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marmar
marmar's Journal
marmar's Journal
August 2, 2025
His numbers are sinking. And now even the QAnon Shaman thinks he's a "fraud"
By Brian Karem
White House columnist
Published August 1, 2025 9:00AM (EDT)
(Salon) There is political blood in the water.
Donald Trump caused it. He fed it. And now the political blood is his own.
Last week the “Moose Lodge Guy” — otherwise known as Jacob Chansley, the QAnon Shaman who showed up at the Capitol on Jan. 6 adorned in an outfit Fred Flintstone might have worn to a lodge meeting — turned on the president. Among the usual incoherent stream of gibberish he spews on X was this masterpiece: “Oh yeah & F**k Israel! And F**k Donald Trump!”
....(snip)....
The president’s bid for total control, coupled with his inability to stop lying as often as he draws breath, now pits him against some of his most, ahem, fervent supporters. It’s just another weekly edition of “SmackDown” in Don’s demented mind. But if “Moose Lodge Guy” will storm the seat of our democracy for you because he thinks the government is a fraud, what will he do once he thinks you’re a fraud? The answer to that question will unfold over at least the next few weeks, but I can’t imagine Trump cares. He has far greater concerns than “Moose Lodge Guy.”
The president spilled his own political blood on Air Force One during a gaggle on Tuesday. That’s when he served up his latest episode of “Why I Left Jeffrey.” In this episode, Trump got upset that Epstein “stole” some of his “employees.” When push came to shove, Trump got around to admitting that one of them was a teenage girl named Virginia Roberts (later Virginia Giuffre). He said Epstein, on at least two occasions, was “taking people from the spa,” before remembering to plug “one of the best spas in the world,” which is — no surprise here — “at Mar-a-Lago.” As for Giuffre, “[Epstein] stole her,” Trump said of her fate, before reminding everyone she had no complaints about Trump. “None about us,” he said. “None whatsoever.”
....(snip)....
This is now the fourth or fifth iteration of why Trump and Epstein broke up their bromance. About six years ago Trump said, “I had a falling out with him a long time ago.” Then he claimed Epstein was banned for hitting on the teenage daughter of another member — which means Trump knew then what Epstein was. It was also reported that Trump kicked Epstein out for being a creep. Then the story became that Epstein was attempting to hire Trump employees and “he stole people who worked for me.” .................(more)
https://www.salon.com/2025/08/01/trump-unraveling-digs-himself-in-deeper-with-epstein/
Trump, unraveling, digs himself in deeper with Epstein
Trump, unraveling, digs himself in deeper with EpsteinHis numbers are sinking. And now even the QAnon Shaman thinks he's a "fraud"
By Brian Karem
White House columnist
Published August 1, 2025 9:00AM (EDT)
(Salon) There is political blood in the water.
Donald Trump caused it. He fed it. And now the political blood is his own.
Last week the “Moose Lodge Guy” — otherwise known as Jacob Chansley, the QAnon Shaman who showed up at the Capitol on Jan. 6 adorned in an outfit Fred Flintstone might have worn to a lodge meeting — turned on the president. Among the usual incoherent stream of gibberish he spews on X was this masterpiece: “Oh yeah & F**k Israel! And F**k Donald Trump!”
....(snip)....
The president’s bid for total control, coupled with his inability to stop lying as often as he draws breath, now pits him against some of his most, ahem, fervent supporters. It’s just another weekly edition of “SmackDown” in Don’s demented mind. But if “Moose Lodge Guy” will storm the seat of our democracy for you because he thinks the government is a fraud, what will he do once he thinks you’re a fraud? The answer to that question will unfold over at least the next few weeks, but I can’t imagine Trump cares. He has far greater concerns than “Moose Lodge Guy.”
The president spilled his own political blood on Air Force One during a gaggle on Tuesday. That’s when he served up his latest episode of “Why I Left Jeffrey.” In this episode, Trump got upset that Epstein “stole” some of his “employees.” When push came to shove, Trump got around to admitting that one of them was a teenage girl named Virginia Roberts (later Virginia Giuffre). He said Epstein, on at least two occasions, was “taking people from the spa,” before remembering to plug “one of the best spas in the world,” which is — no surprise here — “at Mar-a-Lago.” As for Giuffre, “[Epstein] stole her,” Trump said of her fate, before reminding everyone she had no complaints about Trump. “None about us,” he said. “None whatsoever.”
....(snip)....
This is now the fourth or fifth iteration of why Trump and Epstein broke up their bromance. About six years ago Trump said, “I had a falling out with him a long time ago.” Then he claimed Epstein was banned for hitting on the teenage daughter of another member — which means Trump knew then what Epstein was. It was also reported that Trump kicked Epstein out for being a creep. Then the story became that Epstein was attempting to hire Trump employees and “he stole people who worked for me.” .................(more)
https://www.salon.com/2025/08/01/trump-unraveling-digs-himself-in-deeper-with-epstein/
August 1, 2025
New guidance allows proselytizing at work and the religious right to exploit their persecution complex
By Amanda Marcotte
Senior Writer
Published August 1, 2025 6:45AM (EDT)
(Salon) For most Americans, it’s common sense: You don’t harangue your coworkers because of personal beliefs and behaviors, just because they’re different from yours. Depending on your workplace, lecturing your colleagues because they are or aren’t married, do or don’t have kids, or spend their weekends woodworking instead of surfing could be recorded as anything from a “basic etiquette violation” to an “H.R. matter.” Minding your own business is generally considered morally righteous, and also a best practice, to make life easier for everyone.
But to hear Republicans tell it, being required to leave people alone is the 21st century equivalent of feeding Christians to the lions. On Monday, the Trump administration’s Office of Personnel Management issued a guidance allowing federal employees to “engage in conversations regarding religious topics with fellow employees, including attempting to persuade others of the correctness of their own religious views.” The rule also permits federal employees to “encourage their coworkers to participate in religious expressions of faith, such as prayer,” and explicitly allows bosses to use their work hours to pester people they’re supervising with appeals to come to Jesus, or sermons on how their sinful lifestyles will send them to hell. Some have speculated the memo opens the door to permitting religious conversion attempts offices nationwide.
....(snip)....
Even if the pressure isn’t coming from a boss, however, it can still be oppressive. The memo includes guidance stating that “if the non-adherent requests such attempts to stop, the employee should honor the request.” But asking a coworker to pray, or attempting to persuade them to convert, could make it hard for them to say no. Their rejection could be received with politeness and respect by the evangelist. Or it could spark hostilities. Having the legal right to say “no” means little when there’s every reason to worry your coworker will try to make your work life hell for rejecting them.
The implied threat that can accompany soft coercion is bad enough. But as Rachel Laser of Americans United for Separation of Church and State pointed out in a statement, the Trump administration has created a separate enforcement mechanism to coerce the unwilling to participate in Christian prayer and rituals: The so-called “anti-Christian bias task force.” Using false claims that Christians in government routinely face persecution, the task force relies on an expansive definition of “bias” that could easily encompass every time a fundamentalist gets their feelings hurt because an uninterested coworker said “no” to the offer of a religious pamphlet. “Under this regime, it’s easy to imagine the Christian Nationalists Trump has appointed proselytizing employees in the workplace — who then get reported and disciplined for anti-Christian animus when they object to this harassment,” Laser said. ..............(more)
https://www.salon.com/2025/08/01/trump-seems-to-want-a-tent-revival-in-the-federal-workplace/
Trump seems to want a tent revival -- in the federal workplace
Trump seems to want a tent revival — in the federal workplaceNew guidance allows proselytizing at work and the religious right to exploit their persecution complex
By Amanda Marcotte
Senior Writer
Published August 1, 2025 6:45AM (EDT)
(Salon) For most Americans, it’s common sense: You don’t harangue your coworkers because of personal beliefs and behaviors, just because they’re different from yours. Depending on your workplace, lecturing your colleagues because they are or aren’t married, do or don’t have kids, or spend their weekends woodworking instead of surfing could be recorded as anything from a “basic etiquette violation” to an “H.R. matter.” Minding your own business is generally considered morally righteous, and also a best practice, to make life easier for everyone.
But to hear Republicans tell it, being required to leave people alone is the 21st century equivalent of feeding Christians to the lions. On Monday, the Trump administration’s Office of Personnel Management issued a guidance allowing federal employees to “engage in conversations regarding religious topics with fellow employees, including attempting to persuade others of the correctness of their own religious views.” The rule also permits federal employees to “encourage their coworkers to participate in religious expressions of faith, such as prayer,” and explicitly allows bosses to use their work hours to pester people they’re supervising with appeals to come to Jesus, or sermons on how their sinful lifestyles will send them to hell. Some have speculated the memo opens the door to permitting religious conversion attempts offices nationwide.
....(snip)....
Even if the pressure isn’t coming from a boss, however, it can still be oppressive. The memo includes guidance stating that “if the non-adherent requests such attempts to stop, the employee should honor the request.” But asking a coworker to pray, or attempting to persuade them to convert, could make it hard for them to say no. Their rejection could be received with politeness and respect by the evangelist. Or it could spark hostilities. Having the legal right to say “no” means little when there’s every reason to worry your coworker will try to make your work life hell for rejecting them.
The implied threat that can accompany soft coercion is bad enough. But as Rachel Laser of Americans United for Separation of Church and State pointed out in a statement, the Trump administration has created a separate enforcement mechanism to coerce the unwilling to participate in Christian prayer and rituals: The so-called “anti-Christian bias task force.” Using false claims that Christians in government routinely face persecution, the task force relies on an expansive definition of “bias” that could easily encompass every time a fundamentalist gets their feelings hurt because an uninterested coworker said “no” to the offer of a religious pamphlet. “Under this regime, it’s easy to imagine the Christian Nationalists Trump has appointed proselytizing employees in the workplace — who then get reported and disciplined for anti-Christian animus when they object to this harassment,” Laser said. ..............(more)
https://www.salon.com/2025/08/01/trump-seems-to-want-a-tent-revival-in-the-federal-workplace/
July 31, 2025
(Michigan Advance) Republican activists and officials from across Michigan gathered Wednesday to launch a controversial ballot initiative to ensure that only American citizens are voting in local, statewide and national elections.
The Americans for Citizen Voting initiative was recently approved by the Michigan Board of State Canvassers, and on Wednesday the effort kicked off its signature gathering campaign with the aim of getting the constitutional amendment on the 2026 general election ballot.
Paul Jacob, chair of the initiative, said that the effort will let voters decide if they want only citizens voting in Michigan elections.
“There are now 14 states that have voted on citizen-only voting amendments, and all 14 states have passed them by overwhelming margins,” Jacob said. “This is not a close call.”
....(snip)....
Jamie Lyons-Eddy, the executive director of Voters Not Politicians, a non-partisan pro-democracy advocacy group, previously told the Advance that this effort actually threatens to roll back voting rights.
“Michigan law already requires a photo ID to vote, and federal law already prohibits non-citizens from voting. Frankly, this entire narrative is nonsensical political posturing that risks disenfranchising eligible voters,” Lyons-Eddy said. ..................(more)
https://michiganadvance.com/2025/07/30/citizen-only-voting-initiative-launches-in-oakland-county-with-gop-rally-for-support/
Citizen-only voting initiative launches in Oakland County with GOP rally for support
(Michigan Advance) Republican activists and officials from across Michigan gathered Wednesday to launch a controversial ballot initiative to ensure that only American citizens are voting in local, statewide and national elections.
The Americans for Citizen Voting initiative was recently approved by the Michigan Board of State Canvassers, and on Wednesday the effort kicked off its signature gathering campaign with the aim of getting the constitutional amendment on the 2026 general election ballot.
Paul Jacob, chair of the initiative, said that the effort will let voters decide if they want only citizens voting in Michigan elections.
“There are now 14 states that have voted on citizen-only voting amendments, and all 14 states have passed them by overwhelming margins,” Jacob said. “This is not a close call.”
....(snip)....
Jamie Lyons-Eddy, the executive director of Voters Not Politicians, a non-partisan pro-democracy advocacy group, previously told the Advance that this effort actually threatens to roll back voting rights.
“Michigan law already requires a photo ID to vote, and federal law already prohibits non-citizens from voting. Frankly, this entire narrative is nonsensical political posturing that risks disenfranchising eligible voters,” Lyons-Eddy said. ..................(more)
https://michiganadvance.com/2025/07/30/citizen-only-voting-initiative-launches-in-oakland-county-with-gop-rally-for-support/
July 31, 2025
Trump’s mass deportations are hurting local economies
From rotting crops to shuttered assembly lines, we will all soon feel the effects of Trump's cruel policies
By Heather Digby Parton
Columnist
Published July 31, 2025 9:00AM (EDT)
(Salon) One of the desired effects of Donald Trump’s “flood the zone” strategy is to make it impossible for the news media to focus on anything long enough to fully capture the public’s attention before the next atrocity is revealed. The administration’s executive orders and drastic policy changes — including, most recently, the EPA’s intention to eliminate a 2009 finding that greenhouse gas emissions are dangerous to people and the planet — have proven to be successful distractions and diversions from the worst actions of Trump 2.0. None of them have created more human misery than White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller’s heartless mass roundup and deportation program.
....(snip)....
Because of its large immigrant population and Hispanic character, L.A. was always going to be one of the main targets of Trump and Miller’s mass deportation policy. The City of Angels is the poster child for everything the MAGA movement hates about America. L.A. still hasn’t recovered from the devastating wildfires that destroyed an estimated 16,000 homes in January. With a mass recovery effort underway, the city needs its immigrant labor force more than ever before. But the administration’s cruel actions have forced a wide swath of workers, businesses and customers into the shadows, leaving them terrified and paranoid. They have good reason to feel that way.
These ICE and CPB raids, though, aren’t just separating and traumatizing families. They’re hurting the city’s economy. “In LA’s Boyle Heights, businesses reported losing 50% or more of their customers or revenue over the last several weeks,” Padilla recently posted on X. He encouraged people to “protest with your wallets” and support small businesses in communities targeted by the raids.
....(snip)....
But it isn’t just small businesses in urban centers that are being impacted. ICE has raided farms, detaining workers or scaring them into not going to work, which has left farms with crops unpicked and rotting on the vine. Factories are also being targeted. This week, the New York Times reported that a once-thriving meat processing plant in Omaha, Nebraska, had lost the majority of its workforce, resulting in a 70% drop in production. It’s happening in manufacturing, with companies forced to shutter assembly lines and actually lay off American citizens. Home health caregivers are being affected. Nursing home staffs — which are around 40% foreign-born, many of whom are from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela — have had their legal status unceremoniously yanked by Trump. In construction, immigrants make up 34% of the construction workforce and aren’t replaceable by Americans, who often don’t possess the required skills. .................(more)
https://www.salon.com/2025/07/31/trumps-mass-deportations-are-hurting-local-economies/
Trump's mass deportations are hurting local economies
Trump’s mass deportations are hurting local economies
From rotting crops to shuttered assembly lines, we will all soon feel the effects of Trump's cruel policies
By Heather Digby Parton
Columnist
Published July 31, 2025 9:00AM (EDT)
(Salon) One of the desired effects of Donald Trump’s “flood the zone” strategy is to make it impossible for the news media to focus on anything long enough to fully capture the public’s attention before the next atrocity is revealed. The administration’s executive orders and drastic policy changes — including, most recently, the EPA’s intention to eliminate a 2009 finding that greenhouse gas emissions are dangerous to people and the planet — have proven to be successful distractions and diversions from the worst actions of Trump 2.0. None of them have created more human misery than White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller’s heartless mass roundup and deportation program.
....(snip)....
Because of its large immigrant population and Hispanic character, L.A. was always going to be one of the main targets of Trump and Miller’s mass deportation policy. The City of Angels is the poster child for everything the MAGA movement hates about America. L.A. still hasn’t recovered from the devastating wildfires that destroyed an estimated 16,000 homes in January. With a mass recovery effort underway, the city needs its immigrant labor force more than ever before. But the administration’s cruel actions have forced a wide swath of workers, businesses and customers into the shadows, leaving them terrified and paranoid. They have good reason to feel that way.
These ICE and CPB raids, though, aren’t just separating and traumatizing families. They’re hurting the city’s economy. “In LA’s Boyle Heights, businesses reported losing 50% or more of their customers or revenue over the last several weeks,” Padilla recently posted on X. He encouraged people to “protest with your wallets” and support small businesses in communities targeted by the raids.
....(snip)....
But it isn’t just small businesses in urban centers that are being impacted. ICE has raided farms, detaining workers or scaring them into not going to work, which has left farms with crops unpicked and rotting on the vine. Factories are also being targeted. This week, the New York Times reported that a once-thriving meat processing plant in Omaha, Nebraska, had lost the majority of its workforce, resulting in a 70% drop in production. It’s happening in manufacturing, with companies forced to shutter assembly lines and actually lay off American citizens. Home health caregivers are being affected. Nursing home staffs — which are around 40% foreign-born, many of whom are from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela — have had their legal status unceremoniously yanked by Trump. In construction, immigrants make up 34% of the construction workforce and aren’t replaceable by Americans, who often don’t possess the required skills. .................(more)
https://www.salon.com/2025/07/31/trumps-mass-deportations-are-hurting-local-economies/
July 31, 2025
Forget the 2024 autopsies. Democrats need to be bold — and ruthless
To win against Trump and MAGA, the party must rebrand with an inspiring narrative and strong ideas
By Chauncey DeVega
Senior Writer
Published July 31, 2025 6:45AM (EDT)
(Salon) ....(snip)....
As the shock has worn off following former Vice President Kamala Harris’ loss to Donald Trump in November, and Trump’s inauguration in January, disillusioned Democrats have been searching for someone or something — anyone or anything — to solve their entrenched messaging and branding failures. Some have even called on former President Barack Obama to fill the void by speaking out forcefully and consistently against Trump. (For his part, Obama has urged Democrats to stop “navel-gazing” and “toughen up.”) Their fruitless search for a solution has revealed a party not just in disarray, but in denial. A recent poll by the Wall Street Journal found only 33% of voters hold a favorable view of Democrats, with 63% expressing an unfavorable view of the party — the most unpopular Democrats have been in 35 years of WSJ polling.
....(snip)....
Democrats seem to be swerving the hard questions altogether, focusing instead on an effort by big money donors and the consultant class to develop a progressive alternative to MAGA’s online recruitment machine of podcasters, YouTube stars and other influencers, which the New York Times aptly described as “throw[ing] money at a problem.” They are desperate to discover or manufacture a political miracle weapon in the form of their own Joe Rogan and his millions of followers.
....(snip)....
Part of the issue, according to Reece Peck, a communications scholar and author of “Fox Populism: Branding Conservatism as Working Class,” comes down to divergent social identities and language. He described Democrats as being centered on upper middle-class “hyper-educationed Americans” who “place immense value on language.”
“The fatal flaw is that Democrats often assume this class-specific cultural fixation is widely shared across the broader electorate,” Peck said. “In contrast, working-class Americans tend to approach language more contextually. They often interpret statements in good faith and prioritize the intention behind a message more than the exact wording — unlike many in the professional class, who insist that intention is irrelevant.”
....(snip)....
In politics, this means distilling a complex message into something emotional that has a direct connection to a person or group. This is especially critical given how political scientists and other experts have consistently shown that the average American is imagistic, easily distracted and manipulated, lacks an in-depth understanding of public policy and history, and has a hard time distinguishing between facts and mistruths. ...............(more)
https://www.salon.com/2025/07/31/__trashed-7/
Forget the 2024 autopsies. Democrats need to be bold -- and ruthless
Forget the 2024 autopsies. Democrats need to be bold — and ruthless
To win against Trump and MAGA, the party must rebrand with an inspiring narrative and strong ideas
By Chauncey DeVega
Senior Writer
Published July 31, 2025 6:45AM (EDT)
(Salon) ....(snip)....
As the shock has worn off following former Vice President Kamala Harris’ loss to Donald Trump in November, and Trump’s inauguration in January, disillusioned Democrats have been searching for someone or something — anyone or anything — to solve their entrenched messaging and branding failures. Some have even called on former President Barack Obama to fill the void by speaking out forcefully and consistently against Trump. (For his part, Obama has urged Democrats to stop “navel-gazing” and “toughen up.”) Their fruitless search for a solution has revealed a party not just in disarray, but in denial. A recent poll by the Wall Street Journal found only 33% of voters hold a favorable view of Democrats, with 63% expressing an unfavorable view of the party — the most unpopular Democrats have been in 35 years of WSJ polling.
....(snip)....
Democrats seem to be swerving the hard questions altogether, focusing instead on an effort by big money donors and the consultant class to develop a progressive alternative to MAGA’s online recruitment machine of podcasters, YouTube stars and other influencers, which the New York Times aptly described as “throw[ing] money at a problem.” They are desperate to discover or manufacture a political miracle weapon in the form of their own Joe Rogan and his millions of followers.
....(snip)....
Part of the issue, according to Reece Peck, a communications scholar and author of “Fox Populism: Branding Conservatism as Working Class,” comes down to divergent social identities and language. He described Democrats as being centered on upper middle-class “hyper-educationed Americans” who “place immense value on language.”
“The fatal flaw is that Democrats often assume this class-specific cultural fixation is widely shared across the broader electorate,” Peck said. “In contrast, working-class Americans tend to approach language more contextually. They often interpret statements in good faith and prioritize the intention behind a message more than the exact wording — unlike many in the professional class, who insist that intention is irrelevant.”
....(snip)....
In politics, this means distilling a complex message into something emotional that has a direct connection to a person or group. This is especially critical given how political scientists and other experts have consistently shown that the average American is imagistic, easily distracted and manipulated, lacks an in-depth understanding of public policy and history, and has a hard time distinguishing between facts and mistruths. ...............(more)
https://www.salon.com/2025/07/31/__trashed-7/
July 31, 2025
Members of both parties on the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee chastised a U.S. Department of Agriculture official Wednesday for not consulting Congress before proposing to shift thousands of jobs out of the Washington, D.C., area.
USDA Deputy Secretary Stephen Alexander Vaden defended the sweeping proposal, which Secretary Brooke Rollins announced with a five-page memo last week, saying it would help bring the department closer to the people the government oversees and lower the cost of living for federal workers, while pledging to work with members of the committee over the next month of planning.
“The secretary’s memorandum was the first step, not the last step,” Vaden told Minnesota’s Amy Klobuchar, the top Democrat on the panel, who criticized several aspects of the plan.
The proposal calls for cutting 2,600 of the 4,600 USDA jobs in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia and expanding the department’s footprint in five regional hubs: Raleigh, North Carolina; Indianapolis; Kansas City, Missouri; Fort Collins, Colorado; and Salt Lake City. ..................(more)
https://michiganadvance.com/2025/07/30/repub/half-baked-usda-relocation-irritates-members-of-both-parties-on-us-senate-ag-panel/
'Half-baked' USDA relocation irritates members of both parties on US Senate Ag panel
Members of both parties on the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee chastised a U.S. Department of Agriculture official Wednesday for not consulting Congress before proposing to shift thousands of jobs out of the Washington, D.C., area.
USDA Deputy Secretary Stephen Alexander Vaden defended the sweeping proposal, which Secretary Brooke Rollins announced with a five-page memo last week, saying it would help bring the department closer to the people the government oversees and lower the cost of living for federal workers, while pledging to work with members of the committee over the next month of planning.
“The secretary’s memorandum was the first step, not the last step,” Vaden told Minnesota’s Amy Klobuchar, the top Democrat on the panel, who criticized several aspects of the plan.
The proposal calls for cutting 2,600 of the 4,600 USDA jobs in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia and expanding the department’s footprint in five regional hubs: Raleigh, North Carolina; Indianapolis; Kansas City, Missouri; Fort Collins, Colorado; and Salt Lake City. ..................(more)
https://michiganadvance.com/2025/07/30/repub/half-baked-usda-relocation-irritates-members-of-both-parties-on-us-senate-ag-panel/
July 30, 2025
American democracy is crashing out and it will be hard to reverse, international rights group warns
The Trump administration is acting like "dictatorial regimes do," according to the global rights monitor CIVICUS
By Russell Payne
Staff Reporter
Published July 30, 2025 6:30AM (EDT)
(Salon) The United States is on a downward trajectory when it comes to respect for civil rights, with an international monitoring group warning that democracy is under threat with the Trump administration’s targeting of pro-Palestine advocates and deployment of military force on domestic soil.
CIVICUS is an international non-profit organization, based in South Africa, organized around advocacy for civil and human rights. In March, the United States was flagged by the organization for “threats to civic freedoms” that emerged early in the Trump administration, including dramatic cuts to programs benefiting the poor and “executive orders designed to unravel democratic institutions, rule of law, and global cooperation.”
....(snip)....
“A few months down the line, we find that actually the situation, rather than getting better, has become much worse,” Mandeep Tiwana, Secretary-General of CIVICUS, told Salon. “Once institutions are dismantled, once the constitutional checks and balances are removed, once an official culture of disregarding constitutional norms, people’s fundamental freedoms is put in place, it takes a long, long time to rebuild that.”
....(snip)....
The Trump administration’s criminalization of pro-Palestinian solidarity also played a key role in the decision to maintain the country’s spot on the watchlist, with CIVICUS specifically referencing the targeting of students like Mahmoud Khalil, Mohsen Mahdawi and Rumeysa Ozturk. They also noted the “illegitimate sanctioning” of Francesca Albanese, the United Nations Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, as an attempt to “silence international voices at the behest of the Israeli government.” ..............................(more)
https://www.salon.com/2025/07/30/american-democracy-is-crashing-out-and-it-will-be-hard-to-reverse-international-rights-group-warns/
American democracy is crashing out and it will be hard to reverse, international rights group warns
American democracy is crashing out and it will be hard to reverse, international rights group warns
The Trump administration is acting like "dictatorial regimes do," according to the global rights monitor CIVICUS
By Russell Payne
Staff Reporter
Published July 30, 2025 6:30AM (EDT)
(Salon) The United States is on a downward trajectory when it comes to respect for civil rights, with an international monitoring group warning that democracy is under threat with the Trump administration’s targeting of pro-Palestine advocates and deployment of military force on domestic soil.
CIVICUS is an international non-profit organization, based in South Africa, organized around advocacy for civil and human rights. In March, the United States was flagged by the organization for “threats to civic freedoms” that emerged early in the Trump administration, including dramatic cuts to programs benefiting the poor and “executive orders designed to unravel democratic institutions, rule of law, and global cooperation.”
....(snip)....
“A few months down the line, we find that actually the situation, rather than getting better, has become much worse,” Mandeep Tiwana, Secretary-General of CIVICUS, told Salon. “Once institutions are dismantled, once the constitutional checks and balances are removed, once an official culture of disregarding constitutional norms, people’s fundamental freedoms is put in place, it takes a long, long time to rebuild that.”
....(snip)....
The Trump administration’s criminalization of pro-Palestinian solidarity also played a key role in the decision to maintain the country’s spot on the watchlist, with CIVICUS specifically referencing the targeting of students like Mahmoud Khalil, Mohsen Mahdawi and Rumeysa Ozturk. They also noted the “illegitimate sanctioning” of Francesca Albanese, the United Nations Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, as an attempt to “silence international voices at the behest of the Israeli government.” ..............................(more)
https://www.salon.com/2025/07/30/american-democracy-is-crashing-out-and-it-will-be-hard-to-reverse-international-rights-group-warns/
July 30, 2025
(Guardian UK) The Department of Justice has asked several large California counties to provide detailed personal information of non-citizens who got on to the state voter rolls, an unusual request that comes as the Trump administration has asked about a dozen states to provide wide swaths of information about voters and election practices.
The justice department’s voting section sent identical letters to local election officials in Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego on 9 July. The request asks the officials to provide the total number of non-citizens who had their voter registrations cancelled since 2020 as well as a copy of their voter registration records, voting history, date of birth, driver’s license numbers, and the last four digits of a social security number. The department sent a similar request to Orange county last month and then sued the county after officials redacted some information.
....(snip)....
The request for information on non-citizens comes as the Trump administration has arrested and moved to deport thousands of immigrants. Submitting a voter registration form while ineligible to vote is a crime so non-citizens that do so could be prosecuted and potentially deported. This kind of voter fraud, however, is extremely rare.
....(snip)....
The justice department’s voting section has sent out extensive requests for information to nearly a dozen states recently, many of them focused on how states are removing people from the rolls and suggesting that states are not doing enough to cancel voter registrations of people who are ineligible to cast a ballot. It has also asked many states to turn over all of their voter registration records. At least two states, New Hampshire and Minnesota, have refused so far. “The Department of Justice did not, however, identify any legal basis in its June 25 letter that would entitle it to Minnesota’s voter registration list. Nor did it explain how this information would be used, stored, and secured,” a lawyer for the Minnesota secretary of state’s office wrote on 25 July. .................(more)
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/29/justice-department-california-non-citizen-voters
Justice department asked California to give details of non-citizens on voter rolls
(Guardian UK) The Department of Justice has asked several large California counties to provide detailed personal information of non-citizens who got on to the state voter rolls, an unusual request that comes as the Trump administration has asked about a dozen states to provide wide swaths of information about voters and election practices.
The justice department’s voting section sent identical letters to local election officials in Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego on 9 July. The request asks the officials to provide the total number of non-citizens who had their voter registrations cancelled since 2020 as well as a copy of their voter registration records, voting history, date of birth, driver’s license numbers, and the last four digits of a social security number. The department sent a similar request to Orange county last month and then sued the county after officials redacted some information.
....(snip)....
The request for information on non-citizens comes as the Trump administration has arrested and moved to deport thousands of immigrants. Submitting a voter registration form while ineligible to vote is a crime so non-citizens that do so could be prosecuted and potentially deported. This kind of voter fraud, however, is extremely rare.
....(snip)....
The justice department’s voting section has sent out extensive requests for information to nearly a dozen states recently, many of them focused on how states are removing people from the rolls and suggesting that states are not doing enough to cancel voter registrations of people who are ineligible to cast a ballot. It has also asked many states to turn over all of their voter registration records. At least two states, New Hampshire and Minnesota, have refused so far. “The Department of Justice did not, however, identify any legal basis in its June 25 letter that would entitle it to Minnesota’s voter registration list. Nor did it explain how this information would be used, stored, and secured,” a lawyer for the Minnesota secretary of state’s office wrote on 25 July. .................(more)
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/29/justice-department-california-non-citizen-voters
July 29, 2025
Slow play has been a hot-button topic as of late, especially in the professional game, but in Florida, it can sometimes lead to “aggravated battery” and broken bones. That’s exactly what happened back in June in Kissimmee when golfer Jason Hughes lost his cool with a slow-playing group ahead of him and unfortunately decided to take matters into his own hands.
According to the arrest warrant, Hughes attacked one of the golfers in front of him, punching him repeatedly in the face after telling him to hurry up. Hughes fully lost it when the group ahead was chatting on the green after being warned. The two men were eventually separated by their playing partners.
Bleeding and banged up, the injured golfer refused the deputies' request for an ambulance. His friend drove him to the hospital instead. He reportedly had an orbital fracture and needed stitches to his cheek.
Hughes and his playing partner split after the altercation, according to the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office, and were eventually tracked down with the help of the golf course staff. Officials used the credit card under the tee-time reservation and surveillance videos from the course. ...................(more)
https://www.golfdigest.com/story/florida-man-banned-public-golf-after-arrest-beating-up-slow-golfer-pace-of-play-fight
Florida man banned from public golf as terms of bail after beating up golfer over slow play
Slow play has been a hot-button topic as of late, especially in the professional game, but in Florida, it can sometimes lead to “aggravated battery” and broken bones. That’s exactly what happened back in June in Kissimmee when golfer Jason Hughes lost his cool with a slow-playing group ahead of him and unfortunately decided to take matters into his own hands.
According to the arrest warrant, Hughes attacked one of the golfers in front of him, punching him repeatedly in the face after telling him to hurry up. Hughes fully lost it when the group ahead was chatting on the green after being warned. The two men were eventually separated by their playing partners.
Bleeding and banged up, the injured golfer refused the deputies' request for an ambulance. His friend drove him to the hospital instead. He reportedly had an orbital fracture and needed stitches to his cheek.
Hughes and his playing partner split after the altercation, according to the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office, and were eventually tracked down with the help of the golf course staff. Officials used the credit card under the tee-time reservation and surveillance videos from the course. ...................(more)
https://www.golfdigest.com/story/florida-man-banned-public-golf-after-arrest-beating-up-slow-golfer-pace-of-play-fight
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