what a humiliating way for don jr. to find out his dad sends birthday cards.
"DOGE isn’t simply trying to dismantle the [US Internal Revenue Service]. It is trying to capture and rewire the IRS into a vehicle for executive dominance, privatized tax enforcement, and algorithmic control over public infrastructure." @asteephen.bsky.social, with @nathantankus.bsky.social
Anisha Steephen@asteephen.bsky.social · last yr.If you're following the GOP tax bill disaster, my latest in @crisesnotes.bsky.social traces how this effort builds on a longstanding campaign to weaken the IRS and consolidate fiscal power in the hands of the wealthy. This is the first in a series on DOGE, taxes, and the future of public governance.
oh - and this week the Senate confirmed David Fotouhi to be Deputy Administrator of EPA. More about him - and his effort to overturn the agency's ban on asbestos - here 👇 www.propublica.org/article/davi...
Donald Trump’s No. 2 Pick for the EPA Represented Companies Accused of Pollution Harm
David Fotouhi, a lawyer who recently challenged a ban on asbestos, worked to roll back climate regulations and water protections while serving in the Environmental Protection Agency during Trump’s fir...
propublica.org
Having now watched the footage and interview two of the members who were there, the amount of armed, masked federal agents surrounding three members of Congress and a mayor outside the ICE facility was totally unnecessary; the only possible reason for it was intentional escalation and intimidation.
If it’s an independent agency then they were fired illegally. Say that. It’s accurate.
NPR@npr.org · last yr.The Democratic members of an independent agency dedicated to protecting Americans from dangerous products and issuing recalls and safety warnings were fired by President Trump via an overnight email.
About 2,500 showed up in Ventura, CA for a Hands Off protest on April 19 that was hosted by @indivisiblevent.bsky.social, my favorite Indivisible! I ❤️ Daryl Hannah & Neil Young even more than I already did, for joining in. THANKS, @dhlovelife.bsky.social! www.ojaivalleynews.com/news/thousan...
Thousands protest in Ventura, including Neil Young who sang at Fighting Oligarchy tour April 12
Thousands in Ventura joined a nationwide protest on April 19 to oppose policies implemented by President Trump's administration.
ojaivalleynews.com
When Fox News can't show footage of a migrant caravan they just dredge up old stories to scare the living daylights out of their audience.
Both Laura Ingraham and Ira Kurzban, an immigration lawyer featured on @pbsnews.org said that Trump was encouraging migrants to self-deport. Ingraham said Trump would pay them to leave. Kurzban called Trump's policies theater designed to terrify migrants.
🚨STAT(S) of the Week (Plz RT) Trump Sees Sharp Decline In Approval by Republican Voters Read more & share with your networks open.substack.com/pub/thecycle...
STAT(S) of the Week
🚨Trump Sees Sharp Decline In Approval by Republican Voters
open.substack.com
🚨ALERT🚨: A proposition for our colleagues at other peer publications. We have two new positions we are now hiring for, a new reporter position and a new senior editor position. If you are familiar with what we do and feel you'd be a good fit with our team, I hope you will apply. If you have ...
Bear in mind, Judge Wilkinson is a Reagan appointee who was repeatedly on SCOTUS shortlists. This is both an admonition and a dire warning.
Mark Joseph Stern@mjsdc.bsky.social · last yr.INCREDIBLE opinion by Wilkinson refusing to stay Judge Xinis's orders in the Abrego Garcia case, condemning DOJ's arguments as "shocking not only to judges, but to the intuitive sense of liberty that Americans far removed from courthouses still hold dear." storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
Van Hollen says that he asked the VP of El Salvador why his government continues to hold Abrego Garcia even though he’s not charged with any crime and there’s no evidence that he’s MS-13. “His answer was that the Trump administration is paying the government of El Salvador to keep him at CECOT”
Anna Bower@annabower.bsky.social · last yr.Senator Chris Van Hollen is speaking live from El Salvador, where he just met with the Salvadoran VP: www.youtube.com/live/pYZPzHy...
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., a proponent of building out Direct File, said in an emailed statement that Trump and Musk "are going after Direct File because it stops giant tax prep companies from ripping taxpayers off...
Trump administration plans to end the IRS Direct File program for free tax filing, AP sources say
The Trump administration plans to eliminate the IRS’ Direct File program. That's the...
sfgate.com
Thirty-eight of 43 experts cut last month from the boards that review the science and research that happens in laboratories at the National Institutes of Health are female, Black or Hispanic, according to an analysis by the chairs of a dozen of the boards.
Women, minorities fired in purge of NIH science review boards
Scientists, with expertise in fields that include mental health, cancer and infectious disease, typically serve five-year terms and were not given a reason for their dismissal.
washingtonpost.com
So Garcia was rendition to El Salvador against court orders because he was a criminal, but there are no crimes they can credibly accuse him of so they can't extradite him back to face charges for the crimes he allegedly committed. That's one hell of an evil catch 22.
Make America Grate: “The Trump administration plans to eliminate the IRS’ Direct File program, an electronic system for filing tax returns directly to the agency for free, according to two people familiar with the decision.” apnews.com/article/irs-...
Trump administration plans to end the IRS Direct File program for free tax filing, AP sources say
The Trump administration plans to eliminate the IRS’ Direct File program. That's the electronic system for filing tax returns directly to the agency for free.
apnews.com
We had the reporter on tonight; @maddow has the whistleblower
Phillip Anderson@phillipanderson.bsky.social · last yr.There’s just so much shady shit in this story, but this really sticks out. Folks in NLRB’s IT unit were so freaked out by what they saw DOGE doing that they wanted to notify the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Then this happened:
He’s going to be fired because he outed the fact that Musk arranged with Hegseth to get a top secret briefing at the Pentagon. Trump and his Chief of Staff didn’t even know about it. As usual, in Trump World, the person who does the right thing is the one who is punished.
So X has basically been a breeding app for Musk.
Powell: The level of tariff increases announced so far is significantly larger than anticipated, and the same is likely to be true of the economic effects which will include higher inflation and slower growth.
I guess the markets didn’t like to hear the Fed Chair tell the truth about where the economy is heading under Trump.
NEW: DOJ just released new department wide social media policy which puts tight reins on any speech that to touches politics, DOJ policy and basically anything that wld cause tension within department. Revises previous policy which is rightly framed around not running anon accounts, discrimination…
AOC: I saw on Fox, Jeanine Pirro says that they found so many babies and two year olds and four year olds receiving social security. I got a notice for you Jeanine Pirro: those babies receive social security because their parents died. That’s not a waste. That’s humanity. That’s America.
I just landed in San Salvador a little while ago, and I look forward to meeting with the team at the U.S. embassy to discuss the release of Mr. Abrego Garcia. I also hope to meet with Salvadoran officials and with Kilmar himself. He was illegally abducted and needs to come home.
Just landed in El Salvador to discuss release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia
YouTube video by Senator Chris Van Hollen
youtube.com
Fyre Festival 2 has been "postponed," according to the event organizers
Fyre Festival 2 is postponed, no new date set
Fyre Festival 2 has been "postponed," according to the organizers.
abcnews.go.com