Luke Broadwater and Katie Rogers , The New York Times; Trump Has Another Justification for the Shooting of Renee Good: Disrespect
"President Trump has added another justification for the fatal shooting of Renee Good by an ICE agent in Minnesota: She behaved badly.
“At a very minimum, that woman was very, very disrespectful to law enforcement,” Mr. Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday evening."
Nick Robins-Early and Dara Kerr, The Guardian; Elon Musk’s 2025 recap: how the world’s richest person became its most chaotic
"One of Musk’s final feuds of the year came from a more unusual source – famed 87-year-old author Joyce Carol Oates, whose cutting observation about him on X received more than 5.6m views.
“So curious that such a wealthy man never posts anything that indicates that he enjoys or is even aware of what virtually everyone appreciates – scenes from nature, pet dog or cat, praise for a movie, music, a book (but doubt that he reads); pride in a friend’s or relative’s accomplishment; condolences for someone who has died; pleasure in sports, acclaim for a favorite team; references to history,” Oates posted in November.
A day later, after Musk made a show of enthusiastically replying to several clips of movies on X, he responded to Oates’s critique.
“Oates is a liar and delights in being mean,” Musk posted. “Not a good human.”"
Annie Karni and Megan Mineiro , The New York Times; Mike Lee Draws Outrage for Posts Blaming Assassination on the Far Left
[Kip Currier: Sen. Mike Lee's social media posts, in the wake of the recent political assassinations and killings in Minnesota, show and tell us everything we need to know about his character and core values.]
[Excerpt]
"Scarcely 24 hours after a Democratic lawmaker in Minnesota was assassinated in her home, Senator Mike Lee, Republican of Utah, posted a pair of politically charged messages mocking the attack.
“This is what happens When Marxists don’t get their way,” Mr. Lee wrote on Sunday on his personal X account, a message accompanied by photographs of the suspect released by law enforcement officials.
An hour later, in a second post showing the suspect, Mr. Lee wrote: “Nightmare on Waltz Street,” in an apparent reference the Democratic governor of the state, Tim Walz.
By the afternoon, amid outraged responses to his postings, Mr. Lee issued a very different message on his official Senate account in which he hit all of the sober notes one would expect from an elected official reacting to a political assassination."
Hamed Aleaziz , The New York Times; A Reality Show Where Immigrants Compete for U.S. Citizenship? D.H.S. Is Considering It.
[Kip Currier: The idea of dangling the possibility of becoming a U.S. citizen by putting fellow human beings through a competition like this is beyond appalling. Shame on all those who even considered and are talking about this as a way to normalize depravity and exploitative spectacle.
We need government officials -- and fellow citizens -- who uphold human dignity and live by the core values of empathy, decency, and care for the well-being of every person, especially those at the margins of society.]
[Excerpt]
"The Department of Homeland Security is considering taking part in a television show that would have immigrants go through a series of challenges to get American citizenship, officials said on Friday.
The challenges would be based on various American traditions and customs, said Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the agency. She said the department was still reviewing the idea, which was pitched by a producer named Rob Worsoff.
“The pitch generally was a celebration of being an American and what a privilege it is to be able to be a citizen of the United States of America,” Ms. McLaughlin said. “It’s important to revive civic duty.”"
Melody Schreiber, NPR; Trump pauses funding for anti-HIV program that prevented 26 million AIDS deaths
[Kip Currier: The amorality of the statement below is staggeringly appalling, but not unexpected, from an administration whose guiding principle is transactional policymaking, even in examples involving great human suffering and need.
To label as "a moral imperative" the immediate cessation of lifesaving medications for Global South persons with HIV and AIDS is farcical Orwellian rhetoric.]
[Excerpt]
"On Sunday, the State Department confirmed the halt in an email to NPR. The United States "is no longer going to blindly dole out money with no return for the American people," State spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in a statement, calling the pause "a moral imperative.""
