Donald Trump

Grok  - According to trackers like DidTrumpGolfToday, Trump has visited golf courses 99 days out of 427 since Jan 20, 2025 (23%). Estimated taxpayer cost for security/travel: $138.6M.

NY Times - Fired federal workers who are worried about losing their homes ask not to be quoted by name. University presidents fearing that millions of dollars in federal funding could disappear are holding their fire. Chief executives alarmed by tariffs that could hurt their businesses are on mute. ...

“When you see important societal actors — be it university presidents, media outlets, C.E.O.s, mayors, governors — changing their behavior in order to avoid the wrath of the government, that’s a sign that we’ve crossed the line into some form of authoritarianism,” said Steven Levitsky, a professor of government at Harvard and the co-author of the influential 2018 book “How Democracies Die.”

A grandchild with a problem

Careers with the lowest unemployment rates

1) Pharmacy ~ 1 %

2) Electrical Engineering ~ 1.5 %

3) Computer Science ~ 2 %

4) Computer Engineering ~ 2 %

5) Nursing ~ 2 %

6) Mechanical Engineering ~ 2.5 %

7) Civil Engineering ~ 2.5 %

8) Accounting ~ 3 %

Via Beni 

Polls

Millions warned to stay out of Florida waters

Newsweek -   Millions of people along parts of the Florida coastlines have been warned to stay out of the water as the National Weather Service (NWS) forecasts "life-threatening" rip currents through Sunday, lasting until Sunday evening. A high rip current risk is in place for coastal Palm Beach County in Florida until Sunday night, as the NWS warns that rip currents can drag even the strongest swimmers away from the shore, into deeper waters. 

... Elsewhere, the NWS has also issued a high rip current risk warning to the north-facing beaches from Rincon—which is on the west coast of Puerto Rico—to Fajardo, on the northeast coast, along with the east-facing reefs of the Marianas, which are under a high rip current warning until Tuesday. 

Gas and oil prices

New York Times  Many states across the American South and Southwest, which enjoyed some of the lowest gas prices before the outbreak of war, have seen the steepest increases, according to a New York Times analysis of data from GasBuddy. As of March 14, gas prices had shot up by about a third in Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Texas since the start of the war. In Colorado, prices were up 35 percent. In New Mexico, which has been hit the hardest, they had gone up just shy of 40 percent.

A potential presidential candidate takes on another

NY Times -   Gov. Andy Beshear of Kentucky on Saturday excoriated Vice President JD Vance as the “most arrogant politician I have ever seen,” escalating a yearslong rivalry between two potential 2028 presidential candidates who claim Appalachian roots.

Speaking at a local Democratic Party gala in the Ohio county where Mr. Vance grew up, Mr. Beshear accused the vice president of talking down to the people of Kentucky. For his part, the governor charged that the vice president had disappointed the people of Ohio, whom Mr. Vance represented in the Senate.

“Ohio deserved a much better senator than him, and we all deserve a much better vice president,” Governor Beshear, a term-limited Democrat, told the crowd at the event on Saturday night in Butler County, Ohio, according to audio of the event provided by his representatives.

Mr. Beshear, who is widely seen as a likely 2028 presidential candidate, assailed the vice president as an out-of-touch leader who he said made President Trump look comparatively humble. And he argued that “Hillbilly Elegy” — Mr. Vance’s well-read memoir about his youth in Kentucky and Ohio — amounted to “poverty tourism” and “trafficked in this tired stereotype” about the region.

An exhibition of typos

Smithsonian Magazine -  James Joyce wrote the manuscript of Ulysses with a steel pen over seven years. By his typists’ accounts, the Irish author’s penmanship was atrocious, and his revisions were overwhelming. When the book was published in 1922, it was full of mistakes. In a letter to his wife, he wrote, “The edition you have is full of printer’s errors.”

 

The following year, Joyce’s editors compiled a massive list of the book’s errors to be fixed in new editions. Joyce rejected some of the corrections, saying, “These are not misprints but beauties of my style hitherto undreamt of.” Even so, some future printings of the book came with a seven-page errata sheet listing more than 200 mistakes.

Errors like those in Ulysses are the subject of a new exhibition at Yale. “‘Beauties of My Style’: Errata and the Printed Mistake,” which opens at the university’s Sterling Memorial Library on March 30, examines the history of typos across five centuries...

According to a statement from the library, “errors committed” lists first appeared in the 15th century. Authors slipped these lists—containing typos, additions and apologies—into the backs of books after publication. The exhibition examines errata lists alongside their companion texts, examining themes of “censorship, misrepresentation, intervention and instability,” per the statement.

Art

WBEZ -   When you think about presidential libraries, you probably don’t picture fine art. Among the 13 institutions in the United States dedicated to a more recent slate of presidents, only one features a notable commission: an expansive mural created in 1960-61 by regionalist Thomas Hart Benton for the lobby of the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum in Independence, Missouri.

Chicago will be the exception, keeping with President Barack Obama’s vision for a center that veers far from the conventional approach to presidential libraries. Obama and his wife, Michelle, envisioned art as being a fundamental part of the $800 million Obama Presidential Center when it opens on Juneteenth after 10 years of planning and construction.

Meanwhile. . .

 New York Times   - Kennedy Center Board Votes To Close For Two Years. The full scope of the renovations is not entirely clear. But Mr. Trump has said that both structural and internal work was needed, noting on Monday that the building’s heating system would be “ripped out in its entirety,” and that new theater seating and new marble would be installed. 

More than 400 Transportation Security Administration workers have quit since a partial government shutdown began on Feb. 14 that has left them working without pay, the Department of Homeland Security said.

Untangling election procedures

 

NPR - For this year’s midterm primary elections, some of my NPR colleagues and I tried to make it easier by revisiting a project we first did before the 2024 election — a registration guide for eligible voters in every U.S. state and territory. (Spoiler alert: The only territory-wide primary this year will be held in Guam.)

There are similar guides out there, but many of them don’t specify the exact dates of the deadlines for signing up in time for the 2026 primaries. To save you from scrolling through the webpages of election offices (some of which are smoother to navigate than others), our guide also compiles links for registering online, checking your status and changing your registration.... Elections are a patchwork across the country, and in some places, registering to vote can only be done in person and/or by mail. There’s no online registration in Arkansas, Mississippi, Montana, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Texas and Wyoming, as well as American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands.... So if you’re an eligible voter who can use a guide to help you register, I’ll keep it simple: Start by going to npr.org/vote.

Getting people to show up in court can be difficult

Time -   When people are accused of breaking the law—from something minor like trespassing to a more serious offense like robbery—the next step is typically a court hearing. This is the beginning of the process to determine whether they are guilty, and if so, what the consequences will be.

Getting people to show up in court is a difficult challenge. We need to persuade someone who is accused of breaking the law to take time out of their life to face the consequences—not a pleasant task. It’s probably not surprising, then, that many miss their court hearings.

The standard approach in the U.S. is to lock people up, requiring cash bail for release. About 30% of people currently incarcerated in the U.S. haven’t been convicted yet—they are simply in jail awaiting trial. Cash bail entails paying part or all of the bail amount so that a defendant can go home; if they show up in court, they will get most of that amount back. Of course, low-income defendants are less able to pay, which means this system often punishes poverty. A major barrier to reforming the status quo is that people worry that defendants can’t be trusted to show up for their hearings and face punishment without these measures.

The legal system provides big incentives to show up for your court date. If you miss it, not only will you lose any money you put down as bail, but the court will typically grant a warrant for your arrest, and you could face new, often more serious charges. It could also mean more severe consequences if you’re ever arrested for another offense: since courts consider past “failures to appear” (FTAs) when deciding whether someone is a flight risk, missing a hearing today can mean pretrial detention (time in jail) in future cases. The best data suggest that 23% of felony defendants who are released pretrial still don’t show up for court, for a variety of reason

Action Links

Sign and send a message urging your members of Congress to block any executive order that would federalize or seize control of our elections.

Congress should reject the SAVE Act and all attempts to make it harder to vote.

Impeach and convict Donald Trump... 30,000 activists have already signed on this week 3/11

Save Stephen Colbert's show

Who should be the Democratic nominee for President in 2028? 3/26

Mark Kelly is suing Pete Hegseth for violating the Constitution, after Hegseth abused his power and tried to punish Senator Kelly for speaking the truth. To support Kelly

Tell Congress: Protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Teachers reporting classroom behavior getting worse

The Hill -  An Education Week survey released this month found 64 percent of teachers reporting classroom behavior has gotten worse in the past year.  Their No. 1 solution, coming from more than 60 educators, is smaller class sizes.

But teachers also said parents should do better at instructing their kids on how to behave — and that they should not undermine consequences a teacher gives them in school. 

More than 55 percent said parents should get instructions on teaching children how to behave in the classroom. A majority favored restricting screentime in schools and also said parents’ ability to undermine punishments such as detention should be limited.

And around 50 percent of teachers said tougher consequences for students such as suspensions or expulsions were needed.  

Experts say parental support can make or break student behavior in the classroom.

Airport chaos

The Hill - Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), a leading Senate conservative, is proposing to colleagues the idea of splitting off Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) from the rest of funding for the Department of Homeland Security to end growing chaos at airports around the country.  The proposal appeared to be gaining momentum within the Senate Republican conference on Saturday as GOP lawmakers grow increasingly pessimistic about reaching a deal with Democrats to reform federal immigration enforcement operations.

Baseball rule change

NY Times -   On Wednesday, when the San Francisco Giants’ starter tosses out the first pitch of the Major League Baseball season, players will — for the first time — have the chance to overrule the umpire’s call of a ball or a strike. The new higher power will be a network of specialized cameras set up in every ballpark to track the baseball’s exact location. It’s officially called the Automated Ball-Strike  Challenge System. Many fans call it the robot ump...

Teams will begin every game with two challenges — opportunities to summon the robot umpire and see whether the human behind home plate missed a ball or strike call. If a challenge is successful, the team can use it again. After two misses, though, it loses the power altogether.

Only the pitcher, catcher or batter can challenge a call, and they have to do so almost immediately, without help from teammates or coaches. The signal is a tap on the head, which effectively tells the ump: I think you’re wrong. A few seconds later, a graphic appears on the outfield screen showing whether the pitch was in fact a ball or a strike.

The way Trump handles women can imitate how he handles countries

Alternet -   President Donald Trump’s belligerent foreign policy can be understood by his “abusive, impulsive narcissist relations with women,” says the associate editor of a prominent Washington DC magazine.

Describing Trump’s statement last week that he plans on “taking Cuba in some form” because he can “do anything I want with it,” the bottom line is that “Trump’s megalomania continues to grow because he is so rarely punished for it,” wrote Washington Monthly associate editor Gillen Tener Martin in a Sunday editorial...

“But, of course, ‘I can do anything’ isn’t just Trump’s modus operandi with women,” Martin wrote. “It’s his mantra—how he moves through life: selfishly, chaotically, with little forethought and no expectation of consequences. And we’ve seen how that translates into policy; from tariffs to vaccines to DOGE, from Minneapolis to Venezuela to Iran.”

Martin added, “Turns out, if you’re an abusive, impulsive narcissist in your relations with women, you tend to be one in other areas of life, too."

Some Dems Plotting Schumer Ouster

 Headline USA -   - Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is facing behind-the-scenes discussions about a possible ouster, as some Democrats grow frustrated with his negotiating tactics and midterm strategy, according to a new report.

Schumer’s colleagues have reportedly begun “doing informal counts” to determine whether they have the votes to remove Schumer as minority leader, according to a Saturday story from The Wall Street Journal.

The effort was reportedly discussed by Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., during a dinner with left-wing activists at a French restaurant in Washington, D.C.

Murphy indicated in his comments to the activists that Schumer still has enough support to keep his position. However, the Journal noted that ongoing conversations about a potential replacement have fueled uncertainty around his leadership.

Schumer has served in the Senate since 1999, after nearly two decades in the House and earlier service in the New York State Assembly.

In addition to Murphy, Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Tina Smith, D-Minn., have also taken part in behind-the-scenes discussions about a potential ouster of Schumer.

Senate Dems kill a plan to prohibit transgender athlets from paritipating in female sports

The Hill -   Senate Democrats voted Saturday to defeat a Republican-sponsored amendment to the SAVE America Act that would prohibit transgender athletes from participating in girls’ or women’s sports, an issue that Republicans plan to play up in this year’s midterm elections.

The Senate voted 49-41 along party lines to block the amendment sponsored by Sens. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), the Protection for Women and Girls in Sports Act. It needed 60 votes to pass.

The legislation would prohibit federally funded education programs from sponsoring or facilitating athletic programs that allow transgender women or girls to participate in sports according to their gender identity.

Tuberville said it marked the fourth time that Senate Democrats have defeated such an effort.

d be added to the SAVE America Act.

Study; Volunteering is good for your health

Health.com - New research shows just one weekly activity could help you live a longer, healthier life: volunteering.

The study, set to be published in the January issue of Social Science & Medicine, found that volunteering—even for just one hour a week—is linked to slower biological aging, which reflects how old your cells and tissues appear compared to your actual age.

The researchers controlled for other health variables that can slow biological aging—including frequency of physical activity, smoking status, binge drinking, obesity, and more—and still found a connection between volunteering and slower biological aging.

Will Trump be held accountable after he leaves office?

Meanwhile. . .

A new poll from FairVote &

@FairVoteIL

finds 65% of IL Dems support ranked choice voting

With gas prices rising due to the United States and Israel’s war with Iran, interest in renewables and EVs is rising. 

Word use

Attacking Israel for its war against Iran is not anti-semitism but anti-stupid war

Where Americans are moving

MORE

Polls

A new Daily Mail/JL Partners poll shows Trump’s approval rating slipping to 42 percent, the lowest level recorded in that survey series—a development that comes at a precarious moment for Republicans heading toward the 2026 midterm elections.

The WRECK America Act

Chris Bowers, Bowers News Media -  Under current Senate rules, legislation not passed through the reconciliation process (the SAVE Act is not eligible to be passed through reconciliation) is subject to the 60-vote cloture rule commonly known as the filibuster. Republicans only have 53 votes in the Senate, and only one Democrat is even considering supporting it. Plus, there are actually some Republicans who oppose it, such as Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Mitch McConnell. While Senate rules could be changed with a simple 51-vote majority, Republicans are nowhere close to achieving that, according to Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune.

Will Vance run?

Headline USA -  Vice President JD Vance has been widely assumed to be the frontrunner to be the Republican presidential candidate in 2028, but sources say backlash from the Iran war and an impending new baby might be giving him second thoughts.  “While the political impact of the war could be significant, Vance has maintained in recent private conversations that he hasn’t yet decided whether he will seek the presidential nomination for 2028,” the Washington Post reported Thursday, citing two people who’ve talked to Vance about the matter.

“One of those people cited Vance’s fourth child, due this summer, and said the vice president has put a priority on his family life and is unlikely to make a final decision until he and Usha Vance see how another baby affects their lives.”

Immigration

New Republic -   President Donald Trump is reportedly realizing that his sweeping, murderous “mass deportation” policy might not be a good idea. The Wall Street Journal wrote Thursday that after speaking with advisers—and his wife—Trump has begun to cool on the draconian campaign. He’s complained about the bad press he received under Border Patrol chief Greg Bovino and former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and chief of staff Susie Wiles and border czar Tom Homan have apparently attempted to temper the federal militia optics of ICE and Customs and Border Protection. Trump has apparently realized the negative connotation of “mass deportations” and wants Republicans to talk more about “criminals.”

Donald Trump

Ralph Nader -   Unstable Tyrant Trump is running out of lies, fantasies, and promises to break. An NBC interview of a Pennsylvania woman next to a gas station signals the trend. The reporter asked her what she would say to President Trump. She answered: “You are a worthless pile of s—”. He then asked her how many times she voted for him. She replied: “Three times. That was my bad. Apparently, I’m an idiot.”

Trump regime and the law

Jon Passantino   - On Friday afternoon, a federal judge delivered a stinging rebuke to Pete Hegseth’s escalating war on the press—striking down the Pentagon’s sweeping effort to control who gets to report the news.

In a 40-page opinion, U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman ruled that the draconian press credentialing policy engineered by Hegseth and his leadership team, turning the Pentagon into a cozy safe space hidden from scrutiny, was flatly unconstitutional. The judge highlighted Donald Trump’s foreign wars and the importance of reporting for the public’s understanding of the entanglements.

“Especially in light of the country's recent incursion into Venezuela and its ongoing war with Iran, it is more important than ever that the public have access to information from a variety of perspectives about what its government is doing—so that the public can support government policies, if it wants to support them; protest, if it wants to protest; and decide based on full, complete, and open information who they are going to vote for in the next election,” Friedman wrote.

Friday's ruling was a long time coming and Status has been documenting the road to it. Since last spring, we've tracked Hegseth's systematic campaign against press independence step by step: the revocation of hallway access, the unprecedented credentialing restrictions, the banishment of journalists who refused to comply, and their replacement with MAGA influencers cosplaying as reporters.