Garret Vandermolen
@garret-vandermolen.bsky.social
Songwriter, Dad, Husband, Musician. Thinker, drinker, late adapter. Let the games begin!
The vandalism and desecration of the White House isn't just vanity and it's not trivial. It's caesarism, as in literally what Julius Caesar did to the symbolic architecture of civic republicanism. Our national iconography matters and allowing the disfiguring of it to persist is a substantive harm.
Fox News got walked inside. The New York Times reporter sat in her car in the parking lot until somebody called the police and reported her as a trespasser. The responding sergeant determined within about a minute that she was a reporter waiting for a comment.
Mike Johnson Fundraising Event Calls Cops on NYT Reporter
While the Times reporter waited in the parking lot, Fox News was welcomed inside.
thedailybeast.com
The United States and Canada have been friends, partners, and allies for more than 150 years across 32 presidential administrations. And now, solely because of the arrogance, incompetence, and ego of the current occupant of the White House, that relationship is being driven straight toward a cliff.
SUNDAY: ICE nabs Padres minor league catching coach Oswaldo Pirela at the El Paso airport. A native of Venezuela, he has an asylum claim pending from 2014 & a work authorization valid until 2029. MLB, ALL WEEK: 🦗🦗🦗 PADRES CATCHER FREDDIE FERMIN, also from Venezuela, Friday night in San Diego:
A global criminal organization like Epstein's doesn't just end because they killed him.
Food companies wanted deregulation. Now there are dozens of recalls across the country. Mining companies wanted deregulation. Now the black lung rate is at a 45-year high. Financial companies wanted deregulation. Now financial losses to fraud are the highest on record. Noticing a pattern?
Our tax dollars are funding efforts to defy a court order and prevent voters from casting ballots in the November election. 
Josh Gerstein@joshgerstein.bsky.social · yesterdayBREAKING: In unusual 9PM Friday Federal Register filing, Postal Service finalizes regulation to deny delivery of mail-in ballots not matching addresses in database BUT says won't implement 'til court orders are lifted. #SCOTUS still quiet. Doc: public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2026-17238.pdf
The Pentagon fired the publisher and editor in chief of Stars and Stripes, the military newspaper that is supposed to maintain editorial independence from the very department it covers.
John Roberts is Natalie Harp in a robe. A cringeworthy handmaiden
One of the things I hate the most about tariffs is that we knew they were illegal, and when the court finally decided they were illegal, they forced Trump to refund the tariffs. But the refunds went to the corporations, and not the people the corporations raised prices on. What a scam.
EXCLUSIVE: Ten years ago, David Michael Levin was convicted of hacking into government election websites. Now, he appears to have been hired by the Trump DOJ to...wait for it...monitor elections.
Exclusive: Trump DOJ appears to have hired lawyer convicted of hacking election sites to check ‘integrity’
Levin’s involvement in election monitoring could offer a hint of the kind of personnel who will staff the operation this fall, when the DOJ has said it will send 1,000 monitors to the polls.
democracydocket.com
The GOP spends billions on the war, tax cuts for the wealthy, and ICE/CBP, but they want you to think it's the National Endowment for the Arts and SNAP that are the problems.
Mike Luckovich@mluckovich.bsky.social · 2d ago
This is another authoritarian move, where the government is attempting to punish civil society actors because of political disagreements.
Anthony Michael Kreis@anthonymkreis.bsky.social · 2d agoTrump Administration Attacks Bar Association’s Power to Accredit Law Schools www.wsj.com/us-news/educ...
This is the kind of BS we have to all call out hard. We are being played by the oligarchs and this is how they do it. Disinformation and fake grassroots movements.
Evan Greer@evangreer.bsky.social · 4d agoHere's a fun little dive into corporate astroturfing in the USA: There's an "organization" called Neighbors for Strong Communities that lists no board members, staff or funders. The address on their website is a nondescript black door in Washington, DC next to an Italian restaurant. Seems legit!
Neutrogena’s stock is plummeting and are reporting nearly a billion dollars in market value loss amid a massive boycott following Hayden Panettiere’s tragic death and their termination of her contract after 10 years for speaking publicly about postpartum depression. Good, fuck them.
one of the most notorious ICE-boosting sheriffs (way before Trump) is facing a challenge in November that i want many people to know about, so allow me to reshare this occasionally! boltsmag.org/alamance-cou...
A North Carolina Sheriff and ICE Ally Faces Accusations of Racism—and a Challenger This Fall - Bolts
This story is produced as a collaboration between Bolts and NC Local. One Saturday in May, Shannon Long, a pastor running for sheriff in North Carolina, set up his campaign... Read More
boltsmag.org
Thank you DJs, stations and listeners! “Take It Back” from Garret Vandermolen debuts at #10 and Figures On A Beach is still on the Radio Indie Alliance chart at #82.
I feel compelled to publicly say something here about our friend, Linda Bean Pardee. I have known Linda, and her husband, Calvin, most of my (alleged) adult life. In the 90’s, I remember going to see Miles Deathmuffin at TTs and being in awe of the band, and particularly Linda. 1/8
The Sound Cove@thesoundcove.bandcamp.com · 6d agoThe world has lost another incredible human being, and a true rock & roller. We are speechless…our condolences to everyone that knew Linda Bean Pardee, particularly the Bean Pardee family.
North Korea, which is sending troops to fight for Russia against Ukraine? That North Korea?
Shipwreck@shipwreck75.bsky.social · 6d agoThe gift that keeps on giving…..
This is what fascists do: They hollow out government, civil society, etc. -- all to expand their raw power. Trump and his minions are literally collapsing society, basic norms, and the civic foundation that provides structure for ordinary lives, while stoking rage at the vulnerable.
Stoical Geezer@stoicalgeezer.bsky.social · last wk.When 38M eggs are recalled for Salmonella, it’s not just producer neglect—it exposes a hollowed-out safety net. Relying on self-policing while cutting FDA staff and budgets turns breakfast into a gamble. We don’t just need corporate accountability; we need regulators with teeth.
These questions have now been asked of Blanche repeatedly & he gives the same bullshit answer each time. Here’s an idea: How about we ask Blanche direct and pointed questions about his noncompliance with court orders from Judge Sullivan compelling him to provide unredacted Epstein Files?
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 7d agoWELKER: Can you pledge the DOJ will always act independently of the WH? BLANCHE: No, I'm not going to pledge that WELKER: So if the president asked you do to something that you feel crosses an ethical or legal line, would you do it? BLANCHE: He would never do that. He never has. He never will.
😳 Blanche compares beating cops on J6 to slipping on ICE 😳 Blanche went on Meet the Press for his first interview after being confirmed as AG and proved he views his job description as being Trump's top bootlicker, including refusing to pledge to act independently of the WH Here's the whole thing:
😳 Blanche compares beating cops on J6 to slipping on ICE 😳
YouTube video by Aaron Rupar
youtu.be
For 10 years, journalists have just happily gone along with this “oh sorry I wasn’t prepped before this TV appearance” nonsense from Republicans and they just let this happen over and over.
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 7d agoTAPPER: You voted for Blanche. Do you think it's appropriate for the AG to be participating in a partisan political event? CASSIDY: All I saw was that little snippet. I'm going to reserve comment because I was not aware of that before this. I will say Republicans are very strong on law enforcement
Yesterday I drove by the spot where last month ICE murdered Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero in Biddeford, Maine. A memorial with flowers and signs remains. It was an important reminder that we cannot forget the individual victims of ICE terror. May his family get justice someday.
In 2025, about a month after the US strikes on Iran, Speaker Mike Johnson met with Israeli PM Netanyahu. Johnson issued a public statement about the meeting. But I just found out more about it...
Biden Biden Biden Biden Biden Biden Biden Biden Biden. It's tired, dude. Nobody is buying it. Republicans control the presidency, house, senate, supreme court - have controlled the house nearly 4 years. These people NEVER accept responsibility. bsky.app/profile/atru...
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · last wk.NEWSMAX: The cost of living is fueling the rise of socialism. There's a feeling that things are too expensive. How do we get rid of that liability before the midterms? BESSENT: Look, people should be upset. The Biden administration torched them.