. They shifted water from a smaller reservoir to try to save Powell and have called for water conservation, though those requests are mostly voluntary so far.

Donald Trump

Project on Government Oversight - President Donald Trump added $1.4 billion to his personal wealth last year from cryptocurrency ventures: businesses he launched just before taking office - and in an industry he has aggressively shielded from enforcement and personally promoted. 

Far from probing the president's self-dealing, his administration is enabling it. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which should be investigating this, appears to be sidestepping a glaringly conflicted deal with AI Financial Corporation (formerly Alt5 Sigma) that netted the president and his family an estimated $500 million. 

For years now, POGO has raised the alarm about the glaring loophole in ethics law that creates an exemption for criminal conflicts of interest for presidents and vice presidents. We've urged the closure of this loophole, lest it be abused by powerful officials who put their bottom line above their duty to the public - exactly the infuriating abuse we are seeing right now. 

What's even more infuriating: When questioned about his self-dealing, President Trump said he "found out that nobody cared." He couldn't be more wrong. 

NBC News -  President Donald Trump signed an executive order to rename Lake Ontario to “Lake America” amid his repeated threats and taunts in an escalating trade war with Canada.   Trump made a similar move last year to rename the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America. The Interior Department and Google Maps complied with that directive, while the rest of the world largely has not. “The Americans can call it whatever they want to call it,” a Canadian maritime attorney told NBC News this week. “It is Lake Ontario.”

Trump downplays Moscow visit by CIA

The Guardian - Donald Trump has downplayed a visit to Moscow by the CIA director, John Ratcliffe, as "semi-routine" after he turned up in the Russian capital unannounced. The White House, CIA, Pentagon and the US air force all declined to comment on the visit, which was confirmed on Wednesday by a Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov.

Interviewed by the conservative radio host Glenn Beck, Trump said "He's there, you know, very sort of semi-routine. I hate to disappoint people. We would like to see the war with Ukraine end. We're working very hard to get that war ended, and frankly, they both want to see it ended at this point."

Middle East

Bold Front News - Washington’s new Iran plan promises the “toughest sanctions in history,” escalating full-blown economic warfare without sending U.S. troops into battle. Treasury signaled sweeping sanctions to choke Iran’s revenue and pressure its backers. Recent actions targeted oil shipping, insurers, and financiers tied to Iran’s military.

Iran vows to resist and calls sanctions an American “addiction”. Experts say sanctions hit the economy hard but rarely change core behavior.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the United States will impose the “toughest sanctions in history” on Iran. He framed the push as a way to increase pressure while avoiding large new military operations. The plan centers on broader designations, tougher secondary sanctions, and efforts to cut off shippers, insurers, and banks that enable Iran’s oil trade and weapons programs. This move tells allies and rivals that Washington will use financial power to punish Tehran and anyone who helps it.

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