And Now the News — 8/8

Trump signs order letting 401(k)s invest in cryptocurrencies

Trump regime begins to strip federal workers of union protections

Me, looking grumpy, reading the news

AND NOW THE NEWS

#540
AUGUST 8, 2025

a recurring roundup
of news, memes,

and my brilliant opinions

US National Parks staff in ‘survival mode’ to keep parks open amid Trump cuts

Excerpt: Across the US’s fabled but overstretched national parks, unusual scenes are playing out this summer following budget cuts by Donald Trump’s administration. Archeologists are staffing ticket booths, ecologists are covering visitor centers and the superintendents of parks are even cleaning the toilets.

The National Park Service (NPS), responsible for maintaining cherished wildernesses and sites of cultural importance from Yellowstone to the Statue of Liberty, has lost a quarter of its permanent staff since Trump took office in January, with the administration seeking to gut the service’s budget by a third.

But the administration has also ordered parks to remain open and accessible to the public, meaning the NPS has had to scramble remaining staff into public-facing roles to maintain appearances to the crowds of visitors. This has meant much of the behind-the-scenes work to protect endangered species, battle invasive plants, fix crumbling infrastructure or plan for the future needs of the US’s trove of natural wonders has been jettisoned.

Me again: Trump & the Republicans don’t care about “behind-the-scenes” work like that. They don’t care about the in-front-of-the-scenes work, either, or the concept of National Parks.

BUT THAT’S UNCONSTIPATIONAL

Trump secretly directs military to target foreign drug cartels

The USA is declaring literal war on fentanyl.

New executive order puts all grants under political control

DOJ now using past tax mistakes to strip US citizenship

Trump orders illegal ‘new’ census that excludes undocumented immigrants

Texas Republicans gung-ho for hyper-gerrymandered districts

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

ICE detainee found hanging by neck in detention facility, agency says

Good news, for Trump & the Republicans — dead immigrants are probably cheaper than deporting immigrants.

In ‘Operation Trojan Horse’, masked officers in unmarked vehicle arrest 16 day laborers at L.A. Home Depot, despite court order halting raids

‘What could possibly go wrong?’: Trump’s ICE is now recruiting teenagers

ICE contractor locked a mother and her baby in a hotel room for five days

TO HELL WITH HEALTH

Louisiana governor celebrates as Planned Parenthood closes two clinics that didn’t provide abortions: “Abortion should never be considered healthcare.”

RFK Jr ends federal contracts to develop mRNA vaccines

SCREW YOUR SILLY SCIENCE

Trump’s regime is revising past editions of the nation’s premier climate report — its latest move to undermine the scientific consensus on human-caused global warming

Environmental Protection Agency will stop updating vital research because database’s creator criticized Trump regime’s approach to scientific research

EDUCATION, SCHMEDUCATION

Widely overlooked part of Columbia and Brown’s appeasement could profoundly alter how elite schools determine who gets accepted

Trump regime seeks $1-billion extortion from UCLA

Trump demands colleges prove they aren’t anti-white

AND I SAY TO MYSELF, WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD

Girl Guides of Canada suspends US trips over restrictions, safety concerns

Israel’s Cabinet approves new plan to occupy Gaza City

India pauses $3.6 billion deal to acquire Boeing jets after Trump announces 50% tariffs: Reports

Brazil’s Bolsonaro arrested, adding to tensions with Trump

THE CRUELTY IS WHAT THEY LIKE BEST

US Air Force to deny retirement pay to transgender service members being separated from the service

US pauses most visa applications from Zimbabwe in another restriction on travelers from Africa

FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF DYSTOPIA

Video shows Department of Justice official urging Jan. 6 rioters to ‘kill’ cops

Middle school cheerleaders are prosecuted for making a TikTok video portraying a school shooting

Justice Department launches grand jury probe of New York Attorney General Letitia James, who won civil fraud case against Trump

DOJ files frivolous misconduct complaint against judge for… doing his job and being right about government lawlessness

LIMITLESS STUPIDITY

Hegseth attended service at church of ‘Christian nationalist’ pastor who doesn’t think women should vote and wants US to be theocracy

‘Transvestigations’: Fake investigations claim women Republicans don’t like were born male

‘Left to rot’: Farmer reeling over decaying crops as workforce flees ICE raids

LIMITLESS CORRUPTION

Trump delayed a Medicare change after health companies’ donations

Amazon Web Services gives the Trump admin $1 billion coupon for cloud services

Apple CEO gifts President Donald Trump 24K gold as $600B US investment announced

Watchdog group asks for probe of Defense Dept.’s acquisition of Qatari plane on Trump’s behalf

2547

Trump suggests New York Times ‘rigged’ its own best-seller list because book about him isn’t top

‘He has trouble completing a thought’: bizarre public appearances again cast doubt on Trump’s mental acuity

Psychologist says two notable changes in Donald Trump prove cognitive decline

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

8/8/2025

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

itsdougholland.com
← PREVIOUS          NEXT →

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

The maximum upload file size: 512 MB. You can upload: image, audio. Drop file here

In defense against spam and bots, comments with attachments or multiple links require my approval, which might delay things.