Meg @megative_

I'm an American, a U.S. Army veteran, and I live in Europe. And I'll tell you something that might upset a few people back home. I want my fellow Americans to enjoy the same rights, freedoms, and quality of life that millions of Europeans already enjoy. I want Americans to have access to affordable healthcare without worrying about going bankrupt because they got sick. I want American students to pursue higher education without burying themselves in decades of debt. I want Americans to enjoy stronger digital privacy laws, meaningful consumer protections, paid parental leave, and guaranteed paid vacation. I want police officers held to rigorous standards of accountability, where de-escalation is emphasized and deadly force is genuinely a last resort. I want Americans to understand that freedom isn't just about what the government cannot do to you. It's also about having the security and opportunity to actually enjoy your life. And before someone starts screaming about socialism, understand something. European countries are capitalist democracies. They have private businesses, entrepreneurs, private property, competitive markets, and individual liberties. They've simply made different decisions about what protections their citizens should enjoy. Europe isn't perfect. No place is. But pretending America has nothing to learn from other democracies is ridiculous. I served my country. I love my country. And I don't believe patriotism requires pretending that America is the best at everything. In fact, I believe the exact opposite. Real patriotism means wanting your country to improve, even when that means admitting another country does something better. I don't want Americans to have fewer freedoms. I want them to have MORE. More protections. More opportunities. More security. More accountability. More freedom to live their lives without being financially destroyed by illness, education, or circumstances beyond their control. And having lived on both sides of the Atlantic, I know that much of this is possible. We should stop asking why Americans can't have these things and start asking why they're expected to settle for less.

It's an excruciating 17 days until the election, but I've become a bit of a fatalist about it. After all this, if the American people can't get off their butts and repudiate this man and all that he represents, then we will fully deserve what we will get. No excuses, no escape.

Donald Trump promised to make things cheaper. Instead, he tariffed everything, started a new war, and pocketed about $2 billion for himself in the process. He's a liar and a fraud. It really is that simple.

State run media, state owned enterprises, prosecuting political opponents, gifts from foreign countries, selling pardons, massive amounts of money flowing into the President’s bank account, and banners with his head plastered on government buildings. NONE OF THIS IS NORMAL.

Long rant @ddiamond but stay with me. Journalists counter my criticism all the time by saying "but we did write 1 or 2 articles on that!" That's great, but the issue is what achieves agenda-setting salience. Biden's health was regular front page news for months. His footwear choices generated headlines. He tripped once on stage and it generated a week of commentary. If he flubbed the name of a foreign leader, it was covered in multiple outlets even if he corrected himself. @peterbakernyt @nytimes ran a high profile story implying he was hiding Parkinsons that turned out to be false. After he left office, @jaketapper went on a book tour to continue to criticize Biden's age and fitness. You will not convince me Trump receives this level of scrutiny, because he simply doesn't in any study of actual headlines I've seen (Media Matters did a great one.) In fact, Trump has appeared to fall asleep about 19 times in public in his current term (most recently at a 9/11 memorial event which generated no major headlines outside liberal outlets). I counted them myself mostly using social media clips from accounts like @atrupar and asking AI to debunk the fake ones, which I was forced to do because the only journalist at a major outlet that I could find who tried to compile that kind of list is @khaleda who does not even work in the US! (By the way, Dan, I'm more than happy to send you that list via email.) The media never pursued sustained follow-up on Trump's hand bruising, his gait, his multi-day Walter Reed visits, the obvious falsehoods in his health reports, or the true nature of Natalie Harp's role as his aide. When he is incoherent in remarks, WH press so regularly sanitize his speech it has its own name ("sanewashing"). Scrutiny of Trump's health is so sparse there was a multi-day period in which social media was full of rumors that he had died. There are viral social media accounts alleging serious health complications that at minimum suggest continuous fact-based reporting that is seriously lacking. I could write the same rant about a number of other high profile issue: why is it not treated as sustained scandal news that Don Jr's wedding was paid by the Russians Why is it not treated as scandal that Jared Kushner has a role in govt at all? Hunter Biden's laptop and paintings were months-longs stories. Why aren't we seeing journalists post pictures of their receipts or gas station prices like we saw during inflation coverage under Biden? When do we get an update on @brikeilarcnn's milk guzzling family from 2021? My opinion is that the media is stuck over-covering itself (press access or DC-specific stories like the Reflecting Pool) instead of hammering the issues that put Trump into office that actually don't require White House press access. I don't know whether this is disinterest, corporate pressure, or appeasing GOP sources, but often it feels that way.

Dan Diamond @ddiamond

a month ago

@jamesetta_w Hi there. I’ve reported on all the things you mention. (Here’s a quick sampling.) If you have specific feedback or criticism on particular articles, you’re welcome to email me at [email protected], and I’m happy to engage at length - thanks.

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Congress has not worked enough days in 2026 to qualify for SNAP, just in case you were curious who was actually sponging off our tax dollars.

Spoiler alert and whatnot. You don't have to completely understand how someone lives their life in order to LET someone live their life.

We must make the world kind. Good night moon.

Raw, unabashed, unembarrassed corruption coming straight from the White House. It's unlike anything we’ve ever seen from an American president.

An insurance card from birth till death. That’s what Medicare for All provides — no more private insurance premiums, copays, deductibles, or denials of care from greedy companies. No losing your healthcare if you lose your job. Universal healthcare as a human right.

Imagine if Kamala Harris became the first female president of the United States and then tore down the East wing, obsessed about a ballroom, started a losing war with Iran, took away health care and food from children, raked in billions, fired everyone to put her friends in their positions, fell asleep on camera consistently, mouthed off on social media, openly prosecuted people she didn’t like without real cause, started a slush fund to fund domestic terrorists, and generally lied every second of the day. She wasn’t even allowed to laugh.

Local man suggests jailing own boss.

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57 years ago

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Trump has made billions of dollars from being president. He's turned the White House into his personal piggy bank.

Whomever decided to make the Microsoft Teams status indicator change from green to yellow after two minutes of inactivity. I hope you shit pineapples for the rest of your life.

John Ossoff and Raphael Warnock are more legitimate officeholders than Donald Trump.

Donald Trump is at war with our democracy and Georgia is ground zero. But this is John Lewis’ Georgia. We are not intimidated. We are not moved. Mr. President, instead of attacking our democracy, why don’t you do something about the high cost of gas, housing, and health care?

If a Democratic President ever denied red states disaster aid it would be an ALL CAPS week-long media scandal but since Trump gets to play by his own bespoke, only-applies-to-him rules, this won't even get a day's worth of attention.

Kyle Griffin @kylegriffin1

4 months ago

Trump just denied disaster aid to four blue states, after approving aid to six red states. ms.now/rachel-maddow-…

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"I spoke to my old friend Mitch McConnell this morning, the senior Senator from Kentucky.”

BREAKING: House Republicans just advanced their voter suppression bill in the Rules Committee. If the Rule passes tomorrow, the SAVE Act will automatically be added to the National Defense Authorization Act when it passes. This bill will make it harder to register to vote, especially if you’re a woman, live in a rural community, serve in the military, or are a Tribal voter. If you’re wealthy enough to have a passport, you’re fine. But more than 21 million Americans don’t have one. Under the SAVE Act, a REAL driver’s license in many states or other common forms of ID wouldn’t be enough to register. Don’t call this a voter ID bill. A true voter ID law could accept a REAL ID driver’s license. This isn’t about election security. It’s about making it harder for eligible Americans to vote.