Meanwhile, ducks are dying in the green Reflecting Pool and the mad king has the National Guard standing there to "protect" it from "vandals." We're about 2 minutes away from a Captain Queeg-style rant about someone stealing the strawberries.
I called Congressman Raskin and Senators Alsobrooks and Van Hollen to say that Trump has lost touch with basic reality and must be removed from office. I'm working on postcards to Ohio voters today.
My son and I live and vote in NY 17 (Village of Ossining). We are both lifelong Democrats of the liberal variety, as was my late wife, Charlie's mom. I'm a writer (longtime investigative journalist, books about MOVE, DeLay and Abramoff, Barnes art) and had been wondering about these vicious anti-Cait ads--fortunately I suspected all along--and, as it happens, I went so far as to ring-up my old friend and fellow writer Craig Unger, who did an "Ask Claude" for me. It didn't reveal the black hole sources of the money, but it showed Cait ahead by 10 or so points in tomorrow's primary. So, of course, the 0.01% want to alienate liberals/progressives from voting for Cait. She's got the best chance of ridding us of the evil Mike Lawler! Let's go, Cait! And thank you, Simon!
It's not exactly reassuring to see the heads of the Department of Real Estate there in Switzerland to negotiate a "deal". Secretary of Real Estate Kushner and Under Secretary of Non Proliferation and Beachfront Condos Witkoff do not inspire confidence. Where's little Marco? Keeping his fucking ambitious nose clean.
Kushner has all the presence of a department store mannequin.
Shitshow barely describes this.
I got 25 postcards in the mailbox yesterday. Started on 25 more last night. These again to Toledo.
I have lost track. Is the deal to end the war which is not really a deal but an understanding of something like a memo of understanding or something still on or is it off again?
The Lake Lucerne Summit is even more abominable, clownish and farcical than presented. It also has echoes of Munich in 1938 from the perspective of the then Czechoslovakia, with the Lebanese and Palestinians being in the position of the Czechs whose fate was decided without their having any say. It is perhaps however unique in that Israel is not represented in these negotiations, although it was and still is a key player in the conflict this Summit is supposed to end. I suppose that everyone assumes either that Netanyahu will do whatever the US Government wants him to do, or that the US Government does whatever he wants them to do, one of the stories about how this conflict started in the first place. Either way no need for Israel to be there too. To partially quote Churchill it is also unclear whether this event is or will turn out to be the beginning of the end, or even the end of the beginning.
I prefer the Keystone Cops as an analogy, although like clowns and the 3 Stooges they also make you laugh, whereas there is nothing amusing or humorous about the trio of US negotiators and the situation they are purportedly trying to resolve The analogy lies in their almost unbelievable but nevertheless demonstrable incompetence, since the Keystone Cops were constantly causing area-wide disasters, making foolish mistakes, and often arresting the wrong people.
To be optimistic, perhaps the Terrific Trio will be guided by the wisdom, experiences, insights, and moral values of leaders in Washington DC, including the President, Secretary of State (unless he is too busy planning what to do with and in Cuba), and the scholarly theologian in charge of the Pentagon among others. I cannot believe that some AI agent has not prevented me from writing this last sentence.
Here is a great summary on the status of the Colorado River, and the effects of climate change on the downstream States of Arizona, Nevada, and California:
Lots of good stuff in here, thanks! Here are some action links and reading you may have missed:
Per The Contrarian, "The next mass protest of the Trump regime is coming on June 27. The demonstration is organized by the All of Us 250, a coalition made up of “civic, cultural, labor, immigrant rights, racial justice, youth, faith, and democracy organizations." More info here: http://allofus250.org/
The Reflecting Pool has me irate, as a DC native who literally grew up walking the Mall and visiting the monuments, and as an animal lover. It's too upsetting to me to read about this crap except in small increments, so thanks to y'all for covering this awful story.
The DNC project still going on, and working on AK postcards. Keep going!
States at the Core offers exceptional training on how to engage your local communities. This one is on election and democracy defense. Please read their Substack article, and all their articles, and consider attending this and other trainings.
Rather than Laurel and Hardy, how about the 3 Stooges😎
Who is the head clown?
Thanks, Simon!
Meanwhile, ducks are dying in the green Reflecting Pool and the mad king has the National Guard standing there to "protect" it from "vandals." We're about 2 minutes away from a Captain Queeg-style rant about someone stealing the strawberries.
I called Congressman Raskin and Senators Alsobrooks and Van Hollen to say that Trump has lost touch with basic reality and must be removed from office. I'm working on postcards to Ohio voters today.
Those National Guardsmen need to understand how close they are to putting on hip waders... Be all you can be...
thrilled we have 151 new hopium members. welcome aboard!! we need all hands on deck for the midterms and beyond!!
My son and I live and vote in NY 17 (Village of Ossining). We are both lifelong Democrats of the liberal variety, as was my late wife, Charlie's mom. I'm a writer (longtime investigative journalist, books about MOVE, DeLay and Abramoff, Barnes art) and had been wondering about these vicious anti-Cait ads--fortunately I suspected all along--and, as it happens, I went so far as to ring-up my old friend and fellow writer Craig Unger, who did an "Ask Claude" for me. It didn't reveal the black hole sources of the money, but it showed Cait ahead by 10 or so points in tomorrow's primary. So, of course, the 0.01% want to alienate liberals/progressives from voting for Cait. She's got the best chance of ridding us of the evil Mike Lawler! Let's go, Cait! And thank you, Simon!
Could you support Dr. Chris Jones in Arkansas for French Hill’s seat. He has a chance and is well qualified!
Just donated $50 to Cait Conley's campaign - hope it helps.
It's not exactly reassuring to see the heads of the Department of Real Estate there in Switzerland to negotiate a "deal". Secretary of Real Estate Kushner and Under Secretary of Non Proliferation and Beachfront Condos Witkoff do not inspire confidence. Where's little Marco? Keeping his fucking ambitious nose clean.
Kushner has all the presence of a department store mannequin.
Shitshow barely describes this.
I got 25 postcards in the mailbox yesterday. Started on 25 more last night. These again to Toledo.
I have lost track. Is the deal to end the war which is not really a deal but an understanding of something like a memo of understanding or something still on or is it off again?
I don't know. Not knowable. We should've been alerted when we moved from "plans" to "concepts of a plan", which never existed either.
Yes!! to electing Cait Conley tomorrow!!! maga pacs be damned!!!!
Here's a recent NYT article about the NJ race.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/15/nyregion/democratic-primary-ny17-hudson-valley.html?unlocked_article_code=1.sFA.Pu8D.UHSVcyuExyMm&smid=url-share
I know I'm a novice at politics... but she's going to beat the living shit out of Lawler.
Just dropped some more $ in there.
Me, too!
I just typed into Google Chrome browser: "Does Hydro-"
And before I could complete my question, it automatically filled in: "Does hydrogen peroxide peel paint?"
So, a LOT of people are querying about this mess, likely in the face of all these "vandals" who will be prosecuted for causing the paint to peel.
The Lake Lucerne Summit is even more abominable, clownish and farcical than presented. It also has echoes of Munich in 1938 from the perspective of the then Czechoslovakia, with the Lebanese and Palestinians being in the position of the Czechs whose fate was decided without their having any say. It is perhaps however unique in that Israel is not represented in these negotiations, although it was and still is a key player in the conflict this Summit is supposed to end. I suppose that everyone assumes either that Netanyahu will do whatever the US Government wants him to do, or that the US Government does whatever he wants them to do, one of the stories about how this conflict started in the first place. Either way no need for Israel to be there too. To partially quote Churchill it is also unclear whether this event is or will turn out to be the beginning of the end, or even the end of the beginning.
I prefer the Keystone Cops as an analogy, although like clowns and the 3 Stooges they also make you laugh, whereas there is nothing amusing or humorous about the trio of US negotiators and the situation they are purportedly trying to resolve The analogy lies in their almost unbelievable but nevertheless demonstrable incompetence, since the Keystone Cops were constantly causing area-wide disasters, making foolish mistakes, and often arresting the wrong people.
To be optimistic, perhaps the Terrific Trio will be guided by the wisdom, experiences, insights, and moral values of leaders in Washington DC, including the President, Secretary of State (unless he is too busy planning what to do with and in Cuba), and the scholarly theologian in charge of the Pentagon among others. I cannot believe that some AI agent has not prevented me from writing this last sentence.
Here is a great summary on the status of the Colorado River, and the effects of climate change on the downstream States of Arizona, Nevada, and California:
https://www.denverpost.com/2026/06/21/colorado-river-system-crash-drought-lake-powell/?share
Science matters!
Lots of good stuff in here, thanks! Here are some action links and reading you may have missed:
Per The Contrarian, "The next mass protest of the Trump regime is coming on June 27. The demonstration is organized by the All of Us 250, a coalition made up of “civic, cultural, labor, immigrant rights, racial justice, youth, faith, and democracy organizations." More info here: http://allofus250.org/
An update from Delaney Hall, where women have joined the labor/hunger strike: https://www.lahuelga.com/delaneystrikedemands
A different take on our chances in the House & Senate: https://www.contrariannews.org/p/zachary-donnini-votehub-interview-election-data
Horrifying story from a couple weeks back by former Labor Sec. Robert Reich on the "rolling coup", with details on what's already in progress: https://robertreich.substack.com/p/warning-trumps-rolling-coup-is-underway
The Reflecting Pool has me irate, as a DC native who literally grew up walking the Mall and visiting the monuments, and as an animal lover. It's too upsetting to me to read about this crap except in small increments, so thanks to y'all for covering this awful story.
The DNC project still going on, and working on AK postcards. Keep going!
Thanks for the updates Lisa. Much appreciated.
Also Lake Lucerne is not even geographically a summit.
States at the Core offers exceptional training on how to engage your local communities. This one is on election and democracy defense. Please read their Substack article, and all their articles, and consider attending this and other trainings.
This is one of the core things we need to do.
https://statesatthecore.substack.com/p/the-authoritarian-movement-expands?r=ggg7a&utm_medium=ios