September 1, 2026

~~~ Jack Hobbes of the Irish Star: "The Trump administration has removed 40 weeping willow trees that lined both sides of the embattled John F. Kennedy Performing Arts Center. Users on X were outraged by the move as the trees were planted along two sides of the center to symbolize the nation's mourning after the death of former President John F. Kennedy. 'The weeping willows at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts have been reduced to stumps,' the user on X wrote. 'They symbolized the mourning of a nation for President Kennedy following his assassination in 1963,' it added. 'The administration is claiming the roots were bad, but we know the real reason.'" Thanks to RAS for the lead. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I guess there was just too much "Kennedy" for Trump in the shortlived fake "Kennedy-Trump Center." So the Trumplodytes hadda get rid of this living memorial to Kennedy. The good news: willows, given plenty of water, grow very fast. Once Trump and his mafia are removed from the Kennedy Center board, a legitimate board can plant healthy young trees, which will grow to substantial size within five years. I know. I've grown 'em. 

Michael Gold of the New York Times: “The House voted on Tuesday to censure Representative Chuck Edwards, Republican of North Carolina, after a bipartisan panel found 'substantial reason to believe' that he had violated the chamber’s rules against sexual harassment. Mr. Edwards, 65, announced last month that he would not seek re-election after the House Ethics Committee issued a report recommending that he be formally reprimanded for 'persistent unprofessional and inappropriate conduct toward two young female staffers.' The censure resolution passed overwhelmingly, 413 to 2. Just one other Republican, Representative Ralph Norman of South Carolina, joined Mr. Edwards to oppose it. After the vote, Mr. Edwards, who sent his colleagues a 22-page letter last week imploring them not to censure him, stood in the well of the House floor to be officially rebuked.

“The ethics investigation into Mr. Edwards came after the resignations of two lawmakers who faced sexual misconduct accusations — Representatives Eric Swalwell, Democrat of California, and Tony Gonzales, Republican of Texas — focused fresh attention on a culture of silence about and tolerance of inappropriate behavior by male members of Congress toward women on Capitol Hill, and prompted the House to review its handling of such complaints.” The link is a gift link.

Pranav Baskar & Farnaz Fassihi of the New York Times: “The U.S. military said on Tuesday that it was striking military targets in Iran in retaliation for Iranian attacks on ships and U.S. forces in the region, raising the risk of a renewed round of fighting. The U.S. strikes came after the two countries exchanged attacks on Sunday, puncturing a monthlong calm since ... [Donald] Trump pulled back after concerns over dwindling U.S. munition stockpiles, and unveiled a campaign to strangle Iran’s economy. The hostilities underscore that the conflict, which began six months ago, appears far from a durable solution.” The link is a gift link.

Tom Nichols of the Atlantic: “The Pentagon is careening offtrack under a secretary of defense who is firing or forcing the resignations of officers and civilian officials, not because they are unqualified but because he believes they are insufficiently loyal to him, personally.... Hegseth seems to have a special animus toward the Army, an institution he claims 'spit me out.'... Secretaries of defense must grasp the economics of the defense industry, the nature of alliances, congressional politics, the policy process, and dozens of other issues for which Hegseth seems to care little and about which he knows even less. In a time of war..., Hegseth’s shortcomings may prove deadly.... Hegseth was reportedly virtually alone among senior officials in supporting Trump’s decision to attack Iran — when he should have been the one person in the room who knew better.... Hegseth is apparently close to getting the Pentagon he wants: Much like his boss at the White House, Hegseth seems to desire a building full of loyalists who put the boss’s personal fortunes over the national interest.... Pete Hegseth has failed in every mission except one: keeping his job.” Thank you to akaWendy for this gift link.

Joe Sommerlad of the Independent: “Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has been accused of 'body shaming' a youth cadet instructor after posting her picture on social media. Hegseth shared the image of an instructor from Vernon Cadet Training Center in British Columbia presenting a cadet with a medal, captioning it with an emoji of a Canadian flag and the words: '(this is real).' The post met with an immediate backlash, with one Canadian veteran writing in response: 'Wow. The Secretary of Defense is body shaming cadet groups. A youth group. This is not a military unit. They are kids looking for adventure, test themselves and align themselves with the values of service. Don’t be a Pete.'” ~~~

     ~~~ British Columbia Premier David Eby responds: ~~~

⭐Chris Cameron of the New York Times: “A U.S. Postal Service official has alleged that the agency is moving forward with a 'secretive, rushed' effort to carry out ... [Donald] Trump’s order exerting federal control over mail voting, despite a court order blocking those plans. The official filed a whistle-blower report, published on Tuesday morning by the office of Senator Richard Blumenthal, Democrat of Connecticut, asserting that the 'risky and haphazard' implementation of Mr. Trump’s order could lead to a “catastrophic failure” in the mail ballot system ahead of this year’s midterm elections. The report said that the agency had planned to complete the new digital system overseeing mail ballots by Sept. 1. 'Potentially millions of American voters may not receive their mail-in ballot this election cycle in a timely manner, or at all,' the official said in the report, which was prepared with the assistance of Whistleblower Aid, a nonprofit group that represents people seeking to expose potential lawbreaking.” The link is a gift link. Related report linked below. ~~~

~~~ AND it looks as if ICE thugs may be lurking inside your polling place, after all, to "enforce specific threats": ~~~

~~~ Eric Bazail-Eimil of Politico: “Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin provided more details Tuesday about the kinds of operations which would see immigration agents enter polling places, as Democrats have worried the Department of Homeland Security could seek to interfere in November’s midterm elections. Speaking to reporters in New York City, the Homeland Security secretary said that 'ICE isn’t there to patrol the polling places. We’re there to enforce specific threats.' He added, however, that reports of specific undocumented immigrants at a location could be a reason for ICE to deploy. 'The only reason why we would be at polling places is if there is a threat to that polling place or we’re serving a warrant on someone that we have been actively tracking down,' he said. 'ICE’s job is immigration, customs enforcement. That’s their job … if we’re serving a warrant we will be where we need to be.'”

Arelis Hernandez of the Washington Post: “A Haitian immigrant who had grown increasingly distraught after losing his protection from deportation and being outfitted with an ankle monitor was run over and killed Monday in what his family believes was a suicide. Pierre Damas Bel, 20, parked on the shoulder of Interstate 70 in Springfield, Ohio, some time before 8:45 a.m., got out of his vehicle and walked into westbound traffic, the Ohio State Highway Patrol told local media outlets. He was hit by a tractor-trailer and pronounced dead at the scene. Like an estimated 350,000 Haitian immigrants, Bel had recently lost temporary protected status.... He had a pending asylum claim but had been summoned to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement office after the Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to proceed with canceling the status for Haitian recipients.... 'He felt like he was treated like an animal,' his father, Pierres Ronal Bel, 40, recounted in a handwritten statement.... [Pierre] Bel dreamed of studying medicine and graduated from high school in May with honors and as a proud member of the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC), his father said.”

Jarrell Dillard & Mariana Alfaro of the Washington Post: “The House passed a bill Tuesday to fund the government into December, allowing lawmakers to circumvent a politically fraught battle and potential shutdown just weeks before the midterm elections. The House voted 370-48 to pass the stopgap bill, also known as a continuing resolution. It previously passed the Senate and will now go to ... Donald Trump’s desk to be signed into law, funding the government through Dec. 11, a couple of months beyond the start of the fiscal year in October. A total of 19 Republicans voted against the stopgap bill amid concerns about some provisions unrelated to funding that were attached by the Senate, including a measure that temporarily blocks the White House from implementing an Office of Management and Budget rule to give political appointees more power over discretionary grants. Twenty nine Democrats voted against the continuing resolution.” The Guardian's story is here.

Mary Ilyushina of the Washington Post: “In a joint appearance at a regional security meeting, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Tuesday thanked Russian President Vladimir Putin for his support in wartime and urged that their nations work together to oppose U.S. sanctions.... Putin ... said that his country was trying to help Tehran in its war with the United States. 'During this difficult period, we are striving to provide you with the necessary assistance — as we have discussed — and are supplying you with essential goods,' Putin said, according to the Kremlin account. Putin made his pledge of ongoing support just days after Treasury Scott Bessent announced a new economic pressure campaign against Iran called Operation Economic Outcast that he said would result in 'unprecedented economic isolation' of Iran. The meeting in Bishkek highlighted the increasingly close military and political alliance between Moscow and Tehran.” MB: It's almost as if Trump's love for Putin is unrequited.

Annals of “Journalism,”& Ctd. Ariana Baio of the Independent: “CBS News boss Bari Weiss reportedly had a direct hand in creating a headline that insinuated Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed deleted supposedly controversial tweets about the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The article, 'Michigan Democrat Abdul El-Sayed's deleted tweets on Sept. 11 attacks invite scrutiny of past remarks,' was published Monday morning, and quickly condemned by some for being racist and promoting Islamophobia. Unnamed sources later told 'Status' writer Oliver Darcy that Weiss had 'personally directed that the headline be tweaked to specifically mention that El-Sayed had deleted tweets referencing the September 11 terrorist attack.'... Sources within CBS News told Darcy that the article about El-Sayed was poorly received by staffers who said it called into question the network’s objectivity.”

~~~~~~~~~~ 

Since a policy of "everything for the oligarchs" is not particularly popular, Republicans -- especially Donald Trump -- are relying on a multi-pronged effort to suppress the vote. In today's news cycle alone, I've linked four stories centered on effort to "win," not by adopting more popular policies but by suppressing Democratic votes: (1) the USPS has adopted an arbitrary system to refuse to mail millions of ballots; (2) conduct fake investigations looking for voter fraud in mostly Democratic-leaning states; (3) skew Census Bureau data so it favors Republicans; and (4) close polling places in Democratic-leaning Texas communities.

⭐Shall We Dance? Lawrence Hurley of NBC News: “The Supreme Court on Monday handed a win to ... Donald Trump by allowing him to move forward indefinitely with the construction of his new White House ballroom. The court, divided 5-4, granted an emergency request filed by the Trump administration, blocking lower court rulings that would have put the aboveground portion of the project on hold. This followed an interim decision along similar lines issued by Chief Justice John Roberts on Aug. 21. The legal challenge was brought by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which argued that the president did not have unilateral authority to proceed with construction. In the unsigned ruling, the court said that the trust likely does not have legal standing to bring the underlying lawsuit. The court did not reach any conclusion on whether Trump has authority to carry out construction without congressional approval.... Roberts ultimately joined the court’s three liberal justices in dissent. 'Construction of the ballroom has proceeded apace for the better part of a year. That construction is likely unlawful,' Roberts wrote.' Here's the New York Times story; this is a gift link. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ As RAS put it yesterday in a heads-up on the ruling, "Swines Say Congress Is Irrelevant." MB: Re: Roberts: Roberts, who has jurisdiction over suits brought in D.C., could have halted construction in his interim decision ten days ago. I think the five confederate justices still could have lifted his stay, but perhaps at least one of them would have been less inclined to do so if he had left the lower courts' stays in place. Ump Johnnie calls balls and strikes, all right; the problem is he calls them simultaneously. I hope these knuckleheads realize that now there is nothing, absolutely nothing, to keep Demo Don from sending in a contractor in the dead of night to knock down the Supreme Court building. Then, in a couple of years, they can get together on a street corner & opine that the destruction was "unlawful." ~~~

     ~~~ Scott Lemieux in LG&$: “Five of the Supreme Court’s Republicans — Roberts couldn’t stomach this one — have once again abused the shadow docket, this time allowing Trump’s reconstruction of the East Wing to continue. The order is based on an assertion that the historic preservation society that challenged the legality of Trump’s unilateral actions lacked standing, and Trump not being able to proceed immediately would constitute 'irreparable harm' (because to the Roberts Court any case of Trump not being able to do what he wants immediately is 'irreparable harm.') Given the realities of the American appellate process, the order makes the legality of Trump’s actions moot.... The Court is taking a sledgehammer to its own legitimacy by tying itself to Trump as his popularity plummets, as Roberts at least understands.... Because [the five Trumpy justices] explicitly did not rule that Trump’s actions were legal, they remain free to actually apply the law as soon as a Democratic takes over the White House again.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Do read Lemieux's last point. He says "the majority-that-will-not-sign-its-name" "gives away the show right up front" when it describes Trump's demolition derby as a project undertaken "by the federal government." I'd go a step further & infer that the Court's majority accepts Trump's premise, "L'État, c'est Trump." See what you think. They have made not just the Congress, but also themselves, irrelevant, at least when the president* is a Republican. ~~~

     ~~~ Jay Willis of Balls & Strikes: “... if a federal court eventually rules on the merits that, no, Trump can’t build the ballroom, that conclusion will be academic. The ballroom will already be complete, and Getty Images will be awash in photos of Justice Clarence Thomas attending the ribbon-cutting ceremony, cocktail in hand, having an absolute blast.... Incredibly, neither opinion [ruling or dissent] mentions Trump by name. Instead, both the majority and the dissent carefully characterize the ballroom as an initiative of the 'federal government,' as if the fact that the subject matter is a flagrantly illegal stunt initiated by a specific president who is famous for not giving a shit about the law is an unimportant coincidence.” ~~~

     ~~~ Chris Geidner: “Despite Roberts standing up for 'the separation of powers' on Monday, the ruling — and his split with the other Republican appointees — goes to show how his failures over the past year alone helped to pave the way to Monday’s order. Roberts on Monday rediscovered that the 'power of the purse' is supposed to belong to Congress. He wrote that the majority’s standing decision has a result of 'allowing the Executive’s likely infringement of the Legislature’s power of the purse and authority to regulate federal property in the District of Columbia to continue.”

Paul Waldman: "... it looks like a commitment to Supreme Court reform will be a minimum requirement for presidential contenders. It’s no longer optional." Thanks to Ken W. for the link. MB: This looked like pie-in-the-sky five years ago. And it was. Not. Any. More. And let me just say here that term limits is not enough. Any imposition of 18-year term limits (or whatever) would apply only to newly-appointed justices, so that old gang of ours could still hang around till they dropped dead. So potential presidential candidates like Andy Beshear & Chris Murphy had better up their games or seek a different job.

Here's a reno to the White House that might not look good when people can't put food on the table and gas in the tank, but it's probably "lawful": ~~~

~~~ Sophia Cai of Politico: >“The White House is renovating ... the two-lane Harry S. Truman Bowling Alley, according to public contract awards.... On July 28, the General Services Administration, under the auspices of the Executive Office of the President, awarded a nearly $253,000 contract for lighting work on the ... [White House bowling alley]. And on Aug. 18, GSA awarded another contract to the same contractor, Charles Mann Enterprises, for $8,800 in escort services – essentially accompanying outside workers through secure areas – tied to the bowling alley project.... The last time the GSA went near the bowling alley, which is reserved for the use of White House aides and their guests, the project didn’t survive a news cycle. In 2014, under former President Barack Obama, the GSA proposed a complete rebuild of the bowling alley’s lanes, which it described at the time as 'irreparable.' An hour and a half after Time Magazine broke the story about the bowling alley reno, GSA canceled the project, amid a Republican backlash over whether it was a good use of taxpayer money.”

Cheyanne Daniels of Politico:“In a post to Truth Social..., [Donald Trump] insisted data centers will lead to richer, more successful Americans and criticized those who object to them. 'The only reason that communities throughout the U.S.A. should not want Data Centers is if they want to end up being backwards and poor,' Trump said. 'If we kill the Golden Goose, you will only have yourselves to blame.'... Trump, who has met with some of the world’s leading tech giants on numerous occasions, is adamant that data centers are critical to staying ahead of China in the artificial intelligence race....”(Also linked yesterday.) The New York Times story is here; this is a gift link.

Joe Sommerlad of the Independent: “... Donald Trump called Apple directly to get it to change Lake Ontario’s name to 'Lake America' on its Maps app, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has revealed [on Fox 'News'].” (Also linked yesterday.)

When Trump's hatred of Canada outweighs his hatred of California: ~~~

~~~ Matt Stevens of the New York Times: Donald “Trump pushed for a federal tax credit on Monday to aid the production of films in the United States, the type of government support that a beleaguered Hollywood has been clamoring for in recent years. Although dozens of states subsidize film and television production, the federal government has never offered a nationwide tax incentive as several other countries do. Because productions have fled Los Angeles for places like Australia, Britain and Hungary, labor unions, lobbying groups and politicians on both sides of the aisle have rallied around the idea of a federal program they say would help bring jobs back. On Monday, Mr. Trump took up the baton, writing on social media that he was backing a federal incentive, and that work to craft a bipartisan bill was already underway. Mr. Trump emphasized that film production had moved to Canada and other countries and said that the exodus was 'hurting California very badly.' He asked that 'Republicans and Democrats get together' to write and approve legislation that would keep jobs in the United States.” The link is a gift link. A Politico story is here.

A Fool's Errand. Paul Krugman: "At this point only someone deeply ignorant of both the realities of modern economies and of the lessons of history can believe that there are big payoffs to seizing other nations’ natural resources. In other words: Donald J. Trump.... In one stroke, Trump has just validated everything the Latin American left has ever said about U.S. imperialism. And we’ll be paying for that, diplomatically and strategically, for decades to come. Now, it’s highly unlikely that this [Venezuela] deal will hold.... Even if the deal holds, oil experts are extremely doubtful that Venezuela can significantly increase its oil production soon, if ever... [And] the profit margin on Venezuelan oil [would] be at most a small fraction of its market price.... Since any significant rise in Venezuelan production would take a long time, even crude oil prices won’t show any effects from this deal for years at best.... So Trump’s Venezuela deal will do nothing for ordinary Americans, while solidifying our reputation for rapacious, short-sighted imperialism. Thank you for wasting your attention on this matter." Read the whole post.

A couple of days ago, Krugman posted an article on how oligarchs evade paying taxes and why it matters. MB: This is one of those "claim your free post" articles, and it looks as if it's worth it.

Yesterday, Krugman posted a podcast and its transcript on how Donald Trump's kakistocracy become a cheatistocracy, ruled not just by the worst by also by the most corrupt. It's a bit of a follow-up to his piece on tax-evading oligarchs. (And yes, indeedy, Trump's decimation of the IRS's audit staff -- story linked below -- fits right in here.)

Patrick Marley of the Washington Post: “An anonymous federal official warned in a disclosure to Congress that a rushed and insufficiently tested U.S. Postal Service system could prevent large numbers of Americans from receiving mail ballots this fall if courts approve ... Donald Trump’s plans for the midterm elections. The disclosure, made public Tuesday morning by Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut), says the Postal Service has adopted an internal 'zero-percent failure policy' under which an entire batch of ballots would be rejected if a single barcode sampled by a postal employee could not be scanned or matched with information submitted through a new online portal. A batch could contain tens of thousands of ballots.... 'The Postal Service has designed a system to disenfranchise millions of Americans,' Blumenthal said in a call with reporters. ”

So we're six months into a war we've already lost, yet there is still no end in sight. And this happens ~~~

~~~ Paul McLeary, et al., of Politico: “Army Secretary Dan Driscoll submitted his resignation to the White House on Monday after months of disagreements with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over the firings of senior officers and the service’s priorities. Driscoll, a close ally of Vice President JD Vance, spoke to the president on Monday and brought up concerns with the direction of the Army....” MB: See, BTW, Akhilleus three-part essay at the top of Monday's thread on the assets of Drunk Pete, who "is constantly in the running for the most dangerous and stupid of Fat Hitler's many, many dangerous and stupid administration asshats.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Helene Cooper & Greg Jaffe of the New York Times: “Mr. Driscoll’s resignation was expected but it comes at a tumultuous time, as the military’s largest service faces its busiest period since the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Army air defense soldiers are playing the leading role in defending U.S. troops in the Middle East from increasingly sophisticated Iranian missile attacks. The Army’s command in Europe is providing critical intelligence and other support to Ukraine as it fights to hold off a larger Russian force. And Mr. Hegseth has in the meantime initiated a series of firings and feuds that has left the Army essentially rudderless as it struggles to deal with the threat posed by cheap, deadly drones and missiles that have pounded U.S. bases in the Middle East. Mr. Driscoll met with Mr. Trump in person to hand in his resignation and discuss the current state of the Army.... The Army has not had a chief of staff, the service’s top officer, since Mr. Hegseth fired Gen. Randy George without explanation in April, and there are no signs that he is close to filling the position, officials said. Mr. Hegseth has forced out at least three senior officers who had been viewed as potential successors to General George. Now the Army will also be without a civilian leader....” The link is a gift link. ~~~

    ~~~ Marie: "Democrats in Disarray" stories may be at least mildly amusing; "Pentagon in Disarray," not so much. 

Marie: How bad are things at the Pentagon? Heather Cox Richardson's "letter" is mostly old news for us, but she does highlight one thing we didn't cover: you know how Drunk Pete has been purging the Pentagon of military leaders he suspected were not sufficiently "loyal" to Trump and to himself? Well, that was before some higher-up leaked the classified contents of a damning DoD "order book" to the WashPo. Even the Trump-"loyal" brass -- including of course Army Secretary Driscoll -- have had enough.

From a New York Times liveblog of Trumpy news: “Russia’s finance minister made a surprise appearance at a gathering of top global economic policymakers on Monday after a prolonged absence, an invitation that was extended by the Trump administration but drew rebukes and protests from European officials committed to isolating Moscow for its war against Ukraine. The summit of finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of 20 nations, in the mountain town of Asheville, [North Carolina,] was billed by the Treasury Department as a chance to find global cooperation on new economic punishments for Iran and new strategies to boost growth.... Instead, the meeting opened on Monday morning with European outrage over the Russian finance minister, Anton Siluanov, who was physically in attendance for the first time since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. Lars Klingbeil, the German vice chancellor and finance minister, told reporters that he scolded Mr. Siluanov during an early session of the meeting for the invasion, demanding that Russia end the ongoing war and pledging ongoing support for Ukraine, which was not represented in person at the gathering.” The link is a gift link. Here's Politico's story. (Also linked yesterday.)

Don't worry about that dodgy home-office deduction you took a couple of years ago, much less the tens of thousands you "forgot" to pay in capital gains taxes: Trump's IRS doesn't have time to audit you. ~~~

~~~ Andrew Duehren of the New York Times: “The amount of money the Internal Revenue Service collected from audits dropped dramatically last year after the Trump administration pushed out many of the agency’s employees, according to a watchdog report released on Monday. The report from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, called TIGTA, showed that I.R.S. audits brought in $6.5 billion in fiscal year 2025, a 35 percent decrease from the $10 billion that audits elicited the previous year. That plunge came after ... [Donald] Trump, at the start of his second term, moved to reduce the size of the federal work force, a push that resulted in the I.R.S. losing roughly 30 percent of its staff dedicated to audits. That stark reduction in staffing levels had been expected to curb the federal government’s ability to conduct the time-intensive investigations sometimes needed to collect the taxes that people and companies owe.” The link is a gift link.

~~~ Apoorva Mandavilli & Teddy Rosenbluth of the New York Times: “The new director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ordered agency officials to challenge two measles deaths reported by Pennsylvania, shunning the agency’s normal procedure of accepting data shared by states and amplifying comments made by her boss, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The incident draws the C.D.C. into a highly political disagreement about whether the deaths were a result of measles or merely coincided with the infection, echoing similar disputes over causes of death during the coronavirus pandemic. It also pits the agency against a state health department, an extraordinary move for the C.D.C. But the episode is emblematic of the Trump administration’s continuing tussle with states, particularly those led by Democrats, over health policies and priorities....

“Dr. Erica Schwartz, who has expressed strong, public support of childhood vaccines, was confirmed as C.D.C. director this month, despite persistent questions during her confirmation hearing about her willingness and ability to push back against Mr. Kennedy’s actions. She has repeatedly promised to 'follow the science' and promised the agency’s staff that she was prepared to disagree with her superiors when needed, and that she would work to build trust with state partners. But the current incident threatens to do the opposite, some public health experts cautioned.” The link is a gift link. A Guardian story, which does not mention Schwartz, is here.

That guy barreling down on you on the highway in his 18-wheeler might not know how to control it. On the bright side, he speaks very good English! ~~~

~~~ Karoun Demirjian of the New York Times: “Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced on Monday that his department was immediately revoking the accreditation of 110 commercial trucking schools for certifying drivers who failed to demonstrate spoken or written English proficiency, as part of a new, multiagency effort to expand the Trump administration’s crackdown on abuses in the industry. Mr. Duffy said the schools had collectively trained more than 5,000 drivers who were granted licenses but then subsequently could not demonstrate English-language proficiency during roadside inspections. Commercial truck drivers have been required since the 1930s to have a basic command of English so that they can read road signs and interact with law enforcement officials, but the requirement has not been consistently enforced.

“In April 2025..., [Donald] Trump issued an executive order dictating that truck drivers who failed to meet that requirement would be placed 'out of service' and immediately forced to stop operations. Mr. Duffy said the department had also taken steps to shut down an additional 160 schools for certifying insufficiently trained drivers, noting that many operated with unlicensed instructors, no classrooms or inadequate outdoor space to give students opportunities to operate a truck as part of their training.” The link is a gift link.

     ~~~ Torrie Herrington of NOTUS: “'These individuals are dangerous, and because of the failure from the previous administration, from the Biden administration, they’ve killed hundreds of people,' Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said at a news conference in Detroit. 'And unfortunately, injured thousands.'” MB: I had a couple of discussions with Art Intel about this, and as far as I can tell, there are no statistics to back up Mullin's claim. Could it be true? Yes. Is it? I don't know.

Priscilla Alvarez, et al., of CNN: “The Department of Homeland Security is planning a surge in its efforts to investigate voter fraud in select states starting Tuesday.... Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has accelerated efforts to make the department a central force in ... Donald Trump’s hunt for purported widespread election fraud. DHS has pushed states to share their voter rolls for audit and has vowed to withhold grant funding from those that refuse to adopt a broader set of election reforms. The department has leaned for investigative work on one of its agencies — Homeland Security Investigations — an arm of Immigration and Customs Enforcement that typically tackles major crimes like human trafficking, drug smuggling and child exploitation....Offices in nine states are expected to take investigative action from early September to mid-October, according to the guidance. Those states include Washington, Wisconsin, Missouri, Georgia, California, Pennsylvania, Nevada, New York and Connecticut.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Six of these nine states have Democratic governors. Both U.S. Senators from Georgia & both from Nevada are Democrats. Only Missouri has a full complement of Republican statewide officials.

Alan Feuer of the New York Times: “Nearly three dozen demonstrators charged with disrupting a church service in Minnesota this winter to protest ... [Donald] Trump’s immigration crackdown attacked the indictment on Monday with a flurry of motions that raised questions about the fairness of the case and the investigative tactics used to make it. The jointly written motions were among nearly 50 court submissions filed on Monday in Federal District Court in St. Paul.... Some of the other defendants in the case — including Don Lemon, the former CNN anchor, who has long been a focus of Mr. Trump’s ire — have already challenged the indictment on the grounds that it is part of the president’s campaign to seek retribution against his political enemies. The charges brought against Mr. Lemon and the others ... make up one of two prominent cases emerging from the widespread public protests against Operation Metro Surge, the administration’s name for its sweeping immigration raids in Minnesota.

“In a separate case, prosecutors in Minnesota have charged 15 people with conspiracy to impede the federal agents carrying out the operation and with belonging to the far-left movement known as antifa. In one of the motions filed on Monday, defense lawyers argued that the church protest charges should be dismissed in their entirety because the agency that built the case, Homeland Security Investigations, did not have the authority to investigate the charges that were ultimately filed.” The link is a gift link.

Hansi Lo Wang of NPR: "The reliability of Census Bureau information during the Trump administration is coming under question again. This month, the bureau's parent agency, the Commerce Department, quietly cut language banning political interference from the department's scientific integrity policy.... The removal was part of an unannounced policy revision dated Aug. 19 — the day after the bureau issued a highly unusual report with claims about non-U.S. citizen voting from a team that, as NPR previously reported, has ties to a think tank founded by officials from ... [Donald] Trump's first administration.... The revised scientific integrity policy has heightened concerns among former Census Bureau officials and other data experts that the Trump administration is making moves to weaponize the statistical agency.... In recent months, the Trump administration has made other moves that have raised alarms among longtime observers of the bureau."

Aaron Rupar & Thor Benson of Public Notice reprise a New Republic article by Michael Tomasky: "From 1989 to 2026, we’ve had Democratic presidents for 20 years and Republicans for 17.4 years. Care to hazard a guess as to the number of jobs created under Democrats vs. Republicans? Answer: It’s 49.8 million versus 1.9 million.... Fifty million to two, basically. Democratic presidents have also done far better than Republicans on median household incomes, GDP rates, the Dow Jones index, and even deficit reduction. Dramatically so on deficit reduction." In a discussion, Tomasky tells Rupar and Benson, "The last three Republican presidents have handed their Democratic successors an economic catastrophe, and the last three Democrats have had to do their best to clean it up. Why don’t Democrats ever say that? I think it would make a difference." Thanks to RAS for the link. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: These figures and others show how much better Democrats are at handling the economy than are Republicans. They are no secret to economists, but nobody else knows about them, including, apparently, Democratic members of Congress. These Democrats seem to be so overwhelmed defending themselves against GOP charges of "wokeness" and "high taxes" that they never get around to disseminating facts that would crush Republicans. If Democrats drilled some of these numbers into the public, the pitchforks would be out for Republicans. For instance, most of the folks polled in the story linked next have no idea ~~~

~~~ Erin Doherty & Anna Wiederkehr of Politico: “Fifty-five percent of Americans think politicians are just trying to win votes when they say they will help the working class, according to new results from The Politico Poll.... Neither party does particularly well with Americans who identify as working class: 38 percent of them say Democrats best represent them, while 32 percent say Republicans. Americans, broadly, are almost identically split, with a 37 percent plurality saying Democrats best represent the interests of the working class, while 30 percent say Republicans. Democrats wrestling with how to win back voters who have drifted toward the GOP — as their coalition has grown increasingly dominated by college-educated Americans — are locked in an intraparty battle over which wing of the party, progressives or moderates, best speaks to these voters.” (Also linked yesterday.)

Marie: Betting enterprises and their associated businesses are traditionally operated or at least infiltrated by mobsters and other undesirables. So this fits: ~~~ 

~~~ Lauren McCarthy of the New York Times: “Donald Trump Jr.’s venture capital firm, 1789 Capital, is leading a new funding round in Polymarket that values the prediction market at $21 billion, a spokeswoman for 1789 Capital said on Monday. Polymarket plans to raise $1 billion..., the spokeswoman ... said. The investment firm previously invested about $200 million in the prediction market, which is currently valued at about $15 billion. Prediction markets like Polymarket and Kalshi have exploded in popularity over the past year. The platforms allow users to place wagers on the outcome of a wide variety of events, from what the president will say in a speech to who will get married on 'Love Is Blind.' The Trump family has built up a financial stake in the industry since last year. Donald Trump Jr. joined Kalshi as an adviser last year and received shares in the company worth more than $300,000. He also began advising Polymarket and invested in it via 1789 Capital. At the same time, his father..., [Donald] Trump, has taken steps to boost the industry. Michael S. Selig, whom the president appointed to lead the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which oversees prediction markets, has spoken enthusiastically about the companies and sued states that tried to regulate them.” The link is a gift link.

Lauren McCarthy of the New York Times: “The prediction market Kalshi said on Monday that it had permanently barred George Santos, the former representative from New York, and fined him $71,356 after finding evidence he engaged in insider trading. It is the first such ban by the platform. Mr. Santos faced allegations of insider trading after he placed bets on Kalshi about whether he would attend ... [Donald] Trump’s State of the Union address in February. Before the speech, he posted on social media that he planned to attend but then didn’t.” The link is a gift link. An NPR story is here.

Julia Jacobs & Anusha Bayya of the New York Times: “A jury in Las Vegas on Monday found a man guilty of orchestrating the 1996 murder of Tupac Shakur, delivering a conviction nearly 30 years after one of hip-hop’s most notorious killings. Duane Keith Davis, 63, was accused of obtaining the gun used in the shooting and pursuing Mr. Shakur during a gang war that had become entangled with a feud between East Coast and West Coast hip-hop labels. After about three hours of deliberations, the 12 jurors announced they had found Mr. Davis guilty of first-degree murder.... Straight-faced but agitated after the verdict, Mr. Davis addressed the judge to promise he would appeal. He is scheduled to receive his sentence — up to life in prison — on Oct. 13.” The link is a gift link.

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Michigan Senate Race. Bayliss Wagner of the New York Times: “Vice President JD Vance called Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, Michigan’s Democratic Senate nominee and an outspoken critic of Israel, 'very, very evil' at a campaign rally near Detroit on Monday and accused him of heightening racial and religious divisions. 'I realize that there’s something about Abdul El-Sayed that is very, very evil and on the rise in the United States of America today,' Mr. Vance said at the event at a warehouse in Sterling Heights hosted by MAGA Inc...., [Donald] Trump’s super PAC. Mr. Vance was in Michigan campaigning for former Representative Mike Rogers, Dr. El-Sayed’s Republican opponent in one of the nation’s most hotly contested Senate races this fall. The vice president’s remarks appeared aimed at stoking tensions between Dr. El-Sayed and Michigan’s Jewish community, which the Democrat has been attempting to allay since winning his party’s bitter primary against a pro-Israel opponent in early August.

“Over the weekend, Dr. El-Sayed, who is Muslim, met with members of the Jewish Democratic Caucus to apologize for a remark he made in March after an assailant drove a truck into a synagogue in West Bloomfield Township, Mich. The candidate said he regretted saying that 'hurt people hurt people,' a comment that some interpreted as too sympathetic to the perpetrator, whose deeds were described by authorities as a 'targeted act of violence against the Jewish community.' The man, 41-year-old Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, died in the incident.” The link is a gift link. ~~~

Michelle Goldberg of the New York Times: “... Abdul El-Sayed’s relationship with the leftist influencer Hasan Piker has become a discourse bonanza... El-Sayed’s Piker problem [is not going to] go away.” Goldberg suggests El-Sayed follow the model Barack Obama set in addressing his association with Jeremiah Wright. As Goldberg notes, it's a tough act to follow. The link is a gift link.

Ohio House Race. Alexei Koseff of the Washington Post: “House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) on Monday called Rep. Max Miller (R-Ohio) a 'great member of Congress' and endorsed Miller’s bid for a third term, despite allegations of domestic violence by his ex-wife. As Johnson walked through the Capitol on the House’s first day back after a month-long recess, CNN’s Manu Raju asked whether he supports the reelection of Miller, who denies his wife’s allegations. 'Yes,' Johnson said. 'He has been a great member of Congress. He has some issues in his personal life he’s working through. The House Ethics Committee is looking into that and any applications it may have.'” MB: Yes, I would say allegedly holding a gun to your wife's head and breaking your toddler's collarbone are personal issues a person should “work through,” even when busy being a “great member of Congress.”

Say, here's a way to suppress the vote: close down almost a third of the polling places, most in Democratic-leaning communities: ~~~

~~~ Texas Elections. Jenna Monin of NOTUS: "Texas Democrats are condemning a plan to close down 92 polling sites in one of the state’s most populous counties. Commissioners in Tarrant County [MB: Fort Worth], which has a population of more than 2.1 million, plan to vote on the proposal Tuesday, a week after shelving a different plan to cut 140 polling locations in the county as heated protests erupted at the commission meeting. Republicans hold a 3-2 majority on the commissioners court. The county had 316 polling locations during the 2022 midterms, but the new proposal would send the county into the 2026 elections with only 224. Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico spoke out against the plan at a news conference alongside Alisa Simmons, a Tarrant County commissioner....

"The Legal Defense Fund, along with the American Civil Liberties Union and the Campaign Legal Center among others, sent a letter Friday urging Tarrant County to reject the proposal to cut the number of sites. The letter argued that the proposal would disproportionately impact areas in the county with a high percentage of Black, Latino, Asian American and Pacific Islander voters — echoing the concern from Texas Democrats and community members about the plan’s potential harm to minority communities." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: While Republicans are a majority of the voters in Tarrant County, demographic changes have turned it more Democratic in recent elections. In 2018, Beto O'Rourke narrowly beat Ted Cruz in Tarrant County, and in 2020 Joe Biden bested Donald Trump by 1,800 votes. Today, it is considered to be a "battleground county." I guess this is fine if you have a nice car, no worries about the price of Trump gas, and nothing else to do on Election Day but hunt down your new polling place and stand in a long line when you find it. But how many minority voters do you think are in that situation? The clear purpose here is suppressing the Democratic vote. 

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Nepal. Binod Ghimire & Claire Moses of the New York Times: “... [Rajendra] Dawadi[, the grade-school principal,] was teaching a class at the Tribhuvan Trishuli School in Nuwakot, a district just north of Kathmandu, the country’s capital. A staff member burst into the classroom, shouting that a major flood was headed their way. Mr. Dawadi had to make some quick decisions. He told all the children who were present — about 900 of the school’s total 1,643 students — to run to higher ground. Only older pupils, ages 11 to 18, were at school when the floods hit, which aided the quick evacuation, Mr. Dawadi said. (The younger students did not start class until 10 a.m.)... Pupils who had arrived at the school earlier by bus were told to get back on them, and Mr. Dawadi instructed the drivers to leave the area as quickly as possible.... His swift evacuation plan saved those lives. Around 9:23 a.m., about 13 minutes after Mr. Dawadi heard the first warning, a deluge of water, mud and debris swept through the area. The school was destroyed in seconds, and at least one teacher remained missing as of Monday, Mr. Dawadi said.” The link is a gift link.