RussBLib
RussBLib's Journalon the ground in Minneapolis
I do not live in Minneapolis, although I have visited the city several times because I have family there. I always found that the "Minnesota Nice" slogan was apt. People up there were just nice people. What I am hearing lately is infuriating and a little spooky. I have two nephews that live in Minneapolis. When I spoke with them recently they told me the same thing: "Whatever you see on TV or whatever you're hearing about Minneapolis, it's much worse than that."
A few points
+ It appears that ICE is setting up multiple cell towers around town that can grab onto your cell phone and make a connection, and potentially allowing ICE to penetrate your phone, see who you call, where you have been, and what you may have posted online.
+ There have been many people in Minneapolis reporting they were scooped up by ICE, roughed up, beat up, and dumped in a random city park. Locals have formed groups that keep an eye on all the parks overnight to help someone to the hospital, etc. Many people have been helped this way.
+ locals have been using various private, encrypted messaging systems - as you might expect - to form resistance groups, and ICE keeps trying to hack into their communications.
+ locals have been protecting "brown" people by going grocery shopping for them, driving them around, etc. Minnesota Nice.
This breaks my heart and makes me mad as hell.
https://russblib.blogspot.com
It is time
The writing below was penned by a cousin of mine. He's been a good writer for as long as he's tried. IMHO, he would be a great politician, or pundit on TV. Very photogenic too, but he's not interested. So far. A few snips below.
The best time to reject Trump was when he came down the escalator, but there have been countless off-ramps since then.
When he bragged about sexually assaulting women, it was time.
When he was held liable for sexual abuse, it was time.
snip
Trumpism is hollow. It has revealed the true nature of so many on the American right who have abandoned their fake projected values in favor of loyalty to a conman. Trump exploits the worst of America. He understand our fears, our hatreds, our ignorance, and our tribalism, and he exploited it all. Rather than heal, he divides. Rather than tell the truth, he deceives without a conscience in pursuit of his own self-interests. Like every charlatan, he knows precisely how to wrap himself up to sell his bullshit.
In the process, he has revealed how shallow these "conservative values" were for so many people. He gave permission for millions to abandon decency, replace ethics with resentment, and mistake cruelty for courage. His followers accepted that permission eagerly.
So this is not about policy disagreements, although there are plenty. It is about character. A movement that excuses lies, glorifies spite, and attacks democracy itself has no moral standing no matter how often it invokes God, family, or the flag. Real values are demanding. They constrain our behavior. They force us to reject leaders who fail to live up to those values. For them to mean ANYTHING, they can't be so easily set aside.
the rest can be found on my blog at https://russblib.blogspot.com
Has anyone reported receiving their "Warrior Dividend" yet?
My understanding is they were to be delivered by 12/20/25, but I have not heard of anyone receiving one yet. Trump said the $1,776 dividends were "on the way." It frankly would not surprise me in the least if not one soldier ever received this Warrior Dividend. Trump could always run around claiming that they were all distributed. That's about all he has left - lying. And his finger on the button.
https://russblib.blogspot.com
Mother Jones: This is All John Roberts' Fault
Another reminder that Mother Jones mag is still one of the best independent voices out there. If you can toss them some bucks, it's a good time to do it.
This is the lead story in the latest Mother Jones mag (Jan/Feb '26 issue). Some snips:
Trump owes his corrupt and abusive reign to one man.
PEMA LEVY AND ARI BERMAN - JANUARY+FEBRUARY 2026 ISSUE
Imagine: You are at a baseball game, but something is off. When the blue team is at bat, the umpire calls every pitch a strike. But when the red team is up, the umpire won’t call a single one. When a red batter hits the ball into a blue player’s glove—out!—the umpire sends him to first base anyway. You can’t believe what you are seeing. This is crazy, right? This is crazy. You look around. Does everyone else see what is happening?
Twenty years ago, John Roberts promised that as chief justice of the Supreme Court, he would be like an umpire, calling balls and strikes. His promise charmed senators and the media, who believed that his predilection for executive power and long-held antipathy for civil rights could be moderated by this commitment to faithfully apply the law. The delusion was so powerful that for two decades, the media defaulted to portraying him as a moderate institutionalist, pointing to high-profile decisions—to uphold parts of the Affordable Care Act or striking down President Donald Trump’s attempt to ask about citizenship in the 2020 census—in which he broke from conservative orthodoxy. But those decisions were always the exception. Today, as the Roberts court rewrites the Constitution in the image of Trumpian autocracy, it’s become clear that Roberts’ promise to be a neutral umpire was a lie. We are watching a rigged game, and Roberts set it up.
snip
The Roberts court has spent Trump’s second term not applying the law so much as clearing it out of his way. In a matter of months, the court’s 6–3 GOP-aligned majority has permitted a long list of lawless actions, including firing independent agency commissioners, using racial profiling in immigration sweeps, disappearing immigrants to authoritarian and war-torn nations, and defying Congress’ power of the purse. But the court’s acquiescence to an antidemocratic America didn’t start in 2025. Roberts has been embedding white-dominant authoritarianism into the country’s source code for two decades. It’s impossible to imagine today’s crisis without the Roberts court having first undermined the foundations of our democracy.
snip
Roberts didn’t just strip political power from ordinary people—he handed it to billionaires. His decisive vote in 2010’s Citizens United v. FEC lifted restrictions on political spending, while ludicrously insisting it would not “lead to, or create the appearance of, quid pro quo corruption.” Political spending by billionaires has since increased 160-fold. There’s a direct line between the ruling and Elon Musk buying Trump the White House with more than $290 million and being given free rein to fire his companies’ regulators in return. We are now operating under a Robertsian reimagining of the separation of powers, in which laws passed by Congress are mere suggestions for a monarchical president. “By creating out of whole cloth this ‘presidents can commit crimes with immunity’ doctrine that is anathema to the Constitution and rule of law, the Roberts court validated Trump’s view of himself as above the law, beholden to no one,” says Sarah Lipton-Lubet, president of Take Back the Court Action Fund, which advocates for adding justices to alter the court’s makeup.
Long before Roberts and his colleagues assented to Trump’s lawless second term, they helped him get one. Not since 2000, when the justices put George W. Bush in the White House, has the court done so much to pick a president. In March 2024, the court overruled Colorado’s decision to keep Trump off its ballot under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which bars oath-breaking insurrectionists from office. Given that Trump had sicced an armed mob on the US Capitol, Colorado’s Supreme Court found that he fit the bill, but the justices disagreed that the state could remove his name. In an unsigned decision, five conservative justices invented new law by saying only Congress could enforce Section 3, and only in the specific way the court dictated. Meanwhile, as special counsel Jack Smith waited to move Trump’s election interference case forward that spring, the court delayed reaching a decision on presidential immunity that could have allowed a trial. When it did, four months after the Colorado ruling, Roberts’ opinion instead effectively halted the prosecution. That November, Trump won.
much more at the Mother Jones link, which I believe is the full, unlocked article.
https://russblib.blogspot.com
New one from The Resistance - Fixer-Upper
?si=D2sNZXCQJKhTKRwMhttps://russblib.blogspot.com
tracking job cuts
The last time I tracked lots of job cuts was back in the Bush, Jr (Shrub) years. Here we are again, another Republican fucking shit up.
I don't trust AI. Most info below via AI:
As of September 2025, U.S. employers announced 946,426 job cuts, primarily driven by federal government restructuring and cuts in the tech and retail sectors. Outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas projects that job cuts could exceed 1 million by the end of the year, the highest since 2020.
Key layoff figures for 2025:
Year-to-date (through September): 946,426 job cuts announced.
September: 54,064 job cuts announced, a 37% decrease from August.
Third quarter (Q3): 202,118 planned layoffs were announced, the highest Q3 total since 2020.
Federal government: This sector accounts for the highest number of cuts, with 299,755 announced through September.
The majority were federal workers impacted by restructuring under the new administration.
Tech sector: Over 107,000 job cuts were announced through September, although this represents an 8% decline compared to the same period in 2024. Artificial intelligence was cited as a contributing factor for over 17,000 of these cuts.
Major companies with job cuts in 2025
UPS: Cut 48,000 jobs by October 2025, largely to control costs.
Amazon: Announced plans in late October to eliminate 14,000 corporate roles, citing advances in AI.
Microsoft: Made multiple rounds of cuts throughout the year, with a single round in July affecting an estimated 9,000 employees.
ConocoPhillips: Cut up to 25% of its workforce, impacting up to 2,950 employees.
Chegg: Reduced its workforce by about 45%, or 388 roles, in October, citing the impact of AI.
Estée Lauder: Announced plans in February to cut 5,800 to 7,000 jobs over two years as part of a restructuring.
Intel: In July, the company began a process to lay off more than 5,000 employees across four states.
Factors contributing to job cuts in 2025
Federal budget cuts: A significant portion of layoffs, particularly impacting the government and non-profit sectors, resulted from federal budget reductions and the reorganization of departments.
Economic conditions: Market uncertainty, persistent inflation, and fluctuating consumer demand were cited by many companies as reasons for workforce reductions.
Technological change: The increasing adoption of AI and automation led to layoffs across the tech, media, and other industries as companies restructured and eliminated roles.
Corporate restructuring: Many businesses underwent restructuring efforts to increase efficiency, streamline operations, and cut costs.
_______________
https://layoffs.fyi is the site I found recently. Sortable columns, different filters. Lots of data on here, but some is difficult to access
Seth Andrews on Charlie Kirk
I see that Seth is now on Substack too. I know you're probably sick of hearing about Charlie Kirk, but ...
It's a difficult point, but it must be made.
We all knew that the Ministry of Truth would build a political rally on Charlie Kirk’s grave, so no one was surprised that a racist, sexist, right-wing podcaster was sent off like he was Ghandi. Approximately 63,000 people filled State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, with tens of thousands of others outside.
Cretins like Donald Trump Jr., Stephen Miller, and Benny Johnson took a few moments away from Paul-Pelosi-murdered-with-a-hammer jokes and “woke libs” demonization to wax about Kirk’s noble life and legacy. Of course, Donald Trump can’t even crawl a High Road, so he tossed in a lovely sentiment about the hate in his heart for all perceived enemies.
And, joy of joys, I awoke this morning to learn that Oklahoma state senators have introduced a bill requiring all state colleges to erect and protect Charlie Kirk statues on their campuses. Make no mistake. This isn’t about memory. It’s about marking territory.
None of this is a surprise. We knew Charlie Kirk’s horrible murder would gift a holy war narrative to the zealots and oligarchs, but there’s a question nobody is asking, so fine…I’ll ask it. Was a lethal bullet to the throat Jesus’s method for calling Charlie Kirk home, or did Jesus simply sit back and allow an “evil murderer” [Erika Kirk’s words] to assassinate a child and champion spreading God’s message on the world stage?
snip
So I’m saying it. Charlie Kirk’s assassination is a horrifying and unconscionable act, and his killer must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, but those claiming that either Jesus guided the bullet or failed to deflect it are shouting red-flag statements that make God either inept, unwilling, or guilty of premeditated murder.
Substack
https://russblib.blogspot.com
Tony Pentimalli - The Mourning of Charlie Kirk Reveals a Nation Lost in Illusion
Really good writing.
By Tony Pentimalli
The outpouring of grief over Charlie Kirk’s assassination has revealed as much about America as it has about Kirk himself. Supporters insist he was not hateful, only firm in his beliefs. They point to viral “Change My Mind” clips as evidence of civility, as if a staged spectacle of confrontation were proof of respect. They confuse composure with compassion, and mistake rehearsed debate tactics for genuine discourse. This is not accidental. It is the architecture of myth.
That myth is already being carved in stone. Social media has circulated images placing Kirk alongside Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., and even Jesus Christ, beneath the words “All Because of Words.” This is not mourning. It is propaganda. It equates Kirk’s career of racial dog whistles and conspiracy theories with the sacrifice of leaders who fought for equality, liberation, and national unity. It turns cruelty into courage, bigotry into martyrdom, and propaganda into gospel. Grief for his family and the trauma suffered by his wife and children is human and necessary. But grief is not the same as myth. Myth is what happens when mourning is converted into political capital, when pain is harnessed to sanctify lies. That is what is happening now.
Kirk’s record is plain. He called Martin Luther King Jr. “awful,” condemned the Civil Rights Act as a “huge mistake,” dismissed empathy as “a made up New Age term,” and described George Floyd as a “scumbag.” He argued that the deaths of schoolchildren were a “prudent deal” to preserve gun rights. He smeared Jewish donors as funding anti-white causes, defended Elon Musk’s embrace of the Great Replacement theory, and cited scripture to justify killing gay men. He said that Black women lacked the mental capacity to succeed on their own, and he declared that abortion was worse than the Holocaust. These were not slips of the tongue. They were applause lines, repeated because his audience wanted to hear them.
And that is the heart of the matter. Kirk did not rise in spite of his cruelty. He rose because of it. Millions of Americans resonated with his message because it gave them license to sneer at empathy, to diminish minorities, to treat contempt as strength. Many delighted in watching him humiliate unprepared college students, mistaking his orchestrated ambushes for wit and courage. They were not tricked. They were not misled. They embraced Kirk because he reflected back their own resentments, and in doing so made them feel righteous. The illusion of Kirk as martyr is not just the invention of the Right’s leadership. It is the culmination of a culture that mistook grievance for identity and cruelty for truth.
....(the rest at the link below)
*Tony Pentimalli is a political analyst and commentator fighting for democracy, economic justice, and social equity. Follow him for sharp analysis and hard-hitting critiques on Facebook and BlueSky
@tonywriteshere.bsky.social
also on Facebook: www.facebook.com/share/p/19kZ...
https://russblib.blogspot.com
Funding for Students with Hearing and Vision Loss halted in 8 States
How low can they go, indeed? Just saw this story in ProPublica.
Citing concerns about DEI, the U.S. Department of Education has halted funding for programs that support students with combined hearing and vision loss in eight states. “How low can you go?” one advocate asked. “How can you do this to children?”
The U.S. Department of Education has pulled funding for programs in eight states aimed at supporting students who have both hearing and vision loss, a move that could affect some of the country’s most vulnerable students.
The programs are considered vital in those states but represent only a little over $1 million a year in federal money. Nonetheless, they got caught in the Trump administration’s attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion, with an Education Department spokesperson citing concerns about “divisive concepts” and “fairness” in acknowledging the decision to withhold the funding.
The funding, which was expected to continue through September 2028, will stop at the end of the month, according to letters from the Education Department to local officials that were obtained by ProPublica. The government gave the programs seven days to ask officials to reconsider the decision.
the rest at https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-dei-students-education-deaf-blind-grant-funding
'Sided with Democrats': Nancy Mace melts down at 4 Republicans who sank her censure motion
Source: Alternet
An effort by Rep. Nancy Mace (R‑S.C.) to censure Rep. Ilhan Omar (D‑Minn.) failed in the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday night.
The resolution, which was introduced in response to Omar reposting a video and making remarks related to right-wing activist Charlie Kirk’s murder last week, was tabled by a vote of 214‑213. Four Republicans joined all Democrats in opposing the resolution.
The Republicans who opposed the resolution were Reps. Cory Mills (R-Fla.), Jeff Hurd (R-Colo.), Tom McClintock (R-Calif.) and Mike Flood (R-Neb.)
If passed, the resolution would have formally censured Omar and removed her from some committee assignments. Following the failure of her censure motion, Mace took to social media to attack her Republican colleagues who opposed the move.
Read more: https://www.alternet.org/nancy-mace-ilhan-omar/
What a horrible person Mace has become.
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