Reposted by Matthew Heaney
Trump II is a menagerie of evils, but never forget that a key theme has been, is, and always will be ostentatious corruption and monetization of the presidency.
“.. the latest business with foreign ties to seize on Mr. Trump’s crypto venture, which channels profits directly to the Trump family ..”
@nytimes.com @ericlipton.nytimes.com
www.nytimes.com/2025/05/13/u...
@nytimes.com @ericlipton.nytimes.com
www.nytimes.com/2025/05/13/u...
May 14, 2025 at 12:38 AM
Trump II is a menagerie of evils, but never forget that a key theme has been, is, and always will be ostentatious corruption and monetization of the presidency.
Reposted by Matthew Heaney
This is a really important piece by @joncduffy.bsky.social. Please give it a read.👇
I wrote for Defense One (@defenseone.bsky.social) on why banning books at the Naval Academy is a betrayal of everything we’re supposed to stand for: www.defenseone.com/ideas/2025/0...
I went to the Naval Academy to defend freedom, not to dismantle it
Stripping the library of books undermines our Navy—and mimics regimes we spent decades confronting.
www.defenseone.com
April 24, 2025 at 2:43 AM
This is a really important piece by @joncduffy.bsky.social. Please give it a read.👇
Reposted by Matthew Heaney
Updated after market close. S&P 500 is down >15% since Trump took office. See chart for how this compares to same period to date under prior presidential terms.
April 4, 2025 at 8:33 PM
Updated after market close. S&P 500 is down >15% since Trump took office. See chart for how this compares to same period to date under prior presidential terms.
Reposted by Matthew Heaney
In 1862, a Union soldier found cigars wrapped in a piece of paper in a field of clover. The paper was a copy of Confederate Gen. Lee's invasion orders. The Southern sloppiness helped the Union stop Lee at Antietam.
It's unknown who lost the orders in the field, or if he was related to Pete Hegseth.
It's unknown who lost the orders in the field, or if he was related to Pete Hegseth.
March 27, 2025 at 4:44 PM
In 1862, a Union soldier found cigars wrapped in a piece of paper in a field of clover. The paper was a copy of Confederate Gen. Lee's invasion orders. The Southern sloppiness helped the Union stop Lee at Antietam.
It's unknown who lost the orders in the field, or if he was related to Pete Hegseth.
It's unknown who lost the orders in the field, or if he was related to Pete Hegseth.
I cannot understand people who don't vote.
I have never not voted.
It's a democracy, my fellow citizens. Democracy doesn't work if you don't vote.
I have never not voted.
It's a democracy, my fellow citizens. Democracy doesn't work if you don't vote.
it's always the turnout
Never seen it framed this way by all recent elections
Wild
Wild
April 21, 2025 at 2:31 AM
I cannot understand people who don't vote.
I have never not voted.
It's a democracy, my fellow citizens. Democracy doesn't work if you don't vote.
I have never not voted.
It's a democracy, my fellow citizens. Democracy doesn't work if you don't vote.
Reposted by Matthew Heaney
I am old enough to remember when a movie character said "PAPERS PLEASE" it was a universally understood signifier of an evil regime
A co-worker of mine (who is a judge), traveled by train from Montana to North Dakota for work this week. The train made a stop in Havre, MT, where ICE agents—armed and dressed in full military-style tactical gear—boarded the train.
The New America: Federal (ICE) Agents Boarding Trains?
By Judith Roberts * As an attorney I’m deeply alarmed by an incident that occurred just this week and feel compelled to share it—to raise aw...
weknowwhatsup.blogspot.com
April 19, 2025 at 12:12 AM
I am old enough to remember when a movie character said "PAPERS PLEASE" it was a universally understood signifier of an evil regime
Never forget
April 17, 2025 at 12:09 PM
Never forget
Without rule of law, you don't have a democracy.
Over on The Hellsite, JD Vance has now functionally called for an end to due process for migrants. His argument is riddled with deceptions, bad faith, and embarrassingly awful logic. I think it needs a real response, so here's what I put up over there.
First, his 20 million number is fiction. 1/
First, his 20 million number is fiction. 1/
April 17, 2025 at 12:04 PM
Without rule of law, you don't have a democracy.
Reposted by Matthew Heaney
With Trump reportedly planning to end the IRS Direct File program, there's no better time to remember how TurboTax owner Intuit spent two decades fighting to prevent Americans from filing their taxes online for free.
(Published 2019)
(Published 2019)
Inside TurboTax’s 20-Year Fight to Stop Americans From Filing Their Taxes for Free
Using lobbying, the revolving door and “dark pattern” customer tricks, Intuit fended off the government’s attempts to make tax filing free and easy, and created its multi-billion-dollar franchise.
www.propublica.org
April 17, 2025 at 12:00 AM
With Trump reportedly planning to end the IRS Direct File program, there's no better time to remember how TurboTax owner Intuit spent two decades fighting to prevent Americans from filing their taxes online for free.
(Published 2019)
(Published 2019)
Ahem:
"The drop [in the value of the dollar] is especially striking because countries that impose tariffs usually see their currency rise. But the wobbly rollout of Trump’s tariff plans ... left investors doubting the administration’s competence."
wapo.st/4lvLKNq
"The drop [in the value of the dollar] is especially striking because countries that impose tariffs usually see their currency rise. But the wobbly rollout of Trump’s tariff plans ... left investors doubting the administration’s competence."
wapo.st/4lvLKNq
Investors dodge U.S. dollar and Treasurys, scared by Trump’s trade war
The dollar has lost almost 10 percent of its value since Inauguration Day with more than half of that decline coming this month.
wapo.st
April 16, 2025 at 12:26 AM
Ahem:
"The drop [in the value of the dollar] is especially striking because countries that impose tariffs usually see their currency rise. But the wobbly rollout of Trump’s tariff plans ... left investors doubting the administration’s competence."
wapo.st/4lvLKNq
"The drop [in the value of the dollar] is especially striking because countries that impose tariffs usually see their currency rise. But the wobbly rollout of Trump’s tariff plans ... left investors doubting the administration’s competence."
wapo.st/4lvLKNq
Is like defending the bank that deliberately wipes out your balance by saying that they sent you a bank statement correctly noting your balance is now zero.
You say Orwellian, I say Baghdad Bob
WELKER: The markets lost more than $6 trillion in value. Was this disruption always part of the plan?
BESSENT: We had record volume on Friday and everything is working very smoothly. So the American people can take great comfort in that.
BESSENT: We had record volume on Friday and everything is working very smoothly. So the American people can take great comfort in that.
April 7, 2025 at 4:07 AM
Is like defending the bank that deliberately wipes out your balance by saying that they sent you a bank statement correctly noting your balance is now zero.
Hearing Brad Delp for the first time:
"Especially the vocals. My God. Whoever this lead singer is, he can really get up there. That note that he was able to hit, right before the guitar solo, just absolutely took my breath away."
youtu.be/6rb434FpEY8?...
"Especially the vocals. My God. Whoever this lead singer is, he can really get up there. That note that he was able to hit, right before the guitar solo, just absolutely took my breath away."
youtu.be/6rb434FpEY8?...
THIS SONG IS GENIUS!! First Time Reaction to Boston - "More Than A Feeling"
YouTube video by StaceyRPG
youtu.be
April 3, 2025 at 4:08 AM
Hearing Brad Delp for the first time:
"Especially the vocals. My God. Whoever this lead singer is, he can really get up there. That note that he was able to hit, right before the guitar solo, just absolutely took my breath away."
youtu.be/6rb434FpEY8?...
"Especially the vocals. My God. Whoever this lead singer is, he can really get up there. That note that he was able to hit, right before the guitar solo, just absolutely took my breath away."
youtu.be/6rb434FpEY8?...
A point that deserves reiterating:
"...after 9/11; and our European allies did respond. Per capita more Danish soldiers were killed in the Afghan war than were American soldiers. Do we remember them? Thank them?
THANK YOU, DENMARK
substack.com/inbox/post/1...
"...after 9/11; and our European allies did respond. Per capita more Danish soldiers were killed in the Afghan war than were American soldiers. Do we remember them? Thank them?
THANK YOU, DENMARK
substack.com/inbox/post/1...
March 30, 2025 at 1:41 AM
A point that deserves reiterating:
"...after 9/11; and our European allies did respond. Per capita more Danish soldiers were killed in the Afghan war than were American soldiers. Do we remember them? Thank them?
THANK YOU, DENMARK
substack.com/inbox/post/1...
"...after 9/11; and our European allies did respond. Per capita more Danish soldiers were killed in the Afghan war than were American soldiers. Do we remember them? Thank them?
THANK YOU, DENMARK
substack.com/inbox/post/1...
On "alternative" medicine:
"And so while she agreed to undergo surgery to excise her tumor, she declined to follow up with an oncologist. Instead, she began searching for alternatives."
Read to the end of the article.
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/29/o...
"And so while she agreed to undergo surgery to excise her tumor, she declined to follow up with an oncologist. Instead, she began searching for alternatives."
Read to the end of the article.
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/29/o...
Opinion | The Story of One Woman Who Fell Prey to the Medical Freedom Movement (Gift Article)
With Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as health secretary, what was once a fringe movement now controls the halls of power.
www.nytimes.com
March 30, 2025 at 12:42 AM
On "alternative" medicine:
"And so while she agreed to undergo surgery to excise her tumor, she declined to follow up with an oncologist. Instead, she began searching for alternatives."
Read to the end of the article.
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/29/o...
"And so while she agreed to undergo surgery to excise her tumor, she declined to follow up with an oncologist. Instead, she began searching for alternatives."
Read to the end of the article.
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/29/o...
The Sargent Schultz defense:
“I don’t know anything about it. I’m not a big fan of The Atlantic. It’s, to me, it’s a magazine that’s going out of business. I think it’s not much of a magazine. But I know nothing about it.”
“I don’t know anything about it. I’m not a big fan of The Atlantic. It’s, to me, it’s a magazine that’s going out of business. I think it’s not much of a magazine. But I know nothing about it.”
March 25, 2025 at 5:13 AM
The Sargent Schultz defense:
“I don’t know anything about it. I’m not a big fan of The Atlantic. It’s, to me, it’s a magazine that’s going out of business. I think it’s not much of a magazine. But I know nothing about it.”
“I don’t know anything about it. I’m not a big fan of The Atlantic. It’s, to me, it’s a magazine that’s going out of business. I think it’s not much of a magazine. But I know nothing about it.”
A gov't administration hiding what it's doing ... from the gov't itself.
SignalGate Is Bad; But OPSEC Isn’t Even the Worst Part Of It talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/signa...
SignalGate Is Bad; But OPSEC Isn’t Even the Worst Part Of It
I haven’t had time to comment on the Jeff Goldberg’s story about...
talkingpointsmemo.com
March 25, 2025 at 4:56 AM
A gov't administration hiding what it's doing ... from the gov't itself.
Reposted by Matthew Heaney
The Kremlin and other autocracies have long ached to see Voice of America and Radio Liberty destroyed, but even in their most fevered dreams, they could never have imagined that the Americans would do the dirty work themselves.
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
Another Gift From Trump to the World’s Dictators
Russia and China are surely thrilled by the president’s decision to close Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Marti, and Radio Free Asia.
www.theatlantic.com
March 18, 2025 at 4:11 PM
The Kremlin and other autocracies have long ached to see Voice of America and Radio Liberty destroyed, but even in their most fevered dreams, they could never have imagined that the Americans would do the dirty work themselves.
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
Isn't this what Trump accused Biden of doing?
Important. Either Trump is so far gone mentally he doesn’t know what he’s doing, or people are acting in his name without his knowledge. This was an order with enormous implications, and the President of the United States says he didn’t do it.
March 22, 2025 at 1:16 PM
Isn't this what Trump accused Biden of doing?
Reposted by Matthew Heaney
"Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few"
RIP, John Hemingway
www.bbc.com/news/article...
RIP, John Hemingway
www.bbc.com/news/article...
John Hemingway: Last surviving Battle of Britain pilot dies aged 105
Mr Hemingway, who is originally from Dublin, joined the RAF as a teenager before World War Two.
www.bbc.com
March 18, 2025 at 11:58 AM
"Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few"
RIP, John Hemingway
www.bbc.com/news/article...
RIP, John Hemingway
www.bbc.com/news/article...
"This finding is not meant to excuse Trump, the overt racism of many of his supporters, nor the very real harm they have caused. It is simply derived from decades of research. About a third of the population in Western countries is predisposed to authoritarianism..."
bit.ly/4hIrqVP
bit.ly/4hIrqVP
March 16, 2025 at 11:47 PM
"This finding is not meant to excuse Trump, the overt racism of many of his supporters, nor the very real harm they have caused. It is simply derived from decades of research. About a third of the population in Western countries is predisposed to authoritarianism..."
bit.ly/4hIrqVP
bit.ly/4hIrqVP
And each week, the Cut's astrology expert, also tries to prove that women are idiots.
Each week, the Cut’s astrology expert, Claire Comstock-Gay (aka Madame Clairevoyant), reads the weekly horoscope for every zodiac sign.
Your Weekly Horoscopes by Madame Clairevoyant: March 16–22
Each week, the Cut’s astrology expert, Claire Comstock-Gay (aka Madame Clairevoyant), reads the weekly horoscope for every zodiac sign.
www.thecut.com
March 16, 2025 at 11:27 AM
And each week, the Cut's astrology expert, also tries to prove that women are idiots.
Reposted by Matthew Heaney
A strong statement from the head of Voice of America, who points out that Trump‘s move to silence this important journalistic entity will help the tyrannical governments of Russia, China, Iran, and other repressive states. This is not America First; this is the abandonment of democracy.
March 16, 2025 at 3:07 AM
A strong statement from the head of Voice of America, who points out that Trump‘s move to silence this important journalistic entity will help the tyrannical governments of Russia, China, Iran, and other repressive states. This is not America First; this is the abandonment of democracy.
Hmm, so the cost of certain goods is lowered when they're imported.
Fancy that.
Fancy that.
US govt has asked Denmark if they can export eggs as Americans face surging egg prices. The request coincides with a raft of new US tariffs on countries, including in Europe -- and also threatened economic sanctions unless Denmark hands over control of Greenland www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
US turns to Denmark as it hunts for eggs despite Trump’s threat over Greenland
Danish Egg Association says US asked if it could export eggs as prices surge despite president’s promise to lower them
www.theguardian.com
March 16, 2025 at 2:20 AM
Hmm, so the cost of certain goods is lowered when they're imported.
Fancy that.
Fancy that.