20 votes

Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of June 16

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Tags: politics.usa, usa, recurring.weekly

This thread is posted weekly - please try to post all relevant US political content in here, such as news, updates, opinion articles, etc. Extremely significant events may warrant a separate topic, but almost all should be posted in here.

This is an inherently political thread; please try to avoid antagonistic arguments and bickering matches. Comment threads that devolve into unproductive arguments may be removed so that the overall topic is able to continue.

30 comments

  1. [6]
    Apex
    Link
    https://www.cnbc.com/2025/06/16/trump-mobile-phone-plan.html This could so easily be satire, but somehow it's not. Next up, he'll be selling his bath water.

    https://www.cnbc.com/2025/06/16/trump-mobile-phone-plan.html

    This could so easily be satire, but somehow it's not. Next up, he'll be selling his bath water.

    9 votes
    1. hobbes64
      Link Parent
      This is yet another way that congress (specifically, the Republican majority) abdicates its duty to enforce foreign and domestic emoluments clauses. They are fully complicit in this outrageous...

      This is yet another way that congress (specifically, the Republican majority) abdicates its duty to enforce foreign and domestic emoluments clauses. They are fully complicit in this outrageous corruption and ruination of reputation of the office.

      17 votes
    2. [4]
      okiyama
      Link Parent
      My first thought was, that is going to be an extremely insecure device that outs the users as fascists. I doubt it'll sell, but any bad guys on the right side of history could absolutely use it as...

      My first thought was, that is going to be an extremely insecure device that outs the users as fascists. I doubt it'll sell, but any bad guys on the right side of history could absolutely use it as a targeted attack vector.

      6 votes
      1. [3]
        terr
        Link Parent
        I'm more on the side of folks saying that it's essentially vaporware, I don't know that it'll ever appear. I visited the site and one interesting tidbit is that under the "Pre-Order The T1 Phone"...

        I'm more on the side of folks saying that it's essentially vaporware, I don't know that it'll ever appear.

        I visited the site and one interesting tidbit is that under the "Pre-Order The T1 Phone" section, you need to click a box affirming "By checking this box, you authorize Trumpmobile.com to charge your card on a recurring basis. However, you can cancel service at any time to stop future billings. We implement appropriate security measures to protect your personal information. All data transmitted between your browser and our servers is encrypted using HTTPS Standards to ensure confidentiality and integrity."

        Why do they need to charge my card on a recurring basis if I'm only giving them a $100 deposit? Does it automatically come with a subscription to their single service tier? When does billing for the phone plan start? Can I use the phone service before the T1 arrives?

        All of this just reeks of scam left and right.

        7 votes
        1. daychilde
          Link Parent
          An article I read of a journalist trying to sign up did but inspire confidence. The site threw up multiple errors, never charged them, then said it would be on the way but they never got his...

          An article I read of a journalist trying to sign up did but inspire confidence. The site threw up multiple errors, never charged them, then said it would be on the way but they never got his shipping address...

          It's a world of stupid. Unsurprisingly.

          5 votes
        2. stu2b50
          Link Parent
          That’s just card processing lingo. They’d presumably need to do a UCOF when the product ships, so they need to have that terminology down so they can store your card for MITs in the future.

          That’s just card processing lingo. They’d presumably need to do a UCOF when the product ships, so they need to have that terminology down so they can store your card for MITs in the future.

          4 votes
  2. [3]
    DefinitelyNotAFae
    Link
    Brad Lander, Mayoral Candidate and NYC Comptroller, Is Arrested by ICE Agents at Immigration Courthouse He was escorting a man that ICE wanted to detain and insisted upon a judicial warrant....

    Brad Lander, Mayoral Candidate and NYC Comptroller, Is Arrested by ICE Agents at Immigration Courthouse

    He was escorting a man that ICE wanted to detain and insisted upon a judicial warrant. Public spaces vs private ones different but requiring a judicial warrant is one of the things we were taught as university employees, as well as contacting our police dept (who can only assist ICE in a judicial warrant situation) and if that will still get one arrested, there's a chilling effect.

    Brad Lander is currently still being detained at the time of me posting.

    9 votes
    1. [2]
      DynamoSunshirt
      Link Parent
      I'm hoping this gets him the attention he needs to beat famed sex pest, narcissist, and murderer of the elderly Cuomo. But it is hard to predict how people really feel about immigration these...

      I'm hoping this gets him the attention he needs to beat famed sex pest, narcissist, and murderer of the elderly Cuomo. But it is hard to predict how people really feel about immigration these days. Even educated, typically thoughtful people I know quite well seem to have been radicalized into thinking that all immigrants are e-bike riding societal leeches who won't stop endangering pedestrians.

      I think a lot of people in the city are upset about migrant hotels as well. And perhaps justifiably; there are a lot of New Yorkers who struggle to get by, often winding up homeless. It's easy to see how they might take free housing and supplies for illegal immigrants as an affront, even if I think helping both groups isn't mutually exclusive.

      4 votes
      1. boxer_dogs_dance
        Link Parent
        One of the reasons social security is so popular is that it is structured to avoid resentment. Everyone who pays in gets paid.

        One of the reasons social security is so popular is that it is structured to avoid resentment. Everyone who pays in gets paid.

        5 votes
  4. [3]
    Mendanbar
    Link
    Tammy Duckworth Tells Sec. Hegseth To His Face That His 'Failures' Have Been 'Staggering'

    Tammy Duckworth Tells Sec. Hegseth To His Face That His 'Failures' Have Been 'Staggering'

    7 votes
    1. [2]
      DefinitelyNotAFae
      Link Parent
      That's my Senator! The only thing I've seen the right really target her on was doubting her citizenship/patriotism, her opponent in her Senate raise did a big ol' racism about her family "coming...

      That's my Senator!

      The only thing I've seen the right really target her on was doubting her citizenship/patriotism, her opponent in her Senate raise did a big ol' racism about her family "coming from Thailand to serve Washington" when she's legitimately a Daughter of the American Revolution through her father.

      She's been cutting on military matters and overall she's pretty great IMO

      6 votes
      1. Mendanbar
        Link Parent
        I hope other representatives take note and start to follow suit. We need more people in office to call out these miserable fucks and make it hard for them to normalize the nonsense they are trying...

        I hope other representatives take note and start to follow suit. We need more people in office to call out these miserable fucks and make it hard for them to normalize the nonsense they are trying to pull. Apologies for my strong language.

        4 votes
  5. [7]
    kfwyre
    Link
    US to end LGBT suicide prevention service, says general hotline sufficient

    US to end LGBT suicide prevention service, says general hotline sufficient

    U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is ending funding for an LGBT suicide prevention hotline that it says encourages "radical gender ideology," a move that the project running the service called "devastating."

    The Trevor Project, a non-profit that provides free, specialized support to LGBT youth, said on Wednesday that its hotline would soon close as a result of the funding not being renewed.

    7 votes
    1. [6]
      DefinitelyNotAFae
      Link Parent
      Yeah. Fuck everything.

      Yeah.
      Fuck everything.

      8 votes
      1. [5]
        kfwyre
        (edited )
        Link Parent
        Fuck a select few awful people. Love to everyone else, including you Fae. EDIT: In rereading this, I realize it can come across as flippant or dismissive, but I genuinely mean the exact opposite....

        Fuck a select few awful people.

        Love to everyone else, including you Fae.

        EDIT: In rereading this, I realize it can come across as flippant or dismissive, but I genuinely mean the exact opposite. Connection and compassion are opponents of despair, and fighting despair is something we’re all struggling with and could use some help in.

        12 votes
        1. [4]
          DefinitelyNotAFae
          Link Parent
          No flippancy detected. My usual joke response is more of a "no we fuck people we like." None of my frustration is at you. But suicide prevention work is my job and queer students are an area I'm...

          No flippancy detected. My usual joke response is more of a "no we fuck people we like." None of my frustration is at you.

          But suicide prevention work is my job and queer students are an area I'm particularly sensitive to and these fucking assholes do not care how many of kids die from the hopelessness they are actively instilling.

          And I'm sure, someone somewhere thinks this is the incivility that "causes" the bigotry or some bullshit. But I don't care.

          7 votes
          1. [3]
            kfwyre
            Link Parent
            I feel the same way. I’m a queer suicide attempt survivor myself, and as a career teacher, I want all kids, queer or otherwise, to feel safe and supported. This news hits my heart pretty hard.

            I feel the same way. I’m a queer suicide attempt survivor myself, and as a career teacher, I want all kids, queer or otherwise, to feel safe and supported.

            This news hits my heart pretty hard.

            7 votes
            1. [2]
              DefinitelyNotAFae
              Link Parent
              I have had the thoughts and thankfully never acted on them so I understand a small piece. Glad you chose to continue your sentence; I'm happy to have had the chance to get to know you, even "just"...

              I have had the thoughts and thankfully never acted on them so I understand a small piece. Glad you chose to continue your sentence; I'm happy to have had the chance to get to know you, even "just" online.

              8 votes
              1. kfwyre
                Link Parent
                Right back at you Fae! I’m glad I’m still here. I’m glad you’re still here. And I’m glad we’re here together, alongside so many other wonderful people in this community.

                Right back at you Fae!

                I’m glad I’m still here.
                I’m glad you’re still here.
                And I’m glad we’re here together, alongside so many other wonderful people in this community.

                10 votes
  6. Eji1700
    Link
    The US just bombed 3 nuclear sites in Iran. Edit - https://www.cnn.com/world/live-news/israel-iran-conflict-06-21-25-intl-hnk Summary is Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan. Irans move now. Suppose it...

    The US just bombed 3 nuclear sites in Iran.

    Edit -
    https://www.cnn.com/world/live-news/israel-iran-conflict-06-21-25-intl-hnk

    Summary is Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan. Irans move now. Suppose it depends on how successful the attacks were

    7 votes
  7. AnthonyB
    Link
    Latest updates from the front lines of the "Battle for America's Soul" (aka - what's the Democratic Party & Co up to these days?) David Hogg to exit DNC after backlash to his primary plan (gifted...

    Latest updates from the front lines of the "Battle for America's Soul" (aka - what's the Democratic Party & Co up to these days?)

    David Hogg to exit DNC after backlash to his primary plan (gifted link)

    Mr. Hogg, 25, became a lightning rod for criticism within the party after he told The New York Times two months ago that he planned to spend millions of dollars on primaries through a separate group, Leaders We Deserve, that he leads. He said he was raising as much as $20 million to help bring generational change to the Democratic Party.

    On Wednesday, the Democratic National Committee announced that its members had voted to force new elections for the vice chair, posts held by Mr. Hogg and another vice chair, Malcolm Kenyatta.

    In a letter provided to The Times, Mr. Hogg outlined his reasoning for quitting party leadership rather than running again for vice chair.

    “I came into this role to play a positive role in creating the change our party needs,” he wrote. “It is clear that there is a fundamental disagreement about the role of a Vice Chair — and it’s OK to have disagreements. What isn’t OK is allowing this to remain our focus when there is so much more we need to be focused on.”

    Mr. Hogg added, “Ultimately, I have decided to not run in this upcoming election so the party can focus on what really matters.”

    Mr. Hogg’s tenure as a party official was brief but filled with drama. It included a move by the party chairman, Ken Martin, to stop Mr. Hogg from engaging in primaries; Mr. Hogg’s being caught in a Project Veritas operation talking about party leaders; public backbiting; and the leak of audio from an internal meeting of party officers.

    Two top union leaders quit DNC posts in dispute with chairman (gifted link)

    In her resignation letter, dated June 5 and obtained on Sunday evening, Ms. Weingarten wrote that she would decline Mr. Martin’s offer to reappoint her to the broader national committee, on which she has served since 2002. She had been on the Rules and Bylaws committee since 2009.

    “While I am proud to be a Democrat, I appear to be out of step with the leadership you are forging, and I do not want to be the one who keeps questioning why we are not enlarging our tent and actively trying to engage more and more of our communities,” Ms. Weingarten wrote in her resignation letter to Mr. Martin.

    Ms. Weingarten is an influential figure in the Democratic Party and the leader of a union that counts 1.8 million members.

    Mr. Saunders, whose union represents 1.4 million workers, declined his nomination to remain on the D.N.C. on May 27, his union said on Sunday.

    “The decision to decline the nomination to the Democratic National Committee was not made lightly,” Mr. Saunders said in a statement to The New York Times. “It comes after deep reflection and deliberate conversation about the path forward for our union and the working people we represent.”

    His statement seemed to echo Ms. Weingarten’s critique, suggesting the D.N.C. was becoming an inward-looking body that failed to innovate.

    Here's a thoughtful critique (and a critique of the critiques) of "Abundance" and the buzz it continues to generate among certain factions of the Democratic Party.

    Also: Cuomo still leads most NYC primary polls

    5 votes
  8. [4]
    hobbes64
    Link
    There are signs the US is entering the conflict between Israel and Iran. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/06/16/trump-g7-tariffs-russia-iran/ War is always a horrible disaster, but...

    There are signs the US is entering the conflict between Israel and Iran.

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/06/16/trump-g7-tariffs-russia-iran/

    War is always a horrible disaster, but it's much worse when you have completely incompetent and dishonorable people in charge.

    4 votes
    1. hobbes64
      Link Parent
      Replying to my own post comment with an update Trump continues to escalate this through tweets, giving the impression of direct US involvement in regime change. Text of some recent ones: As usual...

      Replying to my own post comment with an update

      Trump continues to escalate this through tweets, giving the impression of direct US involvement in regime change.

      Text of some recent ones:

      We know exactly where the so-called "Supreme Leader" is hiding. He is an easy target, but is safe there - We are not going
      to take him out (kill!), at least not for now. But we don't want missiles shot at civilians, or American soldiers. Our patience is wearing thin. Thank you for your attention to
      this matter!

      UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER

      As usual it’s impossible to square his rhetoric exactly with what is being reported as actual events. He continues to use tweets as trial balloons and for trolling.

      Another concerning thing is that he apparently posted some long “end times” message he got from Mike Huckabee. I guess trump thinks he can control radical evangelicals who want to hasten the end of the world by provoking conflict in the Middle East.

      6 votes
    2. [2]
      Wolf_359
      (edited )
      Link Parent
      Hot take: While my hatred for Trump is immense, you could insert pretty much any president into this situation and the broad strokes would probably be more or less the same. Iran aren't the good...

      Hot take: While my hatred for Trump is immense, you could insert pretty much any president into this situation and the broad strokes would probably be more or less the same.

      Iran aren't the good guys and if there is even a hint of truth to them making progress toward nuclear weapons, we pretty much have to stop that.

      If it's another WMD situation (which seems possible), I still say Iran is causing worldwide chaos with their nonsense and funding of terrorism.

      I have also seen some reports that a lot of our air equipment was being moved away from Ukraine and toward the Middle East before Trump even took office. As I said, [insert any president name here] was probably going to follow this plan put forth by the Pentagon regardless.

      There are reasons that every president and a coalition of nations (many with wildly different policy goals and political views), keep this game running. We can go back in history and point out the things that got us here all day, but if you're looking at the hand of cards we hold today, it's tough to come up with any other play.

      5 votes
      1. hobbes64
        Link Parent
        I think trump admin is highly likely to do something very stupid to make things worse. But in the other hand, this Atlantic article talks about how Russia is having a difficult time saber rattling...

        I think trump admin is highly likely to do something very stupid to make things worse.

        But in the other hand, this Atlantic article talks about how Russia is having a difficult time saber rattling against the US since trump just gives them everything. And that is keeping them out of this conflict for now.

        3 votes