@pileque.bsky.social
Trump’s plans to keep National Guard troops deployed to D.C. until 2029 will cost an additional $1.4 billion in tax dollars, according to budget estimates
Trump Plans to Spend $1.4 Billion Keeping the National Guard in D.C. Until 2029
Budget estimates provided to Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s office detail the costs of the National Guard’s controversial deployment.
notus.org
Todd Blanche tried to give cop-beaters and insurrectionists a payout with YOUR tax dollars.
The biggest cost Trump is imposing on us is the cost of doing nothing about three worsening crises that threaten the very survival of America and the world: climate change, AI, and widening inequality.
The Biggest Cost of Trump
It goes far beyond guns vs. butter
robertreich.substack.com
From @jhollymc.bsky.social : “The Memphis (un)Safe Task Force shot and killed 4 men in two months, wounded another three. All the men killed have been Black. There’s been painfully little news coverage.” 🦗 🦗 tennesseelookout.com/2026/08/03/s...
Whitehouse: "Today, I think is a sad and embarrassing day for this committee. As it looks like on a party-line vote, we are going to advance out of this committee probably the most discreditable person ever to seek the office of attorney general of the United States..."
"Nearly 540 children were enrolled at the Primary School’s two campuses. The Ravenswood City Elementary School District is now preparing for an enrollment surge, renovating a campus to avoid packing students into portable trailers." timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/mar...
Mark Zuckerberg's wife Priscilla Chan invested $125 million in a school for the disadvantaged; now she is closing it to focus on AI
When you don't have money, you want to hoard all that you have. But when you are a billionaire like the Zuckerbergs giving away millions of dollars in charity is the least expected from you.
timesofindia.indiatimes.com
Tillis admits Trump is weaponizing the DOJ during his speech announcing he'll vote for Todd Blanche: "Maybe it's a little bit more intense in this administration than the last one ... I'm going to support Mr Blanche's nomination"
Futurama’s first episode of the season is dedicated to the loving memory of science, 624 BC to 2026 AD. Should we laugh or cry?
"Affordable and reliable transit is not a policy preference. It is what makes full participation in society possible," write @replsimon.bsky.social and Guillermo Mayer. "The freedom to move with dignity is a cornerstone of civil rights. We must protect the tools that defend it."
Public transit is a lifeline for countless Americans. Trump is derailing our protections | Lateefah Simon and Guillermo Mayer
The US will no longer hold transportation agencies accountable for unintentional discrimination. That’s devastating for those of us who depend on it
theguardian.com
They're probably hoping you won't hear about this. But tomorrow in TX, Tarrant County officials meet to vote on a GOP plan to cut almost HALF of Election Day voting locations, plus 8 early voting locations, some of them on campuses. Not hard to guess why. fortworthreport.org/2026/07/30/t...
Tarrant County considers cutting 140 Election Day polling sites for November
County commissioners vote Aug. 4 on proposed reductions to the number of early voting and day-of sites for the midterms.
fortworthreport.org
Whitehouse: "Next we get to this crooked slush fund Trump family tax amnesty scam. We've got these two new pieces of paper. One signed only by Blanche, one not signed by anybody. Neither of which has any legal effect whatsoever. They are decorative. Can you trust Todd Blanche? I do not."
CARTOON OF THE DAY (if you know who made this let us know)
"The Trump administration admitted that it terminated nearly 300 federal research grants 'solely because' the projects were connected to states that voted against Donald Trump in 2024 and had two Democratic senators in office, according to court filings." www.nbcnews.com/politics/tru...
Trump administration concedes it canceled research grants in blue states
The administration said 284 research grants were canceled because they were in states that voted against Donald Trump in 2024.
nbcnews.com
Watergate was a harmless prank, in terms of the scale of illegality & constitutional violations, compared to this. Again, this is the most basic "do we live under a functioning constitutional order?" type of stuff. The answer, sadly, is no, because this hasn't immediately ended his presidency.
Sahil Kapur@sahilkapur.bsky.social · 2d ago"The Trump administration admitted that it terminated nearly 300 federal research grants 'solely because' the projects were connected to states that voted against Donald Trump in 2024 and had two Democratic senators in office, according to court filings." www.nbcnews.com/politics/tru...
I love the coverage of this stuff, as if a corrupt fascist kakistocracy is capable of building a useful "framework for AI"
White House finalizes AI framework behind closed doors
The White House said it met its deadline to establish a voluntary framework for evaluating advanced AI models — but it won't say what the framework contains.
axios.com
Brilliant letter from Stuart Thompson to Jeremy Clarkson about his comments that benefit claimants should write weekly thank you letters to tax payers detailing how they spend their benefits each week.
The effective federal corporate income tax rate: 1950: 50% 1990: 25% 2020: 13% Stop asking "but how we will pay for it?" Restore the corporate tax rate. That is how we will pay for it.
What this means is that Trump has stolen an estimated $100mm from US taxpayers by avoiding the pending audit of his filed returns. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Blanche Strikes Deal With GOP Holdouts to Advance His Nomination
Holdout Republican senators are backing a deal with acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to formally rescind an order creating an “anti-weaponization fund” that could have paid $1.8 billion to Preside...
bloomberg.com
Because Up is Down, and the Moon is made of blue cheese.
And shame on @aau.edu for assisting the administration in the crafting of this letter. It is craven, complicit, and cowardly. 2/
A video taken Saturday shows former NYC Mayor Eric Adams in sales pitch mode in Wisconsin Rapids, as he's heckled by residents opposed to the data center he's trying to sell them on. "My name is Eric Adams," he begins, as the boos begin to rain down. "You belong in prison!" one attendee shouts.
Eric Adams Is Selling Data Centers in Wisconsin Now
The former mayor had a wild weekend, and other links to start your day.
hellgatenyc.com
If useful, here's my attempt to process my feelings about how I feel sadly kinda — or rather very — sick from all this AI fascist nonsense as an academic. 😶🌫️ I'd be pleased if even one person finds something useful because there's something to be said for processing this all together, so, um, enjoy?
Anxiety
Reasoning (and crying) my way through fascist AI-induced anxiety.
olivia.science
This supposed 'deal' doesn't prevent payouts to violent insurrectionists in the future. It doesn't prevent the admin from bringing the slush fund back from the dead next week or using DOJ’s Judgment Fund for the same illicit purpose.
The whole point of the Bill of Rights is to protect the only true minority - the individual. It limits the governments power to harm the individual. The whole constitution is designed to limit the governments power.
What a great use of public funds and of everybody's time! 🫠 Just to spy on nothing and good people for no reason and for fascist rationalisations. "The cameras will help to ensure the safety of students, staff and visitors to the campus, as well as university property."
Radboud University to install additional CCTV cameras on campus | Radboud University
Over the coming period, Radboud University will install a total of 26 additional CCTV cameras on campus. The cameras will help to ensure the safety of students, staff and visitors to the campus, as we...
ru.nl
i think the party of sick freaks who want to inspect kid's private parts should be branded as such
Gillian Branstetter@gbbranstetter.bsky.social · 2d agoAn initiative on the ballot in Washington state in November would require all athletes seeking to play girl's sports from kindergarten to high school to undergo "genetic screening, a testosterone-levels test, or an examination of their reproductive anatomy" before they can play
Time to add another formerly respected institution to the garbage pile, this time @aau.edu, which just worked with the Trump admin to endorse resegregation in high education, embedding MAGA fraudsters as faculty, and banning student expression. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
It's election season so it is weaponize immigrants time. Ceuta, Spain edition.