... on a quiet day, I can hear her breathing - A UK Socialist's blog

Skip to content

… on a quiet day, I can hear her breathing

Home
About

Election-Denying Trump Judges Preside Over Nearly Every Battleground Midterm Race: Analysis
Article by Jake Johnson republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).
Emil Bove, President Donald Trump’s nominee to be US Circuit Judge for the 3rd Circuit, testified during his Senate confirmation hearing on June 25, 2025. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
“We must vote in numbers so overwhelming that no Trump judge could deny the truth.”
If the Trump administration decides to challenge the outcome of any of the dozens of battleground contests in next week’s midterms, there’s a significant chance that one of the president’s handpicked, election-denying judges will oversee the case.
That’s according to a report published Tuesday by the advocacy group Demand Justice, which found that 53 of 60 battleground races for US House and Senate that will be held on November 3 “are in districts or states presided over by at least one Trump-appointed federal judge who, under oath, refused to admit that Donald Trump lost the 2020 election.”
RECOMMENDED…
‘Almost All of Those Efforts Are Illegal’: Watchdogs Raise Alarm About Trump Election Threats
Amid GOP Midterm Woes, Trump Allies—Including Convicted Election Denier—Push for Martial Law
“If these judges couldn’t tell the truth about 2020, we can’t count on them to do so in 2026,” said Josh Orton, president of Demand Justice. “We must vote in numbers so overwhelming that no Trump judge could deny the truth.”
The report defines battleground races as Senate and House contests that analysts currently rate as either a toss up, lean Republican, or lean Democratic.
Demand Justice emphasizes that federal courts “look very different” today than they did in 2020, when the judiciary “halted Trump’s attempt to challenge the 2020 election results.”
“Since then, Trump appointed Emil Bove and Jennifer Mascott to the Third Circuit, Rebecca Taibleson to the Seventh, Michael Martin to the Eastern District of Michigan, and Eric Tung to the Ninth Circuit, which hears appeals from Arizona,” the report notes, pointing to courts that previously weighed 2020-related cases.
During their confirmation hearings, each of those Trump-picked judges—along with dozens of others—refused to explicitly say that Trump lost the 2020 election. As Demand Justice observed in an earlier report, Trump’s judicial picks used virtually identical phrasing to evade senators’ questions about the 2020 election results, saying that former President Joe Biden “was certified as the winner.”
The report comes amid mounting concerns that the Trump administration could try to intervene in the midterms if the outcome is unfavorable to Trump and his Republican Party, which is seeking to maintain control of both chambers of Congress.
Demand Justice cited as an alarming example the Justice Department’s lawsuit aiming at blocking certification of Alaska’s US Senate election if Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan loses. Trump told reporters late last week that he ordered the DOJ to file the lawsuit, which Democratic nominee Mary Peltola is seeking to dismiss before Election Day.
“Trump’s attempt to interfere in Alaska’s Senate race is a wake-up call,” said Orton. “His administration will not accept election results unless the Republicans win.”
Article by Jake Johnson republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).
Orcas discuss Donald Trump and the killer apes’ concept of democracy. Front Orca warns that Trump is crashing his country’s economy and that everything he does he does for the fantastically wealthy.
Climate science denier Donald Trump confirms that he knows nothing about democracy and that more liquid gold is being secured according to his policy of global privateering (armed extortion).
28 October 2026
Siding With DNC a Week Before Midterms, Judge Blocks Trump’s Taxpayer-Funded ‘Propaganda Campaign’
Article by Stephen Prager republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).
President Donald Trump’s first taxpayer-funded ad, which aired on September 23, 2026.
(Screenshot from an ad posted by the White House)
The administration had allocated $20 million in public funds to pay for ads celebrating Trump weeks before the midterms.
Less than a week before Election Day, another federal judge on Wednesday blocked the Trump administration from using taxpayer funds to run ads promoting the president.
US district judge Loren AliKhan froze the White House Office of Management and Budget’s $20 million allocation to run the ads, saying the administration likely “used public dollars to unlawfully finance a national media campaign in the final weeks before the November 2026 elections.”
RECOMMENDED…
‘The DNC Has No Choice’: Democrats Sue Trump Over Taxpayer-Funded Propaganda
Trump DOJ Apologizes After Taxpayer-Funded Propaganda Ads Defy Judge’s Order to Stop
The ruling follows a lawsuit filed earlier this month by the Democratic National Committee (DNC), which accused President Donald Trump of using funds to “finance a national propaganda campaign.”
The ads, which stated that they were “paid for by the US government,” attacked Trump’s enemies as “Marxists,” celebrated his military operations in Iran and Venezuela, and promoted his personal declaration that his presidency marked the beginning of a “golden age of America.” Another ad that was reportedly prepared but never aired declared that “God made Trump.”
“God made Trump” pic.twitter.com/tITkEQ8zO3
— Commentary Trump Daily Posts (@TrumpDailyPosts) May 19, 2024
Following public outcry over the ads, Trump promised that future ads would be paid for with money he raised for his super political action committee MAGA Inc.
“That promise went unfulfilled,” wrote AliKhan, an appointee of former President Joe Biden. “The ads continued to air with the ‘Paid for by the US government’ disclosure for at least another week.”
The US Department of Justice has also acknowledged that the ads continued to run hundreds of times after a court order issued on October 11 requiring them to be canceled.
Federal law prohibits using federal appropriations for “publicity or propaganda purposes within the United States not heretofore authorized by Congress.”
The DNC argued that the administration’s use of public funds illegally “deprives the DNC of a fair electoral process by adding public funds to the resources available to support Republican candidates.”
AliKhan agreed that there was “little doubt that defendants’ unlawful use of public funds makes it more difficult for the DNC to achieve its mission of ‘electing Democratic candidates in federal, state, and local elections across the country.’”
“The court just delivered a victory for the rule of law and for American taxpayers,” DNC chair Ken Martin said following the ruling on Wednesday. “Trump and his administration can no longer misuse Americans’ hard-earned dollars to run political ads while working families can’t even afford to pay for their gas and groceries.”
Martin added that “Trump’s illegal and desperate attempt to save his cratering approval ratings ahead of the midterm elections only underscores how out of touch he is with the American people, who will hold him and Republicans accountable for their destructive agenda at the ballot box next week.”
Article by Stephen Prager republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).
Donald Trump calls for help from NATO allies in securing the Strait of Hormuz despite saying on 7 March 2026 that they don’t need people to join wars after they’ve already won. He’s challenged with the claim that he lies as much as the IDF.
Climate science denier Donald Trump confirms that he knows nothing about democracy and that more liquid gold is being secured according to his policy of global privateering (armed extortion).
Orcas discuss Donald Trump and the killer apes’ concept of democracy. Front Orca warns that Trump is crashing his country’s economy and that everything he does he does for the fantastically wealthy.
28 October 2026
Amid Growing Hunger Crisis, Trump Tells Voters They Couldn’t Even Afford a Burger at His Private Club
Article by Jake Johnson republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).
US President Donald Trump delivers remarks during a campaign rally at Lubbock Memorial Civic Center on October 27, 2026 in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
“Making fun of the decor at Cheesecake Factory was elitist. Bragging that the crowd wouldn’t be able to afford the food at his private club is, what exactly?”
US President Donald Trump, whose policies have significantly driven up food costs during his second term, said at a Texas campaign rally on Tuesday that voters likely wouldn’t even be able to afford “a hamburger and a small dessert” at his private Mar-a-Lago resort, remarks that came amid a worsening national hunger crisis fueled by Republican cuts to federal nutrition aid.
Trump made the comment in the context of his farcical pledge to send every American adult a $5,000 check if Republicans retain control of the US Congress in next month’s midterm elections. “The problem,” Trump said, “is that for $5,000 the most you’ll be able to buy is a hamburger and maybe a small dessert. I’m not even sure you could buy that.”
RECOMMENDED…
‘Hunger Disaster Unrolling Before Our Eyes’: Alarm Grows Over Trump Food Aid Evisceration
‘Let Them Eat Cake’: How Trump Family Pocketed Nearly $3 Billion While Millions of Americans Lost Food Aid
“No, don’t go there,” the billionaire president said of Mar-a-Lago, where he frequently hosts rich allies and donors. “That’s not a good place if you’re price-conscious.”
Watch:

“Working people are struggling to make rent and pay for groceries, and President Trump wants to sell you a $5,000 hamburger at his private golf club. (Fries and a drink extra.),” the AFL-CIO wrote in response to the president’s remarks, which drew laughter from the audience gathered in Corpus Christi.
Progressive activist Jordan Uhl noted that Trump’s comments came just days after former President Barack Obama sparked right-wing furor by mocking Trump’s gaudy White House renovations.
“Making fun of the decor at Cheesecake Factory was elitist,” Uhl wrote on social media. “Bragging that the crowd wouldn’t be able to afford the food at his private club is, what exactly?”
Trump’s remarks came amid what one analyst described as a “hunger disaster unrolling before our eyes” as millions of Americans—including many children—lose federal nutrition assistance due to the Republican budget package that the president signed into law last year.
“About 2 million kids have lost SNAP since deep cuts were enacted last year,” Katie Bergh, an expert at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, observed last week. “The ripple effects: Kids losing SNAP also lose automatic enrollment for free meals at school.”
According to a recent analysis by Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s (D-Mass.) office, grocery prices have risen 2.6% since Trump signed the Republican budget legislation, and “costs of several everyday staples are rising at a faster annual pace than wages (up 3% in September 2026), including apples (7.5%), coffee (7.1%), fish (6.9%), tomatoes (6.8%), ground beef (5.4%), rice (4.3%), peanut butter (3.8%), and bread (3.3%).”
“President Trump’s policies are a key driver of these price increases,” the senator’s analysis observed. “His chaotic and unlawful tariffs have raised the cost of food… And President Trump’s reckless and illegal war with Iran is pushing those costs higher still, as rising transportation and fertilizer costs put additional pressure on food prices and supply.”
Article by Jake Johnson republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).
Orcas discuss rotting brain, front Orca says he wishes someone would lock him up, small Orca speaks bluntly.
28 October 2026
Trump: Racist, Nasty, Deranged, and Dirty
Article by Alan Singer republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).
US President Donald Trump arrives for a campaign rally at the Menard Memorial Sports Center on October 13, 2026 in Wasilla, Alaska. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Long Island residents who are considering choosing Republican candidates for Congress should consider what kind of country they are voting for.
On Long Island there are four contested races for the House of Representatives. Two are currently held by Democrats and two by Republicans. The outcome on Long Island could well determine which party has a majority in the House. If you vote Republican for the Senate and House of Representatives, you are voting against congressional roadblocks on Trump.
If you vote Republican this is the kind of country you are voting for.
RECOMMENDED…
‘He Thinks We Don’t Know Any Better,’ Says El-Sayed After Latest Hateful Trump Attack
Ramaswamy Takes Full Credit for Most ‘Disgusting, Pathetic Ad Ever Created in the History of Political Ads’
In a campaign speech in Port Huron, Michigan, Donald Trump accused the Democratic nominee for Senate Dr. Abdul El-Sayed of being a terrorist and claimed that if El-Sayed and the Democrats win, “they will open the floodgates and invite hordes of jihadis to our shores, creating a nightmare of violence and terror until you cannot even have a Christmas.” Trump also told American Jews that “any Jewish person that supports this guy should be ashamed of themselves.”
Meanwhile the Trump crime family and its allies are using the United States government to enrich themselves, often betraying the interests of the country.
In Ohio, Vivek Ramaswamy, the biotech billionaire Republican candidate for governor, ran a campaign ad attacking Democratic candidate Dr. Amy Acton featuring Acton’s estranged mother calling her a liar. Acton has had no contact with her mother since she was 12 years old and was raped by her stepfather who fled the state to avoid prosecution. Acton’s mother abandoned her children and left the state with him. Current Republican Gov. Mike DeWine described the ad as “deeply, deeply troubling” and called on Ramaswamy to take down the ad, but he refused. Donald Trump accused politicians who condemn the ad of whining, said he would run an ad like that, and advised Ramaswamy to stick with it. No Long Island Republican officeholders or candidates, including Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman who is running for governor, has publicly condemned Ramaswamy or the ad.
On the same day that Trump Justice Department Homeland Security agents invaded the Washington DC home of congressional Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), at a rally in Ohio, Trump insulted Somali immigrants, calling them “low-IQ people” and claiming they “don’t have pants to wear.” Trump also celebrated removing protected status from thousands of Haitians who sought refuge in the United States.
Meanwhile the Trump crime family and its allies are using the United States government to enrich themselves, often betraying the interests of the country. The website Center for American Progress has an update counter showing Trump and sons raking in almost $3 billion from shady deals, including almost $2.5 billion from cryptocurrency. The family has profited from new foreign luxury real estate and golf developments; Ivanka Trump’s husband’s investment firm negotiated a $2 billion investment from Saudi Arabia; Melania Trump received a $40 million payout from Amazon for a documentary project; the president secured an immunity deal from the Internal Revenue Service for past due taxes; and the president claims as his own a $400 million Boeing 747 jet “gifted” by Qatar to the United States
In 2022 Eric, Don Jr., Ivanka, and Donald Trump were sued by New York State for fraud.
Article by Alan Singer republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).
Orcas discuss rotting brain, front Orca says Sundown Syndrome is a dead givaway and he wishes someone would Lock Him Up
Donald Trump calls for help from NATO allies in securing the Strait of Hormuz despite saying on 7 March 2026 that they don’t need people to join wars after they’ve already won. He’s challenged with the claim that he lies as much as the IDF.
28 October 2026
Official Price Tag of Iran War Jumps to $47 Billion as Trump Says It Will End ‘Whenever I Want It To’
Article by Jake Johnson republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).
US President Donald Trump shakes hands with Pentagon Secretary Pete Hegseth before speaking at Anduril Industries in Sparrows Point, Maryland, on October 6, 2026.(Photo by Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)
The president’s comments and the official cost estimate came amid reports that the US military is preparing for a new onslaught against Iran after the midterm elections.
US President Donald Trump told a crowd of his supporters on Tuesday that his illegal war of choice in Iran will end “whenever I want it to” as the conflict’s official price tag reportedly jumped to $47 billion—a figure that independent analysts believe to be a dramatic underestimate.
“It can be over whenever I want it to be over,” Trump said of the historically unpopular war during a rally in Texas, a week before the midterm elections. “But we have to have it end properly, with… a total statement [that] they will never have a nuclear weapon.” (Iran has already said repeatedly that it would never develop nuclear weapons, including in the opening pages of the Obama-era agreement that Trump shredded during his first White House term.)
RECOMMENDED…
Senate Democrats Demand Public Release of Pentagon’s Secret Data Detailing Costs of Iran War
Trump’s Horrific, Illegal Iran War Has ‘Costs Us Billions While Making Us Less Safe’
Trump’s remarks came as The Hill reported that the federal government’s official estimate of the Iran war’s cost has jumped $3 billion since last month, rising to $47 billion.
“The biggest chunk of the cost is munition replacement at $29 billion,” The Hill reported, citing a US Central Command estimate that the outlet obtained on Tuesday. “Nearly $12 billion is obligated for incremental costs of military action and another $6.1 billion to replace equipment losses, according to the estimate. Air Force’s support for deployed personnel, airlift, base, communication support, and transportation in theater costs $7.6 billion. The estimate does not include the cost to damaged US military bases in the Middle East.”
When such damage—which has been far more extensive than the Pentagon has acknowledged publicly—and other factors are included, the price tag balloons. Stephen Semler, a senior fellow at the Center for International Policy, estimated in July that the US spent more than $103 billion in the first four months of the war, which has killed thousands of people and sent gas prices soaring.
In the US, consumers have spent an extra $146 billion on gasoline and diesel since the war’s beginning in February, according to a running tracker maintained by the Watson School of International and Public Affairs at Brown University.
Trump said Tuesday that the unauthorized war’s end would come “very quick,” despite evidence that his administration is preparing for yet another round of heavy bombings in Iran after the midterm elections.
“The US has told several Gulf Arab countries to be prepared for a short, intense military campaign after the US midterm elections,” The Wall Street Journal reported late Tuesday, citing unnamed people briefed on the conversations. “The communications through diplomatic and military channels are among a growing number of indications that the US and Israel are readying to launch a new round of heavy combat operations against Iran, risking a major escalation in hopes of degrading Tehran’s strength and pushing it toward negotiations.”
“US forces in the region have been restocking their munitions, and bomber aircraft and jet fighters are preparing for strikes,” the Journal added. “An additional aircraft carrier strike group and Marine expeditionary unit are also poised to join an armada of roughly 20 other warships operating in the Middle East next month, although some ships could rotate out.”
Article by Jake Johnson republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).
Orcas discuss rotting brain, front Orca says he wishes someone would Lock Him Up, small Orca says he thinks that his meds have been changed.
Donald Trump sings and dances, says that it’s fun to kill everyone … unless he gets distracted or falls asleep.
28 October 2026

1 2 3 … 2,140

… on a quiet day, I can hear her breathing

A UK Socialist's blog

Blog
About
FAQs
Authors

Events
Shop
Patterns
Themes

Twenty Twenty-Five

Designed with WordPress