"Stawp! I'm going down in the polls! How could I know that people like Zelinskyy over Putin?" smh
#Trump urges Putin to 'STOP!' after deadly attack on #Kyiv
By Aamer Madhani
https://apnews.com/article/trump-putin-russia-ukraine-war-kyiv-fb61625d2dee8b1917bb3522e73c2166
#Whistleblower Blames Musk’s #DOGE Goons for ‘Significant #CybersecurityBreach’
Story by Liam Archacki
"In his disclosure, Berulis said he became concerned when he saw peculiar spikes in data leaving the agency after DOGE staffers—who insisted that their actions not be tracked in the system—gained access. He also observed suspicious log-in attempts from an IP address in #Russia using DOGE’s new accounts."
Marco Rubio's hunt for "#AntiChristian bias" is creeping #theocracy
In a new war on federal workers, State Department employees are told to snitch on people with #Pride flags
By Amanda Marcotte
Published April 15, 2025 6:00AM (EDT)
Excerpt: "Unsurprisingly, a deeper read of the cable shows that 'anti-Christian bias' is the cover story propped up to justify Rubio's actual assault on freedom of religion at State. He's giving Christian nationalists at the agency a tool to harass and even Rpurge people who don't share their #FarRight beliefs. The definitions of 'anti-Christian bias' throughout add up to outrage that conservative Christians are expected to treat people who believe differently with fairness and decency.
"For instance, the memo asks for reports of 'mistreatment for opposing displays of flags, banners or other paraphernalia,' specifically during Joe Biden's administration. It doesn't take a doctorate in bureaucratese to interpret this. Rubio is seeking stories where conservative Christians were told to mind their own business after objecting to a colleague putting up a #PrideFlag, a #BlackLivesMatter sign or perhaps a religious knickknack from a #NonChristian faith. This might be more comprehensible if, say, any Christians had being told they couldn't wear a cross or have a picture of Jesus on their desk. Instead, what Rubio is suggesting is that Christians have [the right to] prevent other people from having the freedom to express views and positions they dislike — and that it amounts to 'bias' if they can't control what others do or say. "
Read more:
https://www.salon.com/2025/04/15/marco-rubios-hunt-for-anti-christmas-bias-is-creeping-theocracy/
#Maine takes #Trump administration to court in first lawsuit over #TitleIX dispute
The lawsuit, filed Monday by Attorney General Aaron Frey, challenges the U.S. Department of Agriculture's decision to halt federal funds over Maine's policy regarding #TransgenderAthletes.
April 7, 2025
"Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey filed a federal lawsuit against the Trump administration Monday challenging the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s decision to withhold federal funds over Maine’s policy allowing transgender athletes to compete in girls high school sports.
Frey’s office said funds withheld by the administration are used to feed children in schools, child care centers and after-school programming, as well as disabled adults in congregate settings.
"It is the first lawsuit to result from the Trump administration’s actions targeting Maine over trans athletes.
"'Under the banner of keeping children safe, the Trump administration is illegally withholding grant funds that go to keeping children fed,' Frey said in a written statement. 'This is just another example where no law or consequence appears to restrain the administration as it seeks capitulation to its lawlessness. The President and his cabinet secretaries do not make the law and they are not above the law, and this action is necessary to remind the President that Maine will not be bullied into violating the law.'"
Archived version:
https://archive.md/5pQdU
#MaineResists #SeeYouInCourt #JanetMills #ProtectTransYouth #ProtectTransKids #TransgenderRights #Resistance #TrumpIsABully #USPol #TrumpIsPutinsPuppet
Hmmmm... 
White House Official Explains Why #Russia Isn't On Donald #Trump's New Tariffs List
#Cuba, #NorthKorea and #Belarus are also absent.
By Lee Moran
Apr 3, 2025, 04:34 AM EDT
Updated Apr 3, 2025
"The absence of Russia on the president's new list of countries that he'll hit with steep tariffs did not go unnoticed on social media. Critics were quick to accuse Trump of kowtowing to Russian President Vladimir #Putin, whom Trump has for years expressed his admiration of."
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/russia-absent-trump-tariff-list_n_67ee412be4b00a8085e3f3b6
#TrumpIsPutinsPuppet #USPol #WorldPol
#Magog = #MAGA ?
@gleick Um, not that crazy. I've been saying that #TrumpIsPutinsPuppet for a while now.
@wdlindsy I was wondering about that. More evidence that #TrumpIsPutinsPuppet !
#Wisconsin: What to know about April's #VoterID ballot referendum
By: Emilee Fannon, Mar 27, 2025
MADISON, Wis. (CBS 58) -- "Voters will not only have to present a #PhotoID to vote on April 1, but they'll also be asked about adding that requirement to the state constitution.
"It's part of a constitutional amendment that will appear on ballots across the state.
"The ballot referendum asks voters, 'shall section 1m of article III of the constitution be created to require that voters present valid photographic identification verifying their identity in order to vote in any election, subject to exceptions which may be established by law?'
"A 'yes' vote would enshrine Wisconsin's voter requirement in the state constitution, a move that would make it harder for a court to strike down the law or for lawmakers to repeal.
"Voting 'no' would not add the state's voter ID law to the constitution.
"If the ballot measure is approved or rejected, little would change for Wisconsin voters because the existing photo ID law has been on the books for nearly a decade, said Bryna Godar at the State Democracy Research Initiative at the University of Wisconsin Law School.
"However, #Republican lawmakers who authored the amendment say it's designed to protect the law from legal challenges in wake of the state Supreme Court gaining a 4-3 #LiberalMajority in 2023."
Read more:
https://www.cbs58.com/news/what-to-know-about-aprils-voter-id-ballot-referendum
#WisconsinPol #USPol #TrumpIsPutinsPuppet #Fascism #Authoritarianism
Are #LiteracyTests Next? #VoterDisenfranchisement #CharacteristicsOfFascism
#Trump seeks to mandate proof of #citizenship in #VoterRegistration
"Only about half of Americans have a U.S. passport, and only five states currently offer enhanced driver's licenses that show proof of citizenship."
By Jude Joffe-Block, March 26, 20251:09 AM ET
Excerpt: "#VotingRights advocates, however, warn outdated databases can erroneously list naturalized citizens as noncitizens. Past efforts by states to purge noncitizens from voter rolls have sometimes swept up eligible U.S. citizens.
"The executive order also seeks to stop states from counting mail or absentee ballots postmarked by Election Day but received after by withholding funding from states that allow such ballots to be counted.
"Proof of citizenship requirement
"Ahead of the 2024 election, Trump and his allies made baseless claims about the threat of noncitizens voting in large numbers.
"The current federal voter registration form asks registrants to swear, under penalty of perjury, that they are U.S. citizens and eligible to vote, and to provide a driver's license number, state ID number or Social Security number. Those who attempt to vote illegally can face prison time, fines or deportation. Past audits and studies have shown such cases are incredibly rare.
"Yet Republicans have made requiring documentary proof of citizenship a policy priority. The executive order borrows heavily from the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, known as the #SAVEAct, a Republican-backed bill. House Republicans have signaled that they intend to pass it in their chamber but it faces difficult odds in the Senate.
"The executive order shows #Trump isn't waiting for Congress. But legal experts say that he does not have the authority through #ExecutiveOrder to make such changes, and the order conflicts with existing #FederalVotingLaw.
"'It's illegal at many different levels,' said Sean Morales-Doyle, the voting rights director at the #BrennanCenter for Justice, a nonprofit that studies and advocates for voting rights. The order directs the #ElectionAssistanceCommission, a small, independent bipartisan agency, to make various changes, including to the federal #VoterRegistration form, but Morales-Doyle said the president can't tell that commission what to do.
"Requiring documentary proof of #citizenship would radically upend voter registration if such a mandate were to take effect.
"The order is explicit that applies to anyone who uses the federal voter registration form. What is less clear is if the order would also pressure states to require showing proof of citizenship with state registration forms, such as by #WithholdingFunds.
"The order only lists a limited number of ways to prove U.S. citizenship. The options given are a U.S. passport, an ID that complies with the #RealIDAct that shows citizenship or a military ID that shows citizenship. A fourth option is a valid government photo ID that 'indicates that the applicant is a United States citizen or if such identification is otherwise accompanied by proof of United States citizenship,' but does not say if a birth certificate would count."
Read more:
https://www.npr.org/2025/03/26/g-s1-55927/trump-voting-citizenship-executive-order
#TrumpIsABully #USPol #TrumpIsPutinsPuppet #Fascism #Authoritarianism #DictatorInChief
Are #LiteracyTests Next? #VoterDisenfranchisement #CharacteristicsOfFascism
So, they are also coming for pro #Ukraine / #AntiRussia students and professors. Evidence that #Trump is SUCKING UP to #Putin! WHERE WILL IT END?! #RESIST!
#KseniyaPetrova, Russian scientist from Harvard Medical School detained in U.S., faces deportation and likely arrest upon return due to #AntiWar stance
The Insider
27 March 2025
"A Russian scientist working at Harvard Medical School has been detained in the United States and placed in immigration detention. According to multiple independent Russian media outlets and the scientist’s friends, she now faces possible deportation to Russia, where she could be subject to political persecution over her anti-war stance.
"The news of her detention was shared on Facebook by her friend and colleague Cora Anderson. Friends of the scientist also launched a GoFundMe campaign, which has already raised over $14,000 to support her legal and living expenses.
'#Kseniia is in danger,' a person familiar with the case told the Telegram channel Mozhem Obyasnit’ (lit. “We Can Explain”).
"Kseniia, a Russian bioinformatics researcher, arrived in Boston from the #RepublicOfGeorgia in the spring of 2023 to work at Harvard Medical School. She had been compelled to leave Russia due to her outspoken anti-war stance, which could have led to criminal charges back home. While her surname was not disclosed in the original posts, Mozhem Obyasnit’ was able to locate her Facebook page, suggesting her name is Kseniya (Kseniia) Petrova, a graduate of MIPT (Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology). Her page includes multiple posts criticizing the Russian government and denouncing the invasion of Ukraine. Petrova's page on Linkedin listed her as an associate researcher at Harvard Medical School working in Dr. Marc Kirschner's lab in the Department of Systems Biology.
"On Feb. 16, after returning from a trip to France, she was detained at Boston Logan International Airport, where her visa was revoked. When Kseniia stated that she feared persecution if she were to return to Russia, she was transferred to immigration detention, first in Vermont, then in Louisiana. She is now being held in an ICE detention facility, in a room shared with 80 other women. The exact reason for the cancellation of her visa has not been disclosed by her friends."
Read more:
https://theins.ru/en/news/280037
#Resistance #ResistAuthoritarianism #ResistDOGE #TrumpIsABully #TrumpIsPutinsPuppet #FreeUkraine #FreePalestine #FuckOligarchs #USPol #WorldPol
@Wileymiller
Apparently he's also obsessed with winning a Nobel Prize, because Obama got one... Revenge for Obama "humiliating" him at the White House Correspondents Dinner may have played a part in deciding to run for President in 2016. I MSN, along with racism toward and envy of the first black POTUS. #NoPeaceWithoutUkraine #TrumpIsPutinsPuppet
Carving up #Ukraine like a thanksgiving turkey. smh
#Trump and #Putin to discuss ceasefire, "dividing up" Ukraine's assets
"We’re already talking about that — dividing up certain assets," Trump told reporters Sunday
By Charles R. Davis
Published March 17, 2025
https://www.salon.com/2025/03/17/and-putin-to-discuss-ceasefire-dividing-up-ukraines-assets/
#TrumpIsPutinsPuppet #TrumpWarCrimes #PutinIsAWarCriminal #USPol #WorldPol #UkraineIndependence #FuckPutin
Hmmmm... Let's see. Legislation against #GBLTQ and #WomensRights and #IndigenousPeoples (and others). Next will be a war with a neighboring country. I'm thinking #GulfOfAmerica was the beginning of what's to come...
#USPol #WorldPol #TrumpIsPutinsPuppet #PutinsPlaybook #InvasionOfMexico? #InvasionOfCanada?
@digyoursoul TREASON!!! More evidence that #TrumpIsPutinsPuppet!
Hmmmm... Why am I having #DejaVu?
From 2022: "Vladimir #Putin has mentioned 'gender freedoms' more than once to justify #Russia’s war against #Ukraine and simultaneously crack down on its own citizens.
"Most directly, he alleged that Russian citizens who seek '#GenderFreedoms' (alongside foie gras and oysters) are part of the anti-Russian 'fifth column.'
"Gender and sexuality freedoms — or rights, as they are more typically called — are about #BodilyAutonomy, #diversity and #inclusivity. #Feminist and #LGBTQ+ activists assert that every human being deserves respect, recognition and equal rights regardless of their gender or sexuality.
"What’s the connection between Putin’s animosity toward Ukraine and toward #gender and #sexuality rights in Russia and around the world?
Gender and Putin’s regime
"Putin’s regime has increasingly relied on very conventional gender and sexual norms.
"When he first ascended to the presidency, image-makers used Putin’s #KGB background and penchant for physical fitness to frame him as a #macho #strongman who could reverse Russia’s waning power and 'remasculinize' the country after a decade of supposed geopolitical flaccidity in the wake of the #Soviet collapse.
"In other words, an inflexible and clearly #patriarchal notion of masculinity has been central to the Putin regime’s legitimacy.
"Russia’s foreign policy has relied on rigid gender norms as well. When Ukraine underwent its first pro-democracy revolution in 2004, Russian media questioned its leaders’ masculinity.
"Putin likewise used homophobic terms to dismiss #Georgia’s #RoseRevolution in 2003, responding to a reporter’s question by saying: 'A rose revolution — next they’ll come up with a light blue one.' In Russian, 'light blue' or goluboi is slang for “gay male.”
Gender and appealing to constituencies
"Putin has often been represented as the unquestioned leader of the pack ruling Russia — a masculinity-driven image.
"However, even as the leader of a personalist #dictatorship — a regime in which there are few institutional limits on the leader’s power — Putin must balance competing interests among significant elites and maintain at least the appearance of public support in order to be considered a legitimate ruler.
"Until 2020, Putin was using gendered language in his speeches to signal his alignment with a variety of elites and public constituencies that supported him. He was sending mixed signals to both relatively progressive Russians who value women’s roles in the workplace and to #conservatives wishing for a return to '#TraditionalFamilyValues,' in order to keep everyone in his camp.
"But after July 2021, when he published an essay contending Ukrainians and Russians are a single people, Putin no longer shied away from making sexist and LGBTQ+-phobic comments in prominent settings.
"At an October 2021 meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club — a Moscow-based think tank and discussion forum that Putin is closely associated with — he said teaching children about #GenderFluidity was 'truly monstrous' and 'verging on a crime against humanity.'"
Read more:
https://theconversation.com/vladimir-putin-the-czar-of-macho-politics-is-threatened-by-gender-and-sexuality-rights-180473
#USPol #TrumpIsPutinsPuppet #GBLTQRights #HumanRights #WomensRights #ToxicMasculinity #GenderFascists
@Crispius Of course he is. For his master, Vladimir Putin. #Nazis #GOP #Autogolpe #RapingFelon #TrumpIsPutinsPuppet
Trump Brags He “Brought Back Free Speech” Hours After Calling to Ban “Illegal” Protests
On the same day he floated cutting funding at schools hosting “illegal” protests, Trump took a free speech victory lap.
By Akela Lacy, March 4, 2025
"'You can’t claim to stand for free speech while threatening schools’ funding to silence anti-war students,' said Tariq Habash, a former staffer in president Joe Biden’s Department of Education who resigned over Biden’s handling of the war on Gaza. Habash is now co-founder and director of the advocacy group A New Policy. 'These efforts are not just antidemocratic, they’re illegal and a direct attack on academia, students, and faculty.'"
Read more:
https://theintercept.com/2025/03/04/trump-joint-congress-address-free-speech-campus-protest-gaza/
Archived version:
https://archive.ph/6J9Fl#selection-615.11-615.139
#USPol #CharacteristicsOfFascism #TrumpIsPutinsPuppet #DOGE #BadDOGE #DOGETargets #SilencingDissent #Censorship #HumanRights #FreeSpeech #ChristoFascists
Trump talks ‘#FreeSpeech’ while moving to muzzle those he disagrees with
By Kevin Rector
Jan. 26, 2025
- As part of a broader rollout of executive orders, President Trump called for an end to government censorship, including on social media.
- Critics said they found the order absurd given Trump’s long record attacking speech and his other actions aimed at curtailing the speech of journalists, government experts, LGBTQ+ people and others.
"In one of his first acts in office, President Trump issued an executive order promising to end government censorship and restore free speech.
"The order accused the outgoing Biden administration of harassing social media companies and violating the rights of ordinary Americans “under the guise” of combating disinformation online, and said federal resources would no longer be used to “unconstitutionally abridge the free speech of any American citizen.”
"The order echoed a recurring theme from Trump’s campaign — that liberals across the federal government are censoring conservative voices to advance their own '#woke' agenda — and immediately resonated with his followers.
"'This order is a critical step to ensure the government cannot dictate what speech is permissible or weaponize private entities to enforce censorship,' said Mark Trammell of the Center for American Liberty, a conservative rights group founded by California attorney Harmeet K. Dhillon, Trump’s nominee to lead the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. [Oh, but it's OKAY for Trump & crew to censor others?!!]
"However, many others said they found Trump’s order absurd — both because of his long track record of attacking speech he doesn’t like, and because of his new administration’s simultaneous efforts to muzzle people it disagrees with, including #journalists, federal #HealthOfficials, #teachers, #diplomats, #ClimateScientists and the #LGBTQ+ community." [And now they are doing it by cutting FUNDING!!!]
Read more:
https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2025-01-26/trump-free-speech-executive-order-critics-respond
Archived link:
https://archive.ph/wgiYN
#USPol #CharacteristicsOfFascism #TrumpIsPutinsPuppet #DOGE #BadDOGE #DOGETargets #SilencingDissent #Censorship #HumanRights #FreeSpeech #ChristoFascists
Maddow Blog | The scary subtext behind the ‘#PaidProtester’ line from #Trump and #Republicans
Story by Steve Benen, 3/4/2025
"As members of Congress confront angry constituents at #TownHalls nationwide, Republicans are increasingly invested in the idea that the dissatisfied Americans are insincere — and well compensated.
"House Speaker Mike Johnson, for example, declared last week that he’d seen the videos from recent public events, but was confident that in 'many' communities there were 'paid protesters.' The Louisiana Republican, naturally, offered no evidence in support of his claim.
"A few days later, Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas held a town hall meeting with constituents that went so badly, the Republican gave up and ended the event early. The senator soon after suggested that he believed his detractors were paid.
"As NBC News reported, Donald Trump took a related message to his social media platform.
"Putting aside the inconvenient fact that the president did not, in reality, win by a 'landslide' — he never did reach 50% of the popular vote — Trump’s rhetoric might sound familiar. There’s a good reason for that.
"As regular readers might recall, it was nearly nine years ago when Trump’s 2016 candidacy inspired protests, at which point he assumed that the people involved couldn’t possibly be sincere in their dislike of him. They were, he said at the time, '#PaidAgitators.'
"After he prevailed on Election Day 2016, there was related anti-Trump activism. Those involved, he said in November 2016, were 'paid protesters.' Months later, after his inauguration, the #activism continued. Trump assured the public once more that these Americans deserved to be ignored — because, he assumed, they were 'paid protesters.'
"The following year, #BrettKavanaugh’s #SupremeCourt nomination inspired another round of progressive activism. The protesters, Trump insisted, were 'paid professionals.'
"For now, let’s not dwell on the fact that #Russia’s Vladimir #Putin has embraced the same tactic. Let’s instead consider the unavoidable bottom line: For Trump and too many in his party, Americans who disagree with them are effectively an impossibility that can only be explained through corrupt schemes and illicit payments.
"Indeed, it’s hardly a stretch to draw a straight line from 'paid protesters' rhetoric to election denialism: Americans who side with Trump and Republicans are real, while Americans who disagree must necessarily be seen as inauthentic.
"For his part, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries saw the president’s missive and responded by way of Bluesky. 'We don’t need paid protestors,' the New York Democrat wrote. 'The American people are with us.'"
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/maddow-blog-the-scary-subtext-behind-the-paid-protester-line-from-trump-and-republicans/ar-AA1AeFPh
#USPol #CharacteristicsOfFascism #GOPBaseIsPissedOff #propaganda #TrumpLies #TrumpIsPutinsPuppet
Unlike shameful and deplorable new russian America, we Stand With Ukraine 
