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Man using a drive-in telephone in 1959 Via Yesterday in America |
November 23, 2024
Via Nick WEATHER
Newsweek - Winter weather warnings have been issued in 11 states amid a massive snowstorm that is expected to dump up to five feet of snow in some areas. The warnings were issued in Virginia, Montana, Maryland, California, West Virginia, Idaho, Nevada, South Carolina, Colorado, Alaska, and Utah. The National Weather Service has warned that travel in these areas may be extremely hazardous.
The heaviest snow accumulations are expected in California, where a warning was issued for heavy snow between 4 p.m. on Friday and 4 p.m. on Tuesday, with snow-covered roads and travel delays expected. "Heavy snow expected for elevations above 5500 feet. Total snow accumulations of 1 to 4 feet and up to 5 feet along higher peaks," the National Weather Service said.
DEMOCRATS
The Nation - Earlier this week, the House passed HR 9495, an amendment to the tax code that would empower the Treasury Department to unilaterally brand nonprofit groups as “terrorist supporting organizations” and suspend their charitable tax exemption, without giving the groups any due process or access to the evidence against them. The resulting stigma of such a designation would almost certainly be enough to scare off banks, likely depriving these groups of the ability to function altogether.
The drive to kill nonprofits is dangerous no matter who is president, and, in the past few weeks, most House Democrats appear to have woken up to the risks of the legislation. Fifty-two Democrats voted to support the bill as recently as last week, but by the time a subsequent vote came around on Thursday, only 15 voted in favor. But that was still enough to give Republicans the votes they needed to pass it. Going forward, the demand from everyone watching this process should be clear: Even one Democratic vote is one too many, and Senate Democrats should promise that they will not support the legislation.
The Nation - In the twilight of his failed presidency, Joe Biden is making clear that his core identity is as a foreign policy hawk. Although Biden logged some impressive domestic achievements under the aegis of Build Back Better, he followed the tragic pathway of an earlier Democratic president, Lyndon Baines Johnson, in being willing to sacrifice popular domestic programs on behalf of interminable wars. Biden didn’t just support Ukraine and Israel with vast funds and weapons supplies; his administration repeatedly resisted calls for negotiations and ceasefires.
Portside - The 2024 election marked a painful setback for Democratic hopes of rebalancing the federal judiciary: When Donald Trump reenters the White House in January, he will have a pliant Republican Senate majority eager to confirm his hard-right judges. But federal courts don’t tell the whole story: Across the country, voters also elected liberal justices to their state Supreme Courts, which function as a key backstop for civil rights and democracy as federal courts lurch rightward. Progressives didn’t win a clean sweep, but they emerged with an impressive scorecard, carrying seats in battlegrounds like Michigan and safely red states like Kentucky and Montana. Left-leaning judicial candidates even prevailed in deep-red Arkansas and Mississippi, bucking the national shift rightward. And a progressive jurist is now leading the tally heading into a recount in an extraordinarily close race for the North Carolina Supreme Court, with a victory there promising to end the left’s painful losing streak on that bench and serve as a capstone for the one piece of the 2024 election where progressives actually flourished.
UKRAINE
Independent UK - The war in Ukraine is entering a “decisive phase”, with Vladimir Putin’s launch of a new ballistic missile showing that the threat of global conflict is “serious and real”, Poland’s prime minister has said. Donald Tusk’s warning came as Nato and Ukrainian officials convened emergency talks over the hypersonic ballistic missile strike against Dnipro.
Putin said its launch was in response to Ukraine using British and American long-range missiles on targets in Russia – and issued a stark threat that Moscow “had the right” to strike any Western nation that provided Kyiv with such weapons. And he vowed to continue using the new missile “in combat conditions” – a threat to both Ukraine and the West.
ALCOHOL
NY Times -The number of deaths caused by alcohol-related diseases more than doubled among Americans between 1999 and 2020, according to new research. Alcohol was involved in nearly 50,000 deaths among adults ages 25 to 85 in 2020, up from just under 20,000 in 1999.The increases were in all age groups. The biggest spike was observed among adults ages 25 to 34, whose fatality rate increased nearly fourfold between 1999 and 2020.
Women are still far less likely than men to die of an illness caused by alcohol, but they also experienced a steep surge, with rates rising 2.5-fold over 20 years. The new study, published in The American Journal of Medicine, drew on data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
LINDA MCMAHON
Occupy Democrats - A third Donald Trump Cabinet nominee is embroiled in a sordid sexual scandal as it's reported that Linda McMahon — his pick for Education Secretary — was sued for knowingly enabling the sexual exploitation of children...
According to the lawsuit, McMahon enabled the abuse by a World Wrestling Entertainment employee that began in the 1980s. She is the former CEO of the WWE and co-founded it with her husband Vince, himself an alleged sex trafficker. The lawsuit alleges that Linda and Vince, in conjunction with the WWE and TKO Group Holdings (the company's parent company), knowingly allowed an employee named Melvin Phillips Jr. to exploit his job as a ringsider announcer to abuse children. Allegedly, Phillips Jr. recruited children as "Ring Boys," ostensibly to help with preparation and takedown of wrestling rings. He then used his proximity to sexually exploit the children — sometimes in front of wrestlers and executives in the locker room. He even filmed it.
The suit was filed in October in Maryland on behalf of five anonymous John Does who claim that they were exploited by Phillips when there were between ages 13 and 15. "Phillips lured and manipulated the young boys with promises of meeting famous wrestlers and attending the highly popular wrestling shows, experiences that were otherwise unattainable for these kids," the lawsuit states.
Linda McMahon denies that she was aware of the abuse.
TRUMP REGIME
conversation between Donald Trump Jr and Elon Musk went vi ..
A conversation between Donald Trump Jr and Elon Musk went vi ..
A conversation between Donald Trump Jr and Elon Musk went vi ..
Huffington Post - President-elect Donald Trump announced Friday that he would nominate outgoing Republican Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer to be his labor secretary.“Lori has worked tirelessly with both Business and Labor to build America’s workforce, and support the hardworking men and women of America,” Trump said in a statement.
Chavez-DeRemer lost her House reelection bid earlier this month after serving one term in Congress. A union-friendly Republican, she had the backing of Teamsters President Sean O’Brien to lead the Labor Department under Trump.
The incoming president’s choice of Chavez-DeRemer is a surprise considering her track record of working with labor groups. She was a rare Republican supporter of the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, which would dramatically overhaul labor law to make it easier to form unions. Business groups have vehemently opposed the legislation. The anti-union National Right to Work Committee had publicly opposed Chavez-DeRemer for the labor role, saying she should “have no place in the Trump administration” due to her pro-union views.
Public health advocates rail against Trump’s nomination of RFK Jr. for Cabinet post
MSN - Planned Parenthood says it's seen a 1,200% spike in vasectomy appointments as Musk's DOGE targets it for cuts
X - Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski just made a bold move, declaring she
won’t support any of President Trump’s nominees unless they undergo full
FBI vetting. This marks a significant development and could have major
implications for the administration’s agenda.
Raw Story - Walmart — the world's largest retailer — issued a warning to customers that they may pay more for the same products if President-elect Donald Trump makes good on his promise to impose new tariffs on imports.
Walmart's
finance chief, John David Rainey, acknowledged that new tariffs would
likely be passed on to the people buying goods imported from overseas, Fortune reported Friday. Currently, anywhere from 70% to 80% of goods sold at Walmart are made in China, and could be affected by potential new tariffs. In September, PBS reported that Trump proposed tariffs as high as 60% on imports from China, and 20% tariffs on products made elsewhere. "Tariffs are going to be inflationary, there’s no disputing that," Rainey said earlier this week.
MEDIA
Hartmann Report - Comcast, which owns NBC and its subsidiaries CNBC and MSNBC (among other media outlets) announced this week that they’ll be spinning off MSNBC (among others) next year. And the consequences are already showing up. It was reported this week that Rachel Maddow just took a substantial annual pay-cut because of the uncertain future of the network.
In part, this probably reflects a belt-tightening at Comcast, but is also an indication of how legacy media — which now includes cable properties — are taking a hit from newer digital media, from social media to podcasts to web-based networks and programs. The principal analyst and VP of content for the market research company eMarketer, Paul Verna, told the AP that:
“The writing is on the wall that the cable TV business is a dwindling business,” and, the AP noted, is “predicting future consolidation of the networks or acquisitions through private equity.”
COLLEGES & UNIVERSITIES
Nice News - We recently shared the news that the average cost of college tuition has been quietly trending downward
for students. In the same vein, MIT announced earlier this week that
more undergraduates will have their tuition covered by the prestigious
university.
In the updated financial aid plan, undergraduates with a family income below $200,000 will have their tuition covered, up from the previous threshold of $140,000.
Those with family income below $100,000 — which constitutes about half
of U.S. families — will also have their housing, dining, and fees taken
care of, plus “an allowance for books and personal expenses.”
MIT is one of the few colleges in the country that is “need-blind” for both U.S. and international students, meaning the university doesn’t factor in an applicant’s ability to pay in the admissions process. Washington and Lee University and University of Notre Dame recently adopted the same policy.
“The cost of college is a real concern for families across the board, and we’re
determined to make this transformative educational experience available
to the most talented students, whatever their financial circumstances,”
MIT President Sally Kornbluth said in a statement. “So, to every
student out there who dreams of coming to MIT: Don’t let concerns about cost stand in your way.”
HEALTH
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| Via John Fugelsang |
Pew Research - 60% of Americans say they probably won’t get an updated COVID-19 vaccine. Republicans are about twice as likely as Democrats to say they probably won’t get the new coronavirus vaccine (81% vs. 37%). The top reasons given by those who don’t plan to get it are the sense that they don’t need it and concern about side effects.
SCHOOLS
NBC - The Texas Board of Education narrowly voted to allow Bible-based curriculum in elementary schools.
MEANWHILE. . .
Record 79.9 million Americans expected to travel for Thanksgiving.
CNN - The Coffee Milano Cafe in Middleborough, Massachusetts, promised customers that if they entered the store dancing for at least five seconds, they'd walk out with a free cup of coffee. And dance they did: One woman kicked her shoes off at the door to moonwalk; another ballroom danced with their baby. Coffee lovers streamed in to show off their moves, from the sprinkler to an old-timey two-step. The promotion was a win for the cafe, too: The viral dance moves boosted its online profile and convinced more customers to come check out their java — as long as they've brushed up on their steps.
November 22, 2024
PETE HEGSETH
Newsweek - President-elect Donald Trump's defense secretary nominee, Pete Hegseth, has gone viral for comments calling for establishing Christian schools to build an "educational insurgency." Hegseth made the comments on Monday's episode of CrossPolitic, a Christian political podcast that aims "to see our fallen and broken nation recognize Jesus as our redeemer."
Hegseth was discussing his book Battle for the American Mind. He mentioned the need for "an educational insurgency" to combat progressive ideas in American schools. "We draw out in the last part of the book what an educational insurgency would look like," he said. "We're in middle phase one right now, which is effectively a tactical retreat where you regroup, consolidate and reorganize."
National Memo - The police report detailing the sexual assault allegations against Fox News host Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump's pick for secretary of defense, will make your stomach churn. According to a 22-page report, Hegseth was accused of raping an unconscious victim in the early hours of October 8, 2017, at a hotel after a Republican women's conference event in Monterey, California. The alleged rape was first reported to police by an emergency room nurse who treated the victim.
The victim, listed as Jane Doe in the police report, said she believes she was drugged at the event at a Hyatt Hotel, and "cannot remember most of the night's events." The victim said she had approached Hegseth at the event and told him she "did not appreciate how he treated women" after she saw him rubbing women "on their legs.”During the confrontation, Jane Doe remembered Hegseth telling her he was a “nice guy.”
The next thing she remembered was being in an unfamiliar hotel room and Hegseth blocking her from leaving it. She told the police he took her phone. Then she said that Hegseth was on top of her and that he ejaculated on her stomach and told her to "clean it up." She remembered “saying ‘no’ a lot,” according to the report.
Through an attorney, Hegseth claimed to The Washington Post that the encounter was consensual. However, he paid the woman to remain silent.
Guardian - Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump’s pick for defense secretary, has written in a book that he could imagine a scenario in which the US armed forces would be used violently in American domestic politics.Hegseth, a former elite soldier turned rightwing Fox television personality, is Trump’s choice to lead the Pentagon which controls the gigantic American military – by far the largest armed force in the world.
In one of his five published books he wrote that in the event of a Democratic election victory in the US there would be a “national divorce” in which “The military and police … will be forced to make a choice” and “Yes, there will be some form of civil war.” Hegseth’s 2020 book exhorts conservatives to undertake “an AMERICAN CRUSADE”, to “mock, humiliate, intimidate, and crush our leftist opponents”, to “attack first” in response to a left he identifies with “sedition”, and he writes that the book “lays out the strategy we must employ in order to defeat America’s internal enemies”.
Hegseth’s rhetoric about perceived “internal” or “domestic enemies”, along with media reports highlighting his tattoo of the crusader motto “Deus Vult”, may ring alarm bells for those concerned by Donald Trump’s repeated threats to unleash the US military, which Hegseth would directly control, on those he has described as “the enemy within”
WOMEN
Washington Times - Women will for the first time make up a majority of state legislators in Colorado and New Mexico next year, but at least 13 states saw losses in female representation after the November election, according to a count released Thursday by the Rutgers Center for American Women and Politics. While women will fill a record number of state legislative seats in 2025, the overall uptick will be slight, filling just over third of legislative seats. Races in some states are still being called.
DEMOCRATS
Guardian - The US Senate will not hold votes on four of Joe Biden’s appellate court nominees as part of a deal with Republicans to allow for speedier consideration of other judicial nominations and bring the president within striking distance of the 234 total judicial confirmations that occurred during president-elect Donald Trump’s first term.
Currently, the number of judges confirmed under Biden totals 221. Republicans forced numerous procedural votes this week and late-night sessions as the Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, attempted to move ahead in getting more of Biden’s nominees confirmed before Congress adjourns and Republicans take control of the chamber in January.
A
Senate Democratic leadership aide said late on Thursday that a time
agreement had been reached to allow for consideration of seven district
court judges in the first week of December. And another six district
judges would be placed on the Senate executive calendar, making it
possible for them also to be considered on the Senate floor in December.
Jordan Uhl -The House passed HR 9495, the bill that would allow the Treasury department to unilaterally kill non-profit groups.
15 Dems voted for it:
Allred
Caraveo
Case
Cuellar
Davis (NC)
Golden (ME)
Gonzalez, V.
Lee (NV)
Moskowitz
Panetta
Perez
Schneider
Suozzi
Torres (CA)
Wasserman Schult
TRUMP REGIME
RBReich - Trump has named at least five admin nominees who are credited with drafting Project 2025. The nominees include his “border czar,” CIA director, FCC head, OMB director, and an ambassador. It should be clear by now that Project 2025 was always the MAGA agenda.
MATT GAETZ
NBC News - Former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., said he doesn't plan to rejoin Congress after he withdrew his name from consideration to be President-elect Donald Trump's attorney general amid sexual misconduct allegations. "I'm still going to be in the fight, but it's going to be from a new perch," Gaetz said in an interview with conservative commentator Charlie Kirk.
RURAL
Rural Assembly - We're hiring a director . Learn more about this opportunity and submit your application or share it with someone who should apply.
DONALD TRUMP
Guardian - The sentencing in Donald Trump’s Manhattan criminal hush-money case has been postponed indefinitely while attorneys on both sides argue over its future given his recent win.Judge Juan Merchan, who is overseeing Trump’s case, did not provide a new sentencing date in his one-page scheduling order on Friday.
Merchan said in his one-page decision that Trump’s lawyers had to file their argument for dismissal by end of business on 2 December. Prosecutors have one week to respond. The development came in the wake of filings from prosecutors and defense lawyers over their views of how Trump’s case should proceed after he won the 2024 election against Kamala Harris.
Trump’s lawyers on Tuesday asked Merchan to throw out the case, contending that dismissal was necessary “in order to facilitate the orderly transition of executive power”. Todd Blanche, Trump’s lead attorney and choice for deputy US attorney general, and Emil Bove, the president-elect’s pick for principal associate deputy attorney general, complained that Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg’s team “appears to not yet be ready to dismiss this politically motivated and fatally flawed case, which is what is mandated by the law and will happen as justice takes its course”.
IMMIGRATION
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| Data: American Immigration Council; Chart: Axios Visuals |
New Republic - Tom Homan, Donald Trump’s so-called “border czar” in charge of executing his massive deportation plans, made an eerie threat to double the number of ICE agents in sanctuary cities.During an appearance on Newsmax Wednesday, Homan issued a warning to sanctuary cities, where local policies limit coordination and information-sharing with federal immigration authorities about noncitizens, allowing them to be able to report crimes, acquire homes and jobs, and participate in society without fear of being deported.
“They
don’t have to help us, but they need to get the hell out of the way cuz
we’re comin’, we’re gonna do it. Which means if I gotta send twice as
many resources to that sanctuary city, twice as many agents, that’s
exactly what I’m going to do,” Homan said....
Homan also promised “consequences” for anyone who tried to conceal undocumented immigrants, and said that the government’s efforts to round up human beings for detainment and deportation would begin with “the worst of the worst first.”
CNN - There are an estimated 10.5 million undocumented immigrants in the US, data shows. Of those, about 8.5 million are employed. Business owners and economists alike warn that mass deportations, along with stricter border measures and the revoking of Biden-era protections, could have a seismic impact on the labor market and the US economy. Critical industries such as agriculture, leisure and hospitality, construction and health care could take the largest hits.
CARS
CNN - Jeep misery:Prices for the beloved brand have gone through the roof, and sales have plummeted. Dealers are furious and say that parent company Stellantis is ruining a good thing by jacking up prices and mismanaging its vehicle lineup.
FAMILIES
Teen Vogue - Kate’s parents think she’s going to hell for the abortion she had. They believe vaccines are dangerous and that elite politicians are pedophiles running the world. Though Kate’s parents were always Republicans, something changed around the time president-elect Donald Trump ran for office for the first time. Now she can barely hold a conversation with them anymore. ‘I just avoid them as much as possible,’ she says. With Donald Trump securing victory in the 2024 election, some Gen Z voters are struggling to deal with their Trump-supporter parents — again. … The disconnect between young people like Kate, 24, and their parents is only widening, leaving families further fractured in the wake of another divided election.”
MIKE JOHNSON
Daily Kos - House Speaker Mike Johnson blocked an effort by a fellow Republican lawmaker that would have allowed women in Congress who just gave birth to vote by proxy—a way to let them recover from birth and bond with their child while also giving a voice to their constituents.
Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida and Democratic Rep. Sara Jacobs of California introduced legislation in January that sought to allow members of the House who give birth to vote remotely for six weeks postpartum.The bill has 34 co-sponsors, including some right-wing Republican men, such as Rep. James Comer of Kentucky and Tim Burchett of Tennessee.
But Luna said on Wednesday that Johnson told her he will not put her legislation up for a vote... In 2023, Luna became just the 12th woman in American history to give birth while serving in Congress. After giving birth, she had complications that led her to miss dozens of House votes, CBS News reported.
RUDY GIULIANI
Huffington Post - A civil contempt hearing is now on the books in Washington, D.C., for Rudy Giuliani — just a day after two election workers he defamed, Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, notified a judge that they believed the former New York City mayor has continued to smear them publicly.U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell ordered Giuliani on Thursday to respond to the motion for civil contempt by Dec. 2. The former election workers will then have until Dec. 6 to file their response to Giuliani. The first hearing in the case will be held on Dec. 12 at the federal courthouse near the U.S. Capitol.
BLACK FRIDAY
WalletHub - With 31% of American consumers planning to spend less during the 2024
holiday season relative to 2023, the personal-finance website WalletHub
today released its report on the Best Things to Buy on Black Friday in 2024. WalletHub determined that 41% of items offer no savings compared with their pre-Black Friday prices.
| Top 3 Product Categories | Worst 3 Product Categories |
| 1. Jewelry (37%) | 7. Toys (23%) |
| 2. Apparel & Accessories (31%) | 8. Consumer Electronics (20%) |
| 3. Consumer Packaged Goods (28%) | 9. Computer & Phones (19%) |
Top 10 Deals
- EcoFlow Delta Pro 3 Power Backup System ($3,057 discount)
- NewAge Products Bold Series 10 Pc. Cabinet Set ($600 discount)
- Disney Enchanted Vault Swiss Blue Topaz & Diamond Earrings ($162 discount)
- Sony - 75" Class BRAVIA 3 Smart TV ($228 discount)
- Portable Basketball Hoop & Goal System ($190 discount)
- iBUYPOWER Y60 Gaming Desktop ($500 discount)
- Michael Kors Medium Duffel Satchel ($149 discount)
- Alienware m16 R2 Gaming Laptop ($330 discount)
- Roborock QX Revo Vacuum and Mop Robot ($420 discount)
- Real Relax® 2024 Massage Chair Favor 08 ($300 discount)
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