Today in Politics, Bulletin 160. 6/27/25 Ron Filipkowski Jun 27 FLORIDA: YOU HAVE A MAJOR PROBLEM WITH YOUR COGNITIVELY IMPAIRED REP. KAT CAMMACK!  POOR KAT CAMACK DOESN'T REMEMBER THAT FORIDA...YES! FLORIDA DETERMINED THEIR ABORTION REGULATIONS! SHE DOESN'T REMEMBER THE FLORIDA CONTROVERSY? MAYBE IT'S TIME FOR HER TO RETIRE & REPLACE HER WITH SOMEONE WHO REMEMBERS FACTS! … Rep. Kat Cammack went on Fox to blame Democrats because she wasn’t initially able to get treatment for her ectopic pregnancy because of FL’s abortion ban: "The left absolutely played a role in making sure that doctors and women were scared to seek out the help that they needed." … Gov. Gavin Newsom filed a defamation lawsuit against Fox and host Jesse Watters after he showed a deceptively edited clip and made false claims about his communications with Trump. Newsom is asking for $787 million in damages, matching the massive settlement Fox paid Dominion Voting Systems in 2023 over election misinformation. However, his lawyers said they will drop the lawsuit if Fox issues a public retraction and Watters apologizes on his show. … Newsom to Meidas: “The gloves are off. Let’s go. We’re gonna call out the bullshit, the propaganda, and the weaponization of lies and disinformation on networks like Fox, and we'll do it in every capacity on behalf of the people I represent and an individual capacity. Enough. It's time to assert ourselves much more forcefully with character and conviction and have the backs of people that don't have the voice that some of us have and the ability to do what some of us can do. And that's what this whole case is about.” … Meanwhile, Steve Bannon was on Matt Gaetz’s show calling for Fox to be investigated by DOJ as a foreign agent: “Fox has been cheerleaders for the Iraq War and Afghanistan. It’s the Iraq War playbook. Then theys had Ukraine, and now they are very focused on Israel - an Israel-Iran war. It’s at the behest of the Israel First crowd. And Fox never put out a counterargument on any of them.” CANADA CURRENTLY PROVIDES ELECTRICITY TO US STATES...TRUMP IS TOO STUPID TO FIGURE IT OUT! … Trump is going after Canada again: “We have just been informed that Canada, a very difficult Country to TRADE with, has just announced that they are putting a Digital Services Tax on our American Technology Companies, which is a direct and blatant attack on our Country. Based on this egregious Tax, we are hereby terminating ALL discussions on Trade with Canada, effective immediately. We will let Canada know the Tariff that they will be paying to do business with the USA within the next seven day period. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” … CNBC: “Prices that consumers pay rose slightly in May, while the annual inflation rate edged further away from the Federal Reserve’s target. The personal consumption expenditures price index, the Fed’s primary inflation reading, rose a seasonally adjusted 0.1% for the month, putting the annual inflation rate at 2.3%.” … Along with the inflation numbers, consumer spending and income showed further signs of weakening. Spending fell 0.1% for the month, compared with the estimate for an increase of 0.1%. Personal income declined 0.4%. It was the first monthly decline in personal income in 4 years. ARROGANT BOOB SCOTT BESSENT … Treasury Sec Scott Bessent on Fox Business: “Q - What is the next country we should expect a trade deal to do with the US? Are you gonna be able to get some deal announcements beyond just the UK before this August deadline? BESSENT: With all things, they get done at the end. I think we could have trade wrapped up by Labor Day.” TRUMP'S IRRATIONAL TARIFFS HAVE UNITED OTHER NATIONS TO UNITE & OPPOSE TRUMP'S INCOMPETENCE & BULLYING...IT'S CALLED  BULL SH*T! CONSUMERS ARE NOT PURCHASING ITEMS THAT ARE OVERPRICED DUE TO TARIFFS! … WH economic advisor Kevin Hassett was asked on Fox Business if there were at least the “framework” of any trade deals coming together: “They are in various stages of being done, but it's more than 20 underway.” … That’s exactly what they have been saying for two months. … So it’s Labor Day now. They promised 90 deals in 90 days. Today is Day 76. … Economist Peter Schiff: “Tariffs are not working. The US trade deficit in goods surged to $96.6 billion in May, up 11% from April and 6.5% above expectations. Most problematic was the 5.2% decline in exports. Trump’s goal to reduce trade deficits while expanding markets for US exports has backfired.” … The Guardian: “The wealth of the world’s 3,000 billionaires has surged by $6.5 trillion in real terms over the past decade, equivalent to 14.6% of global output. In total, the richest 1% of the global population has gained at least $33.9 trillion in real terms.” … SCOTUS ruled today 6-3 that nationwide injunctions likely exceed the authority Congress has given the courts. In doing so, the Court is narrowing nationwide injunctions that blocked Trump's executive order ending birthright citizenship. … Norm Eisen, who is involved in the lawsuits: “This is yet another compromise opinion from them that occupies a middle ground and denies the Trump admin the full extent of their lawless and authoritarian worldview. That is because for all the flaws in the decision, it leaves in place the underlying injunctions of the blatantly unconstitutional EO as to the particular plaintiffs. Moreover, it does nothing to preclude class action and other remedies that will allow full nationwide relief and that will undoubtedly be forthcoming rapidly in courts across the land.” (A class-action was immediately filed today after the ruling) … “So the court leaves a place for nationwide orders using other vehicles. We will continue vigorously working with our partners to make the case that birthright citizenship is of course protected by the Constitution and the Trump admin’s assaults upon it are grossly illegal. If the admin had its way, we would see a chaotic landscape of disparate decisions with regard to millions of people and babies across the country. Of course we can’t have that and the Sup Ct did not countenance it either. We will keep fighting to protect this and the other constitutional rights that make us the USA.” … Paul McLeod with Capitol Forum says this decision cuts both ways: “Basically everything Biden tried to do - ban noncompete agreements, student debt forgiveness, cracking down on payday lenders, etc. - was immediately blocked by nationwide injunctions from the Fifth Circuit. The next Democratic president may have just been unshackled.” … Constitutional lawyer George Conway summed the decision up this way: “It’s more like going to the DMV and being told you filled out the wrong form and them telling you here’s the right form and there are some pens over there you can use.” … SCOTUS also ruled today that public schools must allow parents with religious objections to withdraw their children from classes where LGBTQ themes are discussed. … Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD): "If you can opt out of mandatory classroom readings because it offends your religious objections, you can do it because it offends your philosophical beliefs, your political beliefs, your moral beliefs, and the Court basically says, 'We'll deal with all that down the road' - you're gonna have a lot more cases where people are saying 'Our family doesn't believe in evolution. So we don't want our kid to be in class when evolution is taught.'" … The Telegraph reports that Iran’s nuke capabilities were not “completely obliterated” as Trump claims: “Before the strike, 16 lorries were seen queuing up outside Fordow, and an expert on Iran’s nuclear program told The Telegraph the regime had moved much of its highly enriched uranium to a secret location before the US was able to bomb its facilities. Tehran had hidden sites housing ‘hundreds if not thousands’ of advanced centrifuges capable of producing weapons-grade uranium needed for a nuclear bomb.” … The belief is that the uranium was transferred to Pickaxe mountain, which was not struck in the bombings. French President Macron said the risk of Iran building a bomb has doubled, and they will use the ceasefire to do just that: “The risk has indeed increased with what has happened recently. We must absolutely prevent Iran going down this path.” … Telegraph: “The bombing of the nuclear sites sealed off two of the facilities, but failed to collapse their underground buildings, officials told the NYT. With Iran still in control of most of its nuclear material, it means Iran could still make a bomb within 6 months. The report’s findings suggest that Trump’s claim that Iran’s nuclear facilities were obliterated were oversold.” … Fox Nat Security reporter Jennifer Griffin, who was just attacked by Trump and Hegseth for her honest reporting on the bombings, on Pickaxe mountain: “Experts believe this is the suspected third site that the Iranians told the IAEA about before the US strikes and where Iran may have moved some of its highly enriched uranium. It is near Natanz and was not targeted or bombed.” … Trump was asked at a press conference today if he was concerned about the report about Pickaxe mountain: “Not really. I’m not worried about it at all.” … Former Obama NSC member Tommy Vietor: “Every intelligence expert has the opposite view, but I hope he's right.” … CNN reported on Joint Chief Gen Dan Caine’s briefing to Congress: “The US military did not use bunker-buster bombs on one of Iran’s largest nuclear facilities last weekend because the site is so deep that the munitions likely would not have been effective. The comment by Caine is the first known explanation given for why the US military did not use the MOP against the Isfahan site. US officials believe a significant quantity of Iran’s already-enriched uranium was stored at Isfahan deep underground.” … CNN’s Natasha Bertrand, who was also attacked by Trump and Hegseth for her reporting: “The Trump admin has discussed possibly helping Iran access as much as $30 billion to build a civilian-energy-producing nuclear program, easing sanctions, and freeing up billions of dollars in restricted Iranian funds – all part of an intensifying attempt to bring Tehran back to the negotiating table.” … NYT reporter Julian Barnes: "Hegseth and his staff have made clear they believe the role of the press is to cheer the military and President Trump, rather than to report objectively about the news." … Trump posted: “Why would the so-called ‘Supreme Leader,’ Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, of the war torn Country of Iran, say so blatantly and foolishly that he won the War with Israel, when he knows his statement is a lie, it is not so. As a man of great faith, he is not supposed to lie. His Country was decimated, his 3 evil Nuclear Sites were OBLITERATED, and I knew EXACTLY where he was sheltered, and would not let Israel, or the US Armed Forces, by far the Greatest and Most Powerful in the World, terminate his life. I SAVED HIM FROM A VERY UGLY AND IGNOMINIOUS DEATH, and he does not have to say, “THANK YOU, PRESIDENT TRUMP!” … “During the last few days, I was working on the possible removal of sanctions, and other things, which would have given a much better chance to Iran at a full, fast, and complete recovery - The sanctions are BITING! But no, instead I get hit with a statement of anger, hatred, and disgust, and immediately dropped all work on sanction relief, and more. I wish the leadership of Iran would realize that you often get more with HONEY than you do with VINEGAR.” … Reporter Dominic Michael Tripi: “BREAKING - US used 20% of its total THAAD defense missile stockpile in 11 days, costing $800M to defend Israel from Iranian missiles.” … Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) on DNI Tulsi Gabbard getting excluded from the briefing to the Senate on Iran: “I've never, ever been part of a major Cabinet-level classified briefing where the director of national intelligence was banned from the room.” … Former Chair of Nat Intelligence Council Gregory Treverton to Michael Isikoff on the SpyTalk podcast on Gabbard: “I do wonder why she's there. By this time, it seems to me she should have resigned if she didn't get fired. She's plainly not part of the team and not trusted, even though she was obviously selected for her presumed loyalty to the president.” … Iran Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi: “The Parliament of Iran has voted for a halt to collaboration with the IAEA until the safety and security of our nuclear activities can be guaranteed. Director Rafael Grossi directly facilitated the adoption of a politically-motivated resolution against Iran by the IAEA BoG as well as the unlawful Israeli and US bombings of Iranian nuclear sites.” … Araghchi: “The IAEA and its Director-General are fully responsible for this sordid state of affairs. Grossi's insistence on visiting the bombed sites under the pretext of safeguards is meaningless and possibly even malign in intent. Iran reserves the right to take any steps in defense of its interests, its people, and its sovereignty.” … Daily Beast columnist Julia Davis: “Johnny Noviello, 49, is the 9th person to die in ICE custody since the beginning of the year, and the 4th to die in a Florida facility.” ***HUH? HAVE ANY BRAIN DEAD DHS PEOPLE PAID ATTENTION TO NEWS FROM HAITI? I'VE MET SEVERAL HAITIANS WHO HAVE BUILT BUSINESSES & CONTRIBUTED TO THEIR COMMUNITIES!  THIS IS TRUMP'S RACIST POLICY!*** … Fox: “DHS has announced it is terminating Temporary Protected Status for more than half a million Haitians in the US, arguing that conditions in Haiti have improved enough for them to return home. The termination will take effect on 9/2/25, effectively giving the Haitians a little more than 2 months to leave the country or find another form of relief or legal status.” … Immigration lawyer Aaron Reichlin-Melnick: “The Trump admin claims, despite all reality, that Haiti is a safe country to return to - even though large portions of the country are ruled by vicious gangs and civil governance has collapsed. The gangs still control large parts of Port-au-Prince, the international security force is failing, and displacement has hit record levels.” … New Dem House Oversight ranking member Robert Garcia: “Stephen Miller is doing what he loves to do, which is be essentially the biggest piece of shit in this country. We’ve got to continue winning in the courts, and that’s going to continue. And the other piece of it is people’s reaction, the protesting, the anger, the rising up against these actions also is having an effect. And you’re seeing that - what’s happening in LA, which was mostly peaceful.” … PBS: “Senate to vote tomorrow at earliest - But. They don't yet have a Medicaid framework that straddles the 3 incongruent corners: Byrd bath requirements, 51 Senate votes and 218 House votes. And so: - The House is GOING HOME. Not staying the weekend.” … Budget analyst Marc Goldwein citing new data from the Joint Committee on Taxation: “The Senate bill is shaping up to add $3.5 to $4.5 trillion to the national debt. That's WAY MORE than the House.” … Politico reported that Senate Republicans are now considering an increase in federal employee contributions to the fed retirement system at an astonishing 15.6% of their salary. They are also exempting themselves and their staff from the increase. … NBC reported that Trump has canceled his golf outings this weekend at Bedminster to stay in DC to work over Republican holdouts on his budget reconciliation bill. Despite the fact that it will be raining for the 13th out of the last 14th Saturdays here in Maine, we are still going to the Maine Oyster Festival tomorrow in Freeport. Next Bulletin will cover the entire weekend out on Sunday night. If you missed yesterday’s Bulletin, you can find it here. Thank you again for supporting my work and everything we are doing! Meidas+ is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. … Steve Bannon to NBC on Dem nominee for NYC mayor Zohran Mamdani: “He did something that AOC and Bernie haven’t been able to do – he connected populism to affordability. Republicans better start taking this guy seriously and they better stop wishing that he wins and they will automatically run against his policies in 2026. This guy is a very skilled politician. He’s clearly had a lot of training. He’s got radical ideas, but he presents them in a sunny upbeat way and people feel like he’s fighting for them, particularly on an issue that Republicans haven’t connected on yet:  affordability.” … Rep. Marge Greene said Mamdani’s campaign was “unique and smart” because he “talked directly to the people” and “was focused on their issues, focused on their problems, and talking to the people about his solutions.” … Bannon: “Mamdani focused on affordability and he addressed their issues. He took the anger, the moment of populism, and got engaged with people. Cuomo ran a traditional thing. This kid ran a very sophisticated campaign at the grassroots level.” … Former NY Rep. George Santos came at it from a different angle: “The reason Zohran Mamdani won is simple. He’s young, HOT and personable. No one paid attention to his politics that’s a fact!” … Barrons: “An Israeli court on Friday rejected PM Netanyahu's request to postpone giving testimony in his corruption trial, after President Trump said the case should be cancelled. Netanyahu's lawyer on Thursday asked the court to excuse the leader from hearings over the next two weeks, saying he needed to concentrate on ‘security issues’ after Israel's 12-day war with Iran.” … “In a first case, he and his wife, Sara, are accused of accepting more than $260,000 worth of luxury goods such as cigars, jewelery and champagne from billionaires in exchange for political favors. In two other cases, Netanyahu is accused of attempting to negotiate more favorable coverage from two Israeli media outlets.” … “Netanyahu has requested multiple postponements in the trial since it began in May 2020, citing the war in Gaza which started in 2023, later fighting in Lebanon and this month the conflict with Iran.” … Elon Musk protege, 19 year old Edward ‘Big Balls’ Coristine, has returned to govt shortly after resigning. SSA spokesperson Stephen McGraw to WIRED: “Coristine joined the Social Security Admin this week as a special govt employee. His work will be focused on improving the functionality of the Social Security website and advancing our mission of delivering more efficient service to the American people.” … USA Today: “Members of Congress and advocates say the SSA is providing the public with misleading info about how long it will take to resolve their problems. Over the last several weeks, the agency has stopped making public 34 real-time performance metrics about things like how long they will have to wait to reach a live person on the phone, and how long applications for new senior benefits or social security benefits take to be approved. … “The metrics have been used for years to show how time-consuming it can be to reach a live person at certain locations or through the national 1-800 number, and as an accountability measure for the agency. USA reporters called Social Security's 1-800 line multiple times over several days and found the wait times to be consistently over an hour. Multiple times they did not reach a live person before the line disconnected with no warning.” ***REPLACING SEN. JOHN FETTERMAN....*** … AP: “Sen. John Fetterman isn’t even up for reelection until 2028, but already a one-time primary foe, former Rep. Conor Lamb, is crisscrossing PA and social media, looking and sounding like he’s preparing to challenge Fetterman again. At town hall after town hall across PA, Dems and allied progressive groups aren’t hearing from Fetterman in person. But they are hearing from Lamb, a living reminder of the Democrat they could have elected instead of Fetterman.” … “The former congressman has emerged as an in-demand town hall headliner, sometimes as a stand-in for Fetterman. By his count, he’s now attended at least a dozen town halls and party events, easily clocking more than 2,000 miles to appear in small towns, small cities and suburbs, often in conservative areas.” … Dana Kellerman, a Pittsburgh-based progressive organizer: “Showing up matters and it really does make a difference. Is that going to matter to Fetterman? I really don’t know. I don’t know what he’s thinking. I don’t know if he’s always been this person or if he’s changed in the last two years.” … AP: “Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said that her admin is investigating contamination from a SpaceX facility near the Mexican border in South Texas, and planning its next course of action. The announcement follows the June 18 explosion of a Starship rocket while on a stand during a test, which sent a massive fireball into the night sky. Pieces of metal, plastic and rocket pieces were reportedly found in the northern state of Tamaulipas, which borders the SpaceX’s Starbase following the explosion.” … Sheinbaum on Musk’s company, which has largely been deregulated by Trump: “There’s a general review underway to find out what international laws they are violating. There is contamination.” … InsideEVs: “Enthusiasm has slowed down after some unsettling videos of Tesla Robotaxis went viral. NHTSA is currently conducting an inquiry into the Robotaxi. The agency is concerned about Tesla using FSD in Robotaxis while it's being investigated for several serious crashes. Tesla claims that all answers it provided to the agency after a round of safety-related questioning last month are 'confidential business information' that could cause material harm to the automaker if made public." … “Unlike various competitors, Tesla relies on cameras and AI alone to guide its Robotaxis. This means Robotaxis don’t have LIDAR (light detection and ranging) sensors. Lidar systems emit laser pulses in all directions, which is useful for mapping the surroundings of a car and the road. It gives the vehicle a digital 3-D view of the driving field. This tech is heavily utilized by Waymo. The lack of LIDAR sensors gives some people serious reservations about Robotaxis.” … One comment on one of the viral videos showing Robotaxis driving erratically: “I’ll never trust it without LIDAR. Useless in fog and heavy rain.” … Tesla CEO Elon Musk is not a fan of LIDAR sensors. He has personally bashed LIDAR, saying it makes cars “expensive, ugly, and unnecessary.” … A pro-Trump PAC has taken out a $1 million ad buy against Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) to air in his district highlighting his votes against Trump initiatives over the years. … Massie to Daily Caller on Israel lobby AIPAC recruiting a candidate to run against him: “The political calculus that both the president and AIPAC have to consider is, if they go after me and lose, they’ve lost a lot of credibility. I think what Israel is doing in Gaza has diminished their standing in the US, especially among younger people in the district. But I will say this - they still have a tight grip on Congress. So the disparity is growing between what Congress is doing and what the people are thinking.” … Local 10 (FL): “DOD announced it would immediately stop ingesting, processing, and transmitting data essential to most hurricane forecasts. NOAA distributed a service change notice to all users, including the National Hurricane Center, that by next Monday they would no longer receive real-time microwave data collected aboard three weather satellites jointly run by NOAA and DOD. The permanent discontinuation of data from the SSMIS will severely impede and degrade hurricane forecasts for this season and beyond, affecting tens of millions of Americans who live along its hurricane-prone shorelines.” … “The news sent users across the weather and climate community – including those monitoring changes to sea ice extent in the polar regions – scrambling to understand the rationale behind the abrupt termination. Though not immediately clear why the real-time data was suddenly discontinued, the decision appears to have stemmed from DOD security concerns.” … “Officials at the NHC were also caught off guard by the announcement and are preparing their team for the loss of critical forecast data for the rest of the hurricane season.” Former NHC forecasting chief James Franklin: “Their loss is a big deal. Without this imagery, there will be increased risk of a ‘sunrise surprise’ - the realization from first-light images that a system had become much better organized overnight, but it wasn’t recognized because structural details are so hard to discern from satellite.” … Lawfare: “Kenneth Chesebro, ‘architect’ of the 2020 fake electors plot who pleaded guilty to criminal charges in Georgia, has been disbarred from the practice of law in NY, per order issued today by NY appellate court.” … From Trump’s presser today: “Q - Many Americans still have questions about the 2020 election. And speaking of rogue judges, would you consider appointing somebody at DOJ to investigate the judges? Trump: I love you, who are you? Reporter: I'm Kara from Mike Lindell TV.” … Trump: "If you look at the end of the Civil War - the 1800s, it was a very turbulent time. If you take the end day - was it 1869? Or whatever." … I’ve said for years that Trump could not pass a 7th grade US History exam. He proves me right every day. … Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) said she was going to try and post on social media mimicking Trump’s style to see if that will get them to start listening to her: … I like the concept, but I think it needs a few typos, grammatical errors, insults, random quote marks, and misspellings to be a proper representation. … UVA president Jim Ryan resigned his position as Trump was threatening to cut off fed funding from the university for allegedly refusing to comply with his executive order banning DEI. Ryan’s statement: “I am inclined to fight for what I believe in, and I believe deeply in this University. But I cannot make a unilateral decision to fight the fed govt in order to save my own job. To do so would not only be quixotic but appear selfish and self-centered to the hundreds of employees who would lose their jobs, the researchers who would lose their funding, and the hundreds of students who could lose financial aid or have their visas withheld.“ … Emerson did a poll on potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidates. Very early, and I doubt a few of these will run. I think Harris runs for Gov of CA, AOC is focused on taking on Schumer, Sanders already said he isn’t running because he’s too old, I don’t think Walz is running, Moore and Beshear are positioning themselves as the top VP contenders for whoever wins. The number that jumps out to me here is that Buttigieg still cannot get any traction with Black voters - same as 2020.