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marmar
marmar's Journal
marmar's Journal
May 24, 2026
May 24, 2026 #AndyBarr #MAGA #KentuckyPolitics
Andy Barr wants to replace Mitch McConnell in Kentucky, and his campaign message says everything wrong with modern MAGA politics. Instead of talking about healthcare, wages, affordable housing, gun violence, or lowering the cost of living, Andy Barr is telling white Christians not to be “ashamed” of who they are. What does that even mean? Nobody is attacking people for being white or Christian. This is manufactured outrage and white grievance politics designed to keep people angry, divided, and distracted.
This is the core of the MAGA movement now: victimhood politics for white conservatives. Republicans scream about “woke ideology” nonstop, but never clearly define it because the point isn’t solutions — it’s emotional manipulation. While millions of Americans struggle to afford groceries, rent, healthcare, and childcare, politicians like Andy Barr are focused on culture war propaganda instead of improving people’s actual lives.
Andy Barr Proves what MAGA Politics is - White Grievance!
May 24, 2026 #AndyBarr #MAGA #KentuckyPolitics
Andy Barr wants to replace Mitch McConnell in Kentucky, and his campaign message says everything wrong with modern MAGA politics. Instead of talking about healthcare, wages, affordable housing, gun violence, or lowering the cost of living, Andy Barr is telling white Christians not to be “ashamed” of who they are. What does that even mean? Nobody is attacking people for being white or Christian. This is manufactured outrage and white grievance politics designed to keep people angry, divided, and distracted.
This is the core of the MAGA movement now: victimhood politics for white conservatives. Republicans scream about “woke ideology” nonstop, but never clearly define it because the point isn’t solutions — it’s emotional manipulation. While millions of Americans struggle to afford groceries, rent, healthcare, and childcare, politicians like Andy Barr are focused on culture war propaganda instead of improving people’s actual lives.
May 24, 2026
May 24, 2026
The Class of 2026 is graduating into a gloomy economy, uncertain job prospects due to AI, and a democracy hanging by a thread.
But there’s still reason to hope. Here’s what I told 2026 UC Berkeley graduates.
Robert Reich: AI, the Economy, and the Future of Democracy: What I Told the Class of 2026
May 24, 2026
The Class of 2026 is graduating into a gloomy economy, uncertain job prospects due to AI, and a democracy hanging by a thread.
But there’s still reason to hope. Here’s what I told 2026 UC Berkeley graduates.
May 24, 2026
(Guardian) Politicians must be held accountable if their lies damage democracy, according to a former US federal prosecutor and FBI general counsel who was pursued by Donald Trump.
The US must be “as creative as possible” and introduce sweeping structural reforms if it escapes its current “mess”, said Andrew Weissmann, laying out a proposal for a legislative crackdown on election deceit.
“Lying can be held to account,” argued Weissmann, a senior figure in former FBI director Robert Mueller’s investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, and Trump’s links to Moscow.
The former federal prosecutor remains a prominent voice against Trump and his assault on US institutions and justice, as a professor and analyst for liberal cable network MS Now. .....................(more)
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/24/andrew-weissmann-donald-trump-liars-kingdom
Former prosecutor pursued by Trump calls for crackdown on election lies: 'Lying can be held to account'
(Guardian) Politicians must be held accountable if their lies damage democracy, according to a former US federal prosecutor and FBI general counsel who was pursued by Donald Trump.
The US must be “as creative as possible” and introduce sweeping structural reforms if it escapes its current “mess”, said Andrew Weissmann, laying out a proposal for a legislative crackdown on election deceit.
“Lying can be held to account,” argued Weissmann, a senior figure in former FBI director Robert Mueller’s investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, and Trump’s links to Moscow.
The former federal prosecutor remains a prominent voice against Trump and his assault on US institutions and justice, as a professor and analyst for liberal cable network MS Now. .....................(more)
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/24/andrew-weissmann-donald-trump-liars-kingdom
May 24, 2026
(Michigan Advance) While her eight-year tenure as Michigan’s top executive is soon coming to an end, Michigan Democrats believe Gov. Gretchen Whitmer still holds incredible sway, and could move mountains legislatively, even in an era of divided government. She just needs to put that power to good use — which some Democrats believe hasn’t happened on a number of key issues.
But there was still time to make that right, as the short seven months left in Whitmer’s term was still plenty of time to pass needed good governance and transparency reforms.
That was the assessment of three House lawmakers who sat down on Friday with Attorney General Dana Nessel to discuss what they say are Michigan’s abysmal transparency laws and a broken Lansing political culture that allows tit-for-tat deals to flourish.
The conversation focused mainly on the BRITE Act, a set of bills sponsored by minority House Democrats that would beat back the influence of corporate lobbyists and financial interests on the state Legislature. The package consists of House Bills 4268, 4269, 4270, 4271, 4272 and 4273. It would also give sharper teeth to Michigan campaign and election finance laws, which Nessel has championed throughout her near decade of office. .....................(more)
https://michiganadvance.com/2026/05/22/nessel-michigan-dems-push-whitmer-to-confront-lansings-quid-pro-quo-political-culture/
Nessel, Michigan Dems push Whitmer to confront Lansing's 'quid pro quo' political culture
(Michigan Advance) While her eight-year tenure as Michigan’s top executive is soon coming to an end, Michigan Democrats believe Gov. Gretchen Whitmer still holds incredible sway, and could move mountains legislatively, even in an era of divided government. She just needs to put that power to good use — which some Democrats believe hasn’t happened on a number of key issues.
But there was still time to make that right, as the short seven months left in Whitmer’s term was still plenty of time to pass needed good governance and transparency reforms.
That was the assessment of three House lawmakers who sat down on Friday with Attorney General Dana Nessel to discuss what they say are Michigan’s abysmal transparency laws and a broken Lansing political culture that allows tit-for-tat deals to flourish.
The conversation focused mainly on the BRITE Act, a set of bills sponsored by minority House Democrats that would beat back the influence of corporate lobbyists and financial interests on the state Legislature. The package consists of House Bills 4268, 4269, 4270, 4271, 4272 and 4273. It would also give sharper teeth to Michigan campaign and election finance laws, which Nessel has championed throughout her near decade of office. .....................(more)
https://michiganadvance.com/2026/05/22/nessel-michigan-dems-push-whitmer-to-confront-lansings-quid-pro-quo-political-culture/
May 24, 2026
May 23, 2026 #RolandMartinUnfiltered
Roland Martin says Black athletes hold economic and political leverage powerful enough to force change in Republican-led states attacking Black rights. His warning is direct: stop thinking only about individual wealth and recognize the collective power Black athletes already have.
Roland Martin argues that Black athletes possess enormous leverage over universities and Republican-led states profiting from their labor while advancing policies harmful to Black communities. Using the Mississippi state flag controversy as an example, he points to how quickly institutions moved once Black athletic participation was threatened. The conversation challenges the “secure the bag” mentality and asks whether short-term personal wealth matters more than collective Black political power. Their argument is blunt: organized economic pressure from Black athletes could force political systems to change faster than speeches or symbolic outrage.
Roland Martin: Black Athletes Could Bring Red States to Their Knees
May 23, 2026 #RolandMartinUnfiltered
Roland Martin says Black athletes hold economic and political leverage powerful enough to force change in Republican-led states attacking Black rights. His warning is direct: stop thinking only about individual wealth and recognize the collective power Black athletes already have.
Roland Martin argues that Black athletes possess enormous leverage over universities and Republican-led states profiting from their labor while advancing policies harmful to Black communities. Using the Mississippi state flag controversy as an example, he points to how quickly institutions moved once Black athletic participation was threatened. The conversation challenges the “secure the bag” mentality and asks whether short-term personal wealth matters more than collective Black political power. Their argument is blunt: organized economic pressure from Black athletes could force political systems to change faster than speeches or symbolic outrage.
May 24, 2026
May 24, 2026 Pod Save America
Norm Eisen, President Obama's "ethics czar" and founder of Democracy Defenders, talks to Alex Wagner about Trump's latest avalanche of corruption: the $1.8 billion slush fund to pay off Jan. 6 rioters, the IRS immunity announcement, the ballroom, the reflecting pool renovation, the 3,000-plus stock trades placed while in office, and, unfortunately, much more. Together, they unpack how Democrats in Congress — or lawyers outside of it — could stop Trump's slush fund, and what impact this onslaught of self-enrichment, cronyism, and taxpayer abuse may have on the midterm elections.
Pod Save America: Trump's $1.7 Billion Slush Fund is the Biggest Presidential Scandal of All Time
May 24, 2026 Pod Save America
Norm Eisen, President Obama's "ethics czar" and founder of Democracy Defenders, talks to Alex Wagner about Trump's latest avalanche of corruption: the $1.8 billion slush fund to pay off Jan. 6 rioters, the IRS immunity announcement, the ballroom, the reflecting pool renovation, the 3,000-plus stock trades placed while in office, and, unfortunately, much more. Together, they unpack how Democrats in Congress — or lawyers outside of it — could stop Trump's slush fund, and what impact this onslaught of self-enrichment, cronyism, and taxpayer abuse may have on the midterm elections.
May 24, 2026
Trump still wants a winnable war: Is Cuba next?
What Iran war? In desperate search of a legacy, Trump goes after Cuba’s failing regime. It's sad on both sides
By Andrew O'Hehir
Executive Editor
Published May 24, 2026 9:00AM (EDT)
(Salon) From every imaginable point of view, the story of the Cuban revolution is a tragedy. How to make sense of that story is quite another matter. Like all tragedies, Cuba’s is haunted by unanswered questions, fatal mistakes and sliding-doors alternative possibilities. As is customary in the genre, what we think of its protagonists is a subjective question, determined by perspective more than anything else. Every viewer of Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar” must draw their own conclusions about Brutus and Marc Antony; so too with Fidel Castro and Che Guevara.
....(snip)....
We may be drawing near the final act of the specific tragedy of post-revolutionary Cuba, although nowhere near the end of the larger melodrama of that island’s tormented relationship with the United States. Donald Trump’s badly wounded administration is now searching for a “second Venezuela,” meaning a weaker, smaller nation it can victimize after the extraordinary humiliation of its botched war with Iran.
It appears to be Cuba’s time in the crosshairs, although whether a U.S. military intervention will actually happen, or would be successful in any sense, remains very much in doubt. There’s no alternative leader or defrocked monarch that American power could install, as was accomplished in Venezuela and hoped for in Iran, at least not short of full-on invasion, conquest and occupation. It is not, of course, a coincidence coincidental that Barack Obama, whose presidency now feels like a rumor from a distant galaxy, began to forge more reasonable and humane relations with both Cuba and Iran barely a decade ago.
....(snip)....
Rubio is certainly behind this new push for regime change in Havana, since his boss understands the issue, as he understands everything else, only in the vaguest and most vainglorious terms. Asked about Cuba during a brief Oval Office chat with reporters last week, Trump said: “Other presidents have looked at this for 50, 60 years, doing something. And it looks like I’ll be the one that does it. So I would be happy to do it.” Words to be inscribed alongside those of FDR and Churchill, no doubt. ......................(more)
https://www.salon.com/2026/05/24/trump-still-wants-a-winnable-war-is-cuba-next/
Trump still wants a winnable war: Is Cuba next?
Trump still wants a winnable war: Is Cuba next?
What Iran war? In desperate search of a legacy, Trump goes after Cuba’s failing regime. It's sad on both sides
By Andrew O'Hehir
Executive Editor
Published May 24, 2026 9:00AM (EDT)
(Salon) From every imaginable point of view, the story of the Cuban revolution is a tragedy. How to make sense of that story is quite another matter. Like all tragedies, Cuba’s is haunted by unanswered questions, fatal mistakes and sliding-doors alternative possibilities. As is customary in the genre, what we think of its protagonists is a subjective question, determined by perspective more than anything else. Every viewer of Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar” must draw their own conclusions about Brutus and Marc Antony; so too with Fidel Castro and Che Guevara.
....(snip)....
We may be drawing near the final act of the specific tragedy of post-revolutionary Cuba, although nowhere near the end of the larger melodrama of that island’s tormented relationship with the United States. Donald Trump’s badly wounded administration is now searching for a “second Venezuela,” meaning a weaker, smaller nation it can victimize after the extraordinary humiliation of its botched war with Iran.
It appears to be Cuba’s time in the crosshairs, although whether a U.S. military intervention will actually happen, or would be successful in any sense, remains very much in doubt. There’s no alternative leader or defrocked monarch that American power could install, as was accomplished in Venezuela and hoped for in Iran, at least not short of full-on invasion, conquest and occupation. It is not, of course, a coincidence coincidental that Barack Obama, whose presidency now feels like a rumor from a distant galaxy, began to forge more reasonable and humane relations with both Cuba and Iran barely a decade ago.
....(snip)....
Rubio is certainly behind this new push for regime change in Havana, since his boss understands the issue, as he understands everything else, only in the vaguest and most vainglorious terms. Asked about Cuba during a brief Oval Office chat with reporters last week, Trump said: “Other presidents have looked at this for 50, 60 years, doing something. And it looks like I’ll be the one that does it. So I would be happy to do it.” Words to be inscribed alongside those of FDR and Churchill, no doubt. ......................(more)
https://www.salon.com/2026/05/24/trump-still-wants-a-winnable-war-is-cuba-next/
May 23, 2026
May 23, 2026 The Intersection with Michael Popok
Popok briefs on the second suit filed against the Trump $1.776 billion "settlement" fund, this time by a former Assistant US Attorney who was fired for prosecuting Jan6rs, an abortion rights group, a city, and a pro democracy public interest group, which turns the tables on Trump and his DOJ by claiming that their Constitutional rights have been violated by NOT being able to apply for reimbursement for being victimized by TRUMP's weaponization.
Legal AF: Trump Gets TABLES TURNED on HIM with CHECKMATE LAWSUIT!!!
May 23, 2026 The Intersection with Michael Popok
Popok briefs on the second suit filed against the Trump $1.776 billion "settlement" fund, this time by a former Assistant US Attorney who was fired for prosecuting Jan6rs, an abortion rights group, a city, and a pro democracy public interest group, which turns the tables on Trump and his DOJ by claiming that their Constitutional rights have been violated by NOT being able to apply for reimbursement for being victimized by TRUMP's weaponization.
May 23, 2026
Premiered 3 hours ago The Coffee Klatch with Robert Reich
Was this Donald Trump’s most corrupt week yet?
Why is the cancellation of Stephen Colbert’s show so dangerous?
And why is one of the richest men in the world attacking me on Twitter?
The Coffee Klatch with Robert Reich: The Most Corrupt Week in American History?
Premiered 3 hours ago The Coffee Klatch with Robert Reich
Was this Donald Trump’s most corrupt week yet?
Why is the cancellation of Stephen Colbert’s show so dangerous?
And why is one of the richest men in the world attacking me on Twitter?
May 23, 2026
May 22, 2026
The Atlantic's Adam Serwer has a piece in The Atlantic worth reading alongside everything I've said about Callais v. Louisiana.
His key point: the 15th Amendment was itself a partisan measure. Republicans in 1870 supported Black suffrage partly because they needed Black voters to win in the South. Alito's argument — that the 15th Amendment can't apply where race and partisanship are entangled — is anti-originalist, because entanglement is exactly what the amendment was designed to address.
Jamelle Bouie: The Old Enemy. A New Alias.
May 22, 2026
The Atlantic's Adam Serwer has a piece in The Atlantic worth reading alongside everything I've said about Callais v. Louisiana.
His key point: the 15th Amendment was itself a partisan measure. Republicans in 1870 supported Black suffrage partly because they needed Black voters to win in the South. Alito's argument — that the 15th Amendment can't apply where race and partisanship are entangled — is anti-originalist, because entanglement is exactly what the amendment was designed to address.
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