Last night I went to see James Talarico, Candidate for US Senate, speak in Lakeway.  The crowd was in the hundreds, not a packed house but definitely full.  The evening completely turned my head around about the senate race.  There’s been a lot of head spinning in this race since Rep. Jasmine Crockett jumped into the ring a week ago, after Collin Allred left the Senate race and pursued a newly gerrymandered US Congressional Seat.   Selfless of Collin and I wish him well.  But

Last weekend, actor/director Rob Reiner and his wife were killed in their home, allegedly by their drug-addicted son. In typical unfeeling and tasteless fashion, Trump claimed he was the cause. “He was known to have driven people CRAZY by his raging obsession of President Donald J. Trump,” he posted on social media. In a diametrically different response, Heather Cox Richardson paid homage to the fallen director by quoting the words of the President from his iconic film, The A

Seventy-seven years ago, the United Nations General Assembly announced the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Although eight countries abstained, no country voted against it, making the vote unanimous. As recounted by Heather Cox Richardson, this declaration of principles became the foundation of international human rights law. All members of the United Nations Security Council have ratified at least one of the major international human rights treaties, and four ou

When Fox News was launched in 1996, its amoral investors quickly discovered that pushing culture war content was more profitable than reporting the actual news. It demanded less of viewers and tapped into innate resentment, bubbling since Ronald Reagan gave voice to it, that the root of the country's problems is lazy and undeserving black and brown Americans taking handouts instead of working. Citizens United in 2010 put the whole thing on steroids as media moguls realized h

AI-generated hate speech, toxic content for teens, AI-fueled fraud, algorithmic discrimination, deepfakes, surveillance, unaccountable automated decision-making - these are all the pernicious effects of AI that go largely unchecked in the U.S. Citizens United paved the way for the few social media giants to use the power of money to block regulation to protect their AI profits. Congress has refused to act, leaving states to do their best to defend their residents. Now Rep

Attorney General Pam Bondi sent a memo last week to every federal prosecutor in the country directing them to go on offense against any organization or group “where domestic terrorism is encountered or suspected.” For text of memo, go to https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/s3.indivisibleguide.com/images/Bondi-Memo-December2025.pdf . Bond’s memo demands that “Federal law enforcement will prioritize this threat” as outlined in the September 25th Presidential Memorandum 7 (NSPM-7

In a stunning reversal of U.S. policy that has kept European nations relatively safe from Soviet aggression for 80 years, the Trump administration released the 2025 National Security Strategy (NSS) of the United States of America. In her December 5 Letter, Heather Cox Richardson outlines the shocking details. The U.S. will back away from institutions like the United Nations and NATO because they undermine “the character of our nation.” Completely missing is any suggestion tha

In a remarkable Dec 1 press conference on Capitol Hill, Senator Mark Kelly responds to Trump’s threat to hang him and Hegseth’s subsequent threat to court-martial him. “I’ve given too much in service to my country to back down to this guy,” he declared. The contrast between Trump and Kelly couldn't be more stark. In 1991, when Donald Trump was driving the Taj Mahal Casino into bankruptcy, Kelly was getting shot at over in Iraq and Kuwait. In 2001, after Donald Trump said that

Since 1979, when the Federal Emergency Management Agency was created, Americans have come to rely on FEMA for first line support after disasters. With climate catastrophes on the rise, the Agency is all the more important. Yet Trump and his allies continue to move toward their goal of dismantling FEMA. In an unprecedented break with past policies, FEMA turned down Michigan’s request for aid to repair severe power grid damage from an ice storm last March. In his piece yesterda

Years ago, Robert Reich was being filmed in a debate with a conservative. When they found more to agree on than disagree on, the TV producer shouted in his earbud, “More anger!” When Reich later asked why, she said “It’s why people tune in. An angry fight attracts more viewers than a calm discussion…Advertisers want this.” At that point, Reich lost his temper and refused to appear on the program ever again. Today, the situation is much worse. Media corporations seek out and p

In his piece today, Paul Krugman explains why Trump is pardoning the major drug trade players, while his Defense Secretary is ordering strikes against people who are at worst small-time drug smugglers, and may well be innocent fishermen. It’s all about the money, Krugman says, and the billions Trump and his crypto/tech broligarchy stand to gain. https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/trump-pro-crypto-or-pro-crime

Last week’s shooting of two National Guard members by an Afghan gunman was horrific. But Trump’s out-sized reaction was worse, says Robert Reich. Trump wants to permanently pause migration from Third World Countries and deport legal immigrants born in countries the White House deems “high risk”. Fostering hate between Americans (almost all descended from immigrants themselves) is the only way he knows to stay in power. His Straight White Male Christian Nationalism requires i

Even among those who see themselves as MAGA and voted for Trump in 2024, only 55% remain largely loyal. Approval among Independents has fallen eight points to its lowest point in either term. A Gallup poll released yesterday shows his job approval rating overall at 36% with disapproval at 60%. Then there’s this nugget from Heather Cox Richardson yesterday. “On Wednesday, November 26, Andy East of the Indianapolis Daily Journal reported on Indiana state senator Greg Walker, a

“Don’t look now, but most world leaders are laughing at the idea that the United States is a reliable partner,” writes Dan Rather today. There’s the Ukrainian “peace plan” written by the Soviets and “negotiated” by billionaire Steve Witkoff and the president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, neither of whom have diplomatic or foreign policy experience. It’s a complete sell-out of that beleaguered country whose leaders had no seat at the table. There’s the Trump boycott of two inter

In yesterday’s piece, Paul Krugman writes about the lingering catastrophic effects of Elon Musk’s DOGE. According to one recent study, the shut-down of USAID caused the deaths of six hundred thousand people, two-thirds of them children. After hundreds of staffers were summarily fired from the NNSA, the agency that protects America’s nuclear weapons, Musk and his team scrambled to hire them back after realizing what they’d done. Thousands of dedicated federal employees were pu

In his piece today, Dan Rather lays out Trump’s aggressive attack on our schools. After six decades of bipartisan support, Head Start has been defunded and subject to mass layoffs, Colleges and universities have lost billions in research grants and won’t get it back unless they agree to toe Trump’s ideological line. Student loans have been cut severely, especially for nurses and teachers who are in short supply. A new “landmark initiative” helmed by a coalition of conservativ

In yesterday’s letter, Heather Cox Richardson points out that it’s happened before. In 1866, President Andrew Johnson accused Republicans of trying to overthrow the government and called for them to be hanged. The issue was the 14th Amendment guaranteeing equal rights for former slaves which Congress supported and Johnson vehemently opposed. Ultimately Americans came down on the side of equal rights, and the 14th Amendment was ratified. We trust that our fellow citizens will

Lone Star Left reports that Abbott has declared mainstream civil rights organization, Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a “foreign terrorist organization” He slapped the same label on the Muslim Brotherhood and then banned both groups and anyone associated with them from owning land in Texas. It’s state-sanctioned bigotry of the worst kind. If he goes after them today, who does he go after tomorrow? https://substack.com/@tucamels/note/c-179525715

Complains McDonald’s CEO - talking about a double-digit dip in the first quarter of 2025 of visits by lower- and middle-income customers to the nation's fast food chains. How ironic! The same folks who are paying their workers so little that they have to rely on food stamps and Medicaid to make ends meet. The same folks who pay their CEOs roughly 1,000 times more than their typical employee. The same folks who have a history of union busting. In today’s piece, Robert Reich ca

In today’s piece, Robert Reich describes the fall of the middle class from the upper tier to the lower tier of America's two-tier economy. He charts the facts and figures, and the reasons why. Only the richest 10% of households (the “investor class”) now account for nearly half of total U.S. spending, thanks to the stock market surge. That could spell trouble. Reich urges Democrats to show America that they can be better trusted to solve our economic woes - and lays out a 10-