Day: June 3, 2026

Once Upon a Time In The South

SCOTUS has made it official that the hard fought right of voting is dead….but what can those alienated from voting do to make up for this loss?

 

https://newrepublic.com/article/210669/voting-rights-act-dead-new-model-black-politics

 

The marginalization of voters must come to a halt….we must make damn sure that every qualified voter has the right to do so and without interference.

That means….time to step up and fight!

And now the South should lead the way once again….the voting rights movement started in the South and now it is time for the South to rise again and take the lead.

Time to Cause Some Good Trouble Again in the South

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Can We Be Hopeful?

These are days that try men’s souls….our nation seems to be dissolving in front of our eyes.

Many of us are worried the nation will destroy itself and others are just as certain that all will be okay if we just give it time to straighten itself out.

This is an opinion piece along these lines…..

I grew up in a place called Freedom.

Freedom, Pennsylvania, to be exact. In the borough of Economy. My high school is in a town named after the American Bridge Company. The son of an Army veteran and a nurse. A literal white picket fence. Family of five. A dog. The American Dream by many measures.

Nearly 40 years later, I’m not sure I believe in that American Dream. And I’m not alone in that doubt. This year, the United States will celebrate 250 years of independence — with fireworks, reenactments, and the familiar stories of founders and freedom. But for a lot of us, the milestone lands differently. Not as a celebration, exactly. More like a question we can’t stop asking.

Independence from what? And for whom?

I’ve watched the definition of freedom narrow in my lifetime. I’ve felt the quiet suggestion — sometimes subtle, sometimes loud — that people like me are outside the frame of what this country was meant to be. And yet, queer people have always been here. In towns like mine. In families like mine. Serving, building, showing up. We were never separate from the American story; we were just edited out.

When I say I’m not sure I believe in the American Dream, I mean: I’m not sure the version I was handed was ever the whole truth. What I’m still reaching for is something underneath it — a possibility that requires participation, friction, and revision. Something that asks more from us than nostalgia.

Which brings me to hope. And how hard it is to hold onto right now. Author and civil rights activist James Baldwin once wrote, Hope — the hope that we, human beings, can be better than we are — dies hard; perhaps one can no longer live if one allows that hope to die. But it is also hard to see what one sees. Published in 1972. It could have been written this morning.

https://thefulcrum.us/democracy/i-m-not-optimistic-about-america-at-250-im-still-hopeful

What do you think?

I think we can survive….but not from the sidelines as a by-stander….I think we need to go out and make our positions known and demand our rights and the survival of our country.

But that is just me.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

As Usual An Unqualified Hire

Gabbard is out as DNI and now Donny must find another unqualified person to run one of the moist important offices in the government.

Right on key another amateur, another unqualified person has taken the reins of DNI duties….

President Trump has tapped federal housing finance director Bill Pulte to be acting director of national intelligence to replace Tulsi Gabbard. As the AP reports, Trump made the surprise announcement Tuesday on Truth Social regarding Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency and chair of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Trump says Pulte “has deep experience managing the most sensitive matters in America, the safety and soundness of the Markets, and over 10 Trillion Dollars at Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac, a substantial increase from where it was just 12 months ago.”

Trump says Pulte will keep his other positions even as he fills in for Gabbard, who resigned last month after revealing her husband’s cancer diagnosis. If formally nominated, Pulte would need to be confirmed by the Senate to hold the position full time. Pulte’s current role involves ensuring the soundness of the mortgage market, but he morphed into a megaphone who has gone after the Republican president’s perceived political foes. Pulte has mainly trained his sights on Trump’s domestic rivals, going after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell for not cutting the central bank’s benchmark interest rates as aggressively as the president wanted. It’s unclear what national security expertise Pulte has, but he has been a frequent guest on Air Force One as Trump has traveled to Mar-a-Lago. He has no experience in intelligence, notes CNBC.

Pulte does not sound like someone that should be in charge of the DNI…..why?

The Director of National Intelligence serves as the head of the Intelligence Community, overseeing and directing the implementation of the National Intelligence Program budget and serving as the principal advisor to the President, the National Security Council, and the Homeland Security Council for intelligence matters related to national security.

Working together with the Principal Deputy DNI and with the assistance of Mission Managers and Deputy Directors, the Office of the DNI’s goal is to effectively integrate foreign, military and domestic intelligence in defense of the homeland and of United States interests abroad.

Pulte sounds more like an attack dog for Donny’s many opponents….and national security, real national security, will take a backseat to revenge.

I am not alone in questioning the new ‘hire’…..

Republican senators spent Tuesday puzzling over President Trump’s surprise move to tap Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence—and few were rushing to his defense. Pulte, who currently runs the Federal Housing Finance Agency and is heir to the Pulte Homes fortune, has no evident background in intelligence or national security, several GOP senators said, even as he’s poised to oversee agencies including the CIA and NSA during heightened tensions with Iran. “I see no evidence of any qualifications for that job,” said Sen. John Cornyn, a senior member of the Intelligence Committee. “The best I can tell you is he’s not qualified, but I don’t know anything about him other than that,” said Sen. Bill Cassidy.

Republicans stressed they can’t block an acting appointment but suggested Pulte would face a steep climb if Trump seeks to install him permanently, the Hill reports. Senate Majority Leader. John Thune warned that the director’s post must not be “weaponized,” a concern stemming from Pulte’s recent efforts combing mortgage records for possible fraud by Trump critics such as New York Attorney General Letitia James, Sen. Adam Schiff, and Fed governor Lisa Cook. Sen. Thom Tillis said he had “a real issue” with that work. Tillis also questioned Pulte’s experience. “When we looked at his background for the current confirmation, I thought most of his experience was in the building industry,” Tillis said. “I didn’t know he had any national security experience.”

Donny never fails when hiring idiots.

Everyone hates this slug.

https://newrepublic.com/article/211289/trump-bill-pulte-director-national-intelligence

Where was this concern for experience when they were confirming the rest of his cabinet?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”