Peg Kerr&#39;s Reading Page

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Posted by Rose Judson

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The great Mel Brooks is 99 years old today. His next project is a forthcoming sequel to 1987’s Spaceballs, which reportedly will bring the also-wonderful Rick Moranis out of retirement. (Moranis left acting, other than the occasional voice role, after his wife died – his kids needed him.)

Comedy doesn’t always age well, but my hunch is that Brooks’s will endure about as well as comedy can – he’s on a par with the Marx Brothers, and maybe even Bugs Bunny, in the American comedy pantheon. He has a finely-tuned sense of the absurd, enjoys sending up social pieties, and he’s never cruel. His work is generous to the genres it lampoons. He has been generous to other artists, too: he produced, among many other things, both The Elephant Man and David Cronenberg’s The Fly. He is also a member of the “EGOT” club – he’s won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony.

I could load up this post with dozens of great clips of his stuff from YouTube. I’m just going to share this one I saw today for the first time: Brooks and his wife, the stone-cold fox Anne Bancroft, singing “Sweet Georgia Brown” together on a British variety show in 1983.

Just, you know, in Polish.

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Enjoy, and may Mr. Brooks live another hundred years. Share your favorite lines or clips from this great American original in the comments.

UPDATED: Via Another Scott in the comments, a reminder that Mel Brooks was also a WWII veteran who served in the Battle of the Bulge. Thanks, Another Scott!

Respite open thread.

The post Respite Open Thread: The 99-Year-Old Man appeared first on Balloon Juice.

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redbird

I learned this morning that

acelightning has died. She was one of the people I only know online, but feel like friends because we have real conversations (in her case, here on Dreamwidth and previously on LJ).

wwdn_feed

Posted by Wil

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https://wilwheaton.net/?p=9606

I had such a good time with my garden last season. It was the first time I had ever capital-t Tended a garden in my life, and it was a deeply meaningful experience for me. I learned a lot about myself in the process, because I kept allowing my garden to be a metaphor. Also, I had more tomatoes than I could give away, the biggest pumpkin I have ever seen, peppers forever, and sunflowers that went up to here.

I have been intensely focused on CPTSD recovery from child abuse for a couple of years. I work on it in therapy every week, and I work on it in between sessions, when I’m able. Walking my garden twice a day gave me lots of opportunities to reflect on The Work that I was doing, and I’m pretty sure it gave me an extra d4+1 on all my saves.

I live in zone 10B, and we can grow just about anything here, all year long, if we’re willing to do some extra work during the frigid 40 degree nights we endure for up to a whole week every January. I’ve never done that before, because I’ve never felt connected enough to my garden to get the winter survival gear out of the trunk.

But this past winter, I thought I’d give it a go. I looked into it, and saw that most of the winter stuff available to me didn’t interest me enough to plant and Tend it. But I read about planting a cover crop, and that sounded pretty cool. I liked the idea of putting a ton of seeds down and staying out of their way while they did their thing for a couple of months.

I ended up choosing a mixture of oats, peas, and radishes. I cut everything down to a nub, to let the roots die off and nourish the soil, and tossed the seeds all over the place.

Over the winter, they sprouted and grew into one hell of a cover crop. The peas produced beautiful, delicate, purple and white flowers. The oats got so tall, and surprisingly smelled kind of sweet, too. Marlowe loved eating big blades of grass every day. I noticed that they sort of whistled or hummed softly when the breeze was just right. Depending on the sunlight, they looked green or blue.

About a month ago, they started to dry up. Marlowe lost interest in the grass, which I presume wasn’t as sweet as it was when it was still cold at night. Anne and I planned this season’s garden, with fewer tomatoes, and I began to prepare the planting beds.

I started clearing the cover crop out, one section at a time. The peas were all dead and crumbled in my hands. I turned them into the soil. There was one radish, a big daikon-looking thing that filled the air with a spicy blast when I yanked it up. Then there were the oats, three and four feet tall, growing in thick clumps that formed a tiny forest for ants. I pulled them out, one at a time, shaking all the soil off the roots. Dust clung to my hands and forearms.

I started on one side, and worked my way down and around, one clump at a time. The soil came up and fell off the roots easily. It fell back into fluffy mounds that I swept into the holes left behind. I wiped the sweat off my brow with the back of my right hand, then wiped the mud I’d left behind with my left hand. I tried both forearms before I started laughing and accepted my muddy forehead.

I kept working, silently thanking the oats for doing exactly what they were asked to do as I cleared one and then the next and the next.

I blinked sweat out of my eyes, shook some mud off my head, and looked at the newly-cleared garden. The soil was fluffy and rich. Loamy, I think they call it. It was ready for the growing season, and I was ready to plant it.

But first, in the final corner, there were a couple clumps of very tall, very thick, oats to pull out. I considered leaving them, so Marlowe could continue to have her grass snacks, but she hasn’t been that interested for about two weeks, at least.

“You have done all that was asked of you,” I said, “you can rest, now.” I wrapped my hand about the base of the clump nearest to me and gently pulled it up. I shook the soil out of its roots, put it to the side, and moved on to the next one. I stopped suddenly and stared through the little forest.

There was a deep green … something … against the wooden edge of the planter. Some kind of hornworm, maybe? A beetle I’ve never seen before? What the hell is that?

I parted the stalks and saw a single jalapeño hanging from the top of a single stalk. The nub I cut back at the end of last year, safely hidden by the cover crop, grew back at some point, flowered, and produced a single, perfect, beautiful fruit while nobody was looking, or expecting anything from it. I looked closer and two additional flowers revealed themselves.

I cleared the remaining oats, careful to not disturb my unexpected jalapeño. It’s obviously thriving, but the flowers are so delicate before they begin to bear fruit; they must be treated with care, even if that just means being careful around them. It’s good to do that, from time to time, I think: remember to take care. We can easily damage something we aren’t even thinking about, when we are careless.

I didn’t expect anything from the cover crop. I just put it down and hoped the seeds would grow. I didn’t expect anything from this jalapeño. In fact, Mr. Bond, I expected it to die.

It’s amazing what happens when we plant seeds, and tend to our gardens, without any expectations, isn’t it?

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rachelmanija

84 Charing Cross Road, by Helene Hanff

A sweet epistolatory memoir consisting of the letters written by a woman in New York City with extremely specific tastes (mostly classic nonfiction) and the English bookseller whose books she buys. Their correspondence continues over 20 years, from the 1940s to the 1960s. It's an enjoyable read but I think it became a ginormous bestseller largely because it hit some kind of cultural zeitgeist when it came out.

I Survived the Great Molasses Flood, by Lauren Tarshis

The graphic novel version! I read this after DNFing the supposedly definitive book on the event, Dark Flood, due to the author making all sorts of unsourced claims while bragging about all the research he did. The point at which I returned the book to Ingram with extreme prejudice was when he claimed that no one had ever written about the flood before him except for children's books where it was depicted as a delightful fairyland where children danced around snacking on candy. WHAT CHILDREN'S BOOKS ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?

The heroine of I Survived the Great Molasses Flood is an immigrant from Italy whose family was decimated in a flood over there. A water flood. It's got a nice storyline about the immigrant experience. The molasses flood is not depicted as a delightful fairyland because I suspect no one has ever done that. It also provides the intriguing context that the molasses was not used for sweetening food, but was going to be converted into sugar alcohol to be used, among other things, for making bombs!

My favorite horrifying detail was that when the giant molasses vat started expanding, screws popped out so fast that they acted as shrapnel. I also enjoyed the SPLOOSH! SPLAT! GRRRRMMMMM! sound effects.

The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, by Stuart Turton

A very unusual murder mystery/historical/fantasy/??? about a guy who wakes up with amnesia in someone else's body. He quickly learns that he is being body-switched every time he falls asleep, into the bodies of assorted people present at a party where Evelyn Hardcastle was murdered. He needs to solve the mystery, or else.

This premise gets even more complicated from then on; it's not just a mystery who killed Evelyn Hardcastle, but why he's being bodyswapped, and who other mysterious people are. It's technically adept and entertaining. Everything does have an explanation, and a fairly interesting and weird one - which makes sense, as it's a weird book.

https://www.dailykos.com/story/2025/6/28/2330311/-Republicans-target-unions-religious-freedom-and-courts-that-challenge-Trump?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source=

Injustice for All is a weekly series about how the Trump administration is trying to weaponize the justice system—and the people who are fighting back.

Republicans are very unhappy that lower courts keep ruling against the Trump administration. How dare the courts stand in the way of President Donald Trump doing whatever he wants?

Unfortunately for the GOP, Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough threw out the provision designed to make it nearly impossible for plaintiffs to sue the federal government.

Because conservatives no longer believe in the separation of powers, they’ve floated eliminating lower courts entirely and begged the Supreme Court to block lower courts from issuing nationwide injunctions.

Cartoon by Clay Bennett — A cartoon by Clay Bennett.

They’re furious that courts keep ruling against Trump, and it seems to have never crossed their minds to contemplate why that is. It can’t be that Trump is wildly exceeding his power and destroying the government, so it must be that the judges are in cahoots to deny Trump his rightful authority.

GOP senators approached this in a different—but no less anti-democratic—way. They attempted to include a provision in the budget bill that would have barred lower courts from issuing a temporary restraining order or a preliminary injunction against the federal government unless plaintiffs posted a bond. The bond would have to cover whatever the federal government said were its costs and damages resulting from not being allowed to do what it wanted.

On major policies, like stripping birthright citizenship from hundreds of thousands of Americans, the government could argue that its costs and damages ran into the billions due to its deportations being thwarted. It’s explicitly designed to make it more difficult for individuals and nonprofit groups to sue the government or to obtain nationwide relief.

At least for now, the Senate isn’t going to get its way, as MacDonough ruled that this provision violated the Byrd Rule, which limits provisions in reconciliation bills to only those with a budgetary effect.

But never fear: Republicans will keep trying to ensure that nothing stands in Trump’s way—not even the federal courts.

“Can you tell me how a bunch of allergy researchers are going to violate national security by using their time at work for collective bargaining?”

That’s U.S. District Judge James Donato, talking about the absurdity of Trump’s executive order intended to strip union protections from more than 1 million federal employees.

The pretense Trump used here was to say that more than 40 agencies primarily functioned as national security organizations and were therefore exempt from the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Act. But that list included agencies that obviously don’t have national security as their primary function, including the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Donato blocked the order, saying that there’s a serious question about whether the Trump administration violated the First Amendment rights of federal employees by retaliating against them for their protected speech.

Donato’s ruling points out that Trump’s executive order literally admits to that behavior. Trump complained of “hostile Federal unions” who have “declared war on President Trump’s agenda” and that he “will not tolerate” unions that oppose him.

Donato also noted that Trump’s order could chill the speech of federal employees, as they may “feel pressure to conform to the administration’s political views” or risk retaliation.

For the moment, Trump is barred from enforcing the order and cutting union protections. But who knows what will happen when this eventually ends up at the Supreme Court, which is busy giving Trump everything he wants by blocking lower court rulings.

At least someone will go after SpaceX when its rockets explode

Not in the United States, though.

Both Texas and the federal government seem to be standing aside whenever one of Elon Musk’s SpaceX rockets explodes in spectacular fashion, no matter what damage they cause.

FILE - In this Thursday, May 29, 2014 file photo, Elon Musk, CEO and CTO of SpaceX, listens to a question during a news conference in front of the SpaceX Dragon V2 spacecraft, designed to ferry astronauts to low-Earth orbit, at the headquarters in Hawthorne, Calif. The capsule was named for "Puff the Magic Dragon," a jab at those who scoffed when Musk founded the company in 2002 and set the space bar exceedingly high. SpaceX went on to become the first private company to launch a spacecraft into orbit and return it safely to Earth in 2010. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong) — Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX

A 2023 explosion resulted in a cloud of concrete covering Port Isabel, Texas, a 3.5-acre fire, and chunks of metal and concrete dropped thousands of feet from the launch site. And a 2024 launch destroyed the nests of shorebirds and dumped thousands of gallons of industrial wastewater nearby.

The environmental destruction of SpaceX doesn’t magically stop at the border, which is why the Mexican government is considering pursuing legal action for the garbage that SpaceX is spewing across Mexico’s northern border.

Both the May 27 and June 19 SpaceX explosions dropped debris and microplastics over Tamaulipas, a northern border state in Mexico. The debris eventually made its way to marine areas, where environmental activists say it caused a die-off of fish, dolphins, and sea turtles.

It’s unclear what legal action against SpaceX would look like, though it is very clear that Musk will go scorched earth on any litigation. But at least someone is going to try to rein him in.

Trump’s DOJ intervenes on the side of child abuse

Calling it an “anti-Catholic law,” the Department of Justice sued to join Catholic bishops in their suit against Washington state, which has a newly passed law that requires priests to disclose child abuse even if they learned about it in a confessional.

There certainly is a credible argument about whether this intrudes on religious practices, but not from the Trump administration, which has framed itself as the guardian of children’s safety. In practice, that seems to only apply to attacking schools that don’t sufficiently humiliate trans kids.

Indeed, Trump’s April proclamation for National Child Abuse Prevention Month boasts of how he’s protecting children by “prohibiting public schools from indoctrinating our children with transgender ideology.” He’s also taken “historic action” to secure the southern border and end child trafficking. But it’s not at all clear how those actions actually address child abuse.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration withdrew funding from investigating child sexual abuse, internet crimes against minors, and reports of missing children. The DOJ also removed grant applications, despite having plenty of funds, for services like helping local police investigate child exploitation on the internet and paying for court-appointed advocates for abused children.

The DOJ didn’t intervene in this case because it feels strongly about child abuse. It didn’t even really intervene to preserve the sanctity of the confessional—though that’s its ostensible reason.

The DOJ is in this case because it wants to advance a theocratic worldview—to keep carving out protections for conservative Christians and conservative Christians alone. And, hey, if that means that children endure abuse because priests keep quiet, that’s just the cost of doing religious business.

Texas loves passing laws that violate the Constitution

It really, really does.

Last week, Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law a requirement that every classroom display a poster of at least 16 inches by 20 inches with the text of the Ten Commandments.

Texas knew full well that this would be challenged because it’s blatantly unconstitutional. A group of faith leaders and families sued the day after Abbott signed the bill, saying that it violates the separation of church and state.

The plaintiffs also pointed out that there are multiple translations and interpretations of the Ten Commandments, so even if one were totally down with forcing that into the classroom, there’s still the problem of which version would be used.

People listen as President Joe Biden speaks about reproductive freedom on Tuesday, April 23, 2024, at Hillsborough Community College in Tampa, Fla. Biden is in Florida planning to assail the state's upcoming six-week abortion ban and similar restrictions nationwide. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) — People hold signs that read, “Restore Roe.”

Texas also knew full well that this would be challenged because the incredibly conservative 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, which includes Texas, held that a similar Louisiana law was unconstitutional just last week.

What Texas is hoping for here is something like what happened with its so-called “Heartbeat Bill,” which banned all abortions after a heartbeat could be detected—around 6 weeks—and created a bounty hunter system where anyone could sue someone who “aided and abetted” someone getting an abortion.

This law openly violated Roe v. Wade, which held that the government could not ban abortion before viability, which is around 24 weeks, but the Supreme Court allowed it to take effect anyway. Then, the court took up Dobbs v. Jackson over Mississippi’s 15-week ban, which also deliberately violated the viability requirement. The court used that to overturn Roe.

Texas is gambling that the Supreme Court is now stuffed with enough religious theocrats who may very well be perfectly happy to force children to look at the Ten Commandments every day, all while explaining that this somehow doesn’t violate the First Amendment.

It’s not a bad gamble for Texas, but it’s terrible for the rest of us.

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A cartoon by Clay Bennett.

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https://balloon-juice.com/2025/06/28/c-r-e-a-m-open-thread-repubs-humping-the-obbba-yuge-ugly-horrible-budget/

Posted by Anne Laurie

https://balloon-juice.com/?p=427532

Quickly on the big bill:
– they released updated (not final) text overnight
– it got worse in many places (energy tax credits specifically) and the nods to moderates are token at best
– Paul, Johnson, and Tillis are confirmed no to move forward today
– Thune can't lose another vote

— David Dayen (@ddayen.bsky.social) June 28, 2025 at 11:23 AM

Nothing like spending a summer weekend watching the world’s worst semi-human beings debate the parameters of a bill that seems to have been named after the sprawling monster that comes for greedy children in a third-rate children’s book…

Thune is not very good at this. There's no way McConnell would have let this thing come out without 50 +1.

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— Schnorkles O'Bork (@schnorkles.bsky.social) June 28, 2025 at 11:56 AM

===

I truly think it’s reprehensible that elected Republicans are calling the largest Medicaid cuts in history by far “protecting Medicaid.”
This bill would kick more than ten million people off Medicaid. It isn’t strengthening the program – it’s denying access for millions.

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— Bobby Kogan (@bbkogan.bsky.social) June 28, 2025 at 9:47 AM

===

Right now, no one knows:
-how large the Medicaid cuts are
-how many people will lose health insurance
-how large the tax cuts are
-who wins/loses by how much
-how much it adds to the deficit
Rs are going at lightning speed BECAUSE they want to pass the “big beautiful bill” before anyone knows

— Bobby Kogan (@bbkogan.bsky.social) June 28, 2025 at 1:10 PM

===
TPM’s live feed: “Senate GOP Keeps Medicaid Cuts, Delays Implementation in Revised ‘Big Beautiful’ Bill”:

The wildly unpopular “Big Beautiful” reconciliation package has encountered possibly existential challenges, though Senate Republicans still hope to bring it to the floor this weekend.

Senate Republicans rewrote key provisions of it after Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough rejected many of Republicans’ proposed Medicaid cuts, forcing their hand. Senate Budget Committee released the updated legislative text, with changes to the Medicaid and clean energy portions, shortly before midnight on Friday. The new text keeps the controversial cut to the provider tax, pushing back the implementation up to 2028.

It is unclear if the changes will get Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) to a favorable whip count this weekend to pass Trump’s megabill.

Several senators are still worried about the bill’s deep Medicaid cuts, specifically the proposal that would curtail provider taxes. Others continue to push back against the bill for not going far enough, claiming it does not cut nearly enough in spending…

I mean, what is funny about all this if we take a step back is how large a repudiation of everything going on is of Elon and what he was trying to accomplish.

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— Schnorkles O'Bork (@schnorkles.bsky.social) June 28, 2025 at 1:42 PM

===

Elon, Johnson, Trump, et. al: "THIS IS WHEN WE'RE GOING TO GET THE HOUSE IN ORDER. REDUCE THE SIZE AND SCOPE OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, DRAMATICALLY CUT SPENDING."
~*fast forward 5 months*~: Listen if you squint at the numbers right it prints money and we're not spending 4 trillion, bing bong

— Schnorkles O'Bork (@schnorkles.bsky.social) June 28, 2025 at 1:44 PM

===

Fakest guy on the planet.

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— Clean Observer (@hammbear2024.bsky.social) June 28, 2025 at 1:56 PM

===

Mike Johnson would hate for the public to know anything.
Republicans rely on clueless constituents.

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— Being Liberal ®🗽🇺🇲🇨🇦🇲🇽🇪🇺🇺🇳🇺🇦🏳️‍🌈 (@beingliberal.bsky.social) June 26, 2025 at 8:20 PM

===

🚨🚨BREAKING: Susan Collins is concerned.

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— Ron Filipkowski (@ronfilipkowski.bsky.social) June 24, 2025 at 3:20 PM

===

No one ever loss money voting on Susan Collins to wimp out. What are the odds?

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— David Corn (@davidcorn.bsky.social) June 28, 2025 at 1:45 PM

===

I will admit that it's kind of funny watching the GOP insist this bill is going to save their electoral prospects in the midterms when like 20% of the country actually likes it and it's even not in great shape with their own party.

— Schnorkles O'Bork (@schnorkles.bsky.social) June 28, 2025 at 12:33 PM

The post C.R.E.A.M. Open Thread: Repubs Humping the OBBBA ‘Yuge Ugly Horrible Budget’ appeared first on Balloon Juice.

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https://www.dailykos.com/story/2025/6/28/2330509/-Inside-the-Trump-administration-s-deranged-push-to-power-AI-with-dirty-energy?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source=

The Trump administration is wreaking havoc in seemingly random ways, but if you put their actions together like a carefully curated, MAGAfied puzzle, it appears to spell out something more nefarious.

On May 15, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin said during a hearing that he planned to make the United States the “AI capital of the world,” giving a glimpse into the Trump administration’s broader plans for dirty energy.

President Donald Trump is giving artificial intelligence the red carpet treatment, but he needs dirty energy to do it. To make this happen, “Daddy Trump” can’t just sign an executive order and go on his merry way—even if that seems to be the status quo these days.

Instead, each Cabinet member is chipping away at pieces of green legislation, regulations, closed coal mines, and more to make sure that energy-guzzling corporations have the resources they need.

For Zeldin, he’s making sure that coal factories don’t have pesky regulations on pollution. In fact, corporations can now submit their complaints to an email server if they feel that any green regulation is particularly bothersome, which is great news for Big Coal, considering it will soon have a lot more raw material coming down the assembly line.

UNITED STATES - MAY 14: EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin testifies during the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies hearing titled "A Review of the President's FY2026 Budget Request for the Environmental Protection Agency," in Dirksen on Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via AP Images) — EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin

Thanks to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, coal mines that were once shut down have been reopening. Even new uranium mines—a vital energy source for AI—are bypassing environmental checks.

But moves like cracking open once-protected lands in Alaska to harvest dirty energy have raised eyebrows among environmentalists. Earlier this month, Burgum flaunted a hardhat as he toured the icy terrain of Alaska to brag about a new venture: tapping into protected lands.

But the goal for Alaska’s oil isn’t just to fuel AI but to become a supplier for other countries. As for the coal mines, however, convincing young people to dive into the mines has become increasingly difficult. And with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. cutting resources for current miners to obtain free lung health screenings, it probably doesn’t help.

Then again, the Trump administration is prioritizing energy output over career viability—because to become the “AI capital of the world,” the United States will need to produce a lot more energy.

Even Energy Secretary Chris Wright agrees with that sentiment.

"We have to lead and win the AI race, just like we did Manhattan Project,” he said last month. “This is Manhattan Project 2.”

That’s certainly good news for the Trump administration’s goal of becoming the “AI capital of the world”—and bad news for everyone else.

Trump’s DOJ is targeting Daily Kos. That’s all we can say for now other than: We need your support! Can you donate $5 today to the legal fund?

https://www.dailykos.com/story/2025/6/28/2330509/-Inside-the-Trump-administration-s-deranged-push-to-power-AI-with-dirty-energy?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source=

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This is an occasional roundup of people who voted for Donald Trump and are shocked to find out no one is immune from the damage and pain he causes. Many are now grappling with the consequences of their choice as it affects them and their loved ones—and possibly regretting their vote.

NBC News went to Miami’s Republican strongholds—Cuban and Nicaraguan communities—and found something remarkable: Trump supporters realizing they’ve been used.

“What did you think was going to happen when Trump won?” NBC News reporter Morgan Radford asked one immigrant at a Texas ICE detention facility, in a phone interview. He believed Trump when he said “he was going to deport criminals,” Radford translated.

While he couldn’t vote, obviously, his whole family did the honors. His wife says on camera, “They used us.”

No shit.

Everyone paying attention heard Trump loud and clear. To him, every brown immigrant is a criminal. Legal status doesn’t matter. The Marshall Project documented thousands of instances where Trump linked immigrants to crime, and it literally started on Day One, when he said, during his campaign kickoff, “When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs, they’re bringing crime, they’re rapists, and some, I assume, are good people.”

They held these signs up at their convention:

UNITED STATES - JULY 17: Members of the Texas delegation wave "mass deportation now" signs at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Wednesday, July 17, 2024. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call via AP Images) — Members of the Texas delegation wave "mass deportation now" signs at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on July 17, 2024.

And at his rallies:

Colorado GOP chairman Dave Williams speaks before Trump at a campaign rally at the Gaylord Rockies Resort and Convention Center on Oct. 11, 2024, in Aurora, Colorado.

See anything there that exempts non-criminal immigrants? Because I sure as hell don’t. The message has always been crystal clear. But we’ve seen this delusion play out time and time again.

“Erika Gonzalez, who manages a nearby barbershop with her husband, voted for Mr. Trump because she liked his tough immigration policy. Born in the U.S. to Mexican parents, she’s concerned about the strain put on public services in Chicago by large numbers of new migrants from Venezuela under President Biden,” the Christian Science Monitor reported. “‘There are a lot of people who come to the USA to work, to have a better life. People follow the rules, pay taxes,’ she says. ‘Some people have been here 30 years. They have their own house, they have a small business. ... What’s going to happen to them?’”

Yeah, Erika, what’s going to happen to them because of your vote?

“I thought they were going to be targeting criminals,” Trump supporter Estefany Peña told CalMatters. “‘No one mentioned during the campaigning of Donald Trump that residents … legal residents … were going to have to go through this,’ she said. Her husband, who came to the country legally in 1999 and has a green card, went to an immigration office in San Francisco for a check-in in late January and still hasn’t come home, she said.”

Except we did mention it. Repeatedly. But you didn’t care. You thought your family would be safe. You were fine with Trump hurting other people—as long as they weren’t your people. You just assumed the cruelty wouldn’t reach you.

In 2020, Biden won Latinos by a healthy 2-to-1 margin, 65-32. In 2024, Harris scraped by with 51-46. As a Latino, I find it unfathomable that so many of my people turned toward a man who’s made bashing Latinos the defining feature of his political career—from the moment he came down that golden escalator to his final screamfest at Madison Square Garden.

And now? Of course they feel used. Because they were used. Trump doesn’t respect anyone, and certainly not anyone brown. He’s probably laughing his ass off at how easy it was to manipulate them into voting against their own families.

He told us exactly who he was. They just didn’t believe it meant them.

https://www.dailykos.com/story/2025/6/28/2330317/-Trump-s-Latino-supporters-are-learning-the-hard-way-He-meant-every-word?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source=

https://balloon-juice.com/2025/06/28/fig-leaf-funds-in-republican-health-policy-bills/

Posted by David Anderson

https://balloon-juice.com/?p=427530

The Senate Republicans released the initial text of their reconciliation bill last night. It contains similar in magnitude cuts to Medicaid as the passed House bill with differences in the mechanisms that achieve those cuts.

Medicaid is a critical component of supporting the rural medical sector. Slashing Medicaid will do bad things to rural hospital availability.

So in the great tradition of the 2017 ACHA/BCRA Repeal and Replace attempt, the Republican Party has written into law a FIG LEAF FUND:

H/T @andrewdesiderio.bsky.social. The fund to shore up rural hospitals.
– $10,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2028
-$10,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2029
-‘$2,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2030
– $2,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2031
-$1,000,000,000 for fiscal year
Altogether, this is $25 billion

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— Eric Michael Garcia (@ericmgarcia.bsky.social) June 28, 2025 at 12:42 AM

In 2017, the MacArthur Amendment would allow states to opt out of guaranteed issue and community rating policies. If a state opted out, that basically means anyone with any substantive pre-existing condition would be quickly priced out of any coverage.

So the response was a Fig Leaf Fund:

An earlier amendment to the House bill from Rep. Tom MacArthur would let states waive the ACA’s prohibition on charging people with pre-existing conditions higher premiums and its requirement that all health insurance plans cover basic medical services.[2] Now, congressional leaders are reportedly considering adding an additional $8 billion in federal funding to the bill over five years —$1 to $2 billion per year — to try to mitigate the serious harm that such waivers would do.

The details behind this additional $8 billion are unclear; some accounts suggest it would go to fund state high-risk pools, while others suggest it would go for other purposes. But either way, the additional funding wouldn’t come remotely close to addressing the severe problems that the bill creates for people with pre-existing conditions. Notably, the $8 billion would restore less than 1 percent of the nearly $1 trillion the House bill cuts from programs that help people afford coverage…..

In both cases it is an attempt to buy good headlines of So and SO supports RURAL HEALTH/Expensive Health care with 2% or 3% or 5% localized and temporary reduction in cuts that they are voting for.

The post Fig Leaf Funds in Republican Health Policy Bills appeared first on Balloon Juice.

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lsanderson

From soul food to Little Mekong Market to Pride, a jam-packed Twin Cities weekend
Twin Cities events will celebrate Pride, Indigenous fashion, and food from the African and Southeast Asian diasporas this weekend.by Myah Goff
https://sahanjournal.com/arts-culture/things-to-do-twin-cities-pride-soul-food-little-mekong-night-market/

Bringing back the ‘gayborhood’ in Loring Park: New Pride Cultural Arts Center debuts
Sam Stroozas
https://www.mprnews.org/story/2025/06/27/twin-cities-pride-cultural-arts-center-opens-in-minneapolis

Sven Sundgaard: Heat dome loosens its grip; several rounds of severe storms possible
Cooler air arrives in the East and Midwest, but repeated rounds of storms will continue on the northern edge of the retreating heat dome.
Meteorologist Sven Sundgaard
https://bringmethenews.com/minnesota-weather/sven-sundgaard-heat-dome-loosens-its-grip-several-rounds-of-severe-storms-possible ( Read more... )

https://balloon-juice.com/2025/06/28/scotus-miseducation-open-thread-every-parent-a-cleric/

Posted by Anne Laurie

https://balloon-juice.com/?p=427492

Wow that’s broad. Incredibly broad.
www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24p…

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— Raffi Melkonian (@rmfifthcircuit.bsky.social) June 27, 2025 at 11:04 AM

===
Mister, we could use a man like Ronald Reagan agaaain…

the percentage of white children in school was around 80% in 1980. today it is right around 45%, give or take.
as the supreme court attempts to uphold that this is a white man’s republic it is going to smash headlong into reality, and the results are going to be catastrophic.

— not an art thief (@famousartthief.bsky.social) June 27, 2025 at 10:49 AM

===

Worth pointing out that only one of the Republican appointees attended public schools, and I’m guessing none of their kids have.

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— Dana Houle (@danahoule.bsky.social) June 27, 2025 at 1:15 PM

===

It also creates bureaucratic problems for schools. Where do kids go when teachers explain that slavery is bad but Phundie Phylis’s snowflakes leave the class? Who watches them? And how will Phundie Phylis know when her kids should be pulled? Do teachers need to send out daily instruction plans? /2

— Dana Houle (@danahoule.bsky.social) June 27, 2025 at 1:04 PM

===

Another impact will be parents "excusing" students from assignments that all of a sudden conflict with their "I just made it up" religion.

— cooptimo.bsky.social (@cooptimo.bsky.social) June 27, 2025 at 1:08 PM

—

looking forward to some parents suing to demand segregated schools because integration violates their religious beliefs

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— jamelle (@jamellebouie.net) June 27, 2025 at 11:16 AM

===

it's important to understand that they want to threaten the very essence of public education. the conservative plan – the plot to enslave america – requires them to destroy public education and replace it with private academies for the rich, religious instruction and prison-like schools for the rest

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— mtsw (@mtsw.bsky.social) June 27, 2025 at 11:25 AM

===

There is, in general right now, a move on the larger right to change the goal of higher education from an academic enterprise (in all its fashions: taking the best students, pushing knowledge forward, etc.) and change back into a means of enforcing differences of class between groups.

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— Schnorkles O'Bork (@schnorkles.bsky.social) June 27, 2025 at 4:05 PM

—

Like, what they're doing makes perfect sense if their goal is to remove the actual educational purpose of higher ed, and instead transform it into part of the cultural apparatus to enforce an aristocratic white class.

— Schnorkles O'Bork (@schnorkles.bsky.social) June 27, 2025 at 4:06 PM

—

One thing that seems clear is that this case was so poorly decided and not thought out that it's likely going to force this SCOTUS to calvinball and somehow say that Christianity is protected but no other religions are. Which I expect! But they've really dug a hole for themselves.

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— Schnorkles O'Bork (@schnorkles.bsky.social) June 27, 2025 at 6:42 PM

The post SCOTUS (Mis)Education Open Thread: Every Parent A Cleric appeared first on Balloon Juice.

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https://www.dailykos.com/story/2025/6/28/2328998/-Caribbean-Matters-Hurricane-season-is-here-but-federal-aid-isn-t?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source=

Caribbean Matters is a weekly series from Daily Kos. Hope you’ll join us here every Saturday. If you are unfamiliar with the region, check out Caribbean Matters: Getting to know the countries of the Caribbean.

We’ve covered the devastation of recent Caribbean and Atlantic hurricanes, some of which the island nations are still recovering from. In 2017, Hurricanes Irma and Maria slammed into the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico and wiped out Barbuda. Similarly, Hurricane Dorian in 2019 and Hurricane Beryl in 2024 caused widespread regional damage.

Sadly for the victims, during President Donald Trump’s first term, there were many delays in federal aid. And now during his second term, things are about to get even worse.

Vox Environmental Correspondent Benji Jones writes:

Hurricane season in the Atlantic has officially begun.

And while this year will likely be less extreme than in 2024 — one of the most destructive seasons ever, with the earliest Category 5 hurricane on record — it’s still shaping up to be a doozy.

Forecasters at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predict “above-average” activity this season, with six to 10 hurricanes. The season runs from June 1 to November 30.

...

Even when government agencies that forecast and respond to severe storms — namely, NOAA and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) — are fully staffed and funded, big hurricanes inflict billions of dollars of damage, and they cost lives.

Under the Trump administration, however, these agencies are not well staffed and face steep budget cuts. Hundreds of government employees across these agencies have been fired or left, including those involved in hurricane forecasting. What could go wrong?

Earlier this month, a forecast from Puerto Rican Meteorologist John Morales in Florida went viral:

John Morales of WTVJ in Miami said the Trump administration’s recent cuts to the National Weather Service could leave television forecasters like him “flying blind” this hurricane season. “We may not exactly know how strong a hurricane is before it reaches the coastline,” he warned.

...

Mr. Morales’s presentation on Monday began with a clip of himself following the Category 5 Hurricane Dorian in 2019 as it moved over the Bahamas. He reassured his Florida viewers that the powerful storm would turn north before it reached their coastline. And it did, exactly when Mr. Morales assured anxious viewers it would.

The clip cuts to him in present day, slightly older and now wearing glasses. He recalled the confidence he used to have in delivering an accurate forecast to his viewers.

Grimly, he added: “And I am here to tell you that I am not sure I can do that this year, because of the cuts, the gutting, the sledgehammer attack on science in general.”

He told of staffing shortages at the Weather Service’s Florida offices; “From Tampa to Key West, including the Miami office, 20 to 40 percent understaffed,” he said.

“The quality of the forecast is being degraded” because of those cuts, he said.

“Am I worried? You bet I am!” he added in a follow-up essay posted on the station’s website.

And here’s the video clip of Morales’ report:

YouTube Video

But Trump’s cuts to federal aid go far beyond hurricane preparedness. As María Mónica Monsalve reported for El País:

If a potential lack of information is a cause for concern, there is even greater dismay about how the first hurricane season will be experienced after the pause in USAID assistance throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. Calculations made by the Center for Global Development (CGD) based on the latest documents shared by Congress in March estimate that $265,038,208 was cut for disaster preparedness worldwide.

“USAID has been a very reliable source of funding for various disaster reduction, preparedness, and response activities,” Salgado insists. “In the region, one of the initiatives that has been greatly affected is the early warning system for all people, which is also an initiative mandated by the United Nations Secretary-General.” A 24-hour warning, he recalls, can reduce economic and livelihood losses by up to 30%.

That entire chain, from early warning to hurricane recovery, has been shaken in the region. Knowing the extent is difficult due to the lack of transparency from the United States government, but there are specific cases. Science journalist Justine Calma revealed in The Verge that the Regional Disaster Assistance Program (RDAP), funded by USAID since 1989, was terminated in Latin America and the Caribbean. It included activities such as running drills with community members, purchasing supplies for evacuation shelters, and making sure people with disabilities can access services.

As Earth.org Editor-in-Chief Martina Ignini reported, Trump’s dismantling of FEMA will begin at the end of hurricane season.

The Trump administration will begin dismantling the country’s federal emergency agency at the end of the hurricane season, which scientists have forecast to be “above-normal” this year.

“We’re going to give out less money,” Trump said at the White House, adding that he would like to see the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) – an agency within the US Department of Homeland Security – largely dismantled “after the hurricane season” to “bring it down to the state level.”

Speaking next to Trump from the Oval Office, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the move will “empower” state governors to respond to emergency situations. But experts have warned that while large counties and cities may be able to take over some of the agency’s services and responsibilities, small and rural governments lack the personnel and resources to do so.

But, of course, there was no mention of what that means for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Island. While we are all aware of the damage wrought by hurricanes, a recent study in Puerto Rico provides insight into long term effects damaging people, not property.

The study, entitled “Enraizando ante la Crisis Climática (Rooting in the Face of the Climate Crisis),” was based on 684 responses to an online questionnaire (quantitative scope) and 52 people interviewed in the six regions of Puerto Rico (qualitative scope). In the analysis, Amigxs del M.A.R. found that 44% of the total identified Hurricane María (2017) as the main event responsible for their climate trauma.

“This means that people live in a state of constant hypervigilance,” said Erimar Landrón Irizarry, community and educational organizer for Amigxs del M.A.R. “The body constantly experiencing anxiety and stress has adverse effects on both physical and mental health. But beyond that situation, the fact that it is adverse also causes a constant landscape of illness in the population, and when you, in one way or another, feel every day that you cannot fight that illness, it creates immobilization. So, what actions are being taken to ensure that populations and people in communities truly feel empowered, and that it doesn’t just remain a nice phrase uttered by a government official?”

Here’s hoping that the Caribbean dodges the wrath of major storms this season. I’ll provide updates and a roundup of other Caribbean news in the comments section below.

https://www.dailykos.com/story/2025/6/28/2328998/-Caribbean-Matters-Hurricane-season-is-here-but-federal-aid-isn-t?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source=

https://www.dailykos.com/story/2025/6/28/2330299/-Cartoon-Biden-s-fault?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source=

A cartoon by Mike Luckovich.

https://www.dailykos.com/story/2025/6/28/2330299/-Cartoon-Biden-s-fault?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source=

https://balloon-juice.com/2025/06/28/saturday-morning-open-thread-81/

Posted by Betty Cracker

https://balloon-juice.com/?p=427525

This is going to sound crazy, but hear me out: It’s possible that the invention of the “pause and serve” feature on coffee makers is humanity’s greatest achievement.
Coffee mug with a hummingbird graphic

It’s damp here this morning. We have a chill day planned, including breakfast at a diner, a ride to a farm that sells honey, eggs and preserves on the honor system and a trip to the library, which is always fun.

Bill was disappointed to learn that the library no longer accepts book donations (the DeSantis effect). We’re in constant danger of being crushed by a toppling tower of reading material. But I told him we can probably hit up some little free libraries or maybe unload tomes at a thrift store.

Meanwhile, I’m listening to distant hawks screeching and watching a Tri-Colored Heron stalk prey in the shallow water by the riverbank. Not a bad way to start the day.

Open thread.

The post Saturday Morning (Open Thread) appeared first on Balloon Juice.

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https://balloon-juice.com/2025/06/27/rip-melissa-mark-hortman/

Posted by Anne Laurie

https://balloon-juice.com/?p=427506

Mark and Melissa lie peacefully at the center of our state and our hearts today. Their memorial, guarded by service dogs and men and women in uniform, casts a momentary shadow over L'Étoile du Nord as we honor their life’s work to make Minnesota shine brighter for all.

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— Governor Tim Walz (@governorwalz.mn.gov) June 27, 2025 at 2:52 PM

The Minnesota Star Tribune, “Day of mourning: Biden pays respects, thousands pass through Capitol in honor of Hortmans”:

Former President Joe Biden joined Minnesotans by the thousands who paid their respects to Melissa and Mark Hortman at the Minnesota Capitol on Friday, as the couple received one of the state’s highest honors.

Lying in state is a rare honor typically reserved for former governors, U.S. senators, and other high-ranking public officials. Melissa Hortman, a former House speaker and DFL House leader, was the first woman to receive such a tribute in the state’s history after she and her husband Mark were shot and killed earlier this month in their Brooklyn Park home. They were accompanied by their golden retriever, Gilbert, who was also shot and later euthanized.

Melissa Hortman was known as an unflashy, no-nonsense leader who took care of her team and wanted to get things done. Mark Hortman worked as a program manager at a tech firm in St. Louis Park and enjoyed mountain biking, competitive pool, home beer brewing and woodworking. They have two adult children, Colin and Sophie…

Former President Joe Biden paid respects to Melissa and Mark Hortman as they lie in state at the Minnesota Capitol.

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— Minnesota Star Tribune (@startribune.com) June 27, 2025 at 5:36 PM

CBS:

… People began arriving before 10 a.m., standing on the Capitol steps to make sure they were in place for their chance to pay tribute to the lawmaker many say perfected the art of compromise — working with colleagues on both sides of the aisle to do what she thought was best for all Minnesotans…

Some came with flowers. Others wore their hearts on their sleeves, devastated by the loss of the people’s lawmaker who worked for decades to make the lives of all Minnesotans better.

“She was a personal hero, she was a great gift to the state of Minnesota and, I think actually, to the rest of the country,” said Jean Strauchon, of Minneapolis.

Talk of the impact Hortman had on the state was at the forefront of every conversation in the line that stretched for blocks.

“She got a lot of things done, she championed a lot of things that are important to a lot of people,” Ken Toenjes, of Anoka, said. “She was very good at compromising, and she was a wonderful person.”

A private funeral for the Hortmans will be held Saturday at 10:30 a.m. WCCO will livestream the service beginning at 10 a.m.

On behalf of the Hortmans’ children, Walz extended an invitation to former Vice President Kamala Harris. She will attend Saturday’s services but will not be speaking…

Two weeks ago, my friend and Minnesota Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark were taken from us in an awful act of political violence.
Today, the United States Senate unanimously supported a resolution honoring Melissa and Mark’s life and work.

— Tina Smith (@smith.senate.gov) June 26, 2025 at 9:46 PM

We just unanimously passed a bipartisan bill honoring the lives of Melissa and Mark Hortman & condemning political violence. As their kids Sophie and Colin said – let's continue honoring their memory by doing something to make our community just a little better for someone else.

— Amy Klobuchar (@amyklobuchar.com) June 26, 2025 at 8:31 PM

Gov. Tim Walz and his wife Gwen Walz pet a golden retriever during the lying in state of Melissa and Mark Hortman and their dog, Gilbert.

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— Minnesota Star Tribune (@startribune.com) June 27, 2025 at 2:18 PM

The post RIP, Melissa & Mark Hortman appeared first on Balloon Juice.

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https://balloon-juice.com/2025/06/27/war-for-ukraine-day-1219-the-city-without-windows/

Posted by Adam L Silverman

https://balloon-juice.com/?p=427501

(Image by NEIVANMADE)

It has been a long week and I’m fried. So I’m just going to run through the basics tonight.

One other note: I’m tracking the attack on the warehouse in Belgium. There is some reporting that the founder of the group that staged the attack and damaged the military equipment that was headed for Ukraine mistakenly thinking it was heading for Israel is backed by an intergenerationaly wealthy (oligarch) American who is a self declared communist, has spent significant time in Russian occupied Ukraine, hates the US and Israel, and has gone after Jewish American groups that criticize Israel and advocate for Palestinian independence and statehood. That’s all I’m going to say on this until we have more reporting with better details, because right now this looks like an attempt to use a useful idiot to harm Ukraine and get the blame cast on pro-Palestinian activists.

According to Mayor Ihor Terekhov, Kharkiv is quite literally a city without windows. He reported that more than 220,000 windows have been shattered since the start of the full-scale invasion, which is more than you’d find in an average European city.

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— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) June 27, 2025 at 2:23 PM

Russia has just hit more civilian residential targets in Odesa during the small hours:

Russian drone just struck a residential building in Odesa!

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— Iryna Voichuk (@irynavoichuk.bsky.social) June 27, 2025 at 5:07 PM

Russian drone yet again struck an apartment building in Odesa

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— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) June 27, 2025 at 6:38 PM

Tonight, Russia struck a 21-story residential building in Odesa.

5 people, including a child, have been rescued. 2 deaths have been reported, and at least 4 people are injured. Repeated air raid sirens complicated the rescue operation.

Search and rescue operations are ongoing.

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— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) June 27, 2025 at 9:32 PM

Odesa tonight

Don’t look away! Russia doesn’t want peace. They want to keep murdering and injuring children as they sleep in their beds.

Russia is a terrorist state!

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— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) June 27, 2025 at 9:37 PM

Here is President Zelenskyy’s address from earlier today. Video below, English transcript after the jump.

We Are Scaling up Ukraine’s Potential, Particularly Regarding Interceptors – Address by the President

27 June 2025 – 21:15

Dear Ukrainians!

Today has been a full and busy day. I held a meeting of the Staff – specifically its technological division, the Technology Staff. There were detailed reports on drones, covering all aspects: financing, production, and the necessary regulatory streamlining. The key goal is to maximize production, particularly of the types of drones needed on the frontline and for defending our cities, also taking into account the development of enemy technologies. At the Staff meeting, we heard reports from the military command, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, and the Ministry of Strategic Industries. Our intelligence presented a detailed report on Russia’s technological plans and intentions. We are scaling up Ukraine’s potential, particularly regarding interceptors. I gave several special instructions – I’m not disclosing the details yet, but the outcome must be clear: increased production in Ukraine and for Ukraine. All opportunities must be available – both for businesses and for state manufacturers. The main point is that the scale of our production and the pace of drone development must be fully aligned with the conditions of the war.

Today I also held a meeting with our diplomats: the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration; the team of the Presidential Office was also present. These past weeks have been especially intense with our meetings in Europe and in Canada, at the G7 Summit. There are agreements on defense packages and joint production with the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Canada, and other partners. There are also areas for collaboration with the United States. Many agreements have been reached with France and Germany as well. All of these need to be effectively implemented: from joint drone production and investments to our long-range capability projects, including missile development.

Today, there is also a decision to significantly accelerate sanctions pressure on Russia. I want to thank our partners who are already preparing the EU’s 18th sanctions package. New sanction measures have also been introduced by the United Kingdom and Canada. We are coordinating on sanctions with all G7 nations, as well as with other key global jurisdictions. All necessary sanctions imposed by the world against Russia must also be fully enforced within our Ukrainian jurisdiction. Likewise, Ukrainian sanctions against all who support Russia, against those holding or acquiring business assets in the temporarily occupied territories, and effectively sponsoring the occupation – the Ukrainian sanctions against such actors must also be fully enforced in key jurisdictions. Russia’s accountability for this war and our sanctions pressure must be operating at full capacity. They must leave no room for Russia or its cronies to adapt. I thank everyone who is helping. I thank everyone working for Ukraine.

Glory to Ukraine!

President Zelenskyy also addressed the Fair Play conference. Video followed by the transcript.

This War Must Become an Ever-Growing Problem for Russia – Speech by the President at the Fair Play Conference

27 June 2025 – 18:53

Glory to Ukraine!

Dear friends!

Today, we are all here for the sake of actions that can have the most serious impact on the aggressor state. Each of you has seen just how much evidence there is that Russia is critically dependent on its ties to the world. Without those ties, this war simply would not have been possible.

Russian missiles, drones, nearly all the equipment on the battlefield that is actually effective, Russian finances, their tech companies and communications – all of this depends on how Russia trades with the world, how Russia sells oil and other goods, and imports technologies, equipment, and components. Russian weapons production directly depends on access to modern machine tools. Russian missiles and drones are made up of dozens of critical components that they import – import from other countries through various schemes. The Russian budget is critically dependent on oil and gas revenues. The Russian economy and Russian oligarchs cannot function properly without financial ties to global jurisdictions. And no less important are the personal assets of Putin’s so-called “elite” – all those murderers and their accomplices. They love money. They love their life of luxury. They hoard stolen wealth, want a good education for their children – particularly in Europe – and need proper healthcare. The longer Russia wages war, the less of the “proper” remains in Russia. It is precisely the so-called “Putin’s elite” that understands this very well – and desperately wants the West not only to avoid introducing new sanctions, but also to ease all the existing ones. That is why our common task is clear: as long as Russia invests in this war, the entire world must remain as closed to them as possible. This is about security – ours and yours – and about basic human justice. And it is exactly what we must ensure through sanctions regimes – both ours and those of our partners.

Unfortunately, today, even Western countries continue to supply Russia with equipment and critical components. Our experts have already identified hundreds of types of various components found in Russian drones and in Russian missiles. Unfortunately, just over the past year, deliveries of machine tools to military-industrial facilities in Russia have been recorded from at least 12 countries – including China and Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, France, Germany, Italy, Türkiye, and the United States. There is also information about supply contracts already planned for the upcoming year, 2026. All of this must be stopped. Absolutely. Further pressure is also needed on every actor in the world who helps Russia maintain its exports, who helps it transport oil, or find ways to circumvent financial restrictions. We must already be working to ensure that cutting-edge technologies – particularly in the field of artificial intelligence – are prioritized in export control policies by partner states, as AI is increasingly being integrated into weaponry. It is necessary to immediately impose restrictions on the supply to Russia of ready-made artificial intelligence models suitable for military use; also, tools and services for training AI, including cloud-based solutions; high-performance computing equipment, as well as specialized data sets, including commercial satellite imagery. Therefore, our sanctions must be highly specific in each area and as up-to-date as possible. A new international platform for controlling the export of dual-use goods must be established, which should help us not only to defend ourselves directly against Russia, but also indirectly against its accomplices, such as the regimes in Pyongyang and Tehran. I would like to specifically acknowledge the work of everyone involved in limiting Russia’s earnings from energy resources. Thanks to our state institutions, our strong partners, and cooperation with civil society, there have been truly positive results in imposing sanctions against Russia’s shadow tanker fleet. And this effort must be scaled up even further. We must extend sanctions to tanker captains, all related legal entities, and terminals from which Russian oil is shipped. This is an enormous everyday task – from export controls and supply chain restrictions to blocking financial instruments and imposing personal sanctions. But all of it is necessary, because without it, Moscow will not consider peace.

Of course, we are doing our part. Our sanctions packages are very proactive – and I want to thank the entire team that makes this possible. Today, Ukraine is introducing new sanctions against manufacturers and suppliers of components and equipment for the Russian military industry – another 87 entities, most of which are Russian. But we must become even faster and stronger. That is why today the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine has made a clear decision on all sanctions synchronization. This is an absolutely essential process. As of today, there are differences in the speed of sanctions implementation. In some cases, we in Ukraine act more swiftly; in others, our partners move more actively against certain individuals or sectors that deserve strong sanctions.

Today, we are launching an expedited synchronization process. Every necessary decision by our partners regarding sanctions against Russia and related individuals must be swiftly implemented in Ukraine. And our Ukrainian sanctions – against those who have chosen Russia and who have chosen war, against those who assist aggression – must also be confirmed in other jurisdictions. We need to work more actively with companies directly – with key global manufacturers, primarily of equipment and components, with leading developers – to ensure stronger control at the production level over where specifically their products end up. Negligence in control must lead to inclusion in sanctions lists and effective restrictions.

This war must become an ever-growing problem for Russia. Every Russian strike on our cities and communities must trigger new sanctions in response. I’ve had productive meetings in Europe and at the G7 Summit in Canada with our partners – and sanctions were among the key topics of discussion. Our partners are ready to support us, and I want to thank them for that. We expect all our state institutions – starting with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Security Service of Ukraine, the National Bank, and the National Security and Defense Council – to work more swiftly and deliver results in sync with those of our partners. The task is absolutely clear. The deadlines are absolutely clear. And the outcomes can be clearly measured. We must significantly ramp up sanctions pressure. Thank you to everyone who is helping us! Thank you for today, for organizing everything, and thank you to everyone who is striking back at Russia in response to the war – rightly so.

Glory to Ukraine!

I have not seen any reporting regarding the attendance of either Terry Sloan or Michael Holt.

President Zelenskyy also addressed the Forum of State and Business: