This is a big fucking deal, folks. President Joe Biden is making critical moves to decriminalize cannabis, most significantly erasing federal prosecutions for simple possession. As I’ve said before, no one should be in jail just for using or possessing marijuana. Today, I’m taking steps to end our failed approach. Allow me to lay them…
Ukraine update: Rumors that Ukraine is about to open a third counteroffensive in Zaporizhzhia
The biggest news on Thursday morning seems to be something that hasn’t happened—a major Ukrainian counteroffensive into Zaporizhzhia, with forces reportedly being aimed at liberating Melitopol. Or maybe Berdyansk. Or Mariupol. If the force exists at all. In any case, multiple Russian sources are reporting a large build-up of Ukrainian vehicles south of the city…
LIVE: Follow along for Day Three of the Oath Keepers sedition trial
The Oath Keepers sedition trial continues Thursday and Daily Kos is back at the federal courthouse in the nation’s capital to cover proceedings. There was a brief break in the schedule this week since the court was closed on Wednesday in observance of Yom Kippur. But on Thursday, the Justice Department hit the ground running…
Florida judge to block state’s 15-week abortion ban
The Leon County Court in Florida has indicated it intends to block a law banning abortions after 15 weeks. Planned Parenthood’s case against the state was heard before Judge John C. Cooper earlier this week. The judge indicated he’d issue a ruling on Thursday and, true to his word, he made his decision. Cooper called…
Ukraine update: Let’s check in on those Russian supply lines; and Lithuania stands up to a bully
After giving up on Kyiv, Russia still had designs on a full envelopment of the Donbas front lines, thinking they could trap a good 1/3rd of Ukraine’s army in a deadly cauldron. Map from April 10, when Russia thought it could push south from Izyum and trap a huge chunk of Ukraine’s army in the Donbas Russia…
Damn the Constitution, full speed ahead … toward a nation that is literally ungovernable
When Donald Trump led an armed mob to the steps of the Capitol and urged them to carry out an assault on the electoral process, his efforts failed in their primary goal of overturning the election and installing a single, unelected authoritarian ruler. However, it turns out we didn’t have to wait for 2024, or even the…
Oahu continues to grapple with Red Hill crisis as 3 wells remain offline, limiting water production
Climate change and the U.S. Navy-caused water crisis that led to three major wells shuttering in Honolulu—possibly forever—have led to a drastic reduction in water production in Oahu. Our changing planet has made conditions drier across the state of Hawaii, and a winter drought combined with the Red Hill fuel tank leak has Oahu’s Board of Water Supply…
Ukraine update: Ukraine’s well-calculated strikes inside Russia have multiple effects
On Sunday, a pair of fuel deports in Bryansk, Russia, roughly 100 miles from the border with Ukraine, exploded into flames. As with the fuel depot that “mysteriously” burned in Belgorod, Russia, back on March 31 (after two Ukrainian helicopters were seen zipping past in a daring treetop-level raid), Ukrainian officials are being cagey about the cause of the explosions at Bryansk.…
Florida Republicans botched their retaliatory anti-Disney law, and Disney isn’t too worried
We have our first Disney acknowledgement of the Florida Republican plan to strip Walt Disney World’s special tax status as retaliation for the company expressing objections to Florida’s new and dystopian anti-LGBT law, and the company doesn’t sound too worried about any of it. As reported by the The Miami Herald, Disney reported to its…
Looks like Jim Jordan does have something to hide, after all. Time for a subpoena?
No surprise: Rep. Jim Jordan is refusing to talk to the House select committee investigating Jan. 6. Maybe even less of a surprise: His letter announcing that refusal is very, very long and filled with attacks on Democrats (Jordan, wordy? Surely not!) while dodging the reasons the committee might wish to talk to him, such as his conversation or…