Since it’s banned book week, I’m going to post one banned book a day that I have actually read. I should’ve started yesterday, but I wasn’t thinking. So we’re kicking off with this an absolute classic and very pertinent right now.
Menoma Minx
@menomaminx.bsky.social
if you're here to vet me to follow: I paid the CAT TAX. I paid the PARROT TAX. I even paid the GORILLA TAX and the STRAWBERRY COW TAX! I find it taxing people won't follow someone who doesn't have a written bio;-) if you want to know me things,ask me
I actually read this book years ago, and said even then that things were headed this way. For about eight years I thought that maybe things were looking up and then...
I’m getting so sick of this don’t hurt the bigots feelings shit.
If you are an American living outside the country you still have the RIGHT to vote. There are different ways to register/request your ballot and often times different deadlines. For more info, to register, or request your ballot go to votefromabroad.org @votefromabroad.bsky.social
Request Absentee Ballots for US Citizens | VoteFromAbroad.org
Helping US Citizens Request Their Absentee Ballot to Vote from Outside the US | VoteFromAbroad.org
votefromabroad.org
Hansi Lo Wang (he/him)@hansilowang.bsky.social · 4d agoTODAY (Monday, Oct. 5) is the deadline for registering to vote for the midterms in: AMERICAN SAMOA ARIZONA ARKANSAS FLORIDA GEORGIA INDIANA KENTUCKY LOUISIANA — in-person, mail (10/13 online) MISSISSIPPI MONTANA — mail (11/3 in-person) OHIO SOUTH CAROLINA — mail TENNESSEE TEXAS npr.org/vote
The next 4 years are going to be tough but just remember there’s always help out there.
On This Day in History: October 3, 1908 Edvard Munch entered treatment in Copenhagen after years of heavy drinking and declining health. These images trace the shift that followed from the darker, inward work before treatment to the brighter color and livelier energy of his sober years. #EdvardMunch
So we’re now referring to 12 yr old boys as “banking laws”? Got it…
No shit. Her whole family would be wiped out if that evil were destroyed.
21/ Reed did not respond to detailed questions. In an email, he wrote that he never communicated with Collins or her staff about Kao and/or Navatek. Navatek founder Steven Loui said Kao’s methods were “unethical and illegal” and that Navatek fully complied with law enforcement.
20/ Collins’ deputy chief of staff said that her office “vigorously” denies allegations of bribery and pay-for-play made by Kao, that Collins’ campaign was not part of the discussions between Kao and the super PAC, and that her office “fully cooperated” with the FBI.
19/ The FBI added that the Trump administration removed agents only “if they have been found to have acted unethically, undermined the mission, or engaged in weaponization of law enforcement.”
18/ The White House referred us to the FBI. A spokesperson said the FBI “ultimately found nothing implicating Senator Collins” or her campaign. The FBI did not address questions about the new phase of the inquiry prompted by Kao’s account.
15/ ProPublica is revealing the existence of the case for the first time. We reviewed a trove of evidence gathered by the FBI and thousands of pages of legal records, and have independently corroborated much of Kao’s account. This is the first piece of an ongoing series:
The FBI Anti-Corruption Squad Was Circling Susan Collins — Until Trump Got in the Way
After the FBI caught a defense contractor’s CEO making illegal campaign contributions, it sought to launch a sweeping political bribery probe involving Collins and others. Then the second Trump admini...
propublica.org
14/ He eviscerated the specialized FBI and DOJ teams handling public corruption investigations, some of which were involved in Trump-related cases. And the government stopped talking to an informant who had offered a road map to corruption in Congress.
13/ By the end of 2024, FBI agents had enough evidence to pursue a sweeping bribery probe that could ensnare top lawmakers of both political parties. They asked their supervisors to approve a new investigation. Then Trump returned to the White House.
12/ Here’s a crazy part: Kao told the FBI that the company’s government work was of no real value. Its research under his stewardship resulted in products Navatek knew the military would never buy, former employees said. One example: This 3D-printed boat Collins is posing with 👇
11/ Even Navatek’s executives were surprised at how far their money went in D.C. “It was eye-opening for me, frankly. ‘Oh my God, all of it is for sale. It’s all for sale,’” former executive Eric Schiff said.
10/ Of all the politicians Navatek courted, Collins was its most important patron. At times, Kao and his associates cut checks to Collins’ campaign within 24 hours of the annual defense spending bill, which funds military contracts, clearing a key Senate hurdle.
9/ That cafe meeting, Kao asserted, was just one episode in a sprawling pay-to-play operation in Congress. He and his close associates donated nearly $900K to dozens of politicians, allowing Navatek to establish operations in half a dozen states with $40M+ a year in government funds.
8/ Facing years in prison, Kao recounted the cafe meeting to the FBI in 2022, hoping to reduce his sentence by revealing the scheme. What he told them has never before become public.
7/ But then, Kao got caught. The FBI had seen through his shell company ruse, and in 2022 a grand jury indicted him for making illegal campaign contributions. No one working for Collins was charged.
6/ Weeks later, Kao tells his team Collins committed to getting the company $32M in naval contracts.
5/ Kao wants assurance Collins would know he was behind it, and according to Kao, Reed confirms that she would. Seven days after the super PAC cashes the check, one of Reed’s subordinates emails a Navatek lobbyist: “Senator Collins would like to call Martin to thank him.”
4/ To skirt campaign finance laws and conceal the source of the funds, Navatek’s CEO, Martin Kao, sends an initial $150K to the pro-Collins super PAC (1820 PAC) using a shell company. Reed knows Kao is behind the donation. “Very smart,” he says in an email viewed by ProPublica.
3/ This is risky. Government contractors are banned from making political contributions. For the company to offer donations to Collins in exchange for an official action, or for Collins to accept, would constitute criminal bribery.
2/ Our story starts in 2019. Collins is at risk of losing her seat. A year earlier, she helped Navatek land a multimillion-dollar Navy contract in Maine. Scott Reed, head of the pro-Collins super PAC, meets with Navatek execs in a D.C. cafe and asks for a $500K donation.
Sen. Susan Collins helped steer millions in federal defense contracts to Navatek, whose CEO illegally funneled thousands of dollars to her campaign. The FBI sought to launch a probe and was eyeing Collins and other lawmakers. Then Trump gutted the unit in charge. THREAD 🧵
Look, any time the Republicans choose a speaker who isn't a child molester (see Hastert, Dennis), it's an accomplishment
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 3w agoI'm glad Speaker McCarthy is being recognized today for all of the accomplishments of his speakership, such as ... uhm ... barely getting elected speaker?
Ken Paxton, whose campaign is essentially funded by data center sponsors (like Elon Musk), says data centers can be freely built on Texas public land.
