Sep 07, 2025
NATIONAL NUTCASERY
oh say, can you CDC
RFK Jr. and the Senate Finance Committee met last week, and boy, was it a disaster. Technically, he was there to defend his department’s 2026 budget, but the main event quickly became last week’s firing of the CDC’s pro-vax head, Susan Monarez. Also, remember how during Kennedy’s confirmation hearings, he said he wasn’t anti-vax and wouldn’t make it harder for anyone to get vaccines, but since then, he’s cut funding for vaccine research, replaced pro-vax advisors (commonly known as “scientists”) with anti-vax quacks, limited access to the Covid vaccine, and continued to spread anti-vax misinfo. The Senators were pissy about that, too. Some highlights from his testimony:
Bill Cassidy (R-LA) – aforementioned doctor who famously agonized over Kennedy’s nomination, but then ultimately gave in to Trump’s pressure and voted in favor – pressed him on booting the CDC’s vaccine advisory panel and cancelling Covid-19 vax contracts. Cassidy got RFK Jr. to agree that Trump deserved the Nobel Peace Prize for Operation Warp Speed (the Covid vax roll-out), and then questioned RFK Jr’s position that “the Covid vaccine killed more people than Covid.” Was it worth it, Bill?
John Barrasso (R-WY), who I just learned is also a doctor, said this of the HHS: “Americans don’t know who to rely on. There are real concerns that safe, proven vaccines like measles and Hepatitis B could be in jeopardy. That could put Americans at risk and reverse decades of progress.”
Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN) accused RFK Jr. of “blaming school shootings on antidepressants,” to which he replied: “You’re just making stuff up,” despite the health secretary appearing on Fox News after the recent Minnesota shooting, saying that antidepressants could potentially contribute to violence, and said his agency was investigating it.
Maria Cantwell (D-WA) called RFK Jr. a “charlatan.” Get him!
Mark Warner (D-VA) asked Kennedy if he accepted that one million Americans died during COVID-19. Kennedy claimed no one knows how many people died, so Warner responded, “How can you be that ignorant?” A QUESTION WE ARE ALL ASKING, MARK. Both the CDC and the World Health Organization have concluded that approximately 1.2 million Americans have died from the virus.
war hawk-tuah
Trump campaigned on ‘no new wars’, claimed to have ended ‘6 or 7 wars so far’, and is angling hard for a Nobel Peace Prize. So why does he want to rename the DoD to the WWII-era moniker Department of War? Like a tiny man with a loud muscle car, Trump, of course, is compensating. For the POTUS, caution and deterrence are for sissies. Real men fight wars. And Trump seems to be doing everything he can to provoke one.
The president said defense officials had carried out a strike against 11 “terrorists” from the Venezuelan gang, Tren de Aragua, on Tuesday morning as part of the administration’s escalating war against drug cartels. Unfortunately, “There is zero evidence of self-defense here. Looks like a massacre of civilians at sea,” according to Adam Isacson, director for defense oversight at Washington Office on Latin America, a research and advocacy group. Lethal force against civilians in international waters “is a war crime if not in self-defense,” according to Isacson. Even if one were to accept the administration’s framing of the attack, “this action is legally questionable under both U.S. and international law,” according to Juan S. Gonzalez, a former National Security Council official under Joe Biden.
Asked for a response to concerns about the legality of the attack, a White House spokesperson told The Independent that the “presidentially-directed strike” was performed in defense of “vital U.S. national interests and in the collective self-defense of other nations who have long suffered due to the narcotics trafficking and violent cartel activities of such organizations.” The White House claims that Maduro directed an “invasion” of gang members into the U.S., which directly contradicts reports from Trump’s own intelligence agencies.
In more Western-hemisphere war-mongering, the U.S. reportedly ordered the deployment of 10 fighter jets to Puerto Rico for future operations against drug cartels, beefing up the military presence in Latin America to levels not seen in decades. The State Department also designated two Ecuadorian gangs as terrorist organizations, in a sign that Trump seeks to combine the War on Drugs with the War on Terror. Because both of them have been so successful separately.
Now, storytime: Imagine a deadly team of foreign supersoldiers secretly emerging from the waves onto a Florida beach in the dead of night, on a clandestine mission to plant a listening device to monitor President Trump. Suddenly, the operation goes totally wrong - the team believes it has been spotted by a nearby fishing boat and opens fire, killing everyone on board. The militants flee.… leaving American authorities wondering how to react. Well, that’s the kind of botched, risky mission U.S. forces actually pulled in North Korea in late 2019 — in a plot personally approved by President Trump himself! The top secret operation was carried out by the same team of Navy SEALs tasked with killing Osama bin Laden, as revealed in a bombshell story by The New York Times. Trump gave the go-ahead despite the massive risk of enraging Kim Jong Un, the infamously short-tempered, nuclear-armed, unpredictable North Korean dictator. Very awesome, very cool! grimace
Let’s wrap up with something completely unhinged. "'I love the smell of deportations in the morning...'" Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social, alongside an AI-generated photo of himself depicted as Lt. Col. Bill Kilgore from the Vietnam War film Apocalypse Now. "Chicago [is] about to find out why it's called the Department of WAR," the post continued. Just a note that Trump lacks legal authority to change the department's official name without congressional action, and the name change could cost taxpayers over $1 billion. Also, that’s the US President threatening to use the American military against American citizens in an American city. Where are the ‘Don’t Tread on Me’ flags now?
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checking in on the sagandal…
Survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual abuse made their voices heard Wednesday on Capitol Hill, pressuring lawmakers to force the release of the sex trafficking investigation into the late financier and pushing back on Trump’s effort to dismiss the issue as a “hoax.” The survivors, some of whom had not spoken publicly before, say it’s time to reveal a full accounting of everyone involved or complicit in Epstein’s behavior. Several of them are compiling a list of people who may have been involved, but are still deliberating whether to release that publicly, fearing potential repercussions. Trump allegedly didn’t schedule a simultaneous military flyover to disrupt the press conference, but to honor visiting President Karol Nawrocki. This kind of flyover is not part of routine diplomatic protocol, and its use in this context was described by attendees and commentators as disrespectful, politically charged, and highly unusual.
According to Speaker Johnson, Trump was ACTUALLY a super-helpful FBI informant spilling the tea to the government about his bestie Jeff, and y’know, I’m sure it’s just that he’s just too humble for you to see what an American Hero he is, so the files will remain unreleased.
"We have the votes," Reps. Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Thomas Massie (R-KY) said Sept. 7 on ABC News' “This Week with George Stephanopoulos.” The Republican and Democratic organizers behind a petition that would force a House vote on the Epstein files' release said they were undeterred by concerns that Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), might seek to block the legislation in the Senate, or that the Justice Department might scrub information on Republicans and other allies before releasing documents.
Speaking of scrubbing information, Joseph Schnitt, acting deputy chief of the DOJ’s Office of Enforcement Operations, said in a secretly recorded video that the department would redact any Republican names from its investigative files on the late sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein. “If they’re released in any way, it’s going to be very redacted. They’ll redact every Republican or conservative person in those files, leave all the liberal Democratic people in those files.” Schnitt apparently thought he was speaking to someone he’d met through a dating app, but he was actually talking to an undercover operative for right-wing entrepreneur James O’Keefe. The Justice Department essentially confirmed the video is authentic, posting a statement from Schnitt saying he was speaking only based on what he’d read in the media.
STATEWIDE SHENANIGANS
The Braun administration is cutting child care voucher reimbursement rates by 10-35%, depending on the child's age, in response to a $225 million budget gap. It’s too bad there is nowhere else in the budget to cut instead. The cuts are the latest challenge for the program, which added a waiting list for applicants seeking services last December. Families who rely on CCDF vouchers to afford child care are now facing fewer options, as providers may stop accepting vouchers altogether, and providers serving low-income communities will see major revenue drops, especially those with multiple voucher-enrolled children. Some providers may be forced to lay off staff, reduce hours, or close entirely. More at Indiana Capitol Chronicle.
LOCAL FOCUS
Public meetings have been scheduled to discuss a proposed street name change that would transform portions of First Street and a section of Prairieton Road into Riverside Road. The change comes at the request of the city of Terre Haute and RiverScape, and would take effect Jan. 1st if approved. The proposed Riverside Road designation would stretch from the intersection of North First Street and Maple Avenue, south to Prairieton Road and Margaret Avenue. Read more at TribStar on Yahoo.
Public information meeting: Sept. 25 from 4–6 p.m. at the Girl Scouts Building, 1100 Girl Scout Lane
Area Plan Commission hearing: Oct. 1 at 6 p.m. at the Council Room in the Vigo County Annex, 127 Oak St.
City Council vote: Oct. 2 at 6 p.m. at City Hall Chambers, 17 Harding Ave.
GOOD TROUBLE
Indiana state senators will reportedly convene on Wednesday, September 10 to discuss early redistricting. We need to contact Senator Goode before this meeting (this webpage will call your phone to connect you & provide a script) and urge him to oppose this costly & corrupt political power grab to rig our elections in MAGA’s favor. I want him to be so exasperated about all the calls that he can’t agree to the plan.
Also, you can sign this petition from Common Cause Indiana in opposition to the mid-cycle gerrymander
Extra Credit for virgos and Those With Opinions:
The West Central Indiana Regional Pact will be a commitment among leaders from Clay, Parke, Sullivan, Vermillion, and Vigo counties to work together toward shared prosperity. Before the pact is finalized, they are requesting citizen input. You can complete a short 5-minute survey to share your perspective on the guiding principles that will shape this commitment. Feedback will ensure the pact reflects the values and priorities of the people and organizations who make up West Central Indiana. Survey Deadline: September 8 at 5 pm
RESOURCE CENTER
Which Side Are You On? is a concert and discussion series celebrating and exploring protest music. Inspired by James Sullivan’s 2019 book of a similar name, it is an educational happening and a performance, but mostly, it’s a communal experience that uses music to bring together people who are concerned about the state of our democracy, and who understand that it may very well be culture that saves us.
Looking for more righteous tunes? Check out this probably AI-generated playlist of the 100 best protest songs. It’s an inconsistent list, and some of my faves aren’t included, so you should also check out Nana Was a Suffragette (this versions is by the Lovenotes), Vote ‘Em Out by Willie Nelson , FDT by YG, and the protest-folk stylings of Jesse Welles.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Monday, September 8th at 6pm: Vigo County School Board meeting at 501 W. Olive Street - Boardroom
Tuesday, September 9th at 3pm: Mingle with the Mayor at Grand Traverse Pie Co. At this informal and relaxed gathering, various topics will be covered each month with opportunities to ask questions and voice concerns. Free pie and coffee will be served courtesy of Clinton Gardens.
Tuesday, September 9th at 5pm: Vigo County Council meeting in Annex building Council Room.
Thursday, September 11th at 6pm: Terre Haute City Council meeting at City Hall
Saturday, September 13th at 3pm: Terre Haute Pride Fest at Fairbanks Park. 3-8pm. More info here
Tuesday, September 16th at 6pm: Indiana Nasty Women-Vigo County Meeting at Vigo County Public Library - meeting room A.
SAVE THE DATE: 9/20: Indivisible RALLY AT COURTHOUSE
SAVE THE DATE: 9/25: Rally with Indivisible outside the Ronald Reagan Dinner. The Red Barn at Sycamore Farm at 5:30 PM 5001 Poplar St., Terre Haute, IN. No gerrymandering. No rigged recipes. Just fair maps. Register here.
END ON A HIGH NOTE
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the defunded parent company that supported PBS and NPR, will receive the Television Academy’s Governors Award. It’s one of TV’s top honors, for those who have “made a profound, transformational and long-lasting contribution to the arts and/or science of television.”
Jimmy Carter will be honored with a commemorative Forever stamp on what would have been his 101st birthday. USPS will release it on Oct. 1 in Atlanta.
Less than one-third of Americans now view tariffs favorably, and a majority believe they are increasing costs and causing chaos.
A new CBS News poll finds 58% of Americans are opposed to President Trump deploying the National Guard to major cities to fight crime. This is especially disappointing then… Back to the good news!
Chicago’s mayor ordered city salt trucks, driven by Teamsters, to create mobile roadblocks to obstruct ICE operations. Salt vs ICE? Come on.
Five Republicans joined House Democrats to table Rep. Clay Higgins’ (R-La.) motion to censure Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.) and remove her from the Homeland Security Committee.
A conservative justice on the Wisconsin Supreme Court announced she will not seek reelection, creating an open race for a seat on the court controlled 4-3 by liberals.
Trump's time in the White House runs out in:
Giraffes are about 30 times more likely to be struck by lightning than humans. Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.