(click on images to enlarge)
(Jonathan Brown, caglecartoons.com)
(R.J. Matson, CQ/ Roll Call)
(Jeff Koterba, caglecartoons.com)
(John Darkow, Columbia Missourian)
(Robert Ariail, Spartanburg Herald-Journal, SC)
(Dave Whamond, caglecartoons.com, Canada)
(Scott Rogo, Facebook)
(Jeff Stahler, gocomics.com)
(Paul Duginski, caglecartoons.com)
(David Horsey, The Seattle Times)
(Ivan Ehlers, @ivan_ehlers)
Operation Epic Epstein Fury: 2 or 3 days, 37 times, winning! --
Trump claims he's "2 or 3 days" from a deal with Iran (he's said this approximately 20 times since March)
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) June 9, 2026 at 8:25 AM
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Trump has been saying we've won the war with Iran for the past 100 days. Are you tired of winning yet?
— The Bulwark (@thebulwark.com) June 8, 2026 at 10:50 PM
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“.. at least 37 times. That’s the number of times he’s said directly — in social media posts, public appearances and phone calls with the media — that a deal was nigh or claimed Iran was desperate ..” @cnn.com www.cnn.com/2026/06/09/p...
— Carl Quintanilla (@carlquintanilla.bsky.social) June 9, 2026 at 8:26 AM
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The Malignant Fascist previews lies for the mid-term elections --
NEW EPISODE: As California counts its votes, Trump and his allies are calling it rigged, weaponizing the DOJ and laying the groundwork to reject results they don't like in 2026. I explain what they are up to and why we need to fight back. youtu.be/2LQeLY3Ltpg?...
— Marc Elias (@marcelias.bsky.social) June 8, 2026 at 4:57 PM
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“.. an unusually clear preview of how he could greet any disappointing results for his party in November, when control of Congress is at stake.” @nytimes.com www.nytimes.com/2026/06/08/u...
— Carl Quintanilla (@carlquintanilla.bsky.social) June 9, 2026 at 8:45 AM
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Most. Corrupt. Presidency. Ever. --
'For my friends, everything; for my enemies, the law.'
— Brian Wasik (@brianrwasik.bsky.social) June 8, 2026 at 6:22 PM
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NEW: Donald Trump Jr. invests in a co. trying to build an oil refinery in the U.S. Then the richest man in Asia invests... in the same company. Then... his co. gets policy concessions from the Trump Admin. @josh-kaplan.bsky.social & @justinelliott.bsky.social: www.propublica.org/article/trum...
— Jesse Eisinger (@jeisinger.bsky.social) June 9, 2026 at 7:42 AM
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"In scale and audacity, what Kushner has attempted—and achieved—is on another level...He asked foreign regimes to trust him with billions...Trump placed Kushner—who had zero diplomatic/foreign affairs expertise until [Trump] rose to power—at the center of every international crisis..." Informative:
— Greg Sargent (@gregsargent.bsky.social) June 9, 2026 at 7:05 AM
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"The Nodfather" is at it again, after getting bigly booed at Knicks game --
Don Snoreleone can't even stay awake during an NBA Finals game.
— Bob Geiger (@bobgeiger.bsky.social) June 8, 2026 at 10:40 PM
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NYC understood the assignment
— Rachel Bitecofer (@rachelbitecofer.bsky.social) June 8, 2026 at 8:45 PM
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The MF is trying to ruin the World Cup --
Happy FIFA Wolrdcup www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
— Olga Nesterova (@onestpress.onestnetwork.com) June 9, 2026 at 9:25 AM
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Ass kissing "Cancun Ted" Cruz has thoughts on manhood. Where's his? --
Trump insulted Ted Cruz‘s wife over her looks. Cruz sucked up to Trump anyway. We don’t need any lectures in masculinity from Ted Cruz.
— Mark Jacob (@markjacob.bsky.social) June 8, 2026 at 9:52 PM
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Know your evils --
Know your evils. TRUMP: CHAOTIC EVIL (evil intent and a joy in corruption, malice and destruction). MUSK: NEUTRAL EVIL (evil effect but all actions taken in service of self-interest, with the suffering of others immaterial). BEZOS: LAWFUL EVIL (mastery at using the levers of power for evil ends).
— Seth Abramson (@sethabramson.bsky.social) June 9, 2026 at 12:56 AM
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Making America Sick Again: raw milk edition --
NEW: In February, I visited Raw Farm. You may have heard of it. RFK Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow are customers. It supplies raw dairy products to 500 stores nationwide. And regulators have linked it to over a dozen recalls and outbreaks that have made hundreds sick. 🧵👇
— Annie Waldman (@anniewaldman.bsky.social) June 9, 2026 at 8:01 AM
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This is how a real President is greeted at a game --
In case you forgot what it looks like when a real president gets the love at a game. You know, when the crowd actually wants the president there.
— Christopher Webb (@cwebbonline.com) June 8, 2026 at 9:49 PM
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"... FORTUNATELY FOR DEMOCRATS, the very rich have been hard at work convincing the public to hate their guts. Where Steve Jobs was once hailed as an innovator providing smartphones to the world, with a personal profile that tended more toward asceticism than conspicuous consumption, the current crop of Silicon Valley billionaires are not only ostentatious in their spending but overtly hostile to employee rights, consumer interests, democratic forms of government, racial egalitarianism, and, at least in the case of Elon Musk, normal life. Through their indifference to the effects of social media on children (and the rest of us), and their huge investments in AI and the data centers required to power it, they’ve become the promoters of the most widely feared 21st-century phenomena. Not since John D. Rockefeller, Jay Gould, Cornelius Vanderbilt, and Henry Clay Frick have we had such a crop of oligarchs. That the Musks and the Bezoses, the Zuckerbergs and the Brins, the Thiels and the Andreessens have turned themselves into the financial base of Trumpism—both the man and his madness—has likely created a reciprocal downward pull on the approval rating of both Trump and themselves.
"Democrats should be climbing over each other to welcome their hatred." -- Harold Meyerson, The American Prospect, on "Encircling the Royalists," following his review of nearly 100 years of Democratic politics and policies. As Meyerson notes, at the 1936 Democratic convention, FDR famously said of the "economic royalists" that "They are unanimous in their hate for me—and I welcome their hatred!" The economic royalists -- or Epstein class in today' terms -- like Musk, Bezos, Zuck, Thiel, et al., are deserving of that hate for what, in service to their own greed and lust for power, have done to our country. There's no downside for Democrats in expressing that, and acting upon it.
There are primaries today in four States: Maine, South Carolina, Nevada, and North Dakota. Those in Maine and South Carolina will be the most watched by observers:
Four states in all four corners of the country are set to hold elections on Tuesday, June 9, for U.S. House, Senate and governor races, among other local contests. The winners will head into a busy campaign season leading up to the November midterm elections, when Republicans will aim to hold onto to a narrow majority on Capitol Hill.
"These early June primaries can be used as tea-leaves to help predict what will happen in the November midterm election," says Chase Meyer, senior lecturer of political science at the University of South Carolina.
South Carolina
South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham is seeking a fifth term. While some senior senators have seen rebuke from the president this election cycle, Graham has received President Donald Trump's endorsement.
But he faces a crowded roster of GOP competitors: Greenville businessman Mark Lynch, Horry County businessman Pat Herrmann, author Thomas Dismukes, Duncan Town Councilmember Calvin Cowen and Columbia content creator Darius Mitchell, reports the Greenville News, part of the USA TODAY Network. Late May polling from The Citadel shows between Graham or Lynch, 46% of Republicans supported Graham and 36% supported Lynch.
If he wins the nomination, Graham is likely to face Democratic frontrunner, Annie Andrews, a pediatrician looking to flip the reliably red seat.
In the Republican primary for South Carolina governor, Trump has endorsed state Lt. Gov. Sam Evette, the first woman to hold the position in the state's history. Evette faces top Republican challenger Rep. Nancy Mace, who pointed to her push to release files pertaining to Jeffrey Epstein as a reason why the president did not back her campaign.
The field to succeed Republican Gov. Henry McMaster, who is term limited, attracted a notable group that includes Mace and Evette, but also state Attorney General Alan Wilson, Rep. Ralph Norman and business executive Ron Reddy. For much of the campaign's final two-month stretch, polls have shown the contenders within striking distance of each other...
Maine
A Senate race to watch will be Graham Platner's bid for the Democratic nomination in Maine.
Platner, an oyster farmer who will almost assuredly win the bid to face GOP Sen. Susan Collins in November, rallied the support of fellow Northeast Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders before his top competitor, Maine Gov. Janet Mills, suspended her Senate campaign on April 30. The move came as a surprise after some political watchers previously pointed to the Platner vs. Mills race as a possible proxy for the direction of the Democratic Party.
However, Platner's performance in the primary will still be followed as he battles multiple controversies. He faced criticism last year for a tattoo he had of a skull and crossbones that resembled a Nazi symbol, as well as old Reddit posts in which he made controversial comments on topics including sexual assault and race. On May 30, the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times reported that Platner's wife, Amy Gertner, notified his campaign of sexual messages he had exchanged with several women before his campaign launched.
The June primary is expected to set up another closely-watched race between Platner and Collins this November. A general election poll released May 27 by the University of New Hampshire showed Platner with a 9-point lead over Collins.
Voting needs to be a habit, so we want to see sustained Democratic turnout in primaries and, of course, general elections.
Last night, before the third game of the NBA finals was played in Madison Square Garden, Jimmy Kimmel previewed the event that disrupted the watch party plans of Knicks fans, confused the Malignant Fascist with an orangutan, and covered the demented fascist's furious, red-faced outburst in Wisconsin over Kristin Welker calling out his lies on the California primary vote.
John Beske, writing for DailyKos, looks at the traditional definition of masculinity and compares it with the perverted MAGAt version, using the Boy Scout's code from his youth and its 12 positive attributes as guide:
"A boy scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent.
These were, it seemed to be, the twelve attributes that a good boy should aspire to in order to become a good man and an upstanding citizen. [snip]
But when I see Trump and pretty much all Republican lawmakers as well as major right wing icons like Steve Bannon, Andrew Tate and Nick Fuentes, I see people who claim to be the paragons of masculinity, yet possess absolutely none of these virtues.
Let’s use Trump as an example: he cannot possibly be trusted to do anything he says he will do, he is loyal to no one, he only helps people who reward him with massive cash or power, no one would ever mistake him as friendly, he is probably the most discourteous person on the planet and likewise the most unkind, he’s only cheerful when he is in the act of hurting somebody, he wastes vast piles of other people’s money to support a ridiculously opulent lifestyle while depriving others enough money to live, he is an absolute coward, he is unkempt, slovenly and by many reports smelly, and he demands reverence to himself while offering it to no one else.
Likewise his Republican and rightwing sycophants and trolls all strive for personal power and wealth above all else, all view other people who don’t look like them as inferior and undeserving. They feel that they are superior to and therefore allowed to steal from and hurt anyone who is not a member of their privileged little clique. Meanwhile, they attach themselves like barnacles to anyone they deem superior and they endure any indignity and humiliation as long as it helps them advance their status in this dark and devious hierarchy." (our emphasis)
As the Malignant Fascist's birthday approaches with his vulgar, UFC mixed martial arts event on the south lawn of the White House, it's worth noting that he aligns himself with that part of the culture, while being weak and cowardly and hoping that this view of "masculinity" rubs off on him.
The Epstein-Trump Files coverup continues as Blanche seeks confirmation --
It’s not simply the magnitude of the Epstein debacle that should push it to the top of the reasons to block Blanche’s nomination. The Epstein scandal was the first and remains the hottest flashpoint between Trump and his base and thereby offers the most promise for peeling off support for Blanche.
— Jen Rubin (@jenrubin.bsky.social) June 8, 2026 at 9:10 AM
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Nearly two dozen Epstein accusers told Reuters that speaking out sparked threats and relentless harassment, in some cases after Justice Department files exposed their identities. Some now carry weapons and live in constant fear of physical assault from Trump supporters. reut.rs/3QaK4y7
— Scott Horton (@robertscotthorton.bsky.social) June 8, 2026 at 8:33 AM
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Operation Epic Epstein Fury / market manipulation day! / who's calling the shots --
I had to double check that this wasn’t fake. Is there a single person in the world (other than Axios) who takes this utter nonsense seriously at this point?
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) June 8, 2026 at 8:02 AM
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Trump told me this a couple of hours before Bibi struck Iran. He has turned himself into a prisoner of other people's decisions.
— Edward Luce (@edwardluce.bsky.social) June 7, 2026 at 9:35 PM
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Toddler Trump's temper tantrum and access media sanewashing --
Men are too emotional to be president.
— Middle Age Riot (@middleageriot.bsky.social) June 7, 2026 at 8:12 PM
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Media sanewashing in action: "tense interview... ended suddenly." Erm, no. It was a madman screaming at a journalist, saying he won an election he didn't, going red (orange?) in the face, calling the journalist "crooked" and "darling", calling every media outlet "crooked", and then walking out.
— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan.bsky.social) June 7, 2026 at 4:44 PM
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Wisconsin farmers hearing about soggy brain Trump's priorities --
Wow Trump struggles to remember the name of the Washington Monument:
— Acyn (@acyn.bsky.social) June 5, 2026 at 5:24 PM
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To arms! Reality show MAGAt finishes third in LA mayoral election! --
Can you imagine being so mired in the nonsense of rightwing BS—and so goddamn stupid—that you call for people to die over [checks notes] reality TV idiot Spencer Pratt coming in third in an LA mayoral election? What D-U-M-[another letter] times we live in.
— Mrs. Betty Bowers (@mrsbettybowers.bsky.social) June 7, 2026 at 8:21 PM
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I glanced at Twitter and it's amazing how a bunch of right-wingers have convinced themselves that a know-nothing right-wing douche like Spencer Pratt coming in third in the Los Angeles mayoral contest simply must -- must! -- be fraud. What's their evidence? Fuck you, that's their evidence. Fraud!
— Kevin M. Kruse (@kevinmkruse.bsky.social) June 7, 2026 at 9:00 PM
Republicans: "California is a liberal hellhole!" Also Republicans: "How is it possible that TWO Democrats beat a Republican in the LA mayoral primary?? MUST BE FAKE."
— Toledo ⭐ (@toledo.bsky.social) June 8, 2026 at 6:12 AM
Whiskey Pete Hegseth's list of approved "Christians" enrages über MAGAt ---
I have been warning for years that right wing extremist will slowly whittle down the list of “Christian” denominations that are acceptable to them. Soon we will be back to the times when the KKK railed against the Catholic Church.
— Tea Pain (@teapainusa.bsky.social) June 7, 2026 at 9:06 PM
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Mike Lee absolutely deserves right-wingers telling him that Mormonism is fake and heretical. This is the world he wanted, the world he built.
— Max Kennerly (@maxkennerly.bsky.social) June 8, 2026 at 8:31 AM
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Dunk! --
Jimmy Kimmel, for the win:
— The Mouthy Renegade Writer (@mouthyrenegade.bsky.social) June 7, 2026 at 9:15 AM
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The deranged and narcissistic Malignant Fascist's tasteless, for-profit UFC fight on the south lawn of the White House is a diversion from his multiple failings. Now, however, the event is being sued in Federal court with just under a week before it's scheduled to happen. From the Associated Press:
"A federal lawsuit seeks to halt the upcoming UFC fight card on the White House South Lawn in a mixed martial arts show timed for President Donald Trump’s 80th birthday and part of the celebration of the nation’s 250th anniversary.
The filing Saturday by the Public Integrity Project on behalf of two Virginia residents contends the Trump administration’s authorization of the June 14 event was unlawful. The lawsuit says such approval violated National Park Service regulations prohibiting sporting events on federal parklands, Congress did not consent to the towering arch overlooking the event space and no environmental review was conducted before the construction.
'This is fundamentally a private, commercial, corrupt use of our most sacred national monuments for private gain,' said Brendan Ballou, a lawyer for the plaintiffs. 'And that is what is motivating this lawsuit.'” (our emphasis)
With the brutalist, "bread and circuses" spectacle timed to coincide with the fading MF's 80th birthday, it's clear he will demand to be the focus of attention, as he always needs to be. Maybe the fighters will be required to sing "Happy Birthday" to the orange buffoon. The event, managed by MF ally Dana White, is also being aired on right-wing nepo baby David Ellison's Paramount + network, so the MAGAt circle is complete.
(photo: view of the construction)
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Today, Space Commander Trump is surrounded by his usual group of sycophants and losers: a submissive JD Vance, economic advisor and smirking yutz Kevin Hassett, thug and hatchet man Bill Pulte, and evil, vampirish white nationalist Steven Miller. Their commentary and "advice" only reinforces their cult leader's ignorant views and disastrous decisions, as in today's world.
Please consider supporting Tom's work by going here.
It’s been more than two months since “No Kings” protests again drew crowds across the U.S. Another event is set to take place in just over a week, but the call to action by organizers is a little different than others before it.
Back in March, millions attended more than 3,000 “No Kings” events held nationwide, marking the third round of rallies since President Trump took office. Rallies last year attracted more than 5 million in June and 7 million in October, according to U.S. organizers.
The next event is scheduled for June 14. The same day, Trump’s birthday, UFC match-ups are set to be held on the White House’s South Lawn as part of a series of celebrations marking America’s 250th anniversary.
Meanwhile, the Committee for the First Amendment, relaunched last year, will be hosting “Rise Up, Sing Out: A Concert for the First Amendment.”
Being held at The Town Hall in New York City, the 90-minute event is set to be headlined by Bette Midler, Patti Smith, and Jane Fonda. It will “celebrate the freedoms guaranteed by our First Amendment … and the people power that both fuels these rights and is essential to guarantee them.”
The No Kings Coalition, which is partnering with the Committee on the First Amendment, says watch parties are being scheduled across the country to stream the event, giving communities space “to sing along, make art, share food, connect with neighbors, and take meaningful action together.”
While previous No Kings events have resulted in rallies, June 14’s event “will serve as a critical opportunity for No Kings supporters to strategize, connect with local organizers, and prepare for the ongoing fights ahead of the midterm elections.”
“… while the President attempts to distract the country with his UFC cage fight spectacle, the No Kings movement will be gathering in living rooms, community centers, and local businesses for public and private watch parties in key cities and rural communities alike,” a press release reads.
Several watch parties have already been scheduled, including events in and around Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, and San Francisco. (our emphasis)
Mark your calendars. Check out the "No Kings" web site for events near you on June 14 and show up. Please.
Iranian officials involved with the peace negotiations between the regime and the United States said on Sunday that the peace deal with President Donald Trump is "no longer feasible" following the latest round of attacks, MS NOW's Inzamam Rashid reported on "The Weekend: Primetime."
"An Iranian official linked with the talks between the U.S. and Iran has sent me a message this evening — and remember, it's early in the morning out here in the region — and they've said to me that a deal with President Trump is no longer feasible at this stage," Rashid reported.
The report came at a time when Iran had fired missiles into a civilian area of Israel in response to Israel attacking the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon. Iran had threatened last week to retaliate for a hypothetical strike against Beirut.
"This official blamed President Trump for the current situation inside Lebanon and the current escalation, I presume the escalation, meaning what the Iranian response has been given," Rashid continued. "It's been Iran's red line not to attack Beirut all along. So this is a pretty interesting development, because it means that Iran now ... feels that it cannot now have open dialog with President Trump and sign off on a deal which both sides have been working pretty tirelessly."
The war in Iran, which began in late February, has stretched past the 100-day mark. The war has been disastrous for global energy prices, which have shocked the U.S. and European economies.
The shart of the deal by the master charlatan and con artist, always way over his head and sinking fast. Iran has "all the cards" and is going to bust the MF if it can.
After Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth cut nine Navy officers, including all the women, from a promotion list, several female officers say they see the unusual intervention as a sign that their careers now have a ceiling and worry for the future generation of female military leaders.
The Navy had selected 31 sailors to promote from the rank of captain to one-star admiral, but Hegseth recently intervened to strike nine people from the list, including three women and two Black men, according to a defense official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss information not permitted to be released publicly.
As a result, the Navy is not promoting a single woman to the one-star admiral rank this year even though women make up about one-quarter of all Navy officers and nearly one-third of the sea service’s midgrade ranks, according to military data from 2024.
The Associated Press spoke with eight female Navy officers of varying ranks and time in service after Hegseth’s cuts, which were reported earlier by The New York Times, became public. They spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear of retribution from their superiors.
The more junior officers said they saw the development as a sign that their careers would become politicized if they rose too far in the ranks, and some said they felt they now had a limit on how far they could be promoted. Some said it made them feel less valued within the military and wondered whether that wasn’t part of the intent.
The Pentagon has not offered any rationale on why the women, or any of the other six people, were removed from the promotion list. [snip]
Hegseth has long argued, without offering evidence, that women in the military benefit from preferential treatment and are not suited for combat roles.
“For too long, we’ve promoted too many uniformed leaders for the wrong reasons based on their race, based on gender quotas, based on historic so-called firsts,” Hegseth told hundreds of military leaders in September.
The approach, he asserted, made the Pentagon “less capable and less lethal.”...
For White nationalist DUI hire "Whiskey Pete" to flap his liquored lips about promoting people "for the wrong reasons" is really, really rich. He's a former Fox "News" couch potato with a drinking problem. What were his qualifications to become the Secretary of Defense ("War"), other than those liquored lips being affixed to the MF's large ass? There's gall, then there's unmitigated gall.
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The target of these observations, however, requires us to look behind the Orion Nebula. Behind the stars, gas and dust of M42 is a long, massive filament of cold gas and dust called (somewhat confusingly) the Orion Molecular Clouds, which is divided into four parts, OMC-1 through OMC-4. OMC-1 sits immediately behind M42, to the north are OMC-2 and OMC-3, and OMC-4 lies to the south.
This image shows just a small, northern portion of OMC-2, located 1280 light-years from Earth and a little north of the Orion Nebula. Every stage of star formation — from the youngest stellar embryos, to protoplanetary discs, to newly-minted pre-main sequence stars — is contained within just this scene, which stretches 150 light-years across. The intense star-forming activity has produced an impressive display of billowing outflows and sparkling stars atop swirling layers of gas and dark, obscuring clouds.
Molecular clouds such as OMC-2 are vast clumps of gas much more dense than the rest of interstellar space. This density allows complex molecules to form, protected from the radiation given off by other stars, and it means that gravity can cause the cloud to collapse and form stars. The earliest stage of this process is a protostar - a growing star that is being fed gas from the surrounding cloud through a spinning disc of gas. As gas falls onto the protostar, it heats up, powering the glow of the protostar. The immense amount of energy acquired during this process is unleashed in fierce jets of gas from the poles of the star, frequently seen as twin glowing outflows that mark the location of a protostar.
The abundance of protostars forming here in OMC-2 has created many spectacular outflows, large and small. Jets emitted from the young stars form high-speed shockwaves that sweep through the dense material around them; where the shockwaves are impacting the gas, it heats up and glows brightly, creating sharp ridges. Zoom in to observe the fine details in these shockwaves, as well as spot the smaller outflows from younger protostars. See if you can spot the location of hidden protostars, still so deeply obscured by their dusty cradles that they can’t be seen directly, by following outflows! Compare these very young protostars to the most evolved examples: the large, bright stars which have cleared away the clouds that surrounded them and now illuminate OMC-2.
Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) was used to capture this view of OMC-2. The thick gas and dust in and around the Orion Nebula blocks any light coming from OMC-2 at visible wavelengths, and the clouds in OMC-2 itself obscure the protostars that astronomers really want to find. Only in the infrared do we see these protostars begin to shine out from their cocoons of dust. In many places, the cold dust is so dense that it absorbs all or almost all light, creating dark globules. Orange, brown and some of the red colours mark warmer dust that absorbs some light and emits some of its own. The yellow to green gradient is largely emission from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), while light from stars and protostars scattered by dust grains is seen here primarily as blue and cyan hazes. Gas heated by the outflows creates the detailed, glowing red ridges.
The data was collected in observing programme #5804, which aims to study the star formation in OMC-2 and its immediate neighbour, OMC-3. Since these molecular clouds are so near to Earth, they are excellent laboratories to learn about the earliest stages of stellar evolution. Astronomers will use the data from Webb to investigate how the many outflows affect star formation in the two regions, how the ultraviolet emission from the young stars impacts chemistry in the circumstellar discs which one day will form planets, and how gas and dust accretes onto the tens of protostars in the region.
[Image Description: An area inside a star-forming molecular cloud. The background is covered with layers of gas and dust in blue, green and yellowish colours. Thicker clumps of cold dust, dark brown to black, block out light completely. Stars lie among and atop the clouds, from small orange ones to large white or blue ones. Waves and streams of glowing whitish gas are created by jets from protostars colliding with the surrounding material.]
Credit: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, T. Megeath, M. Zamani (ESA/Webb)
Acknowledgement: M. H. Özsaraç
The thin-skinned, deranged Malignant Fascist didn't like the questioning about his lies by "Meet the Press" host Kristen Welker today, so he did what any unstable giant toddler would do ...
What a stain on the Presidency and our country; what an embarrassment that someone this infantile and obviously unfit could be President of the United States in the year 2026 (or any other year for that matter).
"... This administration will never succeed in wrecking our multiracial and multifaith society, no matter how much damage it does to our democratic political system. It is who we are. Our identities cannot be taken away from us. And the attempts at mass disenfranchisement will backfire; a new civil rights movement is already starting.
"In trying to create a homogeneous society and ban talk of diversity, this government is merely drawing attention to what makes the United States special, and the power of our roots, identities, and traditions. These will serve us well in the coming years as we pursue peaceful resistance to restore our democracy." -- Ruth Ben-Ghiat, at her "Lucid" Substack, on "A Holistic Plan for a White Christian Ethnostate." Ben-Ghiat tracks the project to transform our multi-ethnic/ multi-faith democracy into the fascist MAGAt goal of a White Christian ethnostate by trying to "achieve greater cohesion of government policy around that goal." She concludes with the paragraphs above, expressing her belief that this will backfire on the MAGAt White Christian nationalists. We're not as sanguine, though, that "peaceful resistance" will win the day for democracy in America, especially if the MAGAt fascists escalate their reaction to resistance (in, for example, an effort to alter or deny the results of the mid-term elections). The corrupt SCOTUS' partisan gerrymandering us back to Jim Crow in the South has shown us that there is no law or precedent that they'll recognize in their dash to help their Republican Party install a permanent fascist MAGAt Republican state.
We always say, forewarned is forearmed.
(click on images to enlarge)
(Marian Kamensky, caglecartoons.com, Austria)
(Matt Davies, Newsday)
(Sean Delonas, caglecartoons.com)
(Joel Pett, Tribune Content Agency)
(Paul Duginski, caglecartoons.com)
(Malcolm McGookin, caglecartoons.com, Canada)
(Mike Luckovich, Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
(Clay Bennett, Chattanooga Times Free Press)
(Harley Schwadron, caglecartoons.com)
(Monte Wolverton, caglecartoons.com)
(Banx, Financial Times, UK)
This past Wednesday, the American Economic Liberties Project and Groundwork Collaborative released a 10-page report, “The Price of Corruption: How Trump’s Pay-to-Play Administration is Driving Up Costs for Working Families” (pdf), that outlines nine policy areas "that have been warped by Trump's corruption." It's main purpose is to pinpoint areas for further investigation by Democrats when the new Congress forms in 2027.
The policy areas covered are Health Care, Tariffs, Gas Prices, Energy, Air Travel, Tax Filing, Corporate Misbehavior, Credit Bureaus and Loan Rates, and Digital Assets and Prediction Markets. For a flavor of the contents, here's an excerpt for the last area, Digital Assets and Prediction Markets:
... The Trump family has personally netted at least $1.4 billion from crypto schemes, as this administration pulls away from oversight and enforcement of crypto fraud and prediction market regulations.
● Trump has installed people with crypto conflicts of interest throughout his administration, including by nominating more than 200 appointees who owned crypto assets worth up to $340 million.
● Simultaneously, the Department of Justice shut down investigations into crypto companies. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, while serving as deputy and holding at least $485,000 in crypto assets, eliminated the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team.
● Additionally, the administration has accelerated the adoption of crypto into critical federal agencies, including when Trumpʼs Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte urged mortgage giant Fannie Mae to accept crypto-backed mortgages for the first time ever.
● Trumpʼs crypto company World Liberty Financial (WLF) relies on Binance, a crypto exchange that admitted to anti-money laundering failures, Iran sanctions violations, and failing to report suspicious transactions linked to terrorist groups like Hamas. Binance has reportedly donated software to help launch WLF, and its founder, Changpeng Zhao, who had been convicted for failure to maintain an effective anti-laundering program, was later pardoned by Trump.
● Over the past year, Donald Trump Jr. has served as a strategic advisor to Kalshi and a large investor in Polymarket, while the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) – the agency overseeing these firms – has acted as their ally, rather than their watchdog. Both firms had actively lobbied Trumpʼs CFTC to block states from regulating prediction markets in the same way they regulate gambling companies...
As noted, it's a short, outline-format report, so please give it a read.
The media can't or won't focus on this firehose of corruption, but a Democratic Congress can and must. The American public -- especially working families -- needs to have it made clear which party is fighting for their interests and which Epstein class party is feeding at the public trough.
BONUS: Similar takes here.
(Image: Khoa Tran, Vanity Fair/ Getty Images)
