Demand Trump’s passport be taken during his criminal trial!

United States marks 22 years since 9/11 attacks

Daily Dose of Democracy:

Donald Trump challenges Rupert Murdoch and President Biden to mental acuity test
Drowning in indictments and ever-mounting legal fees, the beleaguered ex-president is laser-focused on what really matters: touting the infamously simplistic mental acuity test that he "aced" several years ago. You read that right. Apparently furious over a Wall Street Journal poll asking voters about his age and mental fortitude, Donald demanded that President Biden, Rupert Murdoch, and WSJ editors pass the same "test." Maybe next time he can challenge them all to a no-holds-barred thumb-wrestling match or a grueling game of tic-tac-toe. [RETWEET THAT!]

Take Action: Demand jurors be protected from Trump's threats!

GOP rep. puts "absurd" Marjorie Taylor Greene on blast in blunt TV interview
Rep. Ken Buck didn’t hold back when asked about conspiracy theorist Marjorie Taylor Greene and her relentless push to impeach President Biden, characterizing her obsession over the matter "absurd." Buck elaborated, "When I was teaching law school, I learned and taught certain constitutional principles. When Marjorie Taylor Greene was teaching CrossFit, she learned a whole different set of values evidently."

Take Action: Demand transparency in Jared Kushner's Saudi business dealings!

Trump's biggest lifeline in trial quickly evaporates
No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen: Bad news for Trump.

Gun rights organizations sue New Mexico governor over efforts to quell gun violence
Clearly horrified by the prospect of any decrease in the nation's ceaseless gun violence, the National Association for Gun Rights has filed a lawsuit against New Mexico’s Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham after she declared gun violence a public health emergency and temporarily suspended some open and concealed carry laws in the state. The lifesaving emergency order was issued after the shooting deaths of three children from July through September, as well as a pair of mass shootings in the state that elicited nothing but useless thoughts and prayers from Republicans perfectly satisfied with the status quo.

Take Action: Tell Congress to stop people from carrying guns without permit or training!

Youngkin pardons man whose arrest at a Virginia school board meeting supercharged conservatives' transgender fearmongering
Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin pardoned a Loudoun County father who was arrested at a school board meeting in 2021 and subsequently convicted for obstruction of justice and disorderly conduct for his aggressive behavior at the meeting. Scott Smith was understandably upset over his daughter's sexual assault by a cisgender male student in a school bathroom, but his misplaced anger at transgender rights and his apoplectic threats to kick the teeth in of deputies attempting to maintain order during the meeting were obviously beyond the pale. The purely partisan pardon — curiously timed just before the start of early voting in legislative elections — is proof positive that Republicans will exploit and abuse the powers of public office in a neo-spoils system every chance they get.

Take Action: Stop Republican gerrymandering!

GOP threat to impeach a Wisconsin Supreme Court justice is driven by fear of losing legislative edge
Unable to cling to power through democratic channels due to their increasingly toxic political brand, Republicans are now weighing the nuclear option of impeaching a liberal Wisconsin Supreme Court justice. Not surprisingly, the far-right provocateurs have no legitimate reason for ousting Justice Janet Protasiewicz. Rather, Republicans are terrified that their aggressively gerrymandered, obviously unconstitutional legislative districts could go up in smoke. And so, to entrench and secure their illegitimate power, they're willing to simply throw out the will of the people and upend the rule of law.

Take Action: Impose ethics standards on the Supreme Court!

Federal railroad inspectors found alarming number of defects on Union Pacific this summer
In news that should shock no one and alarm everyone, federal inspectors found a staggering number of defects in the locomotives and railcars Union Pacific was using at the world's largest railyard in western Nebraska this summer, and the railroad — which reported nearly $7 billion in net profit this fiscal year — was predictably reluctant to fix the problems.

Winning one open Arizona seat is key to taking back the House
Yassamin Ansari for Congress: Winning in Arizona means we get our majority back — and losing means that some of the most unhinged election-denying, democracy-hating Trumpers in the country will be headed to Washington. Yassmin Ansari is a fantastic candidate running for Congress in a crucial Arizona seat to make sure we deliver President Biden a new majority for his second term! Can you chip in to help keep Trump's most radical minions out of office?

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves upgraded governor’s mansion using $2.4 million in taxpayer dollars
The next time Republicans throw the word "elite" around like some sort of left-wing pejorative, just remember GOP Gov. Reeves dropped a cool $2.4 million in taxpayers funds of one of the poorest states in the union on renovations and "upkeep" of the governor's mansion since his election in 2019, including tens of thousands of dollars on a meditation garden, a limonaia — an architectural feature specifically designed for lemon trees, and a whopping $120,000 to upgrade the home's private living quarters.

COVID numbers are rising again, but Dr. Fauci does not predict another "tsunami of hospitalizations and deaths"
While infection rates are certainly on the rise — along with Republican screeching that they will not cooperate with any efforts to prevent the spread this time around — the situation is not currently expected to be as severe or life-threatening as previous surges, according to Dr. Anthony Fauci. This rosier outlook is rooted in the fact that most people now have some level of immunity to the coronavirus, through vaccination, previous infection, or both.

US and Vietnam ink historic partnership in Biden visit, with eyes on China
Proving once again that there is real benefit to having a seasoned statesman leading American democracy rather than a washed up game show host, President Biden secured significant deals with Vietnam on semiconductors and minerals as the strategic Southeast Asian nation lifted Washington to Hanoi's highest diplomatic status alongside China and Russia.