Below, you will find some headlines we may have missed and some interesting video clips on several subjects. Please feel free to share anything you may have run across; just make sure it’s not from a McMAGAt infested shithole.
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Updates:
Grifters Gonna Grift: Democrat questions Rubio over reported State Department Tesla purchase
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) pressed the State Department on Monday for answers about the agency’s plans to purchase $400 million worth of armored Teslas after new reporting disputed its initial claims about the contract.
The State Department faced backlash last month after it appeared that Elon Musk’s Tesla was set to receive a $400 million contract for “armored Teslas.”
NPR reported last week that a State Department document from the Biden administration showed the agency planned to spend just $483,000 on armored electric vehicles and $3 million on supporting equipment in 2025, well below the $400 million that later appeared on the procurement forecast.
The procurement document that drew attention last month also claimed to have been published in December during the Biden administration but does not appear in the Internet Archive for that month, NPR noted.
“As a result of these publicly reported events, the question has been raised whether, after significant public blowback, the Trump Administration created and backdated government documents to make it appear that the idea to spend $400 million in taxpayer money on Tesla Cybertrucks originated with the previous administration,” Blumenthal said in a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday.
Economy:
Stocks tumble for second straight day as tariffs take effect
A total of $3.4 trillion in value has now been wiped out since Nov. 6.
The S&P 500 fell 1.7% Tuesday, officially erasing all the gains it had accrued since Donald Trump was declared winner of the 2024 presidential election in November.
A second straight day of heavy selling came as Trump made good on threats to impose sweeping tariffs on America’s largest trading partners.
A total of $3.4 trillion in value has now been wiped out since Nov. 6, the day after the election was held, according to data from Bloomberg.
This Did Not Age Well:
How Things Work:
Chickenshits:
GOP Campaign Chair Warns Lawmakers Against In-Person Town Halls — Protests Are Going to Get ‘Worse’
National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Richard Hudson warned congressional lawmakers to avoid in-person town halls and predicted that protests, which he blamed on Democratic activists, are only going to get worse.
The Fascist Felon, DOGEbags, and the Brownshirts:
The Worst Garbage in the World:
Sean Hannity Pleaded With Trump to Stop Slamming Fox News to Get Relationship ‘Back to Normal’: Report
Fox News’ Sean Hannity reportedly went to bat for his employer during a rough patch in its relationship with Donald Trump, pleading with Trump not to publicly criticize Fox or the Murdoch family in one phone call.
An excerpt of Axios’s Alex Isenstadt’s new book, Revenge: The Inside Story of Trump’s Return to Power obtained by The Washington Post details the efforts.
“Please do not hit Fox, do not hit the Murdoch family. Just please, for the love of God, please don’t do it,” Hannity said, according to an excerpt from the book obtained by The Washington Post. “Mr. President, I’m trying to help you out here with the Fox people here. But you’re not making it easy for me by going after the Murdochs. You’re not helping me. You’re not helping yourself. If you can just lay off, we can start making some moves and getting back to normal.”
Trump held up the phone to nearby aides so they could hear Hannity’s call. “Sean is trying to do the right thing. But, man, the Murdochs? I don’t know,” Trump said.
With Trump not biting, Hannity turned his attention to Trump’s campaign manager, Susie Wiles.
“Susie, are you in the room? Susie, can you talk to the president? For the love of God can you talk to the president?” Hannity reportedly asked.
“Well, Sean, President Trump is going to do what President Trump thinks is best and fair,” Wiles said in response. (Through a Fox News spokesperson, Hannity said he did not recall speaking with Wiles during the conversation.)
Trump then called Hannity a “good man” and ended the call.
Craven Assholes:
Ethical Concerns Surround Sen. Joni Ernst’s Relationships With Top Military Officials Who Lobbied Her Committee
Earlier this year, the Air Force revealed that the general who oversaw its lobbying before Congress had inappropriate romantic relationships with five women, including three who worked on Capitol Hill.
Maj. Gen. Christopher Finerty’s colleagues told investigators the relationships were “highly inappropriate” as they could give the Air Force undue influence in Congress. “I honestly felt sick to my stomach,” one said, according to a report about the investigation, “because it just felt so sleazy.”
The Air Force inspector general’s report redacted the names of the women who worked on the Hill.
But one of the women whose relationship with Finerty was scrutinized by the inspector general was Sen. Joni Ernst, according to two sources with knowledge of the investigation. The Iowa Republican and combat veteran is one of the most influential voices on the Hill about the military, and she sits on the Senate’s Armed Services Committee, which oversees the Pentagon and plays a crucial role in setting its annual budget.
