Ken Klippenstein: Is a Military Coup Unfolding at the Pentagon?
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“As much as Hegseth’s detractors might be right that he is chaotic and ‘unqualified,’” a senior serving officer said in an email exchange with me this week, “he is Senate confirmed. It’s up to Donald Trump to remove him, not the uniformed military because they want someone else to lead them.”
Hegseth is, of course, a dumbass. He vows to bring back a “warrior culture” but all I see is a culture warrior. His focus on fighting “wokeness” in the military is a tedious detour into AM radio slop, especially while the U.S. is engaged in real wars in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and here at home.
Uniformed military officers and Pentagon officials I’ve talked to agree with this assessment, and they agree that those trying to defeat Hegseth are operating dangerously outside their lane. As one said to me over the weekend, “you can’t say you’re defending your oath and the Constitution while working to undermine it.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Monday that “the entire Pentagon is working against” Hegseth. Whatever you think of Hegseth or the hyperbole, this is not good for America.
(Ken Klippenstein more…)
Daily Beast: Hegseth Aides’ Civil War Plunged the Pentagon Into Chaos: ‘It Was a Knife Fight’
MUTUALLY ASSURED DESTRUCTION
A paranoid Pete Hegseth is increasingly isolated at the Pentagon, where a vicious power struggle has ripped the department to shreds.
Tangle: Pete Hegseth’s uncertain future.
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Bulwark: The Trump Administration Is Preparing to Send American Allies to Their Deaths
If the Afghans in the United States are deported, they will likely be executed.
(Bulwark more…)
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NY Times: Measles Surge in Southwest Is Now the Largest Single Outbreak Since 2000
Growing case numbers suggest that the national total will surpass that seen during the last large outbreak in 2019.
(NY Times more…)Reuters: Trump cuts threaten free vaccine program for kids amid measles outbreak
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Dean Blundell: Faith Over Freedom: Trump’s Christian Nationalist “Gestapo” Sends Email To Government Employees to “Turn In” Colleagues With “Anti-Christian Views.”
Trump’s Christian Takeover Begins: Pam Bondi’s Task Force Signals a Theocratic Red Alert
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Bulwark: It’s the Stupid, Stupid
Americans are noticing the Trump team’s bumbling and stumbling.
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Heather Cox Richardson: Letters from an American – April 22, 2025
Today is Earth Day, celebrated for the first time in 1970. The spark for the first Earth Day was the 1962 publication of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring. A marine biologist and best-selling author, Carson showed the devastating effects of people on nature by documenting the effect of modern pesticides on the natural world. She focused on the popular pesticide DDT, which had been developed in 1939 and used to clear islands in the South Pacific of malaria-carrying mosquitoes during World War II. Deployed as an insect killer in the U.S. after the war, DDT was poisoning the natural food chain in American waters.
(Heather Cox Richardson more…)Closer to the Edge: The Monsanto Model
Surveillance, suppression, and a $63 billion cautionary tale for the ages
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Fast Company: The Trump administration claims this offshore wind project was ‘rushed.’ Thereview started 14 years ago
The Empire Wind project, designed to bring power to hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers, went through years of careful analysis before it got a permit. Then Trump shut down construction.
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Wes Siler: DOGE Just Took Over National Parks
Elon Musk and his evil minions just achieved a coup at the Department of the Interior, taking over control of National Parks, and other public lands
(Wes Siler more…)
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Radley Balko: The courage to be decent
The Trump administration wants to make us too afraid to look out for one another. Don’t let them.
(Radley Balko more…)
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Dean Blundell: Canadian Snowbirds Flee U.S. Homes Amid Trump’s Policies: Wave of Canadian Patriotism Is Killing The US Housing Market
For decades, Canadian “snowbirds” have flocked to the sunny shores of Florida, Arizona, and other warm U.S. states to escape harsh northern winters. These seasonal migrants, often retirees, have been a cornerstone of local economies, purchasing vacation homes and injecting billions into the U.S. real estate and tourism sectors. However, a seismic shift is underway in spring 2025. Spurred by deteriorating U.S.-Canada relations under President Donald Trump’s second administration, annexation and tariff threats, many snowbirds are selling their U.S. properties en masse, driven by a surge of Canadian patriotism, fears of hostility, and new restrictive travel rules. This exodus is poised to deliver a significant economic blow to the U.S., while Canadians rally to boycott American goods and assert their national pride.
(Dean Blundell more…)
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Daily: Just Call Him Herbert Hoover Trump
Donald Trump is leading the economy to places where it hasn’t been since the Great Depression as a president who cosplays Ronald Reagan is really Herbert Hoover.
(Daily more…)
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Register: Trump blinks: ‘Substantially’ lower China tariffs promised
Detail? Rationale? Timeline? Nope! Maybe a struggling stock market and Beijing hinting about ‘countermeasures’ helped?
Bulwark: Trump in Retreat
The laws of political gravity still apply.
TNR: Panicking Trump Walks Back His Attacks on the Fed and China
Donald Trump seems to have finally realized he’s sending the economy into a tailspin.
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Hill: Tesla earnings plunge 71 percent in first quarter
Fast Company: Tesla earnings: Revenue falls 9.2% as disdain for Elon Musk and the unpopular DOGE seem to damage the EV brand
As expected, the carmaker reported dismal results for the first quarter, citing issues from trade policy to political sentiment.
(Fast Company more…)Reuters: China’s Q1 automobile exports up 16% y/y, industry official says
(Reuters more…)
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Bulwark: Trump Turns COVID.gov into MAGA Fan Service
It used to provide medical information. Now it’s just Fauci hate and lab leak theories.
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Politico: Judge halts shutdown of Voice of America
The judge is ordering the Trump administration to immediately restore all employees and contractors to their news programs.
(Politico more…)
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Robert Reich: The view from the right
Conservative condemnation of the Trump regime is almost as vehement as is progressive condemnation. Will they give cover to business leaders who have so far remained silent?
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Above the Law: DOJ Makes Up Fake Supreme Court Quote About Deportation Hoping No One Notices
NY Times: Trump Says Undocumented Immigrants Shouldn’t Get Trials Before Deportation
Jay Kuo: Three Wise Judges, One Mad King
The administration took a drubbing yesterday in federal court over its summary deportations.
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WSJ: Should Harvard Be Tax Exempt?
Trump might lose this legal fight, and there are better ways to reduce subsidies to schools.
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MuckRock: The impact of anti-trans federal action
The Trans Journalists Association and MuckRock have partnered to help journalists document and report on the Trump administration’s actions targeting trans communities.
(MuckRock more…)LAW dork: Read A.G. Bondi’s memo purporting to implement Trump’s anti-trans attacks
[Editorial comment: Those who attack LGBTQIA+ people should be forced to consider doing without LGBTQIA+ contributions they depend on. Alan Turing‘s contributions during WW II and to modern computers are well known, e.g., as depicted in The Imitation Game. Less well known, but of profound importance to modern computer and communications technology, were the contributions of Lynn Conway, American computer scientist, electrical engineer, and transgender activist, who passed away June 9, 2024. Without her contributions, iPhone et al might not yet exist.]
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Decoding Fox News: Fox News: The Melding of an Innocent Man With a Sexual Predator
A condensed overview of 15 hours of Fox News for the week ending 4/20/25
Project 2025 Tracker
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