VIDEO OF THE DAY: Justice Department pulls late night-trick to hide Trump in Epstein files
Brian Tyler Cohen breaks down the Justice Department's stunning decision to delete 16 different released Epstein files from the DOJ website after discovering they'd forgotten to censor Trump's picture and name in damning documents.
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Why Epstein's links to the CIA are so important
Jeet Heer, The Nation: "On November 18, Donald Trump suffered a major political defeat when the House of Representatives passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act by a nearly unanimous vote: 427–1. But while emphatic, the House measure included a significant proviso that might yet prevent a full reckoning with Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes. But the final version specified that the Department of Justice must make public 'all unclassified' documents on Epstein. The word unclassified potentially gives Trump and the CIA wide latitude to hold back Epstein-related materials that they claim are too sensitive to release. Epstein almost certainly had 'close ties to [US] intelligence agencies and Israel’s intelligence agencies,' as Massie put it to reporters on November 19. The fact that the American and Israeli security states appear to have worked with so toxic a figure is deeply disturbing, embarrassing to those in power, and a major reason why the full extent of Epstein’s activities continues to be concealed. Epstein was a power player in global politics, a kind of diplomat without portfolio with better access to the wealthy and politically powerful than most real ambassadors. One way to understand him is as a product of a hyper-privatized neoliberal age. Just as much of the policing of the American empire is now done by private military companies (notably Constellis, formerly known as Academi and Blackwater), billionaires like Epstein have their own private foreign policy. Whatever work Epstein did with the CIA or the Mossad would have been as a peer rather than an employee. Epstein and Barak were masters of what Naomi Klein and others have called disaster capitalism, profiting from the 'desperation of those in power.' But it is unlikely they could have done this without the complicity of American intelligence. That’s why Epstein’s intelligence ties are central to understanding his crimes.
Freshman Democrat under ATTACK for standing up to the GOP
Nellie Pou for Congress: Nellie Pou has only been in Congress a few months, but she’s already facing a barrage of GOP attacks for voting against their destructive budget bill that would hand out huge tax breaks to the wealthy while RAISING taxes on working families. Just a few days ago, the NRCC issued an error-filled press release written by Big Business lobbyists that falsely smeared her with lies. She’s one of the few Democrats to win her seat in a county that voted for Trump; she’s going to need all the help she can get if we want to protect the MUST-HOLD seat and retake Congress. Will you chip in to thank her for doing the right thing and helping her weather the storm against GOP attacks?
The "Warrior Dividend" is Trump's latest PR stunt to pretend he cares about the troops
Alain Stephens, The Intercept: "[On December 17th], Donald Trump took the stage and announced in a bizarre, rambling speech what he framed as a gift to America’s troops: a one-time, $1,776 'warrior dividend,' a $1,776 payment pitched as gratitude for service members and veterans. Wrapped in Revolutionary War imagery and just in time for the holidays, the promise was sold as proof that Trump takes care of our warriors. But beneath the applause and bunting, the announcement amounted to another empty, Trump-branded PR exercise. In reality, what Trump sold as a Christmas 'warrior dividend' wasn’t a new benefit at all. As Politico reported, the money came from a military housing stipend Congress had already approved months earlier to address lagging quality-of-life conditions for service members. Under Trump, that benefit was simply rebranded, repackaged, and redelivered — not as a right earned through service, but as a personal gift bestowed from above. Among veterans, the reaction was sharper — and darker. Former service members joked the dividend felt like a 'steak and lobster deployment dinner,' the old military omen: When leadership suddenly splurges, bad news usually follows. Combat veteran and military accountability activist Greg Stoker summed it up more bluntly on Instagram, calling the announcement 'corny as hell,' a sentiment echoed across veteran circles who’ve learned to distrust flashy gestures that arrive just before cuts, purges, or new demands. That context matters. Trump’s sudden burst of generosity comes after years of deliberate harm to veterans, military families, and the institutions meant to support them. Set against that record, the 'warrior dividend' isn’t gratitude — it’s the latest insult. For $1,776, a number that barely covers a month’s rent in much of the country, Trump seems to believe he can purchase loyalty, silence dissent, and paper over structural harm."
Dem leaders decide to bury damning report on why Trump won in 2024
Greg Sargent, The New Republic: "In a move that should unleash harsh criticism and recriminations, the Democratic National Committee has decided against publicly releasing its long-awaited report on the 2024 election, which could end up protecting key actors inside the party from accountability over the blown but winnable contest. The DNC has completed the report after extensive data analysis and hundreds of interviews in all 50 states. But according to a DNC official, the committee determined that releasing it would spark a media frenzy and retrospective finger-pointing that could divide the party and distract from its winning streak in recent elections. But if the report is 'comprehensive' in its look at 2024, keeping it secret raises more questions about who specifically inside that “Democratic ecosystem” will benefit from its remaining under wraps. According to a DNC official, the analysis found, among other things, that the party didn’t invest sufficiently in innovative digital tools; that its digital ads didn’t reach young voters who no longer engage with broadcast and cable TV; and that Trump—with the help of an ecosystem of right-wing podcasters and influencers—outworked the Democrats in the information wars. Democrats must play catchup in this department, the report found. It’s good to hear the report concludes this. But it would be nice to know what specifically the party found on this front and precisely how it’s resolving to do better."
Food for thought
The Sunday wrap-up
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