Finally Friday Reads: War! Good God Y’all!
Posted: July 31, 2026 Filed under: #FARTUS, American Cold Civil War, Foreign Affairs, Republican politics, U.S. Politics | Tags: @johnbuss.bsky.social John Buss, American Cold Civil War, Senate Hearings, Todd Blanche, US Israel Iran War, War Pigs 2 Comments
“Gotta get something out of the billions of dollars spent on the Three Day Special Military Operation!” John Buss, @repeat1968
Good Day, Sky Dancers!
The chaos continues on nearly all fronts of both federal domestic and foreign policy. On the state level, we see the fight to disenfranchise or re-enfranchise voters unlikely to support Republicans. I believe we’re in a cold civil war. There have been academic arguments about its existence for quite some time, with arguments on both sides of the political spectrum. Discussions today harken back to the idea put forth by Martin Luther King in 1967 about “Two Americas.” I also believe that the Trump administration purposefully pits us against each other as a strategy to distract from the damage coming from just about everything horrible it’s done. That includes the very hot war involving Israel and Iran.
I’ll give you a few suggested reads here on the idea of an American Cold Civil War from both sides of the political spectrum. This first article comes from a 2024 article at The American Prospect written by David Dayen. D-Day considers himself a progressive. “The Cold Civil War. States have always diverged on policies, but it’s grown more intense. And for red states, that’s not enough.” This article reflects on the COVID-19 period. It’s based on comparing red- and blue-state policies.
Over the last 30 years, a state government’s partisan orientation is the overwhelming predictor of the policies it will adopt.
Policy extremism has eroded quality of life in America. As much as half of the gap between the states in life expectancy is due to geographic variation. A 2023 study found that more liberal policies on tobacco, labor, immigration, civil rights, and the environment correspond to a one-year increase in how long a state’s residents live. (In this special issue, Kalena Thomhave takes a closer look at Oklahoma and Connecticut, which had the same life expectancy in 1959 and a 4.7-year spread as of 2019.)
Of the ten states with the highest rates of uninsured residents, seven are controlled fully by Republicans. Of the ten with the fewest uninsured, seven are controlled fully by Democrats. The ten worst health systems in the country, according to the Commonwealth Fund, are all in red states. Eight of the ten states with the most COVID-19 deaths are Republican-led; so are ten of the 12 states with the highest rates of smoking-related cancer deaths. Firearm deaths are lower in blue states and higher in red states. Even obesity levels show this correlation: Ten of the 12 states with the highest percentage of obese residents have Republican trifectas.
Where you live, in short, can determine how long you live.
This wide gulf between healthy and ailing America is bad enough. But red states in particular want their policy preferences to be reflected across the nation, and have engaged in numerous aggressive tactics to make that a reality.
I highly recommend you read D-Day and also this one from the perspective of a Right-Wing mover and shaker in the political and academic arena, Charles R. Kesler. His vitae includes all the groups that have been funding and guiding the Republican party since Reagan’s time. This is an interesting article from 2018, when the right was obsessed with Obama. There are many operational definitions in there, as well as insights into the other end of the spectrum. It was published in Imprimus. You’ll recognize the practical application of both philosophies in Dayen’s piece. This next read shows the Ivy Tower view approach that gets hammered into political decisions, which include important federal appointments.
In the Claremont Review of Books, we have described our current political scene as a cold civil war. A cold civil war is better than a hot civil war, but it is not a good situation for a country to be in. Underlying our cold civil war is the fact that America is torn increasingly between two rival constitutions, two cultures, two ways of life.
Political scientists sometimes distinguish between normal politics and regime politics. Normal politics takes place within a political and constitutional order and concerns means, not ends. In other words, the ends or principles are agreed upon; debate is simply over means. By contrast, regime politics is about who rules and for what ends or principles. It questions the nature of the political system itself. Who has rights? Who gets to vote? What do we honor or revere together as a people? I fear America may be leaving the world of normal politics and entering the dangerous world of regime politics—a politics in which our political loyalties diverge more and more, as they did in the 1850s, between two contrary visions of the country.
One vision is based on the original Constitution as amended. This is the Constitution grounded in the natural rights of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution written in 1787 and ratified in 1788. It has been transmitted to us with significant Amendments—some improvements and some not—but it is recognizable still as the original Constitution. To simplify matters we may call this “the conservative Constitution”—with the caveat that conservatives have never agreed perfectly on its meaning and that many non-conservatives remain loyal to it.
The other vision is based on what Progressives and liberals, for 100 years now, have called “the living Constitution.” This term implies that the original Constitution is dead—or at least on life support—and that in order to remain relevant to our national life, the original Constitution must be infused with new meaning and new ends and therefore with new duties, rights, and powers. To cite an important example, new administrative agencies must be created to circumvent the structural limitations that the original Constitution imposed on government.
As you can see, this is based on the idea of “originalism”. However, these arguments seem trite today when you look at what’s happening in the states and on the streets. The arguments are also resplendent in state and federal courts and have been since the Reagan years. The craziness with Fauci witch trials is probably the most obvious bit of news that shows how rabid those discussions/arguments have become since Trump came onto the political scene. The American Cold Civil War has amped up in ways that impact everything these days. Mostly because Orange Caligula has a strong need for public attention and worship, but also because he has so much baggage that he needs to hide behind distractions.
Today’s headlines on the mess in the Middle East were created by Trump and Netanyahu, both with their own delusions of greatness. The other can be seen in Trump’s battles to appoint weak and compliant stooges to important offices. All of this creates more battles in the American Cold Civil War. We’re seeing such weirdness today with the embattled DOJ and the appointment of Trump’s personal lawyer, Todd Blanche. Oh, where do we start with this one? Politico‘s Chris Marquette and Jordain Carney share the lede on this headline. “Faced with Blanche dilemma, Trump chooses revenge. The president’s willingness to sacrifice his attorney general’s confirmation shows how deep his contempt for his enemies goes.”
President Donald Trump has a choice: allow changes to a controversial court settlement and secure the confirmation of his former personal lawyer as attorney general, or thumb his nose at a pair of his few remaining Republican critics in Congress.
True to form, he is giving no ground.
Trump’s decision Thursday to signal he would rather pull the nomination of Todd Blanche, his pick to lead the Justice Department, rather than give in to the demands of Sens. John Cornyn and Thom Tillis demonstrated that the president’s desire to thwart his enemies does not end with the demise of their political careers.
Both Republican senators will leave Congress at the end of the year after running afoul of Trump, and both have found a degree of independence since becoming untethered from needing to keep in his good graces.
But their efforts to exert leverage and seek to curtail a controversial settlement agreement reached in May between Trump and the IRS only prompted the president to double down. He announced in a Truth Social post that Blanche would remain as acting attorney general “in any event” and that he would potentially withdraw and resubmit the nomination “after Cornyn and Tillis are out of office” in January. He went on to needle Cornyn again Friday.
Tillis, who announced he would not seek reelection last year after clashing with Trump over Medicaid cuts in his home state of North Carolina, betrayed little surprise when asked about Trump’s reticence to bargain over the IRS settlement.
“Look up the definition of recalcitrant,” he said.
Cornyn, who lost his bid for renomination to a fifth term representing Texas in May after Trump endorsed a scandal-prone opponent, brushed off the accusation that he was simply seeking revenge by blocking Blanche.
He called Trump’s claim “a convenient excuse, but it’s certainly not true.” And he warned the president that trying to wait him out would be a “gamble.”
“After the midterms, who knows who’s going to be the next United States senator from North Carolina or Texas?” he said.
Orange Caligula strongly believes in his side and only his side. This is from Axios. Hans Nichols and,
Stef W. Kight reported this story. “Inside Trump’s Senate playbook”.
President Trump has three go-to moves for GOP senators who frustrate him: persuade them when he can, ignore them when he must and bully them at will.
Why it matters: The approach doesn’t always produce results. But it almost always provides drama.
Persuade: Trump dispatched two top deputies to the Senate GOP lunch on Wednesday to make the case, in person, for a third reconciliation bill with elements of the SAVE Act.
- Then he sent in the big guns. Chief of Staff Susie Wiles huddled with the Senate GOP leaders shortly after their lunch.
- When Trump faced a Senate rebuke over the Iran conflict last month, the White House aggressively lobbied wavering Republicans to flip their votes.
Ignore: Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche doesn’t need Senate confirmation to do the job, Trump declared on Truth Social on Thursday.
- He can serve as acting attorney general indefinitely. Problem solved.
Bully: Trump began the week by demanding that Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) scrap the filibuster and pass the SAVE Act.
- “Remember, stupidity always brings LOSING & DEATH!” Trump wrote.
What we’re watching: Bullying appeared to be Trump’s preferred tactic this week. By Wednesday, he was openly questioning whether Thune should remain majority leader.
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Thune’s best defense was to downplay his own powers.
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“He thinks I can wave the magic wand,” Thune told Politico. “I wish it were that easy.”
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Trump’s penchant for bullying has emboldened some senators to stand their ground — such as John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), who have blocked Blanche’s nomination. Both will be out of the Senate in January.
This take is from CNN’s Kit Maher. “Trump further muddies Blanche negotiations, saying he wishes ‘anti-weaponization’ fund weren’t dead.”
President Donald Trump is further complicating negotiations as White House and Justice Department officials try to unstick Todd Blanche’s nomination for attorney general, saying Friday that a controversial fund behind the holdup is “dead” but that “I wish it weren’t.”
Key GOP senators — John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina— have indicated they’ll withhold their needed votes to confirm Blanche until they get written assurances that the $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund won’t be resurrected, along with certain commitments about tax investigations.
Trump defended the fund at length during a Cabinet meeting Friday, echoing comments posted on Truth Social earlier that day in which he called for Blanche to “be immediately approved” as his permanent pick for for the role. Just a day earlier, the president had said he wouldn’t object to “temporarily withdrawing” Blanche’s nomination until Tillis and Cornyn leave Congress early next year.
Tillis responded on X Friday morning that Trump’s comments were reaffirming why he and Cornyn needed the assurances in writing.
“The President made it clear today that the so-called Anti Weaponization Fund is still alive, which is exactly why we are attempting to formally end it,” Tillis wrote.
Blanche has already said the controversial fund is “dead” and the Justice Department told courts the program was abandoned, but officials have previously declined to put the commitment in writing. The fund, originally established by a settlement agreement between the Internal Revenue Service and Trump’s personal lawyers, would have offered taxpayer money to those who claimed they were victims of weaponization by the federal government — including those involved with the January 6, 2021, US Capitol riot.
Cornyn has been adamant that he also wants Blanche to clarify an addendum to that agreement that offers the president and members of his family tax immunity. The senator wants Blanche to explicitly acknowledge that it only applies to past tax investigations against the president and those listed in the lawsuit that was settled.
The demands have left Blanche in a difficult place since putting limits on the tax addendum could anger the president.
Are we having fun yet? The meeting a few days ago between Trump and Netanyahu was interesting to say the least. Did it resolve anything? This is the take from The Independent. This is what happens when two narcissists/sociopaths try to work together. “Trump claims Board of Peace has reached ‘historic’ Gaza deal to disarm Hamas and withdraw Israeli troops. The deal would see Hamas completely disarm itself and hand political and security control in Gaza over to international troops, a new Palestinian police force and a transitional government body of nonpartisan experts.” This analysis is provided by Josh Marcus. Peace in the Middle East. Right. Where have I heard that before?
The parties in the Israel-Hamas war have agreed to a “historic” framework paving the way to rebuild Gaza and remake its government, President Donald Trump announced on Thursday.
The deal includes the “COMPLETE DISARMAMENT of Hamas and all other armed groups in Gaza,” the president wrote on Truth Social.
Hamas communicated via mediators that it has agreed to the terms of the multi-step road map, U.S. and Board of Peace officials told The Independent.
The deal will eventually see the group hand security and political control to an international stabilization force of troops, a newly trained Palestinian police force and a transitional group of technocratic experts overseeing basic services, the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, the officials said.
The Israeli military, meanwhile, will pull back its troops from Gaza in phases, according to President Trump.
“One year ago there was a violent raging war, humanitarian crisis and hostages kept in brutal captivity,” he wrote in his post outlining the alleged agreement. “We have made historic progress and there is still much work to do.”
Each phase of the deal would be verified by a committee that certifies compliance on all sides before additional changes would take place, the U.S. officials said.
The disarmament process would include the handover of personal weapons, the decommissioning of heavy military hardware in Gaza and the disclosure and destruction of hidden Hamas tunnels, the officials added.
And, I have a bridge right by me over the Mississippi River that I’d like to sell you. Or would you prefer one in Brooklyn?
What’s on your Reading, Action, and Blogging list today?
Mostly Monday Reads: SAVE Shennanigans
Posted: July 27, 2026 Filed under: #FARTUS, #MAGAnomics, #We are so Fucked, 2026 FIFA, 2026 SCOTUS Decisions, Republican politics, U.S. Politics | Tags: @johnbuss.bsky.social John Buss, Deadly US Boat Strikes, Greedy Corporate Amazon and Walmart, It's too darn hot!, SAVE Act, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, Senator John Kennedy 7 Comments
“It’s incredible watching Donald The Prophet profiting.” John Buss, @repeat1968
Good Day, Sky Dancers!
The headlines today are full of failed policies. Orange Caligula hasn’t quite found a distraction to take the voters’ minds off everything he’s done this term. We have a failed war and an economy choked by inflation. His main focus is on rigging the election and disenfranchising minority voters and women. He’s been after Senator John Thune to get his SAVE Act passed. However, the more people know about it, the less they like it. So, it’s time to start lighting up your Congressional Critters’ phones.
This is the headline from Politico‘s Jordain Carney. “Trump tells Thune to keep Senate in session to pass SAVE America Act. The president also again urged the Senate GOP leader to nix the filibuster.” Republicans are always keen on the filibuster until it’s used against them.
President Donald Trump ramped up pressure Monday on Majority Leader John Thune, telling him to keep the Senate in session until a GOP election bill passes.
“John Thune should not allow the United States Senate to ‘leave town’ until it passes The Save America Act or, far better still, TERMINATES THE FILIBUSTER, where Republicans can then quickly pass everything they ever dreamed of,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post Monday.
Democrats, he added, will nix the filibuster themselves when they regain power “and can’t believe how lucky they got with this Senate leadership. Remember, stupidity always brings LOSING & DEATH!”
Trump’s Truth Social post comes after he urged supporters last week to call Thune about the SAVE America Act, then said Friday that he wanted Senate Republicans to adopt a blueprint for a $95 billion party-line spending bill, which would include some election-related funding, before they leave town for the August recess as planned on Aug. 6.
Sens. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Rick Scott (R-Fla.) said over the weekend that they believed the Senate should stay in town until the election bill is passed. Lee has previously called for the Senate to stay in session through prior recesses to pass the SAVE America Act but has not forced the issue on the floor.
Despite Trump’s pressure campaign, the elections bill doesn’t have the votes to pass the Senate and there isn’t enough support within the Senate Republican conference for nixing the filibuster, which requires 60 votes for most legislation to advance.
When Trump says he has a dream, it’s basically to ensure Black Americans can’t get to the polls. There’s no better time than this midterm to turn out and punch that voting machine selection with your middle finger. This analysis at The Hill has part of the explanation why Republican Senators can’t find their spines to buck the MAGA agenda. Alexander Bolten has the lede.
Senate conservatives, led by Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), are calling on Senate Majority Leader John Thune
(R-S.D.) to cancel the August recess so they can debate the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE America) Act, a sweeping election reform bill that President Trump has made his No. 1 legislative priority.
Lee warned in a social media post to Thune last week that he would “object to any effort to put the Senate into recess in August — at least until such time as the Senate has passed the SAVE America Act” and requested a roll call vote to adjourn the Senate for five weeks over most of August and early September.
Sen. Ashley Moody (R-Fla.), who’s up for reelection in November, said she would prefer to stay in Washington in August instead of returning to her home state for an extended period to meet with constituents.
“I didn’t come to the United States Senate because I needed something to do. I’m serving because there are things we need to get done for the American People. The Senate needs to stay in session until we can get the SAVE America Act to the floor and passed,” Moody posted on X.
Sen. Jim Banks (R-Ind.), another Trump ally, said he’s ready to cancel the five-week recess to debate the SAVE America Act, which has already failed several times on the Senate floor.
“I’m all for it. We don’t need a recess. Let’s pass the Save America Act. It’s more important than taking a break, taking a recess,” Banks told Fox News.
“I’m back in Indiana for the weekend, I head back to Washington tomorrow. I’ve heard from people everywhere I go, from the diner this morning to the grocery store, ‘Pass the SAVE America Act.’ We have to get it done,” he said.
The Senate has already spent several weeks of floor time debating the SAVE America Act, which would require people to show documented proof of citizenship when registering to vote and show photo identification when voting, and it would restrict mail-in ballots.
Down here in the yahoo state, we have Senator Kennedy to go all Hee-Haw on us. Samuel Chamberlin has this headline (deep breath) from the New York Post. “GOP Sen. John Kennedy warns John Thune is ‘being too cautious’ as Trump agenda hangs in the balance.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) needs to get to work on passing the rest of President Trump’s agenda with fewer than 100 days to go before the midterm elections, a key member of the GOP’s rank-and-file warned Sunday.
“Look, I mean no disrespect. I love John Thune. He’s my leader. He’s got a big brain. He’s better looking than me, but I think he’s just being too cautious,” Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) told CBS News’ “Face The Nation,” adding that the majority leader “wants to spend the rest of our time talking with [Senate Minority Leader Chuck] Schumer about shutting down government, and the Graham Platner wing of the [Democratic] party is, his party, is not going to let Schumer agree with us.
“They already want to give Schumer a bathrobe, a Popsicle, and an early bedtime, and have him retire. I don’t think Chuck can agree with us,” Kennedy predicted. “I think he’s going to shut down government.”
“We need to put the, the House budget resolution on the floor,” Kennedy told host Margaret Brennan. “It’s the only chance we have to get money to defense, the farmers, and to take another crack at the SAVE Act. We need to add Iran to the [Lindsey] Graham Russian sanctions bill and vote on it. We need to put the cryptocurrency market structure bill on the floor and vote on it.”
Before leaving for its August recess last week, the House of Representatives passed a stopgap measure that would fund the government until Dec. 4. Some Senate Republicans, including Kennedy, want to tack the Trump-endorsed SAVE America Act, which would require Americans to show proof of citizenship before registering to vote and provide photo identification before casting a ballot, onto the budget resolution.
Currently, a shutdown is set to begin at 11:59 p.m. ET Sept. 30.
It’s amazing how people with perfectly good educations and seemingly functional minds can go all bat shit crazy when they get themselves elected/appointed to anything within the Beltway. I’ve been around here long enough to remember when Foghorn Leghorn was a member of the Democratic Party. He switched parties in August 2007.
Meanwhile, we’ve finally uncovered a bit more truthiness from our human cost in Trump’s war against Fishing Boats. (Psst, have you sent the FBI to your sons, Orange Caligula, if you really want a successful coke bust? This is from the Washington Post. “Deadly U.S. boat strikes have failed to curb cocaine supply, Pentagon and DEA officials say. The president says Operation Southern Spear has virtually ended drug trafficking by sea. Pentagon and DEA analysts have concluded otherwise.”
The Trump administration’s deadly military strikes on alleged drug trafficking boats have not reduced the amount of cocaine entering the United States, but they’re prompting criminal organizations to develop new strategies and tactics and undermining traditional investigative methods, according to a previously unreported assessment by the Drug Enforcement Administration, a closed-door congressional briefing and interviews with current and former U.S. and foreign officials.
In a recent assessment reviewed by The Washington Post, DEA analysts found the strikes had failed to affect the supply or price of cocaine in the United States and had led traffickers to diversify beyond go-fast boats and to avoid international waters, opting instead for larger boats and hemming close to coastlines, where U.S. forces are less likely to open fire. In a closed-door briefing last month, Pentagon officials told lawmakers the strikes in international waters off South and Central America had not reduced its purity.
Traffickers are also relying more on aircraft, which take off from clandestine airstrips along the Colombian-Venezuelan border and head east to Guyana and Suriname to avoid U.S. forces, according to the DEA assessment.
“When you squeeze the balloon on one side, it always expands on the other side,” one DEA official told The Post. “They always find the weak spots and exploit them.” The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss it publicly.
Meanwhile, giant corporations are getting rich at what they do best. As usual, they’re cutting costs by denying their workers a living wage, so those workers must rely on public assistance. This strategy is one of America’s worst legacies. This is from Popular Information. Judd Legum has the story.
American taxpayers are spending billions every year providing Medicaid benefits to hundreds of thousands of employees of Amazon and Walmart, a new analysis by Popular Information reveals.
Amazon and Walmart are two of the largest and most profitable companies in the country — collectively generating $100 billion in profits in 2025 — but many of their employees still qualify for Medicaid because their take-home pay hovers around (or below) the poverty line.
As taxpayers keep their workers afloat, the wealth of the two companies’ largest shareholders is increasing exponentially. The Walton family, the largest shareholders of Walmart, saw their collective wealth increase from $238 billion in 2021 to $513 billion at the end of 2025. Meanwhile, Amazon founder and current executive chairman Jeff Bezos saw his net worth increase from $187 billion to $255 billion over roughly the same time period.
Popular Information calculated the public subsidy to Amazon and Walmart by cross-referencing several publicly available data sources. Last week, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report examining the top 25 employers of Medicaid enrollees in six states: Georgia, Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Oklahoma, and Rhode Island. This provided state-level Medicaid enrollment for Amazon and Walmart workers in all six states, with the exception of Amazon in Maine.
Popular Information compared these figures to the total number of employees working for Walmart and Amazon in each state, sourced from company disclosures, to establish an average Medicaid enrollment rate for each company. The average Medicaid enrollment rate was then used to establish an estimated Medicaid enrollment for employees of each company in the remaining states.
Finally, the estimated number of employees receiving Medicaid in each state was multiplied by that state’s average annual cost of a non-elderly, non-disabled Medicaid enrollee, as published by the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC).https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jul/26/us-heat-wave-dome-weather
Using this methodology, Popular Information estimates that, nationwide, over 156,000 Walmart employees are enrolled in Medicaid at an annual cost to taxpayers of approximately $1.04 billion.
Of course, you can read more at the links. The weather all over the country continues to break records and be miserable. I hope you’re managing to avoid the worst of it. I’ve developed a keen fashion sense that includes cotton under shirts and cut-off jeans, accentuated by bare feet. I can’t make iced tea fast enough, nor can I keep the animals’ water bowls filled with water and a few ice cubes. This article from The Guardian shows the widespread phenomenon. JJ and I are under a “heatwave dome.” BB sent me her forecast, which really is wild. “Super El Niño Could Combine With Rare Atlantic Niña: See MA Impacts.”
What’s on your Reading, Action, and Blogging list today?
Finally Friday Reads: Peak Delusional Lies and Empty Fury
Posted: July 17, 2026 Filed under: #FARTUS, 2026 Elections, Trump's Presidential Speech 7/16/2026, Media Coverage of Trump, freedom of the press, Freedom of the Press | Tags: @johnbuss.bsky.social John Buss, delusion, lies, New Orleans, Trump Dementia, Trump's Presidential Speech 6 Comments
“In case you missed the most important prime time presidential address since the Cuban missile crisis. Here’s what happened.” John Buss, @repeat1968
Good Day, Sky Dancers!
I knew that last night’s Presidential rant was going to be a doozy. I actually dialed up PBS and made it through maybe 2 minutes before the stream of lies, and the madness got to me. I still can’t hear him or see him animated. The only thing left to Orange Caligula is madness. I wanted to see how bad it had gotten. It took me all of a few seconds to feel like I had stepped into bedlam.
It appears that many media outlets were discussing the consequences of airing such obvious lies and propaganda surrounding elections. Here’s a sample of that from The Independent via Yahoo. Rhian Lubin has the lede. “Trump calls for NBC and ABC to have their licenses revoked for not airing his ‘election interference’ speech.” He really hates the First Amendment and free and open elections.
President Donald Trump called for NBC and ABC to have their broadcast licenses revoked for not airing his primetime address about “election interference,” accusing the networks of being “part of a plot.”
ABC and NBC covered the Thursday night speech on their online streaming platforms, with both networks airing special reports summarizing Trump’s remarks once the president concluded. But he still rebuked the outlets for not airing it on their primary channels.
“In a rare move, NBC and ABC fake news have both said that they would not cover this speech,” Trump said in his evening address. “They and others in the media are part of a plot. They want to continue this fraud for whatever reason…Fraud like this should mean a revocation of their licenses.”
White House communications director Steven Cheung also joined in the attack. “Cowards. NBC and ABC don’t want you to hear the truth,” he said in a post on X. “All they want to do is hide the facts from YOU.”
NBC News NOW, the network’s streaming service, carried the speech live, as did ABC on its ABC News Live platform.
Fox News aired the full speech live but CNN did not, with Kaitlan Collins explaining to viewers that the network would be “monitoring” what the president said in order to fact check the address.
“We’ll be monitoring what the president says tonight, as we always do, but aren’t taking it live, given the president has a well-documented history of saying blatantly false things about elections,” Collins said.
In the rare primetime address, which lasted approximately 23 minutes, Trump accused unnamed national security officials of hiding information about the security of America’s elections and alleged there were Chinese efforts to interfere in the 2020 election, which he lost.
Citing no hard evidence, the president claimed American elections are vulnerable “to hacking, exploitation, and foreign interference” and accused the People’s Republic of China of carrying out “the largest compromise of election data in history” by acquiring election data — much of which is commercially available for purchase by political campaigns and other interested parties.
This report is from Reuters via Yahoo and is written by Helen Coster. Trump threatens to revoke licenses of US networks for not carrying primetime speech.”
Two of the three major U.S. television networks and CNN did not broadcast a prime-time address on Thursday by President Donald Trump on their primary platforms, drawing a rebuke from a president who has placed unprecedented pressure on American media.
The speech focused on election security, four months before the critical midterm elections.
During his speech, Trump said that networks that did not air his speech were engaged in a “plot” and should have their licenses revoked.
“In a rare move, NBC and ABC fake news have both said they would not cover this speech,” he said, adding, “Fraud like this should mean a revocation of their licenses.”Networks have broad First Amendment rights to decide what they choose to broadcast, experts say. But historically, broadcasters have carried most such speeches on the grounds that they provide information of public importance.
Late on Thursday afternoon, a spokesperson for ABC News said the network would run Trump’s speech on its ABC News Live streaming platform and ABC News Radio – not its broadcast channel.
NBC News carried the president’s remarks on its free streaming service, NBC News NOW, but not on its main broadcast channel, according to a person familiar with the matter. The company declined to comment.
In a statement, CNN said it would monitor the speech for news, with a live feed appearing on its website and CNN All Access, its subscription streaming channel.
The ABC and NBC streaming channels generally draw a fraction of the viewers that their traditional broadcast signals reach. CNN’s digital network is a paid-for service with a smaller audience than its regular cable channel.
In the speech, Trump declassified intelligence that he said showed Chinese interference in U.S. elections, reviving his long-running attacks on election security despite a U.S. intelligence assessment that found no evidence Beijing altered the 2020 vote, which he lost.
More details on the coverage by the major stations can be found in this Guardian article. “US TV networks split on broadcasting Trump’s election-focused speech. NBC and CNN stayed away from White House speech, while Fox News, MS Now, CBS, and some ABC affiliates aired it.” I’ve basically quit watching what is now MS Now. As I said, I just went to YouTube to find the live speech. I doubt I could’ve tolerated the anchors trying to deal with this as if it had anything to do with reality. Well, at least Jen Psaki tried.
MS Now chose to air about half of the speech despite warnings from Jen Psaki, the network’s 9pm host and former Biden White House press secretary, who told viewers that it would be unlike a traditional White House address.
“When you’re in the White House, these are selective moments a president typically takes to speak to the American public,” she said. “We are not in normal times, as you all know. And this speech is not going to be about this country, and it is not going to be about the American people and the challenges people face.”
Trump’s remarks focused on “the deep state” and efforts by China to “meddle” in the US’s election system.
About 15 minutes into Trump’s comments, Psaki cut into the speech and pushed back on his assertions about the electoral system.
CBS also cut into Trump’s speech just over 20 minutes in, bringing on Tony Dokoupil, the Evening News anchor, and Major Garrett, the chief White House correspondent.
Before the speech, Dokoupil explained the network’s decision to air a large portion of it.
“It’s a speech expected to address safety and security of American elections, a topic, of course, that the president has talked a lot about for years now,” he said. “At times, almost constantly, and honestly, much of what the president has said on this topic has been false. Most notably, of course, the claim that he won the 2020 election, when of course he did not. Because of this, there is an argument that it’s irresponsible to air the president’s speech tonight. But this speech will be made. It will be news. And it’s our job to cover the news. And so we are.”
Rather than airing the speech, CNN hosted a panel discussion featuring experts from across the political spectrum. The network’s on-air graphic cast doubt on Trump’s remarks, telling viewers: “Trump Gives Address On Elections After Years of False Claims.”
Here’s some analysis from Election Law Blog and by Rick Hasen. “Trump’s Underwhelming Announcement on Voting Does Not Even Purport to Show That Any Illegal Votes Were Cast in the 2020 Election or That Voting Machines Have Been Hacked or Vote Totals Inaccurate; He Also Made a Pitch to Pass the SAVE America Act But Offered No New Federal Mandates.”
Donald Trump gave a national address where he made some recycled claims (“burn bags,” anyone?) about supposed voting machine vulnerabilities, about thousands of supposed noncitizens registered to vote, alleged voter registration fraud in Michigan, and about a cover-up concerning interference from China in the 2020 election. Among his biggest claims was that China had access to millions of American voting records. He said that there will be newly-declassified documents to back them up.
What Trump did NOT do was even purport to show a single ineligible voter voted in the 2020 election, or that any voting machines were actually compromised, voting machines or voter registration databases breached, or election results inaccurately reported.
Overall, this was an underwhelming announcement delivered with low energy that changes nothing about how state and local election administrators should run elections.
If his government had actual evidence of noncitizen voting, there would be indictments; Trump has been hounding US attorneys to bring such cases, and the fact that he hasn’t shows that these claims likely have no legs. Claims of noncitizen registration often evaporate upon closer inspection (such as the systems’ failure to catch newly naturalized citizens). And he’s made no claims about noncitizens actuallly voting.
He also did not offer anything new by way of policy proposals, saying DHS and others will work with states to remove purported noncitizens from the voting rolls and similar actions. He called for Congress to pass the SAVE America Act again, but offered no new executive orders on voting. That’s a good thing, and it is because the President has no power over how American elections are run.
Given Trump’s track record of incessantly lying about election rigging and voter fraud,view everything he says with a skeptical eye.
One of his major claims is that China got access to voter registration databases. We will have to wait to see what evidence he produces, but here is the earlier declassified intelligence report. Its first conclusion reflecting the collective wisdom of the intelligence community is at odds what Trump is saying:
Key Judgment 1: We have no indications that any foreign actor attempted to alter any technical aspect of the voting process in the 2020 US elections, including voter registration, casting ballots, vote tabulation, or reporting results. We assess that it would be difficult for a foreign actor to manipulate election processes at scale without detection by intelligence collection on the actors themselves, through physical and cyber security monitoring around voting systems across the country, or in post-election audits. The IC identified some successful compromises of state and local government networks prior to Election Day—as well as a higher volume of unsuccessful attempts—that we assess were not directed at altering election processes. Some foreign actors, such as Iran and Russia, spread false or inflated claims about alleged compromises of voting systems to undermine public confidence in election processes and results.
So that thought about waiting for the summaries was exactly what I did about 3 to 5 minutes in. I can’t imagine anyone finding it appropriate to put such a mentally incapacitated individual on the screen for the world to see. The slurring alone should indicate that he’s not well. I’m going to end this drama and trauma today with a post in Democracy Docket. “Trump pushes debunked election lies, demands SAVE America Act in primetime speech.” Yunior Rives has the lede.
President Donald Trump used a primetime address Thursday to resurrect debunked claims about the 2020 election, allege sweeping foreign interference in voting and pressure Congress to pass the anti-voting SAVE America Act.
But despite years of claiming that the election was stolen, he presented no evidence that any entity, foreign or domestic, manipulated votes or registration records, or in any way altered the outcome of the 2020 election. In fact, he didn’t even assert it.
In a disjointed speech, Trump claimed China obtained 220 million U.S. voter files and accused intelligence officials — whom he termed the “Deep State” — of concealing election threats. And he suggested electronic voting systems had previously been compromised.
Trump also announced that his administration would declassify intelligence documents supposedly backing his claims.
In fact, the U.S. intelligence community previously concluded that no foreign actor attempted to alter voter registration, ballot casting, vote tabulation or the reporting of results in 2020. Federal agencies also rejected claims that Venezuela, China or other foreign governments controlled voting equipment or manipulated vote totals.
Trump nevertheless described the newly released material as “brand new and irrefutable information” and said his administration would notify states about alleged vulnerabilities before the midterms.
Then he pivoted to pushing SAVE, his pet legislative project that election experts call “the most restrictive voting bill ever.”
“Addressing this crisis of election security demands that Congress must pass the SAVE America Act,” Trump said. “The only reason you wouldn’t do it is if you want to cheat.”
The massive anti-voting bill, which has stalled in the Senate, would require voters to show photo identification and provide documentary proof of citizenship. Trump also demanded an effective end to mail voting, falsely calling the practice “inherently corrupt.”
In pushing SAVE, Trump has regularly claimed — falsely — that illegal voting by noncitizens is widespread in U.S. elections.
During his speech Thursday, the president went further, saying that an investigation by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) had identified 278,000 noncitizens registered to vote in federal elections.
Orange Caligula simply cannot accept that the overwhelming number of people in the country hate him. His childhood traumas, major personality disorders, and advanced dementia keep him isolated in his own private America.
I hope you have the chance to enjoy something pleasant and peaceful this weekend. While my insane governor continues to rail about how useless New Orleans is, I am absolutely glad I am here. You can read about this feud at this link from MSN. “‘New Orleans thinks they’re so special’: Landry takes jab at city amid rising tensions. We not only are the bread and butter behind all state spending, we also have this news that lets us know that we are. “New Orleans named only city on World Monuments ‘Irreplaceable America’ list. Supporters say the World Monuments Fund recognition points to a broader conversation about the city’s future.”
New Orleans has been named the only city on the World Monuments Fund’s new Irreplaceable America list. It’s a designation recognizing places that help tell the nation’s story, while also facing significant threats to their future.
Unlike the other sites selected, New Orleans was recognized not for a single landmark, building or monument, but as an entire living cultural landscape.
If this country wants to keep convincing itself and others that we’re that shining city on a hill, then these MAGA Republicans and Trump himself. need to be kicked out of their offices. They value nothing about our people, our history, or our culture.
What’s on your Reading, Action, and Blogging list today?
Finally Friday Reads: To the Depths of Depravity and Beyond!
Posted: July 10, 2026 Filed under: #FARTUS, 2026 MidTerm elections, Faithful Execution | Tags: 2026 midterms, @johnbuss.bsky.social John Buss, Faithful Execution, Faithful Execution and the Removal of Power, Help America Vote Act (HAVA), SAVE America Act, stray cats, U.S. Election Assistance Commission 9 CommentsGood Day, Sky Dancers!
“The Mitch McConnell saga continues to evolve. It is rumored FBI Director Kash Patel, while on a very early morning patrol of our Nation’s Capitol, made a grizzly discovery in the recently drained Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.” John Buss, @repeat1968
If Nixon was a crook, what on earth do we label Orange Caligula? He appears to be surpassing Bond and comic book villains. He doesn’t even appear cognizant enough to spell his name, and we know he can’t walk straight. What’s the deal then? My first guess is that Stephen Miller is really in charge of everything but decorating forays. However, there seems to be a lot more going on than just one wicked man could possibly do.
This is the headline today in Lawfare. “Faithful Execution and the Removal Power. President Trump is exercising his removal power in ways that defeat his duty to faithfully execute the law.” Nick Bednar and Todd Phillips provide the analysis.
On July 9, President Trump removed or forced out all three remaining members of the Election Assistance Commission (EAC). Congress established the commission to aid state governments in administering elections and to certify voting equipment. It consists of four members appointed by the president, with the advice and consent of the Senate, who serve fixed four-year terms. Although its members lack statutory removal protections, Congress designed the commission with other devices commonly used to preserve independence from the president, including requirements that no more than two members be affiliated with the same political party and that three members agree to any action, a combination that necessarily requires all actions to be bipartisan.
In Trump v. Slaughter, the Supreme Court affirmed that Article II of the Constitution allows the president to remove principal officers—such as the members of the EAC—at will. The Supreme Court anchored its decision in the idea that the president must have adequate control over executive-branch officers to carry out his constitutional obligation to “take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed.” As the current moment illustrates, however, the removal power also allows the president to undermine faithful execution by removing principal officers tasked with implementing the laws enacted by Congress.
We argue that removals of this kind exceed the president’s removal power. The Take Care Clause obliges the president to ensure the laws enacted by Congress are executed. A removal that leaves an agency legally incapable of acting prevents that execution. The Supreme Court was aware of the potential contradiction between expanding the removal power and the president’s obligation under the Take Care Clause in Slaughter, because we, the authors, filed an amicus brief alerting the Court to the issue. Courts can enforce this limit, and the Supreme Court’s decision in Trump v. Cook—issued the same day as Slaughter—supplies the remedial tools. Enforcing the Take Care Clause would ensure that multimember commissions, such as the EAC, remain capable of enforcing the laws Congress has enacted.
Read the article for a full list of ramifications. It’s really worth it. Why is this suddenly an important issue? We know that Trump is doing everything inside and outside the power bestowed on the Presidency to throw the elections in his favor. He’s highly unpopular, and the polls are running against him and Republicans in General. So, with Trump’s bull shitting in deep fail, he’s decided to do whatever he wants. This is from NBC News. “Trump ousts remaining members of the Election Assistance Commission ahead of midterms. The dismissals hamstring a key bipartisan agency just months before the midterms.” Jane C. Timm and Jonathan Allen share the lede. It might be time to hit the panic button.
The White House ousted all three sitting members of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission on Thursday, hamstringing the bipartisan agency ahead of the midterm elections.
The Democratic commissioners — Thomas Hicks and Benjamin W. Hovland — were fired by email, two people familiar with their terminations said. One of the sources also said Republican commissioner Christy McCormick received a call and was asked to resign.
“They will be replaced,” said a White House official who confirmed that all three commissioners are gone. Presidential appointments to the EAC are subject to Senate confirmation — by no means a quick process.
White House aide Morgan DeWitt Snow sent the Democratic commissioners a brief email of termination around 4 p.m. ET, one of the people familiar with the dismissals said.
“On behalf of President Donald J. Trump, I’m writing to inform you that your position as Commissioner of the Election Assistance Commission is terminated effective immediately. Thank you for your service,” the person said the email read.
The EAC is a bipartisan commission that helps state and local officials run elections, certifying election equipment and working with other agencies to ensure state and local elections run smoothly. From 2018 to 2025, it distributed more than $1 billion in grants for election security, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center.
Hovland, one of the Democratic commissioners, told NBC News he was returning from a work trip to a Missouri election office when he was fired.
The EAC, he said, has acted as a clearinghouse, sharing best practices between states and helping them use their limited resources to run elections. Taking away a key federal agency designed to help state and local election administrators will have a negative impact, Hovland said.
“When you’re asking more and more of people without giving them the necessary resources, you know, mistakes happen. And so there’s this real risk of like self-fulfilling prophecies in that way,” he said. “It feels much more like a death-of-1,000-cuts situation than there’s one particular thing that you’re concerned about.”
The commission normally has two Republicans and two Democrats; one Republican, Don Palmer, resigned this year, leaving it with just three members.
Is it time to hit the panic button yet? Are there any Senators and Representatives willing to combat this obvious overreach? Aaron Blacksberg of Just Security asks this question in his headline. “What is the Election Assistance Commission With No Commissioners?”
Last night, President Donald Trump effectively relieved all three serving commissioners of the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) of their positions. According to media reports, the Commission’s two Democratic members, Thomas Hicks and Benjamin Hovland, were fired by email, while the one Republican member, Christy McCormick, was allowed to resign. All three commissioners were unanimously confirmed by the Senate – Hicks and McCormick in 2015 and Hovland in 2019. The EAC’s fourth commissioner and other Republican member, Don Palmer, previously resigned on April 29. In a statement to media, the White House referenced last week’s Supreme Court decision in Trump v. Slaughter, stating: “The President, and head of the Executive Branch, reserves the right to remove individuals that may not be totally aligned with the important task of securing America’s elections and ensuring every legal vote is counted. The Slaughter decision gives the President precedence to do so.”
The EAC is a bipartisan, independent commission that was established by the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) in 2002. It requires an affirmative vote by at least three of its commissioners to conduct official business or establish policy. Historically, the EAC has operated for extended periods without a quorum and for several years had zero sitting commissioners.
Since the EAC was created, the commissioners have worked in partnership with state and local election officials to advance the professionalization and integrity of the election profession. A fully functioning EAC is critical for promulgating the Voluntary Voting System Guidelines (VVSG) to certify voting equipment, serving as a clearinghouse of best practices and training support, disbursing HAVA Election Security Grants, and compiling the biennial Election Administration and Voting Survey (EAVS) report.
So what does it mean for this Commission to have no commissioners? In the absence of the Senate confirming new commissioners – by law the EAC must have partisan balance and congressional leaders are tasked with making recommendations to the President – some business can and will continue.
Significantly, the EAC staff has authority to continue disbursing Election Security Grants to states – the primary source of federal election funding – and to continue certifying voting equipment under current standards. Below is an overview of who holds the remaining limited EAC authority and what that authority does and does not encompass.
Again, you can read the details at the link. Seeing it broken down into what can and can’t happen now is shocking for any of us well-schooled in the functioning of government. Our collective pants should be on fire. This Talking Points article, written by John Light, has a headline that gets straight to the point. “Trump Seizes on SCOTUS Decision to Mess With the Midterms.”
A few weeks ago, the Supreme Court handed down a pair of decisions finding that 1. Trump could exert tremendous control over independent executive branch agencies, including firing their commissioners and 2. the Fed, also an independent agency, was different. Since then, the question of where Trump would strike first has lingered.
Now we know. Last night, Trump forced out all remaining commissioners atop the Election Assistance Commission — two Democrats and a Republican — just months before the midterms. In a statement to ProPublica, an unnamed White House official gestured toward the same logic the Supreme Court used, saying that Trump “reserves the right to remove individuals that may not be totally aligned with the important task of securing America’s elections and ensuring every legal vote is counted.”
The agency largely does the fairly anodyne work of providing election security support for states and distributing funding. But it has figured prominently in Trump’s attempt at a federal takeover of voting.
In a sweeping 2025 executive order, Trump directed the EAC to add a documentary proof of citizenship requirement to voter registration forms. He also ordered the agency to use its power to distribute funds to pressures states to require that all ballots be received by Election Day, not simply mailed to officials by Election Day.
That executive order and another 2026 order on elections have largely been blocked by the courts.
The question, writes election law scholar Rick Hasen, “is what Trump might try to do with the EAC without commissioners. Most boldly (and I would argue illegally) Trump could try to direct the commissioner-less EAC to do his bidding, for example by stating that the EAC must amend the federal voter registration form that states must accept for federal elections to include documentary proof of citizenship.”
“If he tries anything like this, it will be high profile and very important litigation that will end up at the Supreme Court on the emergency docket over the summer,” Hasen added
And, as we know, the Surpreme Court can no longer be fully trusted to reflect the Constition and the laws passed in 250 years of Congress. Trump is also set on passing the so-called SAVE America Act. Fortunately, he’s not vetoing anything, but it should startle us all that he’s hell-bent on destroying voting as we know it in this democratic republic. This from The Hill. “Trump says he won’t sign housing bill in protest of SAVE America Act inaction.” Julia Manchester has the story.
President Trump said Friday he will not sign the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, which is set to pass into law tonight, in protest of the Senate not passing the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE America) Act.
“THE SAVE AMERICA ACT’S non-passage is CRAZY, and a serious threat to any politician who votes against it!” Trump exclaimed in a lengthy Truth Social post.
rump proceeded to call on Senate Republicans to terminate the filibuster in an effort to pass the legislation, warning that Democrats will eliminate the parliamentary procedure if they win back the majority in the chamber.
“The Dumocrats will TERMINATE THE FILIBUSTER, if and when they ever get the chance to do so, in their very first hour – And I will no longer be able to call them Dumocrats again! The title of DUMB will revert to the Republicans who allowed this horrible calamity to happen to our Party, and our Nation, itself!” the president said.
Trump’s comments come just hours before the bipartisan housing legislation, which was passed late last month, is automatically set to go into law at midnight if the president does not veto the bill.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has said Trump will not stop the legislation even if he doesn’t sign it.
“He won’t veto the bill. We already know that. He’ll either allow it to just go into law, or he’ll put his signature on it and take partial ownership, and I hope he does the latter,” Johnson said in an interview with USA Today.
The president sent shock waves through Washington when he abruptly canceled a signing ceremony for the bill at the Capitol last month, saying he would not sign the legislation until the SAVE America Act is passed.
This is what the pursuit of nothing but blind power, attention, and greed leads to when put in charge of a government. We no longer lead the world. We are not the “shining city on the hill” touted by Ronald Reagan. We are now anathema in the hearts of governments and people who once struggled to get the form of government that is being blown up by one narcissistic man with dementia, surrounded by idiots and living demons.
Ms Sparkles awaits her trip to the Vet so she’ll come back to her forever colony and meals healthy and spayed.
I’m late again today. I’ve been trapping the feral cats around my house and on my block. Today, very early, Ms. Sparkles, whom I captured yesterday afternoon, returned from her trip to be spayed and given shots. This picture is when I caught her. She jumped out of the cage, ran to the food bowl, and her tribe. Sparkles joined Onyx, Bobo, and Silver in their little corner of the Bywater.
I’ve worked with Trap Dat Cat before. When I first got my Kristal, I was hard-pressed for cash, and Nita Hemeter took her to a vet and had her spayed. I raised enough money from my friends on Facebook to pay for the costs. It’s really important to have feral cat colonies here because we’re really close to the ports lined up and down the Mississippi River. Rats and all kinds of things thrive in that ecosystem. The cats control them. The city even recognizes their role in keeping the restaurants and homes free from vermin.
There are still lots of cats living in the old, abandoned Navy Base that is now being turned into a living community with commercial space. As they flee to us, they have a chance to be rehomed or welcomed into a feral cat colony like the one that lives under the very old homes and piers, as my feral cats do.
If you want to get your fill of pictures of some really cute kittens and cats, take a look at the link. Donations are also always welcome. I know Kristal, and I am happy to have them.
What’s on your Reading, Action, and Blogging list today?
Mostly Monday Reads: Trump goes all Mafia on FIFA
Posted: July 6, 2026 Filed under: #FARTUS, #We are so Fucked, 2026 FIFA, Trump Mafia Moves | Tags: @johnbuss.bsky.social John Buss, FIFA 2026, ICE, ICE Thugs, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, Trump Crime Syndicate, Trump ruins everything for nearly everyone 12 Comments
“Seems like for the estimated $10M midnight apocalyptic firework extravaganza for our Dear Leader, they could have afforded a T.” John Buss, @repeat1968
Good Day, Sky Dancers!
While getting ready for the Netherlands v Mexico last night, I just happened to flick through some headlines and let out a loud ‘What the Hell?’ Loud enough to get a response from down the hall: “What now?” The hell was two headlines — one from the New York Times and the other from The Independent — that convinced me it was real. I posted excerpts in response to JJ’s post last night downthread.
It basically gave the world another good reason to hate us or laugh at what we’ve become under Orange Caligula. My thought is we’ve become a Mafia state. This is the headline from the NYT: “Trump Asked FIFA to Review U.S. Player’s Suspension. Now He’s Eligible to Play. The reversal of Folarin Balogun’s World Cup suspension is highly unusual. It was the first time since 1962 that FIFA has nullified a suspension for a red card received during the World Cup.”
It’s basically big news today, so I’ll lead with it. This time, he insulted our friend and ally, Belgium, so I’ll start with their response today as reported by the AP. It’s reported by Samuel Petraquin. Also, there are pictures of the offense that got the red card. “Belgian federation to challenge FIFA’s decision to let Folarin Balogun play in World Cup match.”
The Belgian soccer federation wants an explanation from FIFA about a decision to let U.S forward Folarin Balogun play at the World Cup despite getting a red card in his previous game.
Belgium takes on the United States later Monday for a spot in the quarterfinals.
The Belgian federation (RBFA) said it has still not received either “FIFA’s decision or any explanation regarding this matter. In these circumstances, it has no choice but to challenge the player’s eligibility for the upcoming match.”
It did not specify where it intends to appeal FIFA’s decision.
U.S. President Donald Trump intervened on behalf of star U.S. forward Balogun, whose red-card suspension was lifted in a decision that allowed him to play against Belgium.
The Belgian federation said it learned through media reports about the FIFA’s move and sent a letter to the governing body requesting a copy of the decision as well as an explanation of the process.
“As its only response, FIFA sent a letter to the RBFA stating that it considered this correspondence to constitute an appeal, that a judge had been appointed, and that the RBFA had only a few hours to complete that appeal,” it said. “No information whatsoever was provided by FIFA.
Politico reports this on the Trump maneuver. “Inside the White House push to get Folarin Balogun back on the field. President Donald Trump got involved minutes after the U.S. striker received a red card that would have banned him from a crucial match.” Sophia Cai has the lede.
The campaign to keep Folarin Balogun on the field for the United States’ World Cup run began just minutes after the team’s leading goal-scorer received a red card that would sideline him for the team’s next match.
Following Wednesday’s victory against Bosnia and Herzegovina, White House FIFA World Cup Task Force executive director Andrew Giuliani alerted President Donald Trump to Balogun’s punishment for a rash tackle — removal from the Bosnia match and a routine one-match suspension that would keep him out of a must-win encounter against Belgium.
Trump and Giuliani had been speaking regularly about the World Cup for months. During the planning stages for the tournament, the president received frequent briefings on logistics, security and the U.S. team’s prospects. Once the competition began in mid-June, those conversations accelerated to multiple times each week.
By Wednesday night, the White House had committed itself to taking action over Balogun’s red card, which some soccer analysts believed to be a harsh punishment for the infraction. Giuliani, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and senior U.S. Soccer Federation officials — all of whom had watched the Bosnia match in person at Levi’s Stadium near San Francisco — began activating plans to challenge the referee’s on-field decision to issue a red card. Successful appeals of World Cup red cards are exceedingly rare.
That kicked off four days of coordinated lobbying, legal maneuvering and diplomacy that stretched from the Oval Office to FIFA’s headquarters in Zurich — and underscored how invested Trump’s inner circle had become in the second World Cup hosted on U.S. soil and the fortune of the U.S. men’s national team competing in it. POLITICO spoke to a half-dozen U.S. government and soccer officials who were either directly involved in or briefed on the week’s events.
On Sunday, a day before the U.S. was due to face Belgium with Balogun on the bench, FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee announced that it was suspending Balogun’s one-match suspension for a year. Trump thanked FIFA for “doing what was right and reversing a great injustice.” The Royal Belgian Football Association and European confederation UEFA, of which Belgium is a member, are considering taking action against the FIFA ruling, according to a high-ranking UEFA official granted anonymity to discuss ongoing deliberations.
On Thursday, Trump placed a call to FIFA President Gianni Infantino. The two men had built a friendship over nearly eight years, with Infantino becoming a frequent visitor to the Oval Office during Trump’s second term. They remained in contact even when events put U.S. government policy in conflict with FIFA’s objectives, according to people familiar with their relationship. That included when the Trump administration launched military strikes against Iran in February, jeopardizing the country’s ability to compete in the World Cup — a personal history that mattered when Trump dialed Infantino about the Balogun matter.
Trump asked about FIFA’s rules around the red card decision and the grounds for a suspension. Infantino listened carefully but made no promises about the outcome. FIFA declined to confirm any specific discussions but reiterated to POLITICO that the decision to suspend the one-match ban was made by an independent disciplinary committee.
As U.S. Soccer’s legal team formally prepared and submitted its appeal to FIFA, Giuliani and Lutnick also offered to make White House attorneys available to assist with legal analysis if needed, according to people involved in the discussions.
At the same time, Giuliani and Scott Goodwin — a hedge-fund manager who had helped to personally pay the salary of U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino — zeroed in on the officiating history of referee Raphael Claus, who made the red card call on Wednesday. Articles examining previous controversies involving the Brazilian referee circulated among senior government officials as they evaluated every possible argument that could bolster the appeal, according to sources familiar with the discussions.
Stephen Collinson of CNN has the story on what the rest of the world thinks about this shake-down.
For 24 days, the World Cup seemed to achieve a rare feat in America in 2026: It had almost nothing to do with Donald Trump.
But in an extraordinary twist following an appeal from the president, star US goal-scorer Folarin Balogun will play in the knockout clash with Belgium on Monday, despite being sent off in the previous match and earning a one-game ban.
“Thank you to FIFA for doing what was right, and reversing a great injustice! President DONALD J. TRUMP,” the president posted Sunday, taking a victory lap on Truth Social.
Trump added more rhetorical rocket fuel to the controversy on Monday, confirming that he’d called FIFA President Gianni Infantino to ask him to review the suspension.
“I didn’t say, ‘You have to do this,’” Trump said in the Oval Office, adding that he didn’t think Balogun’s offense was even a foul.
Balogun’s reprieve rocked global soccer, triggering fresh speculation about the cozy relationship between Trump and the FIFA supremo.
Trump’s call to Infantino and FIFA’s ultimate decision lifted a controversy about soccer refereeing into an international incident surrounding the world’s most popular sporting showcase.
The subsequent drama raises concerns about political interference and the integrity of the tournament. It doesn’t necessarily matter whether Trump’s muscling into the issue was decisive. Just the impression that it was risks souring global perceptions of an event that had generated remarkably positive headlines.
Controversy is guaranteed at World Cup finals. Who could forget Diego Maradona’s “hand of God” goal for Argentina in 1986 or French star Zinedine Zidane’s 2006 World Cup final headbutt?
Read more on this controversy at any of the three links. Believe me, there are a lot more out there. So, here’s another headline that’s making me think doing all that ish to get my passport was a good idea. This headline is from Wired as reported by Maddy Varner. “ICE’s Internal Watchdog Is Now Investigating Online Critics. The Office of Professional Responsibility has opened more than 100 cases over what ICE officials call “incidents of doxing and threats” against ICE employees.” ICE’s Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) is set up to conduct internal investigations, but has recently begun investigating American Citizens.
OPR is supposed to act as an internal watchdog. It’s responsible for inspecting detention facilities, investigating allegations of employee and contractor misconduct, and processing security checks for new applicants. On its site, it says it also protects against “external threats” by managing badge access to buildings and maintaining the agency’s network security. But lately, court documents indicate, it appears to be pursuing more civilians like Gonyea for what they say online.
In a court declaration filed in April, an ICE official said that between January 2025 and March 2026, OPR investigated 131 cases involving “incidents of doxing and threats directed towards ICE employees nationwide.”
It’s unclear how many of those cases resulted in criminal charges. WIRED was able to identify only one instance when OPR was credited for its investigative work in a case where the Justice Department accused a California man of harassing an ICE attorney and her mother. The DOJ alleged that the man, who pleaded guilty, used to live in the same building as the mother and that he started his harassment campaign in January 2024, well before President Trump took office. ICE did not respond to questions about whether other cases have been brought based on OPR’s work or how many additional cases OPR has opened since March.
“It takes a lot to actually convict someone for their speech, and it’s only possible in very limited circumstances,” says Laura Moraff, a staff attorney at the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project. “People do have a First Amendment right to criticize the government and to do that online and to do that anonymously.”
OPR was behind at least one of the flurry of administrative subpoenas sent to tech companies in recent months in an effort to unmask online critics. In court filings, lawyers for the poster argued that the subpoena, which asked for the poster’s name, address, telephone number, and other details, violated the poster’s right to free speech. The government withdrew the subpoena rather than trying to litigate its merits.
You may read some examples of U.S. citizens they’ve bothered by these claims in the article. You might recall this story via the article cited above.
… ICE agents arrived at a polling site in Syracuse, New York, during the state’s primaries in June. The agents were there to see Paigelynne Gonyea, a poll worker who says they were concerned about an Instagram post she had supposedly made in January, “doxing” an ICE agent.
So, who knows what they may be up to? Let’s hope the press stays on top of it. You may read a great update on the amount of nothing being done by the ICE Agent who killed Renee Good, who is at the root of the Paigelynne Gonyea OPR shenanigans. It’s at this link at The Atlantic. “The Death of Renee Good Has Yet to Be Properly Investigated. Six months after she and Alex Pretti were shot on the streets of Minneapolis, little has come of the probes into their killings.” Quinta Jurecic is the reporter for the story.
Nearly six months have passed since federal officers shot and killed Renee Good and Alex Pretti on the streets of Minneapolis. No one has been arrested, the Trump administration has provided no reason to believe that any serious investigation is taking place, and federal officials continue to stonewall state and local investigators in Minnesota.
This inaction was predictable. The day after Good’s death, Vice President Vance insisted at a press conference that the agent who shot her would face no criminal charges. “That guy is protected by absolute immunity,” Vance told reporters. “He was doing his job.” Soon, Stephen Miller doubled down on the message, announcing “to all ICE officers” that “you have federal immunity in the conduct of your duties.” Federal agents apparently received the message: The next day, an ICE agent fired a gun into a Minneapolis home, wounding a Venezuelan immigrant, Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis. The week after that, Pretti was killed outside a doughnut shop. The Department of Homeland Security called him a “domestic terrorist” and said that the officers who shot him had acted in self-defense.
Typically, after a contentious killing by a law-enforcement officer, the Justice Department would launch a criminal civil-rights probe. Following George Floyd’s murder, for example, DOJ conducted an investigation alongside Minnesota law enforcement, and both federal and state prosecutors brought separate charges against the Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. So far, though, the federal government has succeeded in protecting immigration officers from serious consequences for the violence of what DHS termed “Operation Metro Surge.” But in promising a total shield from accountability, Miller and Vance may have been premature. Law-enforcement officials in Minnesota are—albeit haltingly—beginning to move forward with investigations and prosecutions on their own. Their efforts may become the locus of yet another clash between state and federal authority in the age of President Trump.
For the first few hours after the ICE agent Jonathan Ross shot Good inside her car, the mechanisms of accountability appeared to operate normally: The FBI began mobilizing to investigate the crime scene alongside the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the state’s investigative agency. By the evening of the day she was killed, however, officials in Washington, D.C., had frozen out both Minnesota police and law enforcement in Hennepin County, where Minneapolis is located. In a recent podcast interview, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty recalled joining a conference call after Good’s death with the FBI, federal prosecutors, and Minnesota investigators: “Everybody agreed this would once again be a joint investigation. And then suddenly the BCA was kicked off the case.” Minnesota abruptly found itself without access to any of the evidence collected at the scene. Even Good’s maroon Honda Pilot, the windshield pierced by Ross’s bullet, was bundled away by the FBI into a storage facility before state law enforcement could get a look at it.
DOJ was now the only agency able to conduct a full investigation into the shooting. But it had little apparent interest in doing so. According to The New York Times, Harmeet Dhillon, who leads DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, refused to open a criminal investigation into Ross. Instead, DOJ looked into the possibility of investigating Good, along with her widow, Becca Good. Six federal prosecutors in Minnesota resigned in protest, as did an FBI agent in Minneapolis.
Bobo, who hangs out on the kitchen stairs waiting for friends and food.
The link is gifted and definitely worth the read.
So, that’s it for me today. I’m still working on trapping the feral cats living under my house, whom I feed and speak to daily. Work is progressing on the kathouse. The electrical work is mostly done. The A/C works again. The backyard no longer has a dilapidated pergula. It’s about to get a nice green space with a nice grill/smoker, a fire pit, many more plants, lighting, and Adirondack chairs. I look forward to the nice cooler fall days.
I’m off to set up traps for the infamous duo Bobo and Sparks.
Try to have a nice, quiet week. I was hoping the games would be a nice break, but then Orange Caligula can never let good enough alone. He has to get involved and ruin it for everyone. I still enjoy the openers where all the soccer kids come out with the players. Their looks make me realize we have to ensure the world is a better place before we leave it.
What’s on your Reading, Action, and Blogging list today?
peej
Carissa
bostonboomer
dakinikat
ecocatwoman
jjlolatina
mablue2
Mama Lopez
peggysue22
quixote
skydancingguestblogger
Mona (aka Wonk the Vote)
Sky Dancing 
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