"Also, just got a retweet for Elon. This one has legs."
"Also, just got a retweet for Elon. This one has legs."
The morally bankrupt Trump administration has partnered with another morally bankrupt authoritarian to declare an unprovoked war on Iran, already killing scores of civilians.
We need an immediate vote from Congress on a War Powers Resolution. Then articles of impeachment.
OCASIO-CORTEZ STATEMENT ON TRUMP'S COMBAT OPERATIONS IN IRAN "The American people are once again dragged into a war they did not want by a president who does not care about the long-term consequences of his actions. This war is unlawful. It is unnecessary. And it will be catastrophic. "Just this week, Iran and the United States were negotiating key measures that could have staved off war. The President walked away from these discussions and chose war instead.President Trump flippantly acknowledged the possibility of American casualties, stating "that often happens in war.' "Mr. President: this was not an inevitability. This is a deliberate choice of aggression when diplomacy and security were within reach. Stop lying to the American people. "Violence begets violence. We learned this lesson in Iraq. We learned this lesson in Afghanistan. And we are about to learn it again in Iran. Bombs have yet to create enduring democracies in the region and this will be no different. "In moments of war, our Constitution is unambiguous: Congress authorizes war. The President does not. I will do my part to uphold our Constitution by voting YES on Representatives Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie's War Powers Resolution. Every member of Congress must join us in rejecting this aimless war.
My statement on President Trumpβs combat operations in Iranβ¬οΈ
No justification, no authorization from Congress, and no clear objective.
But none of that matters to Donald Trump β and apparently neither do the safety and lives of American service members.
More of this please βοΈ
The βBoard of Peaceβ started World War 3 so fast.
he declared war, you useless asshole. you aren't supposed to get briefed *after* he's killed people. do your fucking job.
Compare AOC's statement to Schumer's. We desperately need to push out those ancient ineffectual Dems in charge.
Trump just attacked Iran and says the US can do a βfriendly takeoverβ of Cuba. Government agents are rounding people up in the street and executing some.
I really do not like the 1938 Nazi Germany vibes I feel now in the US
Ah yes, the famous No Backsies Corollary promulgated by Judge Learned Hand.
Fascists doing what they do best: abusing the system to stifle dissent.
I love Radiohead's statement on this: "We demand that the amateurs in control of the ICE social media account take it down. It ainβt funny, this song means a lot to us and other people, and you donβt get to appropriate it without a fight. Also, go fuck yourselves"
Happy Friday to you guys
Super bummed to hear this news. The Hyperion Cantos is one of the most magical things I have ever read and enjoyable on so many levels.
Trump is really doing a full-court press to get the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize!
such an embarrassing, fart-huffing knob
I am still amazed that despite a collective $1 trillion spent on AI since 2020, it continues to be a deeply flawed tech yet boosted by grifters promising just around the corner it will solve all of the problems of the world.
I cannot wait to see John Oliverβs take on his new corporate daddy.
Robby: I'm shocked! Shocked to find that white nationalism is going on in here.
[Twitter hands Renault a pile of clicks and links and mentions]
Twitter: Your white nationalist traffic, sir
Robby: [sotto voce] Oh, thank you very much.
I did not state that the Nazis or Imperialists were gone. What was gone was the ability of them to warmonger: changes to government structures, constitution, etc. I just hope the US doesn't start a war necessitating occupation.
@semafor.com is such a perfect example of softball brunchlord media and the feckless way it normalizes and downplays radical censorial authoritarians
reading this you'd barely be aware that Carr is a free speech trampling extremist (who in his free time guts telecom and media consumer protections)
I do wish that more of the media would start calling out Elon's delusions.
It will likely take 100 years to recover. Trust is broken and weβve shown how quickly we can go rogue without guardrails. DE and JP made significant structural changes after 1945 and if we do not make those changes, we might not ever recover.
stop calling us nazis just because we are invalidating IDs and rounding people up based on their skin color and putting them in concentration camps and sending them off to foreign gulags and using all that nazi imagery and banning books and dont forget about all the pedophilia. so just stop alright
Remember, ICE only goes after "the worst of the worst" -- murderers, rapists, drug traffickers and, apparently, Ivy League students cramming for a Genetics exam.
The second you leave this country for even a few days, you realize the place you call home is decaying at an almost exponential pace. The realization that you don't have to live like this is stark, and that nobody in power is taking tangible actions to fix it in your lifetime is even starker.
The rest of the world has moved on and is embracing a global order that does not include the US because we cannot be trusted. I travel internationally for work 6x/year, and the change since 2024 is glaring. I am not sure if the US can ever recover from Trumpβs damage.
LoL, holy shit. Ouch. This guy seemed to have a pretty sweet career trajectory going in shockingly little time, and now he'll probably be a nobody for the next couple of decades until he tries to make amends some how.
"Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member, Members of the Committee... as a former Senator, I have respect for legislative oversight and I expect its exercise, as do the American people, to be principled and fearless in pursuit of truth and accountability. As we all know, however, too often Congressional investigations are partisan political theater, which is an abdication of duty and an insult to the American people. The Committee justified its subpoena to me based on its assumption that I have information regarding the investigations into the criminal activities of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. Let me be as clear as I can. I do not. As I stated in my sworn declaration on January 13, I had no idea about their criminal activities. I do not recall ever encountering Mr. Epstein. I never flew on his plane or visited his island, homes or offices. I have nothing to add to that. Like every decent person, I have been horrified by what we have learned about their crimes. It's unfathomable that Mr. Epstein initially got a slap on the wrist in 2008, which allowed him to continue his predatory practices for another decade. Mr. Chairman, your investigation is supposed to be assessing the federal government's handling of the investigations and prosecutions of Epstein and his crimes. You subpoenaed eight law enforcement officials, all of whom ran the Department of Justice or directed the FBI when Epstein's crimes were investigated and prosecuted. Of those eight, only one appeared before the Committee. Five of the six former attorneys general were allowed to submit brief statements stating they had no information to provide. You have held zero public hearings, refused to allow the media to attend them, including today, despite espousing the need for transparency on dozens of occasions. You have made little effort to call the people who show up most prominently in the Epstein files. And when you did, not a single Republican Member showed up for Les Wexner's deposition. This institutioβ¦
as the public who also want to get to the bottom of this matter. My heart breaks for the survivors. And I am furious on their behalf. I have spent my life advocating for women and girls. I have worked hard to stop the terrible abuses so many women and girls face here and around the world, including human trafficking, forced labor, and sexual slavery. For too long, these have been largely invisible crimes or not treated as crimes at all. But the survivors are real and they are entitled to better. In Southeast Asia, I met girls as young as twelve years old who were forced into prostitution and raped repeatedly. Some were dying of AIDS. In Eastern Europe, I met mothers who told me how they lost daughters to trafficking and did not know where to turn. In settings around the world, I met survivors trying to rebuild their lives and help rescue others - with little support from people in power, who too often turned a blind eye and a cold shoulder. If you are new to this issue, let me tell you: Jeffrey Epstein was a heinous individual, but he's far from alone. This is not a one-off tabloid sensation or a political scandal. It's a global scourge with an unimaginable human toll. My work combatting sex trafficking goes back to my days as First Lady. I worked to pass the first federal legislation against trafficking and was proud that my husband signed the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, which increased support for survivors and gave prosecutors better tools for going after traffickers. As Secretary of State, I appointed a former federal prosecutor, Lou CdeBaca, to ramp up our global antitrafficking efforts. I oversaw nearly 170 anti-trafficking programs in 70 nations and directly pressed foreign leaders to crack down on trafficking networks in their countries. Every year we published a global report to shine a light on abuses. The findings of those reports triggered sanctions on countries failing to make progress, so they became a powerful diplomatic tool to drive concreteβ¦
Infuriatingly, the Trump Administration gutted the Trafficking in Persons Office at the State Department, cutting more than 70 percent of the career civil and foreign service experts who worked so hard to prevent trafficking crimes. The annual trafficking report, required by law, was delayed for months. The message from the Trump Administration to the American people and the world could not be clearer: combatting human trafficking is no longer an American priority under the Trump White House. That is a tragedy. It's a scandal. It deserves vigorous investigation and oversight. A committee endeavoring to stopping human trafficking would seek to understand what specific steps are needed to fix a system that allowed Epstein to get away with his crimes in 2008. A committee run by elected officials with a commitment to transparency would ensure the full release of all the files. It would ensure that the lawful redactions of those files protected the victims and survivors, not powerful men and political allies. It would get to the bottom of reports that DOJ withheld FBI interviews in which a survivor accuses President Trump of heinous crimes. It would subpoena anyone who asked on which night there would be the "wildest party" on Epstein's island. It would demand testimony from prosecutors in Florida and New York about why they gave Epstein a sweetheart deal and chose not to pursue others who may have been implicated. It would demand that Secretary Rubio and Attorney General Bondi testify about why this administration is abandoning survivors and playing into the hands of traffickers. It would seek out officers on the front lines of this fight and ask them what support they need. It would put forth legislation to provide more resources and force this administration to act. But that's not happening.
Instead, you have compelled me to testify, fully aware that I have no knowledge that would assist your investigation, in order to distract attention from President Trump's actions and to cover them up despite legitimate calls for answers. If this Committee is serious about learning the truth about Epstein's trafficking crimes, it would not rely on press gaggles to get answers from our current president on his involvement; it would ask him directly under oath about the tens of thousands of times he shows up in the Epstein files. If the majority was serious, it would not waste time on fishing expeditions. There is too much that needs to be done. What is being held back? Who is being protected? And why the cover-up? My challenge to you, Mr. Chairman, Members of the Committee, is the same challenge I put to myself throughout my long service to this nation. How to be worthy of the trust the American people have given you. They expect statesmanship, not gamesmanship. Leading, not grandstanding. They expect you to use your power to get to the truth and to do more to help survivors of Epstein's crimes as well as the millions more who are victims of sex trafficking."
Here is Hillary Clintonβs opening statement to House Oversight on Epstein.
Clinton says she does not recall ever encountering Epstein and says she knew nothing about his crimes.
She also says that Trump should testify under oath and criticizes the committee for not holding any public hearings.