I just realized today that the spending bills Congress approved include langage that is in effect a ban on all hemp-derived consumer products: gummies, edibles like brownies, beverages, tinctures, etc. It goes into effect in a year.

If we can’t get this repealed, it’ll make life harder for folks who rely on these products for pain management. And it will be devastating to people who grow and produce these products — like @fraying at Milk Barn Farm.

milkbarn.farm/

#uspol #hemp

Seed-to-Bottle CBD Products

Seed to bottle, full-spectrum, grown in the Oregon sun with zero pesticides or unnatural inputs.

^{Milk Barn Farm}

Fresh off its immigration raids into Los Angeles and Chicago, the Trump Department of Homeland Security has launched its operation in Charlotte and has New Orleans in its sights.

Why it matters: The high-profile operations have led to surges in arrests. But they've also galvanized local resistance efforts, and created a playbook for activists in other cities when ICE comes to town.
#AureFreePress #News #press #headline #GOP #Politics #uspolitics #uspol #Breaking

axios.com/2025/11/16/ice-raids…

ICE is pulling out of Chicago, for now.

In the process, they created patentently illegal, unconstitutional chaos.

The result? They detained 614 immigrants. Only 16 had any kind of criminal record.

commondreams.org/news/worst-of…

#uspol

'Worst of the Worst'? DOJ Figures Show 97.4% of 614 Detained Immigrants in Chicago Had No Criminal Record

Of 614 people on list who may have been unlawfully arrested and detained by federal officials, only 16 had a criminal record of any kind.

^{jon-queally (Common Dreams)}

A US Federal Judge ordered the release of the people DHS now plans to hold anyway, illegally under both US and International Law.

15 of the people arrested at Broadview yesterday were clergy, peacefully protesting; bringing assistance to and advocating for the downtrodden quite literally _is_ their job.

But DHS/ICE/CBP brings only lawlessness and violence.

DHS and all its components and collaborators are a clear and present danger to the American People and the US Constitution.

#USpol

The bastards were too busy focusing on Trump's Russia connection.

And the freaking liberals still pretend that it wasn't their fault that Trump got away with almost everything.

The stupid Blue MAGAts making me sick, blaming their disgusting inaction and criminal acts on others.

#USpol #BlueMAGA #Dumbfuckistan

#GiftArticle

They bought #HealthInsurance promoted by #Trump. Then they needed surgery.

The cheap #health #insurance promoted by Trump officials has a catch.

Some states have banned “short-term” insurance plans with limited coverage, & consumer advocates have warned of the drawbacks.

#law #scammers #affordability #healthcare #HealthcareCrisis #CostOfLiving #economy #HealthyIfYoureWealthy #Aporophobia #SocialCleansing #EconomicDiscrimination #plutocracy #policy #USpol
wapo.st/4oRpNtt

US may owe $1 trillion in refunds if SCOTUS cancels Trump tariffs.

arstechnica.com/tech-policy/20…

#usa #economy #uspol

US may owe $1 trillion in refunds if SCOTUS cancels Trump tariffs

Tech industry primed for big refunds if SCOTUS rules against Trump tariffs.

^{Ashley Belanger (Ars Technica)}

Petty little insecure man #Trump withdraws support for #MarjorieTaylorGreene

"I am withdrawing my support & endorsement of 'Congresswoman' Marjorie Taylor Greene, of the great state of #Georgia," Trump posted on Truth Social.

Greene, a member of the House of Representatives, has long been a reliable ally & fierce defender of Trump but in recent weeks she has taken positions at odds with the White House & some of her fellow #Republicans.

#USpol #GApol
reuters.com/world/us/trump-wit…

am sorry but Kash Patel always looks coked out of his mind.

propublica.org/article/fbi-kas…

#USpol #FBI

FBI Director Kash Patel Waived Polygraph Security Screening for Dan Bongino, Two Other Senior Staff

As the FBI’s deputy director, Bongino receives some of the country’s most sensitive secrets, including the President’s Daily Brief. His ascent to that position without passing a standard bureau background check is unprecedented, insiders say.

^{Alex.Bandoni@propublica.org (ProPublica)}

#TrumpRegime: reaches a new low, #immgrants are:⬆️risk of #deportations, even #children:
"BIA rules: IMM judges should gen🚨NOT delay removal proceedings for children eligible for Sp IMM Juvenile Status, simply bc the backlogs are lengthy -might take 4-5 yrs to get the visa.

Kafkaesque:💔BIA says: even a child adjudicated to be abused, abandoned, or neglected, already approved for a status that'll permit them to get a green card, should nonetheless be deported -bc of BLs."
-A R-Melnick
#DHS #USPol

"#Epstein’s human trafficking organization depended entirely on the wealth management industry (WMI). It was how he obtained the capital to build it, and it was how he hid his activities from the authorities. And none of this was an abuse of the industry; it is precisely how the WMI is designed to work. Nor is it an abuse of the law, because both American and international law has been carefully designed to accomodate the WMI."

#USPol #Politics #Wealth #Capitalism

jacobin.com/2025/11/epstein-tr…

Capitalism Enabled Jeffrey Epstein’s Crimes

The strategies Jeffrey Epstein used to hide the money funding his sex trafficking organization were perfectly legal. In fact, they are the same legal strategies that most of the top 0.1% uses to avoid taxes and other regulations.

^jacobin.com

MARK MY WORDS....

"After I had conversations with insiders, the consensus is that Trump will go to war against Venezuela if he can't tamp down the pedophile Jeffrey Epstein inquiry by the MAGA base.

Keep looking for Trump posts regarding Venezuela...

Trump WILL resort to using bombs to change the national dialog - keep your eyes on the SOUTH!"
- Aure

#AureFreePress #News #press #headline #GOP #Politics #uspolitics #uspol #Breaking #BreakingNews #Venezuela

Hm, I thought they only did satire?

#USPol #Trump

Paul Krugman writes about the Heritage Foundation and its descent into conspiracy-mongering and blatant bigotry.

"Heritage was never a respectable institution doing honest research. It was always in the business of telling lies on behalf of its wealthy supporters. But now it’s trying to turn itself into a MAGA/Groyper institution, less focused on telling economic lies and more focused on bigotry and conspiracy theories."

substack.com/home/post/p-17884…
#UsPol
1/n

The Decline and Fall of the Heritage Foundation

Its descent into conspiracy-mongering and blatant bigotry was utterly predictable

^{Paul Krugman}

New doco: "You can do anything". Israeli war crimes in Gaza: first-hand testimonies of Israeli soldiers

"People don’t think about it,” one soldier says. “Because if you do think about it, you’ll want to kill yourself."

“When you take a moment to try and think about it, you want to scream."

~Doco: Breaking Ranks: Inside Israel’s War

aljazeera.com/news/2025/11/11/…

dailymotion.com/video/x9tres6

#israeliCrimes #USPol #WesternComplicity #USCoPerpetrator #Europol #racism #zionism #palestine @palestine .

‘You can do anything’: Israeli war crimes in Gaza aired in UK documentary

The new film featuring firsthand testimonies of Israeli soldiers in Gaza reveals patterns of systematic abuse.

^{Simon Speakman Cordall (Al Jazeera)}

Report: The US knew that Israel used Palestinians as human shields in Gaza

"Israeli officials discussed how their soldiers sent Palestinians into tunnels in Gaza that the Israelis believed were potentially lined with explosives."

"The information was shared with the White House & analysed by the intelligence community" during the Biden administration.

aljazeera.com/news/2025/11/13/…

#USPol #Europol #GazaGenocide #Palestine #news #humanShields #USCoPerpetration #IsraeliCrimes @palestine .

US knew Israeli officials discussed use of human shields in Gaza: Report

Israel has repeatedly been accused of using Palestinians as human shields in violation of international law.

^{Al Jazeera}

Saying goodbye to comet A6 Lemmon. It's getting very low, and clouds are increasing in southern New Mexico.

It was a remarkable run of many clear nights.

This is a single exposure on a fixed tripod.

There's a blurred silhouette of a power line, and satellite trails in this image. They belong in the frame because this is the world we have created. It's getting increasingly difficult to escape to pristine nature.

Perhaps the phrase 'pristine nature' is now an oxymoron?

When is the first No Kings General Strike?

We all need to help with community building and boosting civic engagement. These activities have atrophied for decades, and it shows.

#NewMexico #Comet #Photography #Astrophotography #Technology #Astronomy #Science #Nature #Politics #USpol #Fascism #MAGA #ClimateChange #Trump #Musk #Anthropocene

I had no business watching this video (because I don't want to be sold window blinds—I stopped at the time stamp linked) that purports to be a discussion of what Democrats should do. The host Jon Podcast & Fox News liberal agree that watching Fox is fun! Because they have great graphics & don't take things so seriously. Ummm. They literally catastrophize every issue. The only things that they don't take seriously are the value of human life.

youtu.be/cTl_kGTj7j4?t=17m

#uspol

#USpol
👉When the Tail Wags The Dog👈

#Epstein-Files: Will the real-life #US President soon resort to emulate his fictional predecessor?

"#Illinois Gov #JBPritzker says he’s worried how #Trump might respond 2 the growing controversy over his ties 2 #Epstein.
“My great fear...is that...the release of that information, which...will be devastating 4 Trump,...he might take us 2 #war w/ #Venezuela just 2 get a distraction in the news & take it out of the headlines.”

apnews.com/article/pritzker-tr…

Link to Epstein emails if you so desire.

#USPol

oversightdemocrats.house.gov/n…

House Oversight Committee Releases Jeffrey Epstein Email Correspondence, Raising Questions About White House Coverup of Epstein Files

Washington, D.C. — Today, Oversight Democrats and Ranking Member Robert Garcia released never-before-seen emails from the latest production from Jeffrey Epstein’s Estate, striking a blow against the White House’s Epstein cover-up.

^{The Committee on Oversight and Accountability Democrats}

#USPol #TaxPolicy

#Major-elect #ZoranMamdani on financing the #WealfareState of #NYC:

youtube.com/shorts/MstDsOWTi58

Lessons for socialists and social-democrats around the globe?

Maine Senator Angus King (pictured here in his younger days) and other Democratic senators responsible for the cave are offering revealing statements. King lets it be known that he thinks standing up to Trump doesn't work. (I hope Maine voters think otherwise.) Tim Kaine of Virginia has revealed which suffering he's comfortable tolerating. I talk about Kaine & political comfort in a short video at youtu.be/Xexh82oKilg — sorry I don't have a fedi video home yet.

#USPol #video

What the rich fear most: free education

"The primary function of the government is to protect the minority of the opulent from the majority of the poor". James Madison

Reagan, as governor of California, defeated a push to provide free college education. A Reagan advisor said:

"We are in danger of producing an educated proletariat. That's dynamite. We have to be selective on who we allow to go through".

revolutionaryleftradio.libsyn.…

#USPol #Europol #PowellMemo #Reagan #racism #neoliberalism .

"To Be Hungry Already Means That You Want To Be Free" — J.-P. Sartre

jstor.org/stable/23510952

#uspol #fascism #justice #scotus #hunger #nokings

Prof. Peter Coviello ends with -

"It’s not that those things don’t matter: they absolutely goddamn do, and will keep on mattering, and I wouldn’t go on with the whole tedious business of teaching if I thought otherwise. It’s just that they never mattered much to the Times and they are, to appearances, mattering less and less by the day. I should remember that, and so should you."

lithub.com/maybe-dont-talk-to-…
#UsPol
3/n

More from the wonderful and insightful essay by Prof. Peter Coviello -

"And he managed to write that story, which appeared in the Times less than a week before the mayoral election, under the anodyne title “How a Small Elite College Influenced Mamdani’s World View.” It’s a wreck, but of a form so pure, so purely Timesian, you almost have to admire it. It certainly is instructive."

lithub.com/maybe-dont-talk-to-…
#UsPol
3/n

More from the article by Prof. Peter Coviello -

"Beneath its humdrum requests, every email said more or less the same thing: Can you explain how reading certain things can turn a person into a socialist—and, possibly, a terrorist-sympathizing antisemite? It’s a storied gambit of the right at its most grimly predictable. "

lithub.com/maybe-dont-talk-to-…
#UsPol
2/n

Maybe Don’t Talk to the New York Times About Zohran Mamdani

It’s remarkable, the people you’ll hear from. Teach for even a little while at an expensive institution—the term they tend to prefer is “elite”—and odds are that eventually someone who was a studen…

^{Literary Hub}

What a beautifully written scathing piece on the NYT and the insidious "conservative" media by Prof. Peter Coviello.

"I taught at a place called Bowdoin College for 16 years, and during the last of those there was a student in attendance you’ve perhaps heard of. His name is Zohran Mamdani. And so, shortly after his startling, spirit-lifting victory in the primary last spring, the gentle flood of inquiries commenced."

lithub.com/maybe-dont-talk-to-…
#UsPol
1/n

Maybe Don’t Talk to the New York Times About Zohran Mamdani

It’s remarkable, the people you’ll hear from. Teach for even a little while at an expensive institution—the term they tend to prefer is “elite”—and odds are that eventually someone who was a studen…

^{Literary Hub}

#uspol #ushealthcare #theguardian_us

Opinion piece in the Guardian that nails our need for Medicare For All All.

theguardian.com/business/2025/…

I’m as capitalist as they get but Medicare for all is the best hope for US healthcare

With the US government shut down over impending rises to insurance premiums it’s clear the status quo cannot continue

^{Gene Marks (The Guardian)}

These fuckers are completely detached from reality. Cartoonishly despotic.

apnews.com/article/snap-benefi…

#trump #uspol

Why do too many (Anglophone) centrist-leftish parties feel so hollow?

Geoff Mulgan thinks it’s
- tactics over strategy
- incumbency bias
- business capture
- a loss of connection to the Arts and culture
- a low energy equilibrium when communicating with voters and activists

Whatever you think of his ideas, you can’t accuse Zohran Mamdani of any of this.

geoffmulgan.substack.com/p/hol…

#Politics #FarRight #UKPol #USPol #Labour #EUpol #ZohranMamdani

Hollowed out: can the centre hold?

Can the centre hold and resist the far right?

^{Geoff Mulgan (Geoff’s Substack)}

No, the White House has no plan for health care. abcnews.go.com/Politics/bessen…

#politics #democrats #USPol

Bessent says no formal White House health care proposal as shutdown drags on

He hedged when asked about the president's push to end the filibuster.

^{Nicholas Kerr (ABC News)}

"To be neutral is to have a political position." -- Raoul Peck

salon.com/2025/11/08/at-yale-u…

#USPol
#Yale
#Orwell

At Yale University, things are getting Orwellian

As a Yale student, I see the university’s double-speak on “institutional neutrality” as dangerous

^{Zachary Clifton (Salon.com)}

#DonaldTheDeplorable is going his damned best to turn the #UnitedStates into another #Russia. #Qanon in the #Kremlin is celebrating the ‘success’ of Agent #Krasnov.

#Project2025 , #American#Carnage2.0, #USpol #kakistocracy , whatever you want to call it, it is all just the means of achieving the *same* underlying goal; #Russia taking revenge on the #UnitedStates for the disintegration of the #SovietUnion after losing losing the #ColdWar.