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marmar
marmar's Journal
marmar's Journal
July 16, 2025
Rule of loyalists: Emil Bove would be the perfect Trumpian judge
A reckless judicial nominee who would serve Trump's agenda instead of the rule of law
By Austin Sarat
Published July 16, 2025 6:30AM (EDT)
(Salon) Canaries in coal mines are used to test the air. Because they are more sensitive to deadly gases than humans, if they die in the mine, they provide an early warning sign of danger.
....(snip)....
In late May, Trump made another move familiar in the modern autocratic playbook when he nominated Emil Bove III to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Third Circuit. Bove, who served as Trump’s defense lawyer in two of his criminal trials, has shown himself to be an eager MAGA spear carrier. The president previously rewarded his loyalty by appointing him to serve in the Department of Justice.
....(snip)....
In April, Trump claimed that judges who issued unfavorable rulings against his administration were guilty of exhibiting “political bias and judicial overreach.” He told supporters, “We cannot allow a handful of communist radical-left judges to obstruct the enforcement of our laws and assume the duties that belong solely to the president of the United States.”
Apparently, ends-oriented judging is only good when the president approves of the ends a judge serves. And in Emil Bove, he has found a judicial nominee who will serve the president’s agenda. ..................(more)
https://www.salon.com/2025/07/16/rule-of-loyalists-emil-bove-would-be-the-perfect-trumpian-judge/
Rule of loyalists: Emil Bove would be the perfect Trumpian judge
Rule of loyalists: Emil Bove would be the perfect Trumpian judge
A reckless judicial nominee who would serve Trump's agenda instead of the rule of law
By Austin Sarat
Published July 16, 2025 6:30AM (EDT)
(Salon) Canaries in coal mines are used to test the air. Because they are more sensitive to deadly gases than humans, if they die in the mine, they provide an early warning sign of danger.
....(snip)....
In late May, Trump made another move familiar in the modern autocratic playbook when he nominated Emil Bove III to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Third Circuit. Bove, who served as Trump’s defense lawyer in two of his criminal trials, has shown himself to be an eager MAGA spear carrier. The president previously rewarded his loyalty by appointing him to serve in the Department of Justice.
....(snip)....
In April, Trump claimed that judges who issued unfavorable rulings against his administration were guilty of exhibiting “political bias and judicial overreach.” He told supporters, “We cannot allow a handful of communist radical-left judges to obstruct the enforcement of our laws and assume the duties that belong solely to the president of the United States.”
Apparently, ends-oriented judging is only good when the president approves of the ends a judge serves. And in Emil Bove, he has found a judicial nominee who will serve the president’s agenda. ..................(more)
https://www.salon.com/2025/07/16/rule-of-loyalists-emil-bove-would-be-the-perfect-trumpian-judge/
July 16, 2025
Why House Republicans voted for the Epstein cover-up
Despite their smokescreens, Republican leaders still support Trump's efforts to hide the truth
By Amanda Marcotte
Senior Writer
Published July 16, 2025 6:45AM (EDT)
(Salon)
One usually thinks of cover-ups as secret affairs conducted behind closed doors, but Donald Trump is running the conspiracy to kill the Jeffrey Epstein files right out in the open. Despite Trump and his allies promising for years that they would release all the Justice Department documents on the infamous sex trafficker, now that he’s in the White House, Trump has very much changed his mind.
It’s not surprising. He was close friends with Epstein, who raped and abused hundreds of underage girls and young women. While it’s unlikely Trump has specific knowledge of what the Justice Department has in its unreleased case files, he seems worried about what is in them, considering how often he partied with Epstein throughout their years of friendship. This makes it all the more remarkable that Trump is orchestrating the cover-up in public.
....(snip)....
It’s a testament to this deep emotional need that House Republicans are still pretending they want to release the Epstein files, even as they do everything in their power to help Trump suppress them. On Tuesday, the Jeff Bezos-owned Washington Post released a story with a wildly misleading headline: “Speaker Mike Johnson and other Republicans break with Trump on Epstein.” This is false. As the story acknowledges four paragraphs in, Johnson “opposed a procedural motion advanced on Tuesday by Democrats that would have set up a House vote to release them.” He also voted against releasing the Epstein files. But he is claiming he wants “transparency,” even as he fights for censorship.
....(snip)....
As long as the “Epstein files” existed more in the realm of fantasy, right-wingers could enjoy role-playing the avenging heroes without the worry that it could come back to haunt them. Trump’s freakout, however, took this out of the world of QAnon-style fever dreams and instead pointed to his court-adjudicated history of sexual violence. It’s fun for MAGA to pretend to go after imaginary — or, in Epstein’s case, dead — rapists. But when it comes to real-life sexual predators, especially if they’re privileged white men, MAGA knows what to do: Deny, defend, minimize and protect. They’ve been doing this on Trump’s behalf for a decade now, and his defensive behavior around Epstein was a signal that they should go into shield-the-dirtbag mode. .................(more)
https://www.salon.com/2025/07/16/why-house-republicans-voted-for-the-epstein-cover-up/
Why House Republicans voted for the Epstein cover-up
Why House Republicans voted for the Epstein cover-up
Despite their smokescreens, Republican leaders still support Trump's efforts to hide the truth
By Amanda Marcotte
Senior Writer
Published July 16, 2025 6:45AM (EDT)
(Salon)
Update: Since this was filed, Charlie Kirk has abandoned his pledge to stop talking about Epstein and has returned to the topic. It is further proof that MAGA influencers are torn between their love of conspiracy theories and their desire to cover for Trump.
One usually thinks of cover-ups as secret affairs conducted behind closed doors, but Donald Trump is running the conspiracy to kill the Jeffrey Epstein files right out in the open. Despite Trump and his allies promising for years that they would release all the Justice Department documents on the infamous sex trafficker, now that he’s in the White House, Trump has very much changed his mind.
It’s not surprising. He was close friends with Epstein, who raped and abused hundreds of underage girls and young women. While it’s unlikely Trump has specific knowledge of what the Justice Department has in its unreleased case files, he seems worried about what is in them, considering how often he partied with Epstein throughout their years of friendship. This makes it all the more remarkable that Trump is orchestrating the cover-up in public.
....(snip)....
It’s a testament to this deep emotional need that House Republicans are still pretending they want to release the Epstein files, even as they do everything in their power to help Trump suppress them. On Tuesday, the Jeff Bezos-owned Washington Post released a story with a wildly misleading headline: “Speaker Mike Johnson and other Republicans break with Trump on Epstein.” This is false. As the story acknowledges four paragraphs in, Johnson “opposed a procedural motion advanced on Tuesday by Democrats that would have set up a House vote to release them.” He also voted against releasing the Epstein files. But he is claiming he wants “transparency,” even as he fights for censorship.
....(snip)....
As long as the “Epstein files” existed more in the realm of fantasy, right-wingers could enjoy role-playing the avenging heroes without the worry that it could come back to haunt them. Trump’s freakout, however, took this out of the world of QAnon-style fever dreams and instead pointed to his court-adjudicated history of sexual violence. It’s fun for MAGA to pretend to go after imaginary — or, in Epstein’s case, dead — rapists. But when it comes to real-life sexual predators, especially if they’re privileged white men, MAGA knows what to do: Deny, defend, minimize and protect. They’ve been doing this on Trump’s behalf for a decade now, and his defensive behavior around Epstein was a signal that they should go into shield-the-dirtbag mode. .................(more)
https://www.salon.com/2025/07/16/why-house-republicans-voted-for-the-epstein-cover-up/
July 16, 2025
Donald Trump goes nuclear in the GOP’s war on science
Billions of dollars of cuts in research are leaving lives at stake
By Heather Digby Parton
Columnist
Published July 16, 2025 9:16AM (EDT)
(Salon) One hundred years ago this month, the Scopes trial was held in Dayton, Tenn. For 11 days, jurors heard arguments about John Scopes, a high school teacher who had taught the theory of evolution in apparent violation of the Butler Act, a state law that made it illegal for public school teachers to introduce theories that contradicted the Biblical creation story. The trial, which featured celebrated attorneys Clarence Darrow defending Scopes and erstwhile presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan leading the prosecution, was widely publicized and sparked a national conversation about the tensions between science and religion — and government’s role between the two. Then, as now, the controversy was fed by a sense of paranoia and social anxiety over rapid cultural change. In the end, Scopes was convicted, which was later overturned on appeal. But the case took on legendary status, being dramatized in the play and film “Inherit the Wind,” and despite Scopes’ conviction, coming to be seen as a significant victory for science.
Since then, the right-wing in America has intermittently conducted an assault on science that, with the ascent of the religious right, gelled into an all-out war around the early 1980s. Many conservatives have, over the last 40 years, opposed AIDS research, stem cell research, basic facts about climate change — and legislation to address it — and measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Under President Donald Trump, the GOP has decided to go nuclear. The federal government’s support of science and medicine is being systematically destroyed by devastating cuts to research, agencies and staff. It seems the administration and its allies in Congress want to set the United States back a century — back to the time of the Scopes trial.
....(snip)....
The disastrous cuts to science and medicine are happening at all levels of the federal government, and they are impacting every agency. Especially catastrophic, for the lives of millions both in the U.S. and around the world, is what’s happening with biomedical research. ...............(more)
https://www.salon.com/2025/07/16/donald-trump-goes-nuclear-in-the-gops-war-on-science/
Donald Trump goes nuclear in the GOP's war on science
Donald Trump goes nuclear in the GOP’s war on science
Billions of dollars of cuts in research are leaving lives at stake
By Heather Digby Parton
Columnist
Published July 16, 2025 9:16AM (EDT)
(Salon) One hundred years ago this month, the Scopes trial was held in Dayton, Tenn. For 11 days, jurors heard arguments about John Scopes, a high school teacher who had taught the theory of evolution in apparent violation of the Butler Act, a state law that made it illegal for public school teachers to introduce theories that contradicted the Biblical creation story. The trial, which featured celebrated attorneys Clarence Darrow defending Scopes and erstwhile presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan leading the prosecution, was widely publicized and sparked a national conversation about the tensions between science and religion — and government’s role between the two. Then, as now, the controversy was fed by a sense of paranoia and social anxiety over rapid cultural change. In the end, Scopes was convicted, which was later overturned on appeal. But the case took on legendary status, being dramatized in the play and film “Inherit the Wind,” and despite Scopes’ conviction, coming to be seen as a significant victory for science.
Since then, the right-wing in America has intermittently conducted an assault on science that, with the ascent of the religious right, gelled into an all-out war around the early 1980s. Many conservatives have, over the last 40 years, opposed AIDS research, stem cell research, basic facts about climate change — and legislation to address it — and measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Under President Donald Trump, the GOP has decided to go nuclear. The federal government’s support of science and medicine is being systematically destroyed by devastating cuts to research, agencies and staff. It seems the administration and its allies in Congress want to set the United States back a century — back to the time of the Scopes trial.
....(snip)....
The disastrous cuts to science and medicine are happening at all levels of the federal government, and they are impacting every agency. Especially catastrophic, for the lives of millions both in the U.S. and around the world, is what’s happening with biomedical research. ...............(more)
https://www.salon.com/2025/07/16/donald-trump-goes-nuclear-in-the-gops-war-on-science/
July 16, 2025
Asylum-seeker Andry José Hernández Romero hasn't been heard from in 4 months despite never being accused of a crime
By Charles R. Davis
News Editor
Published July 16, 2025 6:00AM (EDT)
(Salon) He wept and prayed as the guard shaved his head, calling for his mother and proclaiming his innocence. Just a few months earlier, Andry José Hernández Romero had applied for asylum, citing the conditions he faced as a gay man and political dissident in Venezuela, a country that the U.S. government and its allies all deem to be an authoritarian, repressive threat to its own citizens. But now he was just a warm body to be paraded before the cameras — just content to be clicked or scrolled past on someone’s phone.
To his family, Andry was an actor, hair stylist and loving son, his dedication to mom and dad tattooed on his arms. To the Trump administration, he was an object that could be used in an ongoing, callous propaganda campaign, his brutalization serving as an advertisement for the president’s war on immigration. His very devotion to his family was used against him, his tattoos reinterpreted as evidence of loyalty to a gang, Tren de Aragua, that does not use tattoos to signify membership.
....(snip)....
Melissa Shepard, legal services director at Immigrant Defenders Law Center, told Salon that her organization began representing Andry on a pro bono basis in December 2024. At the time he was being held at the Otay Mesa Detention Center, a privately-run prison along the U.S.-Mexico border. He had applied for asylum the right way — by scheduling an appointment and presenting himself at a port of entry — and yet was languishing behind bars. In March 2025, seemingly out of nowhere, it got so much worse.
“We say ‘disappeared’ — ‘disappeared to El Salvador,’ because that’s essentially what it is,” Shepard said in an interview. No one has spoken to Andry since March 14; not his family, not his legal team. In the four months since he was labeled a criminal and sentenced to de facto life in prison, without charge or trial or indeed anything approaching due process, the only evidence that he is in El Salvador are the images of him being abused the day that he arrived. The U.S. government has refused to release the names of the people it sent to CECOT, claiming they are now wards of El Salvador, even after it begrudgingly had Kilmar Abrego Garcia returned to the U.S. for a face-saving prosecution; in turn, El Salvador has insisted the 238 Venezuelans we know were sent to CECOT are indeed the responsibility of the Trump administration. ...................(more)
https://www.salon.com/2025/07/16/trump-admin-disappeared-a-gay-stylist-for-propaganda-he-hasnt-been-heard-from-since/
Trump admin "disappeared" a gay stylist for propaganda. He hasn't been heard from since
Trump admin “disappeared” a gay stylist for propaganda. He hasn’t been heard from sinceAsylum-seeker Andry José Hernández Romero hasn't been heard from in 4 months despite never being accused of a crime
By Charles R. Davis
News Editor
Published July 16, 2025 6:00AM (EDT)
(Salon) He wept and prayed as the guard shaved his head, calling for his mother and proclaiming his innocence. Just a few months earlier, Andry José Hernández Romero had applied for asylum, citing the conditions he faced as a gay man and political dissident in Venezuela, a country that the U.S. government and its allies all deem to be an authoritarian, repressive threat to its own citizens. But now he was just a warm body to be paraded before the cameras — just content to be clicked or scrolled past on someone’s phone.
To his family, Andry was an actor, hair stylist and loving son, his dedication to mom and dad tattooed on his arms. To the Trump administration, he was an object that could be used in an ongoing, callous propaganda campaign, his brutalization serving as an advertisement for the president’s war on immigration. His very devotion to his family was used against him, his tattoos reinterpreted as evidence of loyalty to a gang, Tren de Aragua, that does not use tattoos to signify membership.
....(snip)....
Melissa Shepard, legal services director at Immigrant Defenders Law Center, told Salon that her organization began representing Andry on a pro bono basis in December 2024. At the time he was being held at the Otay Mesa Detention Center, a privately-run prison along the U.S.-Mexico border. He had applied for asylum the right way — by scheduling an appointment and presenting himself at a port of entry — and yet was languishing behind bars. In March 2025, seemingly out of nowhere, it got so much worse.
“We say ‘disappeared’ — ‘disappeared to El Salvador,’ because that’s essentially what it is,” Shepard said in an interview. No one has spoken to Andry since March 14; not his family, not his legal team. In the four months since he was labeled a criminal and sentenced to de facto life in prison, without charge or trial or indeed anything approaching due process, the only evidence that he is in El Salvador are the images of him being abused the day that he arrived. The U.S. government has refused to release the names of the people it sent to CECOT, claiming they are now wards of El Salvador, even after it begrudgingly had Kilmar Abrego Garcia returned to the U.S. for a face-saving prosecution; in turn, El Salvador has insisted the 238 Venezuelans we know were sent to CECOT are indeed the responsibility of the Trump administration. ...................(more)
https://www.salon.com/2025/07/16/trump-admin-disappeared-a-gay-stylist-for-propaganda-he-hasnt-been-heard-from-since/
July 16, 2025
Legal experts say concealing the identity of someone in open court is unheard of and cause for concern
By Cheyenne McNeill
National Affairs Fellow
Published July 15, 2025 5:09PM (EDT)
(Salon) People working for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement aren’t just hiding their faces on the streets of American cities. They’re also remaining anonymous in court.
According to a new report from The Intercept, judges are declining to identify attorneys working for ICE during deportation proceedings spurred on by the agency. At one hearing, the oulet noted that the judge stated her own name, the name of the immigrants facing deportation, and the name of their attorneys, but failed to identify the ICE attorney.
“We’re not really doing names publicly,” an immigration judge in New York City, ShaSha Xu, said during a hearing in June.
....(snip)....
Elissa Steglich, a law professor and co-director of the Immigration Clinic at the University of Texas at Austin, told The Intercept that concealing identities in the courtroom is an oddity.
“I’ve never heard of someone in open court not being identified,” Steglich said. “Part of the court’s ethical obligation is transparency, including clear identification of the parties. Not identifying an attorney for the government means if there are unethical or professional concerns regarding [the Department of Homeland Security], the individual cannot be held accountable. And it makes the judge appear partial to the government.” ..............(more)
https://www.salon.com/2025/07/15/spineless-creeps-ice-lawyers-are-hiding-their-names-in-court/
ICE lawyers are hiding their names
“Spineless creeps”: ICE lawyers are hiding their names in courtLegal experts say concealing the identity of someone in open court is unheard of and cause for concern
By Cheyenne McNeill
National Affairs Fellow
Published July 15, 2025 5:09PM (EDT)
(Salon) People working for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement aren’t just hiding their faces on the streets of American cities. They’re also remaining anonymous in court.
According to a new report from The Intercept, judges are declining to identify attorneys working for ICE during deportation proceedings spurred on by the agency. At one hearing, the oulet noted that the judge stated her own name, the name of the immigrants facing deportation, and the name of their attorneys, but failed to identify the ICE attorney.
“We’re not really doing names publicly,” an immigration judge in New York City, ShaSha Xu, said during a hearing in June.
....(snip)....
Elissa Steglich, a law professor and co-director of the Immigration Clinic at the University of Texas at Austin, told The Intercept that concealing identities in the courtroom is an oddity.
“I’ve never heard of someone in open court not being identified,” Steglich said. “Part of the court’s ethical obligation is transparency, including clear identification of the parties. Not identifying an attorney for the government means if there are unethical or professional concerns regarding [the Department of Homeland Security], the individual cannot be held accountable. And it makes the judge appear partial to the government.” ..............(more)
https://www.salon.com/2025/07/15/spineless-creeps-ice-lawyers-are-hiding-their-names-in-court/
July 15, 2025
(Slate) On Monday, the Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to move forward with its abolition of the Education Department by firing about 1,400 employees. Many of these workers performed critical tasks at the agency, distributing billions of dollars to schools and students while protecting civil rights and disability access in education. Much of that work will now grind to a halt. By law, the president has no authority to unilaterally restructure or dismantle a federal agency, like the Education Department, created and funded by Congress. The Supreme Court’s conservatives allowed Trump to do it anyway. They did not bother to provide a reason for their order. All three liberals dissented.
Monday’s decision in McMahon v. New York represents the Supreme Court’s latest intervention on the administration’s behalf over its shadow docket, an act that’s grown almost routine. The conservative supermajority has consistently exploited this process to hand Trump an unprecedented amount of power, usually without a word of explanation. But McMahon is arguably more radical than those past rulings. SCOTUS has now, in effect, allowed the president to destroy an entire agency by himself, an action that would’ve been unthinkable for most of history. The conservative justices are accelerating this administration’s lawless seizure of duties and prerogatives that the Constitution expressly assigned to Congress. They are doing so after sharply limiting President Joe Biden’s power to carry out responsibilities that are assigned to the president.
This split-screen reveals an unseemly double standard: A Republican president gets to do pretty much whatever he wants, while a Democratic president must be constantly boxed in by the courts. And what is the basis for this discrepancy? Thanks to the shadow docket, the conservative justices don’t even have to come up with one. Perhaps they refuse to justify these decisions in writing for the simple reason that they are unjustifiable.
McMahon is the latest proof that Trump is on an extraordinary winning spree at the Supreme Court. As Georgetown Law Prof. Steve Vladeck explained on Monday, the court has granted relief to the Trump administration in 100 percent of the 15 emergency applications it has filed since April. (It offered majority opinions in just three of those cases.) Just last week, SCOTUS allowed the government to begin implementing a mass-firing plan across many different agencies. Now it has rubber-stamped a more targeted attack on the Education Department, one with devastating consequences for millions of student across the country. ...............(more)
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2025/07/supreme-court-trump-department-of-education-disaster.html
The Supreme Court's Latest Gift to Trump Is a Dark Turning Point
(Slate) On Monday, the Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to move forward with its abolition of the Education Department by firing about 1,400 employees. Many of these workers performed critical tasks at the agency, distributing billions of dollars to schools and students while protecting civil rights and disability access in education. Much of that work will now grind to a halt. By law, the president has no authority to unilaterally restructure or dismantle a federal agency, like the Education Department, created and funded by Congress. The Supreme Court’s conservatives allowed Trump to do it anyway. They did not bother to provide a reason for their order. All three liberals dissented.
Monday’s decision in McMahon v. New York represents the Supreme Court’s latest intervention on the administration’s behalf over its shadow docket, an act that’s grown almost routine. The conservative supermajority has consistently exploited this process to hand Trump an unprecedented amount of power, usually without a word of explanation. But McMahon is arguably more radical than those past rulings. SCOTUS has now, in effect, allowed the president to destroy an entire agency by himself, an action that would’ve been unthinkable for most of history. The conservative justices are accelerating this administration’s lawless seizure of duties and prerogatives that the Constitution expressly assigned to Congress. They are doing so after sharply limiting President Joe Biden’s power to carry out responsibilities that are assigned to the president.
This split-screen reveals an unseemly double standard: A Republican president gets to do pretty much whatever he wants, while a Democratic president must be constantly boxed in by the courts. And what is the basis for this discrepancy? Thanks to the shadow docket, the conservative justices don’t even have to come up with one. Perhaps they refuse to justify these decisions in writing for the simple reason that they are unjustifiable.
McMahon is the latest proof that Trump is on an extraordinary winning spree at the Supreme Court. As Georgetown Law Prof. Steve Vladeck explained on Monday, the court has granted relief to the Trump administration in 100 percent of the 15 emergency applications it has filed since April. (It offered majority opinions in just three of those cases.) Just last week, SCOTUS allowed the government to begin implementing a mass-firing plan across many different agencies. Now it has rubber-stamped a more targeted attack on the Education Department, one with devastating consequences for millions of student across the country. ...............(more)
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2025/07/supreme-court-trump-department-of-education-disaster.html
July 15, 2025
(Detroit Free Press) Big price hikes are coming again next year to health insurance premiums in Michigan for businesses and individuals.
A new report from the Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services shows that health insurance plans covering nearly 950,000 Michiganders are seeking regulators' approval for double-digit rate increases for 2026.
The proposed premium increases would average 16.8% for individuals policies, including those sold on the Healthcare.gov website, which some call "Obamacare." That is a bigger request than last year's average 10.9% rate increase that was ultimately approved.
For small group policies — those for businesses and organizations with fewer than 51 employees — the average rate increase would be 11.1%, or slightly more than last year's 11.3% increase. .................(more)
https://www.freep.com/story/money/business/michigan/2025/07/15/michigan-health-insurers-seek-more-double-digit-rate-hikes/85192789007/
Michigan health insurers seek more double digit rate hikes for 2026
(Detroit Free Press) Big price hikes are coming again next year to health insurance premiums in Michigan for businesses and individuals.
A new report from the Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services shows that health insurance plans covering nearly 950,000 Michiganders are seeking regulators' approval for double-digit rate increases for 2026.
The proposed premium increases would average 16.8% for individuals policies, including those sold on the Healthcare.gov website, which some call "Obamacare." That is a bigger request than last year's average 10.9% rate increase that was ultimately approved.
For small group policies — those for businesses and organizations with fewer than 51 employees — the average rate increase would be 11.1%, or slightly more than last year's 11.3% increase. .................(more)
https://www.freep.com/story/money/business/michigan/2025/07/15/michigan-health-insurers-seek-more-double-digit-rate-hikes/85192789007/
July 15, 2025
Glamorizing fascists isn’t “Outrageous” — it’s gross
There couldn’t be a worse time for Nazi worship dressed up as aristocratic whimsy
By Andi Zeisler
Senior Writer
Published July 15, 2025 9:00AM (EDT)
(Salon) The Mitford sisters have been called the Kardashians of their time, and it’s an apt comparison: Though three of them would go on to become authors, all were famous long before they’d done much of anything. They were daughters of a baron, cousins of the Churchills, and came of age in the UK between the wars, coddled in carefree privilege. An endless source of fascination for the society press, the Mitfords possessed cutting wit, a passel of nicknames for one another, and the kind of eccentricities that are considered delightful so long as they come with a deep pedigree.
....(snip)....
As breathlessly as the sisters were chronicled in their lifetimes, their cultural afterlife has been particularly tenacious. Nancy’s novels have been adapted into BBC programs, while “Downton Abbey”’s pitiless Lady Violet is rumored to have been based on the author herself. Diana appears as a character in “Peaky Blinders.” In 2017, Gucci debuted a navy sweater reading “Never Marry a Mitford,” a direct reference to the husband of youngest sister Deborah — Andrew Cavendish, the Duke of Devonshire, apparently had a taste for custom-knit slogan sweaters.
....(snip)....
Because right now, the United States, a country that built its myths of rugged individualism on rejecting the British monarchy, has a leader who acts like a king. Right now, masked men who may or may not be ICE agents are snatching people who they believe “look like immigrants” off the streets and whisking them away in unmarked vans. Right now, the richest man in the world has made some adjustments to his global social network’s AI bot because users complained that it was being too woke. Right now, that bot is calling itself “MechaHitler.”
So I don’t think it’s controversial to suggest that this is not the moment to try and make Manic Pixie Dream Fascists happen. Nor is it the moment to have the official copy for the show coyly lauding the Mitfords as “unapologetically bold” mavericks who “defied convention” — it might be technically true, but the phrasing is willfully disingenuous given the show’s focus. It’s surely not the moment to portray the leader of the British Union of Fascists as an absolute snack. Unity’s obsession with Hitler highlights that his power was alluring enough; Oswald Mosley, by contrast, is blessed with the physique of a Greek statue and the bearing of Errol Flynn. ....................(more)
https://www.salon.com/2025/07/15/glamorizing-fascists-isnt-outrageous-its-gross/
Glamorizing fascists isn't "Outrageous" -- it's gross
Glamorizing fascists isn’t “Outrageous” — it’s gross
There couldn’t be a worse time for Nazi worship dressed up as aristocratic whimsy
By Andi Zeisler
Senior Writer
Published July 15, 2025 9:00AM (EDT)
(Salon) The Mitford sisters have been called the Kardashians of their time, and it’s an apt comparison: Though three of them would go on to become authors, all were famous long before they’d done much of anything. They were daughters of a baron, cousins of the Churchills, and came of age in the UK between the wars, coddled in carefree privilege. An endless source of fascination for the society press, the Mitfords possessed cutting wit, a passel of nicknames for one another, and the kind of eccentricities that are considered delightful so long as they come with a deep pedigree.
....(snip)....
As breathlessly as the sisters were chronicled in their lifetimes, their cultural afterlife has been particularly tenacious. Nancy’s novels have been adapted into BBC programs, while “Downton Abbey”’s pitiless Lady Violet is rumored to have been based on the author herself. Diana appears as a character in “Peaky Blinders.” In 2017, Gucci debuted a navy sweater reading “Never Marry a Mitford,” a direct reference to the husband of youngest sister Deborah — Andrew Cavendish, the Duke of Devonshire, apparently had a taste for custom-knit slogan sweaters.
....(snip)....
Because right now, the United States, a country that built its myths of rugged individualism on rejecting the British monarchy, has a leader who acts like a king. Right now, masked men who may or may not be ICE agents are snatching people who they believe “look like immigrants” off the streets and whisking them away in unmarked vans. Right now, the richest man in the world has made some adjustments to his global social network’s AI bot because users complained that it was being too woke. Right now, that bot is calling itself “MechaHitler.”
So I don’t think it’s controversial to suggest that this is not the moment to try and make Manic Pixie Dream Fascists happen. Nor is it the moment to have the official copy for the show coyly lauding the Mitfords as “unapologetically bold” mavericks who “defied convention” — it might be technically true, but the phrasing is willfully disingenuous given the show’s focus. It’s surely not the moment to portray the leader of the British Union of Fascists as an absolute snack. Unity’s obsession with Hitler highlights that his power was alluring enough; Oswald Mosley, by contrast, is blessed with the physique of a Greek statue and the bearing of Errol Flynn. ....................(more)
https://www.salon.com/2025/07/15/glamorizing-fascists-isnt-outrageous-its-gross/
July 15, 2025
Trump doesn’t realize why MAGA needs the Epstein files
His base needs a story where they're the heroes, not the villains
By Amanda Marcotte
Senior Writer
Published July 15, 2025 6:45AM (EDT)
(Salon) On Saturday, Donald Trump tried to wave the MAGA base off the growing clamor to release the full case file of infamous sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, a close friend of Trump’s who evaded trial in 2019 by killing himself in jail. The president’s intervention seemed to reveal that he’s deeply worried there’s embarrassing or incriminating evidence about him in the Justice Department’s files. The furor, he insisted, is being driven by “selfish people” who are trying to hurt him. He said the files must be fabricated “by Obama, Crooked Hillary, Comey, Brennan, and the Losers and Criminals of the Biden Administration.” Trump’s tirade made it impossible to escape the conclusion that he’s trying to dissuade his voters from believing any damning evidence that may come out.
What was also telling in this defensive screed is how perplexed Trump is over his base’s fixation on this case. He begs them to move on to other conspiracy theories, offering a full menu of alternatives, like JFK’s assassination, Hunter Biden’s laptop and, his personal favorite, the “Rigged and Stolen Election of 2020.” “Let’s keep it that way, and not waste Time and Energy on Jeffrey Epstein, somebody that nobody cares about,” he pleaded with his supporters, as if saying that no one cares about Epstein will somehow make it true.
....(snip)....
The president’s confusion over why this matters to his base is understandable. MAGA voters have made it abundantly clear that they do not care about sexual abuse. They didn’t care when a tape of Trump bragging about sexual assault was released in 2016. They didn’t care when he was found liable for sexual assault by a civil jury in 2023. They don’t mind that Trump goes out of his way to associate with men accused of sex crimes, from Epstein to Vince McMahon to Pete Hegseth to Matt Gaetz and numerous others. For Trump, this has to be bewildering. His supporters do not treat sexual violence like it’s a bad thing. So why do they care about Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes, or the identities of his alleged co-conspirators?
....(snip)....
The Esptein conspiracy theory is a coping mechanism for people enduring this cognitive dissonance. Yes, a civil jury found that Trump assaulted journalist E. Jean Carroll in a department store dressing room. But if Trump voters tell each other Bill Clinton is on the mythical “Epstein client list” and is about to be arrested for pedophilia, they can believe Democrats are worse. Yes, Trump’s Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy keeps promoting anti-vaccine conspiracies that lead to children dying of preventable diseases. But the fantasy that Bill Gates is a child molester allows them to say they’re the ones who are protecting kids. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem undermined efforts to help after a flood wiped out a Texas summer camp, but by clamoring for the “Epstein files,” MAGA can pretend they’re the champions of young girls. ..................(more)
https://www.salon.com/2025/07/15/trump-doesnt-realize-why-maga-needs-the-epstein-files/
Trump doesn't realize why MAGA needs the Epstein files
Trump doesn’t realize why MAGA needs the Epstein files
His base needs a story where they're the heroes, not the villains
By Amanda Marcotte
Senior Writer
Published July 15, 2025 6:45AM (EDT)
(Salon) On Saturday, Donald Trump tried to wave the MAGA base off the growing clamor to release the full case file of infamous sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, a close friend of Trump’s who evaded trial in 2019 by killing himself in jail. The president’s intervention seemed to reveal that he’s deeply worried there’s embarrassing or incriminating evidence about him in the Justice Department’s files. The furor, he insisted, is being driven by “selfish people” who are trying to hurt him. He said the files must be fabricated “by Obama, Crooked Hillary, Comey, Brennan, and the Losers and Criminals of the Biden Administration.” Trump’s tirade made it impossible to escape the conclusion that he’s trying to dissuade his voters from believing any damning evidence that may come out.
What was also telling in this defensive screed is how perplexed Trump is over his base’s fixation on this case. He begs them to move on to other conspiracy theories, offering a full menu of alternatives, like JFK’s assassination, Hunter Biden’s laptop and, his personal favorite, the “Rigged and Stolen Election of 2020.” “Let’s keep it that way, and not waste Time and Energy on Jeffrey Epstein, somebody that nobody cares about,” he pleaded with his supporters, as if saying that no one cares about Epstein will somehow make it true.
....(snip)....
The president’s confusion over why this matters to his base is understandable. MAGA voters have made it abundantly clear that they do not care about sexual abuse. They didn’t care when a tape of Trump bragging about sexual assault was released in 2016. They didn’t care when he was found liable for sexual assault by a civil jury in 2023. They don’t mind that Trump goes out of his way to associate with men accused of sex crimes, from Epstein to Vince McMahon to Pete Hegseth to Matt Gaetz and numerous others. For Trump, this has to be bewildering. His supporters do not treat sexual violence like it’s a bad thing. So why do they care about Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes, or the identities of his alleged co-conspirators?
....(snip)....
The Esptein conspiracy theory is a coping mechanism for people enduring this cognitive dissonance. Yes, a civil jury found that Trump assaulted journalist E. Jean Carroll in a department store dressing room. But if Trump voters tell each other Bill Clinton is on the mythical “Epstein client list” and is about to be arrested for pedophilia, they can believe Democrats are worse. Yes, Trump’s Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy keeps promoting anti-vaccine conspiracies that lead to children dying of preventable diseases. But the fantasy that Bill Gates is a child molester allows them to say they’re the ones who are protecting kids. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem undermined efforts to help after a flood wiped out a Texas summer camp, but by clamoring for the “Epstein files,” MAGA can pretend they’re the champions of young girls. ..................(more)
https://www.salon.com/2025/07/15/trump-doesnt-realize-why-maga-needs-the-epstein-files/
July 15, 2025
Can Americans Just Stop Building New Highways?
A new book argues that the expansion of the US roadway network has exacted social and environmental costs that far outweigh the benefits.
By David Zipper
July 8, 2025 at 8:00 AM EDT
(Bloomberg CityLab) “The Interstate Highway Act literally brought Americans closer together,” President Bill Clinton said in 1996, referencing the bill that launched the 47,000-mile federal highway network. “We were connected city-to-city, town-to-town, family-to-family, as we had never been before. That law did more to bring Americans together than any other law this century.”
In his new book, Overbuilt , Erick Guerra, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania Weitzman School of Design, offers a markedly less rosy assessment of the US highway system. By blasting their way through cities, Guerra argues, interstate designers sacrificed urban wealth and quality of life, particularly within low-income neighborhoods.
....(snip)....
Much of your book concerns the interstate system, which many people believe President Dwight Eisenhower — a World War II general — designed to enhance military logistics. To what extent is that story accurate?
It’s a convenient narrative, but I don’t think that was a primary motivator for the system that was built. If the interstates were built purely for military purposes, they would have circumvented cities instead of going right through them. If you’re going through cities, you have congestion, which makes it harder to move large vehicles.
But the highway engineers responsible for planning the interstate system recognized that that cities were where there was a demand for traffic. Those sections were going to fund the entire system through gas tax revenues. .................(more)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2025-07-08/in-overbuilt-a-case-to-reverse-the-us-highway-building-machine?srnd=phx-citylab
Can Americans Just Stop Building New Highways?
Can Americans Just Stop Building New Highways?
A new book argues that the expansion of the US roadway network has exacted social and environmental costs that far outweigh the benefits.
By David Zipper
July 8, 2025 at 8:00 AM EDT
(Bloomberg CityLab) “The Interstate Highway Act literally brought Americans closer together,” President Bill Clinton said in 1996, referencing the bill that launched the 47,000-mile federal highway network. “We were connected city-to-city, town-to-town, family-to-family, as we had never been before. That law did more to bring Americans together than any other law this century.”
In his new book, Overbuilt , Erick Guerra, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania Weitzman School of Design, offers a markedly less rosy assessment of the US highway system. By blasting their way through cities, Guerra argues, interstate designers sacrificed urban wealth and quality of life, particularly within low-income neighborhoods.
....(snip)....
Much of your book concerns the interstate system, which many people believe President Dwight Eisenhower — a World War II general — designed to enhance military logistics. To what extent is that story accurate?
It’s a convenient narrative, but I don’t think that was a primary motivator for the system that was built. If the interstates were built purely for military purposes, they would have circumvented cities instead of going right through them. If you’re going through cities, you have congestion, which makes it harder to move large vehicles.
But the highway engineers responsible for planning the interstate system recognized that that cities were where there was a demand for traffic. Those sections were going to fund the entire system through gas tax revenues. .................(more)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2025-07-08/in-overbuilt-a-case-to-reverse-the-us-highway-building-machine?srnd=phx-citylab
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