Blog Betty (Thomas Friedman is a Great Man was an online novel)

Thursday, September 10, 2026

Lawsuit against Homeland Security, DoJ and the FBI

Wasn't planning on blogging tonight, not feeling it. But then I saw Jude Joffe-Block's report for NPR:

For months, Minneapolis resident Michael Khalili drove around the Twin Cities area observing and documenting the activities of federal immigration officers after they swarmed his city last winter as part of an unprecedented surge.

He points out that when federal immigration officers fatally shot fellow Minneapolis observer Alex Pretti in January, it was bystander videos that debunked inaccurate information Trump administration officials were spreading about Pretti, such as that he had committed an act of domestic terrorism and was a "would-be assassin."

"That's the only reason why the government's lies fell apart," Khalili said. "And that's why it's critical that people are out there."

But the 47-year-old father of two stopped observing ICE in recent months due to mounting risk and pressure from his family. Khalili said he follows the law when he drives behind ICE vehicles and is exercising his constitutional rights. But he said he's had repeated tense exchanges with federal officers who have taken photos of him and his vehicle, and told him to stop.

A day after one such exchange in March, Khalili's Global Entry status was revoked (until a HuffPost journalist inquired about it, and it was reinstated). On another occasion in May, he said a state trooper threatened him with a harassment charge for following ICE. Then in June, after 15 Minnesota activists were criminally indicted for conspiracy to impede or injure an officer, Khalili realized one of the counts against a defendant in that case was for following ICE vehicles across state lines in May on the same day Khalili had been warned he could be charged for following ICE. Khalili's wife became worried.

"She was concerned that federal agents could show up at our home and could arrest me in front of our children," Khalili said. "And so I agreed to stop doing this."

But Khalili hasn't given up his quest to hold the federal government accountable. He is now a named plaintiff in a new federal lawsuit filed Thursday, along with the nonprofit Common Cause, that accuses the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice, the FBI and other federal agencies of violating the First Amendment and privacy rights of observers.

The new lawsuit follows a handful of other cases brought by observers arguing First Amendment violations, but it is the most sweeping to date, as it includes incidents from multiple states and seeks national relief. It is asking a judge in Washington, D.C. to bar federal agencies from intimidating or retaliating against observers.

We need to sue over this. It's outrageous what the DoJ, FBI and ICE are doing.

"The Snapshot" (THE COMMON ILLS):

Thursday, September 10, 2026. TrumpTheLoosa kicked off with underwhelming attendance as Chump and the other speakers told lies and tried to sell fear.

No, people weren't there. Alex Griffing (MEDIAITE) reports:

The GOP’s “Trump-a-Palooza” midterm convention in Dallas got off to a rocky start on Wednesday as reporters clocked long lines in the heat waiting to get inside, many empty seats, and the “L” in “Dallas” fell off the podium at one point.

PBS White House Correspondent Liz Landers posted a clip of the American Airlines Center in Dallas captioned, “Republican midterm convention officially kicking off in Dallas.” The clip showed most of the arena’s seats to be largely empty, with a decent-sized crowd gathered on the floor and in the seats closer to the stage.

Critics were quick to share the clip and pounce on the crowd size. “Capacity-wise they could have held this in a high school gym,” wrote former House Democratic staffer Aaron Fritschner.

It was a failure. It was just like Chump's 250 anniversary events in DC over the summer. Small crowd, huge heat. In fact, the high in Dallas yesterday was 101 degrees but with the humidity they said it felt like 107 degrees. There was a heat advisory.

And, no, that's not an allusion to the underwear clad photo of Hassan Piker that the Chump gang elected to post to the jumbo-tron. Bennito L. Kelty (RAW STORY) explains:

Republicans attacked one of their most targeted ideological foes by posting a picture of him in his underwear, which ultimately backfired.

At the Wednesday midterm convention in Dallas, the GOP showrunners tried to warn their audience about the politics of the left by posting a picture of progressive political commentator Hasan Piker in his underwear. Piker has often been criticized because of his far-left views, but the GOP's attack left onlookers baffled by what the party's angle must have been.

"What demographic are they going after?" asked writer Joe Flood.

MeidasTouch, a political news network, described the picture as a "thirst trap." Others noted that the picture blurred out his underwear but nothing else.

Kathryn Wilkens (MEDIAITE) notes:

“Oh my God,” Piker exclaimed on his Wednesday stream after viewing a still image of the moment.

He then pulled up the video in full, letting out a stunned “Ohhh!” into his microphone as the shot of him in his underwear appeared on screen.

“Nooo!” he continued. “They f*cking posted the meat pic! Nooo! Yo! They posted the meat pic at the f*cking Trumpapalooza!”

Grabbing his chest as if in pain, Piker added, “Oh my God. Oh my God. No. No. No. What the f*ck?”

“They blurred my penis,” he concluded through laughter.

Beefcake was the answer when they tried to come up with a way to excite the crowd. Josh Helfgott noted on FACEBOOK that "Grindr is DOWN in Dallas at the Republican convention." The gay hook-up app tends to go down in cities hosting GOP events.

When not attempting to use half-nude photos of Hassan to excite the audience, Chump tried to bribe Americans promising them $5,000 a piece if the GOP won the midterms. That's also known as a bribe. But since Americans never got the $2,000 a piece he promised for his tariffs, maybe he won't face charges because no one will be considered dumb enough to believe him this go round.

Maham Javaid and Tamara Keith (NPR) explain:

To incentivize voters to cast ballots for Republicans, President Trump used his convention speech to promise a dividend of $5,000 to every adult citizen if the Republican Party maintains control of Congress in the midterm election.

"If the Republicans win, you win with us and you get $5,000," he said. "It will be called the Trump dividend, congratulations."

The money would have to be spent in the U.S., the president said.

Trump did not provide details about where the money would come from or the legality of his promise. According to the most recent Census data, it could cost $1 trillion or more to provide these payments.

In a second article for NPR, Tamara Keith notes, "Plus, it's illegal to pay or be paid to influence voting."

Alexander Willis (RAW STORY) notes reaction to Chump's bribe offer:

Political writer Mona Burns called Trump’s promise an outright “bribe,” noting that violation of 18 U.S. Code § 597 is “punishable by fine or imprisonment of not more than one year,” and political scientist Danny Krikorian argued that the president’s pledge opened a “legitimate” legal question.
“Trump explicitly tied a massive cash benefit to Republican electoral victory. That creates a legitimate §600 question,” Krikorian wrote Thursday in a social media post on X.

“Trump’s wording pushes unusually close to the conceptual boundary of vote buying. Current Supreme Court precedent makes a criminal vote-buying case difficult but not impossible. The legal line becomes much clearer if payment is conditioned on voting Republican, voting at all, proving how someone voted, or otherwise providing partisan support.”

At least bribery for your vote was something new for Chump to talk about, the rest of the time, he was offering familiar whines. Like his lie that he really won the 2020 election. No.

No, he really did not.

He's told that lie for six years now.

He never had proof because it never happened.

Andrew Duehren (NEW YORK TIMES) notes:

First, at the start of his second term, President Trump promised a DOGE dividend, a pledge to take the money that Elon Musk’s team would cut from the federal budget and send it to the American people.
Then Mr. Trump moved on to a “tariff refund,” a plan to use the money the government was collecting in import taxes to fund payments for the public.
Those ideas never panned out. Nevertheless, Mr. Trump is again talking up the possibility that the federal government will send Americans thousands of dollars in cash. At the Republican midterm convention in Dallas on Wednesday, the president pledged that every American adult would receive $5,000 if Republicans retain control of Congress in November.

The Democratic National Committee noted:

Time and again, Trump has promised to give Americans rebate checks, including: $5,000 stimulus checks from the DOGE savings that never materialized; $2,000 stimulus checks from revenue from Trump’s tariffs; $1,000+ in direct payments after eliminating healthcare subsidies, and $500 checks from “savings” from expiring ACA tax credits after Trump and Republicans refused to extend the tax credits. True to Trump fashion, Americans have not seen a dime of these promised checks, while Trump and Republicans have worked overtime to secure tax breaks for the ultra-rich.

In response, DNC Rapid Response Director Kendall Witmer released the following statement:

“Donald Trump and Republicans are once again offering empty promises to Americans. The only people reaping the benefits of Trump’s economy are himself, his family, and his ultra-rich elite donors. Meanwhile, working families get nothing except sky-high receipts at the grocery store and the pump, unaffordable healthcare premiums, and wages that aren’t keeping up with inflation.”

Harry Sisson weighs in calling the speech "a complete disaster"

Ben (MEIDASTOUCH NEWS) notes the speech was about 90 minutes and full of lies and distractions.

The speech avoided reality. Rex Huppke (USA TODAY) observes:

Food prices are up 2.7% over this time a year ago, according to the most recent U.S. Department of Agriculture data. Gas is being priced like its liquid gold after the Republican-controlled Congress let Trump waltz America into an unnecessary war with Iran. Key parts of the U.S. government have been gutted, including food inspectors, a fact alarming many of us as we see a steady stream of food recalls following a summer of lettuce-induced explosive diarrhea. Wages aren’t keeping pace with inflation.

All of that was left out of his speech. Patricia Mazzei and Shane Goldmacher (NEW YORK TIMES) observe, "Some Republicans who spoke ahead of the president tried to touch on the biggest issues for voters, including the high cost of gas, rent and groceries. Mr. Trump dismissed those concerns as overblown." Chump thinks he can trick voters with lies that go against the reality you see in your grocery bill these days

That's what he's counting on -- that he'll be able to lie and people will fall for it. He's trying to scare them senseless. Lisa Lerer (NEW YORK TIMES) notes:

As they took the stage at the party’s unusual midterm gathering in Dallas on Wednesday night, amid growing Republican anxiety about the midterm elections, speaker after speaker focused on what they characterized as an urgent threat to American life: a Democratic Party they claimed had veered beyond its traditional liberal principals into a dangerous, un-American ideology.

Democrats running for Congress were “evil.” They were “communists and anarchists.” And they wanted to turn the country into “a socialist hellscape.”

[. . .]

President Trump has long been a master of the politics of fear, regularly stoking anxiety about immigration and crime.

Now, as his party faces its most difficult political environment in years, the president and his supporters are attempting — once more — to channel fear into electoral victory. It’s a strategy that is both old and new, playing off the rise of the Democratic Socialists of America to stoke Cold War-era fears of communism and socialism.

Joey Garrison and Zac Anderson (USA TODAY) report:

After entering American Airlines Center to loud cheers and chants of "USA," Trump quickly declared the arena "packed" and claimed people who couldn't get in were standing outside. But large sections of seats remained empty across the venue's upper level.

Though the president's unpopularity in polls threatens to drag down some Republican midterm candidates, he called for his supporters to come out in numbers that twice catapulted him into the White House.

[. . .]

Republicans filtering into the American Airlines Center for the first day of the convention walked past a vendor selling Trump golf balls, Trump rubber ducks, Trump Bibles, MAGA guitars, and plenty of MAGA hats as a country band played amid sweltering 97-degree Texas heat. An outdoor vendor called the "47 Make It Great Again Grill" sold burgers to attendees.

[. . .]

As the U.S. military escalates strikes again on Iran, convention speakers repeatedly skipped any mention of a war that is weighing on the GOP heading into the heart of the midterm elections.

That's not surprising. The war is deeply unpopular with voters and has divided Republicans, with prominent MAGA leaders criticizing a conflict that clashes with Trump's campaign rhetoric and has dragged on his approval rating as it nears the seven-month mark.

The price of Brent crude oil is approaching $100 a barrel again, while the average price of gasoline remains about $4 a gallon. High energy prices have contributed to cost-of-living concerns for voters.

Lies and fear, that's all the GOP served up in Dallas.

Ken Martin, Democratic National Committee Chair, issued the following statement on the convention:

“The biggest liability in American politics right now is Donald Trump -- and he just proved it. Republicans now have to spin his disastrous, rambling speech when it’s clear that this bizarre dog-and-pony show is being held to placate Trump’s fragile ego. Tonight was a desperate attempt by Republicans to ignore the reality that all of their vulnerable candidates are poised to lose in November, even as they try to distance themselves from Trump and his rock bottom 33 percent approval rating.

“While Republicans throw a party this week for Donald Trump, a guy who has raised the cost of healthcare, gas, and groceries, here’s what Democrats are doing: We’re registering voters. We’re organizing. We’re preparing to win in November.

“Democrats are winning races at a historic rate because Americans are tired of Donald Trump, and tonight only confirmed that the president is a lame duck failure who is dragging his party toward defeat.”

And all Chump has to offer is fear and lies.

Why is that? Because he can't tell the truth and get support from voters. As the DNC notes

Donald Trump’s job market is in the gutter: Americans are struggling to find good-paying jobs or resorting to taking on multiple roles just to make ends meet as mass layoffs mount. Only 28% of American workers believe it is a good time to find a quality job.

New data last week revealed that private employers in July had the slowest pace of job creation since January — and the July jobs report similarly showed the economy shed 23,000 jobs. Over the last few months, the economy has created about 200,000 fewer jobs than expected.

Small businesses have been particularly hit hard in Trump’s disastrous job market, as the smallest U.S. businesses lost jobs for 5 straight months and are down by more than 70,000 so far this year.

Overall, last year was the worst year for job creation outside of a recession in more than 20 years, as the economy added less than 200,000 jobs throughout the entire year. Despite Trump’s promise to create a “manufacturing boom,” his reckless tariffs have decimated the manufacturing sector, as the industry lost 108,000 jobs during the first year of Trump’s second term.

The number of job openings also plummeted by nearly one million last year, and Americans’ likelihood of receiving a new job offer in the coming months fell to the lowest level in five years. Meanwhile, workers’ satisfaction with wages and promotion opportunities fell to the lowest level on record, as high prices continue to swallow up earnings and job opportunities remain scarce. Meanwhile, the labor force participation rate recently dropped to its lowest level in 50 years outside of the COVID-19 pandemic. Trump himself has previously warned that a drop in the labor force participation rate could indicate an impending recession.

That is what Chump is lying about and it's what his scare mongering is supposed to distract people from.

Elsewhere at the convention?

As Mike noted, appearing at the GOP convention via video was FettyCrap.

Annie Karni and Maggie Haberman (NEW YORK TIMES) explain:

It came amid recent speculation that Mr. Fetterman could switch parties, a move he has said he would “never” make but has appeared more likely as his breaks with his own party have become more frequent and bitter.

His decision to take part in Mr. Trump’s convention appeared designed for maximum shock value and served as a boost for Republicans’ otherwise lackluster gathering, which many of their most vulnerable incumbents and candidates have opted to skip as they work to gain some distance from an unpopular president.

At the height of Mr. Fetterman’s popularity with Democrats, he briefly harbored aspirations to run for president in 2028, according to former aides. Instead, frustrated with his own party and his standing within it, and aware of the attention he garners for criticizing it, he has sought allies on the other side of the political aisle.

In recent months, Mr. Fetterman has amped up his flirtations with Republicans, while still vowing that he would never actually switch parties. In July, he set up an unusual joint fund-raising committee with Mr. McCormick, with whom he has established a close, personal bond. And he has said that if his party officially turned against Israel, as some of its most progressive voices are urging, it would be the “red line” that would force him to leave.

FettyCrap's speaking at the GOP convention via video is this decade's Zell Miller. Zell was a US Senator in 2004 and a Democrat who chose to speak at the GOP convention and to endorse Bully Boy Bush. By that point, Zell was not running for re-election. Whether or not FettyCrap will do the right thing and not run for re-election in 2028 remains to be seen.

Also attracting attention was Chump's Cabinet member Scott Turner. Bennito L. Kelty (RAW STORY) reports:

A gesture by Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner at the Republican midterm convention is turning heads and causing disgust.

After finishing his speech and walking off the stage at Wednesday's Trumpapalooza in Dallas, Turner appeared to try to smack the rear end of MAGA Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) as she walked by him.

The political news network MeidasTouch reported that the "bizarre moment" that happened in a split second during the event was first spotted by MeidasTouch digital editor Acyn Torabi.

Luna was waving toward the seats, which reporters noted were largely empty while the event was already well underway. Turner clearly extends his hand towards Luna's buttocks as she passes, and online commentators were caught off guard by what appeared to be an attempt to slap her behind.

Jamie Landers and Nicole Asbury (DALLAS MORNING NEWS) report:

Temperatures are expected to reach a high of 100 degrees in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, according to the National Weather Service’s forecast for Thursday. North Texas could see a 40-60% chance of storms Thursday afternoon and evening, while the convention is underway.
On Wednesday, Dallas Fire-Rescue responded to some heat-related emergencies for people attending the convention, Jason Evans, a spokesperson for the department said. Six people were treated and released, and two people were transported for further help.

Vice President JD Vance is scheduled to make his first appearance at the Republican midterm convention Thursday.

President Donald Trump is also scheduled to speak again, following a nearly two-hour speech Wednesday night that covered immigration, the economy, crime, healthcare and other topics.

Before TrumpTheBigLoosah kicked off, Chump shot off his big mouth again. REUTERS reports

President Donald Trump on Wednesday predicted that the war with Iran will end "immediately after" the U.S. midterm elections in November because Tehran was trying to influence the vote but would not be able to hold out more in the face of U.S. economic pressure.

"I think war is going to end immediately after the election because they can't hold out any longer. They're desperate to try and affect the election," he told reporters before departing for the Republican National Convention in Dallas.

Trump's war with Iran has recently entered its seventh month with no immediate end in sight. On Wednesday, Iran said it attacked 10 ships near the Strait of Hormuz after the U.S. sank five Iranian oil tankers. The renewed fighting sent the price of oil surging with benchmark Brent crude future breaching $100 a barrel for the first time since July.

He's in no rush to end it, he's making money off it. Hafiz Rashid (THE NEW REPUBLIC) notes:

President Trump has made millions on his oil and gas investments thanks to the Iran war.

CNBC reports that the president’s investment holdings continued to trade energy stocks during the first six months of the war. Between February 27 and August 31, his nine largest fuel assets grew between $1.5 million and $4.4 million, the network estimates, referring to his annual financial disclosure.

Trump reported owning stock in Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Exxon Mobil, Kinder Morgan, Marathon Petroleum, Occidental Petroleum, Phillips 66, Valero Energy, and the Williams Companies. CNBC calculated Trump’s gains based on what he said in his June disclosure about his assets, looking at how each stock performed over the six-month period.

The last time Trump disclosed any stock trades was June 29, so the data is incomplete. It’s also hard to get a completely accurate estimate as Trump’s disclosure doesn’t reveal exact share counts.

Let's wind down with this from Senator Patty Murray's office:

Senator Murray secured $2 million for MLK Labor’s Union Hiring Hall

ICYMI: Murray Introduces Legislation to Protect Kids as Child Labor Violations Surge and Trump Undermines Enforcement

ICYMI: Murray Reintroduces Bicameral Legislation to Combat Wage Theft, Strengthen Workers’ Rights

***PHOTOS OF EVENT HERE***

Seattle, WA — Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), a senior member and former chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), held a roundtablewith labor leaders from across King County to discuss the dangers of Trump’s anti-worker agenda and why it is more important than ever for Congress to focus on a pro-worker agenda. This Congress Murray has introduced a host of labor bills to crack down on child labor violations, wage theft by giant corporations, and to strengthen workers’ rights overall.

“We’re living through a moment in time where AI companies are pretty much all forecasting major disruption—major job loss. Well, I can’t think of a time when a union contract and strong labor laws would matter more! We can’t let a handful of companies redefine the economy on their own terms—this is a moment in history where we have to make sure workers have their say in the future of work,” said Senator Murray. “This administration doesn’t care what happens to working people as long as the ultra-rich can get richer. We need to consider what a healthy economy really means—it’s not just the stock market, it’s whether regular people can afford their groceries, a home, retirement—a good life. That’s what I’m fighting for.”

Senator Murray also met with workers who found jobs through MLK Labor’s Union Hiring Hall, a centralized website to find and apply for good-paying union jobs in King County—which Senator Murray secured $2 million in Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS) for in FY23. Last year, MLK Labor was unable to receive the CDS funds due to the Trump administration slow walking the award, but Senator Murray stepped in and was able to restore the funding. Since the Union Hiring Hall was launched, it has helped thousands of people secure jobs with good benefits and union protections.

Joining Senator Murray for the roundtable were: Katie Garrow, Executive Secretary-Treasurer of MLK Labor; Dustin Lambro, President of MLK Labor and Political and Organizing Director at UFCW 3000; Rigoberto Valdez, Jr., Executive Director of the People’s Organizing Center; Shaunie Wheeler, Deputy Executive Secretary-Treasurer of MLK Labor; Corina Yballa, Political Director at MLK Labor; Samantha Grad, Political Director at Teamsters 117; Jennifer Bacon, President of IATSE Local 15; Clementine Trujillo, Hiring Hall Manager at IATSE Local 15; Zenia Javalera, President of SEIU 6 Property Services NW; Greg Ramirez, Deputy Director of SEIU 6 Property Services NW; Pia Rivera-Jones Deputy Executive Director of the People’s Organizing Center; Nick Peter’s, Director of Digital Strategy & Messaging at MLK Labor.

“When we launched our first union job board during the COVID-19 shutdowns, the platform was massively influential for local union employers at a time that the workforce was unprecedentedly sparse. Now that our economy has shifted, UnionHiringHall.org is serving as a game-changing avenue for workers across the Greater Seattle Area that are looking for high-road union careers,” said Katie Garrow, Executive Secretary-Treasurer of MLK Labor.

Senator Murray also detailed how she is fighting back against Trump’s anti-worker agenda and recently introduced a series of legislation that will strengthen workers’ rights and the economy.

In June, Senator Murray reintroduced her Children Harmed in Life-threatening or Dangerous (CHILD) Labor Act which strengthens our ability to combat child labor by cracking down on employers who violate child labor laws with stronger penalties and allows children who have been seriously injured to sue their employers. The bill also expands child labor provisions to hold suppliers and subcontractors throughout the supply chain responsible.
Senator Murray also reintroduced her Wage Theft Prevention and Wage Recovery Act, comprehensive legislation that puts hard-earned wages back in workers’ pockets and cracks down on employers who unfairly withhold wages from their employees. The proposed legislation would give workers the right to receive full compensation for the work they perform and receive regular paystubs and final paychecks in a timely manner.
Senator Murray also reintroduced her Restoring Justice for Workers Act, legislation to end forced arbitration clauses, protect workers’ ability to pursue work-related claims in court, and allow workers to band together to vindicate their rights.
Murray is also an original author of the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, comprehensive legislation to protect workers’ right to come together and bargain for fairer wages, better benefits, and safer workplaces.

As Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Murray also pushed back against the Trump administration’s proposed cuts to funding for workforce training programs and labor enforcement. In FY26 Senator Murray protected investments in key federal workforce training programs that she first authorized when she passed the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act in 2014 and has funded every year since. She also rejected Trump and House Republicans’ proposal to eliminate the Women’s Bureau and protected $23 million in funding for the agency and included new language requiring that amount to be spent by the Bureau. In FY26 Senator Murray also secured $191 million for the Employee Benefits Security Administration for retirement security legislation and strengthened requirements to ensure private health plans comply with mental health and substance use disorder parity requirements. And she secured $260 million for the Wage and Hour Division to work to combat exploitative child labor and prevent wage theft and worker misclassification.

###

The following sites updated:

Oh Boy It Never Ends

CHARLIE'S ANGELS and Jaclyn Smith

Thomas Friedman is a Great Man

Riley Gaines makes clear she's nothing but a hate ...

Ann's Mega Dub

Con Man Musk wants a civil war

Sex and Politics and Screeds and Attitude

history (and general hospital)

Like Maria Said Paz

Junior destroys health care for 9/11 responders

Kat's Korner (of The Common Ills)

Pamela Des Barres and Cher

Trina's Kitchen

Antipasto Bean Salad in the Kitchen

SICKOFITRADLZ

2 Senate primary wins

Mikey Likes It!

Psychopath of the Week: FettyCrap

Ruth's Report

Crazed Chump left to his own lies by his advisors

Wednesday, September 09, 2026

Riley Gaines makes clear she's nothing but a hate merchant

Riley Gaines is a vile and evil person. She has trashed trans people for years now. And we knew what it was about. And she's now made it more clear. Molly Sprayregen (LGBTQ NATION) reports:

Anti-trans activist Riley Gaines, who has dedicated her life to trying to ban trans women from women’s sports, mocked a recent WNBA game she attended as being filled with “a bunch of disgruntled lesbians.”

Gaines made the comment during an appearance on Fox News, where she said she attended a game in Minneapolis featuring the city’s Lynx team versus the Indiana Fever.

While complaining about the “disgruntled lesbians,” she said she wouldn’t expect anything else in a city like Minneapolis, which is known as a progressive haven. Gaines then said she believes “the WNBA, as a league, organizationally, they recognize that.” It’s not exactly clear what she meant by that, but it seems she believes the WNBA should know better than to listen to its lesbian fans.

She then complained that anti-trans Fever player Sophie Cunningham was repeatedly booed throughout the game. “It felt like they had been advised to only put people on the jumbotron who were draped in their trans flags,” she said. “We here know, and the general public knows, that’s not indicative of real life.”

Gaines was slammed for criticizing the type of women in the women’s spaces she allegedly wants to protect and also for being surprised that gay women are a core WNBA fan base, indicating that perhaps she doesn’t actually know or care all that much about women’s sports.

Riley Gaines is a hate merchant. That's all she ever was and it's all she'll ever be. She's not concerned about women's sports. She's just a hate merchant.

"The Snapshot" (THE COMMON ILLS):

Wednesday, September 9, 2026. Chump drops to 32% approval rating in new poll (that new hair color's apparently not helping him), he's kicking off TRUMPTHEBIGLOOSA in Dallas today, Markwayne Mullin's in the news as is Kristi Noem's sidepiece, Jared Kushner gets questioned by NBC's Richard Engel, and much more.

As Ben (MEIDASTOUCH NEWS) notes in the video above, Chump's handing out gifts. Chamberlain Harris and Margo Martin (POLITICO) report:

President Donald Trump gave three of his closest aides $45,000 cash gifts for the holidays, according to financial disclosures filed by the White House.

Natalie Harp, Chamberlain Harris and Margo Martin each reported receiving the gift from Trump in their annual public financial disclosures. The gifts totaled $135,000 and came on top of each aide’s $150,000 taxpayer-funded annual salary.

The filings identify Trump as the source of each payment and describe the gifts as “cash gift for the holidays.” Harris listed Trump’s location as Washington, D.C., while Harp and Martin listed it as Palm Beach, Florida. They were filed under the federal government’s public financial disclosure requirements.

The payments amount to 30 percent of each aide’s annual White House salary.

The disclosures identify Trump as the source of the payments and describe them as “cash gift for the holidays.”

The recipients are among the aides with the most regular access to the president.

With 55 days until the midterm vote, Chump gets more bad news. Fernando Cervantes Jr. (USA TODAY) reports:

As November’s midterm elections loom, President Donald Trump’s approval rating continues to struggle, reaching a new record low in a new Focaldata/Financial Times poll released over Labor Day weekend.

The poll, released on Sunday, Sept. 6, found that only 32% of Americans approved of Trump’s job performance, a three-point drop from last month’s edition and the lowest the president has seen in Focaldata/Financial Times tracking since it began in May.

Trump’s slip in the most recent poll comes as his approval among Republicans also dropped by two percentage points to 72%, marking a new low, according to the Financial Times.

Meanwhile, Kathrine Frich (DAGENS) notes:

The economic squeeze is turning into political poison ahead of upcoming elections. In an interview with the Mirror US, analyst Christopher Lee warned that key advisors might soon turn on each other to protect their own careers.

Lee highlighted Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio as primary candidates who could create distance from the White House.

“Trump’s approval is at the dreaded 30% level where members of his own party are, within the next few weeks, likely to distance themselves from him,” Lee stated.

Former supporters are also expressing anger over sudden foreign policy shifts. “Additionally, the ‘no new wars’ cadre in MAGA are pretty angry over Trump breaking his promises on Iran, and to a lesser extent, Venezuela,” Lee added.

Tamara Keith (NPR) notes, "At the unconventional midterm convention kicking off in Dallas Wednesday, President Trump will be the star of the show, serving as headliner both nights of the two-night event. It is being billed as a 'Trumpapalooza,' a term Republican National Committee Chairman Joe Gruters has been wearing out from overuse." Trumpapalooza? Try TrumpTheBigLoosa.

It begins in Dallas later today. Travis Gettys (RAW STORY) reports:

Republicans arriving in Dallas for President Donald Trump's midterm convention are describing an atmosphere far removed from the triumphant spectacle organizers had planned, with candidates increasingly distancing themselves from the president over fears he could sink their campaigns in November.

"The vibes are very bad," a Republican lobbyist close to the White House told Politico Playbook. "Dems are salivating. Our people are debating Israel. Or melting down about this or that. No one is motivated to vote. Only the DSA rise is what's keeping us in the game."

One person close to the White House told Playbook the best outcome might simply be low viewership, given the convention's scheduling collision with NFL season openers.

"My only hope is that no one watches it," the person said. "Hopefully nobody notices the embarrassing show. ... I don't think it will matter. No one knows about it, no enthusiasm, and it's during football. Only D.C. people care."

That starts today. Chump descends upon the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas today and plans to hang around until tomorrow evening so that he can gather all his fans and worshippers together to celebrate and praise him. THE NEW REPUBLIC's Michael Tomasky observes:

Except for the Kool-Aid-drinking third of the population, America is sick of Donald Trump. The third of us who’ve always seen him as a fascist were sick of him 10 minutes after he descended that escalator. The middle third, well, their enthusiasm for him has waxed and waned, but in these last couple of months, they finally seem to have realized what a charlatan the man is.

So this convention, in other words, is exactly what America doesn’t want: two more prime-time nights of watching Donald Trump whine and moan and tell the country how great his poll numbers are and how “hot” America is. That should work great!

It appears that the idea was Trump’s, not some aide or sycophant’s. That makes sense. Only Trump is dense enough to think this is a good idea. Much has been made of the fact that they scheduled this without realizing that they’re competing (this Wednesday and Thursday) with the first two nights of the new NFL season, and against marquee matchups both nights. But I prefer to think that one of his saner aides knew this and scheduled it anyway, praying that most Americans would rather watch Sam Darnold and Matthew Stafford than tune in to Trump’s train wreck.

Have you seen that list of speakers? If they’d asked me to come up with a speaking list, I couldn’t have concocted something this self-parodic, this certain to repel middle America. There’s Mr. Measles, a.k.a. RFK Jr. He’s almost as unpopular as Trump. There’s Scott Bessent, the treasury secretary who used to brag that America under Trump would see 4, 5, or even 6 percent GDP growth (actual 2025 figure: 2.1 percent, or 25 percent worse than Sleepy Joe’s 2024 number) and who in a just world would be prosecuted for lying to Congress. Todd Blanche, the most corrupt attorney general since, well, Pam Bondi, but a man so shady and unprincipled that he makes Bondi look like Louis Brandeis. And Karoline Leavitt—America wants more of her, right after she quit her job, mouthing her mendacious platitudes like those brainwashed soldiers in The Manchurian Candidate? Don Jr.? Seriously? Don Jr.??

Oh. There’s also Scott Turner. Who’s Scott Turner? Good question. I didn’t know. And I’m not telling you. He’s in the administration. You can google him, and when you see him, I think you’ll see why they added him to the list.

What a bestiary. And that’s why I’m kind of excited. A president at 35 percent in the polls presiding over $4.15 a gallon gas and thinking he’s doing something neat by trying to change New Mexico’s name (“Oh, hell, no,” blared a headline in the Albuquerque Journal) will now go before the nation for two nights spewing lie after lie about the economy. Pass the popcorn.

Nick Hilden notes:

“This is essentially a Trump rally that they’re calling a midterm convention,” said Elaine Kamarck, a senior fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution. “They’re trying to get enthusiasm among their base because that’s what they need for November. Basically, this is a Trump show.” According to the Guardian, however, "It appears the plan could backfire. Trump’s approval rating is at 33 percent, the lowest point of his political career, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll last week. Democrats seem more fired up about the midterms with 46 percent describing themselves as ‘very enthusiastic’ about voting in November, compared with 31 percent of Republicans.”

Tara Setmayer, a former Republican communications director on Capitol Hill, argues that building a midterm convention around a failing president is tantamount to “political suicide,” saying, “It is an incredibly risky strategy for any Republican at this point to hitch his wagon to Donald Trump. On every issue that Trump was once strong on he is underwater, from the economy to immigration.” Setmayer added, “The idea that he’s going to excite people is flawed at this point, given the polling numbers in Donald Trump’s own constituency. They’re not inspired and this vanity convention is not going to change that with 60 days to go to the election. If anything, it’s going to remind people of how dissatisfied they are under Donald Trump’s second term.”

At least he'll be sporting his new 'do.

Maybe it will stop a few from wondering why Jared Kushner is negotiating anything? Marco Margaritoff (HUFFINGTON POST) reports:

Jared Kushner on Sunday was asked directly why his lacking track record should inspire “any confidence” in his abilities to negotiate an end to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, prompting the U.S. special envoy and son-in-law of President Donald Trump to get defensive.
“You have been involved in numerous negotiations around the world,” said NBC News chief foreign correspondent Richard Engel during a press conference in Kyiv. “Why should people have any confidence in your capacity to succeed here?”

Kushner, who married the president’s daughter Ivanka Trump in 2009, has been involved in high-stakes peace talks in recent years to help end several international conflicts — including the Israel-Gaza conflict, the war on Iran and Russia’s offensive against Ukraine.

“You were involved in the Gaza negotiations, but Gaza remains a wasteland,” Engel noted. “There’s been really no progress there. Iran, you were involved in those negotiations. The war is still going on.”

He continued, “You’ve been involved in several rounds of negotiations in this conflict. It’s only getting more intense. So you’re relaunching negotiations now. What’s the likelihood they will succeed, when other negotiations you’ve been involved in have not?”

Kushner has been under scrutiny over potential conflicts of interest in his dual role as a Trump adviser handling U.S. diplomatic efforts with the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia while running a private equity firm heavily funded by those same governments.

Kushner has enriched himself. He's not accomplished anything for the United States however. He's just another in the inner circle grifting and on the take.

They all harm the country. And Chump has harmed the farming and the cattle industries. From yesterday's ALL THINGS CONSIDERED (NPR):

SCOTT DETROW, HOST:

Canada hit back today against President Trump's latest 50% tariffs. The country is levying its own retaliatory tariffs on about $20 billion worth of U.S. goods. This will affect everything from imports of steel to farm equipment. Farmers in rural border states are worried about their bottom line, as NPR's Kirk Siegler reports from northern Montana.

KIRK SIEGLER, BYLINE: It's a two-hour drive north to the province of Alberta from Steve Sheffels' wheat and barley farm outside Great Falls. But you can see evidence of Canadian trade everywhere here, starting with the massive steel shredders attached to the front of his combines for harvesting.

(SOUNDBITE OF COMBINE MACHINE RUNNING)

SIEGLER: They're called headers, and they cut the grain he just finished harvesting.

STEVE SHEFFELS: For us, anyway, these headers are the best ones that we can buy. We think so.

SIEGLER: And they're made in Canada with steel, and they're ideal for this harsh environment, Sheffels says. He says this whole trade tussle feels like a big waste of time.

SHEFFELS: Getting the entire world upset with us. Our trading partners, I mean, can't be happy with what's going on.

SIEGLER: Now farm equipment is subject to a 15% or higher retaliatory tariff. This is just the latest economic stress for grain farmers, who are enduring generally flat commodity prices, the second trade war spanning two Trump administrations, as well as record-high diesel prices and rising fertilizer costs. All of this uncertainty weighs on Sheffels.

SHEFFELS: I'd like to consider buying a new drill, and I'm also looking at grain bins that come out of Canada, and I'm afraid I won't be able to afford them.

SIEGLER: Touching three provinces, Canada is Montana's single largest trading partner, accounting for about a billion in cross-border sales. That's no small number for a state with barely a million people. Lately, farmers have been shipping a lot of barley north to Canadian feed lots, as well as their cattle, which had been a lifeline for the struggling ag economy.

JILLIEN STREIT: It's just sad that food has to be a bargaining chip.

SIEGLER: This is Jillien Streit, director of Montana's Department of Agriculture, who also grows wheat alongside chickpeas and lentils on a family farm and ranch near the border.

STREIT: Canada is a hugely important trade partner because, I mean, I don't know how many times as a farm wife, I'm running up to Lethbridge to get parts. Or especially on the cattle side of things - we send 15% of our herd up north to be fed out.

SIEGLER: Streit thinks farmers will get through this latest trade war by maintaining strong business ties with farmers and companies north of the border that she says are caught in the middle of this escalating trade fight. Montana voted overwhelmingly for Trump, and it's not just farming that's going to be hit. At the Montana World Trade Center in Missoula, Director Brigitta Miranda-Freer is worried. She says America's adversarial tone toward Canada will jeopardize business for small manufacturers here and the vital service and tourism industries.

BRIGITTA MIRANDA-FREER: It doesn't feel right for Montanans (laughter), right? Montanans very much pride themselves on developing business relationships that are authentic and personal.

SIEGLER: For wheat and barley farmer Steve Sheffels, it all feels personal. He says this isn't how you treat friends, let alone one who has been one of the U.S.'s closest allies.

SHEFFELS: They're critical trading partners. My wife is Canadian (laughter). It just - you know, you don't treat your neighbors like this.

We've noted here that Chump's tariffs, his war on Iran and his war on immigrants have destroyed the US economy. The war on immigrants impacting the economy? ALL THINGS CONSIDERED (NPR) covered that yesterday:

SACHA PFEIFFER, HOST:

The Trump administration's nationwide immigration crackdown is well into its second year. Federal immigration agents have arrested hundreds of thousands of people since Inauguration Day. On any given day, about 65,000 people are sitting in immigration detention. That's a record. And about 70% of them have no criminal conviction. Now, new research quantifies how much these ICE arrest operations are costing local economies, and not just in immigrant neighborhoods. Here's NPR's Jasmine Garsd.

JASMINE GARSD, BYLINE: In the days after President Donald Trump took office on January 20, 2025, the mood in Chicago's Latino neighborhoods was tense. Rumors were running wild that this city was going to be the first to see ICE raids. A waitress NPR spoke to back then, named Caridad, requested that we not use her last name for fear of being targeted.

CARIDAD: (Speaking Spanish).

GARSD: "I have to go grocery shopping," she said, "but I haven't because what if ICE is there? People are more than afraid. They're panicking." A new study out today shows just how big an economic impact that panic and the ICE raids that followed had. The report by the University of Illinois Chicago used anonymous GPS data from cellphones to unpack the economic toll of ICE operations in 2025 throughout Chicago. The study tracked movement between immigrant neighborhoods and nonimmigrant neighborhoods in Chicago's Cook County. Professor Matt Wilson, a study co-author, says the usual back-and-forth between the two areas stopped almost immediately.

MATT WILSON: The flows from the high Latin American-born areas to the low Latin American-born areas collapsed after January 20.

GARSD: Wilson says it's remarkable how strongly the economic impact was felt outside those immigrant communities. Now, the report estimates that the raids cost retail and restaurants in nonimmigrant neighborhoods in the county about $1.26 billion, and it cost the state around $107 million in tax revenue.

WILSON: We see that 9% drop in retail and 10% drop in restaurant visits, and it persists for about a year. People's behavior systematically changed after January 20, 2025, and it never recovered.

GARSD: For a small business, a 10% drop over the course of a year can be a financial hit. In a statement to NPR, White House spokesperson Lauren Bis said, quote, "If there was any correlation between rampant illegal immigration and a good economy, Biden would have had a booming economy. Removing these criminals from the streets makes communities safer for business owners and customers." Wilson, the researcher, says the report underscores that no community is an island.

WILSON: I think a lot of people treat Latino and some immigrant communities as if they're insular and they're isolated. But it's really that these communities are much more integrated into the broader economy and they're making trips to faraway places in the county routinely.

GARSD: Several other studies have confirmed that ICE raids have sent economic shock waves throughout local economies in and well beyond immigrant neighborhoods. Jasmine Garsd, NPR News, New York.

Yanqi Xu (NEW YORK TIMES) reports on a Republican friend of Chump's who benefits from migrant workers -- documented and undocumented:

Before becoming Nebraska’s governor three years ago, Jim Pillen built a multimillion-dollar hog enterprise. Casting himself as a conservative businessman who would grow the state’s economy, he defeated a Trump-backed candidate in the Republican primary.

This time around, Mr. Pillen, who is seeking re-election this fall, won President Trump’s endorsement. The governor — who had rarely spoken out about immigration issues until last year — had embraced Mr. Trump’s hard-line immigration agenda.

Days after Mr. Trump’s return to the White House, the governor directed the Nebraska State Patrol to partner with ICE on immigration enforcement. He allowed the federal agency to use a former state prison, now referred to as Cornhusker Clink, to hold hundreds of detainees caught up in the administration’s mass deportation sweep. He has echoed Mr. Trump’s rhetoric about “criminal illegal aliens” who have “invaded our country” and decried “the worst of the worst” immigrants he has claimed are hiding out in Nebraska.

But for more than a decade, Mr. Pillen’s hog business has employed migrant workers, those who are in the country legally — and those who are not, The New York Times and The Flatwater Free Press found.

His company, Pillen Family Farms, has taken on undocumented workers as it has grown into one of the nation’s largest hog producers, according to a review of state and federal court records and interviews with more than 40 current and former employees, prosecutors, immigration lawyers and community organizers.

He's happy to use undocumented workers, to make money off of them. He is the ultimate hypocrite.

Or maybe that's Markwayne Mullin. Secretary of Homeland Security. Alexander Willis (RAW STORY) reports:

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, who’s been accused by Democrats of stolen valor, revealed on Fox News Tuesday that he had been rejected by the U.S. military three times, and called the military’s decision to turn him down “crazy.”

In the past, Mullin has given vague references to the “smell” and “taste” of “war,” comments that have led some critics to accuse Mullin of misrepresenting himself as having served in the military. Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) aggressively questioned Mullin on the matter in March during a congressional hearing, asking him: “So where did you smell war, sir?”

Mullin refused to answer, telling Peters his answer would reveal classified information.

On Tuesday, Mullin was asked by Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade where he was during the 9/11 attacks ahead of the 25th anniversary of the incident.

[. . .]

“No, not at that time, I actually tried to join the military three times after that, and... uh... because of some previous injuries, they never would accept me, which is crazy because I try to keep myself in good shape,” Mullin said. “But that didn't stop us from being involved in other ways.”

Stolen valor? Markwayne is always embarrassing himself. Bennito L. Kelty (RAW STORY) reported yesterday:

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin should "go back to plumbing school," a legal expert said, warning that his own on-camera words are a crime.

In a Monday episode of the "Legal AF" podcast, lawyer and legal analyst Michael Popok unloaded on Mullin after the secretary suggested federal agents could turn up where people cast their ballots. Popok said Mullin, or "somebody," needs a lesson in "18 United States Code 592" and "593," the statutes that govern "armed forces or troops at polling places."

Popok said Mullin gave away far more than he realized when he floated sending agents to serve a warrant.

"No, you can't," Popok said. "And you just conceded that you're willing to commit a crime punishable by five years in prison."

[. . .]

Popok mocked Mullin's resumé, saying he "had been a plumber or a small homebuilder, and that was his credentials to become the head of Homeland Security." Popok called the wider administration "comprised of dingbats and idiots" and said Mullin is "about as smart as his predecessor," a jab at former Secretary Kristi Noem.

Turning to Markwayne's predecessor Kristi Noem. Joseph Konig (PEOPLE) reports:

A damning new report from The Wall Street Journal details allegations that longtime MAGA operative Corey Lewandowski ran the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as a “shadow secretary” and allegedly sought payments from the autocratic governments of Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

Lewandowski’s role was officially an unpaid “special government employee” and was never confirmed by the Senate for any leadership position in the department that President Donald Trump has poured tens of billions of dollars into as it carries out his violent and deadly mass deportation campaign.

Lewandowski — Trump’s onetime campaign manager and the rumored lover of former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem — was ousted when Noem, the former South Dakota governor, was fired earlier this year.

But the Journal reported on Monday, Sept. 7, that the DHS inspector general is investigating Lewandowski’s tenure at the department and considering a criminal referral to the Justice Department. The White House and Noem’s successor, DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin, have been briefed on the investigation, according to the report.

The report alleges that Lewandowski micro-managed the process of awarding the smallest DHS grants to multi-billion-dollar deals, directly approached Qatar and UAE to hire him on the side, installed allies in key positions, and pivoted DHS’ focus from the homeland and Latin America to the Middle East.

Who does Lewandowski think he is? Jared Kushner?

ICE continues to terrorize. Saturday's WEEKEND EDITION (NPR) reported:

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

Earlier this week, ICE agents raided a night spot in Memphis that is popular with many Latino residents and detained more than a hundred and twenty people. Officials say they had a warrant to search for drugs and illegal gambling. Erika Konig with the Institute for Public Service Reporting and member station WKNO reports that it was one of the agency's largest mass arrests this year.

ERIKA KONIG, BYLINE: It was close to 1 a.m. Sunday when agents flooded into El Corralon, a restaurant and bar in Berclair, a Hispanic neighborhood.