curated news excerpts & citations
Charlotte Clymer: America Brought to You by Bad Bunny
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The Super Bowl is a distillation of all things America: sports and celebrity and military pageantry and unabashed patriotism and unapologetic commercialism all being slammed together, and in terms of annual events, more human beings on this planet watch it live, together, than anything else.
And it’s because of all those elements that most American conservatives perceive it as a showcase of American exceptionalism. It’s not that it’s inherently conservative or that non-conservatives don’t watch it; it’s that the sheer scope of the Super Bowl combined with all the patriotic bits make it a crown jewel in their argument for American cultural hegemony.
That’s why when Apple Music and the NFL announced last night that Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny—Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio—is headlining Super Bowl LX this upcoming February, my jaw dropped.
For those unfamiliar, Bad Bunny is one of the biggest entertainers in the world. Were you to remove Taylor Swift and Beyoncé from the metrics conversation, he’s easily the biggest. He led global streaming charts from 2020-2022, and he’s still among the top three even now. His Un Verano Sin Ti world tour in 2022 dominated that year, and only Taylor Swift has surpassed his touring numbers since.
Based on both merit and marketing, Bad Bunny is an obvious choice to headline the Super Bowl.
But he’s also an outspoken LGBTQ ally, particularly on trans rights. He has been consistently critical of Trump, especially in regards to immigration. Earlier this month, he announced he would not include any U.S. dates for his 2025-2026 Debí Tirar Más Fotos world tour out of fear for his fans given the fascistic crackdown by ICE. He notably endorsed Vice President Harris last year after Puerto Rico was mocked at Trump’s infamous Madison Square Garden campaign rally.
Oh, and he performs solely in Spanish. That’s right: he does not rap or sing in any language other than Spanish. He does speak English, but he’s not a “crossover” Latin artist as an intentional choice. He has made it clear that he wants Spanish-language music to be normalized in the global marketplace, and so, he only produces work in Spanish.
(Charlotte Clymer more…)
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Heather Cox Richardson: Letters from an American – September 28, 2025
Late last night, President Donald J. Trump shared on social media a deep fake video that appeared to be a clip from his daughter-in-law Lara Trump’s Fox News talk show My View. In the video’s split screen, Lara Trump, on the left, says: “President Donald J. Trump has announced a historic new healthcare system, the launch of America’s first MedBed hospitals and a national MedBed card for every citizen.” …
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MedBeds are imaginary magical beds, sort of like a tanning bed, that diagnose or cure health problems instantly and painlessly. The idea is popular in QAnon forums, and believers claim that Trump is already secretly installing the beds in hospitals.It is unclear why Trump posted an obviously fake video, touting an obviously fake product, although healthcare is uppermost in politics these days. …
…In a phone interview with NBC White House correspondent Yamiche Alcindor today, Trump suggested he was backing off from the threat he posted on social media to send troops to Portland to handle “domestic terrorists.” …
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This afternoon Hegseth called 200 members of the Oregon National Guard into federal service for 60 days. Less than six hours later, Oregon attorney general Dan Rayfield sued President Trump, Secretary of Defense Hegseth, Secretary of Homeland Security Noem, and their respective departments, saying the National Guard has been unlawfully deployed for law enforcement duties.
(Heather Cox Richardson more…)
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Robert Reich: Again: Why isn’t the media reporting on Trump’s growing dementia?
Trump’s increasingly bizarre behavior can no longer be attributed to a calculated “strategy.”
Daily Beast: Donald Trump Pushes Racist Conspiracy Theories in String of Late-Night Reposts
Jason Easley: Trump Brags About The Gold Used To Decorate The Oval Office While People Can’t Afford Groceries
Donald Trump is bragging about the quality of gold that he used to decorate the Oval Office as food bank demand is soaring and people can’t afford to feed themselves.
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Daily Beast: Mormon Church Shooter Had a Trump Sign Outside His House
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Daily Kos: ICE is transferring people in its custody away from family, lawyers
One group ended up in Alaska, where prison guards pepper-sprayed them after one man asked for a phone call.
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Transfers of people in ICE custody between facilities are becoming more and more common under the Trump administration. According to an ICE Flight Monitor report from Human Rights First, transfer flights from January through August increased 43% compared with the same time period last year.“These frequent transfers not only disorient individuals but also make it significantly harder for them to access legal counsel and maintain contact with family,” the report says.
(Daily Kos more…)
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BBC: Zelensky condemns ‘vile’ Russian strikes lasting 12 hours
(BBC more…)
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Financial Times: The Russian spy ship stalking Europe’s subsea cables
Covert operations in waters surrounding the British Isles pose a grave threat to critical infrastructure and a fresh challenge to Nato
(Financial Times more…)
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Ruth Ann Crystal MD: COVID & Health News, 9/28/25
(Ruth Ann Crystal MD more…)
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BBC: The US navy killed 17 in deadly strikes. Now Venezuela is giving civilians guns
(BBC more…)
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Contrarian: The Visuals of Power
(Contrarian more…)
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David Lat: Qualifications Are Overrated
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So Halligan is not, shall we say, “qualified”—at least in conventional terms, like credentials, background, and experience—and if I were a U.S. senator, I wouldn’t vote for her if Trump nominated her to serve as the long-term U.S. attorney. But in the words of Meridith McGraw, C. Ryan Barber, and Lydia Wheeler of The WSJ, Halligan boasts the exact qualities that Trump prizes: “loyalty above a long résumé, a camera-ready appearance, and a commitment to taking on what she perceives as the excesses of the left.” (“Camera-ready” strikes me as a politically correct way of describing someone as “attractive”—and as noted by The Journal and The Post, Halligan competed in Trump-owned beauty pageants, winning third runner-up in the 2010 Miss Colorado USA Pageant.)And Halligan has a “qualification” that Siebert, an experienced prosecutor and 15-year veteran of the E.D. Va., lacked: a willingness to indict Jim Comey. So on Thursday, she walked into the federal courthouse in Alexandria, Virginia, intent on doing just that.
It wasn’t a resounding triumph. Only 14 out of 23 grand jurors voted to indict Comey, barely clearing the 12-vote threshold—and on a third count, alleging perjury, the grand jury refused to indict. And there were some hiccups along the way, per The Times: at one point, Halligan went into the wrong courtroom, and when she did get into the proper courtroom, she stood on the wrong side of the judge.
But at the end of the day, Halligan got the job done. On Thursday, she walked out of the federal courthouse with a two-count, two-page indictment that charged James B. Comey, Jr., with (1) making a false statement to a U.S. senator during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001, and (2) obstructing a congressional proceeding, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1505. Congratulations?
One other complication: there’s an argument that Halligan wasn’t validly appointed, articulated over at National Review by Ed Whelan. …
(David Lat more…)
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Texas Tribune: Anti-DEI crusader Sid Miller urged UT to enroll student emphasizing her race and socioeconomic status
In May 2023, Miller wrote a letter urging university leaders to reconsider admitting a student whom he described as a “biracial Latina,” who was also the daughter of his political associate.
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Adam Kinzinger: Naming Fascism Is Not Violence
Recently the right has tried a new rhetorical trick: claiming that even using the word “fascist” is itself a call to violence. In their telling, to call someone a fascist is to paint a target on them. They insist that the label is so dangerous that it must not be uttered at all. And by shaming or intimidating people into silence, they hope to inoculate themselves against the accusation—even when their own words and actions invite the comparison.
…The hypocrisy behind this tactic is glaring. Take Stephen Miller, the longtime Trump adviser whose own statements and policy record are easy to find. Miller rails about “law and order,” spins conspiracies about immigrants, and regularly paints political opponents as enemies of the nation. Yet he insists that calling his ideology fascist is beyond the pale. When challenged, he acts as though naming the danger is itself dangerous. Yesterday, he raged at Gov Newsom calling him fascist…implying it was a call to violence. However, take a look at a smattering of his own statements and tweets:
(Adam Kinzinger more…)
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Daily Kos: Republican push for tips on Charlie Kirk posts drives firings of public workers
Timeline: Tracking the Trump Justice Department’s Anti-Voting Shift
Tracking the Lawsuits Against Trump’s Agenda
Trump Pardons Database
Project 2025 Tracker
DOGE Tracker
ProPublica: Elon Musk’s Demolition Crew
Wired: 6 Tools for Tracking the Trump Administration’s Attacks on Civil Liberties
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