Notices by Steve Thompson PhD (stevethompson@mastodon.social)

Ignorance is a cruel taskmaster.

This is how a global dictatorship begins.

"JD Vance Warns Ukraine’s Zelenskiy to Shut up and Obey Trump"

https://newrepublic.com/post/191713/jd-vance-ukraine-volodymyr-zelenskiy-donald-trump

Vance issued a stark warning to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Wednesday, cautioning the war-battered leader against "badmouthing" Donald Trump even as the U.S. pushes forward with handing over Ukrainian land to Russia in lopsided peace talks.

“Everyone who knows the president will tell you that is an atrocious way to deal with this administration.”

Georgia Touts Its Medicaid Experiment as a Success. The Numbers Tell a Different Story.

https://www.propublica.org/article/georgia-medicaid-work-requirement-pathways-to-coverage-hurdles

Only 6,500 participants have enrolled in a program that has cost taxpayers more than $86 million — a warning for other states looking to impose restrictions on Medicaid in a second Trump presidency.

#GA #Medicaid #GOP #Trump #press

Justices knew what they were awarding and how it wiould be used. Oddly enough, Biden had it, too. He did zip with it.

"The Supreme Court gave Trump immunity. He’s using it as a blank check."

https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/19/politics/trump-supreme-court-immunity/index.html

Trump has expounded an extraordinary vision of his authority over the past month, relying on the Supreme Court’s decision last year granting him immunity from criminal prosecution as a blank check in his broader drive for power.

#trump #scotus #immunity

Good news. Thank you, Jesus.

"Critics cheer Trump postmaster general’s resignation after 'turbulent five-year tenure'"

https://www.alternet.org/dejoy-resignation-trump-biden/

"Postmaster General Louis DeJoy's five-year association with the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) is coming to an end. CBS News' Kate Gibson, on Tuesday, February 18, reported that DeJoy is leaving the agency."

#DeJoy #USPS #pariah #press

@DrJay

Some sycophant grifter worse than DeJoy, likely, if tha's possible.

Protesters decry 'fascist Elon Musk' at dozens of Tesla showrooms nationwide

https://mashable.com/article/tesla-showroom-protests-elon-musk

#TeslaTakeover tries to hit Musk where it hurts.

#Musk #tesla #protests #press

Trump goes after religious groups—and they’re fighting back

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/2/16/2303803/-Trump-goes-after-religious-groups-and-they-re-fighting-back

Trump has wasted no time making good on his campaign to enact a reign of terror against immigrants. Now, churches and religious groups are pushing back, suing the administration for violating their religious freedom.

Twenty-seven Jewish and Christian religious groups, representing national denominations and interdenominational associations with millions of members, sued...

#Trump #religion #immigrants #press

Utah man arrested after threatening to kill Jews at Manhattan synagogue

https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/article-842218

Luis Ramirez...alleged to have threatened to kill Jews...on social media, was arrested after traveling from Utah.

Ramirez, 23, drove from Utah through Kansas City to Philadelphia, continuing to make threats along the way, NBC reported. He was later arrested at the New Jersey side of the Lincoln Tunnel.

Efforts are being made to gain legal access to his phone.

#UTAH #ANTISEMITISM #PRESS

NAACP lists companies that dump DEI in its tactical spending guide for Black Americans

https://apnews.com/article/black-consumers-dei-buying-guide-naacp-34664d8af92e2dc1ba787a498348b7a4

The NAACP says the spending guide it published Saturday is needed because DEI initiatives promote the social and economic advancement of Black Americans, who are projected to consume nearly $2 trillion in goods and services in nominal dollars by 2030, according to the McKinsey Institute for Black Economic Mobility.

#DEI #NAACP #TARGET #RACISM #RACE #PRESS

US states say Trump illegally appointed Elon Musk to head DOGE

https://www.reuters.com/legal/judges-consider-barring-musks-doge-team-several-government-agencies-2025-02-13/

#musk #legal #doge #press

Her parents were injured in a Tesla crash. She ended up having to pay Tesla damages

https://apnews.com/article/tesla-china-lawsuits-musk-investigation-58b10ccace488784fcc63646ab78b410

Zhang Yazhou was sitting in the passenger seat of her Tesla Model 3 when she said she heard her father’s panicked voice: The brakes don’t work!

Tesla sued her for defamation for complaining publicly about the car’s brakes — and won. A Chinese court ordered Zhang to pay more than $23,000 in damages and publicly apologize to the $1.1 trillion company.

#Tesla #China #defamation #press

After meeting with Trump, Jordan’s king says his country opposes displacing Palestinians in Gaza

https://apnews.com/article/trump-abdullah-jordan-gaza-hamas-israel-1f3ef249419ce61fc5c0f41412c24cb0

#trump #gaza #jordan #press

⬆️ Vance and Musk question the authority of the courts ⬇️

https://apnews.com/article/trump-judiciary-musk-separation-of-powers-balance-checks-069c169ea1ddf6eea76f502d544c4c16

Elon Musk to Vice President JD Vance have not only criticized a federal judge’s decision early Saturday that blocks Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency from accessing Treasury Department records, but have also attacked the legitimacy of judicial oversight, a fundamental pillar of American democracy, which is based on the separation of powers.

#TRUMP #VANCE #COURTS #AI #DEMOCRACY #LEGAL #PRESS

Core to our democracy is our judge and jury court system. We should not be surprised if it is determined to be antiquated and replaced with AI adjudicators at some point.

Historian wants us to see lessons we’ve ignored from Hitler's rise

https://forward.com/news/639516/in-new-book-historian-describes-the-lessons-learned-and-ignored-from-hitlers-rise/

“Trump is not Hitler, by any means,” says Timothy Ryback. “But I think there are modalities that are very similar."

In his new book, “Takeover: Hitler’s Final Rise to Power”...Ryback also sets out to show how the Nazi leader came to power in a functioning democracy, enabled by rivals and fairweather allies who either underestimated him or thought they could “tame” him once he took office.

#Germany #USA

Sorting Out the Facts on ‘Waste and Abuse’ at USAID

https://www.factcheck.org/2025/02/sorting-out-the-facts-on-waste-and-abuse-at-usaid/

As President Donald Trump’s administration targets the U.S. Agency for International Development for closure or major downsizing, the White House and social media posts have highlighted four projects as examples of the agency’s “waste and abuse.” But only one was funded by USAID.

#TRUMP #USAID #FACTS #PRESS

Conservative Writer Who Accused Drag Queens of ‘Grooming’ Is Arrested on Child Molestation Charges

https://www.mediaite.com/crime/conservative-writer-who-accused-drag-queens-of-grooming-is-arrested-on-child-molestation-charges/

KEWL🌀NEWS

#CONSERVATIVES #LGBTQ #HYPOCRITES #PRESS

Senate confirms Project 2025 architect Russell Vought to lead powerful White House budget office

https://apnews.com/article/trump-russell-vought-confirmation-budget-project-2025-7d1c476694176876256e95cecbd49231

The Senate confirmed Russell Vought as White House budget director on Thursday night, putting an official who has planned the zealous expansion of President Donald Trump’s power into one of the most influential positions in the federal government.

#VOUGHT #GOP #TRUMP #PRESS

‘Directly violates the law’: Trump defying ’90 years of Supreme Court precedent’ in firing labor board member after ‘unlawful’ termination, lawsuit says

https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/directly-violates-the-law-trump-defying-90-years-of-supreme-court-precedent-in-firing-labor-board-member-after-unlawful-termination-lawsuit-says/

#trump #scotus #labor #law #press