The Conversation -- June 11, 2025
Jimmy Kimmel is seriously pissed off:
Jonah Bromwich of the New York Times: “A federal judge on Wednesday barred the Trump administration from continuing to detain Mahmoud Khalil under a rarely cited law invoked by the secretary of state — and suggested that Mr. Khalil could be released as early as Friday. However, the judge, Michael E. Farbiarz, paused his own order to give the administration a chance to appeal, saying it would not go into effect until 9:30 a.m. on Friday. And he left a pathway for the government to continue to detain Mr. Khalil for other reasons, though he suggested he would be skeptical were authorities to do so. It was not clear whether the administration would appeal the order.... Though Judge Farbiarz took longer than judges assessing similar cases to arrive at the conclusion that Mr. Khalil should not be detained, he also took a deeper look at the core constitutional issues informing the case, ultimately concluding that the law [Marco] Rubio invoked could not be used as grounds for deportation.... Mr. Khalil ... has been held in Louisiana for three months without being accused of a crime.”
Sheryl Stolberg of the New York Times: “Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Wednesday named eight doctors and researchers, including two prominent critics of federal scientists and the Biden administration’s Covid vaccine policies, to replace roughly half the members he fired from an expert panel that advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Mr. Kennedy made the announcement Wednesday on the social media platform X, two days after he fired all 17 members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.... But the appointments of at least two of the new members — Martin Kulldorff and Dr. Robert Malone — are likely to draw an uproar from pro-vaccine groups. Both were highly critical of President Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s coronavirus vaccine policies during the pandemic.” The story has been updated since posted here at 6:15 pm ET Wednesday. ~~~
~~~ Mike Stobbe of the AP: “The new appointees include Vicky Pebsworth ... who has been listed as a board member and volunteer director for the National Vaccine Information Center, a group that is widely considered to be a leading source of vaccine misinformation. Another is Dr. Robert Malone, the former mRNA researcher who emerged as a close adviser to Kennedy during the measles outbreak. Malone, who runs a wellness institute and a popular blog, rose to prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic as he relayed conspiracy theories around the outbreak and the vaccines that followed. He has appeared on podcasts and other conservative news outlets where he’s promoted unproven and alternative treatments for measles and COVID-19. He has claimed that millions of Americans were hypnotized into taking the COVID-19 shots and has suggested that those vaccines cause a form of AIDS. He’s downplayed deaths related to one of the largest measles outbreaks in the U.S. in years.”
Edward Wong of the New York Times: “The dozen board members of the prestigious Fulbright program that promotes international educational exchanges resigned on Wednesday because of what they said was political interference by the Trump administration in their operations.... The members are concerned that political appointees at the State Department, which manages the program, are acting illegally by canceling the awarding of Fulbright scholarships to almost 200 American professors and researchers who are prepared to go to universities and other research institutions overseas starting this summer, said the people, including Senator Jeanne Shaheen, Democrat of New Hampshire. The board approved those scholars over the winter after a yearlong selection process, and the State Department was supposed to send acceptance letters by April, the people said. But instead, the board learned that the office of public diplomacy at the agency had begun sending rejection letters to the scholars based mainly on their research topics, they said. In addition, the department is reviewing the applications of about 1,200 scholars from other countries who have already been approved by the board to come to the United States, the people said.” Looks like a gift link. Read on for details. ~~~
~~~ Marie: My husband was on the Fulbright board. If I'm not mistaken, Ronald Reagan appointed him. My husband was not a Republican and was not active in politics beyond, you know, voting.
Lauren Gurley, et al., of the Washington Post: “The Trump administration has ramped up investigations of companies suspected of employing undocumented immigrants, directing officials to meet audit quotas for such reviews to accelerate deportation efforts. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement division has ordered its 30 regional offices to meet quotas on inspections of employers’ documentation of their workers’ immigration status, according to three immigration lawyers and a former Department of Homeland Security government official familiar with the agency’s operations. The number of notices of inspection, known as I-9 audits, has increased 'tenfold' since January, three lawyers said. The inspections can be a precursor to workplace raids and have recently been used by the Trump administration as a method for detaining undocumented workers without judicial warrants, according to immigration advocates and lawyers. Often, undocumented workers never return to work after ICE agents serve an employer an inspection notice.”
Stephen Saideman in an NBC News opinion piece: "... Donald Trump ... has made a special effort to violate the standards that have long kept the U.S. military out of partisan politics.... He chose an unqualified Fox News host to be defense secretary to ensure he would not face the resistance he met from [his first-term defense secretaries, James] Mattis and [Mark] Esper. Then he fired multiple senior leaders of the military for being, well, Black or female.... Trump is dragging the U.S. military into the partisan fray, attempting to turn the American military into a Republican or Trumpian army.... Impartial militaries are a key ingredient for stable democracy, while Trump’s actions are those of an autocrat. Turning the U.S. military into an ally of one politician against his opponents is more than just another instance of democratic backsliding. It is a serious step toward ending American democracy.... Deploying the military against peaceful protests and encouraging the troops to boo members of the opposition are two decisions that get us much closer to truly catastrophic outcomes." ~~~
~~~ Konstantin Toropin & Steve Beynon of Military.com: "...what unfolded Tuesday at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, bore little resemblance to the customary visit from a president and defense secretary. There..., Donald Trump unleashed a speech laced with partisan invective, goading jeers from a crowd of soldiers positioned behind his podium.... Internal 82nd Airborne Division communications ... reveal a tightly orchestrated effort to curate the optics of Trump's recent visit, including handpicking soldiers for the audience based on political leanings and physical appearance. One unit-level message bluntly saying: 'No fat soldiers.' 'If soldiers have political views that are in opposition to the current administration and they don't want to be in the audience then they need to speak with their leadership and get swapped out,' another note to troops said.... Officials declined to comment when asked about the extent to which troops were screened, whether soldiers displaying partisan cheers on television -- a violation of long-standing Pentagon rules -- would be disciplined or if soldiers who objected to participating in the event, citing disagreements with the administration, would be disciplined or admonished in any way." ~~~
~~~ Tom Nichols of the Atlantic: “... Donald Trump continued his war against America’s most cherished military traditions today when he delivered a speech at Fort Bragg. It is too much to call it a 'speech'; it was, instead, a ramble, full of grievance and anger, just like his many political-rally performances.... He led soldiers ... in a display of unseemly behavior that ran contrary to everything the founder of the U.S. Army, George Washington, strove to imbue in the American armed forces.... Trump, himself a convicted felon, doesn’t care about rules and laws, but active-duty military members are not allowed to attend political rallies in uniform.... Senior officers of the United States military have an obligation to speak up and be leaders. Where is the Army chief of staff, General Randy George?... Where is the commander of the airborne troops, Lieutenant General Gregory Anderson, or even Colonel Chad Mixon, the base commander?... If they are truly Washington’s heirs, they should speak up — now — and stand with the first commander in chief against the rogue 47th.” Thanks to laura h. for this gift link.
Gabriel Zucman in the Guardian: “... unprecedented wealth concentration – and the unbridled power that comes with such wealth – has distorted our democracy and is driving societal and economic tensions. [Elon] Musk ... wields power no one person should have. He has used this power to elect candidates that will enact policies to protect his interests and he even bought his way into government.... Musk dramatically reshaped the government in ways that benefit him – for instance, slashing regulatory agencies investigating his businesses – and hollowed out spending to make way for tax cuts that would enrich him.... ... Just 800 families in the US are collectively worth almost $7tn – a record-breaking figure that exceeds the wealth of the bottom half of the US combined.... Under the current federal income tax system, over half of the real-world income available to the top 0.1% of wealth-holders (those with $62m or more) goes totally untaxed. As a result, billionaires like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos have gotten away with paying zero dollars in federal income taxes in some years, even when their real sources of income were soaring.” Thanks to laura h. for the link.
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Brad Brooks, et al., of Reuters, republished by Yahoo! News: "Several U.S. cities braced for protests on Wednesday against ... Donald Trump's sweeping immigration raids, as parts of the country's second largest city Los Angeles spent the night under curfew in an effort to quell five days of unrest. The Governor of Texas, Republican Greg Abbott, said he will deploy the National Guard this week, ahead of planned protests. Protesters and police in Austin clashed on Monday."
The New York Times' live updates of developments in Trump's War on Immigrants are here.
Heather Cox Richardson has more on the Trump wars and on other depressing news of the day. Her daily roundups are almost always useful because she puts isolated news item into present-day and/or historical context.
Laurel Rosenhall of the New York Times: “Gov. Gavin Newsom made the case in a televised address Tuesday evening that ... [Donald] Trump’s decisions to send military forces to immigration protests in Los Angeles have put the nation at the precipice of authoritarianism. The California governor urged Americans to stand up to Mr. Trump, calling it a 'perilous moment' for democracy and the country’s long-held legal norms. 'California may be first, but it clearly won’t end here,' Mr. Newsom said, speaking to cameras from a studio in Los Angeles. 'Other states are next. Democracy is next.... Democracy is under assault right before our eyes — the moment we’ve feared has arrived.'....” The NBC News report is here. ~~~
“Trump Doesn't Even Know What Day It Is.” Julia Ornedo of the Daily Beast, republished by Yahoo! News: “... Donald Trump attempted to use Fox News for a dramatic gotcha moment in his escalating battle with California Governor Gavin Newsom — only to discover that the screenshot from his phone proved that he was in the wrong. Trump and Newsom made contrasting claims about whether they spoke over the phone on Monday.... On Tuesday afternoon, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that the last time he spoke to Newsom was 'a day ago.'... But Newsom quickly countered Trump in a post on X: 'There was no call. Not even a voicemail. Americans should be alarmed that a President deploying Marines onto our streets doesn’t even know who he’s talking to.' Trump responded by sending a screenshot of his call log with Newsom to Fox News anchor John Roberts, who flashed the receipts on America Reports. The call log showed that he did indeed call Newsom twice but it was on June 7, not Monday.... Newsom hit back in a brief response on X: “... Trump doesn’t even know what day it is.'”
Hamed Aleaziz & John Yoon of the New York Times: “Armed National Guard troops mobilized by ... [Donald] Trump accompanied federal immigration enforcement officers on raids in Los Angeles on Tuesday, a move that the state of California has called unlawful and inflammatory. Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security, confirmed Tuesday evening that the National Guard was accompanying Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials on their operations. The Trump administration deployed nearly 5,000 National Guard troops and Marines to the Los Angeles area to stop protests. The deployment enraged officials in California, who filed lawsuits asking the court to intervene in what they said were illegal and provocative moves. Earlier in the evening, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth posted a photo of what appeared to be military personnel with rifles standing with ICE officers on social media. 'This We’ll Defend,' he wrote.”
They Shoot Journalists, Don't They? Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs of the New York Times: “Over the last few days, several journalists have been injured by law enforcement officers during the protests that have played out in parts of downtown Los Angeles and led to an escalating battle between California and the Trump administration.... ress freedom groups have condemned law enforcement for injuring journalists over the last few days, noting several instances of law enforcement officers firing projectiles at journalists. The National Press Club, a professional organization for journalists, said reporters had been singled out, and also called on the L.A.P.D.’s police chief to make sure journalists could 'safely observe and report' on the protests. 'Police cannot pick and choose when the First Amendment applies,' the group’s president, Mike Balsamo, said in a statement. 'Journalists in Los Angeles were not caught in the crossfire — they were targeted.'” Journalists have reported those who shot them were with the L.A.P.D., the L.A. County Sheriff's Department, the California Highway Patrol and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Citizens Disunited. Eric Schmitt of the New York Times: “In response to often sharp questioning from House Democrats on Tuesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth defended the Pentagon’s deployment of nearly 5,000 active-duty Marines and National Guard members to help the police in Los Angeles quell sporadic unrest. Mr. Hegseth, a former National Guardsman, also suggested in testimony before the House Appropriations Committee that the use of the Guard, part-time citizen soldiers, for homeland defense would expand under ... [Donald] Trump. 'I think we’re entering another phase, especially under President Trump with his focus on the homeland, where the National Guard and Reserves become a critical component of how we secure that homeland,' Mr. Hegseth told lawmakers.... The secretary had several testy exchanges with Democrats on the committee, who challenged him on the efficacy and cost of the deployments. At one point, he ignored direct questions from Representative Betty McCollum of Minnesota, the top Democrat on the committee’s defense panel, about the cost to deploy troops to Los Angeles. Instead, Mr. Hegseth used his time to attack Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, Gov. Gavin Newsom of California, Mayor Karen Bass of Los Angeles and the Biden administration.... When he was questioned again on the mission’s projected costs, Mr. Hegseth deferred to the Pentagon’s acting comptroller, Bryn Woollacott MacDonnell, who said that Marine and National Guard deployments — estimated to last 60 days — would cost about $134 million, mainly for travel, housing and food.” (Also linked yesterday.) Politico's story on the projected cost of the deployment is here. ~~~
~~~ Marie: Bear in mind that these National Guard troops are residents of the states in which Trump is requiring them to confront other residents. Trump is pitting neighbor against neighbor. And these neighbors, for the most part, are all carrying out their civic duty: the Guard by following order and the demonstrators by standing up for civil rights and human rights.
Hamed Aleaziz of the New York Times: “Demands from the White House for a drastic increase in arrests of people who have entered the country illegally have pushed immigration officials into overdrive to fulfill ... [Donald] Trump’s pledge of mass deportations. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement is carrying out workplace raids across the country like the one in the garment district of Los Angeles last week that kicked off protests and a vast federal response. The agency is staggering shifts so agents are available seven days a week to try to meet arrest goals and asking criminal investigators who usually focus on issues like human trafficking to help identify targets. It is also asking the public to call in tips to report illegal immigration.... The intense pressure by top administration officials creates an atmosphere that elevates the potential for mistakes at a time when officers and agents are being pushed to make consequential decisions, former officials said.”
Praveena Somasundaram of the Washington Post: “The ongoing protests in Los Angeles against ... Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown have once again thrust unions into the political spotlight, galvanized by the arrest of one of their own prominent leaders..., David Huerta — the well-known head of California’s largest public sector union..., the Service Employees International Union. Huerta’s arrest helped fuel the intense, days-long protests in Los Angeles over the weekend, as calls for his release mounted among unions and protesters. It also inspired smaller rallies in cities across the country, many of the latter organized by the [SEIU]. The United Auto Workers and the AFL-CIO, the nation’s largest federation of labor unions, demanded Huerta’s release alongside SEIU.... Paul Ortiz, a labor history professor at Cornell University, said that Huerta’s arrest and the fallout shine a light on unions’ growing resistance to Trump’s immigration enforcement, especially as he takes other actions against workers — such as trying to pare down the federal workforce.”
Steven Myers of the New York Times: “Misleading photographs, videos and text have spread widely on social media as protests against immigrant raids have unfolded in Los Angeles, rehashing old conspiracy theories and expressing support for ... [Donald] Trump’s actions. The flood of falsehoods online appeared intended to stoke outrage toward immigrants and political leaders, principally Democrats. They also added to the confusion over what exactly was happening on the streets, which was portrayed in digital and social media through starkly divergent ideological lenses.... There were numerous scenes of protesters throwing rocks or other objects at law enforcement officers and setting cars ablaze, including a number of self-driving Waymo taxis. At the same time, false images spread to revive old conspiracies that the protests were a planned provocation, not a spontaneous response to the immigration raids.... Darren L. Linvill, a researcher at Clemson University’s Media Forensics Hub, said conservatives online were 'building up the riots in a performative way' to help bolster Mr. Trump’s claims that Los Angeles had been taken over by 'violent, insurrectionist mobs.'... Many posts created the false impression that the entire city was engulfed in violence, when the clashes were limited to only a small part.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ On that note, scroll down this post by digby to check out the maps David Dayen of the American Prospect posted on BlueSky to see just where these "massive" protests were taking place. Los Angeles County covers more than 4,000 square miles. Not only that, as Lawrence O'Donnell pointed out last night, downtown Los Angeles -- where most of the protests have taken place (that tiny area on Dayen's map) -- is nothing like a typical American city's downtown. It is a place that many life-long Angelinos have never been. MB: Back when I lived in L.A., I did have to go downtown a few times. Usually, it's quiet during the daytime and practically deserted at night. (Also linked yesterday.)
Margery Beck & Josh Funk of the AP: “Immigration authorities raided an Omaha meat production plant Tuesday morning and took dozens of workers away in buses, leaving company officials bewildered.... The raid happened around 9 a.m. at Glenn Valley Foods in south Omaha, an area where nearly a quarter of residents were foreign born according to the 2020 census. A small group of people came out to protest the raid, and some of them even jumped on the front bumper of a vehicle to try to stop officers in one location while others threw rocks at officials’ vehicles as a white bus carrying workers pulled away from a plant. Chad Hartmann, president of the food packaging company, said the front office was stunned by the aggressive nature of federal officials’ raid and confused by why the company was targeted. 'My biggest issue is: why us?' Hartmann said. 'We do everything by the book.' The plant uses E-Verify, the federal database used to check the immigration status of employees. When he said as much to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers who carried out the raid, they told him the E-Verify system 'is broken.'”
“Dubious Emergencies.” Adam Liptak of the New York Times: “To hear ... [Donald] Trump tell it, the nation is facing a rebellion in Los Angeles, an invasion by a Venezuelan gang and extraordinary foreign threats to its economy. Citing this series of crises, he has sought to draw on emergency powers that Congress has scattered throughout the United States Code over the centuries, summoning the National Guard to Los Angeles over the objections of California’s governor, sending scores of migrants to El Salvador without the barest hint of due process and upending the global economy with steep tariffs.... “He is declaring utterly bogus emergencies for the sake of trying to expand his power, undermine the Constitution and destroy civil liberties,” said Ilya Somin, a libertarian professor at Antonin Scalia Law School who represents ... businesses challenging some of Mr. Trump’s tariffs. Crisis is Mr. Trump’s brand.... Frank O. Bowman, a law professor at the University of Missouri, said the laws Mr. Trump has invoked were premised on a presumption that the flexibility they granted would not be abused.... 'Declaring everything an emergency begins to move us in the direction of allowing the use of government force and violence against people you don’t like,' he said.” MB: Looks like a gift link.
John Hudson & Alex Horton of the Washington Post: “The Trump administration is preparing to begin the transfer of potentially thousands of foreigners who are in the United States illegally to the U.S. military base in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, starting as early as this week.... The foreign nationals under consideration hail from a range of countries. They include hundreds from friendly European nations, including Britain, Italy, France, Germany, Ireland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Lithuania, Poland, Turkey and Ukraine, but also other parts of the world, including many from Haiti.... The administration is unlikely to inform the foreigners’ home governments about the impending transfers to the infamous military facility.... The preparations include medical screening for 9,000 individuals to determine whether they are healthy enough to be sent to Guantánamo....” Politico's report is here.
Perry Stein & Jeremy Roebuck of the Washington Post: “A federal grand jury indicted Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-New Jersey) for allegedly interfering with law enforcement during a confrontation last month outside an immigration detention center in Newark, [Alina Habba,] the top prosecutor in New Jersey announced Tuesday evening. The unusual decision to bring federal charges against a congresswoman for a standoff in which no one was injured reflects the Justice Department’s pledge to prosecute officials who it thinks are hindering ... Donald Trump’s aggressive immigration enforcement efforts. McIver and other congressional Democrats have decried the charges as political retaliation and predicted that the congresswoman will be cleared in court.” The AP's report is here. MB: I've seen quite a bit of video of the altercation, and from what I've seen, McIver was the victim of agents who interfered with McIver's right to inspect the detention center, rather than the other way around. The charged against her, IMO, are Trumped up.
We’re moving it back to the states, so the governors can handle. That’s why they’re governors. If they can’t handle it, they shouldn’t be governor. -- Donald Trump, on curtailing FEMA, Tuesday ~~~
~~~ Scott Dance of the Washington Post: “... Donald Trump said Tuesday that his administration plans to 'wean' states off Federal Emergency Management Agency assistance after this year’s hurricane season, offering in the most explicit terms yet his plans for states to respond to natural disasters and other emergencies on their own.... In comments Tuesday, Trump and [DHS Secretary Kristi] Noem said they planned for FEMA’s role to look dramatically different in future disasters, after a recently convened FEMA Review Council completes a study of how disaster response can be improved in the United States. The council includes current and former Republican governors and emergency management officials from Texas and Florida, and it’s co-chaired by Noem and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Its goal is to figure out how to streamline FEMA operations and ensure the agency 'delivers rapid, efficient, and mission-focused relief to Americans in need,' according to an April announcement. Already..., FEMA’s workforce is down by a third, according to estimates....”
Traitor Trump Honors Traitors, Defies Congress. Chris Cameron of the New York Times: Donald “Trump, during a speech at Fort Bragg, N.C., said on Tuesday that he would restore the names of all Army bases that were named for Confederate generals but were ordered changed by Congress in the waning days of his first administration. His move skirts the law mandating the removal of Confederate symbols from the military through the same maneuver used to restore the name of Fort Bragg, which was briefly renamed Fort Liberty. In a statement, the Army said it would 'take immediate action' to restore the old names of the bases originally honoring Confederates, but the base names would instead honor other American soldiers with similar names and initials. For example, Fort Eisenhower in Georgia, honoring President Dwight D. Eisenhower — who led the D-Day landings during World War II — would revert to the name Fort Gordon, once honoring John Brown Gordon, the Confederate slave owner and suspected Ku Klux Klan member. This time around, however, the Army said the base would instead honor Master Sgt. Gary Gordon, who fought in the Battle of Mogadishu in Somalia.” The Task & Purpose report is here. ~~~
~~~ Brett Samuels of the Hill: “Members of a crowd filled with members of the military and their families booed and jeered ... [Donald] Trump’s political rivals and the press Tuesday at the president’s prompting during his address at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. The response from attendees, most of whom were wearing military fatigues, was a jarring sight given the military’s history as a traditionally nonpartisan entity. Presidents have historically drawn criticism when they have been seen as using the military as a political pawn. MB: It's clear from the call-and-response moments Samuels recounts that Trump encouraged the soldiers to boo Democrats.
"Imagine If...." Alana Valko of BuzzFeed (June 9), republished by Yahoo! News: "In a now-viral clip, former president Barack Obama shared what he described as a clear double standard between himself and Donald Trump, arguing that if he had taken the same actions as Trump is, backlash would have been immediate and intense." The clip is here and worth watching.
Alan Rappeport, et al., of the New York Times: “The United States and China agreed to roll back some of the punitive measures they had taken against each other’s economies and return to a trade truce reached in May, officials from both countries said on Tuesday. After two days of marathon negotiations in London, top economic officials from the United States and China are now expected to present the new “framework agreement” to their leaders..., [Donald] Trump and China’s top leader, Xi Jinping, for final approval. The agreement, the full details of which were not immediately released, is intended to return the relationship to the terms that the United States and China reached in Switzerland last month. That deal had unraveled in recent weeks, after China continued to restrict shipments of valuable rare earth minerals and magnets needed by U.S. manufacturers.”
Tony Romm of the New York Times: “A federal appeals court agreed on Tuesday to allow ... [Donald] Trump to maintain many of his tariffs on China and other U.S. trading partners, extending a pause granted shortly after another panel of judges ruled in late May that the import taxes were illegal. The decision, from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, delivered an important but interim victory for the Trump administration, which had warned that any interruption to its steep duties could undercut the president in talks around the world. But the government still must convince the judges that the president appropriately used a set of emergency powers when he put in place the centerpiece of his economic agenda earlier this year. The Trump administration has already signaled it is willing to fight that battle as far as the Supreme Court.... At the heart of the legal wrangling is Mr. Trump’s novel interpretation of a 1970s law that he used to wage a global trade war on an expansive scale. No president before him had ever used the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, to impose tariffs, and the word itself is not even mentioned in the statute.”
Paul Krugman: Elon "Musk is a total fraud. He failed to deliver on his promises of huge deficit reduction. In fact, DOGE almost certainly lost money. There’s no evidence for many of the cost savings it claims, and the “receipts” it has provided are full of misstatements and errors. And the disruption it caused almost surely cost taxpayers more than any minor savings it may have found. Furthermore, its depredations have left both the federal government and the nation as a whole degraded and weakened in ways that will take years to reverse.... But the real point is ... the falsity of the whole claim that the U.S. government wastes vast amounts of taxpayers’ money.... The federal government has in fact historically been a well-run organization, with many dedicated workers.... Then Musk marched in, told these workers that they were worthless and pushed many of them out.... After the way they’ve been treated, the best federal workers are probably the least likely to return...."
Once Again, Pam Blondie Comes Thru for Trump. Matthew Brown of the AP: “Lawyers for ... Donald Trump’s administration say he has the authority to abolish national monuments meant to protect historical and archaeological sites across broad landscapes, including two in California created by his predecessor at the request of Native American tribes. A Justice Department legal opinion released Tuesday disavowed a 1938 determination that monuments created by previous presidents under the Antiquities Act can’t be revoked. The department said presidents can cancel monument designations if protections aren’t warranted.”
Sheryl Stolberg of the New York Times: “Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has promised to make decisions rooted in 'gold-standard science,' fired an entire committee of vaccine advisers in part because all were appointed by a Democratic president and some had made donations to Democrats, according to a White House official and another person familiar with Mr. Kennedy’s thinking. When he announced the firings on Monday, Mr. Kennedy cited the members’ financial ties to industry.... But according to the White House official and the other person, both of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an internal matter, Mr. Kennedy was also concerned with 'political conflicts.' The mass firing was another example of the unusually muscular — and sometimes chaotic — way that Mr. Kennedy has exercised his authority, often while setting vaccine policy. Like ... [Donald] Trump, Mr. Kennedy inserts himself in policy matters ordinarily left to underlings, and sometimes announces new policies on social media, with scant or no evidence to support them. Delegates to the American Medical Association..., which is holding its annual meeting in Chicago this week, adopted a resolution on Tuesday calling for Mr. Kennedy to immediately reverse his decision, and directed its leadership to ask the Senate Health Committee to investigate it.” ~~~
~~~ Washington Post Editors: “Robert F. Kennedy Jr. claims that his decision on Monday to purge a key vaccine advisory committee at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is about rooting out conflicts of interest and restoring 'confidence' in vaccines.... It is really about advancing his anti-vaccine agenda.... And he has left no question what he would like to do ...: reduce access to vaccines.”
Carl Hulse of the New York Times: “Ronald Reagan and his fellow Republicans once invoked what they referred to as 'welfare queens' as they made the case for reining in social spending in the 1970s and 1980s.... Now as they try to justify cuts to Medicaid, congressional Republicans are focused on a different deadbeat poster child: the shiftless male video gamer who lazes around the house attached to his console while getting free health care that should go to more deserving people. The imagery has changed, but the political tactic from the G.O.P. remains the same. By making broad generalizations about the types of people who could inappropriately benefit from federal benefits, they make the idea of cutting back seem virtuous rather than stingy.”
Ruth Graham of the New York Times: “Southern Baptists voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday to call for the overturning of the Supreme Court ruling that legalized same-sex marriage, with strategists citing the successful effort that overturned the right to legal abortions as a possible blueprint for the new fight. The denomination has long opposed gay marriage, but Tuesday was the first time its members have voted to work to legally end it. Expanding on conservatives’ success in overturning Roe v. Wade in 2022, the vote signals growing evangelical ambitions to overturn Obergefell v. Hodges, the Supreme Court ruling that was handed down 10 years ago this month.”
Annals of “Journalism,” Ctd. Michael Grynbaum of the New York Times: “ABC News is cutting ties with the correspondent Terry Moran after he wrote derisive comments on social media that attacked ... [Donald] Trump and Stephen Miller, the deputy White House chief of staff, referring to both men with the term 'world-class hater.' The network said on Tuesday that it had decided not to renew Mr. Moran’s contract. He had worked at ABC News for 28 years.... Mr. Moran’s contract is set to expire on Friday, according to a person with knowledge of his deal.... Mr. Moran, a senior national correspondent, held many roles at ABC News, serving as the network’s chief White House correspondent for several years. He was also a co-anchor of 'Nightline' and covered the Supreme Court and foreign conflicts. Although less prominent in recent years, Mr. Moran, 65, regained some visibility in April when he received praise for his interview of Mr. Trump in the Oval Office. 'They’re giving you the big break of a lifetime,' the president told Mr. Moran during their exchange. 'I picked you because, frankly, I never heard of you, but that’s OK.' Mr. Moran then led ABC’s coverage of the papal conclave in Rome.”
Michael Luciano of Mediaite: “Legendary sportscaster Bob Costas criticized the media over its handling of ... Donald Trump’s second term during an awards ceremony on Monday night. Costas took several major media organizations to task at this year’s Mirror Awards in New York. At the ceremony, hosted by Syracuse University’s Newhouse School, Costas received the Fred Dressler Leadership Award for making 'distinct, consistent and unique contributions to the public’s understanding of the media.' In a speech touching on his career in broadcasting and the state of the media business through the years, Costas spoke candidly about the press in the Trump era, and singled out ABC News, CBS News, and CNN.” Costas' take is worth reading.
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New Jersey. Tracey Tully, et al., of the New York Times: “Representative Mikie Sherrill on Tuesday won the Democratic Party’s nomination to run for governor of New Jersey, capping a hard-fought primary that featured a large field of prominent and well-funded candidates. With about 90 percent of the estimated vote reported, Ms. Sherrill, a former U.S. Navy helicopter pilot who represents New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District, was outpacing five other candidates by a wide margin, according to The Associated Press. She is now expected to compete in November’s general election against Jack Ciattarelli, the winner of Tuesday’s Republican primary. Mr. Ciattarelli, a former state assemblyman, is running his third race for governor and is backed by ... [Donald] Trump....” Politico's story is here.
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Argentina. Daniel Politi of the New York Times: “Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, Argentina’s former president and one of the country’s most polarizing political figures, was sentenced to prison on Tuesday and barred for life from public office after the Supreme Court upheld her corruption conviction. The ruling is likely to deepen political tensions in the country and comes after Mrs. Kirchner, who was the target of an assassination attempt three years ago, announced plans for a political comeback. Supporters blocked key highways around the capital, Buenos Aires, ahead of the court decision against the left-leaning Mrs. Kirchner, who has clashed repeatedly with Argentina’s right-wing president, Javier Milei, while major labor unions had threatened national strikes. The Supreme Court rejected an appeal by Mrs. Kirchner in a 27-page ruling, cementing a six-year sentence handed down by a lower court that had found she defrauded the state during her two terms as president, from 2007 to 2015.”
Israel/Palestine, et al. Tom Friedman of the New York Times: “... friends of Israel everywhere need to understand that the way Israel is fighting the war in Gaza today is laying the groundwork for a fundamental recasting of how Israel and Jews will be seen the world over. It won’t be good.... Israel, instead of being seen by Jews as a safe haven from antisemitism, will be seen as a new engine generating it; sane Israelis will line up to immigrate to Australia and America rather than beckon their fellow Jews to come Israel’s way.... Fortunately, more and more retired and reserve duty Israeli Air Force pilots, as well as retired Army and security officers, are seeing this gathering storm and declaring they will not be silent or complicit in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ugly, nihilistic policy in Gaza. They have begun to urge Jews in America and elsewhere to speak up — SOS: Save Our Ship — before the widening moral stain of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza becomes irreversible.”
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