John

Fuck ICE

US Olympians speak out against ICE and US immigration policy

Oh: Brad Karp? This Brad Karp? I’m getting a sudden sense of clarity about his unhesitant bend of the knee to the Trump II White House.

Believe Your Eyes People are risking their lives to document agents in Minneapolis.

Wrote about the observers. The people standing by and filming and the risk they are taking to let the world see what is happening. It's crucial and its the only way to combat the lies and blatant propaganda. www.theatlantic.com/technology/2...

Deutsche Bank here with the good stuff.
Game on.

Abigail Spanberger sworn in as Virginia's 75th governor The Democrat from Henrico County is the first woman elected to lead the commonwealth.

IT'S OFFICIAL: Virginia Governor Abigail Davis Spanberger.

From her inaugural remarks, "We do not have to see eye-to-eye on every issue in order to stand shoulder-to-shoulder on others."

Via @jahd.bsky.social, photos by @theshabomb.com

#VApol

Wow

The night before Spanberger’s inauguration

She’s cleared house at UVA

Top Youngkin appointees resign

Spanberger should be able to easily replace them given Dem trifecta

The former CIA officer asserting her control

Meanwhile, in Virginia

This. Constraint and accountability for using military force start closest to home. Advisers and members of the president’s party. Doesn’t have to be a vote, doesn’t have to be public. But there’s no constraining without it. War is an Insiders’ Game.

"Argentina's done it. Russia's done it. Turkey's done it. Venezuela's done it. And Zimbabwe's done it. It's a thing that tin pot dictators do... right before starting a hyperinflation and destroying their own economies."

European countries are facing a serious “are you sovereign or not?” moment.

Yes, it’s unfair. Yes, there are risks in standing up for yourselves. But there are awfully big risks in ongoing appeasement too, telling yourselves this US government doesn’t really mean the threats and can be persuaded.

So many in media are ill-equipped to interview officials about what’s happening because they begin with the presumption of legitimacy and don’t know enough about history or U.S. foreign policy to foment intelligent pushback and hold officials accountable.

Watch this. Watch again.

"This incredible thing last night... We have to do it again [in other countries]. We can do it again, too. Nobody can stop us."

We are the rogue nation people have been warning about

Keep in mind: Trump couldn't share his plans to invade Venezuela with Congress because they're "not trustworthy." But he had no problems sharing these plans with Chevron and Exxon Mobil, as we learn here.

Why are we here, you ask? This. This is why we are here.

Folks look at you like you’re crazy when you say we’re in the midst of the worst, most unprecedented Article I constitutional crisis in American history, & well, here we are.

Well…

Great quote:
"Our military are bathtub toys to him."

I’ve been thinking lately about how all children learn how good and wise America’s constitutional structure is: three branches of government, checks and balances, etc. And then in the real world, they just roll over to whatever Trump does. The idea feels almost quaint at this point.

Marco Rubio is reportedly saying Maduro will stand trial in US courts.

Which means it’s now the US administration’s position that US courts can hold foreign presidents, but not the US president, accountable for crimes.

Trump’s Tangled Web of Deal-Making, Policy and Riches (Gift Article) The president, his family and some of their closest associates have engaged in a sprawling campaign of deals that stretches across industries and the globe.

This is an extremely useful organigram, very similar in concept to something I recently saw from one of the major German foundations that has been tracking and attempting to unravel Trump's corrupt empire. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

we are going to win

This is why they want us talking about day care scams.

“But in a modern, free, and truly democratic society, it should not be a mystery for days to its population and its voters whether or not their president has just bombed a new sovereign nation, without any declaration of war – all while the federal government that’s funded by our tax dollars…

Top 10 companies by decade

None from 1995 are in today's Big 10. JPMAM

Freaking love this city and all the people in it so much….a bunch of people went and turned the 4 train into the Polar Express giving out toys to kids along the way from the Bronx to Brooklyn….shoutout to the @newyorkers.live account on IG for doing this 🙏 www.instagram.com/reel/DSnsvWS...

Interesting insight here

Scott Beardsley, you will quickly learn about the separation of powers between branches and what happens when one branch gives a middle finger to another that funds, regulates and allows their existence. Buckle up.

Private Equity Finds a New Source of Profit: Volunteer Fire Departments

Look, there’s a simple solution to private equity buying up and enshittifying the software that keeps us safe: a handful of municipal fire/rescue departments should team up, collaboratively build and share better software, and release it into the public domain. This is a common pattern!

Spirit Airlines’ competitors think it may go bust this weekend At issue is Spirit’s ability to draw $100 million from its financing in bankruptcy by a Dec. 13 deadline

There’s been a lot of talk since August about whether Spirit Airlines will survive its second bankruptcy in less than a year.

Things come to a head this weekend when Spirit’s lenders will decide whether it meets conditions for a needed capital infusion.

With @jonostrower.com on @theaircurrent.com