MAGA hiding inconvenient truth; Partisan chaos in gun safety law; 2024 election subversion?

Politico writes about MAGA elites hiding inconvenient truth, something that is not surprising: 

Trump administration officials delayed and redacted a government forecast because it predicts an increase in the nation’s trade deficit in farm goods later this year, according to two people familiar with the matter. The numbers run counter to President Donald Trump’s messaging that his economic policies, including tariffs, will reduce U.S. trade imbalances. The politically inconvenient data prompted administration officials to block publication of the written analysis normally attached to the report because they disliked what it said about the deficit.

“The report was hung up in internal clearance process and was not finalized in time for its typical deadline,” said USDA spokesperson Alec Varsamis in a statement. “Given this report is not statutory as with many other reports USDA does, the Department is undergoing a review of all of its non-statutory reports, including this one, to determine next steps.”

The published report, released Monday, June 3 but dated May 29. It includes numbers that are unchanged from how they would’ve read in the unredacted report, which is how we know about the redactions.

What might “next steps” be? Getting rid of formal analysis and reporting entirely and replacing that with stuff that MAGA thugs just make up.

There it is, hiding inconvenient truth from the American people, trying to deceive them. djt and MAGA elites have turned the federal government into a machine that whitewashes inconvenient facts and truths. And, they did it in less that 6 months. We can expect this to be the new normal.

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In a 2022 gun regulation case, New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. Bruen, the USSC made up something one might call the history and traditions test. It requires gun safety laws to have 18th- or 19th-century analogs to survive 2nd Amendment constitutional challenges. In essence, the Bruen decision forces judges to act as historians rather than arbiters of public safety based on objective criteria such as passing a background check. Not surprisingly, chaos reigns supreme. Judges are not historians, they are judges.

Bruen exemplifies the Federalist Society’s and MAGA’s influence in reshaping judicial priorities. They have replaced replace pragmatic governance with subjective, radical ideological dogma. By requiring courts to litigate history rather than evaluate contemporary harm and social safety, the decision entrenches a form of legal authoritarianism where archaic norms override collective security.

Slate writes about the chaos, pointing out how highly politicized gun safety regulations now are. Courts face irreconcilable splits on age restrictions, felon disarmament, and assault weapon bans. Republican-appointed judges side with gun rights plaintiffs 48% of the time vs. 14% for Democratic appointees. Over 30% of post-Bruen Second Amendment cases resulted in laws being invalidated, including domestic violence restrictions and bans on firearms in post offices. 

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In an obscure case, Access Newswire reports that a New York state judge is allowing discovery to proceed in a lawsuit that challenges the results of the 2024 election:

NEW CITY, NY / ACCESS Newswire / May 29, 2025 / A seminal case questioning the accuracy of the 2024 Presidential and Senate election results in Rockland County, New York, is moving forward. In open court last Thursday, Judge Rachel Tanguay of the New York Supreme Court, ruled that discovery must proceed, pushing the lawsuit brought by SMART Legislation into the evidence-gathering stage. The lawsuit seeks a full hand recount of the Presidential and U.S. Senate races in Rockland County.

SMART Legislation, the action arm of SMART Elections, is the lead plaintiff in the case. Both organizations are dedicated to ensuring fair and accurate elections.

"There is clear evidence that the senate results are incorrect, and there are statistical indications that the presidential results are highly unlikely," stated Lulu Friesdat, Founder and Executive Director of SMART Legislation. "If the results are incorrect, it is a violation of the constitutional rights of each person who voted in the 2024 Rockland County general election. The best way to determine if the results are correct is to examine the paper ballots in a full public, transparent hand recount of all presidential and senate ballots in Rockland County. We believe it's vitally important, especially in the current environment, to be absolutely confident about the results of the election."

Additionally, a statistician determined that the 2024 presidential election results were statistically highly unlikely in four of the five towns in Rockland County when compared with 2020 results.

Max Bonamente, Ph.D., Professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Alabama in Huntsville and the author of the textbook, "Statistics and Analysis of Scientific Data," says in an upcoming paper on the Rockland data, "These data would require extreme sociological or political causes for their explanation, and would benefit from further assurances as to their fidelity."

Once again, we see an obscure report of 2024 election irregularity backed by statistical analysis. AP News also reported about this lawsuit. One can only wonder if the 2024 election wasn't rigged on a large scale. Since no one bothered to file dozens of lawsuits like djt did after the 2020 election, we will probably never know.

Q: Is it unreasonable to want to see at least as much effort put into challenging the results of the 2024 elections and there was put into challenging the 2020 elections? If so, why?

MAGA politicizing and weaponizing the FBI

A NYT article discussed (not paywalled) what elite MAGA thugs, Kash Patel and Dan Bongino, are doing to the FBI. Both are qualified mostly by their partisanship and loyalty to djt, not decades of experience in federal law enforcement. From the experience point of view, neither of them are close to being qualified for high-level executive positions in the FBI. What those two are doing to the FBI is frightening and extremely threatening to the rule of law: 

Before being confirmed as the director of the F.B.I., Kash Patel made clear his intent to remake it in his own image, reflecting a larger desire by the White House to bend the agency to its will.

“The F.B.I. has become so thoroughly compromised that it will remain a threat to the people unless drastic measures are taken,” he wrote in his book “Government Gangsters,” asserting that the top ranks of the bureau should be eliminated.

Behind the scenes, his vision of an F.B.I. under President Trump is quietly taking shape. Agents have been forced out. Others have been demoted or put on leave with no explanation. And in an effort to hunt down the sources of news leaks, Mr. Patel is forcing employees to take polygraph tests.

A Pxy analysis of what is going on is in order.

Q: Analyze this for truth, exaggerations or lies about the alleged politization of the FBI before Trump was elected in 2024: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/01/us/politics/fbi-patel.html. Does it appear to be the case that Patel and MAGA elites are politicizing the FBI, like the DoJ already has been politicized under Pam Bondi?

A: The transformation of the Federal Bureau of Investigation under Director Kash Patel presents a complex case study in contemporary institutional politicization, where claims of correcting past abuses appear to mask a systematic effort to reshape the bureau according to partisan objectives. Evidence from multiple sources indicates that while Patel and MAGA-aligned officials assert they are depoliticizing the FBI, their actions demonstrate the opposite—a deliberate politicization that mirrors patterns observed in the Department of Justice under Attorney General Pam Bondi. The documented personnel purges, structural reorganizations, and targeting of individuals based on their involvement in politically sensitive investigations suggest a fundamental departure from traditional law enforcement independence, contradicting the administration's stated goals of restoring institutional integrity.

Kash Patel's rise to prominence within conservative circles stemmed from his role as a Republican congressional aide who criticized the FBI's handling of Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) applications during the Russia investigation 6. His 2018 assertions about FBI misconduct became central to the Trump administration's narrative of a "deep state" conspiracy targeting the former president. However, subsequent investigations revealed significant problems with the credibility of these claims. Many of Patel's assertions from 2018 were later found to be misleading or false, though a December 2019 inspector general report did identify genuine issues with FBI FISA applications in the Russia investigation and widespread negligence in unrelated cases 6.

We're in very serious trouble.

djt's propaganda toy; Invasive, cruel Christian theocracy; MAGA lawmakers' "diligence"

Rolling Stone reports: "Trump Spreads Bizarre Conspiracy Theory That Biden Was Executed and Replaced by a Robot Clone -- Donald Trump reposted a baseless conspiracy theory claiming Joe Biden was “executed in 2020” and replaced with a robot clone. The president shared a post from a social media user that alleged: “There is no #JoeBiden – executed in 2020. #Biden clones doubles & robotic engineered soulless mindless entities are what you see. #Democrats don’t know the difference.” Similar unfounded theories about Biden have been floating around the internet for years." 

djt knows that Biden is not a clone or artificial intelligence hallucination or any of the other extreme crackpot lies about Biden's alleged non-existence. Those lies have been circulating among radical right crackpots for years. 

So why does he say things he knows are false? Probably at least three reasons. One is to virtue signal to his cult base -- they seem to love insulting lies and sheer lunacy like this. Another is to upsent and demoralize as many people in opposition to him as he can. Third, this is just plain fun for the cruel sadist to publicly degrade the office of the presidency, presumably as payback for whatever real and imagined wrongs and insults he may have suffered. 

He knows exactly what he is doing. Unfortunately most of the MSM still doesn't know what he is doing. For the most part, our pathetic MSM is djt's fun time play toy.

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This 1:39 video discusses a new law in West Virginia that makes it a felony for a woman who has a miscarriage within 9 weeks of pregnancy to dispose of fetal tissue without getting the police involved.

Why impose such a cruel, invasive law? Because there are science-based ways to distinguish between a natural miscarriage and an abortion induced by misoprostol and/or mifepristone. To do the analyses, the state need to get fetal tissue to do the analyses. Specifically, placental mRNA analysis combined with a toxicology screen provides evidence of whether the tissue was chemically aborted or naturally miscarried. Why focus on self-administered, chemically-induced abortions, which are illegal in states with abortion bans? This is why:

In abortion ban states, nearly all abortions are self-managed. That data reflects the reality that women are forced to get chemical abortion drugs. They cannot go to a doctor, and nothing is as safe as chemical abortion drugs. 

Why call this law Christian theocratic? Because theocratic Christian nationalist elites have bulldozed forced birth laws on women in red states.

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A smattering of news is coming out reporting that, not surprisingly, MAGA lawmakers in congress don't read the laws they vote to pass. The Daily Beast reports that MTG was in a proper snit when she found out that djt's OBBB (one big beautiful bill) includes a 10-year ban on states passing any AI (artificial intelligence) regulations. Greene stated on X that she is "adamantly OPPOSED" to this provision, calling it a violation of states' rights and saying she would have voted against the bill had she known about it. In the world of AI, 10-years is a heck of a long time. Nearly all of the damage that can be done by AI will be done by then.

Adamantly OPPOSED, mind you! Attaboy Marjorie -- give 'em hell. MAGA!!  /s

Meanwhile in Nebraska, NBC News reports that MAGA lawmaker Mike Flood was all shocked and amazed when he found out in a Town Hall meeting that djt's OBBB, which he proudly voted for, includes a provision that basically guts what little is left of the power of federal courts to enforce their contempt orders and fines imposed on people in contempt of court orders. This one is a real democracy killer, literally. 

Flood defended himself like this: “I believe in the rule of law. I’ve taken an oath as an attorney, I’ve taken an oath as a state senator, I’ve taken an oath as a member of Congress, and I support our court system, and I do believe that the federal district courts, when issuing an injunction, should have legal effect. In fact, I relied upon that when the Biden administration was in place. The federal courts did a tremendous amount of good work. I am not going to hide the truth. This provision was unknown to me when I voted for that, and when I found out that provision was in the bill, I immediately reached out to my Senate counterparts and told them of my concern.” 

In response to that fine excuse the crowd jeered Flood, to his consternation. Many raspberries were in play with the boisterous crowd.

But seriously, in Flood's defense, he did reach out to his Senate counterparts and told them of his concern. Bwahahahahahaha!! Giggle, snort, snort!!

Reached out, mind you! Attaboy Mike -- give 'em hell. MAGA!!  /s  

But as we all know, lawmakers usually do not read or understand long bills. They leave it to their staff to flag issues. Guess we got some flagless staff going on in MAGAlandia. Or much more likely, the staff actually liked these horrendous provisions in the OBBB, so for them there was nothing to flag!

We are so screwed. not /s 

djt's pardon machine: The new normal rule of law

In a lawsuit I am aware of, X has been convicted of braxen insider trading. Pxy's analysis and estimate of the likelihood of X asking for a djt pardon and getting it suggests it is reasonable. X has been convicted and their appeal options are running out. Jail time is imminent.

Q1: Has X appealed to Trump for a pardon?

A1: Given X’s high-profile conviction for insider trading and securities fraud, and the fact that they face a potentially lengthy prison sentence and substantial financial penalties, it is plausible that X would consider seeking a pardon from President Trump. X has a history of using all available legal avenues—they previously cooperated with prosecutors for immunity in (a gigantic 1980s fraud case) case and is expected to appeal their current conviction. The current climate, where President Trump has demonstrated a willingness to grant pardons to white-collar and politically connected individuals, further increases the likelihood that X will at least explore this option, especially if their appeal fails.

Based on the available search results, there is no evidence that X has appealed to President Trump for a pardon. The most recent official updates regarding X's legal situation focus on their conviction for securities fraud, a forfeiture order, and an upcoming sentencing hearing. None of the provided sources mention any public or legal request by X for a pardon from Trump.

Q2: About how much would X need to pay to Trump to get a pardon? What is an estimate of the going rate for Trump pardons of non-violent white-collar criminals?

A2: There is substantial reporting that the process for seeking a pardon from Trump has become highly transactional, with large sums spent on legal fees, lobbying, and campaign donations by those seeking clemency, especially in high-profile white-collar cases.

While not formally required, there are documented cases where large campaign donations or fundraising for Trump or his affiliated groups coincided with the granting of pardons. For example, Chris Christie highlighted that Paul Walczak’s mother was a "million-dollar donor/fundraiser for Trump" and that Walczak received a pardon despite a conviction for stealing $10 million in payroll taxes. This pattern suggests indicates that significant financial support for Trump’s political efforts may increases the likelihood of receiving clemency, though there is no official "price list." (edits added for clarity)

For comparison, reputable law firms specializing in federal pardons typically charge between $15,000 and $30,000 for standard cases, but these figures do not reflect the scale or political nature of the current Trump pardon environment, where access and influence are paramount.

This kind of white collar corruption is the new normal. Maybe X can pay djt enough to overcome their past political neutrality and get the golden ticket pardon.