a twice-weekly news round-up,
usually on Tuesdays and Saturdays
Trump involved in discussions over suspending habeas corpus, sources say

AND NOW THE NEWS
#517
MAY 10, 2025
USDA, DOGE demand states hand over personal data about food stamp recipients
Boston-area climate activists report visits from the FBI
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka arrested at ICE detention facility in New Jersey

FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF DYSTOPIA
UnitedHealthcare sued by shareholders over reaction to CEO’s killing
Excerpt: The group, which is seeking unspecified damages, argued that the public backlash prevented the company from pursuing “the aggressive, anti-consumer tactics that it would need to achieve” its earnings goals.
“As such, the Company was deliberately reckless in doubling down on its previously issued guidance,” the suit reads.
US Border Agents are asking for help taking photos of everyone entering the country by car
FedEx board member Steiner is picked to be next USPS postmaster general amid talk of privatization

BULLSHIT
World’s wealthiest 10% have contributed to two-thirds of global warming since 1990, study finds
Bullshit. It’s not 2/3 of climate change caused by wealthy bastards, it’s 100%.
Non-wealthy people don’t own factories spewing heat and trash into the air. Non-wealthy people might own cars, but they don’t design and build those cars to constantly spew dangerous & deadly emissions — wealthy people and giant corporations are responsible for that, and for the lack of healthier, greener choices for transportation. It’s the rich who’ve fought against regulating and reducing pollution, the rich who oppose public transit, and the rich who profit from the climate change that’ll eventually kill the rest of us, wrapping everything in plastic like Laura Palmer.
Fuck if I’m causing 1/3 of climate change. Get outta here with that lie.
US expands attempt to blow up Google with proposed teardown of its ad technology
Everything about this shouts BS to me.
There’s no way the Trump regime would actually do something or allow anything to rein in Google.
Most likely, Trump’s DOJ hasn’t dropped the case yet because it wants something from Google — to make search results more MAGA-friendly, perhaps, or finger people making inquiries Trump wouldn’t like.
The end result will be a settlement, with Google paying a fine that sounds substantial but isn’t a fraction of 1% of the company’s net worth, plus something sweet under the table for Trump and/or the Trump regime.
Two arrested after neighbors try to stop ICE agents from detaining Massachusetts mother
Were the ICE agents wearing uniforms, or street clothes? Was their vehicle marked, or unmarked? How can a professional reporter leave these questions unanswered?

THE CRUELTY IS THE POINT
Oklahoma Republican legislators ask Supreme Court to overturn same-sex marriage
Jeez, this makes me sick in the heart.
Trump DOJ erases trans people from crime data surveys
Utah DHHS says it deleted trans kids’ mental health reports for ‘privacy concerns’

GIVE US YOUR TIRED, YOUR POOR, YOUR HUDDLED MASSES YEARNING TO BREATHE FREE, SO WE CAN IMPRISON THEM
US declares “military zone” around El Paso, allowing soldiers to arrest migrants
Trump’s Border Czar secretly deported two US citizen children
First white Afrikaners granted refugee status due to arrive in US

ONLY THE RICH HAVE RIGHTS
Trump declares high-speed internet program for the poor ‘racist’ and ‘unconstitutional’
Large investors increased stake in Trump Media by hundreds of millions
Trump administration to garnish wages of 5.3 million defaulted student loan borrowers this summer

TO HELL WITH HEALTH AND SCIENCE
RFK Jr.’s measles policy: deaths are expected and it’s the victim’s fault
Is measles spreading in Florida? Hard to know. State’s disease-tracking data no longer available.
Europe launches program to lure scientists away from the US

GOOD NEWS
Salt Lake City and Boise make pride flags official city emblems, skirting flag ban laws
Rümeysa Öztürk, Tufts student held by ICE, is released from Louisiana jail by court order
Irish woman kidnapped by US immigration is released after 17 days in jail
![BARRY GOLDWATER, 1965: "Mark my word, if and when these preachers get control of the [Republican] party, and they're sure trying to do so, it's going to be a terrible damn problem. Frankly, these people frighten me. Politics and governing demand compromise. But these Christians believe they are acting in the name of God, so they can't and won't compromise. I know, I've tried to deal with them."](https://www.itsdougholland.com/wp-content/uploads/GOLDWATER.jpg)
BACK TO THE BAD NEWS
Radar screens at Newark airport went black again overnight
Much of this problem is over my head (get it?) but what I do know is:
① Newark air traffic control was moved from Long Island NY to Philadelphia last year, though the union opposed it and thought it unsafe.
② Several times since at least last autumn, the electronics of data tunneling that distance has glitched out like this.
③ MAGA and MTV nitwit Sean Duffy is overseeing the response, which is hilarious.
④ There’s a big shortage of air traffic controllers nationwide, with mandatory overtime the norm.
And ⑤ Musk and ‘DOGE’ laid off FAA new hires a few months ago, because ‘efficiency’ dontchaknow.
Trump tightens control of independent agency overseeing nuclear safety
Excerpt: Going forward, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) must send new rules regarding reactor safety to the White House, where they will be reviewed and possibly edited. That is a radical departure for the watchdog agency, which historically has been among the most independent in the government.
Me again: Can’t see any downside to that.

AND I SAY TO MYSELF, WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD
US, Israel discuss possible US-led administration for Gaza, sources say
Trump using pointless, shitty tariffs to bully countries into coddling Elon Musk’s Starlink
Right-wing One America News to provide newsfeed to Voice of America

AND ALSO
Source code for classic video games preserved only through one person refusing orders to delete it
Federal prosecutors open criminal investigation into New York Attorney General who sued Trump
Jonestown Massacre site to reopen as tourist destination in Guyana
Done right, this could be excellent — a standing monument to the dangers and stupidity of obedience to idiot leaders.

HORRID, HORRID PEOPLE
JD Vance jokes about deporting tourists attending 2026 World Cup

EYE ON AI
Meta is recruiting former Pentagon officials as it ramps up AI military sales
Elon Musk’s Grok AI will ‘remove her clothes’ in public, on Xitter
Zuckerberg’s grand vision: most of your friends will be AI

MY BROWSER HISTORY, MINUS THE PORN
The Energy Star program works, so it has to go
98-year-old veteran drives a tank over a Tesla [2 min VIDEO]
American police are out of control — 5/7/2025
Ignoring the climate emergency — 5/5/2025
The Lord works in mysterious ways — 5/9/2025

— Bottom line —
Any single Trump headline on this page should be sufficient for impeachment, removal from office, and life in prison for Donald Trump, with each and all his appointees and advisors soon to follow. But nothing will be done.
And that’s the way it is,
and nothing will
meaningfully improve
until billionaires fear for their lives

5/10/2025
Logo illustration by Jeff Meyer. Tip ‘o the hat to the Anderson Valley Advertiser, Bleepity-Bleep, Lorem Ipsum Dolor, 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.

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