Then And Now

“Then” (here, below “Now”) is also linked in today’s Peace & Justice newsletter. I’m posting from The Guardian so I can get the Then, and the Now from one tab because I’m lazy, I guess. I prefer to say “efficient, though.

Now

https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2026/mar/02/us-israel-war-iran-live-updates-attacks-strikes-tehran-lebanon-beirut-hezbollah-dubai-latest-news

Middle East crisis liveUS-Israel war on Iran

Earlier, Donald Trump laid out US objectives, saying mission could go on for four-five weeks, adding US has ‘capability to go far longer’

From 46m ago 17.01 EST

US urges citizens to immediately depart over a dozen Middle Eastern countries

The US state department has urged Americans to immediately depart more than a dozen Middle Eastern countries amid US-Israeli strikes against Iran.

US citizens were urged to depart using commercial means from Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, the [occupied] West Bank and Gaza, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, United Arab Emirates and Yemen, according to Mora Namdar, the department’s assistant secretary for consular affairs.

Hundreds of thousands of travellers are currently stranded in the Gulf states, as the airspace over some of the world’s busiest international airports, including Dubai and Abu Dhabi, closed over the weekend.

Thousands of flights cancelled as world faces worst travel chaos since Covid crisis Read more Share

Updated at 17.31 EST 3m ago17.44 EST

Israel says it is working to intercept new missiles launched from Iran

The Israeli military has said it has detected incoming missiles launched from Iran and its defensive systems are working to intercept the threat.Share

Updated at 17.45 EST 6m ago17.41 EST

Chris Stein

The US Senate’s Democratic minority leader Chuck Schumer said a briefing from Trump administration officials about the US war with Iran “raised many more questions than it answered”.

“Look, a whole lot of questions were asked. I found their answers completely and totally insufficient,” Schumer told reporters as he exited the meeting. He departed without taking questions.

US secretary of state Marco Rubio as well as CIA director John Ratcliffe are among those briefing Congress leaders in a classified facility in the Capitol.

A reminder that you can follow our US politics live blog for more US-focused reaction and developments:

Rubio says US ‘preemptively’ attacked Iran after learning Israel was about to strike as Democrats decry ‘Trump’s war’ – live Read more

(snip-go to The Guardian, because they are running live, and things keep happening.)

=====

Then

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/feb/25/thousands-join-day-of-rage-across-middle-east?CMP=share_btn_url

Thousands join ‘day of rage’ across the Middle East

This article is more than 15 years old

In Iraq, six killed as frustration erupts over corruption
Yemen holds its biggest pro-democracy rally
Egyptians demand accelerated reforms

In Yemen’s capital, Sana’a, an anti-government protester chants slogans demanding the resignation of President Ali Abdullah Saleh. The president ordered security services to protect protesters. Photograph: Muhammed Muheisen/AP

Protests erupted in cities across the Middle East and North Africa. At least six people were reported killed and dozens injured in Iraq; thousands took to the streets in the Yemeni capital, Sana’a; and Egyptians gathered in Cairo’s Tahrir Square to demand an accelerated reform programme.

Iraq

Anger over corruption and abysmal basic services erupted in a “day of rage”, with the most serious clashes in Mosul and Hawija, in the north, and Basra in the south. At least six people were killed – three in Mosul and three in Hawija – and 75 injured in clashes with security services as protesters tried to attack government buildings.

Thousands of people made their way to the city’s Tahrir Square, but soldiers had closed it off with razor wire, using percussion grenades and firing in the air in an attempt to disperse crowds.

Lina Ali, 27, told Reuters: “The education system is bad. The health system is also bad. Services are going from bad to worse.” Protesters complained of high unemployment, a shortage of drinking water and frequent power cuts.

In Basra, the city’s governor, Shaltagh Abboud, said he would resign after 18 people were wounded in skirmishes between the 4,000 protesters and state security. A curfew was imposed until 6am tomorrow. There were also clashes in Falluja and Nassiriya.

Nouri al-Maliki, the prime minister, warned demonstrators they would become victims of al-Qaida and pro-Saddam violence.

Muntadar al-Zaidi, the Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at George Bush, was arrested in Baghdad after travelling from Beirut to take part in the Day of Rage.

Yemen

Tens of thousands of protesters in Sana’a called for an end to the 32-year reign of President Ali Abdullah Saleh. It was the biggest pro-democracy rally in Yemen’s recent history. But small, yet violent, protests have been taking place across the country since Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak resigned two weeks ago.

Local media reported 30,000 anti-government demonstrators in Sana’a and more than 100,000 nationwide. Students, tribesmen, opposition activists and young professionals flooded the streets around Sana’a University, where protesters have been camped out since Sunday. “The people want the regime to fall,” they shouted, rising from their knees after a Friday prayer to mourn the deaths of two men shot dead on Tuesday by pro-Saleh supporters. The protest was peaceful, though at times tense. Protesters want better living conditions as well as political reform.

One banner read simply: “Look at the gap between the rich and poor.”

Riot police who tried to seize an anti-government protester had to fire in the air to dispel angry students demanding his release.

A few miles away, state media were out in force to film 10,000 middle-aged men, many carrying batons, marching up and down the streets yelling: “Saleh means stability.” These government loyalists, including impoverished tribesmen bussed in from far away, have been in Sana’a’s Tahrir Square for more than a month, holding rallies for which they have been given food, drink, and the placards, and accommodated in giant beige marquees. Anti-government protesters claim the loyalists are balataj, hired thugs, but Yemeni authorities deny any connection with the armed men.

Saleh has told his security forces to protect both sets of demonstrators and prevent any further clashes between them.

Egypt

Activists returned to Tahrir Square in their thousands to demand a faster pace to reforms. They want a new cabinet to replace one that includes many figures from the Mubarak regime. According to Al Jazeera they singled out the prime minister, Ahmed Shafik, who, they said, was hand-picked by Mubarak; and they want the former president, believed to be holed up in his Sharm el-Sheikh villa, to be put on trial and held accountable for his 31 years of rule,. They also want political prisoners released.

The ruling military council has promised elections within six months. “We do not want Shafik any more, even if they shoot us with bullets,” activists chanted. “Revolution until victory, revolution against Shafik and the palace.”

Tunisia

In the centre of Tunis, tens of thousands demanded the resignation of the prime minister, Mohamed Ghannouchi, seen as an ally of the ousted president. The uprising that forced former president Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali to flee on 14 January after 23 years in power was the catalyst for regional revolt. “Shame on the government!” and “Ghannouchi step down,” they shouted. Witnesses said it was the biggest protest since Ben Ali’s departure, when demonstrations were banned. Activists also protested against the bloody crackdown by forces loyal to Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi. Thousands of Libyans have fled to Tunisia.

Jordan

In the capital, Amman, 5,000 protested, demanding political reform. “Reform has become a necessity that cannot wait,” said Sheikh Hamza Mansour, the head of the Islamic Action Front, the country’s largest opposition group, at a rally. “It’s the demand of all Jordanians,” he added. Protestors chanted: “The people want to reform the regime”, “we want a fair electoral law”, and “people want an elected government”.

Bahrain

There were tens of thousands of anti-government protesters in Manama, adding to pressure for sweeping democratic change during two weeks of demonstrations in the strategic Gulf island kingdom. At least two marches converged on Manama’s landmark Pearl Square, the focal point of the uprising – the largest show of opposition strength so far.

Security forces made no immediate attempt to halt the marchers in an apparent sign that Bahrain’s rulers do not want to risk more bloodshed and denunciations from their Western allies.

Bahrain is the first Gulf state to be thrown into turmoil by the Arab world’s wave of change. The government had declared Friday a day of mourning for the seven people killed in clashes since 14 February.

Many protesters waved Bahrain’s red-and-white flag, chanting: “No dialogue before the government is dissolved,” and “For Bahrain’s future, we are not afraid to be killed.”

One procession split into separate groups of men and black-robed women, passing skyscrapers adorned with images of the nation’s ruling family.

Some demonstrators called on the US to do more to support their cause. “These people are fighting for freedom,” said Hussain Isa al-Saffar, 25. “The US … should be supporting freedom here.”

The White House said the national security adviser, Tom Donilon, spoke with Bahrain’s crown prince, Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, on Thursday stating the US’s support for reforms through dialogue with opposition groups. The US chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, also held talks with Bahraini leaders Thursday.

In Pearl Square, a massive Bahraini flag was hoisted along with the phrase “martyrs’ square” in Arabic, a reference to those killed by security forces. Graphic photos of the dead were posted in the square, and a noose was fashioned around a portrait of Bahrain’s prime minister.

Palestine

The Palestinian Authority (PA) had authorised a Day of Rage to protest against the US veto of a UN security council resolution condemning Israeli settlements, but that was called off without explanation.

An unofficial protest on Thursday in Ramallah, the main city in the West Bank, demanded unity between the two main factions, Fatah and Hamas, as well as “liberation”.

Analysts say the Fatah-dominated PA and Gaza’s Hamas government are nervously watching uprisings elsewhere in the region. Palestinians in both Gaza and the West Bank complain of repression.

Let’s talk about Trump ignoring MAGA….

The diagnosis of my pain doctors and it was worse than I thought.

I have been promising this post since monday. But I have always been too tired or in too much pain to write it or post it. I am going to start this tonight but it is late for me and I may go to bed before finishing so it may take several days.

The fact is before I even went to my pain doctor to tell me the result I knew things were bad. In the morning I can only sit in my chair for at most two hours before I have to get up and do something that helps relieve the pain. Mostly that is going to bed. I don’t sleep just lay their reading news or telling my self stories I create hoping to fall asleep. Randy sent me a headband with speakers but that just interferes with my own thoughts and keeps me awake. It was a good try and I bought one for Ron and he loved it. I will give this one to him. I go to bed and lie there only to get up and sit for a couple of hours to have the pain again overtake me. Once the pain gets that bad it is 10 to 15 minutes at most before I have to leave the desk and simply walk around or do something because the pain gets so bad so fast.

Also Tupac is on the desk being as close to me as he can. He is not lying on the towel I leave down for him but as close to the keyboard as possible even at time placeing his paws on the on the keybord hitting random keys. He wants to be as close to me as possible since Ron has been away so long. He feels he lost another human. I will be exciteed t0 see him react when Ron gets home on monday night.

So before the doctor told me the damage I knew something was badly wrong. So remember that even before I talked to the doctor I knew something had gone drasticly wrong. Sadly the MRI showed that.

Yup figured that would happen the pain levels are too high so I am going to bed. It is 8 PM my time.

It is now Saturday and I am trying hard to get this post done and out. But today my pain levels are very high and it is difficult to focus but I will do my best.

One of the things that the doctor told me was that my spine is no longer aligned; the disks are not lined up with each other but shifted to different degrees. Remember this was only the lower spine now they are going to MRI the upper spine. Second my spine has curved wrong. Then we got to the serious stuff. Degenerative discs, bulging discs, and discs so damaged that the nerves are outside the spinal channel. The arthritis is so advanced it is deep / spread in each vertebra. She tried to explain all the medical terms. At one point she excused herself to go speak to the surgeon I see for spine shots. When she came back it was with bad news. He no longer thinks epidurals will help me in my lower spine and I need nuero surgeon to do back surgery. Crap I cannot afford that. I am losing my sight, Ron has to have eye surgery right away, and the van needs 2 grand in repairs. That doesn’t even include my eye surgery and the repairs on our home.

While I did not understand everything she said I so desperately wished Ron had been there as he often explained these things to me later, and I have forgotten some of it, the situation is I need an MRI of the upper spine as well, she has refered me to her prefered spianl nueraal surgenon. Then I will need spinal surgery as the state and federal government won’t let them increase my pain medication because I can’t take the fentanyl patches with my skin allergies. I am being squeezed into a surgery I cannot afford or seeking illegal drugs for relief to be able to function.

I remember when I started in this clinic in 2009. They looked at my MRI of my spine and gave me 75 gm of morphine twice a day. I asked it to be reduced to half that amount and it was and I could live normally. But after the opioid “crisis” the states started to inject non-medical legislators into the medical field to show they were tough on abuse and misuse of drugs. It got ever more crazy until my life went from normal and even being able to work for a few years to not even getting enough pain relief to sit in my desk chair and blog for an hour. Now the federal government is demanding it be restricted even further, as RFK Jr. taking steroids can work out in jeans. On the restrictions I can’t get enough relief to blog for any extended time of the day. I spend half of my awake time in bed instead of at my desk. I struggle to stand to do dishes. I just told Ron that I cannot clean the floors before he gets home as I tried and it left me in tears. Even with our lightweight, easy to use cleaning devices. The damage to my spine and the lack of medical relief have gotten that bad. This makes no sense to me. Why deny me the pain blocking medications that allow me to fuction semi normally. It simply makes no sense to me. Why put me in this state what is the goal?

Do you see my point? Why put me and people like me through this? Do they want us to use illegal means for relief, or do they want us to suffer to death and go away? Do they care about us at all as they make these rules? There is more things my pain doctor told me about my spine I did not list yet, things like protrusions, spikes hooking nerves, some thing she kept say stenoisis, and nerves being pinched between vertebrae. At one point she mentioned I have advance degerneritive disc, I so wish Ron was there as I understood so little of it, then came the but you need a neurosurgeon and back surgery to help you because the state and federal government won’t let us give you enough medical relief to have any life. I hate this regressive holier than thou republican elected officials that swallow all the illegal drugs they can get from their providers while denying us poor people relief for bigoted racist reasons and their personal gains.

I am sure I left things out. I had to take after talking to Ron a saved 30 miligarm instant relief morphine because I was going out of my mind. I try desperately to save extras so when the pain is so off the chart I can get relief. But with the new restrictions, how do I do that? Why do the people in power who have access to pill mills and who have no pain and want to just make a name for themselves while doing the very thing they legislate against try to hard to make the live so people like me so hard? And I am poor and scared. Hugs

Kansas Revokes Driver’s Licenses Of Trans Residents

Kansas Revokes Driver’s Licenses Of Trans Residents

February 26, 2026

The Kansas City Star reports:

Transgender Kansans are being informed on the eve of a new state law going into effect that their driver’s licenses will be considered invalid as of Thursday.

“Please note that the Legislature did not include a grace period for updating credentials. That means that once the law is officially enacted, your current credentials will be invalid immediately, and you may be subject to additional penalties if you are operating a vehicle without a valid credential,” read letters mailed by the Kansas Department of Revenue’s vehicles division.

“Pursuant to the new law, if the gender/sex indication on the face of your current credential does not match your sex assigned at birth, you are directed to surrender your current credential to the Kansas Division of Vehicles,” reads the letter, which The Star reviewed multiple copies of.

Read the full article.

The law went into effect after Republicans overrode a veto by Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly.

Kansas Sec. of State Kris Kobach is somehow not in prison for his role in the private border wall scam with Steve Bannon.

https://youtu.be/_FCrMdyhLcU

Reddit, Meta, and Google Voluntarily Gave DHS Info of Anti-ICE Users, Report Says

https://gizmodo.com/reddit-meta-and-google-voluntarily-gave-dhs-info-of-anti-ice-users-report-says-2000722279

DHS is expanding its use of administrative subpoenas, which don’t come from judges.

By Mike Pearl Published February 15, 2026

Reddit, Meta, and Google voluntarily “complied with some of the requests” for identifying details of users critical of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) sent as part of a recent wave of administrative subpoenas the Department of Homeland Security has been distributing to Big Tech the past few months, according to an anonymously sourced New York Times report.

Those three companies, plus Discord, have received “hundreds” of such requests that have come from DHS recently. Meta, it should be noted, is the parent company of Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp.

Administrative subpoenas used for this purpose represent an escalation. This tool, which comes not from a judge but from DHS itself, was formerly reserved for situations like child abductions, according to the Times.

The users were targeted because their posts “criticized ICE or pointed to the locations of ICE agents,” the Times says.

A Google spokesperson replied to the Times with a statement, saying “When we receive a subpoena, our review process is designed to protect user privacy while meeting our legal obligations,” and “We inform users when their accounts have been subpoenaed, unless under legal order not to or in an exceptional circumstance. We review every legal demand and push back against those that are overbroad.”

Gizmodo requested comment from Meta, Discord, and Reddit. We will update if we hear back.

According to the Times, one or multiple of the relevant companies have stated that they notify users of these requests from DHS, and give them a 14-day window to “fight the subpoena in court” before complying.

Amazon has also been accused of at least some degree of participation with ICE’s ongoing mass deportation efforts. In October, Amazon-owned Ring announced a partnership with Flock that would loop the AI-powered network into the content coming from users’ doorbell cameras. According to a 404 Media investigation, that network feeds information to law enforcement agencies at the local and federal levels, allowing for reasonable concern that ICE has access to all that footage.

Protesters have launched an effort called “Resist and Unsubscribe” targeting ten tech companies they perceive as exceptionally supportive of ICE. That list includes Meta, Google, and Amazon, but not Reddit.

A Couple Of Pertinent Snippets From Erin In The Morning:

American Psychological Association Reaffirms Support For Trans Youth Care, Pushes Back Against NYT

A recent article from Jesse Singal in the New York Times seemed to indicate the organization might be quietly retreating from supporting trans youth care.

Erin Reed Feb 25, 2026

Yesterday, anti-transgender activist and columnist Jesse Singal published a piece claiming there were “cracks in the wall” around gender-affirming care (which you can find fully fact-checked here). To make that case, he relied heavily on a statement from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons that bypassed the organization’s normal scientific review process and was advanced under pressure from leadership aligned with the Trump administration, including a president who is a major Republican donor. Singal also invoked the American Psychological Association, suggesting the organization was retreating from its 2024 position supporting transgender care and rejecting claims that gender identity is “caused” by external factors. But a representative for the APA tells Erin In The Morning that the organization stands firmly by its 2024 guidelines supporting transgender youth care and provided documentation indicating Singal mischaracterized its position.

“No, APA’s position has not changed,” says a representative speaking for the APA, attaching a link to their 2024 policy statement which provided broad support for gender-affirming care. “APA continues to support unobstructed access to evidence-based care for transgender and gender-diverse individuals of all ages.”

The 2024 policy statement is to date one of the most significant supportive stances of any medical organization for gender-affirming care. It states that gender-affirming medical care is medically necessary, opposes bans on gender-affirming care, declares that being transgender is not caused by autism or post-traumatic stress, establishes the organization’s support for combatting disinformation on transgender healthcare, and finds that rejection of a trans youth’s gender identity can increase their risk of suicide and harm their psychological wellbeing. The policy was passed overwhelmingly, 153-9, with each voter representing a large subset of the organization’s 157,000 members. Now, the organization says that it is not accurate to claim that there is any regression on support for transgender youth care from the organization.

The organization also disputes Singal’s portrayal of a 2025 letter written by Katherine McGuire to the Federal Trade Commission. In his piece, Singal claims the APA “cautioned that gender dysphoria diagnoses could be the result of ‘trauma-related presentations’ rather than a trans identity,” and noted that “co-occurring mental health or neurodevelopmental conditions (e.g., depression, anxiety, autism spectrum disorder) … may complicate or be mistaken for gender dysphoria,” framing this as evidence that the organization is retreating from its 2024 policy supporting transgender youth care. That interpretation is incorrect, according to an APA representative, who says the letter does not contradict the organization’s 2024 position and does not represent a regression in its support for evidence-based transgender care. (snip-MORE)

And again with the big-money outsiders meddling in state lawmaking:

Billionaire-Funded Anti-Trans Bathroom/Sports Ban Ballot Initiative Moves Forward In Maine

The ballot initiative is bankrolled by billionaire anti-trans donor, Richard Uihlein, and represents a new line of attack against transgender people in blue states.

Erin Reed Feb 23, 2026

Anti-trans organization “Protect Girls Sports in Maine” has announced that it has collected enough signatures to get a combination transgender sports ban and school bathroom ban onto the November 2026 ballot, making Maine the second state this year to announce a ballot initiative targeting transgender people in a blue state after a similar effort in Washington. This comes after Maine Gov. Janet Mills fiercely rejected Trump administration attempts to strongarm the state into enacting such restrictions on its own, under threat of losing school lunch money and more. Now, voters may directly determine the fate of transgender youth in schools across the state after a massive signature drive bankrolled by billionaire Republican megadonor Richard Uihlein, the latest in an attempt by ultra-wealthy conservative donors to export anti-trans discrimination across the United States through direct ballot measures.

“Not only will our initiative become the only citizen-led issue to appear on the 2026 Maine ballot, but we will likely be the first state where voters can protect female sports at the ballot box this November. We will pave the way for the rest of this nation,” said Leyland Streiff, the lead petitioner, about the ballot initiative turn-in. Notably, he remained cagey about bathrooms, which the ballot initiative will also heavily impact, in a possibly strategic angle to hide that the bill is much more expansive than he gives credit for.

The initiative would, according to the summary page, define a person’s sex for school purposes as “a person’s biological status as male or female recorded at birth on the person’s original birth certificate.” It would “require schools to maintain separate restrooms, locker rooms, shower rooms, and other private spaces for each sex,” going beyond sports. It would also create a “private right of action” for a student who “suffers direct injury because of a violation of a provision of the initiated bill,” allowing students to sue if they encounter transgender students in bathrooms at schools or in sports. Lastly, it specifically carves out transgender students in bathrooms and sports from the Maine Human Rights Act.

Maine LGBTQ+ organizations fiercely condemned the bill. David Farmer, speaking on behalf of an opponent coalition of LGBTQ+ organizations across the state, called the referendum a “one-size fits all approach to sports participation and bathrooms that will increase bullying and harassment and cost local schools millions of dollars for construction and litigation.” He also called out the billionaire backing of the bill, stating, “This is a cynical attempt by one of the richest people in the world to manipulate voters in hopes of influencing the U.S. Senate race, the race for governor and the races for Congress.” (snip-MORE)

OK, So. On The One Hand,

I really don’t care to dignify or even acknowledge that last night’s spectacle was an actual State Of The Union address, but it was what we get. I thought I’d simply ignore all of it and all surrounding it, but of course I read this article in The Guardian because old civic duties habits die hard (this one’s not dead yet!), and I thought I’d bring it here because it’s not sharp or negative. It’s simply what happened. (And what, no doubt, we all expected, though I’m certain some expected far less from the Democrats in attendance.)

Why the longest-ever State of the Union address was the most inconsequential

Amid Trump’s lies and xenophobic rants, people struggling to pay bills and make ends meet are unlikely to be moved

He wanted to give the king’s speech. Donald Trump entered the US House chamber on Tuesday like a medieval monarch, with Republicans lined up eager to touch his royal robes (or, in two cases, grab a selfie with him). But within moments, the illusion was shattered.

As the US president strolled by, soaking up adulation, Democratic representative Al Green of Texas held aloft a handwritten sign: “Black people aren’t apes!” – a reference to Trump recently sharing a racist video depiction of Barack and Michelle Obama.

When the first State of the Union address of Trump’s second term got under way, Republicans moved in on Green menacingly and tried to tear the sign away. But he persisted until being escorted out for the second year in a row. As he departed, there were more acrimonious exchanges with Republicans, a few of whom tried to start a chant of “USA! USA!”

(snip-embedded 3 minute video, on the page: “Donald Trump’s two-hour State of the Union address in 3 minutes – video”)

It was the first but not the last time that a person of color would take a stand during the wannabe autocrat’s record 107-minute speech while others remained silent or raucously egged him on. It was a night where Trump again sought to poison US politics and divide Americans along various fault lines, none more inflammatory than race.

The great salesman, sporting his familiar red tie and orange hue, began with a predictable pitch: “Our nation is back – bigger, better, richer and stronger than ever before.” In his telling, inflation, mortgage rates and gas prices are falling, while the stock market, oil production and foreign direct investment are booming along with construction and factory jobs.

Luckily for Trump’s speechwriter, the US men’s hockey team won Olympic gold two days earlier. The reality TV president hailed them in the press gallery, prompting applause and roars from both Democrats and Republicans. But while Republicans chanted “USA! USA!” with gusto, barely any Democrats did.

“We’re winning so much that we really don’t know what to do about it,” Trump declared. While he didn’t mention his gilded ballroom, it was still a Pollyannish version of America that will not be recognized by people struggling to pay bills and make ends meet. Trump is not the man to offer: “I feel your pain.”

Republicans ritually stood and clapped and cheered all the same. Democrats, who last year waved protest signs that looked like Marty Supreme’s table tennis paddle, this time remained bolted to their seats and grunted, rolled their eyes, dropped their jaws, shook their heads, waved their hands or got bored and studied their phones.

Trump moved on to his beloved tariffs, calling the supreme court decision to kill his pet project “very unfortunate” and “disappointing” as four black-robed justices wore inscrutable expressions on the front row. Compared with last week’s White House tantrum, when he threw all toys and decorum out of the pram, this was Trump showing self-restraint worthy of a child refusing a second ice cream.

It didn’t last. As Trump riffed on crime, election integrity and transgender issues, he turned his fire on Democrats: “These people are crazy, I’m telling ya, they’re crazy. Boy, oh, boy, we’re lucky we have a country with people like this. Democrats are destroying our country, but we’ve stopped it just in the nick of time.”

He soon reminded everyone that, since the day he came down the golden escalator a decade ago and ranted about immigrants, race has always been at the heart of the Trumpist project. He gazed out at a chamber where Democrats – including the late Jesse Jackson’s son, Jonathan Jackson – somewhat resembled America in their diversity while Republicans presented a sea of white faces with only a handful of exceptions.

Trump announced a “war on fraud” led by vice-president JD Vance, citing a social services scam in Minnesota that he mendaciously and absurdly estimated to have cost $19bn. Ilhan Omar, a Somali-born representative from Minnesota, and Rashida Tlaib, a Palestinian American from Michigan, shouted: “That’s a lie!” and “You’re a liar!”

The president was just warming up. He went on a xenophobic rant: “The Somali pirates who ransacked Minnesota remind us that there are large parts of the world where bribery, corruption and lawlessness are the norm, not the exception. Importing these cultures through unrestricted immigration and open borders brings those problems right here, to the USA.”

Omar shook her head, perhaps more in sorrow than in anger.

Trump challenged Democrats: “If you agree with this statement, then stand up and show your support: the first duty of the American government is to protect American citizens, not illegal aliens.” Democrats remained seated. Trump retorted: “You should be ashamed of yourself, not standing up.”

It was rich from the man who sent a goon squad into Minneapolis that resulted in the needless deaths of two US citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, who went unmentioned by the president (as did survivors of abuse by Jeffrey Epstein).

Omar, raising a hand to the side of her mouth to project her voice, yelled with piercing moral clarity: “You have killed Americans! You have killed Americans! You have killed Americans! You have killed Americans!”

Helpfully, Omar and Tlaib had set up a real-time factchecking service for the chamber. Trump boasted that he ended eight wars. Tlaib shouted: “It’s a lie! What are you talking about?”

Trump said: “No one cares more about protecting America’s youth – .” Tlaib interjected: “Then release the Epstein files!”

Trump vowed to halt insider trading by members of Congress. Mark Takano of California yelled: “How about you first!” Tlaib called out: “You’re the most corrupt president!”

The more Trump talked, the less he said. He had gone into the address with an approval rating of 39% positive and 60% negative, according to a Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll, lower than any past president delivering his first State of the Union address. Over an hour and 47 minutes, he offered little to change that equation. The longest State of the Union speech in history was also one of the most inconsequential.

It was small wonder that Omar, Tlaib and several other Democrats walked out before the end. As for Green, his seat remained empty too save for a handwritten cardboard sign that simply and defiantly said: “Al Green.”

I’m so damn tired

Hello Everyone. Scottie recently asked me why I’ve not posted in a while. How do I tell this man who has been fighting the good fight for so many years that I’m just so damned tired? I’m so tired of being lied to, of being called names because I don’t believe the lies, of being caught between morality and caring for people caught in the trumpian trap. I’ve written this post over and over, and each time it seems so damned obvious that I run into the exhausted question of “what’s the damned point”? How can people be so blind, so hateful, so abusive and willing to be robbed by this unrepentent conman thief, this criminal in cheap suit, this shit-stain on the satin sheets?
I actually looked into asking an AI why politics in the trump era is so damned exhausting. This is what it said:

Politics, particularly in the Trump era, are exhausting due to constant, high-stakes news coverage, extreme polarization, and the erosion of traditional political norms. This creates a 24/7 cycle of outrage, fear-based media consumption, and personal fatigue, with 65% of Americans reporting feeling “worn out” by the political environment. NPR NPR +4

Key reasons for this exhaustion include:

Constant Crisis and High Drama: The political climate is defined by perpetual drama, making it difficult to find calm or “normal” moments, leading to a state of constant, low-level stress.
Breaking Norms: The Trump administration frequently violated long-held political, social, and legal norms, which created a sense of instability and constant, shocking developments.
Extreme Polarization and Tribalism: Politics has become an “us vs. them” mentality, where individuals may view opposing views as existential threats rather than just policy disagreements.
Information Overload: Social media algorithms and a 24-hour news cycle create a constant stream of political content, making it difficult to escape or disengage.
Personalized Politics: Political opinions have become closely linked to personal identity, making political debates feel deeply personal and emotionally charged.
Financial Stress: Economic concerns, such as rising costs for necessities, are often part of the political narrative, adding to the feeling of personal strain. The Conversation +6

I rambled for paragraphs, deleted, rambled for paragraphs again. The simple thing, the direct thing is likely best here. Dammit, I’m tired of just how bad it all is and not having a way to repair it. My only choice is to pull in, withdraw, ignore it all.

Ok, I’ve got chicken frying. Sorry to be such a downer, but I guess I’ve run out of impotent rage. Hugs.

About Those Tariffs,

I’m reading The Guardian’s live updates. Here are a couple of them.

First, I love Sen. Professor Warren:

Lawmakers react to supreme court ruling against Trump’s tariffs

We’re starting to see members of Congress react to the supreme court ruling that many of Donald Trump’s global tariffs are illegal.

Democratic senator Elizabeth Warren, said that no decision can “undo the massive damage that the Trump tariffs have done to small businesses, to American supply chains, and especially to American families forced to pay higher prices on everything from groceries to housing”.

She added that there is “no legal mechanism for consumers and many small businesses to recoup the money they have already paid”.

“Giant corporations with their armies of lawyers and lobbyists can sue for tariff refunds, then just pocket the money for themselves. It’s one more example of how the game is rigged,” said Warren, who is the ranking member on the Senate banking committee. “Any refunds from the federal government should end up in the pockets of the millions of Americans and small businesses that were illegally cheated out of their hard-earned money by Donald Trump.”

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Haha. Also note, he’s true to form of accusing his opposition of what’s true about himself and his cult.

Trump lambasts liberal justices on supreme court, says they’re being ‘swayed by foreign interests’ without providing evidence

In his remarks today, Trump lambasted the liberal supreme court justices today, as well as those who concurred with the opinion that the use of IEEPA was illegal.

“The Democrats on the court are thrilled,” Trump said. “They’re against anything that makes America strong, healthy and great again. They also are a frankly, disgrace to our nation, those justices.”

He went on to criticize “certain” members of the court, which would include justices he nominated to the bench – such as Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett.

“They’re very unpatriotic and disloyal to our constitution,” Trump added. “It’s my opinion that the court has been swayed by foreign interests and a political movement that is far smaller than people would ever think,” he said without citing any evidence for his claims.