Author: HP McLovincraft

Seeker of rabbit holes. Pessimist. Libertine. Contrarian. Your huckleberry. Possibly true tales of sanity-blasting horror also known as abject reality. Prepare yourself. Veteran of a thousand psychic wars. I have seen the fnords. Deplatformed on Tumblr and Twitter.

As Trump-Iran Truce Frays, Dem Leaders Pursue Yet Another Round of War Powers Votes

After accusations of cowardly delays, Democratic leaders in the US Congress moved Wednesday toward a vote on yet another war powers resolution aimed at stopping President Donald Trump from waging more unauthorized war on Iran as the tenuous day-old Mideast ceasefire unravels.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) announced Wednesday that Democrats will force a vote on a war powers resolution when upper chamber lawmakers reconvene next week.

“Congress must reassert its authority, especially at this dangerous moment,” Schumer said during a press conference at his New York office. “No president, Democrat or Republican, should take this country to war alone. Not now. Not ever.”

Meanwhile, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) reiterated remarks made during a Tuesday evening interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper, in which he said he’s demanding House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) “immediately reconvene the House back into session” so lawmakers can vote on the war powers resolution.

“A two-week ceasefire is insufficient,” Jeffries said. “We need a permanent end to Donald Trump’s reckless war of choice.”

“Assuming it doesn’t happen this week, we’ll go back into session next week and we will present a war powers resolution as soon as it becomes available to us to do so as a matter of privilege on the House floor,” he continued. “All we need are a handful of Republicans to join us.”

“The American people strongly oppose this reckless war of choice and know that we should not be spending billions of dollars to drop bombs in Iran while Republicans and Donald Trump are unwilling to spend a dime to actually make life more affordable for the American people,” Jeffries added.

The GOP-controlled House and Senate have rejected attempts to pass war powers resolutions, with Johnson denying that the US is even at war – a dubious argument used in as far back as the Korean War in order to skirt the constitutional requirement for congressional assent.

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Why Trump’s Cuba Plan Won’t Work

It is clear that the US wants to conduct some kind of regime change operation in Cuba, egged on by Republican and Democratic hawks, though polling indicates it is not popular within the US, Cuba, or the international community. Figures like Marco Rubio have said that Cuba will need to open their economy up, in a nod to when the island was a completely deregulated vassal for US casino companies, ruled by a pro-US brutal dictator, Fulgencio Batista, who was deposed by the Cuban Revolution led by the Castro brothers and Che Guevara.

The US has been applying maximum pressure on Cuba and negotiating like it did in Venezuela to put a new leader compliant to US interests, perhaps even one of the Castros, reportedly.

The Trump administration says it is getting closer to a “deal” as Venezuela has stopped its partnership with Cuba and Mexico has, according to the White House, stopped sending oil shipments. However, Mexico is still sending some oil and aid, Russia is sending more, and China has also sent help. China’s sustained attacks on the Cuban campaign have brought it diplomatic capital. The narrative of a collapsing support network for Havana is wishful thinking.

Conditions on the island are dire thanks to the US blockade, in place since 1958 but increased by Trump. There are rolling blackouts lasting up to 20 hours a day. Hospitals are shutting down wings, and patients have died because respirators lost power. Food is spoiling due to lack of refrigeration, pushing child malnutrition rates to levels not seen since the 1990s. But despite the suffering, Cuba has not budged. Negotiators have said they are “not going anywhere.”

Cubans are reminded daily of what subjugation under the US’s thumb was like, and they see a live demonstration in Venezuela, where the US extracts resources with no regard for the local population. No matter how much the US pushes, Cubans may only be urged to rebel further.

There have been massive youth protests in Cuba, but notably, they rebuke the US and the blockade, throwing out the possibility of an inside coup. Progressives in the US have pushed back, and Cuba’s young population has lost more than 1 million people to emigration (10 percent of the population), which has slowed the economy and decreased the risk of an insurgency. Rich right-wing Cubans are in South Florida. An older, more ideologically-committed population remains.

The history of American interference in Cuba is long and bloody. There was the failed Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961. There have been hundreds of assassination attempts against Fidel Castro. There is the ongoing blockade, codified by the Helms-Burton Act. For six decades, Washington has used OFAC to seize Cuban assets. Every tool in the regime change toolbox has been used. None have worked.

What Cuba hawks like Trump, Rubio, Ted Cruz, Maria Elvira Salazar, and Mario Diaz-Balart want is not new. All come from wealthy conservative families, with Rubio, Cruz, and Salazar being of Cuban descent, and they have a personal and ideological vendetta against socialist Cuba – many of their families held positions within the old Batista regime.

They want a throwback to the old pro-US regime that will do the bidding of American corporations and the military. The island is a strategic base for other operations. Washington wants Guantánamo not just for detention but as a staging ground for airstrikes against fishing boats in the Caribbean – strikes that are war crimes according to international law.

Cuba is an older, more resilient regime than the ones the US has successfully toppled. Cuba was the main socialist revolution that spurred anti-colonial revolts throughout Latin America, Europe, and Asia. The Cuban revolutionary government, while blockaded and sanctioned, helped socialist movements in Angola, Bolivia, Syria, Libya, Venezuela, El Salvador, Granada, Colombia, Ethiopia, Congo, Mozambique, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Nicaragua, and elsewhere.

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Unearthed clip exposes shocking claim by Newsom’s wife about inmates at violent California prison

California Governor Gavin Newsom’s wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, is getting raked over the coals for comments she made several years ago, suggesting criminals housed in a notorious California prison, which was known for housing violent criminals and death row prisoners, got there by “accident.”

Siebel Newsom’s comments came as she was discussing a tragedy in her younger life at an event in 2016. A few days before her seventh birthday, Siebel Newsom was involved in a fatal golf cart accident that ultimately killed her sister.  

“I had to be very raw when we interviewed the young men who were juvenile offenders at San Quentin. I told them about my own loss, where I lost my older sister a few days before my seventh birthday and I blame myself for her death and I share that because they ultimately were accused of committing these violent crimes and sentenced for life, and I think it shocked them that this blonde lady, who was interviewing them, had a similar story – was perhaps in the wrong place at the wrong time – but wasn’t punished the way they were because clearly it was an accident, but theirs was probably an accident too,” Siebel Newsom said when discussing ways to connect with others. 

“Anyways, I share that – I guess – I quite enjoy spending time with people and being real and unmasking and showing them that it’s safe to unmask themselves.”

A spokesperson for Governor Newsom’s wife clarified that the remarks in the 2016 interview with the first partner, were referring to incarcerated individuals for her 2015 documentary “The Mask You Live In.” 

The spokesperson did not provide an on-the-record statement but did point Fox News Digital to a social media post from Gov. Newsom’s press office calling out the media for being “focused on running nonstop hit pieces on California’s First Partner,” while the president is “threatening to obliterate a civilization tonight.” 

On Tuesday, the same day the clip began going viral on social media, President Donald Trump issued an ominous message on his social media platform Truth Social, indicating “a whole civilization will die tonight,” amid his threat of a looming U.S. attack against Iranian bridges and power plants.

“This is the MAGA distraction machine — in full force,” concluded the social media post, which included news segments criticizing Siebel Newsom on Tuesday.

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Voters Oust Half of City Council for Greenlighting $6,000,000,000 AI Data Center

Voters in a Missouri town ousted four city council members Tuesday for supporting an AI data center in the area.

Voters in the town of Festus, Missouri, voted against four members of the town’s eight-member city council who voted to greenlight a $6 billion data center project a week prior, according to St. Louis Public Radio. Anger has been brewing in several localities across the U.S. against data center projects, with voters in a Wisconsin town overwhelmingly opting Tuesday to crack down on a proposed development.

Tuesday’s vote followed months of at times raucous opposition against CRG Clayco’s plan to build a hyperscale data center on 360 acres in the town. The four city council members who lost their reelection bids were defeated by candidates who ran against the data centers and supported more transparency in the data center approval process.

“This data center fight has struck this community to the core and really, honestly ignited a community-driven effort here,” Dan Moore, who defeated pro-data center incumbent Bobby Benz, told St. Louis Public Radio. “People are awake now, and we’re not going to let this continue on anymore.”

Residents opposed to the AI data center flooded a local gymnasium to voice their frustrations during a March 31 city council meeting where the council voted to approve a framework of requirements for CRG’s planned construction, St. Louis Public Radio reported.

“I am not against growth,” Festus resident Lauren Albers said during the raucous city council meeting. “I’m against putting data centers between homes. I am against rushing into development before residents get real information, real answers and a real voice.”

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Far-left CBS News Runs Desperate Story to Shield Eric Swalwell

CBS News embarrassed itself Thursday by running a laughably desperate story to shield the creepy, fang-fanging, serial lying Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) from a whisper campaign about sexual misconduct allegations that are supposedly coming soon.

First, some background…

Several left-wing activists, led by Gen-Z for Change’s Cheyenne Hunt,  have spent the better part of a week claiming that a number of women are about to come forward to accuse California gubernatorial candidate Swalwell of various forms of sexual misconduct.

“The number of credible women who have come forward since I posted my video is pretty shocking, and connecting them with the investigative reporting teams who have been working on breaking this for years has greatly expedited this process,” Hunt claims. “I am confident this story will break soon.”

An important point here is that, according to Hunt, Swalwell’s office requires staffers to sign nondisclosure agreements, or  NDAs…

“It appears that others may have stayed quiet due to a belief that non-disclosure agreements required them to keep this secret,” Hunt wrote. “While it is true that most NDAs would be unenforceable under these circumstances, most people don’t know that until they speak to a lawyer.”

Other left-wing activists have chimed in to back up the allegation that allegations will soon be alleging these alleged allegations…

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Hobbs’ New Arizona Board Of Regents Picks Devoted To DEI

The Arizona Board of Regents (ABOR) grew by two new members last week. 

On Monday, Gov. Katie Hobbs appointed Michele Halyard, an oncologist specializing in breast cancer, and Steve Peru, formerly Coconino County’s manager.

“Dr. Michele Halyard is a leader in medical education who will provide expertise to the Board as the universities work to meet the state’s healthcare needs,” said Hobbs in an announcement. “Steve Peru is a longtime public servant with decades of experience who will bring his pragmatic leadership and focus on accountability to the Board. Our public university students deserve the best, and I’m confident Michele and Steve will help ensure the continued excellence of higher education in Arizona.”

Halyard’s past and present accomplishments included in Hobbs’ announcement referenced a fellowship with the American Society for Radiation Oncology, professorship of radiation oncology, vice deanship of the Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine, board membership with the Arizona Community Foundation, and membership with the Arizona Bioscience Roadmap Steering Committee. 

One thing not mentioned in Hobbs’ announcement was Halyard’s career-long DEI goals on reforming health care with health equity. 

Halyard has spent her 40 years in medicine advocating for affirmative action and health equity in medicine, according to Mayo Clinic profiles on the doctor published in 2023 and 2024.

Halyard expressed her belief in the existence of structural racism in medicine, and its disparate impacts on patient suffering and mortality. 

“I didn’t see a lot of people of color at the clinic either working or as patients, and I really thought what a shame that was because of the preeminence of healthcare that we deliver,” said Halyard. “People who, perhaps, feel shut out from the healthcare system, people who experience structural racism that prevents them from getting in for the best care, that really results in excess death, excess suffering among populations of people.” 

It was under Halyard that Mayo Clinic initiated “antiracism efforts” by using affirmative action in recruiting.

Halyard’s husband is Phoenix City Councilman Kevin Robinson, a Democrat and former Phoenix Police Department assistant chief. 

Peru’s historic dedication to DEI initiatives wasn’t mentioned in Hobbs’ press release, either. 

Shortly after joining Coconino County as their manager, Peru took on a years-long effort by the county to recruit an individual for a DEI directorship position.

In the weeks following Trump’s inauguration last year, Peru posted a comment agreeing with another colleague’s LinkedIn post advocating for DEI in K-12 in the wake of the new administration’s policies. 

Prior to joining Coconino County, Peru was the chief development and government relations officer at Coconino County Community College and former CEO and president of United Way of Northern Arizona. 

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Welfare Loophole That Lets Millionaires Get Food Stamps

Rob Undersander is a millionaire. He also received taxpayer-funded food stamps. His story illustrates an absurd – and intentional – loophole in America’s welfare system that taxpayers need closed immediately.

Rob applied for food stamps in 2016. A Minnesota resident, he clearly exceeded the program’s asset limits. But in the application process, he was deemed eligible to receive a brochure on domestic violence services, which under state policy allowed him to receive food stamps. Three weeks later, his first food-stamp benefits arrived in the mail. The taxpayer cash arrived like clockwork for the next 19 months, ultimately amounting to more than $6,000. (Rob only did this to prove the system was broken, and instead of keeping the money, he donated every penny to charity.)

It’s no accident that despite being a millionaire, Rob received welfare payments that are supposed to be for the truly vulnerable. The federal government and states have conspired to create a system that intentionally bypasses the program’s eligibility standards. Call it fraud by design.

Federal law establishes two ways to qualify for stamps – either by meeting the income and asset limits, or by qualifying for a cash welfare program. But in 1999, the Clinton administration issued guidance that lets states decide what qualifies as a benefit under those programs. States have responded by offering benefits that are nothing of the kind, in a deliberate attempt to bypass the asset and income limits for food stamps. The domestic violence brochure that Rob received is a good example. States routinely print pamphlets or establish hotlines that have nothing to do with food stamps, yet states deem them as benefits that let ineligible people get on the program anyway.

The Clinton administration frankly admitted the guidance violated congressional intent. The Obama administration later encouraged as many states as possible to use this loophole, while giving it a formal name: “Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility.” Today, 43 states and Washington, D.C.. have embraced this fraud. Our organization estimates that at least 5.9 million otherwise ineligible people are enrolled in food stamps through this loophole. They are also a major reason why at least one out of every $10 spent on food stamps is improper.

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Revealed: ALL Members Of Government’s ‘Anti-Muslim Hostility’ Group Have ISLAMIST Links

The UK Labour government’s new definition of “anti-Muslim hostility” – rebranded from “Islamophobia” – is being shaped by a working group where every single member has links to Islamist organisations.

The details are exposed in the Free Speech Union’s latest investigative briefing which highlights ties between the group members and the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) and Muslim Engagement and Development (MEND), groups that governments since 2009 have refused to engage with due to their extreme views. 

One member, Baroness Gohir, tweeted in support of Hamas in 2014. Another stood for the far-left, Islamist-supporting Respect Party.

As the Free Speech Union states: “In a free society, no religion should enjoy greater protection than others — nor be shielded from legitimate criticism and challenge.”

The FSU adds: “This group was stacked with members already sympathetic to such a definition.” And with the government yet to appoint a new Islamophobia tsar, “there is deep cause for concern.”

Conservative MP Katie Lam put it bluntly in her video response: “The Government’s new ‘anti-Muslim hostility’ definition will make it harder to talk about Islamist extremism, FGM, and the grooming gangs. They’d rather restrict our right to criticise than deal with these problems head-on. It’s putting us all in danger.”

Parliament abolished blasphemy laws in 2008. Yet as the FSU warns: “This Government risks reviving them for Islam alone, via the back door.”

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Baltimore Creates $35 Million Reparations Fund But None of the Money Has Been Paid Out Because Everyone is Fighting For Control Of It

When the state of Maryland legalized the sale of marijuana a few years ago, they decided that they would set aside a few dollars from each sale to go into a reparations fund which would pay for all sorts of social programs.

Now the fund has $35 million in it but almost none of the money has been paid out because pretty much everyone involved is fighting for control of the fund. Who could have predicted that such a thing would happen?

It’s probably safe to assume that lots of people are going to be very disappointed when this is all finally sorted out and decided.

The Baltimore Beat reports:

Baltimore has received more than $35 million in cannabis reparations money, but none of it has reached residents

In the three years since Maryland legalized recreational cannabis, Baltimore has received more than $35 million in tax revenue to reinvest in communities devastated by the War on Drugs. To date, not a single dollar has reached the people it was meant to help, and the first round of funding may still be a year away.

At the center of the delay is an escalating dispute over who controls the money: City Hall or the Baltimore Community Reinvestment and Reparations Commission, the 17-member body established in November 2024 to oversee how the funds are distributed. City Hall says the mayor has final say, while commissioners maintain the body was created to independently manage the funds.

That holdup means that while Maryland’s legalization of cannabis in 2023 led to over $1.1 billion in sales over the following year alone, even as Black communities continue to be targeted by the drug war, none of it has helped repair that damage…

State Senator Mary Washington, who sponsored SB0894, told the Beat that the law was not intended to give local elected officials control over how the money is spent, and argued Baltimore City’s interpretation is out of step with how the law has been understood elsewhere in Maryland.

“The money was never intended to be a slush fund for a county executive or mayor,” she said. Instead, she said, it was meant to reinvest in communities impacted by the War on Drugs and mass incarceration, which continue to face disparities in homeownership, wealth-building, and life expectancy.

This has disaster written all over it.

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Public Attorneys Doing Way More For Illegal Migrants Than You Might Think

Criminal migrants across the country are increasingly avoiding deportation thanks to an unlikely source: public attorneys using local taxpayer dollars to represent them in immigration court.

Foreign nationals facing criminal prosecution have long been provided Supreme Court-mandated legal advice on the potential impacts of guilty pleas. However, public attorneys are more frequently representing non-citizens in deportation proceedings, sparking ethical concerns from immigration hawks who note that there’s no legal requirement for free lawyers in civil court.

“You don’t have a right to pay counsel in civil proceedings any more than you do in tenant-landlord court or divorce court,” Art Arthur, a resident fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. Arthur — who previously served as an immigration judge — highlighted how government-funding for immigration attorneys is becoming more common across the U.S.

“If they’re going to provide free counsel to respondents — which is how we refer to them in immigration court — are they providing free counsel to people facing bankruptcy, to people who are facing eviction, to people who are attempting to get out of abuse of marriages?” Arthur continued. “I got a feeling the answer that probably no.”

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