Today's Liberal News

Hundreds of Generals Try to Keep a Straight Face

In the days before Pete Hegseth stepped onstage to address the hundreds of generals and admirals he summoned for a mysterious meeting outside Washington, D.C., officials at the Pentagon joked that the defense secretary could have saved a lot of time and money by making his remarks via email instead.

If the Urgent Trump-Hegseth Address to the Military Had Been an Email

To: Entire Military Leadership of the United States, Stationed All Over the World, Who Would Have to Be Flown In Very Disruptively and Expensively If This Weren’t an Email but for Some Reason Were an Urgent In-Person Address
From: Pete Hegseth
CC: Donald J. Trump
Subject: WARFIGHTER ETHOS
PLEASE DROP EVERYTHING YOU ARE DOING TO READ THIS EMAIL AT ATTENTION.

Today’s Atlantic Trivia

In the 1960s, the authors of one of the world’s first popular compendiums of fun and interesting facts entreated readers not to mistake the “flower of Trivia” for the “weed of minutiae.” Trivia stimulates the mind, Edwin Goodgold and Dan Carlinsky wrote in More Trivial Trivia; minutiae stymie it.

Chicago Activist on Organizing Community ICE Patrols as Trump Escalates Immigration Crackdown

Tension between immigration agents and community activists is growing in Chicago, where ICE agents have deployed tear gas and pepper balls against ongoing protests outside Chicago’s Broadview ICE detention facility.
Democracy Now! speaks with community activist Cristóbal Cavazos, who says that the people of Chicago have been steadfast in their mobilization against ICE, with communities engaging in daily protests and community safety patrols.

“We Do Not Want Federal Troops”: Oregon Rejects Trump’s Plan to Send Forces to Portland

President Trump has directed 200 members of the Oregon National Guard to be deployed to Portland, claiming troops are necessary to “protect War ravaged Portland, and any of our ICE Facilities under siege from attack by Antifa, and other domestic terrorists.” Trump’s order comes after he signed an executive order claiming the decentralized antifa movement is a “domestic terror organization.

“The Government Has Been Shut Down” Since Trump Took Office: David Dayen

The U.S. government appears to be headed to a shutdown at midnight Wednesday after President Trump and Democratic leaders failed to reach an agreement on a spending bill. Democrats are looking to extend subsidies for the Affordable Care Act and reverse cuts to Medicaid and other healthcare programs that were implemented by the tax and spending bill passed earlier this year.

Trump’s Gaza Plan Is Mere “Repackaging of Genocide” for Israel’s Benefit: Diana Buttu

After a White House meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Trump unveiled a 20-point peace plan for the Gaza Strip on Monday that aims to end Israel’s war on Gaza, free the remaining Israeli hostages and remove Hamas from power. Netanyahu expressed support for the deal, but he has already backed away from key elements, including a call for Israel to eventually pull its troops out of Gaza. Hamas has not responded yet to the deal.

“They’re Assassinating People for No Reason”: Cuban Minister Condemns U.S. Strikes in Caribbean

As the Trump administration escalates its pressure campaign on Venezuela, we speak with Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernández de Cossío, who is in New York for the United Nations General Assembly. In recent weeks, the U.S. has bombed multiple alleged Venezuelan “drug boats” at sea, killing at least 17 people without providing any clear evidence that they were involved in drug trafficking or linked to the government in Caracas. The U.S.

Trump’s Shortsighted Campaign of Vengeance

Donald Trump likes to say that his campaign of vengeance is only fair. Given that he had to endure years of (supposedly) phony legal claims and censorship on various social-media platforms, Trump insists that he now has the right to retaliate in kind.
“They impeached me twice, and indicted me (5 times!), OVER NOTHING. JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!,” Trump wrote in a social-media post last week. “They did it with me for four years,” he told reporters.