Lexicus
Deity
The Sandwich Trial will take its place alongside such famous American trials as the Scopes Monkey Trial and That Time I got my Five Year Old to Confess to Stealing 3 Cookies
[RD] Trump in Charge: The MAGA Presidency
- Thread starter Birdjaguar
- Start date
Notice they failed to indict the ham sammich
Evie
Pronounced like Eevee
And that time Lex Luthor stole forty cakes (which was terrible).
SemiLazyGamer
King
- Joined
- Mar 15, 2021
- Messages
- 644
Virginia governor seat flips blue as race called for Spanberger.
KMRblue1027
Deity
Some places are already calling NJ blue as well. Means the Democrats are back to beating their polling again which is how it's been when Trump isn't on the ticket for years now. Assuming the election systems survive his presidency which is a big risk right now, I don't see how the GOP wins again in a bit. It's him and him alone that somehow works. Their coalition if you can call it that is basically like 4 tents carried purely by a cult of one man.
danjuno
Cole Phelps, Badge 1247
Mikie Sherrill takes it in NJ:
https://www.cnn.com/election/2025/results/new-jersey
https://www.cnn.com/election/2025/results/new-jersey
Trump Marks Full Month Of Government Shutdown With $3.4 Million Golf Trip To Florida
The Air Force One trip is his 13th visit to his Palm Beach country club since he returned to office and brings his taxpayer funded golf total to $60.7 million.https://www.huffpost.com/author/sv-date
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump marked the first full month of the ongoing government shutdown Friday by blaming it all on Democrats and taking a $3.4 million golf trip to Florida, bringing the total that taxpayers have spent on his hobby to $60.7 million since he retook the presidency in January. This is his 13th trip to Mar-a-Lago, his Palm Beach country club, which is across the Intracoastal Waterway from his golf course in West Palm Beach, adjacent to the county jail. Asked about the shutdown, which has furloughed nearly 700,000 federal workers and is forcing another 700,000 to continue working without pay, Trump blamed Democrats. He told reporters after arriving on Air Force One: “It’s their fault. Everything is their fault.”
During the flight south, he spent time posting photos of his latest renovation project at the White House, redoing the Lincoln bathroom in ornate marble and gold. “The Refurbished Lincoln Bathroom in the White House — Highly polished, Statuary marble!” he wrote.
Trump has already paved over the Rose Garden and turned it into a budget-hotel style patio and more recently tore down the entire 123-year-old East Wing to make room for a massive ballroom.
In his first nine months in office, Trump has played golf at his own resorts in Florida, New Jersey and Scotland 76 times. If he plays golf Saturday, it will be his 77th day on one of his courses on his 286th day in office, meaning he will have played golf on 27 percent of his second-term days. This includes a golf vacation in Scotland that cost taxpayers some $10 million during which he had the White House promote his opening of a new course at his resort in Aberdeen.
During his first term, from 2017 to 2021, Trump played a total of 293 days of golf on courses he owns and cost taxpayers $151.5 million to do so.
SemiLazyGamer
King
- Joined
- Mar 15, 2021
- Messages
- 644
EDIT: California voters approve Congressional redistricting through Proposition 50.
Georgia Democrats just flipped two Public Service Commission seats that have been held by Republicans for 25 years.
For context on what this is:
www.atlantanewsfirst.com
Georgia Democrats just flipped two Public Service Commission seats that have been held by Republicans for 25 years.
For context on what this is:
Georgia Democrats oust two GOP incumbents in Public Service Commission special election
Longtime commissioner Tim Echols ousted in district 2 contest.
www.atlantanewsfirst.com
FBI Warns of Criminals Posing as ICE, Urges Agents to ID Themselves
Criminals posing as US immigration officers have carried out robberies, kidnappings, and sexual assaults in several states, warns a law enforcement bulletin issued last month by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The bureau urges agencies to ensure officers clearly identify themselves and to cooperate when civilians ask to verify an officer’s identity—including by allowing calls to a local police precinct. “Ensure law enforcement personnel adequality [sic] identify themselves during operations and cooperate with individuals who request further verification,” it says.
First reported by WIRED, the bulletin cites five 2025 incidents involving fake immigration officers and says criminals are using Immigration and Custom Enforcement’s heightened profile to target vulnerable communities, making it harder for Americans to distinguish between lawful officers and imposters while eroding trust in law enforcement. A review of public reporting confirms four of the five cases described in the bulletin. One appears to have gone unreported, suggesting the FBI drew in part on internal law enforcement information. The document was first obtained by the transparency nonprofit Property of the People.
Cases cited by its advisory span kidnappings, street crime, and sexual violence: In Bay County, Florida, the advisory says, a woman “unzipped [her] jacket and revealed a shirt that said ICE” and told her ex-boyfriend’s wife she was there to “pick her up,” before driving her to an apartment complex. The woman later escaped. In Brooklyn, it alleges, a man told a woman he was an immigration officer and “directed [her] to a nearby stairwell,” where he punched her, tried to rape her, and stole her phone before police caught him. In Raleigh, North Carolina, it claims, a man “entered [a] motel room and threatened to deport the woman if she did not have sex with him,” telling her he was a sworn officer. He showed her a business card with a badge, police said.
Criminals posing as US immigration officers have carried out robberies, kidnappings, and sexual assaults in several states, warns a law enforcement bulletin issued last month by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The bureau urges agencies to ensure officers clearly identify themselves and to cooperate when civilians ask to verify an officer’s identity—including by allowing calls to a local police precinct. “Ensure law enforcement personnel adequality [sic] identify themselves during operations and cooperate with individuals who request further verification,” it says.
First reported by WIRED, the bulletin cites five 2025 incidents involving fake immigration officers and says criminals are using Immigration and Custom Enforcement’s heightened profile to target vulnerable communities, making it harder for Americans to distinguish between lawful officers and imposters while eroding trust in law enforcement. A review of public reporting confirms four of the five cases described in the bulletin. One appears to have gone unreported, suggesting the FBI drew in part on internal law enforcement information. The document was first obtained by the transparency nonprofit Property of the People.
Cases cited by its advisory span kidnappings, street crime, and sexual violence: In Bay County, Florida, the advisory says, a woman “unzipped [her] jacket and revealed a shirt that said ICE” and told her ex-boyfriend’s wife she was there to “pick her up,” before driving her to an apartment complex. The woman later escaped. In Brooklyn, it alleges, a man told a woman he was an immigration officer and “directed [her] to a nearby stairwell,” where he punched her, tried to rape her, and stole her phone before police caught him. In Raleigh, North Carolina, it claims, a man “entered [a] motel room and threatened to deport the woman if she did not have sex with him,” telling her he was a sworn officer. He showed her a business card with a badge, police said.
Thorgalaeg
Deity
Criminals acting as ICE and ICE acting as criminals. I think he later is worse.
Akka
Moody old mage.
Especially as because the former happens because of the latter.
A list I found online. I am not certain what they all mean, but it seems a pretty decisive swing left. This could make the gerrymandering dangerous.
—Prop 50 wins
—VA Dems flip Gov, LG, AG
—Dems gain leg seats in VA, NJ, & MS
—Dems defend NJ-Gov
—Dems win NJ+VA trifectas
—Mamdani wins
—PA Dems win state supreme court
—ME anti-mail voting measure loses
—GA Dems flip 2 statewide offices
—Larry Krasner & Bragg win
—Coloradoans fund free school meals
—JD's half-brother loses
—PA Dems flip Erie County exec, Bucks DA + sheriff
—PA Dems oust all GOPers from Bucks school boards once 'ground 0' of right-wing takeover
—Charlotte approves transit tax
—Dems flip CT towns like New Britain.
—PA Dems 2 open statewide judge seats in PA
—Dems flip boards of NY's Onondaga & Dutchess counties, a first in decades, & PA's Luzerne County
—Seattle GOP city attorney trails
—MN Dems defend state Senate
—Dems defend swing leg seats in NY, WA
—Dems break GOP supermajority in MS Senate
—Prop 50 wins
—VA Dems flip Gov, LG, AG
—Dems gain leg seats in VA, NJ, & MS
—Dems defend NJ-Gov
—Dems win NJ+VA trifectas
—Mamdani wins
—PA Dems win state supreme court
—ME anti-mail voting measure loses
—GA Dems flip 2 statewide offices
—Larry Krasner & Bragg win
—Coloradoans fund free school meals
—JD's half-brother loses
—PA Dems flip Erie County exec, Bucks DA + sheriff
—PA Dems oust all GOPers from Bucks school boards once 'ground 0' of right-wing takeover
—Charlotte approves transit tax
—Dems flip CT towns like New Britain.
—PA Dems 2 open statewide judge seats in PA
—Dems flip boards of NY's Onondaga & Dutchess counties, a first in decades, & PA's Luzerne County
—Seattle GOP city attorney trails
—MN Dems defend state Senate
—Dems defend swing leg seats in NY, WA
—Dems break GOP supermajority in MS Senate
Broken_Erika
Play with me.
US courts stay deportation of Indian-origin man wrongly jailed for 43 years
Two different US courts have stayed the deportation of an Indian-origin man who spent more than 40 years in prison for a murder he did not commit.Subramanyam "Subu" Vedam, 64, who was convicted of murdering his former roommate in 1983, was exonerated in October after new evidence surfaced in the case.
But immediately after his release from prison, he was taken into custody by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), who want to deport him to India.
Mr Vedam's family says that even though he was born in India, he moved to the US when he was nine months old. He is a legal permanent resident of the US and had his citizenship application accepted before he was arrested.
He is currently being held at a short-term holding centre in Alexandria, Louisiana, that is equipped with an airstrip for deportations.
Last Thursday, an immigration judge stayed his deportation until the Board of Immigration Appeals decides whether to review his conviction in a separate drug case. The same day, his lawyers got a stay on his deportation from a US District Court in Pennsylvania.
According to the Associated Press, Mr Vedam was detained on drug charges while police investigated the death of his former roommate. He was ultimately charged with murder and later convicted of the crime.
To resolve the drug case, Mr Vedam pleaded no contest to four counts of selling LSD and a theft charge. In 1984, he was sentenced to a separate two-and-a-half to five-year sentence in the drug case, as part of a plea agreement. That sentence was to be served simultaneously with his life sentence.
When ICE arrested Mr Vedam last month, they cited a 1988 deportation order and his conviction in the drug case as their reason for detaining him. While he was exonerated for the murder charge, his drug conviction still stands, they have said. The immigration agency said it acted on a lawfully issued order.
Vedam's lawyers will now have to persuade an immigration court that the drug conviction should be outweighed by the years he wrongly spent in prison.
It could take several months before the Board of Immigration Appeals decides whether to review his case.
Ava Benach, his immigration lawyer, told AP that she found his case "truly extraordinary".
"Forty-three years of wrongful imprisonment more than makes up for the possession with intent to distribute LSD when he was 20 years old," she told the news agency.
Vedam's family has said his decades of good behaviour, completion of three degrees and community service while behind bars should be considered when the immigration court examines his case.
They have also stressed that Mr Vedam's ties to India - where ICE has said they would like to deport him to - are weak at best.
"We believe deportation from the United States now, to send him to a country where he has few connections, would represent another terrible wrong done to a man who has already endured a record-setting injustice," Ms Benach had said in an earlier statement to the BBC.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2n04e88d8o
amadeus
rad thibodeaux-xs
This year was not a regular election year, so the only seats contested were two open seats—one had suddenly passed on, and the other resigned after being convicted of burglary.
The fact that anyone would do this is odd enough, but someone who has so much to loose doing that in a country where you are allowed to shoot someone if they break into your house seems just mad.
amadeus
rad thibodeaux-xs
It was her stepmother’s house, so the odds she’d be on the business end of a rooty-tooty point-‘n-shooty are probably a lot lower.
Judge Sara Ellis is ruling from the bench now as to whether Bovino and ICE and CBP troops have violated her orders preventing the use of certain riot control tactics and requiring warnings to crowds before tear gassing them. She is detailing all the evidence of Bovino’s and other DHS employees lying about their conduct in Chicago.
Judge Ellis has found that the Trump regime has violated the First A in two ways: retaliating against protesters because of the content of their views and punishing religious protesters for practicing their religious beliefs.
Ellis has found that the Trump regime’s conduct “shocks the conscience.” This finding is important if individual protestors bring damages actions under federal civil rights law.
Ellis has issued a preliminary injunction, which is an order that runs throughout the full trial on the merits. The injunction’s terms will be published by the court but they take effect immediately.
Some of the terms: two audible warnings before using riot control weapons: ICE, CBP, other federal agents must conspicuously display identification in two places on their clothing, must wear body cameras.
Ellis has certified the lawsuit as a class action, so it applies to all nonviolent protestors and news gathers.
Judge Ellis has found that the Trump regime has violated the First A in two ways: retaliating against protesters because of the content of their views and punishing religious protesters for practicing their religious beliefs.
Ellis has found that the Trump regime’s conduct “shocks the conscience.” This finding is important if individual protestors bring damages actions under federal civil rights law.
Ellis has issued a preliminary injunction, which is an order that runs throughout the full trial on the merits. The injunction’s terms will be published by the court but they take effect immediately.
Some of the terms: two audible warnings before using riot control weapons: ICE, CBP, other federal agents must conspicuously display identification in two places on their clothing, must wear body cameras.
Ellis has certified the lawsuit as a class action, so it applies to all nonviolent protestors and news gathers.
Six election results that didn’t make the headlines
Pennsylvania county ousts sheriff who collaborated with ICE
In Bucks County — Pennsylvania’s largest swing county, which Trump narrowly won in 2024 — Democrat Danny Ceisler was elected county sheriff after the Republican incumbent signed a deal to collaborate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) earlier this year.
In April, Republican Fred Harran signed his deputies up for a 287(g) program with ICE, which allows local law enforcement to execute arrest warrants for immigration violations and perform other duties typically reserved for federal immigration enforcement officers.
Ceisler, who defeated Harran with more than 55% of the vote, described the ICE agreement as “the big issue in this race.” Ceisler promised to suspend the agreement immediately after taking office and said that restoring trust with immigrants in the county was a top priority.
Progressives win control of Texas school board that censored books
In Texas’s Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District (CFISD), which is the third largest in the state, progressive candidates won all three open board seats, giving them a 4-3 majority. Since 2023, the board has been controlled by a 6-1 conservative supermajority, which has enacted a range of far-right policies.
In the past two years, the CFISD board has removed textbook chapters on climate change, vaccines, Covid-19, and diversity; fired over half of CFISD librarians, leading to school library closures; restricted school library content; and created elective courses about the Bible.
One of the members who lost her seat, Natalie Blasingame, first ran for the CFISD board in 2015. At the time, she wrote in an email to donors, “The Lord put on my heart that my agenda is to tear down the over-interpretation of the separation of church and state that has shut God out of schools.”
Georgia elects its first Democrat to a non-federal statewide office since 2006
Two Georgia Democrats, Peter Hubbard and Alicia Johnson, won election to the state’s Public Service Commission, which regulates electricity, telephone services, and natural gas. Both candidates won with over 60% of the vote, according to unofficial results posted on the Georgia Secretary of State’s website. The commission will now have a 3-2 Republican majority.
The commission has not had a Democrat since 2007, and this is the first time since 2006 that Georgia Democrats have “won a statewide constitutional office.” Johnson will also become the state’s first Black woman elected to a statewide partisan office.
The Democratic candidates ran on a platform of affordability. The commission approved six rate hikes for electric utility provider Georgia Power in recent years. Rate increases approved by the commission have added around “$43 a month to the average household bill,” which is now over $175 a month for the average Georgia Power residential customer, CBS reported.
The upset could provide momentum going into the 2026 midterm elections, when Georgia will elect a Governor and U.S. Senator.
Mississippi Democrats break Republican super majority in the state Senate
For the first time in 13 years, Democrats in Mississippi have broken up a GOP supermajority in the state Senate. This victory for Mississippi Democrats came after a panel of federal judges ordered the Mississippi legislature to redraw its state House and Senate districts to create more majority-Black districts. The court found that the previous districts diluted the political power of Black voters, in violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.
Democrats were able to flip two newly redistricted state Senate seats, reducing the GOP supermajority from 36 members to 34. Just one vote short of a supermajority, it will now be more difficult for Republicans to propose amendments to the state constitution and override the governor’s veto.
Whether the victory holds will depend on an upcoming Supreme Court decision in a case challenging the constitutionality of creating electoral districts based on racial demographics to give minority voters more power.
Colorado voters increase taxes on the wealthy to pay for school meals
In Colorado, voters passed a pair of ballot measures to fund free meals at public schools across the state.
Proposition MM will raise taxes for households with incomes of more than $300,000 per year to fund free school meals, buy local ingredients in school cafeterias, and provide raises to cafeteria workers. Any excess funds raised by the tax increase will support the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
Proposition MM expands on Proposition FF, passed by Colorado voters in 2022, which “limited income tax deductions for people earning more than $300,000” to fund free school meals through the Healthy School Meals for All program. Colorado voters also passed Proposition LL, which will allow the state to keep additional tax revenue that was raised by Proposition FF and spend it on the Healthy School Meals for All Program.
Maine voters reject voter ID ballot initiative [this totally did make the news as even I heard about it]
In Maine, voters overwhelmingly rejected a ballot initiative that would have created new voter ID requirements and made absentee voting less accessible, with over 60% of voters opposing the initiative, according to the AP.
If passed, voters would have been required to present photo identification in future elections. The initiative would have also banned “prepaid postage on absentee ballot return envelopes,” prohibited “requests for absentee ballots by phone or family members,” and ended “ongoing absentee voter status for seniors and people with disabilities.” Additionally, the initiative would have limited the number of ballot drop boxes to only one per town.
Opponents called the initiative a “voter suppression bill.” In 2024, about 45% of Maine voters cast ballots by mail, used drop boxes, or voted early, Maine Public reported.
Pennsylvania county ousts sheriff who collaborated with ICE
In Bucks County — Pennsylvania’s largest swing county, which Trump narrowly won in 2024 — Democrat Danny Ceisler was elected county sheriff after the Republican incumbent signed a deal to collaborate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) earlier this year.
In April, Republican Fred Harran signed his deputies up for a 287(g) program with ICE, which allows local law enforcement to execute arrest warrants for immigration violations and perform other duties typically reserved for federal immigration enforcement officers.
Ceisler, who defeated Harran with more than 55% of the vote, described the ICE agreement as “the big issue in this race.” Ceisler promised to suspend the agreement immediately after taking office and said that restoring trust with immigrants in the county was a top priority.
Progressives win control of Texas school board that censored books
In Texas’s Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District (CFISD), which is the third largest in the state, progressive candidates won all three open board seats, giving them a 4-3 majority. Since 2023, the board has been controlled by a 6-1 conservative supermajority, which has enacted a range of far-right policies.
In the past two years, the CFISD board has removed textbook chapters on climate change, vaccines, Covid-19, and diversity; fired over half of CFISD librarians, leading to school library closures; restricted school library content; and created elective courses about the Bible.
One of the members who lost her seat, Natalie Blasingame, first ran for the CFISD board in 2015. At the time, she wrote in an email to donors, “The Lord put on my heart that my agenda is to tear down the over-interpretation of the separation of church and state that has shut God out of schools.”
Georgia elects its first Democrat to a non-federal statewide office since 2006
Two Georgia Democrats, Peter Hubbard and Alicia Johnson, won election to the state’s Public Service Commission, which regulates electricity, telephone services, and natural gas. Both candidates won with over 60% of the vote, according to unofficial results posted on the Georgia Secretary of State’s website. The commission will now have a 3-2 Republican majority.
The commission has not had a Democrat since 2007, and this is the first time since 2006 that Georgia Democrats have “won a statewide constitutional office.” Johnson will also become the state’s first Black woman elected to a statewide partisan office.
The Democratic candidates ran on a platform of affordability. The commission approved six rate hikes for electric utility provider Georgia Power in recent years. Rate increases approved by the commission have added around “$43 a month to the average household bill,” which is now over $175 a month for the average Georgia Power residential customer, CBS reported.
The upset could provide momentum going into the 2026 midterm elections, when Georgia will elect a Governor and U.S. Senator.
Mississippi Democrats break Republican super majority in the state Senate
For the first time in 13 years, Democrats in Mississippi have broken up a GOP supermajority in the state Senate. This victory for Mississippi Democrats came after a panel of federal judges ordered the Mississippi legislature to redraw its state House and Senate districts to create more majority-Black districts. The court found that the previous districts diluted the political power of Black voters, in violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.
Democrats were able to flip two newly redistricted state Senate seats, reducing the GOP supermajority from 36 members to 34. Just one vote short of a supermajority, it will now be more difficult for Republicans to propose amendments to the state constitution and override the governor’s veto.
Whether the victory holds will depend on an upcoming Supreme Court decision in a case challenging the constitutionality of creating electoral districts based on racial demographics to give minority voters more power.
Colorado voters increase taxes on the wealthy to pay for school meals
In Colorado, voters passed a pair of ballot measures to fund free meals at public schools across the state.
Proposition MM will raise taxes for households with incomes of more than $300,000 per year to fund free school meals, buy local ingredients in school cafeterias, and provide raises to cafeteria workers. Any excess funds raised by the tax increase will support the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
Proposition MM expands on Proposition FF, passed by Colorado voters in 2022, which “limited income tax deductions for people earning more than $300,000” to fund free school meals through the Healthy School Meals for All program. Colorado voters also passed Proposition LL, which will allow the state to keep additional tax revenue that was raised by Proposition FF and spend it on the Healthy School Meals for All Program.
Maine voters reject voter ID ballot initiative [this totally did make the news as even I heard about it]
In Maine, voters overwhelmingly rejected a ballot initiative that would have created new voter ID requirements and made absentee voting less accessible, with over 60% of voters opposing the initiative, according to the AP.
If passed, voters would have been required to present photo identification in future elections. The initiative would have also banned “prepaid postage on absentee ballot return envelopes,” prohibited “requests for absentee ballots by phone or family members,” and ended “ongoing absentee voter status for seniors and people with disabilities.” Additionally, the initiative would have limited the number of ballot drop boxes to only one per town.
Opponents called the initiative a “voter suppression bill.” In 2024, about 45% of Maine voters cast ballots by mail, used drop boxes, or voted early, Maine Public reported.
Now that the shutdown has crossed the threshold of being the longest ever, I am guessing Congress will finally genuinely try to make a deal to end it. There was no hope of that before it got beyond the “longest ever” length.Trump Marks Full Month Of Government Shutdown With $3.4 Million Golf Trip To Florida
The Air Force One trip is his 13th visit to his Palm Beach country club since he returned to office and brings his taxpayer funded golf total to $60.7 million.
https://www.huffpost.com/author/sv-date
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump marked the first full month of the ongoing government shutdown Friday by blaming it all on Democrats and taking a $3.4 million golf trip to Florida, bringing the total that taxpayers have spent on his hobby to $60.7 million since he retook the presidency in January. This is his 13th trip to Mar-a-Lago, his Palm Beach country club, which is across the Intracoastal Waterway from his golf course in West Palm Beach, adjacent to the county jail. Asked about the shutdown, which has furloughed nearly 700,000 federal workers and is forcing another 700,000 to continue working without pay, Trump blamed Democrats. He told reporters after arriving on Air Force One: “It’s their fault. Everything is their fault.”
During the flight south, he spent time posting photos of his latest renovation project at the White House, redoing the Lincoln bathroom in ornate marble and gold. “The Refurbished Lincoln Bathroom in the White House — Highly polished, Statuary marble!” he wrote.
Trump has already paved over the Rose Garden and turned it into a budget-hotel style patio and more recently tore down the entire 123-year-old East Wing to make room for a massive ballroom.
In his first nine months in office, Trump has played golf at his own resorts in Florida, New Jersey and Scotland 76 times. If he plays golf Saturday, it will be his 77th day on one of his courses on his 286th day in office, meaning he will have played golf on 27 percent of his second-term days. This includes a golf vacation in Scotland that cost taxpayers some $10 million during which he had the White House promote his opening of a new course at his resort in Aberdeen.
During his first term, from 2017 to 2021, Trump played a total of 293 days of golf on courses he owns and cost taxpayers $151.5 million to do so.
I’m expecting that the “deal” will mostly just consist of Democrats caving and getting nearly nothing in return.
Every single past shutdown has ended with a continuing resolution.
The best prize is a promise to vote on an issue I think?
That requires trust though.