Category: Health / Healthcare / Illness / Vaccines

How ’bout That Flu This Year?

From WIRED:

Ritsuko Kawai Science Jan 2, 2026 5:00 AM

What Is the ‘Super Flu’ That Is Spreading in the United States and Europe?

The “super flu” behind outbreaks in the US and UK is a new variant of influenza A H3N2, subclade K. Here’s what you need to know.

The spread of influenza became more severe this fall, particularly in the United States and the United Kingdom. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has designated the 2024-25 flu season as the most severe season since 2017-18. In the UK, the spread has begun earlier than at any time since 2003-04.

Against this backdrop, some media outlets have begun using the term “super flu.” However, this term is not an official medical term. The actual name is “subclade K,” a new variant of influenza A H3N2.

This variant has multiple mutations in a protein on the surface of the virus called hemagglutinin, making it antigenically different from the variants used in existing vaccines. This allows it to partially evade immunity acquired through previous infection or vaccines, making people more susceptible to infection. Genetic analysis by the UK Health Security Agency has revealed that 87 percent of H3N2 viruses detected since late August 2025 are subclade K.

The Outbreak Began Earlier Than Usual

The term “super flu” is not necessarily scientifically accurate. The H3N2 strain already caused severe illness in the elderly and children, and the new mutant strain has not made it more deadly. Contrary to the name, the virus’s inherent danger is said to be no different from the conventional H3N2 strain.

In 2025, the US influenza pandemic peaked in early February, with active epidemics occurring in 87.3 percent of the country. For 11 consecutive weeks, more than 50 percent of the country recorded high epidemic levels, an anomaly that led to 287 child deaths. However, these figures reflect the scale of the epidemic and do not imply an increase in the lethality of the virus itself.

The influenza epidemic is hitting earlier this year in many parts of the world. While the usual peak in Japan occurs between late December and February, in 2025 the epidemic began in earnest at the end of September. According to the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare, of the 23 H3 virus strains collected in Japan between September and November 5 that could be analyzed, 22 were subclade K.

The reason for the early outbreak is thought to be the decline in immunity of the population due to the countermeasures against new coronavirus infection (Covid-19), as well as a decline in physical strength due to the record-breaking heat wave. During the three years of the coronavirus pandemic, the influenza epidemic was largely suppressed. As a result, it is possible that population immunity to the virus was reduced. In fact, with the 2024 influenza pandemic in Australia at its highest level since 19 years, it would not be surprising to see a similar trend in the Northern Hemisphere.

Existing Vaccines Are Effective

There has also been much interest in vaccine efficacy in the face of this virulent strain. The vaccine for the 2025-26 season is based on the conventional J.2 lineage (subclade), which has different antigenicity from subclade K. However, early data from the UK has confirmed that 70-75 percent of vaccinated children and 30-40 percent of adults did not end up visiting the emergency room or being hospitalized after infection. This means that even if the antigenicity is not completely identical, the vaccine remains effective in preventing severe illness.

The basic prevention measures are the same as for conventional influenza. Vaccination is recommended from October to November before the epidemic, and the effect appears about two weeks after vaccination. It is particularly recommended for people aged 65 and over, people with underlying medical conditions, pregnant women, children aged 6 months to 5 years, and medical workers. In daily life, it is effective to thoroughly wash and disinfect your hands, and wear a mask when in crowds. Ventilation in rooms and maintaining appropriate humidity levels are also important in suppressing viral activity.

If symptoms appear, it is best to wait at least 12 hours after the onset of fever before visiting a medical institution. Anti-influenza medication is most effective when taken within 48 hours of the onset of symptoms, and Xofluza and Tamiflu are considered effective. People should refrain from going out for five days after the onset of symptoms and two days (three days for children) after the fever has subsided, and should make sure to get plenty of rest and stay hydrated.

Contrary to the impression given by the word “super,” this current epidemic is an extension of the traditional influenza. For this reason, it is essential to respond calmly based on scientific understanding rather than fear.

In fact, the risk of developing severe symptoms can be significantly reduced by combining vaccination with basic infection control measures. Because this is a rare situation in which there are consecutive high-severity seasons, making responsible choices based on accurate information will help protect the health of society as a whole.

This story originally appeared in WIRED Japan and has been translated from Japanese.

Six People Are Rewriting the Constitution to Ensure Republicans Never Lose Power Regardless of Votes

The thanks for the link to this story goes to  https://personnelente.wordpress.com/2026/01/02/enshrining-minority-rule/  

 

 

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/1/1/2360958/-Six-People-Are-Rewriting-the-Constitution-to-Ensure-Republicans-Never-Lose-Power-Regardless-of-Votes?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=trending&pm_medium=web

Christopher Armitage, author

by Christopher Armitage

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Thursday, January 01, 2026 at 12:36:07p EST
200706101406-trump-john-roberts-illustration-flag-070620.jpg(Kenneth Fowler/CNN)

This article is going to explain what we’re actually facing, lay out its four preconditions, and show you that America meets every single one. It will then explain why knowing this is important, and what we can do once equipped with that knowledge.

There’s a name for what’s happening: electoral autocracy. Elections happen. Multiple parties compete. But the system is rigged to favor one faction through gerrymandered maps, voter suppression, captured courts, and media control. When the wrong side wins anyway, those captured courts block them from governing. Hungary operates this way. So do we.

Start with gerrymandered maps. The Brennan Center’s September 2024 analysis found Republicans hold approximately 16 extra House seats due to favorable district lines.¹ Republicans drew 191 congressional districts while Democrats drew 75.¹ Only 69 of 435 House seats are rated competitive.² The Senate is worse. California’s 39 million residents have the same representation as Wyoming’s 579,000, a ratio of 68 to 1.³ The 50 Republican senators who confirmed Trump’s Supreme Court justices represented 43.5 percent of the American population. Their 50 Democratic colleagues represented 56.5 percent.⁴ The last time Republican senators represented a majority of voters was 1996.⁵

Rigged maps only work if the right people show up to vote. That’s where voter suppression comes in. The evidence includes confessions. During floor debate on Montana’s HB 176 in 2021, a Republican state representative explained he wanted to end Election Day registration because young voters are “not on our side of the aisle.”⁶ The bill passed. In oral arguments before the Supreme Court that same year, Arizona Republican Party attorney Michael Carvin was asked what interest his party had in maintaining voting restrictions. His answer: eliminating them “puts us at a competitive disadvantage relative to Democrats.”⁷ When the Fourth Circuit struck down North Carolina’s HB 589, the court found the legislature had requested data on voting practices broken down by race, then restricted exactly those practices disproportionately used by Black voters. The law, the court wrote, “targeted African Americans with almost surgical precision.”⁸ North Carolina enacted that law less than two months after the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act in Shelby County v. Holder. Between 2021 and 2024, states passed 79 restrictive voting laws, nearly three times the number passed between 2017 and 2020.⁹

Gerrymandering and voter suppression tilt the playing field. Media control ensures tens of millions of Americans never realize the game is rigged. Sinclair Broadcast Group owns or operates 178 television stations reaching approximately 40 percent of American households.¹⁰ The company requires stations to air “must run” segments including commentary from Boris Epshteyn, a former Trump White House official, nine times per week.¹⁰ In March 2018, Deadspin compiled footage of nearly 200 Sinclair anchors reading identical scripts warning about “fake news” at other outlets.¹¹ You can watch the video. Sinclair executive chairman David Smith reportedly told Trump in 2016: “We are here to deliver your message.”¹² When your local news is owned by a conservative media conglomerate pushing partisan content through trusted local faces, voters cannot punish leaders for policy failures they never learn about.

None of this would hold without the final piece: captured courts that enforce the rigged system and block any attempt to change it.

The Biden administration asked the Supreme Court to decide whether federal district judges have the power to issue nationwide injunctions blocking presidential policies. The Court declined to hear the case.¹³ The Trump administration asked the same question. The Court took it, ruled in Trump’s favor, 6-3.¹⁴

Same legal question. Same Court. Different answer depending on who asked.

The judiciary abandoned neutrality decades ago. Bush v. Gore stopped votes from being counted. Shelby County gutted voting rights. Citizens United flooded elections with dark money. What we’re watching now is the endgame.

The Niskanen Center analyzed the Court’s treatment of lower court injunctions and found that within the first six months of Trump’s second term, the Supreme Court lifted approximately 77 percent of injunctions blocking administration actions. For the Biden administration over four years, the Court lifted 10 percent.¹⁵ Georgetown law professor Steve Vladeck documented that in the first 20 weeks of Trump’s second term, the administration sought emergency action from the Supreme Court 19 times. That equals the total number of requests the Biden administration made over four years.¹⁶ The Court sided with Trump nearly every time.

In July 2024, the Court ruled 6-3 that presidents enjoy absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts within their core constitutional authority, and presumptive immunity for all other official acts.¹⁷ The Court held that Trump’s discussions with the Acting Attorney General about overturning the 2020 election fell within his exclusive constitutional authority and were therefore absolutely immune.¹⁷ Courts cannot inquire into a president’s motives. An action does not become unofficial merely because it violates the law.¹⁷ Justice Sotomayor wrote in dissent that the decision makes the president “a king above the law.”¹⁷

A president can now direct the Justice Department to prosecute political enemies. He can order federal law enforcement to investigate, harass, and charge anyone he designates as a threat. He can pardon co-conspirators before, during, or after any scheme. He can fire any official who refuses to comply. If these actions fall within his official duties, he faces no criminal liability. The Court manufactured this immunity from whole cloth. No statute authorized it. No constitutional text required it. No precedent compelled it. Six justices simply declared that presidents need this protection to act “boldly.”

The Court is simultaneously dismantling the independence of federal agencies. In Trump v. Slaughter, currently before the Court, the administration argues that the president can fire Federal Trade Commission commissioners at will, eliminating the for-cause removal protections that have governed independent agencies since 1935.¹⁸ The D.C. Circuit has already ruled that Trump’s firings of Merit Systems Protection Board and National Labor Relations Board members were lawful.¹⁸ If Humphrey’s Executor falls, the Federal Reserve, the FTC, the SEC, the NLRB, and every other independent agency comes under direct presidential control. A president could fire the Fed chair for refusing to cut interest rates before an election. He could purge every agency of anyone who might resist.

Criminal immunity for official acts. Direct control of every federal agency. And now, with the nationwide injunction ruling, illegal orders take effect everywhere except in the specific jurisdictions where individual plaintiffs have standing to sue. The Court has built a legal architecture in which a Republican president operates with essentially no constraint.

Now consider what the same Court does when a Democrat holds office. In June 2023, the Court struck down President Biden’s student loan forgiveness program, a $430 billion initiative affecting over 40 million borrowers.¹⁹ Chief Justice Roberts invoked the “major questions doctrine,” holding that agencies cannot make decisions of vast economic significance without explicit congressional authorization.¹⁹ The previous year, the Court used the same doctrine to strike down the Clean Power Plan.²⁰ In June 2024, the Court overturned Chevron deference entirely, eliminating the 40-year principle that courts should defer to agency interpretations of ambiguous statutes.²¹ The six-justice majority handed every conservative federal judge in the country a veto over Democratic governance.

The student loan program and the Clean Power Plan were not radical initiatives. They were exercises of delegated authority that prior courts would have upheld without controversy. This Court invented new doctrines to stop them. As Justice Kagan wrote in dissent, the Court’s approach “overrules Congress’s decisions about when and how to delegate” and makes the Supreme Court itself “the arbiter, indeed, the maker, of national policy.”²²

SCOTUSblog’s analysis calls this the “who-what duality” of the Roberts Court: expanding presidential power over personnel while restricting presidential power over policy.²³ But that framing is too neutral. The personnel expansions let a Republican president fire anyone who might resist. The policy restrictions prevent a Democratic president from using the administrative state to do anything at all. One president gets to destroy. The other gets blocked from building. This is not judicial philosophy. It is collaboration.

None of these tools will transfer. A Democratic president attempting to invoke the immunity ruling, the removal power, or the elimination of nationwide injunctions would discover new limits, new doctrines, new procedural barriers. We know this because we already have the data. Seventy-seven percent versus ten percent. Nineteen emergency requests in twenty weeks versus nineteen in four years. Same questions, different answers, depending entirely on who is asking.

Here is what all of this means in plain terms. One faction wins elections while losing the popular vote, governs without constraint, and installs lifetime judges who validate the structures that enabled minority rule. The other faction needs supermajorities to win, cannot govern when it does, and watches every policy achievement get struck down by courts it cannot reform. The gears turn freely toward authoritarian consolidation. Try to turn them back and the teeth catch.

This is why nothing ever gets better. Two-thirds of Americans support raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour.²⁴ Seventy-three percent believe the healthcare system needs major change or a complete rebuild, including 67 percent of Republicans.²⁵ Exposed to policies without party labels, supermajorities support them. Yet the federal minimum wage has not moved since 2009. Healthcare remains broken. Housing stays unaffordable. Climate action stalls. Not because these policies are unpopular. Because the system is designed to prevent the popular will from becoming law. Gerrymandered legislatures will not pass them. If they pass, captured courts strike them down. If courts uphold them, the next minority-elected president dismantles them.

Every precondition is met. This is not a warning about where we are headed. We are already here.

The federal government will not save us. It has been captured. Any strategy for preserving democratic governance must begin by acknowledging what we are actually facing. What remains is the ground we still hold at the city and state level, and the willingness to use it.

The Introduction to Soft Secession booklet explains exactly what that looks like: public banking, interstate compacts, criminal prosecutions of federal officials under state law, and revenue strategies that reduce dependency on a captured federal government. It’s free at BuyMeACoffee.com/TheER, along with the Educate Activate Recruit Repeat Method for actually getting these policies passed, Being Dangerous: How to Go from Activist to Operative, a printable trifold you can hand out, and Conservatism: America’s Personality Disorder, the full book explaining how we got here. Physical copies and merch at TheExistentialistRepublic.com.

References

  1. Brennan Center for Justice. (2024, September). How gerrymandering tilts the 2024 race for the House. https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/how-gerrymandering-tilts-2024-race-house
  2. Unite America. (2024). Research brief: Why are most congressional elections uncompetitive? https://www.uniteamerica.org/articles/research-brief-why-are-most-congressional-elections-uncompetitive
  3. Harvard Gazette. (2022, November). Change the Senate: Vicki C. Jackson. https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2022/11/change-the-senate-vicki-c-jackson/
  4. Brookings Institution. (2022, July 13). The challenge to democracy: Overcoming the small state bias. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-challenge-to-democracy-overcoming-the-small-state-bias/
  5. FiveThirtyEight. (2020, July 29). The Senate has always favored smaller states. It just didn’t help Republicans until now. https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-senate-has-always-favored-smaller-states-it-just-didnt-help-republicans-until-now/
  6. Montana Free Press. (2021, March 24). GOP lawmaker says prior voter registration bill that died had “ichthyological” qualities. https://montanafreepress.org/2021/03/24/montana-prior-voter-registration-debate/
  7. Brennan Center for Justice. (2021, March 2). Supreme Court appears skeptical of key Voting Rights Act provision. https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/supreme-court-appears-skeptical-key-voting-rights-act-provision
  8. North Carolina State Conference of the NAACP v. McCrory, 831 F.3d 204 (4th Cir. 2016).
  9. Brennan Center for Justice. (2024, December). State voting laws roundup: 2024 in review. https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/voting-laws-roundup-2024-review
  10. Britannica. (2024). Sinclair Broadcast Group. https://www.britannica.com/money/Sinclair-Broadcast-Group
  11. Deadspin. (2018, March 31). How America’s largest local TV owner turned its news anchors into soldiers in Trump’s war on the media. https://deadspin.com/how-americas-largest-local-tv-owner-turned-its-news-anc-1824233490
  12. New York Magazine. (2018, April 3). The conservative mediaeli giant that could rival Fox News. https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/04/sinclair-broadcast-group-david-smith-trump-fox-news.html
  13. NPR. (2025, July 10). How SCOTUS ruled to increase executive power and challenge constitutional order. https://www.npr.org/2025/07/10/nx-s1-5463516/how-scotus-ruled-to-increase-executive-power-and-challenge-constitutional-order
  14. PBS NewsHour. (2025, June 28). How the Supreme Court ruling on nationwide injunctions affects presidential powers. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/how-the-supreme-court-ruling-on-nationwide-injunctions-affects-presidential-powers
  15. Niskanen Center. (2025, October 15). The Supreme Court is enabling Trump’s executive power. https://www.niskanencenter.org/the-supreme-court-is-enabling-trumps-executive-power/
  16. Brennan Center for Justice. (2025). Supreme Court must explain why it keeps ruling in Trump’s favor. https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/supreme-court-must-explain-why-it-keeps-ruling-trumps-favor
  17. Trump v. United States, 603 U.S. 593 (2024).
  18. NPR. (2025, December 8). Supreme Court appears poised to vastly expand presidential powers. https://www.npr.org/2025/12/08/nx-s1-5626876/supreme-court-trump-ftc-unitary-executive
  19. Biden v. Nebraska, 600 U.S. ___ (2023).
  20. West Virginia v. EPA, 597 U.S. 697 (2022).
  21. Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, 603 U.S. ___ (2024).
  22. SCOTUSblog. (2023, June 30). Supreme Court strikes down Biden student-loan forgiveness program. https://www.scotusblog.com/2023/06/supreme-court-strikes-down-biden-student-loan-forgiveness-program/
  23. SCOTUSblog. (2025, December). The who’s and what’s of presidential power. https://www.scotusblog.com/2025/12/the-whos-and-whats-of-presidential-power/
  24. Pew Research Center. (2021, April 22). Most Americans support a $15 federal minimum wage. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2021/04/22/most-americans-support-a-15-federal-minimum-wage/
  25. Community Catalyst. (2024). New polling: Health care affordability is a significant and growing concern for most voters. https://communitycatalyst.org/news/new-polling-health-care-affordability-is-a-significant-and-growing-concern-for-most-voters/

Two days of news that is all over the map.

Why I do these posts.   This is three days of Joe My God that got away way from me.   So why do I do these long news posts?  Because I comb the Joe My God comment section for the best memes and snarkiest comments.   It dawned on me I could post his news articles for those that want to read them.  But three days is a lot to go throw and it is much easier just to quickly scan and snatch the comments rather than post them.   So I need some inputs from everyone.  Are these posts worth it?  Or would you rather go to Joe My God yourselves.  Or I can keep doing these.   Up to you.  Hugs

—————————————————————————————————————————-

 

tRumps Grifts / Scams / Ripping off the rubes / tRump’s ego / tRump’s Crimes / tRump’s health / Republican grifts & payouts for supporting tRump / other trump scammers

Vaporware Trump Phone Again Gets Release Delay

The Trump Mobile website recently scrubbed its “100% made in America” claim.

 

Trump: Construction Of Arch To Start In Two Months

 

Trump’s Golfing Cost Over $110 Million This Year

The Trump Golf Tracker estimates that the president’s golf trips have cost taxpayers some $110,600,000 so far in 2025. But that estimate, which was based on a 2019 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on four golf trips during his first term, doesn’t even take into account the month of December.

 

Trump Moves To Seize DC’s Public Golf Courses

 

Trump: My Ballroom Will Host The Next Inauguration

 

 

Smith’s House Testimony Released, Many Redactions

 

 

Both Of Trump’s Hands Are Now Showing Bruising

 

MTG: Trump Has Proven His Christian Faith Is Fake

 

Israeli President: Trump Lied About Netanyahu Pardon

 

 

Trump Lies: “No Hostages Were Released Under Biden”

 

Trump Threatens To Sue Fed Chair Jerome Powell

 

Alaska Gets Big Payoff For Murkowski’s Megabill Vote

 

DHS Seeks “Emergency” Demolition Of DC Buildings

 

Money Beg: Get Your Tariff Check Before Dems Steal It

DOJ Warned Trump Of Homan Bribery Investigation

 

“Civil War” Couple Guilty In $2 Million Medical Scam

 

 

Epstein Files / Sexualizing women 

DOJ Is Now Reviewing 5.2M Pages Of Epstein Docs

 

MTG “Never Liked MAGA Mar-A-Lago Sexualization”

 

MTG: Trump Said “My Friends Will Get Hurt” After I Threatened To Identify Men Who Sexually Abused Girls

 

 

 

Criminal Israel / Genocide / How easy tRump is played 

TODAY: Netanyahu Meets With Trump At Mar-A-Lago

 

 

The right wing media / the media arms of the GOP & Republican Party / The over the top thuggery and complete disrespect for common decency / Ask if you would like your child to act this way …. because maga does want their kids to be this crass as it makes them feel good / Kennedy Center debacle

 

Minnesota GOP Secretly Behind Viral Day Care Video

The video was shared by Vice President JD Vance. FBI director Kash Patel said he is aware of the video and the FBI is investigating. The YouTuber says he is uncovering new fraud in Minnesota, but media outlets like KSTP reported more than a year ago about more than 62 investigations into Minnesota child care centers.

 

Comer Summons Tim Walz Over “Day Care Fraud”

What this is really about is they are afraid Walz will run for office and win as he is so well liked.   They are trying to gin up a fake scandal to Benghazi him like they did with Hillary Clinton.   I posted yesterday how fake and full of lies / misinformation the “report” the YouTuber did was.  In the article above this one you can see how the Republican Party had a hand in helping the right wing influencer to push a fake story.   The state has been investigating these things for several years.  Hugs

 

ABC: HHS Freezes Child Care Funding For All States

 

 

Top DOJ Official Calls MAGA Critics “Paid Hoes”

Can these people hear what comes out of their mouths?  How nuts are they?  Why are they relevant anymore?   Hugs

Kari Lake: Imprison Trump’s Critics For Life [VIDEO]

 

Fox News Host Attacks Biden For Being “On Vacation”

Kennedy Center Changed Rules Before Renaming Vote

 

 

Grenell Claims “Legacy Media Is Encouraging Boycotts”

 

Two More Acts Cancel Kennedy Center Performances

 

Grenell Rages Over Latest Kennedy Center Cancellations

 

 

Trump Claims Approval Rating Is Twice What Polls Say

 

WSJ Board Mocks Latest 2020 Election Batshittery

Pam Bondi: The DOJ Is Investigating Obama And Biden Officials For “Conspiring” Against My Glorious Leader

 

 

 

Wars / Other countries taking advantage of tRump’s weakness / tRump’s false golden dome give away to defense contractors.

China Conducts Live-Fire Military Drills Around Taiwan

 

Bondi Deletes Post That Accidentally Praised Joe Biden

The chart posted shows that overall drug deaths dropped between 2023 and 2024, when the Biden administration was in the White House.

Before tRump started blowing up boats for oil.  Hugs

 

Trump Claims US Struck “Big Facility” In Venezuela

 

30th “Drug Boat” Strike Brings Murder Toll To 107

 

 

Trump: US “Exploded” Venezuelan Marine Facility

 

CNN: CIA Carried Out Drone Strike On Venezuelan Port

 

 

Zelensky: US Offered 15 Years Of Security Guarantees

 

Zelensky: Russia Is Lying To Sabotage Peace Talks

Don Bacon Blasts Trump For Swallowing Putin’s Lies

Mike Pompeo: “Putin Has Conceded Literally Nothing”

 

Trump Admin Gives Visa To Propagandist For Russia

 

 

Congress Still In The Dark About $175B “Golden Dome”

 $175 billion for a “golden dome” that experts doubt would actually work, but only $2 billion in humanitarian aid for the United Nations. It’s what Jesus would want.

Space based weapons are forbidden by treaties that the US signed.  That said do we have space based weapons … well I was sending commands somewhere for something when I was in the Army Sat coms / intel unit.  You decide.   Hugs

 

Trump Threatens To “Knock The Hell” Out Of Iran

 

Dershowitz Calls On Trump To Overthrow Iranian Govt

 

 

Maga hate fail / tRump lost in court / tRump supporters doing what they do not want you to know about / ICE lies / tRump’s DOJ / Misinformation / Trying to change history by spewing & omitting facts or what really happened

 

Charges Dropped Against TikTok Streamer Shot By ICE

 

ICE Plans $100 Million Recruitment Push At Gun Shows

 

 

DOJ: Pipe Bomber Planned To Attend J6 Protest Rally

 

DOJ Busted Lying About Charging Kilmar Garcia

The emails, which were made public as part of a newly unsealed judicial order, largely reflected communications about the case that Robert E. McGuire, the acting U.S. attorney in Nashville, had with members of his staff and with Aakash Singh, a top official in Mr. Blanche’s office. They raised serious questions about whether the Justice Department had misled Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw Jr., who is overseeing the case, by telling him that local prosecutors had acted alone in charging Mr. Abrego Garcia.

 

Trump: National Guard Will Leave Chicago, LA, Portland

 

Chip Roy Cites Nazis In Call To End All Immigration

DHS Asks Courts To Summarily Dismiss Asylum Claims

 

 

 

Hate / Bigotry / DEI / White Supremacy / Christian Nationalism / US aid to only white countries or white dominated areas / US Healthcare / For Profit drug prices rip off the US public /

Major Companies To Face “Fraud” Charges Over DEI

The civil probes are proceeding under the umbrella of the False Claims Act, which has traditionally been used to go after contractors who bill the government for work that was never performed or inflate the cost of services rendered.

 

US Pledges $2B In Humanitarian Aid, Down From $17B

The U.S. slashed its aid spending this year, and leading Western donors such as Germany also pared back assistance as they pivoted to increased defense spending, triggering a severe funding crunch for the United Nations.

U.N. data shows total U.S. humanitarian contributions to the U.N. fell to about $3.38 billion in 2025, equating to about 14.8% of the global sum. This was down sharply from $14.1 billion the prior year, and a peak of $17.2 billion in 2022.

 

NOTUS: Trump To Decimate Senior Care Workforce

CDC: “Super Flu” Spikes Hospitalizations Nationwide

 

 

OK Bill Would Let Doctors Refuse LGBTQ Patients

The idea behind the legislation originated with the Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative Christian legal advocacy group that has gained prominence for its work to incorporate religion in public spaces.

West last appeared here for his bill that would create a database of abortion patients.

In 2024, we heard from West for his bill to ban Pride flags at public schools and government buildings.

He appeared here in 2023 for his bill that would make it a felony to perform drag in the view of minors. His bill called for a $20,000 fine and up to two years in prison.

West first appeared here in 2021 when Gov. Kevin Stitt signed his bill making it legal to run over protesters.

The tweet below refers to West’s attempt to pass this same bill earlier this year.

Drugmakers Hike US Prices On Over 350 Medications

Last week Trump claimed that he was bringing down drug prices by 3000%.

 

US Removes Overseas Displays Honoring Black Soldiers

 Popolo is a Trump megadonor with business interests in the Netherlands. News about the removal of the displays first surfaced last month.

 

Gay WA State Trooper Sues Over “Demeaning” AI Video

 

FL Bill Would Make Horse Paste Over The Counter

 

 

tRump’s attack on Colorado because they won’t bow to the whim of the tyrant.  His withholding money is illegal but no republican will stand up to the demented king.  

 

Trump: Colorado’s “Scumbag Governor Can Rot In Hell” For Refusing To Release QAnon Nutbag “Tina Petters”

 

 

Trump Vetoes Clean Water Project For Colorado

 In the past two week, Trump denied FEMA relief for Colorado and ordered the dismantling of the nation’s premier climate research facility. 

 

Renewable energy / fossil fuels / More tRump lies

Trump Claims “Windmills Are Killing All Our Beautiful Bald Eagles” (Photo Shows Israeli Windmill And Falcon)

AI / Chatbots / Advertising / Destroying education / Erasing Scientific knowledge /

ChatGPT To Promote Advertisers In Its Responses

 

Trump Admin To Shutter NASA Research Library

 

Good things 

SF Plans Apartment Tower For LGBTQ Seniors [VIDEO]

 

This is why Christian homeschooling hurts children

The New Anti-Trans Rules Are SO Much Worse Than You Think

ICE Agent Kneels on Pregnant Woman as Bystanders Hurl Snowballs at Him

https://newrepublic.com/post/204539/ice-agent-kneels-pregnant-woman-minneapolis

As always, the story Minneapolis residents are sharing is different from what ICE claims.

Rachel Kahn/

/
Masked ICE agents stand in the snow questioning a Black man.
Christopher Juhn/Anadolu/Getty Images

ICE agents violently restrained a woman in Minneapolis on Monday, dragging her through the snow and pinning her face down as onlookers shouted that the woman was pregnant.

During what was supposed to be a “targeted vehicle stop,” according to ICE officials, protesters swarmed the agents. Esme Murphy, a WCCO reporter, was on the scene, where she saw ICE holding a woman on the ground.

“Please let her go! She’s pregnant!” one onlooker shouted.

“Get her off of her fucking stomach,” another said.

In response to this, one agent fired a Taser into the crowd. “Who wants more?” he taunted, according to WCCO.

“We kept yelling, ‘She is pregnant, she’s pregnant,’” resident Tonika Deutch told Murphy. “They put their knees on her. We kept telling them, ‘She can’t breathe, let her up, let her up.’”

The woman was then dragged by one arm, as the crowd continued to yell and plead with the ICE agents. Bystanders threw snowballs, and ICE agents fired pepper spray into the crowd—hitting Murphy, the reporter, as well as her photographer.

ICE called the Minneapolis Police Department for backup. Once they arrived, the officers determined there was “no violence occurring” against the agents. “We have been training our officers for the last five years very, very intensely on de-escalation, but unfortunately that is … often not what we are seeing from other agencies in the city,” Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara told WCCO.

According to ICE, they succeeded in arresting the targets of their operation: a young Ecuadorian couple who were abducted from their car, its windows shattered by agents. The woman is currently in custody in Illinois, and it’s not known where her husband is being held. Two U.S. citizens were also arrested for assaulting federal officers, according to CBS.

I don’t believe they did that news … well yes I do

The Epstein files / tRump DOJ / 

Trump To DOJ: Stop Working On The Epstein Files

 

 

More tRump stupidity / tRump putting his branding everywhere / is he the president or chief architect / Fluffing tRump’s ego / tRump’s grifting / tRump’s lies & misinformation 

Trump Wants “Marble Armrests” In Kennedy Center

 

 

tRump bans the word affordability / Costs / Pricing

Trump: Midterm Elections Will Be All About “Pricing”

 

Fox News Host: “Trump Is A Victim Of His Own Success”

Trump Buys Tens Of Millions In Corporate Debt

 

 

FactCheck.org: “Trump’s Biggest Whoppers Of 2025”

 

 

Does Congress matter anymore / Defying congress /

Cabinet Members Have Refused To Testify In Public

 

 

 

Putin owns tRump / Russia’s war against Ukraine / 

Russia Bombs Kyiv Ahead Of Trump-Zelenksy Meeting

 

Zelensky Says He’ll Call Referendum On Peace Deal

Trump Confers With Putin Ahead Of Zelensky Meeting

 

 

TODAY: Trump And Zelensky To Meet At Mar-A-Lago

GOP Rep Dodges On Trump Siding With Russia [VIDEO]

Trump: “I Do Believe We Have The Makings Of A Deal”

Trump Backs Putin In Opposing Ceasefire [VIDEO]

 

 

tRump’s illegal war for oil 

NYT: How Oil Fueled Trump’s Venezuela Campaign

 

Letting China gain while tRump grifts

WaPo: China Expands Nuclear Warhead Capacity

 

 

ICE / Hate / Racism / FBI / Christian Nationalism / Forcing Christian doctrine on everyone else / White privilege  

DOJ Moves To Void Thousands Of Asylum Applications

 

Voldemort Cites Christmas Movie To Attack Immigrants

Voldemort Rewrites US History In Anti-Immigrant Rant

 

 

Trump To Pay Palau $7.5M To Take Just 75 Migrants

That’s $100,000/head.   tRump doesn’t care  as he spends the taxpayers money / countries treasury like a drunk spending other peoples money.  He is a tryant in that he thiinks that money is his todo what he wants even though the law states that only congress controls spending. This is human traficing plain and simple.   Hugs

 

HUD Sec Blames Migrants For High Cost Of Housing

In  September 2025, Turner’s agency sponsored a far-right anti-LGBTQ extremist to lead a massive Christian nationalist rally on Washington DC’s National Mall, the first-ever such event formally sanctioned by the federal government.

In June, it was reported that Turner is moving to take over the former National Science Foundation building as his agency’s headquarters, where he has demanded a full-floor executive suite, a private dining room, and parking for his five personal cars.

 

Patel: I’m Shutting Down FBI’s Building “Permanently”

 

Voldemort’s Wife: Women Should Be “Raising Babies”

It is not lost on me that the above story is a woman with a career telling other woman they need to be stay at home mothers / trad wives to please a man because of religious dogma.   Hugs

Florida Republicans Introduce “The Bible Says So” Bill

Yarborough appeared here last month for his bill that would ban Pride flags at government buildings, including public schools.

He appeared here in April 2025 for his bill that would ban thousands of books, including classic novels, over sexual content.

Yarborough appeared here March 2025 for his bill that would ban civil rights ordinances enacted by cities and counties, including, presumably, LGBTQ protections.

He first appeared on JMG in 2010, when as a member of the Jacksonville City Council he declared that gays, Muslims, and atheists should not be permitted to hold public office, otherwise God will smite the country.

In April 2023, lawmakers approved Yarborough’s ban on drag shows before minors. Yarborough is also the author several anti-trans bills.

Borrero appeared here in 2023 for a ban on Pride flags that died in committee. He tried again last year, but that attempt died after passage in its first committee hearing.

Borerro first appeared on JMG in January 2022 for his successful bill mandating that Florida public schools recognize an annual “Victims Of Communism Day.”

 

Just stupid / Idiotic /  

COPS: Man Killed Neighbor While Target-Shooting

 

“Death To Biden And Polis” Cultist Runs For CO Gov

Oltmann appeared here last year when he called for executing Joe Biden, adding, “I want to send the mainstream media to the gallows, radical leftists to the gallows, traitors to our nation to the gallows, and they all kind of fit in the same bucket.”

In 2022, he appeared here when he announced that he would lead a “well-armed action” to install Kari Lake as governor of Arizona.

In 2021, he appeared here when he called for executing the 19 Republican Senators who voted to avert a government shutdown.

 

Cruel Kristi Noem says it’s not her problem if a gay hairdresser she sent to a prison camp is dead

https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2025/05/cruel-kristi-noem-says-its-not-her-problem-if-a-gay-hairdresser-she-sent-to-a-camp-is/?utm_source=lgbtqnation&utm_medium=directlink&utm_campaign=directlink&utm_content=Cruel+Kristi+Noem+says+it%E2%80%99s+not+her+problem+if+a+gay+hairdresser+she+sent+to+a+prison+camp+is+dead

She sent people to languish in the prison known for torturing inmates. Now she says how they’re treated isn’t her “jurisdiction.”

Photo of the author

Alex Bollinger (He/Him)May 15, 2025, 9:14 am EDT
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi NoemHomeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem | Steven Spearie/The State Journal-Register / USA TODAY NETWORK

Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) confronted Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem about the administration sending a gay man to a prison camp in El Salvador and not even knowing if he’s still alive. Noem said that it wasn’t her problem.

Noem, who has bragged in the past about shooting her dog to death, appeared before the House Homeland Security Committee for a hearing yesterday, where Garcia asked her about Andry Hernandez Romero, a gay hair dresser from Venezuela who came to the U.S. legally to escape anti-LGBTQ+ violence and who was sent to the CECOT camp in El Salvador, which is known for torturing inmates, earlier this year.

The administration, which sent immigrants to the CECOT without letting courts determine if they were in the country illegally or if they had committed any crimes, has refused to try to bring anyone back from the camp.

“Would you commit to just letting his mother know – as a mother-to-mother – if Andry is alive?” Garcia asked Noem. “He was given an asylum appointment by the United States government. We gave him an appointment, we said, Andry, come to the border at this time and claim asylum, he was taken to a foreign prison in El Salvador.”

“His mother just wants to know if he’s alive. Can we check and do a wellness check on him?”

Noem said she doesn’t “know the specifics” of Hernandez Romero’s case but said that since he’s in El Salvador, Garcia should be asking El Salvador’s government about him.

“This isn’t under my jurisdiction,” Noem said.

Garcia reminded her that she said that the Salvadoran prison is a “tool in our toolkit” for fighting crime.

“You and the president have the ability to check that Andry is alive and not being harmed,” he said. “Would you commit into at least looking and asking El Salvador if he is alive?”

“This is a question that is best asked to the president and the government of El Salvador,” Noem responded drily.

Hernandez Romero is a Venezuelan immigrant who trekked to the U.S. and entered legally last year at San Diego. There, he asked for asylum, saying that he was being targeted in Venezuela for being gay and due to his political beliefs. He was held in a CoreCivic detention center, where he was screened by Charles Cross Jr.

“The government had found that his threats against him were credible and that he had a real probability of winning an asylum claim,” his lawyer, Lindsay Toczylowski, said.

In March, he, along with over 200 other immigrants, was taken in shackles to the CECOT camp in El Salvador. Even his lawyer said she didn’t know what happened to him until he was gone and missed a hearing in his immigration case.

In a video from the CECOT, Hernandez Romero could be heard saying, “I’m not a gang member. I’m gay. I’m a stylist,” as he was slapped and had his head shaved.

“We have grave concerns about whether he can survive,” Toczylowski told CBS News.

It was later revealed that the evidence Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had against Hernandez Romero was his tattoos, which came from a report from the contractor CoreCivic, specifically from former police officer Charles Cross Jr., who lost his job with the Milwaukee police after he drunkenly crashed into a house and allegedly committed fraud. His name was subsequently added to the Brady List, a list of police officers who are considered non-credible for providing legal testimony in Milwaukee County.

Cross claimed that Hernandez Romero had crown tattoos associated with a gang. The tattoos are labeled “Mom” and “Dad” and are common symbols associated with his hometown of Capacho, Venezuela. Capacho is known for its elaborate festival for Three Kings Day, and a childhood friend, Reina Cardenas, told NBC News that it was that festival that awakened Hernandez Romero’s desire to be an artist.

“Andry dedicated his life to arts and culture, and he worked hard to better his craft,” Cardenas said.

Subscribe to the LGBTQ Nation newsletter and be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.

A veteran online reporter, Alex Bollinger has been covering LGBTQ+ news since the Bush administration. He’s now the editor-in-chief of LGBTQ Nation. He has a Masters in Economic Theory and Econometrics from the Paris School of Economics. He lives in Montpellier.

GOP official rages at “demonic” Christmas drag show because kids might be near the building it’s in

This AG was not elected to any office, he was handpicked and given his job by DeathSantis.  Both are Christian nationalist who feel it is great to force their religion on others even as they do not live by their own church doctrines in any way.   They seem to feel forcing the public to live by their church doctrines or what ever view they think their god endorses is perfectly fine regardless if others disagree.  They are the first to scream the loudest if their rituals or they think their rights to oppress others is interfered with, but they also seem unable to give others the same rights they demand for themselves.   Hugs

 

https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2025/11/gop-official-rages-at-demonic-christmas-drag-show-because-kids-might-be-near-the-building-its-in/?utm_source=lgbtqnation&utm_medium=directlink&utm_campaign=directlink&utm_content=GOP+official+rages+at+%E2%80%9Cdemonic%E2%80%9D+Christmas+drag+show+because+kids+might+be+near+the+building+it%E2%80%99s+in

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier says the show must be cancelled because it “mocks… the Christian faith.”

Photo of the author

Molly Sprayregen (She/Her)November 10, 2025, 11:00 am EST
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier speaks about the arrest of 28 members of the Mongols motorcycle gang during a press conference at the Stephen Saboda Training Center near Daytona Beach, Wednesday, July 2, 2025.Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier speaks about the arrest of 28 members of the Mongols motorcycle gang during a press conference at the Stephen Saboda Training Center near Daytona Beach, Wednesday, July 2, 2025. | © Nigel Cook/News-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier (R) is urging the Pensacola City Council to shut down a Christmas-themed drag show, which he has deemed “demonic” and “harmful” to children, despite how it is exclusively for adults over the age of 18.

The city’s Saenger Theatre plans to host “A Drag Queen Christmas” on December 23. The website says fans should “expect a fabulous remix of classic Christmas hits, dazzling themed variety performances, and interactive moments to share your Christmas cheer.”

A letter from Uthmeier claimed the show “openly mocks one of the most sacred holidays in the Christian faith” and expressed horror that some of the queens evoke “satanic imagery” in their outfits or characters. He also decried the fact that it will be playing at the same time as the city’s family-centered Winterfest.

“So, while Penscola children are taking pictures with Santa, men dressed as garish women in demonic costumes will be engaged in obscene behavior mere feet away,” he ranted, even though the drag show will take place inside a theater where the children at the festival won’t be able to see it.

The Pensacola city attorney has reportedly refused to cancel the show, saying it would violate the drag show production company’s First Amendment rights and the city’s contract with the theater’s management company.

Uthmeier, however, said the city – which owns the theater – has a legal right to supersede the management company’s decision to put on the show if it deems a performance detrimental to public health or safety. He said the drag show meets this criterion because it will be taking place near children at Winterfest, even though they won’t be able to see it.

“While the First Amendment safeguards freedom of expression, it does not require a city to platform and endorse disgusting, obscene content that denigrates its residents’ religious beliefs,” Uthmeier concluded.

He claimed it may even amount to religious discrimination and could cause legal issues for the city, especially if one of the “deranged performers” were “to expose themselves to the kids” nearby. The preposterous idea that LGBTQ+ people are inherently a danger to children has long been used by the right to fearmonger and stir anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment.

The letter comes after a group of churches in the city launched a campaign to pressure the Pensacola City Council to cancel the drag show. The controversy has caused an uproar in the community, the Pensacola News Journal reported, where pro- and anti-LGBTQ+ residents continue to clash over whether the drag show should be permitted to go on.

At a packed and contentious city council meeting in early October, resident Jermaine Williams called out the hypocrisy of those claiming to oppose the show on religious grounds.

“I mean, we see how y’all vote,” Williams said. “Half of these people that spoke today wouldn’t know Jesus if they stared him in the face.”

Another resident, Stephen McCollum, gushed that drag queens are “more than entertainers.”

“They’re small business owners. They’re advocates and they’re educators who use creativity to uplift others and welcome all. They welcome all, demonstrating that this art form is more than just a performance. It’s a form of connection, and it’s a form of community, and it’s a form of hope.”

Uthmeier has long used his position to vilify and terrorize LGBTQ+ people. Earlier this year, he launched a crusade against a Life Time Fitness in Palm Beach Gardens after discovering that the private business had a trans inclusive policy. State law requires people use facilities aligned with their sex assigned at birth, but that does not apply to private businesses.

Uthmeier, however, claimed otherwise in a letter sent to the gym. He falsely claimed that trans inclusion leads to “assaults, exploitation, and fear” and that he was merely doing this to protect women and girls.

Even after Life Time said it would comply with his demands, Uthmeier posted a video in which he visited the gym in person to make sure they are “not allowing trans women into women’s bathrooms, not in Florida,” and “actually following the law.”

“It appears they are,” he reported to followers, though it’s unclear how he could have confirmed this without major privacy violations of the individuals entering and exiting the locker rooms there.

This past October, Uthmeier also filed a friend-of-the-court brief in support of a parental rights activist who dubiously claims her child’s middle school helped her child secretly transition. She has now petitioned the Supreme Court to take her case.

Uthmeier’s brief claims government officials across the United States “are fundamentally altering the upbringing of children and keeping parents in the dark” with “secret transition” policies.

These policies do not involve schools encouraging students to be trans or transition, but rather to support any students who willingly communicate that their gender identity differs from their sex assigned at birth and to allow the student to choose when to share that private information with their parents. For some students with anti-trans parents, telling them could be dangerous.

Subscribe to the LGBTQ Nation newsletter and be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.

Molly Sprayregen is the Deputy Editor of LGBTQ Nation and has been reporting on queer stories for almost a decade. She has written for Them, Out, Forbes, Into, Huffington Post, and others. She has a BA in English and Creative Writing from the University of Pennsylvania and an MFA from Northwestern University.

Our friend Angie has suffered a real medical emergency and I want to share it with all our community.

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