“After Hamas'[s] horrific Oct. 7, 2023, massacre of 1,200 Jews and the seizure of 250 Jewish hostages, the headlines cried out in shock, anger and astonishment. The New York Times wrote, ‘As world leaders condemned the attacks — and questions arose about how Israeli intelligence had been so surprised — ordinary citizens tried to make sense of what was happening.’ On Oct. 7, 2023, New York Times columnist Bret Stephens wrote: ‘Thanks to defensive systems like Iron Dome, Hamas’s punches, while frequent and menacing, rarely landed. For Israelis, Gaza seemed relatively contained. That was, until this weekend. Whatever happens next in the current war, this concept (to borrow another term from the Yom Kippur War era, related to Israel’s confidence that it wouldn’t be attacked) has clearly failed. Israel has a clear interest not just in punishing Hamas but also in ending its rule for good.'” (10/02/25)
“The man who was photographed as a baby on the cover of Nirvana’s classic album Nevermind has failed in his attempts to sue the band for distributing child pornography. A four-month-old Spencer Elden was pictured swimming naked underwater on the 1991 LP’s famous cover. He sued the rock band and photographer Kirk Weddle, but a judge has ruled that ‘neither the pose, focal point, setting, nor overall context suggest the album cover features sexually explicit conduct.’ A lawyer for Nirvana said: ‘We are delighted the court has ended this meritless case and freed our creative clients of the stigma of false allegations.’ Mr Elden originally filed a lawsuit in 2021, arguing that his identity and name were ‘forever tied to the commercial sexual exploitation he experienced as a minor which has been distributed and sold worldwide.'” (10/02/25)
“President Donald Trump has declared drug cartels to be unlawful combatants and says the United States is now in a ‘non-international armed conflict,’ according to a Trump administration memo obtained Thursday by The Associated Press, after recent U.S. strikes on boats in the Caribbean. A person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to comment publicly said the Congress was notified about the designation by Pentagon officials on Wednesday. The move comes after the U.S. military last month carried out three deadly strikes against alleged drug smuggling boats in the Caribbean. At least two of those operations were carried out on vessels that originated from Venezuela. Pentagon officials could not provide a list of the designated terrorist organizations at the center of the conflict, a matter that was a major source of frustration for some of the lawmakers who were briefed, according to the person.” (10/02/25)
“We have seen enough Donald Trump–branded consumer pitches (Trump Steaks, Trump Vodka, Trump Airlines, Trump Watches) to know that the quality of the service is less important than giving the impression of something legitimate. That’s the spirit with which we should approach TrumpRx, an alleged website where Medicaid patients can purchase low-cost prescription drugs. At a Tuesday press conference, Trump announced a TrumpRx.gov website set to launch in early 2026, with characteristically few details. There is no language about TrumpRx at the Department of Health and Human Services or its agencies, only a fact sheet at Whitehouse.gov. The only indication of what drugs will be available is vague language about ‘a large majority’ of primary care treatments and ‘some select specialty brands.’ The pharmaceutical giant Pfizer has announced a voluntary agreement to supply drugs for the website, but that agreement, Pfizer said, will be kept secret.” (10/02/25)
“Israeli [pirates] stopped 14 boats carrying foreign activists and aid bound for Gaza, flotilla organisers said on Thursday, but 23 boats are continuing to sail towards the war-ravaged Palestinian enclave, according to the flotilla’s tracking system. … The flotilla is the latest sea-borne attempt to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza, much of which has been turned into a wasteland by almost two years of war. The flotilla’s organisers denounced Israel’s action as a ‘war crime.’ They said the [pirates] used aggressive tactics, including the use of water cannon, but that no one was harmed. ‘Multiple vessels … were illegally intercepted and boarded by Israeli [pirates] in international waters,’ the organisers said in a statement.” (10/02/25)
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“The Trumpanyahu administration is pushing a ‘peace plan’ for Gaza which critics are saying would damn Palestinians to permanent subjugation under the thumb of Israel. The proposed plan would see Gaza supervised by Trump and by war criminal Tony Blair, and Netanyahu is already saying that the deal will allow the IDF to remain in the Palestinian territory indefinitely. The last time the US brokered a ‘peace plan’ between Israel and Hamas, the US and Israel torched it in a few weeks, laid siege to the enclave, and announced a plan for the ethnic cleansing of Gaza. So even without all the major problems with the offer, there’s not going to be a whole lot of enthusiasm about it.” (10/01/25)
Source: Center on Budget & Policy Priorities
by Sharon Parrott
“Wednesday’s government funding shutdown is fundamentally different than prior funding fights because the administration is acting outside the law. Any funding agreement must put a stop to this pattern of lawlessness. I have long opposed shutdowns and debt limit brinkmanship, but the administration’s actions will harm people, the economy, and our democracy for years to come if they are not stopped. Make no mistake, shutdowns hurt people. The federal government provides a wide range of critical public services. And the president has even implied that he will use a shutdown to impose harsher consequences than required by law, threatening to fire many federal workers and cut benefits for large numbers of people.” [editor’s note: Nothing illegal about a chief executive trimming the Executive Branch; just nobody who wanted to before – SAT] [editor’s note: Incorrect. The president’s job is to follow Congress’s instructions – TLK] (10/01/25)
“For every conservative in America who is delighted that at least some of the purveyors of hate speech and misinformation on the woke left are at last being held accountable, there is another who still adheres to the ideals of free speech. As UFC CEO Dana White recently said on 60 Minutes, ‘Probably the most important speech to protect is hate speech.’ That diversity of opinion never surfaced among the left, however, over the nearly ten years during which alleged misinformation and hate speech were suppressed whenever they originated from conservatives.” [editor’s note: Does Mr. Ring have poor memory, a vivid imagination, or both? – TLK] (10/01/25)
“Most jobs have a ‘playbook,’ a sort of instruction manual or checklist for how to do the job right, whether it’s running an assembly line, piloting an aircraft, or redoing a house’s plumbing. Although our media seems oblivious to it, dictators have a playbook, too. It’s one that’s been carefully followed in recent times by Putin, Orbán, Erdoğon, Duterte, Bolsonaro, and numerous initially-elected leaders of other smaller nations. In previous generations the Dictator’s Playbook was followed, step-by-step, by Mussolini, Hitler, Franco, Marcos, Pinochet, Stalin, and Tojo (among others). And now it’s being followed by Donald Trump and JD Vance, who’re a bit more than halfway through the list.” [editor’s note: For starters, what were Lincoln, Wilson & FDR (and others who occupied the POTUS throne, if not “dictators?” – SAT] (10/01/25)
“Democrats are talking themselves into forcing a government shutdown. But they can’t seem to agree on why. House Republicans have passed a bill to keep the government funded, but they need seven votes from the Democratic minority in the Senate or else there will be a shutdown tonight. In the spring, Democrat Senate leader Chuck Schumer wasn’t willing to force a shutdown; he didn’t have a message and was trying to get out of Donald Trump’s way so long as the president looked to be making enough mistakes on his own. It would also have been nonsensical to shut down the government to protest against the Department of Government Efficiency’s refusal to fund and staff the government. That’s still a risk. Trump’s Office of Management and Budget director Russ Vought is openly salivating at the prospect of a shutdown, precisely because he has plans to use one to justify more government lay-offs.” (09/30/25)
