Ilhan Omar Wants to Impeach Pete Hegseth - The Friday AM Quickie 3/28/25
RIP to the leftist media scholar Robert W. McChesney, whose many books remain required reading for anyone who wants to understand how the power of the press can help to build a better world. - Corey
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THE BIG NEWS
Powerful Earthquake Hits Myanmar and Thailand
At least 3 people are dead and 90 missing in Bangkok, Thailand after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck neighboring Myanmar, the Associated Press reports. The extent of the damage is Myanmar, a military dictatorship in the throes of a civil war, is not yet clear, but the Guardian reports that at least 8 people were killed in Mandalay.
US Amps Up Yemen Bombing as Democrats Mull Impeachment for Trump Cronies in Leak Scandal
The United States has been bombing Yemen, one of the poorest countries in the world, in order to aid America's uber-wealthy ally, Saudi Arabia, on and off for at least a decade. Most US airstrikes don't make the news, but that changed this week thanks to the accidental and probably illegal leak of secret Yemen war plans by Donald Trump's incompetent cabinet. In the ghoulish mobile phone war plan chat, cabinet officials cheered the flattening of an apartment building in Yemen. Peter Hawkins, UNICEF's representative in Yemen, this week confirmed that the latest US airstrikes killed eight children. Last night the US launched more extensive and "particularly intense" airstrikes in Yemen, which involve not only tageting Houthi rebel military positions but also "dropping bombs in city neighborhoods," the Associated Press reports.
The New York Times reports that Houthi rebels could indeed have shot down US aircraft using the sort of attack plans accidentally leaked by the unqualified Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. "The Houthis have received several types of Iranian surface-to-air missiles designed to be capable of engaging fighter jets, including at high altitudes," one military analyst tells the Times – and, indeed, the Houthis fired surface-to-air missiles at an American F-16 fighter jet for the first time last month. So the Republicans claiming no harm, no foul over this leak scandal are full of it.
Meanwhile in Washington, DC, US District Judge James Boasberg ordered the Trump administration to preserve the leaked text message records, originally set to auto-destruct within one week, as required by the Federal Records Act. Trump, true to form, calls Boasberg "Highly Conflicted" due to his "hatred of me." But privately, Trump is fuming mad at his handpicked subordinates over the leaked messages. Of course he's equally to blame for this scandal – and, let's not forget, Trump himself faced felony prosecution for stealing classified documents from the White House and stashing them in the nooks, crannies, and bathrooms of Mar-a-Lago.
Congressional Democrats are preparing multiple probes of the leaked war plans, with demands for Hegseth to testify, the Washington Post reports. And that's not all. Per Axios, Minnesota Squad Rep. Ilhan Omar "is privately proposing articles of impeachment" against Hegseth, National Security Advisor Michael Waltz and CIA Director John Ratcliffe, who were all on that fateful, insecure, and immoral Signal chat.
There's no sign yet that this scandal will lead to any change in US policy on Yemen, but at least it's putting Trump's cronies on their back feet.
MORE STORIES TO WATCH
Trumpocalypse, Con't.: Smithsonian Told to Censor 'Improper, Divisive, or Anti-American' History Exhibits; Confederate Propaganda Restored
- US Border Agents Detain Dissident Russian Harvard Scientist After She Tells Them She Fears Persecution By Putin Secretary of State Marco Rubio, meanwhile, says the State Department has revoked "300 or more" student visas from "these lunatics" who engage in First Amendment protected speech. via the Harvard Crimson, NBC News, the New York Times, and the Associated Press.
- Canada's Friendly 'Old Relationship' with US, Including Economic and Military Ties, 'Is Over,' Prime Minister Mark Carney Says Flight bookings from Canada to the US are down approximately 75 percent since Trump returned to office, and polls now show that fewer than half of US adults consider Canada a close ally. via the Toronto Star, the Guardian, and the Associated Press.
- Trump May Violate UN Treaty to Permit Deep Sea Mining By Firm Linked to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick Aspiring Tsar Vladimir Putin, meanwhile, suggested that Russia would consider "joint work" in exploiting Arctic mineral resources with the US should it try to take over Greenland. via the New York Times.
- Justice Department Unit That Investgated Kleptocracy – Rule By Thieves – Disbanded After Probing Three Trump Allies Meanwhile, watchdogs are asking questions about the $50,000 18-karat gold Rolex Cosmograph Daytona watch flaunted by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and Canadian authorities are investigating possible government rebate fraud by Tesla dealerships owned by unelected oligarch Elon Musk. via the Washington Post.
- Trump Order Claims Power to End Collective Bargaining Across Much of the Federal Government "It's clear that this order is punishment for unions who are leading the fight against the administration's illegal actions in court — and a blatant attempt to silence us," AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler says. "We will fight this outrageous attack on our members with every fiber of our collective being." via the AP.
- White House Memo Calls for Mass Firings of Up to 50 Percent of Federal Agency Workforce Robert F. Kennedy Jr., meanwhile, plans to gut the Department of Health and Human Services, with 10,000 more job cuts "across agencies tasked with responding to disease outbreaks, approving new drugs, providing insurance for the poorest Americans and more." via the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, and the New York Times.
- Worried About Losing House Majority, White House Yanks GOP Rep. Elise Stefanik's Nomination as UN Ambassador Republican leaders "legitimately feared losing her district, even though it favored Trump by 21 percentage points just months ago." via CBS News and the Washington Post.
- Two Federal Trade Commissioners Sue Over Unlawful Firings, Demand Reinstatement "At stake is the future of not only the FTC but also several other agencies whose members have historically enjoyed the same independence from White House control, possibly including the Federal Reserve Board." via the Washington Post.
QUICKEST QUICKIES
- Congressional Democratic Leadership Defensive and 'Humble' as Voters Lose Patience "'No senator is presenting themselves as an alternative [to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer], so that's a major barrier to any donor momentum to pressure him out,' [one] Democratic donor adviser said. 'If somebody signaled to donors they wanted to be that alternative, I do think there would be real movement around that. But it hasn't come yet.'" via the Washington Post, Politico, and the Nation.
- Studies: Coronavirus May Cause Cognitive Harm Even in People Who Don't Show Long Covid Symptoms "This is, for the most part, a permanently disabling illness that isn't going to get better without investment in treatments and trials as soon as possible," says Hannah Davis, an artist and Long Covid sufferer who co-founded the volunteer Patient-Led Research Collaborative. via the Washington Post.
- Andrew Tate's Ex-Girlfriend Files Lawsuit Saying He Choked and Beat Her in Los Angeles This Month The violent encounter allegedly took place on March 10, less than two weeks after the vile misogynist "manosphere" influencer returned to the US from Romania, where he faces human trafficking charges, thanks to lobbying by his fans in the Trump administration. via the Los Angeles Times and Rolling Stone.
- New York County Clerk Refuses to File Texas Ruling Against Doctor Who Mailed Abortion Pills New York Democratic leaders hailed acting Ulster County Clerk Taylor Bruck for upholding a state shield law protecting medical workers who offer telehealth abortion care to patients in other states; Bruck is likely to be named in a Republican lawsuit. via the Albany Times Union, the New York Times, and ProPublica.
SOME NUMBER
30 percent
That's how much less summer sea ice there was in the Antarctic this month as compared to the typical amount prior to 2010, government scientists at the University of Colorado, Boulder reported yesterday. Winter sea ice cover in the Arctic, meanwhile, was the lowest it's ever been due to human-caused climate change. "It's like the heartbeat of the planet is slowing down," NASA ice scientist Linette Boisvert, who worked on the report, tells the New York Times. "It's not good."
ON THE SHOW TODAY
3/28: Happy Friday! Are you ready for some Digby (Heather Parton)?
DON'T MISS MR CLIPS
Republican Goes Full Moron During Congressional Hearing
"Why is NPR even doing editorials?!"
Trump's Gulag
Sam and Emma interview Austin Kocher, a Syracuse University political and legal geographer studying immigration enforcement, about the latest shocking cases from Trump's mass deportation campaign.
PARTING WORDS
"Whoever creates this stuff has no idea what pain is whatsoever. I am utterly disgusted. If you really want to make creepy stuff, you can go ahead and do it. I would never wish to incorporate this technology into my work at all. I strongly feel that this is an insult to life itself."
-- Studio Ghibli founder Hayao Miyazaki, 84, responding to a demonstration of AI-generated artwork in a 2016 documentary. Miyazaki and his acclaimed and beloved Japanese animation studio have yet to publicly respond to an online trend encouraged by ChatGPT maker OpenAI to create plagiarised AI-generated images that mimic Ghibli style. Among the most cruel and tasteless creations came from Donald Trump's White House, where staffers shared a "ghoulish" Ghibli-style image on its official X account showing a weeping woman from the Dominican Republic being arrested by a US border guard. Copyright lawyers tell the Associated Press that despite OpenAI's assertion that such images are permissible, the company may indeed be vulnerable to infringement claims.
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