05/19/26
Good morning! It’s Tuesday, May 19th.
Celebrate Your Elected Officials Day
(Not all of em, that’s for sure)
And now, the news.
San Diego Mosque Shooting
-via AP News
We start how we start here in America – with three people killed after two people, believed at this time to be teenagers, opened fire at the Islamic Center of San Diego, in Clairemont.
The suspects are also dead, they died by suicide, and the case is being investigated as a hate crime.
The Islamic Center of San Diego is the largest mosque in San Diego.
Update: Iran
-via ABC News
In Iran, after threatening genocide (again) on Sunday, Trump has once again backed off (and again – that’s good!) The attacks were originally planned to take place today, but he says they are on hold, now that serious negotiations are taking place.
However, he also says he’s asked the Pentagon to prepare for “a full, large-scale assault of Iran, on a moment’s notice, in the event that an acceptable Deal is not reached.”
Will you read more than a sentence of it this time big boy?
Ebola
-via AP News
And keeping it international, but moving to Africa… the WHO is sending a team of experts to Congo, as the country opens three Ebola treatment centers.
So far the virus has over 300 cases and has claimed more than 118 lives. That includes an American doctor in Congo, who has the virus.
Part of the problem is that this strain of the virus is rare, and so because they were looking for a different strain, the response time was delayed because they were getting false negatives.
This strain is so rare, in fact, that out of the 20 outbreaks in Congo and Uganda since 1976, this is only the 3rd time it’s been from this strain.
The CDC has issued a Title 42 public health order, to suspend the entry of anyone with a foreign passport who has traveled to DR Congo, Uganda, or South Sudan in the last 21 days.
Now, on the one hand, you can almost see what they’re pretending to do. But the order doesn’t apply to US citizens. What’s up, do you think Americans can’t catch Ebola? Well, I mean… they do call it a virus of compassion because caretakers are so likely to get it, and we all know Trump doesn’t have any compassion in him. So maybe he’s the exception. But still – if you’re only saying it applies to a few people but not everyone, then this doesn’t do that much good.
The better thing to do would be to jump back into the WHO and reinvest money into foreign aid. Those things have a worldwide and nationwide benefit.
Whatever. That’s just me, though.
Presidential Slush Fund
-via CBS News
As promised in yesterday’s episode, Trump’s suit with the IRS has been settled. No money will go back to him; instead, he and his doofus sons will just get a formal apology for the leak from the IRS to the press about his tax records.
However, here’s what really grinds my gears: instead of him getting a payout, that $1.776 billion flush fund, apparently named the “Anti-Weaponization Fund” will be created, at Todd Blanche’s direction (Blanche being the current acting AG but Trump’s former personal lawyer) to "provide a systematic process to hear and redress claims of others who suffered weaponization and lawfare."
It’s literally just going to funnel money straight into the pockets of people that Trump, through Blanche, decides had their politics weaponized against them. Meanwhile, they’re still out there doing things like going after James Comey just because, even though Comey’s press conference is one of the big reasons that Trump won in 2016, apparently he still needs to yell at Comey for some reason and so he’s doing political prosecution but you better believe Comey’s not going to see a penny of this $1.776 billion.
A five-member board will be created to decide who should get this money, which will be given out until December 15th2028 – just about a month until the next president takes office.
Where will this money come from? Well, you and I, of course!
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics, a nonprofit in Washington, called this: "the most brazen act of self-dealing in the history of the presidency."
Trump voters called it – yeah, no, totally cool. Do you understand that the alternative was a woman we would have been annoyed with while she did things to improve our basic circumstances of living and then butted out of our lives? Don’t you see how that’s worse??
This slush fund thing is going to really be the thing that makes me actually lose my silly little mind. Well, what’s left of it. It’s already pretty out of here because of voting rights. But I just can’t imagine a world where I would be okay with a Democrat doing this.
Like… you know this won’t make him like you, right? You understand that he doesn’t actually care about you, right?
It’s no different than people coming onto the internet and defending some artist and doing it, and you can tell when they’re doing it for this specific reason, doing it because they think the artist might see it and want to be their friend or something like that.
It’s weird behavior.
It’s weirder than hosting a daily news podcast that mentions Kelly Clarkson at least once a week – actually I joke but it is because at least I know she’s one of like 7 people in the world that don’t listen to this show. But I think people really think if they just blindly support Trump, maybe one day he might be their friend.
I don’t think his brain is capable of making friends. Like, having pure friendships. He doesn’t even have a favorite book.
Anyway, that’s… the slush fund.
And to have it, I’m sorry I thought I was done and then I wasn’t… to have it be used for insurrectionists. The fact that that’s not even off the table! I get that he’s one, so obviously. But still! To have it used for literal insurrectionists and then to call yourself a patriot. Could never be me. I mean, obviously, but also… literally. How pathetic..
ICE Officer Charged
-via CNN
In Minneapolis, Christian Castro, an ICE officer who shot two Venezuelan immigrants in January, has been charged with four counts of second-degree assault and, are you ready for this… one count of falsely reporting a crime.
The shots Castro fired off were fired into their house. Making the crime he falsely reported all but impossible, because he said they were violently attacking him and he fired off a defensive shot.
What actually happened is that one of the men, and this is all per city cameras, was outside holding a snow shovel when the other man pulled up in a vehicle and ran towards the building. Seeing that, the man with the shovel threw it down and also tried to get to the building. The first man slipped, and at that point, Castro jumped on him and the two men had a brief struggle.
When they separated, the man who dropped the shovel helped the other up and they both made into the house but Castro shot at them through the front door. One of the men was hit in the leg. Following that, the agents deployed tear gas and, without a warrant, entered the home and took all four adults out. It was an hour before the man who was shot ever received medical care.
An hour.
If convicted, Castro could face three to seven years for each of the assault charges, as well as a fine of up to $14,000. For falsely reporting a crime, which is a misdemeanor, the same level of crime as being in this country without legal status, he could face up to 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine. No one will shoot him in the leg, use tear gas on him, attempt to kidnap him in plain clothes, torture him, or any other horrific thing Castro did.
And that’s it. That’s the news.
I’m proud of… some elected officials. Not the majority of the House or Senate. Or any of the White House. But there are some good ones, I promise you. And this November, we’re going to elect a whole bunch more good ones and take back the House and Senate.
Hey, speaking of… are you registered to vote?
But more than… well that’s a trap right there because it’s too easy to be more proud of the Republicans and I’m certainly not going to say more than voters. More than devil’s food cake! It’s also Devil’s Food Cake Day. Because baby… you’re a little angel… I’m proud of you.