Mastodawn

Pentagon Seeks $200 Billion to Fund Iran War
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/19/world/middleeast/pentagon-200-billion-iran-war-funding-hegseth.html?utm_source=flipboard&utm_medium=activitypub

Posted into Politics @politics-newyorktimes

Pentagon Seeks Additional $200 Billion to Fund Iran War

The request, which the White House has not yet submitted to Congress, is already encountering some resistance.

The New York Times

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msmmwelch Mar 19

@markhburton I'm in the US and the transfer of $ from people to weapons has been staggering. We need a good graphic.

msmmwelch Mar 7

Zeb Larson Mar 3

In case you’re unfamiliar with our decades of interference in #Iran, I wrote up a primer on it and the #history for Dame Magazine. When Hegseth says that Iran’s been at war with us for decades, he’s got it totally backwards. At the end of the day, that’s us.

https://www.damemagazine.com/2026/03/02/americas-long-war-on-iran-history/

America’s Long War on Iran Didn’t Start This Weekend - Dame Magazine

From the 1953 CIA-backed coup to Trump’s latest strikes, America’s attempts to reshape Iran have fueled instability, sanctions, and endless escalation.

Dame Magazine -

msmmwelch Feb 26

Zeb Larson Feb 17

I had a lot of fun writing this. MAGA’s economic incompetence isn’t just incompetence; there’s active malice in it because immiseration is the point, not the side effect. They want to reinforce class and hierarchy; they want to be rich people in a poor country because that will make them feel more powerful. We don’t have to treat their arguments in good faith or meet them in the middle.

https://www.liberalcurrents.com/the-pain-is-the-plan/

The Pain Is the Plan

MAGA is actively seeking to immiserate the country in order to cement their power over the rest of us.

Liberal Currents

msmmwelch Feb 26

Zeb Larson Feb 11

My latest for Dame on the way that the Trump Administration uses crises (including deliberately inflicted crises) as a way to govern. It greases the wheels of authoritarianism, corruption, and the breakdown of the state all at once.

https://www.damemagazine.com/2026/02/11/trump-permanent-crisis-permanent-power/

The Politics of Permanent Disaster - Dame Magazine

By flooding the system with constant crisis, the Trump administration sidelines Congress, exhausts the public, and concentrates executive power.

Dame Magazine -

msmmwelch Feb 12

The New York Times Feb 12

Americans Are Paying the Bill for Tariffs, Despite Trump’s Claims
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/12/business/economy/americans-pay-tariffs-trump-fed.html?utm_source=flipboard&utm_medium=activitypub

Posted into Politics @politics-newyorktimes

Americans Are Paying the Bill for Tariffs, Despite Trump’s Claims

Research from the New York Fed confirms that U.S. companies and consumers are bearing tariff costs, despite the president’s assertions otherwise.

The New York Times

msmmwelch Feb 12

The Conversation U.S.Feb 12

History to know this #PresidentsDay weekend:

Ona Judge escaped enslavement from George and Martha Washington in 1796, fleeing the President’s House in Philadelphia for freedom.

Now the National Park Service has removed an exhibit telling her story.

https://theconversation.com/martha-washingtons-enslaved-maid-ona-judge-made-a-daring-escape-to-freedom-but-the-national-park-service-has-erased-her-story-from-philadelphia-exhibit-274394

Martha Washington’s enslaved maid Ona Judge made a daring escape to freedom – but the National Park Service has erased her story from Philadelphia exhibit

Ona Judge was one of 9 people George Washington owned when he lived in the President’s House in Philadelphia.

The Conversation

msmmwelch Feb 12

The New York Times Feb 12

Elected Officials Condemn Stonewall Pride Flag Removal Ahead of Rally
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/12/nyregion/stonewall-flag-protest-nyc.html?utm_source=flipboard&utm_medium=activitypub

Posted into New York @new-york-newyorktimes

N.Y.C. Officials Reinstate Pride Flag at Stonewall After Federal Removal

Hundreds of people attended a rally on Thursday to re-raise the flag, setting up a defiant response to the Trump administration’s assault on diversity initiatives.

The New York Times

msmmwelch Feb 12

The New York Times Feb 12

To Stay in Her Home, She Let In an A.I. Robot
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/12/us/elliq-ai-robot-senior-companion.html?utm_source=flipboard&utm_medium=activitypub

Posted into Home Page @home-page-newyorktimes

To Stay in Her Home, She Let In an A.I. Robot

At 85, Jan Worrell lived alone on a remote corner of the Washington coast. Could ElliQ become her companion?

The New York Times

msmmwelch Feb 12

The Tennessee Holler Feb 12

Just like with Brazil arresting their insurrectionists rather than re-electing them, other countries are holding their Epstein-tied politicians accountable far better than we do. www.bbc.com/news/article...