A Black police officer in Georgia opened up about his experience at a local Chick-fil-A location and said that he was racially discriminated against by the restaurant’s workers during a work trip with other officers.
“I was kind of humiliated and embarrassed, you know, at the whole situation. It seemed like it was a racial issue to me,” Clover Police Sgt. Tracey Reid told WSOC-TV 9.
Reid said the incident happened when he visited a Chick-fil-A location in Augusta a few weeks ago. He and three other CPD officers, who are white, had gone to the popular fast-food chain for breakfast.
“I was kind of humiliated and embarrassed, you know, at the whole situation. It seemed like it was a racial issue to me,” Clover Police Sgt. Tracey Reid told WSOC-TV 9.
What was Chick-A-Fil response?
Reid and the other officers weren’t pleased with the response from the Augusta location’s store manager, which included two cards for free meals.
“It said it was perceived that it was a racial incident, which I didn’t like, because it wasn’t perceived, it actually happened,” Reid said.
[...]
“He’s not the only one that perceived it. We all did, and it’s not perception, it’s what happened. It was a racial issue,” Barnette said.
I have another issue with the free meals to police officers... that can be construed as bribery for special treatment by the police?
Those of you who have followed my blog know that I am against red light cameras and speed cameras. Mainly I am against who can see the data and how long the data is kept. The company behind those cameras says... screw the law that limits how long and who can see it! It is our data and we will do with it what we like!
The company’s default agreement with police departments grants the company license to share people’s license plate data
There’s been more news recently about the driver-surveillance company Flock. The company has recently been feeling the heat after the revelation that data from its national license plate scanner network was (and likely still is being) shared with Trump Administration agencies including ICE. Recently my colleagues at the ACLU of Massachusetts carried out a broad statewide open-records project, and among their findings is that Flock’s default agreement with police departments gives the company the right to share data with federal and local agencies for “investigative purposes” even if a local department chooses to restrict data to its own officers.
Every community in the nation that is home to Flock cameras should look at the user agreement between their police department (or other Flock customers) and the company, to see whether it contains a clause stating that the customer “hereby grants Flock” a “worldwide, perpetual, royalty-free free right and license” to “disclose the Agency Data… for investigative purposes.” This is the language that will govern in a community unless a department demands changes to the standard user agreement that Flock offers. That is something we absolutely urge any agencies doing business with Flock to do — and, the ACLU of Massachusetts found, is exactly what the Boston police department did.
[...]
Texas police lied through their teeth on abortion search
In May, 404Media reported that a police department in Texas (where abortion is banned in most circumstances) did a warrantless nationwide Flock search through data on millions of people, logging as the reason “had an abortion, search for female.” Alongside reporting about the sharing of driver-surveillance data with ICE, this story generated enormous concern and contributed to skepticism about Flock in many communities. The sheriff of the agency that performed the search told 404Media that the woman’s family “was worried that she was going to bleed to death, and we were trying to find her to get her to a hospital,” and that “it was about her safety.”
Now just suppose... that they asked for a list of all the data of cars pulling into a trans healthcare clinic?
Oh, and guess what? All you ring cameras owners out there are also tied into the Flock network!
Flock teams with Amazon’s Ring Cameras in sharing of home video with police
Flock and Ring Cameras (owned by Amazon) announced a partnership to facilitate the sharing of Ring customers’ video with law enforcement. It’s not great to see one of America’s biggest companies teaming up with a mass-surveillance company at this authoritarian moment in our history. As Ars Technica aptly summarized it, the announcement shows Amazon “increasingly positioning its consumer cameras as a law enforcement tool” after previously moving away from that. In addition to reflecting the times, Amazon’s deal also highlights the efforts of Flock and its competitor Axon (which already had a deal with Ring) to become police departments’ centralized “operating system.” Note also that Ring cameras have face recognition enabled.
We recommend that anyone who feels they really want to install a doorbell camera protect their privacy by storing their video locally or using end-to-end encryption (both offered by Ring, though inexplicably Ring forces customers to pay extra not to use their cloud service). Both of those options also forestall participation in the police-sharing program.
This has nothing to do with a trans or politics but rather a rant.
I take a lot of meds, not just for being trans but because of age. Whenever I get a prescription filled I tell the clerk that I don't want to have automatic refills.
My healthcare provider cut my prescription in half because the drug was having too much of an effect on me. So she cut it in half. I got the prescription filled. Meanwhile the old prescription was do to be refilled, as I said, I have never asked for automatic refills, they refill the old prescription.
My new prescription for half the dose was up for refill. I called it in and found it was already refilled! (But I haven't called in for the refill.)
So I went to pick it up at their drive through window. As I pulled over to stuff everything back into my purse I noticed the dosage was twice what the doctor order!
So I went inside and talked to the pharmacist. I told him that the prescription was twice the amount that the doctor ordered! He said no way! I told him to bring up all my prescriptions. Lo and behold there were tow prescriptions for it, one 10mg and on 5mg! The 5mg was written at the later date than the 10mg.
He turned white!
He saw what happened. He knew I was right... the pharmacy had just broken many. many laws and given me twice the amount that the doctor ordered all because of them automatically refills!
I said what do you think would happen if I reported this to the state?
Please do not use auto-refills! They don't check to see of that prescription has been superseded be another prescription they will never know it.
[/Rant]
Update: 10:00AM
One hour after I wrote this I get a phone call from the pharmacy, your prescription is ready! Which I still have about two months left!
As the government shutdown continues, the Republicans are trying to blame it all on us!
Yup, just like the Republicans to look for scapegoats... the trans community. But first, in the past, the parties made compromises to pass the continuing resolution (CR). But like Lucy pulling the football away from Charlie Brown, the Republicans never went back to do what they promised—either that, or Trump refused to spend it.
Why isn’t Trump eager to end the shutdown? Because he has more power during it.
A fight between Republicans and Democrats could lead to an Oct. 1 federal government shutdown.
Democrats are trying to leverage the must-pass bill to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies; the Trump administration is tying a shutdown to potential mass federal worker layoffs.
[...]
"I would expect this shutdown to look different than any other shutdown," said Joshua Sewell, Taxpayers for Common Sense director of research and policy. He said he expects that the Trump team’s actions would be guided by what they believe achieves the most for them politically.
Trump could use a shutdown to dismantle government functions, wrote Max Stier, chief executive of the Partnership for Public Service, a nonprofit focused on improving the federal government.
If lawmakers can’t reach a deal, Stier wrote, Trump and Vought "will have enormous latitude to determine which services, programs, and employees can be sidelined, decisions that could go far beyond what has occurred during past shutdowns."
But the Republicans aren’t going to come out and say they want a power grab, nor are they interested in reopening the government!
What do the Democrats want?
They want the funding for Medicare and Medicaid restored and guarantees that Trump will not pigeonhole the funding once it’s approved. That’s it.
The U.S. government shut down on October 1 as Republican and Democratic funding bills failed to reach the necessary number of votes in the Senate and efforts to prevent a shutdown failed. Government shutdowns such as this one shutter nonessential agency operations, furlough some government workers, and cost taxpayers.
We asked Linda Bilmes, the Daniel Patrick Moynihan Senior Lecturer in Public Policy and Public Finance, about why shutdowns happen, what they cost us, and how we can avoid them. Bilmes is a budgeting expert who served as the assistant secretary for management and budget, and chief financial officer of the U.S. Department of Commerce under President Bill Clinton.
[...]
Q: What are the grievances? A key grievance on the Democratic side is that there was an impasse last March, and the government nearly shut down, but the Republican majority promised that it would seek compromise on several key disagreements in exchange for Democrats supporting a short-term continuing resolution. But these disagreements were never resolved or even seriously considered. There are certainly Republicans who are in favor compromising, but not enough. So, right now, Democrats don’t have much trust in Republican promises.
For Democrats, this is about taking a stand around the fact that health care is a core Democratic issue and an issue that they’re going to fight for. I think for Republicans it is about supporting the direction in which the president is taking the country, even if they don’t agree with every single action by the Trump administration.
It is pernicious because over time these government shutdowns and “almost-shutdowns” and “almost-defaults” lead to a loss of public confidence in the ability of the government to function and to get things done.
Okay, for the Democrats, it’s healthcare, but the Republicans are trying to twist that to include us.
The deadline to pass appropriations bills and avert a shutdown is closing in, and this year both parties are digging in. At issue is Trump’s insistence on keeping the power to withhold congressionally appropriated funds — a cudgel he’s wielded against ideological opponents. Democrats are pressing to protect healthcare subsidies. But the most explosive fight now centers on anti-LGBTQ+ and anti-trans riders woven into the appropriations bills. The provisions have become so central that Trump canceled a key negotiating session on Tuesday.
On Tuesday morning, Trump took to Truth Social with a rambling post announcing he would refuse to negotiate unless Democrats “agree to the principles in this letter.” Those “principles” included a slate of anti-trans measures — from bans on transgender healthcare to nationwide sports restrictions. By digging in, Trump has turned the shutdown fight into a test of whether Democrats will hold the line for their trans and queer constituents. You can see his post here:
After reviewing the details of the unserious and ridiculous demands being made by the Minority Radical Left Democrats in return for their Votes to keep our thriving Country open, I have decided that no meeting with their Congressional Leaders could possibly be productive. They are threatening to shut down the Government of the United States unless they can have over $1 Trillion Dollars in new spending to continue free healthcare for Illegal Aliens (A monumental cost!), force Taxpayers to fund Transgender surgery for minors, have dead people on the Medicaid roles, allow Illegal Alien Criminals to steal Billions of Dollars in American Taxpayer Benefits, try to force our Country to again open our Borders to Criminals and to the World, allow men to play in women’s sports, and essentially create Transgender operations for everybody. These Radical Left Views and Policies is what allowed me to win the Presidential Election, including all seven Swing States, and the Popular Vote, IN A HISTORIC LANDSLIDE. There are consequences to losing Elections but, based on their letter to me, the Democrats haven’t figured that out yet. They are trying to eliminate the popular $50 Billion Dollar Rural and Vulnerable Hospital Fund, which was passed with only Republican Votes, and proudly signed into Law by ME. The Democrats in Congress seem to have totally lost their way. They obviously have no idea what it means to put America First or to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! All Congressional Democrats want to do is enact Radical Left Policies that nobody voted for — High Taxes, Open Borders, No Consequences for Violent Criminals, Men in Women’s Sports, Taxpayer funded “TRANSGENDER” surgery, and much more. Few people voted for what they represent, which would lead to the destruction of America. Instead, people voted for COMMON SENSE, and that’s what the Republicans and your President, “DONALD J. TRUMP,” stand for. I look forward to meeting with them if they get serious about the future of our Nation. We must keep the Government open, and legislate like true Patriots rather than hold American Citizens hostage, knowing that they want our now thriving Country closed. I’ll be happy to meet with them if they agree to the Principles in this Letter. They must do their job! Otherwise, it will just be another long and brutal slog through their radicalized quicksand. To the Leaders of the Democrat Party, the ball is in your court. I look forward to meeting with you when you become realistic about the things that our Country stands for. DO THE RIGHT THING!
DONALD J. TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
And that, my friends, is how we got tangled up in this mess. So don’t be surprised when we’re thrown under the bus. If you don’t like it, I strongly suggest you help Democrats get elected. Because this is political reality—our healthcare will be going by the wayside. It’s either let the shutdown drag on and get blamed for it, or accept the fact that we’re being used as a bargaining chip.
As I keep saying to the people who harp that all I write about is politics—well folks, I don’t know how to tell you this, but politicians have our lives in their hands.
This is not the Palace of Versailles… no, it is not. It is not the place that King Louis XIII built and King Louis XVI lost his head over — but the new palace at the White House.
Trump said that the “people” are not paying for it. Then who is?
These companies and individuals shelled out $300,000,000! Do you think it was out of generosity? Or do you think they are looking for quid pro quo? Or did they do it out of fear that Trump might cut them off from government contracts? Do you want to guess who the ballroom will be named after? The media is speculating that it will be named after him. In 2019 Trump is credited in saying,
“If he was smart, he would’ve put his name on it,” Trump said. “You’ve got to put your name on stuff or no one remembers you.”
Is this what the new "Trump Ballroom" will look like? You know how he likes his name big and bold on his buildings.
This boondoggle will not be completed until Trump leaves office. Or will he? Is he planning on staying?
Take a look at the people he has pardoned…
We just had a “No Kings” rally last Saturday.
For Trump, like a monarch, it is loyalty over legality. He demands loyalty from officials in the Justice Department and other agencies, echoing the way dictators seek obedience rather than adherence to the law.
Look at the cases against John Bolton, James Comey, and Letitia James. Not one of the federal prosecutors would touch the Comey or James cases, and Trump and Bondi had to fire two prosecutors who opposed bringing charges against New York Attorney General Letitia James. For the Comey and James cases, they found, at the bottom of the barrel, Lindsey Halligan — an interim U.S. Attorney appointed by President Donald Trump.
Look at the military parade Trump had for his birthday. It is reminiscent of Stalin’s and Mao’s regimes. He is behaving like an emperor! Trump has publicly vowed to use a second term to “root out” or “go after” political opponents, which resembles how emperors demand power through shows of force.
Trump may not have said “Let them eat cake,” but his attitude toward wealth and hardship often carries the same tone of indifference.
Another thing to consider, Trump knew that this firestorm would happen and it is a distraction from stuff like the Epstein Files.
I think in 2029 it should be torn down. Won't that be a kick in the pants to Trump.
Donald Trump has said he is increasing tariffs on goods imported from Canada by 10%, after the province of Ontario aired an anti-tariff advertisement featuring Ronald Reagan.
The US president called the advert a "fraud" and lashed out at Canadian officials for not removing it ahead of the World Series baseball championship in a social media post on Saturday.
Ontario's premier said he would take it down to allow trade talks with the US to proceed, after Trump withdrew - but that it would still run in the US over the weekend.
They're picking on me! Wahhh...! And just like a spoiled little kid he hits back!
The US has already imposed a 35% levy on all Canadian goods - though most are exempt under an existing free trade agreement. It has also slapped sector-specific levies on Canadian goods, including a 50% levy on metals and 25% on automobiles.
Trump said while travelling to Asia on Saturday that he was "increasing the Tariff on Canada by 10% over and above what they are paying now". Tariffs are paid by the companies that import foreign products, not the exporters themselves.
There that will teach them... so there take that!
But the fact remains President Reagan did not like tariffs. All the economists say the same thing... it is a tax on the the people buying the goods not on the counties selling the goods. And trump is using the money that the tariffs are ranking in as a giant slush fund.
1) In this song, someone moves to Los Angeles looking for "fame and fortune" but ends up with a job "pumping gas." Today, the majority of service stations are self serve, so very few people pump gas for a living. Can you think of another job that used to be common but doesn't exist anymore?
Going the way of the dinosaur are bank tellers.
2) The San Jose travel bureau advertises "300 days of sunshine" every year. How is the weather where you are today?
Beautiful… the days are so nice that I am delaying my return home until tomorrow or Monday.
3) Lyricist Hal David became fond of San Jose when he was stationed there while in the Navy. Tell us about a place you visited that you have affection for.
Ops... I forgot to answer this one. My answer was West Point chapel. (Updated @ 9AM)
4) Composer Burt Bacharach grew up and worked primarily in New York until his marriage to actress Angie Dickinson. She had to live in Los Angeles for her career, so he relocated and remained a Californian for the rest of his life. Where do you feel most at home? (It doesn't have to be a city. It could be your favorite chair.)
Well I lived in the same town for over seventy years! So I guess I’m a homebody.
5) Dionne Warwick thinks this week's song is "dumb." She won her first Grammy for "Do You Know the Way to San Jose?" and, decades later, still sings it in concert, but she has not changed her opinion of the song. What is something everyone else seems to like but you just don't get?
Sadly it is Trump. I do not get why anyone likes him. A liar, a womanlier, an adulterer, a crook, a convicted felon, and he is certainly not a roll model for children
6) Now in her 80s, with more than 60 years in show business, Dionne still enjoys performing. She told a reporter that she loves looking out into the audience and seeing an arm go around a shoulder, or a couple begin holding hands, when they hear her sing "their song." What song reminds you of a special romance?
Well it was “Rain Drops Kepp Fallen on My Head”
7) In 1968, when this song was popular, The Doris Day Show premiered. The show was, initially, a surprise to its star. Her manager/husband died suddenly without telling her he had committed her to a weekly sitcom. She was not pleased but honored the contract. Think of the last time you were surprised. Was it a happy or sad surprise?
It was a bad surprise!
8) According to the Social Security Administration, the most popular baby names of 1968 were Lisa and Michael. Are there any Lisas or Michaels in your life?
Yes, I know a number of people with those names.
9) Random question: What are you looking forward to this week?
Going home and closing up the cottage for the season. The 2025 season will go into the book.
I am slowly getting out of my funk, I've been out with my camera...
A federal judge on Wednesday struck down a former President Biden-era rule that extended federal health antidiscrimination protections to transgender health care.
Judge Louis Guirola Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi ruled in favor of a coalition of 15 GOP-led states that sued over the rule, which broadened sex discrimination by adding sexual orientation and gender identity to the list of protected characteristics in certain health programs and activities.
The Department of Health and Human Services “exceeded its authority by implementing regulations redefining sex discrimination and prohibiting gender identity discrimination,” Guirola ruled.
Isn't it amazing that the judge totally ignored a number of Supreme Court cases... Price Waterhouse (1989), Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services (1998) and Bostock v. Clayton County (2020) He says that they were labor cases! The article goes on to say,
The decision is a significant loss for the transgender community, which is has faced a wave of state and federal policies and court decisions rolling back previously established rights.
[...]
The decision is a significant loss for the transgender community, which is has faced a wave of state and federal policies and court decisions rolling back previously established rights.
The complaint centered on provisions in Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, which the Biden administration interpreted to bolster health care protections against discrimination for LGBTQ people.
Bostock’s analysis can’t be reasonably applied to Title IX, and doesn’t support a finding that denying health care “based on gender identity necessarily constitutes sex discrimination,” the judge said. For one, the top court didn’t intend its decision to apply to other statutes, and it later distinguished that case in United States v. Skrmetti. The later case is “instructive,” the judge said, because the provision at issue there, like the one here, denied care based on the medical diagnosis, not the patient’s sex.
However, the judges argument is full of holes! The KFF wrote about the Supreme Court legal ruling...
Just after the Administration published the final rule, the Supreme Court ruled that sex discrimination includes sexual orientation and gender identity in the employment context. Based on that decision, two federal courts issued nationwide preliminary injunctions blocking parts of the final rule: NY and DC courts blocked provisions excluding sex stereotyping from the definition of sex discrimination, and the DC court also blocked the religious freedom exemption. The NY court is now considering whether to block other provisions of the rule, and other lawsuits are pending.
So what this judge is saying is that the logic behind all the other rulings do not apply!
The justices will privately decide whether to hear a challenge to same-sex marriage brought by former Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis.
The Advocate
By Christopher Wiggins
October 23 2025
The U.S. Supreme Court is set to consider whether to hear a challenge that could reopen the question of who can get married. The challenge to marriage equality is being brought by Kim Davis, the former Kentucky county clerk who in 2015 defied a federal court order to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
As SCOTUSblog reports, the justices will privately discuss Davis’s petition on November 7. Davis, who was briefly jailed a decade ago after citing “God’s authority” in refusing to issue licenses to a gay couple, is now asking the high court not only to reverse her loss in the lower courts but to overturn Obergefell v. Hodges, the 2015 decision that established a constitutional right to marry for same-sex couples nationwide.
Marriage has always been on the Republican's chopping block since day one.
Several members of the court have recently commented on the 2015 marriage equality ruling, offering clues to how they might view Davis’s petition. Justice Clarence Thomas has long urged the court to revisit major decisions, such as Obergefell v. Hodges, arguing in a concurrence in the court’s 2022 Dobbs ruling that struck down Roe v. Wade, that such rulings expand constitutional rights beyond what the framers intended. He and Justice Samuel Alito have both raised concerns that Obergefell diminished protections for people who oppose same-sex marriage on religious grounds.
Hey you all come and just us trans people on the chopping block.
Republican support has dropped 14 points since 2022
Gallop
by Megan Brenan
May 29, 2025
A decade after the Supreme Court’s milestone Obergefell v. Hodges ruling declared same-sex marriage a national right in the U.S., a steady 68% of Americans support it.
Since 2021, the percentage of U.S. adults who think marriages between same-sex couples should be recognized with the same rights as traditional marriages has ranged from 68% to 71% (the trend high in 2022 and 2023). Yet, this stability in Americans’ backing for same-sex marriage masks shifts in partisans’ views over the same period. Democrats’ support has risen to 88%, the record high for this group by one percentage point. Independents’ backing for same-sex marriage has been relatively stable in recent years and currently stands at 76%, one point shy of the record high.
At the same time, Republicans’ support, which peaked at 55% in 2021 and 2022, has gradually edged down to 41%, the lowest point since 2016 after the Obergefell decision.
The current 47-point gap between Republicans and Democrats is the largest since Gallup first began tracking this measure 29 years ago.
They hate your guts just like ours! Say good bye to your marriages and your kids just became bastards. Thump has allied himself with the Christian Nationalist. Make this a Christian Nation and we will crown you Emperor For Life and you can throw parties in your big gilded ballroom until your heart's content.
Gallup’s May 1-18 Values and Beliefs poll also finds that 64% of Americans consider gay or lesbian relations to be morally acceptable. This is the third identical reading in as many years and is down from the high point in the trend, 71%, in 2022. Majorities of Americans have considered same-sex relations to be morally acceptable since 2010.
As with their views of same-sex marriage, partisans’ attitudes have shifted in opposite directions in recent years, and the gap between Democrats’ and Republicans’ acceptance has widened to its largest point. Currently, 86% of Democrats (a new high by one point) and 38% of Republicans (the lowest reading for the group since 2012) say gay or lesbian relations are morally acceptable. After reaching a high of 56% in 2022, Republicans’ views of same-sex relations as morally acceptable have steadily declined.
But you know what? The Republicans have a trifecta... the White House, the Senate, and the House and they want to appease their Christian base.
You know, there’s a silver lining to all of Trump’s madness, he’s pissing off more people, including many who once supported him.
You know, the tearing apart of the White House has angered a lot of conservatives, along with many middle-of-the-road voters.
You know, people are starting to wonder... why is Trump building such a big ballroom when he only has three more years in the White House?
An architectural rendering of the new State Dining Room that President Trump has commissioned. | The White House
You know, people are starting to wonder... is this the new Mara-A-Largo?
You know, people are beginning to see what all that gerrymandering is really doing.
You know, people are questioning what’s really in the Epstein files that would make them delay seating a Congresswoman until after the elections.
You know, people are wondering about all this military secrecy... kicking out the press from the Pentagon, forbidding service members from talking to reporters, forbidding the military from talking to Congress.
You know, people are starting to wonder what they’re hiding.
People are wounding... if maybe the "No King" rallies might be true.
Fact #1 On July 31st he said he was building a 650 banquet room.
Fact #2 In September preliminary work began.
Fact #3 On October 20, 2025 people started to question what is going on and he now said it will hold 999. It also was increased to two stories!
Fact #4 As a retied engineer no way can you have a major design change in two months. The drawings had to go reviews by the following federal agencies:
5. Historic Preservation Officer (I doubt very much Trump even considered getting their approval)
6. Project Manager / Owner’s Representative
7. Contractor / Construction Manager
8. Regulatory Agencies / Environmental Review
Even if you ignore anything after #3 it still will take about an year from conception to shovel ready.
So what trump said we all lies… totals lies he had this work started at least last fall!
Also consider... President Trump appointed Will Scharf, a top White House aide, as the head of the NCPC on July 10, 2025. And it was Scharf who made a distinction between demolition work and actual construction, stating that the commission's jurisdiction is limited to the latter.
To me that sound like premeditation! That is fraud! He planned on doing the typical con man switch, sell you one thing and give you another... he playing us for a shill!
He lied when he said it was only going to build a "small ballroom" of 650... then wham... he pulls the rug out from under us. With the ol' bait and switch!
President Donald Trump is tearing down the East Wing to build a $250 million ballroom.
Politico
By Heather Richards and Michael Doyle
10/22/2025
President Donald Trump’s move to demolish part of the White House to make way for a $250 million ballroom is eliciting outrage and calls for more oversight before any further changes are made.
Images of a partially destroyed East Wing, first published by The Washington Post on Monday, sparked an outcry online and a quick defense from the White House.
[...]
Trump’s appointee as chair of the National Capital Planning Commission, his White House staff secretary Will Scharf, stoutly defended the White House’s work during the commission’s last videotaped public hearing, held Sept. 4.
“I think it’s one of the most exciting construction projects in the modern history of the district,” Scharf said, “and I think any assertion that this commission should have been consulted earlier than it has been or than it will be is simply false and represents a misunderstanding of this commission’s role in that project.”
Scharf said the commission “has long denied that it has jurisdiction over demolition and site preparation work for federal buildings, on federal property. What we deal with is essentially construction, vertical build.”
House Democrats, disturbed by what they see as the destruction of a historic landmark, are demanding answers about the forthcoming White House ballroom. In a letter to President Trump, a trio of Democrats expressed concern about "transparency, funding priorities, the physical integrity of the White House and the ethical integrity of the Administration it houses."
Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, along with Democratic Reps. Yassamin Ansari of Arizona and Jared Huffman of California, wrote that decisions about the ballroom addition "were made in complete secrecy" and without "public disclosure or proper consultation."
[...]
Garcia, Huffman and Ansari asked the White House to turn over communication related to the ongoing demolition. They also requested architectural plans, a detailed budget for the project, a list of all donors and legal justifications for the structure.
Democrats lack the power to unilaterally subpoena documents, so the letter amounts to a voluntary request — not a binding demand.
New Pentagon directives will overhaul the channels that allow troops and defense personnel to file whistleblower complaints, report toxic leadership or point out discrimination.
The Washington Post
By Tara Copp and Noah Robertson
September 30, 2025
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said he will overhaul the military channels that allow troops and defense personnel to file whistleblower complaints, report toxic leadership or point out discrimination based on race, gender, sexuality or religion.
The changes are being implemented at the same time that Hegseth is loosening rules on how senior officers can treat enlisted personnel without having it impact their careers — including a review of what constitutes bullying or hazing — in moves the secretary said would “empower leaders to enforce standards without fear of retribution or second-guessing.”
“The [inspector general] has been weaponized, putting complainers, ideologues and poor performers in the driver’s seat,” Hegseth told a group of generals and admirals Tuesday at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia, referring to the independent watchdog offices in the Pentagon.
Second he is holding religious services in the Pentagon...
In a move that pushes the boundaries of Constitutional prohibition against a state religion, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth hosted an evangelical prayer service in the middle of the day at the Pentagon in which a pastor praised President Donald Trump as "sovereignly appointed."
A program for the event called it the "Secretary of Defense Christian Prayer and Worship Service." It was held at the Pentagon's auditorium and was broadcast throughout the building on its internal cable network.
Standing behind a podium bearing the logo of the Defense Department, Hegseth declared that "this is precisely where I need to be, exactly where we need to be as a nation, at this moment in prayer, on bended knee, recognizing the providence of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ," according to an audio recording of the event obtained by Military.com.
I think he has vision of himself as a crusader from the crusades riding a white stallion, wearing shinny armor, and carrying a lance.
Third he kicked out reporters from the Pentagon just like the out the money changers and merchants from the Temple, accusing them of turning it into a den of robbers, Hegseth citing the need to protect sensitive information and ensure national security.
Journalists required to have escort in much of Pentagon building
New rules follow other media restrictions by Trump administration
Press association says measures appear to be 'attack on freedom of the press'
May 23 (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Friday issued orders that require journalists to have official escorts within much of the Pentagon building, the latest in a series of Trump administration restrictions placed on the press.
The measures, which take effect immediately, bar credentialed reporters from most of the Department of Defense headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, unless they have an official approval and escort.
[...]
The Pentagon Press Association, a membership organization representing the interests of the press corps covering the U.S. military, said the new rules appeared to be a "direct attack on the freedom of the press."
Fourth, he cutoff Congress's Constitutional oversight.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered that Pentagon personnel be required to coordinate all interactions with Congress through the building’s central legislative affairs office, significantly altering how military officials will speak with lawmakers.
Hegseth along with his deputy, Steve Feinberg, in an Oct. 15 memo ordered Defense Department officials to obtain permission from the department’s main legislative affairs office before they communicate with lawmakers or congressional aides, Breaking Defense first reported.
“Unauthorized engagements with Congress by [Defense Department] personnel acting in their official capacity, no matter how well-intentioned, may undermine Department-wide priorities critical to achieving our legislative objectives,” Hegseth and Feinberg wrote in the memo.
A second memo from Hegseth and Feinberg, issued Oct. 17, directed a “working group to further define the guidance on legislative engagements.”
The order is a major shift from previous policy — which allowed individual military branches and Pentagon agencies to handle their own communications with Congress — and appears to be part of a broader move by Hegseth to tighten control over what information the Pentagon shares.
The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States
Clause 12 Army
To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;
Not the Secretary of Defense, not the president... just Congress!
And all this begs the question... what is he hiding?
I will tell you what I am worried about... that it will be obedience to Trump & Hegseth and not the Constitution. I worry about the 2026 elections and will have "Troops" protecting us from the "wrong" people voting. I worry about Trump declaring himself "Emperor for Life!"
He did this without approval! What he is doing is against the law! But who is going to tell the king that?
This spring he paved over the Rose Garden, and now the addition is going to be bigger than the White House. This information is directly from The Washington Post...
He lied to government officials, he lied to Congress, and he lied to the voters! This is costing over $100,000,000 more! He lowballed the design to sell it to the people as a little "Ballroom" for 650 people. The White House press release in July said,
The White House is one of the most beautiful and historic buildings in the world, yet the White House is currently unable to host major functions honoring world leaders and other countries without having to install a large and unsightly tent approximately 100 yards away from the main building entrance. The White House State Ballroom will be a much-needed and exquisite addition of approximately 90,000 total square feet of ornately designed and carefully crafted space, with a seated capacity of 650 people — a significant increase from the 200-person seated capacity in the East Room of the White House.
What we got is a ballroom for 1,000 people! It’s a two-story addition that dominates the historic White House.
The White House Ballroom will be substantially separated from the main building of the White House, but at the same time, it’s theme and architectural heritage will be almost identical. The site of the new ballroom will be where the small, heavily changed, and reconstructed East Wing currently sits. The East Wing was constructed in 1902 and has been renovated and changed many times, with a second story added in 1942.
Bull! It looks nothing like the historic White House... it looks like a miniature Mar-A-Lago, all covered in gold leaf. He knew that this was a lie; you cannot go from design changes that drastic and have building plans that quickly. It had to be in the works for more than a year. My guess is Trump thought of this in his last term and carried it to fruition since he came to office in January.
Tell me that he hasn't been planning this all along when he fired the head of the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) and put his crony in charge. As AP News reported, Scharf ruled that:
“What we deal with is essentially construction, vertical build,” Scharf said. He called Trump’s promised ballroom “one of the most exciting construction projects in the modern history of” Washington.
He made the comments during the only public meeting of the commission scheduled before crews are expected to break ground on a $200 million, 90,000-square-foot ballroom likely to greatly alter the look and size of both the White House’s East and West Wings.
But they never saw the real plans! The new addition has low terracotta tile roofs with Spanish-Mediterranean influence—or at least the design that was released to the public—but The Washington Post article went on to report:
The National Trust for Historic Preservation, a nonprofit created by Congress to help preserve historic buildings, sent a letter Tuesday to administration officials, warning that the planned 90,000-square-foot ballroom “will overwhelm the White House itself,” which is about 55,000 square feet.
“We respectfully urge the Administration and the National Park Service to pause demolition until plans for the proposed ballroom go through the legally required public review processes,” Carol Quillen, National Trust’s CEO, said in a statement, citing two federal commissions that have traditionally reviewed White House additions.
White House officials dismissed the criticism as “manufactured outrage,” arguing that past presidents had pursued their own changes to the executive campus as necessary. They said that the privately funded ballroom will be a “bold, necessary addition” to the presidential grounds.
But Trump as usual said... F**k them!
Trump has long touted his plans for an expansive ballroom, insisting that presidents needed the space to host large events. He also said in July that the construction of the planned addition would not affect the existing White House.
If a picture tells a thousand words, there’s no better testament to the rot and ruin of this administration than the demolished East Wing of the White House.
Matt Ford
October 22, 2025
It is hard to imagine a more fitting image of President Donald Trump’s second term than the photographs of the White House’s East Wing that became public this week. The first series of photos on Monday showed large holes torn in the wing’s exterior. By Tuesday, nearly the entire portion of the building had been destroyed.
The demolition is part of Trump’s planned construction of the White House State Ballroom, a gaudy 90,000-square-foot complex that will replace the East Wing. That space once held offices for the first lady’s staff, various other White House support personnel, and a guest entrance. Now it will feature a ballroom that fits 650 seated guests for Trump to fete and be feted by.
[...]
Trump’s building project is more or less illegal. The White House is both public property and a national historical site. Its welfare is overseen by the National Park Service, and any structural changes must be approved by the National Capital Planning Commission, or NCPC, which oversees federal public buildings in the nation’s capital more generally. Federal law requires the commission to approve plans for all federal buildings in the district, including the White House, in what can be a yearslong process of consultation and review.
The Trump administration has taken its usual approach to these hurdles. It did not bother submitting plans to the commission; it simply started gouging holes in the side of the building with an excavator. Will Scharf, the Trump-appointed head of the NCPC, claimed during a public meeting in September that no approval was necessary because the commission’s jurisdiction only covered construction, not demolition. He also happens to be the White House staff secretary and was a former personal lawyer for the president during his post-2020 legal troubles.
None of the AIs (Gemini, Perplexity, and ChatGPT) could find any records of building permits being pulled for the demolition and construction!
As an engineer, I know changes this massive had to be "in the works" for at least a year! That means Trump out and out lied to the public and to Congress!
In a discussion with Gemini, I asked if Trump wants a palace. Here is its reply...
If you distill everything we've discussed, the facts strongly suggest that the typical constraints that govern federal construction—time for design, transparent public review, and agency approval—were overcome by a driving force that essentially reduces to:
A Long-Standing Personal Desire: Trump has wanted a large, grand ballroom at the White House for over a decade.
Unconstrained Planning: The full, 90,000-square-foot demolition and rebuild plan was likely in development for a year or more.
Removal of Obstacles: The appointment of a White House insider (Will Scharf) to lead the NCPC, coupled with his immediate ruling that demolition doesn't require pre-approval, cleared the runway for construction to start immediately.
The result is a highly unusual construction project that prioritizes a singular vision and rapid execution over the long, deliberate process typically required for a national landmark. Your succinct assessment—"Trump wants a place"—serves as the most straightforward explanation for why the engineering and political realities were bent to achieve a goal that would otherwise take many years.
And where did the funding come from? Trump got his billionaire friends to fork over the money. Companies like Amazon, Apple, Meta, Google, Lockheed Martin, and Coinbase all chipped in. Oil magnate Harold Hamm, Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman, crypto entrepreneurs Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, and political figures like Small Business Administration chief Kelly Loeffler and her husband Jeff Sprecher also contributed. You have to wonder—what’s the quid pro quo? What do they expect to get out of their multimillion-dollar investment?
Welcome to the new Versailles. The new home of King Trump!
Update: 10:24 @ 10AM
No one really knows what is being built because the plans are a "State Secret" only know to Trump & Company... the the owners of the property what Trump is doing. But here are two ideas of what it might look like and it is scary. This is what CBS News thinks it will look like!
This is USA Today's best guess...
On the January 20, 2028 on the day Trump leaves office it should be torn down!
Can you believe the gall of this man! Cut Medicaid. Cut Medicare. Cut SNAP. Cut WIC. Cut Head Start. Gave Argentinean $40 billion, And now he wants to give himself $230,000,000!
Trump said he'll ultimately get to decide if he gets the money, when asked about a New York Times report that he's seeking $230 million in damages from the Justice Department.
NBC News
By Dareh Gregorian and Raquel Coronell Uribe
October 21, 2025
President Donald Trump acknowledged to reporters Monday that he's seeking up to hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation from the federal government for its scuttled investigations and prosecutions of him.
“As far as all of the litigation, everything that’s going to go, yeah, they probably owe me a lot of money," Trump said when asked about a New York Times report that he's filed administrative claims seeking $230 million in damages from the Justice Department.
The audacity!
He also said he'd ultimately be the person approving the payout and that, if he granted it, he'd "do something nice" with the money.
“And you know that decision would have to go across my desk, and it’s awfully strange to make a decision where I’m paying myself. In other words, did you ever have one of those cases where you have to decide how much you’re paying yourself in damages? But I was damaged very greatly, and any money that I would get I would give to charity,” he said.
The brazenness!
What other person has the b**ls to do this! Don't forget he is a convicted felon!
These was a good segment on PBS News Hour about gerrymandering on Monday night.
How GOP-led redistricting efforts may disenfranchise Black voters
By Geoff Bennett & Jonah Anderson
Republicans in North Carolina moved forward with a plan to redraw the state’s congressional map and eliminate its only swing district. It's part of a GOP push to maintain control of Congress through maps that have the effect of diluting Black political power and diminishing the voting strength of communities of color. Geoff Bennett discussed more with Janai Nelson of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.
Geoff Bennett:
Republican lawmakers in North Carolina moved forward with a proposal today to redraw their state's congressional map in a way that would eliminate its only swing district.
The mid-decade redistricting is part of a nationwide push by President Trump and his Republican allies to help the GOP maintain control of Congress in next year's elections, often through maps that have the effect of diluting Black political power and diminishing the voting strength of communities of color.
Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court appeared willing to issue a ruling that could further that effort during arguments in a Louisiana redistricting case.
NAACP Legal Defense Fund president Janai Nelson argued the case before the court in defense of Louisiana voters, and she joins us now.
Thanks for being with us.
Janai Nelson, President and Director-Counsel, NAACP Legal Defense Fund: Thank you. Happy to be here.
[...]
Geoff Bennett:
And, as we mentioned, North Carolina Republicans are moving forward with this plan to effectively oust one of the state's three Black members of Congress by carving up an area of Eastern North Carolina in this congressional map, and this district happens to have a large Black population.
So how does that square with what constitutes racial dilution under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act?
Janai Nelson:
Well, it's pretty squarely a violation of the act, as far as I can tell. It is using Black voters as a means for gaining political power or partisan control.
And while the Supreme Court did say in another case, Rucho v. Common Cause, that it will not entertain any partisan gerrymandering claims, racial gerrymandering is still unlawful and it's still justiciable by the court, meaning that those claims are still viable before the court.
And I can't imagine how this map in North Carolina can achieve its partisan goals lawfully in the way that they're trying to do it now without violating the rights of Black voters. And that's why we really need section 2, because Section 2 protects voters from being exploited by politicians or people who simply want to perpetuate discrimination.
Let's face it, the Republicans are sweettalking the judges... no we are not doing this because of diluting the Black vote but we are doing it because of political reasons! It just happens that the Democratic voters are Black.
It all boils down to will the justices believe the song and dance.
Hmm... something about a party or something in Boston? Back then it was a king who ordered the tariffs, now another king who is pushing the envelope by ordering tariffs without Congress's approval.
$77.0 billion in FY 2024. This figure reflects revenue from tariffs and other import-related fees, also known as customs duties. Customs duties are taxes and fees paid by US importers and collected by US Customs and Border Protection on goods imported into the country, which generate revenue for the federal government.
$165B Customs duties revenue in FY 2025 through August
$77B Customs duties revenue in FY 2024
And don't forget who paid the $165,000,000,000... you and I did, it is really nothing more or less than a sales tax.
Where does it go? Well now here is the tricky part. The Constitution says that Congress has the power of the purse strings but the thing is Congress has delegated the power over to the presidents... here is chunk of money spend it as you like. And guess where the tariff funds are going?
Hill Republicans and powerful agriculture lobbying groups have been pressuring the administration to deliver some kind of farm aid.
Politico
By Grace Yarrow and Meredith Lee Hill
09/25/2025
President Donald Trump said Thursday that he will use tariff revenue to offer cash bailouts for farmers who are struggling with trade uncertainty and other economic headwinds.
“We’re going to take some of that tariff money that we made, we’re going to give it to our farmers, who are, for a little while, going to be hurt until the tariffs kick into their benefit,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “So we’re going to make sure that our farmers are in great shape, because we’re taking in a lot of money.
Trump officials expect that Congress will need to authorize the use of tariff revenue for the farm aid package and are hoping lawmakers will include it in their omnibus package due by Nov. 21, according to three people familiar with the talks. That means the rollout of cash will likely start in early 2026.
[...]
The president, as he conveyed publicly Thursday, likes the messaging of using direct tariff revenue for the farm aid package, rather than tapping other funds, according to two of the people familiar.
Hmm... I seem to remember Trump was going to use the tariff funds to pay down the national debt. Oh well, everyone knows that Trump lies. The farmers better keep their fingers crossed that Trump doesn't change his mind. The ultra conservative Heritage Foundation wrote back in 2020...
Authors: Daren Bakst, David Ditch and Joshua Sewell
Two legislative proposals would use the COVID-19 pandemic as a pretext to give the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture even more spending discretion under the Commodity Credit Corporation Charter Act, allowing the U.S. Department of Agriculture to spend tens of billions of dollars more each year using this discretionary authority. These proposals would be yet another example of Congress inappropriately delegating its spending authority to a federal agency. If Congress wants to address COVID-19-related concerns, it should do so through temporary measures related directly to COVID-19. Congress should not use the pandemic as an excuse to make permanent policy changes, or to create what in effect would be a massive agricultural-subsidy slush fund subject to the whims of the Agriculture Secretary. This slush fund would be one of the worst abrogations of congressional spending power in recent memory.
Gee they foretold Trump! I wonder what they are saying now? Are they back peddling?
In his second term, President Trump’s rhetoric and policies regarding the trans community have become far more menacing
VOX
by Avishay Artsy and Noel King
Oct 21, 2025
When President Donald Trump first took office in 2017, it wasn’t self-evident that the transgender community, in particular, had anything to fear.
Prior to his presidency, Trump had said largely positive, or at least tolerant, things about LGBTQ+ people. He said he had no problem hiring gay people and supported amending the 1964 Civil Rights Act to explicitly bar discrimination based on sexual orientation. He ended a ban on trans participation in his beauty pageants. He opposed North Carolina’s bathroom bill. He said his friend, transgender reality star Caitlyn Jenner, could use “any bathroom she chooses” at Trump Tower. He portrayed himself as a “friend” to LGBTQ+ people.
However, in his first term, he passed several anti-trans measures, including banning transgender people from serving in the military and removing nondiscrimination protections for trans people in health care and health insurance.
I have several friends who have fled south to San Jose, but I'm looking to the north... Halifax.
Trump is generally viewed as the most anti-LGBTQ+ president in history, and a lot of that has to do with his approach to transgender rights. When he first got into office in 2017, there were still some questions about how he was going to approach LGBTQ+ issues, and he made a number of anti-trans moves in his first term. But this time, he really campaigned on anti-trans issues, and he’s made them a staple of his administration.
Some of the resources I found so far...
Rainbow Refugee Association of Nova Scotia (RRANS): This is a grassroots registered non-profit and charity dedicated to advocating for, supporting, and privately sponsoring 2SLGBTQIA+ refugees seeking resettlement in Nova Scotia.
Halifax Refugee Clinic: This clinic provides legal representation for those claiming refugee status in Nova Scotia. They are a primary resource for asylum seekers in the area.
Halifax Pride: While they may not be the direct service provider for asylum cases, their website has a "Resources for 2SLGBTQ+ Immigrants" page that lists organizations like RRANS and the Halifax Refugee Clinic.
But for many, fleeing to another country is out of the questions, many trans people are fleeing to Democratic states. Here in Connecticut the Pride centers are helping refuges.
Organization
Location (Serving Area)
Key Services & Programs
Triangle Community Center (TCC)
Norwalk (Fairfield County)
Care Coordination/Case Management: Connects clients to programs and services for housing, health, and other needs. Community Services: Includes a Community Pantry and a Gender Affirming Closet. Groups: Hosts various support groups, including a Triangle Transgender Society.
New Haven Pride Center
New Haven (Greater New Haven)
Support & Advocacy: Provides a variety of support services, educational, and social programs. Groups: Hosts affinity spaces, such as a Trans Adult Affinity Space and a Proud Parents support group for parents with LGBTQ+ children.
Hartford Collective (HGLHC)
Hartford
Provides medical and dental services, support groups, and health education tailored to the LGBTQ+ community. This is a crucial resource for accessing affirming healthcare.
When contacting these centers, ask specifically about:
Case Management/Care Coordination: This service is designed to connect new residents with housing, employment, healthcare providers, and social services.
Affinity Groups: Look for groups for transgender adults, transgender youth, and parents/caregivers of transgender children.
Referrals to Healthcare: Connecticut has several medical centers, like Yale Medicine and Middlesex Health, with specialized Gender Health Programs. The pride centers can help with referrals.
Remember, there are many LGBTQ organizations out there and they can help, check with them.
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