~ Larken Rose. Suzy Kassem. Stacey Abrams. ~
Politics: the art of using euphemisms, lies, emotionalism and fear-mongering to dupe average people into accepting–or even demanding–their own enslavement. Larken Rose.
Saturday Serenade: Freedom for One Means Freedom for All
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Fact-Check Reminder
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Words On: Politics, Democracy, Truth
Herbert. Frank. Sagan. Governments, if they endure, always tend increasingly toward aristocratic forms. No government in history has been known to evade this pattern. And as the aristocracy develops, government tends…
Words On: Democracy?
~ Asimov. Peterson. Weil. ~ Anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance…
History and Facts Are Your Friends
Foundation of the Fascist Playbook is Chaos and Lies. Create the chaos, then lie and lie and lie about the consequences. Lies about the chaos during Hitler's murderous reign have often been…
Courage Required
• It's About Choices • The election is over. We know the cabinet picks. The stress level has gone up. But, we do not have to fall victim to the incoming hate…
Laugh Now, Cry Later: UPDATED
Red Wave. Blue Collapse. Blue Wave. Red Collapse. The Battle is ongoing. The Bullshit continues. It's Nothing New... Or Is It: UPDATED 11/14 - SEE BELOW (more…)
Good Luck, America
It’s Not Complicated
Now Is The Time For All Good Women and Men To Come To The Aid Of Their Country
Compared: List of 20
A younger Trump, according to his first wife’s divorce filings, kept and studied a book translating and annotating Adolf Hitler’s pre-World War II speeches in a locked bedside cabinet. (more…)
Words On Culture, Respect, Democracy
• The Blueprint • While our culture, traditions and religion may differ, we pride ourselves on working hard, educating ourselves as much as possible, striving for better lives for our children,…
Fear, Liberty, and Good Sense
There's been a flush of diarrhea from the mouth of the former guy (TFG) as the nation readies for the upcoming election on November 5. Devoid of any sensible attempt to inform…
Reminder, Part Infinity
~ Special Counsel Prosecuting Trump Shows Us A Revealing Brief ~ Jack's got a new brief. It’s a nice brief. It’s a good brief. It’s a brief brief; only a 165-page…
Still Doing The Heavy Lifting
~ Our Gratitude ~ The Violence Against Women Act Turns 30, Today. By Professor Dale Margolin Cecka, director of the Family Violence Litigation Clinic at Albany Law School. Intimate partner violence…
A Call For Action
A coalition of more than three-dozen journalism, civil-rights and consumer-rights organisations released a letter Thursday, 15 August, calling on news outlets to do a much better job reporting on rising authoritarianism and…
2024: Warnings Continue. Maybe We Should Pay Attention
Latest warning (August 2) of assaults on U.S. democracy comes loud and clear from the American Bar Association’s Task Force for American Democracy. “Our country and democracy face a wide variety of…
Words On Decisions, Movements, Courage
Dolores Huerta. Angela Davis. Jasilyn Charger. We do need women in civic life. We do need women to run for office, to be in political office. We need a feminist to…
To Make Looking Forward Easier, Take A Look Back
Sometimes it makes sense to look back at what was in order to erase any doubt of what is needed, or wanted, for the future - of our lives, of the country.…
Words On Accents, Access and Favoring Freedom
Ana Navarro. Stacey Abrams. Frederick Douglass. Why am I a liberal? Because I don't forget that I'm an immigrant and that I'm a Hispanic and that I have a Latin accent…
Oh No, Uncle Joe. Say It Ain’t So
~~ From Right Left Centre and In Between ~~ News Media Still The Same Old, Same Old: If It Bleeds – It Leads (more…)
Happy Fourth, America. And Good Luck
When An Image & A Song Tell The Story (more…)
The GOP and Unified Horror
On Monday, a video was posted on the social media network of a person named Donald J. Trump that included multiple references to something called a “unified Reich”. Most of us know…
Words On Pure Wind and Politics
George Jean Nathan. George Orwell. Shirley Chisholm. Politics. Pure Wind. Trivial Men. Politics is the diversion of trivial men who, when they succeed at it, become important in the eyes of…
Sure, It’s Just A Song. But, Man, We DO Need This Song
America, Where Did The Blue Skies Go ~ Let's Bring Them Back ~ (more…)
IS SCOTUS LISTENING TO THE ALARMS
The former President of the United States of America, Donald J. Trump, lives in an otherworldly fantasy where he was King or at least Authoritarian Fuhrer while in office (2016-2020), which would…
Words On Freedom, Choices and Politics
Audre Lorde. Utah Phillips. Martin Luther King Jr. (more…)
There’s No Cure For Stupid
…When This Guy Is Your Hero… You Are One Sick Little-Dick MotherFuc*er ••• Donald Trump’s dinner guest at Mar-a-Lago Nick Fuentes says that when the America First movement takes power, all non-Christians…
A Desperate Wannabe Is A Dangerous Wannabe
When A Wannabe Dictator Tells You He Will Be A Dictator On Day One BELIEVE HIM! The Assault On U.S. Democracy Is Not Over (more…)
Truth
And it gets you elected…
THE TRACKER
Freedom of the Press Foundation
What 3,725 (and counting) of Trump’s anti-press posts look like August 31, 2026
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NY Times intelligence reporter subpoenaed by DOJ for grand jury testimony 10 July 2026
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Trump administration, allies move to punish outlets during his second term
From the first weeks of President Donald Trump’s second term, his appointees and allies in Congress joined him in taking steps to punish and intimidate news outlets that have covered him and his administration unfavorably. We’re documenting those efforts to chill reporting, revoke funding, censor critical coverage and more in this regularly updated report:
March 14, 2025 | Trump says negative press coverage “illegal” during speech at DOJ
Jobs & Events
Senior News Reporter (NY or DC)
U.S. News & World Report: Senior News Reporter is a general assignment reporter but also covers a fair bit of news out of Washington.
Salary: $60,000 – $90,000 per year. Apply
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Covering Immigration with Care: A Mental Health Reporting Project Learn how to report on the effects of immigration on mental health with greater context, accuracy and care. This free webinar explores trauma-informed interviewing, ethical storytelling and practical reporting strategies. October 21, 2026.
Issues
Constitutional America?
As State Legislatures Grapple with the Abortion Issue … State Courts Should Prepare for an Increased Role – section headline from Do Pregnant Women Lose Legal Rights by Kenneth Jost in Editorial Research Reports, 28 July 1989.
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Black, Native, Latino-Americans are killed at a much higher rate than white Americans.
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The Reading List
Intent to Destroy
Russia’s Two-Hundred-Year Quest to Dominate Ukraine
By Eugene Finkel
“Finkel’s Intent to Destroy spans several centuries, delving into some of the most heinous atrocities perpetrated by the Kremlin on Ukrainian lands. Despite the extensive scope, the text is rich in nuanced analysis, being equally valuable for scholars and accessible to readers unfamiliar with the region. “ Olesya Khromeychuk, director, Ukrainian Institute London Book here:
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Shrewd, Slip-Up, Or Just Plain Stupid
Georgia Republican candidate for governor Rick Jackson: I’m gonna reduce affordability to the lowest it’s ever been. pic.twitter.com/rjXerhy8Sl – Headquarters (@HQNewsNow) July 22, 2026
FCC chairman Brendan Carr on Wednesday (22June) said ABC’s decision not to air President Donald Trump’s address to the nation last week would likely factor into the agency’s early review of broadcast licenses for eight affiliated stations.
Jesse Watters, (Fox News host with a BA in History & a salary of 5M a year), on a deranged rant targeting young women, insisted a college degree is the fastest way for them to “kill” their love life. ‘Nuff said!
If a woman has [the right to abortion], why shouldn’t a man be free to use his superior strength to force himself on a woman? At least the rapist’s pursuit of sexual freedom doesn’t [in most cases] result in anyone’s death. Lawrence Lockman (R-ME).
Reminder
The New Normal? ~ The first tool of authoritarian regimes is always informational control—both in the gathering of information on the public through surveillance and the filtration of information to the public through owned media. In its early days, the Internet seemed to pose a challenge to authoritarian regimes, but with the advent of social media, we are watching the construction of architectures that fulfill the needs of every authoritarian regime: surveillance and information control. Authoritarian movements are possible only when the general public becomes habituated to—and numbed by—a new normal. Christopher Wylie.
Stuff
Your Tingly Leaving ~ You know that tingly little feeling you get when you first like someone? That’s your common sense leaving your body.
Yeah, Go Ahead ~ Turtles can breathe through their butts.
1955 Words of Wisdom ~ The fast food restaurant is convenient for a quick meal but I seriously doubt they’ll ever catch on.
~ If they raise the minimum wage to $1.00, nobody will be able to hire outside help at the store.
~ It’s too bad things are so tough nowadays. I see where a few married women are having to work to make ends meet.
ANAGRAMS, who doesn’t luv them ~
ELECTION RESULTS
When you rearrange the letters:
LIES – LET’S RECOUNT
Duggan’s Clinic
Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler) / Marvin Gaye Originally On His Landmark 1971 Album What’s Going On
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Out Of The Rain / Etta James From her 1990 Soulful Blues album Sticken’ To My Guns
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Dreams / Brandi Carlile From WFUV LIVE CD (FM 90.7 in the Greater New York City area). Originally on her 2009 folk-rock album Give Up The Ghost
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