And Now the News #539

Midway through a week of antibiotics for my infected teeth, I am feeling better than I’ve felt in a month. There’s only the slightest pain, sometimes none at all, and I’m wide awake with no fuzz in my brain. I’d forgotten what awake feels like. And lack of pain, and my face and jaw are no longer numb! Maybe I’ll have burgers & fries for breakfast, lunch, and dinner tomorrow, instead of more cottage cheese…

Me, looking grumpy, reading the news

AND NOW THE NEWS

#539
AUGUST 6, 2025

a recurring roundup
of news, memes,

and my brilliant opinions

A second appeals court has allowed Trump’s anti-union executive order to go into effect

Guess who’s eligible for student loan forgiveness: new ICE agents

Gee, when Biden was president, student loan forgiveness was unConstitutional.

‘Maddening’ proof plastics industry knew recycling was false solution in 1974, new document shows

BUT THAT’S UNCONSTIPATIONAL

Mysterious “glitch” removes habeas corpus from Library of Congress website

Trump & the Republicans are working to overturn New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, the case that effectively saved freedom of the press

Excerpt: Writing for the court, Justice William Brennan held that public officials cannot prevail in defamation lawsuits merely by showing that statements are false. Instead, they must prove such statements are made with “actual malice”. Actual malice means a reporter or press outlet knew their story was false or else acted with reckless disregard for the truth.
The decision set a high bar.

Before the ruling, the First Amendment’s protections for speech and the press didn’t offer much help to the press in libel cases.

After it, public officials who wanted to sue the press would have to prove “actual malice” – real, purposeful untruths that caused harm. Honest mistakes weren’t enough to prevail in such lawsuits. The court held that errors are inevitable in public debate and that protecting those mistakes is essential to keeping debate open and free. …

“The theory of our Constitution is that every citizen may speak his mind and every newspaper express its view on matters of public concern and may not be barred from speaking or publishing because those in control of government think that what is said or written is unwise,” Brennan wrote.

“In a democratic society, one who assumes to act for the citizens in an executive, legislative, or judicial capacity must expect that his official acts will be commented upon and criticized.”

Trump threatens to ‘federalize’ DC after attack on Big Balls

GIVE US YOUR TIRED, YOUR POOR, YOUR HUDDLED MASSES YEARNING TO BREATHE FREE, SO WE CAN IMPRISON THEM

US citizens jailed in L.A. ICE raids speak out: ‘They came ready to attack’

Florida prepares to build 2nd detention center to join ‘Alligator Alcatraz’

Trump targets spouses of US citizens in green card crackdown

SCREW YOUR SILLY SCIENCE

RFK Jr. pulls $500 million in funding for vaccine development

Trump administration takes aim at satellite that measures carbon dioxide and crops

AND I SAY TO MYSELF, WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD

Speaker Mike Johnson visits occupied West Bank to support illegal Israeli settlers

How aid is distributed in Gaza

THE CRUELTY IS WHAT THEY LIKE BEST

“Merciless”: New Hampshire bans all gender-affirming care for trans minors

Louisianians can now sue out-of-state doctors who provide abortion pills

VA to ban nearly all abortions at VA facilities, drop coverage for procedure for dependents

Trump regime to restore Confederate monuments, including statue toppled by protesters

FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF DYSTOPIA

Surveillance-minded parents can now hide airtags in kids shoes

California: Electric utility shared customer data with police, prompting privacy, racism concerns

Conspiracy theorist with extremist ties confirmed as Trump’s counterterrorism chief

BAD GUYS

Tesla withheld data, lied, and misdirected police and plaintiffs to avoid blame in autopilot crash

Excerpt: Within about three minutes of the crash, the Model S uploaded a “collision snapshot”—video, CAN‑bus streams, EDR data, etc.—to Tesla’s servers, the “Mothership”, and received an acknowledgement. The vehicle then deleted its local copy, resulting in Tesla being the only entity having access.

What ensued were years of battle to get Tesla to acknowledge that this collision snapshot exists and is relevant to the case.

The police repeatedly attempted to obtain the data from the collision snapshot, but Tesla led the authorities and the plaintiffs on a lengthy journey of deception and misdirection that spanned years.

‘A million calls an hour’: Israel relying on Microsoft cloud for expansive surveillance of Palestinians

Trump still polling well with working-class American pedophiles

LIMITLESS CORRUPTION

JD Vance’s team had water level of Ohio river raised for family’s boating trip

Just a few more lines of waste, fraud, and abuse

2547

Trump says banks discriminate against his supporters

Trump invents national task force for 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, appoints himself head

American police are out of control

Anything goes

Dead people

Eye on AI

Ignoring the climate emergency

The Lord works in mysterious ways

My browser history, minus the porn

And that’s the way it is,
and nothing will
meaningfully improve
until billionaires fear for their lives

8/6/2025

Logo illustration by Jeff Meyer. Tip ‘o the hat to the Anderson Valley Advertiser, Bleepity-Bleep, Lorem Ipsum Dolor, Mitchipedia, Sloth Unleashed, Toad’s Lily Pad, Voenix Rising, and anywhere else I’ve stolen links, illustrations, or inspiration.

Special thanks to Linden Arden, Becky Jo, Joey Jo Jo emeritus, Jeff Meyer, John the Basket, Dave S, Name Withheld, and always extra special thanks to my lovely late Stephanie, who gave me 21 years and proved that the world isn’t always shitty.

And Now the News

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