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• 2025/01/29 [L..T] Column: The population exodus from antiabortion states is underway and may be picking up steam Research published this month by economists at Georgia Tech validates long-standing predictions that strict abortion bans in many states would drive a mass exodus to more supportive states. Specifically, the paper shows «that by mid-2023, the 13 states with total bans had suffered a combined net loss of an estimated 36,000 residents per quarter, or more than 144,000 per year.»
• 2025/01/29 [L..T] A Line By Line Analysis Of Trump's Youth Care Ban Executive Order «A week after a flurry of executive orders, Trump is still signing orders to target the trans community. The latest, released Tuesday, tries to ban trans youth care nationwide.»
• 2025/01/28 [L..T] The President of the Working Class «When the Teamsters get crushed by the new NLRB, I’m sure O'Brien will so good as a white man.» Mostly linked here for the comments section.
• 2025/01/28 [L..T] A new Supreme Court case would force the government to create religious public schools «The Supreme Court announced on Friday that it will hear two cases that are likely to revolutionize the relationship between church and state, at least in the context of public schools.» / Each of the cases seeks to force state governments to fund an existing religious public school.
• 2025/01/28 [L..T] Trump’s billionaires will accelerate American decline. Dr. Richard Wolff explains how. «n the campaign trail and beyond, Donald Trump and MAGA right have repeatedly presented themselves as the true representatives of America's beleaguered working class. And yet, like the Capitol rotunda on Inauguration Day, Trump's administration is filled with billionaires, mega-millionaires, and corporate oligarchs whose staggering wealth is increasing year after year while working people struggle to get by. How are people, voters and nonvoters alike, supposed to square this seeming contradiction?»
• 2025/01/28 [L..T] PROTECTING CHILDREN FROM CHEMICAL AND SURGICAL MUTILATION «Across the country today, medical professionals are maiming and sterilizing a growing number of impressionable children under the radical and false claim that adults can change a child’s sex through a series of irreversible medical interventions. This dangerous trend will be a stain on our Nation’s history, and it must end.» Thus begins a series of horrendous lies and harmful orders.
• 2025/01/28 [L..T] Over 15 Navajo Nation Members Swept Up in Trump Immigration Raids «The exact number of Diné/Navajo Nation members who have been detained is unknown, but there have been at least 15 documented cases of people being stopped at their homes or workplaces over the past week, CNN reported on Monday. These individuals were questioned or detained by federal law enforcement, who demanded they provide proof of citizenship.»
• 2025/01/28 [L..T] Trump Fires NLRB Leaders Jennifer Abruzzo and Gwynne Wilcox «Donald Trump is forcing out top leaders of the US labor board, ushering in a swift reboot of workplace law enforcement while testing the limits of presidential authority.» / «Jennifer Abruzzo, the general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board, said she was fired via email late on Monday. Gwynne Wilcox, who was one of the labor board's two Democratic members, said she was ousted, too.»
• 2025/01/27 [L..T] Trump signs executive order barring transgender people from military service «President Donald Trump signed four executive orders pertaining to the military Monday, including one barring transgender people from enlisting and serving openly and another cracking down on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in the armed services.» The order's text lies, of course, about many things.
• 2025/01/27 [L..T] Death in the Desert «No one will take responsibility for these deaths. Not U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Surely not my local Sheriff Kim Stewart, whose office refuses to respond to reports of dead migrants. "I have crimes that need investigation where I know there are victims," she told KTSM in November. "So I kind of have to choose how I prioritize some of this, don’t I?"» / «She assumes there are no crime victims among these dead. To admit otherwise might call into question U.S. immigration policy.»
• 2025/01/27 [L..T] Trump tells federal employees, "You're fired!" But wait – not so fast. «As president, he is threatening to cut 50,000 federal positions. There will be federal employees whom he replaces as part of the usual political turnover, and others whom he will fire as retribution for being disloyal. But when it comes to firing most federal employees, it isn’t as easy as it appears on television. Federal employees are protected by a system that upholds accountability and fairness – values that cannot be undermined for political gain.»
• 2025/01/27 [L..T] Facebook flags Linux topics as 'cybersecurity threats' – posts and users being blocked «Facebook is banning posts that mention various Linux-related topics, sites, or groups. Some users may also see their accounts locked or limited when posting Linux topics. Major open-source operating system news, reviews, and discussion site DistroWatch is at the center of the controversy, as it seems to be the first to have noticed that Facebook's Community Standards had blackballed it.»
• 2025/01/27 [L..T] National Day of Remembrance of the 80th Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz, 2025 «We renew our resolve to end anti-Semitism and religious bigotry of all forms. We proudly reassert our strong bonds of friendship with the State of Israel.» This order also describes Israel as "our mighty friend". On the up-side, this should give pause to Holocaust denialists who would seek to ally with Trump/MAGA (if logic prevails at all, which is definitely not assumable with that mindset).
• 2025/01/27 [L..T] https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/the-iron-dome-for-america/ Trump wants to beef up US ability to detect and intercept incoming missiles. This is a reasonable goal (especially with Putin's recent belligerence), but it also seems at odds with his other stated goal of cutting spending, if submitted plans are to be implemented.
• 2025/01/27 [L..T] Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness This order forces the military to observe birth-assigned gender and denies gender-affirming medical care of any kind, apparently on the theory that transgender soldiers are somehow less tough than cis soldiers. This will result in a large number of trans military personnel leaving the military, reducing readiness.
• 2025/01/27 [L..T] Restoring America’s Fighting Force «he Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall abolish every DEI office within the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security with regard to the USCG, respectively, including any vestiges of DEI offices, such as sub-offices, programs, elements, or initiatives established to promote a race-based preferences system that subverts meritocracy, perpetuates unconstitutional discrimination, and promotes divisive concepts or gender ideology.» Increasing military readiness is a reasonable goal, but then why did he ban trans people from serving?
• 2025/01/27 [L..T] REINSTATING SERVICE MEMBERS DISCHARGED UNDER THE MILITARY’S COVID-19 VACCINATION MANDATE This order reinstates any service members who were discharged solely because they refused to be vaccinated against COVID. This requirement had already been rescinded on 2023-01-10 by Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, for reasons that are unclear; this EO makes that amnesty retroactive.
• 2025/01/27 [L..T] Moving On from Legacy Media «We will need this "new" journalism going forward, because the dismal truth is that our traditional news sources have sold us out. While they remain somewhat able to report breaking news, they’ve become unreliable narrators who can’t be trusted to tell us either what happened or what it means.» / «So we have to look outside the mainstream – to bloggers, podcasters, and other more tech-forward outlets – to get the information we need. It will be a long slog.»
• 2025/01/27 [L..T] MEMORANDUM FOR HEADS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES «Federal agencies must temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all Federal financial assistance, and other relevant agency activities that may be implicated by the executive orders, including, but not limited to, financial assistance for foreign aid, nongovernmental organizations, DEI, woke gender ideology, and the green new deal.»
• 2025/01/27 [L..T] White House pauses all federal grants, sparking confusion «The White House budget office is ordering a pause to all grants and loans disbursed by the federal government, according to an internal memo sent to agencies Monday, creating significant confusion across Washington.»
• 2025/01/27 [L..T] Republican Lawmakers in Florida Rebel Against DeSantis in Rare Power Move «In a special session on Monday, leaders seemed to be declaring their independence from a governor who has wielded so much power that legislative sessions have become largely predictable rubber stamps.»
• 2025/01/27 [L..T] From Meme to Controversy: Australia's journey with Elon Musk has escalated quickly «Let me tell you about a mural in Australia that got attention for reasons far different than the artist likely intended. It was a mural of Elon Musk pointing at Doge, the Shiba Inu meme.» [...] It's not clear what brought the mural into existence, but days after Musk's Hitler-salute on national TV, the mural was first subtly altered to add what could have been a shadow under Musk's nose but was also clearly a Hitler-mustache, and then was later more obviously defaced with hastily-sprayed words including "fascist", "boo", "loser", "Nazi cunt", and "Nazis fuck off" -- words reflecting the sentiments of many in Australia and worldwide.
• 2025/01/26 [L..T] Dr. Phil Is Shadowing Trump's ICE Raids for Some Reason «Television personality Dr. Phil scored exclusive access to the start of President Donald Trump's long-promised mass deportation efforts on Sunday, and he made sure to get it all on camera. » / «The longtime talk show host, whose full name is Phil McGraw, aired live coverage of a series of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in Chicago on his streaming platform MeritTV over the weekend.» / «He was joined by Trump's border czar, Tom Homan, who was recently appointed acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).»
• 2025/01/26 [L..T] 'Quad-demic' Hitting US With Flu, COVID-19, RSV, Norovirus Surging The U.S. is currently going through surges of not one, not two, not three, but four different viruses. That’s prompted folks to nickname the current situation a "quad-demic." Here’s what you can do to protect yourself.
• 2025/01/24 [L..T] COUNCIL TO ASSESS THE FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY «There are serious concerns of political bias in FEMA. Indeed, at least one former FEMA responder has stated that FEMA managers directed her to avoid homes of individuals supporting the campaign of Donald J. Trump for President. And it has lost mission focus, diverting limited staff and resources to support missions beyond its scope and authority, spending well over a billion dollars to welcome illegal aliens.» Fact-check needed...
• 2025/01/24 [L..T] EMERGENCY MEASURES TO PROVIDE WATER RESOURCES IN CALIFORNIA AND IMPROVE DISASTER RESPONSE IN CERTAIN AREAS «The Secretary of the Interior, including through the Bureau of Reclamation, shall utilize his discretion to operate the CVP to deliver more water and produce additional hydropower, including by increasing storage and conveyance, and jointly operating federal and state facilities, to high-need communities, notwithstanding any contrary State or local laws. The Bureau of Reclamation shall take all available measures to ensure that State agencies – including the California Department of Water Resources – do not interfere with the Bureau of Reclamation's operation of the project to maximize water delivery to high-need communities or otherwise [...]»
• 2025/01/24 [L..T] ENFORCING THE HYDE AMENDMENT «For nearly five decades, the Congress has annually enacted the Hyde Amendment and similar laws that prevent Federal funding of elective abortion, reflecting a longstanding consensus that American taxpayers should not be forced to pay for that practice. However, the previous administration disregarded this established, commonsense policy by embedding forced taxpayer funding of elective abortions in a wide variety of Federal programs. It is the policy of the United States, consistent with the Hyde Amendment, to end the forced use of Federal taxpayer dollars to fund or promote elective abortion.»
• 2025/01/24 [L..T] Memorandum for the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Administrator of the United States for International Development «I further direct the Secretary of State to take all necessary actions, to the extent permitted by law, to ensure that U.S. taxpayer dollars do not fund organizations or programs that support or participate in the management of a program of coercive abortion or involuntary sterilization.» Also revokes the Presidential Memorandum of January 28, 2021 and reinstates the Presidential Memorandum of January 23, 2017 (to be researched).
• 2025/01/23 [L..T] ICE agents raid NJ seafood store, detaining U.S. military veteran «U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents raided a New Jersey seafood store on Thursday, according to Newark Mayor Ras Baraka.» / «The store owner told PIX11 News that a U.S. military veteran was among the people detained.»
• 2025/01/21 [L..T] A Line By Line Analysis Of Trump's Big Anti-Trans Executive Order «...Trump signed an executive order [...] aimed squarely at dismantling legal and social recognition of transgender people across the United States.» / «This far-reaching order impacts nearly every aspect of transgender lives, from federal identification to education, healthcare, and workplace protections.»... further results