Monday, April 07, 2025

Jay North

 AP reports that Jay North has passed away.  The actor was 73 years old and became a TV star as a child in the TV show DENNIS THE MENACE.  WIKIPEDIA notes:



His career as a child actor began in the late 1950s with roles in eight TV series, two variety shows and three feature films. At age 7, he became a household name for his role as the good-natured but mischievous Dennis Mitchell on the CBS situation comedy Dennis the Menace (1959–1963), based on the comic strip created by Hank Ketcham.

As a teen, North had roles in two Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer feature films: Zebra in the Kitchen and Maya. He also starred in the NBC television series adaptation of the latter film. As an adult, he turned to voice acting for animated television series, voicing the roles of Prince Turhan in the Arabian Knights segment of The Banana Splits Adventure Hour and a teenaged Bamm-Bamm Rubble on The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show.

After leaving show business, North began working with fellow former child star Paul Petersen and the organization A Minor Consideration, using his experiences as a child performer to counsel other children working in the entertainment industry.



Jay North was one of the biggest child actors on TV.  DENNIS THE MENACE was a huge hit.



DENNIS THE MENACE was a hit show.  In three of it's four seasons, it was in the top 20 highest rated series -- in its second season (it's highest number of viewers) it came in as the 11th most watched show in the country.  By contrast, LEAVE IT TO BEAVER, never once made it into the top 30 most watched shows -- not ever, not in any season. 


Closing with C.I.'s "The Snapshot:"


 Monday, April 7, 2025.  Chump hides out in Florida while Americans across the country stand up, 60 MINUTES reports on the reality of Chump's deportations, Chump again disrespects US troops, and much more.


Last night, 60 MINUTES (CBS) explored the 300 Venezuelans deported to an El Salvador Gulag -- 75% of which (179) have no prison records here or in Venezuela.  .



From 60 MINUTES' text report:

Three weeks ago, 238 Venezuelan migrants were flown from Texas to a maximum security prison in El Salvador.

That country's president offered to take them and the Trump administration used a law not invoked since World War II to send them -- claiming they are all terrorists and violent gang members.

The government has released very little information about the men. But through internal government documents, we have obtained a list of their identities and found that an overwhelming majority have no apparent criminal convictions or even criminal charges. 

They are now prisoners. 

Among them: a makeup artist, a soccer player and a food delivery driver, being held in a place so harsh that El Salvador's justice minister once said the only way out is in a coffin.

The shackled men were forced to lower their heads and bodies as they were unloaded from buses and taken to El Salvador's mega prison, known as the Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT.

Andry Hernandez Romero was among them.

Lindsay Toczylowski: Andry is a 31-year-old Venezuelan. He's a makeup artist. He is a gay man. He loves to do theatre. He was part of a theatre troupe in his hometown. 

Lindsay Toczylowski, Andry's attorney, says he does not have a criminal record in the United States or Venezuela. She says he left his home country last year because he was targeted for being gay and for his political views. 

Last May, Andry made the long trek north through the Darien Gap to Mexico, where he eventually got an appointment to seek asylum in the United States. At a legal border crossing near San Diego, he was taken into custody while his case was processed.

Cecilia Vega: Did he have a strong asylum case?

Lindsay Toczylowski: We believe he did have a strong asylum case. He had also done a credible fear interview, which is the very first part of seeking asylum in the United States. And the government had found that his threats against him were credible, and that he had a real probability of winning an asylum claim. 

But last month Andry did not appear for a court hearing. 

Lindsay Toczylowski: Our client, who was in the middle of seeking asylum, just disappeared. One day he was there, and the next day we're supposed to have court, and he wasn't brought to court.

Cecilia Vega: You use the word "disappeared."

Lindsay Toczylowski: Yeah, I use that word because that's what happened.

But Andry did appear in photos taken by Time magazine photographer Philip Holsinger, who was there when the Venezuelans arrived at CECOT. 

Holsinger told us he heard a young man say: "I'm not a gang member. I'm gay. I'm a stylist." And that he cried for his mother as he was slapped and had his head shaved.

By comparing Holsinger's photographs to photos of Andry's tattoos taken by the government, we were able to confirm that this is Andry. His lawyer, who is representing him pro bono, had never seen these photos before.

Lindsay Toczylowski: It's horrifying to see someone who we've met and know as a sweet, funny artist, in the most horrible conditions I could imagine.

Cecilia Vega: You fear for Andry's safety in there?

Lindsay Toczylowski: Absolutely. We have grave concerns about whether he can survive. 


If you're on US soil, this should alarm and frighten you.  This is not how our country historically acts.  And Convicted Felon Donald Chump would love to expand on the deportations.  Billal Rahman (NEWSWEEK) explains:


President Donald Trump has signaled his support for sending American citizens to El Salvador's notorious super prison.

Why It Matters

The White House administration sent hundreds of people onboard two flights in March to the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) in El Salvador, despite a judge ordering the government to halt the planes. The Trump administration claimed the men were suspected of being part of the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang.

U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg issued an order temporarily halting the government's use of the 1798 Alien Enemies Act while its actions were being challenged in court.


Photographer Philip Holsinger was at the gulag when the deportees arrived and he shared with 60 MINUTES what he saw and heard. 


Hands Off immigrants!  That's one of the demands some taking part Saturday in the Hands Off protestes around the country demanded.  


John Yang (PBS NEWSHOUR) explaineds, "People across the country and around the world turned out on Saturday for what organizers say has been the single biggest day of protests against President Trump and his second-term actions. In the U.S., more than a thousand rallies were planned in small towns and major cities from coast to coast."  NPR has a photo essay here and THE GUARDIAN's photo essay is here.



In DC, US House of Representative members Ilhan Omar,  Jamie Raskin and Eric Swalwell joined thousands to speak out and stand up. Robert Tait (GUARDIAN) reports:


 Demonstrators estimated to be in the tens of thousands gathered in Washington on Saturday in a display of mass dissent against Donald Trump’s policies that organizers hoped would snowball into a rolling cycle of protests that could eventually stymie the US president in next year’s congressional elections.

Anger with Trump and his billionaire lieutenant, the SpaceX and Tesla entrepreneur Elon Musk, was expressed in a sea of placards and banners on the Washington mall, in the shadow of the Washington monument. Multiple messages denounced the two men for shuttering government agencies, cutting jobs and services and – in often graphic terms – for threatening the survival of US democracy.

“Resist like it’s 1938 Nazi Germany” and “Fascism is alive and well and living in the White House”, read two slogans at the Hands Off gathering, organized by the civil society group Indivisible and featuring speeches from a host of other organizations as well as Democratic members of Congress.


ABC NEWS quotes US House Rep Jamie Raskin pointing out, "Our founders wrote a Constitution that did not begin with 'We the dictators',"   NBC NEWS quotes American Federation of Government Employees President Everett B. Kelley declaring, "We will not be silenced. We will not bow down. We'll stand up and say, 'Hands off our union.' We'll stand up and say, 'Hands off our contract.' We'll stand up and say, 'Hands off our democracy, hands off our freedom'."  BBC NEWS quotes US House Rep Maxwell Frost telling the DC crowd, "When you steal from the people, expect the people to rise up. At the ballot box and in the streets."



From the nation's capital to California's, Nijzel Dotson and  Andres Valle (KCRA) report on Sacramento's event:

According to a permit with the California Highway Patrol, organizers initially expected at least 1,000 people at the Capitol. One organizer told KCRA 3's Andres Valle that there were at least 3,000 attendees at one point. 

"Having a picnic provided us to do what we're planning, which is to get the community to interact more with each other. To get people who even aren't sure where to start in this kind of work involved in small little ways," said Nancy Culpepper the event organizer. 


Also in California, thousands marched in Oakland and hundreds in San Jose.  Thousands turned out in San Francisco where we gathered at Civic Plaza.  Signs bored messages such as "Putin Owns Trump," "Stop Fascism Support Love,"  "Make America Think Again,"  "I Didn't Elect DOGE, did you?," Dump Trump," "We Support Federal Workers," "HANDS OFF our future our rights our democracy our healthcare social security our public library our schools . . .," "No Teenie Weenie Mussolini,"  "Healthcare Is A Human Right," "Hands Off Our Immigrants,"  "Trump Is A Nazi,"  "The Musk Stinks In Here,"  "Good Trouble" a drawing of Musk with a black mask and the term "Grifter" and "Republicans, You Can Fight This Coup Too."  Molly Burke and Danielle Echeverria (SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE) report:


As a marching band played and cars passing on Polk Street honked repeatedly, burlap-clad protesters calling themselves the Climate Lamenters stood with an effigy labeled “Climate Chaos.” Other lamenters wore signs decrying melting glaciers, tornadoes, forced migration, heat domes and other climate disasters. “We express the grief and anxiety many of us hold over the impacts of climate change,” the group’s flyer said. 

A longtime San Francisco resident in her 70s, who declined to give her name for fear of jeopardizing funding for a nonprofit she founded, said she “had to” show up to this protest. She has not demonstrated since the Women’s March during Trump’s first term and, before that, protests against the Vietnam War.

“It’s a mess,” she said. “A lot of us are going to be OK, but there are a lot of us that are not.” 

[. . .]

State Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, celebrated the turnout of the protest, saying the mobilization against the Trump administration is in full force, contrary to “narratives” of complacency he said were common when Trump was sworn in for his second term. Wiener called on institutions to stand strong together, rather than conceding to the Trump administration’s demands. “Don’t bend the knee,” he said.

Wiener also called for “broad-based realignment” of the Democratic Party to not give right-wing leaders the chance to reclaim offices every two or four years. “It’s not enough to just get them out of office,” Wiener said.

As he left the stage to loud applause, one person in the crowd turned to another and said she couldn’t wait until Wiener runs for Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi’s seat when she retires from the House.  

 

Still in California, Howard Blume, Summer Lin, Faith E. Pinho, Terry Castleman and Jeanette Marantos (LOS ANGELES TIMES) report:

 Sam Phillips decided it was not too soon to set an example for her 15-month-old son, who rolled alongside her in a stroller.

“It’s really important to both stand up for his future and to also show him that in our family, we stand up to bullies,” said Phillips, who attended an anti-Trump rally Saturday with her husband in downtown Los Angeles, a gathering that also was strongly critical of Elon Musk — the billionaire advisor that President Trump tasked with slashing government spending.

The crowd easily numbered in the tens of thousands, starting with an afternoon kickoff in Pershing Square, followed by a march to City Hall and a sunset rally there that filled the street and adjacent Grand Park.

The demonstration was peaceful, colorful and creative, but there also was a palpable and diverse sense of outrage as participants cataloged a wide range of the Trump administration’s actions, including government downsizing, attacks on the rights of immigrants and transgender people, and tariffs that are roiling economies across the globe.


Ernesto Centeno Araujo (VENTURA COUNTY STAR) reports on another California protest:

 All four corners of the intersection of Lynn Road and Hillcrest Drive in Thousand Oaks were packed to the brim with protesters holding signs and chanting as part of the Hands Off! National Day of Action Saturday.

"I honestly got emotional," said Bryan Stern, 40, from Thousand Oaks. The turnout was more than Stern expected and seeing and hearing the way his city turned out to protest recent actions taken by the Trump administration made him proud, he said. Stern attended the rally along with his girlfriend, Risa Middleton, 44, and her parents.

While the protest fell under the Hands Off! umbrella of demonstrations around the U.S. Saturday, the event was put together by local organizations Indivisible Simi Valley, Indivisible Conejo and Women United for Change, said Leanna Brand of Indivisible Simi Valley.

[. . .]

"I'm appalled by what they are trying to do to our democracy," said Lisa Richardson, 69, of Thousand Oaks, referencing President Donald Trump and Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency.


Colorado's capital is Denver and Lindsey Toomer (COLORADO NEWSLINE) reports:

About 8,000 people rallied and marched at the Colorado Capitol in Denver for one of the many volunteer-organized Hands Off! protests against the Trump administration that took place around the country Saturday. 

Several speakers including union workers, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, Democratic state Sen. Jessie Danielson and Colorado state director of GreenLatinos Ean Tafoya among other activists and concerned citizens addressed the crowd before protesters embarked on a 2-mile march through downtown Denver. Attendees held a variety of homemade as well as branded Hands Off! signs highlighting Medicaid, Social Security, fair elections, LGBTQ+ rights, public lands, veterans services, and other public services seen to be at risk under President Donald Trump.

Weiser, a Democrat who is running for governor in 2026, told the crowd that the Trump administration “didn’t get the memo that immigrants make America great,” which is why he joined a lawsuit challenging Trump’s “unimaginable step of thinking a Sharpie could overrule the Constitution” when he issued an executive order to end birthright citizenship.

“In America, when we stand together, when we stand on our principles, we will always prevail,” Weiser said. “We cannot be silenced.”


Staying with Colorado, AP notes, "Protesters also demonstrated in Arvada, Boulder, Colorado Springs, Fort Collins, and Loveland. "

They protested in Salem, Oregon.  Isabel Funk (SALEM STATESMAN JOURNAL) reports:

People held signs with slogans like 'Hands off our democracy,' '“'Humpty Trumpty had a great fall,' and 'Are we great yet? I’m just embarrassed.'

Others brought instruments and waved American, Ukrainian and Pride flags. A youth group offered “free hotdogs against fascism.”

[. . .]

Clyde Clevenger, 75, said he has attended every protest in Salem this year.

Clevenger is a Vietnam War veteran, but he said veterans’ rights are only one reason he’s been protesting.

“I’m also a father and I have four daughters, and I hate to see what’s happening for my daughters and my grandchildren,” he said.

 

They turned out in New York City. John Dias and Zinnia Maldonado (CBS NEW YORK) report:


A massive turnout shut down part of Midtown Manhattan.

The demonstrations come after two days of huge losses on Wall Street followed President Trump's announcement of steep tariffs, which also sparked fears of a global trade war and recession. 

[. . .]

Kicking off at Bryant Park, thousands of demonstrators gathered along Fifth Avenue with signs in hand, marching to Madison Square Park.

Many of those who spoke to CBS News New York said the turnout was bigger than anybody expected, and they are all marching for different reasons, from government downsizing to economic inequality to threats to human rights.

"I'm actually representing the United Federation of Teachers, and we are very upset about the cuts to the Board of Education," protester Stephanie Kim said.

"Women's rights, at the moment. I'm pregnant," another protester said. "In case anything happens to me, I want to make sure that I'm able to have the right care."

"Losing our money, all our 401ks for retired people. We don't work anymore. You just don't get that back," protester Elaine DeAngelis said.


Last Tuesday, the state of Wisconsin sent a message of "We will not be bought" to Chump and Musk.  Today, they continued their fight to protect our country.   THE WISCONSIN EXAMINER reports:

Thousands of Wisconsinites joined rallies in Madison, Milwaukee and Green Bay Saturday, taking part in a national day of action with simultaneous events in more than 1,200 cities across all 50 states, according to the organizers of the “Hands Off!” protests of President Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and the Trump administration’s deep cuts to federal funding for health care, science, the Social Security administration, education and other public goods. Indivisible, one of more than 150 participating civil rights, labor, LGBTQ and other groups, put out a statement saying the rallies were an effort “to let Trump and Musk know they can’t intimidate us into submission.”

In Madison a massive crowd filled the lawns, sidewalks and streets on the State Street corner of the Wisconsin State Capitol, then marched the one-mile stretch to Library Mall on the University of Wisconsin campus. Organizers estimated more than 10,000 people participated.

Madison residents Jason and Aubrey, who declined to give their last names, said they were looking for a community with like-minded people. “We can be angry but it’s also fun to be out with people and it’s important to have joy in your life,” Aubrey said. She said she is concerned with rising income inequality and billionaires having control over social media and society.

“I’m scared for democracy and for the people I love who are going to be targeted by [Trump’s] immigration policies, his hatred of LGBTQ+ people. I felt kind of powerless and I think just being out here protesting, being in a really welcoming community — it’s what I can do right now,” Jason said. 


BUSINESS INSIDERS'  Alice Tecotzky , Lakshmi Varanasi , and Lloyd Lee report on protests around the country and this is from the section on Michigan: 

On Saturday, I attended the Hands Off! rally in Novi, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit where 55% of the vote went to Kamala Harris during the election. Thousands of people showed up.

The crowd was emotionally charged and united by the spirit of collective action. Many attendees said they were first-time protesters. The Tesla Takedown protests I attended last weekend seemed somber by comparison. Protesters here got loud.

"Call me Old Lady Army Fighting for Democracy," one 66-year-old woman, who didn't want to give her real name, told me. She held up a sign she had made. It was a charcoal drawing of the Statue of Liberty, whose hands covered her eyes in shame.

"I just copied this off of Facebook," she said. But to her it symbolized that "everything that our country stands for is being destroyed, and the world is looking at us."

 

Chicago was out in full force. Evelyn Holmes and Tre Ward (ABC 7) notes:

Organizers said tens of thousands of people marched through the Loop after the Daley Plaza rally.

"There are so many changes happening, and I think it's really important that she see that we're trying to stand up and stop what's going on," said protestor Anika Carlson, who came with her young daughter. "I'm really worried about kids' access to education going forward."

The demonstrations across the Chicago area were aimed at protesting the Trump administration policies which have caused the firing of thousands of federal workers, sparked deportation raids along with funding cuts to education.

"I teach at a school that's, like, 99% Black, that is 100% low income, and my students are directly being threatened by the Trump administration," CPS middle school teacher Kobi Guillory said. "I have students who are immigrants."

Many also worry about changes Trump and Republicans want to make to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.

"I feel like it's an invasion," protestor Roberta Caruso said. "I feel like all my rights have been stripped away from everything that I've worked for all my life... I feel like I'm just getting ready to retire, and now I have to worry about my social security, somethings I never thought I'd have to worry about in my lifetime."

People who rallied, Saturday, included civil rights organizations, labor unions, LBGTQ+ advocates, veterans and elections activists.

"This administration is using trans people as a cudgel, and let me tell you it is pathetic," said Precious Brady-Davis, Metropolitan Water Reclamation Chicago Commissioner.


 Noel Brennan, Marissa Sulek and Sara Tenenbaum (CBS NEWS CHICAGO) add, "The crowd couldn't fit into Daley Plaza, so hundreds had to stand in the middle of neighboring streets, as they protested President Trump and billionaire White House senior adviser Elon Musk" and they quote Maryanne Bowman declaring, "I am concerned about people being kidnapped off the streets and shipped to hellhole prisons. I am concerned about our economy tanking. I am concerned about the fact that we have a president who doesn't care about people."




Boston, the original US seat of resistance to a corrupt government, saw thousands turn out.   WBUS reports:


Protesters started streaming into the Common and crowding around the Parkman Bandstand well before the gathering was slated to begin at 11 a.m. Many carried signs and flags representing the U.S., Palestinians and Pride. Attendees then marched to City Hall Plaza where a slate of speakers addressed the crowd, including Sen. Ed Markey.

"We will stand with Rümeysa Öztürk," Markey said, referring to the Tufts doctoral student arrested in Somerville last month by immigration agents and currently being held in a detention center in Louisiana. "Freedom of speech is a right, not a crime. Release Rümeysa now, Donald Trump! Release her!"

Among the protesters was 35-year-old Jeremy Zolan from Connecticut. He said he used to study geology and but for financial reasons has turned to working in a factory as a machinist. He said he recently had an opportunity to return to his field and academia, but the position disappeared amid the slashes to federal funding.

"We're willing to just make our position as a research and innovation superpower plummet just so a few people can strengthen their grip of control — it is absolutely disgusting to me as a scientist," Zolan said. "Seeing all these people losing their jobs in scientific research, all these projects shut down. It is going to directly harm this country and another country is going to take our place."


Per BOSTON.COM, Senator Markey didn't just march and speak, he actually was one of the physical leaders of the march and John Tlumacki's photograph in BOSTON.COM's photos essay backs that up. WBZ NEWS quotes the senator stating that the Hands Off action was about "making sure our voices are heard, that we are the national leader in 2025 the same way that we were in 1775, when King George tried to take away our rights."  WGBH quotes Claire Carl Miller stating,  "We are here to protect our immigrant neighbors, to protect transgender family kin, and to really say we believe in true democracy. It's incredibly important to send a message to everyone across this nation that we can come together, united, and be inspired, hold joy for a vision of true democracy."


They turned out around the country in big locals and small, cities and towns to tell Convicted Felon Donald Chump Hands Off!  



That's Tyler, Texas.  And they turned out for this action despite rain.  It rained Thursday and Friday and that was supposed to be the end of it.  However, it rained and sprinkled throughout Saturday -- it was still sprinkling at 3:00 pm when the above action took place.  But they turned out.


While Americans were turning out in cities across the country, Convicted Felon Donald Chump was hiding out in Florida.  He didn't wait around until Friday to go on 'vacation,' he started it Thursday.  That allowed him to avoid the return of four American troops who died overseas.   As Ruth noted Friday:


There was a time in Donald Chump's first term as president that I gave him the benefit of the doubt regarding his alleged hatred of U.S. troops.  He quickly made clear that the rumors were indeed true.  We saw that further in his 2024 campaign and, of course, we have seen it since he was sworn in.  SignalGate, for example, put our military pilots at risk as they set out on a mission he ordered and then Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, DNI Director Tulsi Gabbard, and the rest do a non-secure discussion of the mission before it starts and as it is being carried out.  To this day, he has refused to fire any of these people despite the fact that their actions could have resulted in the deaths of the military pilots.  That, by the way, is a point Senator Tammy Duckworth has made strongly and repeatedly.



Because he is never done s**ting on our troops, Mr. Chump's actions are not surprising but they are shocking, outrageous, and offensive.   Jeremiah Hassel (THE MIRROR) reports:

Donald Trump was slammed for missing the dignified transfer for four U.S. soldiers who were killed in Lithuania during a training accident as he was seen playing golf at his Trump National Doral Miami golf course for a LIV Golf event.

Lithuania's president held a ceremony honoring the fallen soldiers who drowned in a peat bog after their tactical vehicle went missing about a week ago. Lithuanian, Polish and U.S. soldiers and rescue teams searched through forests and swamps at the Gen. Silvestras Žukauskas training ground in Pabradė, which is about 6 miles west of the country's border with Belarus.
[. . .]
President Gitanas Nausėda and other dignitaries were among those who stood in respect as the hearses carrying the bodies to Vilnius airport in the nation's capital paraded past. They were flown to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware and will be buried this week.

Several of the onlookers were reportedly in tears during the procession. Nausėda said the reaction of the population and the military to the disappearance of the soldiers was rooted in the country's own difficult history.



 Lithuania's president showed them respect; however, Convicted Felon Donald Chump did not.  The Convicted Felon could not stop his golf game to honor Americans Pfc. Dante D. Taitano, Staff Sgt. Edvin F. Franco, Staff Sgt. Jose Duenez Jr., and Staff Sgt. Troy S. Knutson-Collins.  Dante was the youngest at 21, Troy was the oldest at 28, and Jose and Edvin were both only 25.  They are passed and they passed while doing a mission that they were tasked with but the nation's commander-in-chief was too busy -- yet again -- to honor them.
 


The following sites updated:


Saturday, April 05, 2025

Bruce Springsteen

Bruce Springsteen has a new box release due out shortly.  Jenna Fanelli (WOMAN'S WORLD) reports:


While there's no shortage of Bruce Springsteen classics, ‘The Boss' is delighting fans with even more music in the pipeline. This summer, he'll be releasing "lost" music for the first time since 1998, when the Hall of Famer released his "Tracks" boxed set of unreleased material. However, this time, he's serving up seven full previously unheard albums with "Tracks II: The Lost Albums." Here's everything to know about Bruce Springsteen's latest project. 
Take a listen to The Boss and his best tracks, from the upbeat "Born to Run" to the slow ballad, "The River"
On June 27, Springsteen will unveil "Tracks II: The Lost Albums," including 83 songs across seven CDs (or nine vinyl records), 74 of which have never been heard by the public, according to an announcement the rock legend made Thursday. All of the songs were originally recorded between 1983 and 2018. 
​​"I often read about myself in the ‘90s as having some sort of ‘lost' period or something. Not really, really I was working the whole time," Springsteen said in a video announcing the project. "During the pandemic, what I did for that period of time was I finished everything I had in my vault. So this is ‘Tracks II.' ‘The Lost Albums' are records that were full records, some of them even to the point of being mixed, and not released. For one reason or another, something I felt was missing from some of them, or they just didn't feel complete at the time."



At PITCHFORK, Jazz Monroe also covers Bruce's upcoming release in terms of the track list:


Tracks II: The Lost Albums

LA Garage Sessions ’83:

01 Follow That Dream

02 Don’t Back Down On Our Love

03 Little Girl Like You

04 Johnny Bye Bye

05 Sugarland

06 Seven Tears

07 Fugitive’s Dream

08 Black Mountain Ballad

09 Jim Deer

10 County Fair

11 My Hometown

12 One Love

13 Don’t Back Down

14 Richfield Whistle

15 The Klansman

16 Unsatisfied Heart

17 Shut Out The Light

18 Fugitive’s Dream (Ballad)

Streets of Philadelphia Sessions

01 Blind Spot

02 Maybe I Don’t Know You

03 Something In The Well

04 Waiting On The End Of The World

05 The Little Things

06 We Fell Down

07 One Beautiful Morning

08 Between Heaven and Earth

09 Secret Garden

10 The Farewell Party

Faithless

01 The Desert (Instrumental)

02 Where You Goin’, Where You From

03 Faithless

04 All God’s Children

05 A Prayer By The River (Instrumental)

06 God Sent You

07 Goin’ To California

08 The Western Sea (Instrumental)

09 My Master’s Hand

10 Let Me Ride

11 My Master’s Hand (Theme)

Somewhere North of Nashville

01 Repo Man

02 Tiger Rose

03 Poor Side of Town

04 Delivery Man

05 Under A Big Sky

06 Detail Man

07 Silver Mountain

08 Janey Don’t You Lose Heart

09 You’re Gonna Miss Me When I’m Gone

10 Stand On It

11 Blue Highway

12 Somewhere North of Nashville

Inyo

01 Inyo

02 Indian Town

03 Adelita

04 The Aztec Dance

05 The Lost Charro

06 Our Lady of Monroe

07 El Jardinero (Upon the Death of Ramona)

08 One False Move

09 Ciudad Juarez

10 When I Build My Beautiful House

Twilight Hours

01 Sunday Love

02 Late in the Evening

03 Two of Us

04 Lonely Town

05 September Kisses

06 Twilight Hours

07 I’ll Stand By You

08 High Sierra

09 Sunliner

10 Another You

11 Dinner at Eight

12 Follow The Sun

Perfect World

01 I’m Not Sleeping

02 Idiot’s Delight

03 Another Thin Line

04 The Great Depression

05 Blind Man

06 Rain In The River

07 If I Could Only Be Your Lover

08 Cutting Knife

09 You Lifted Me Up

10 Perfect World


Some of those songs, you recognize I'm sure.  "My Hometown," for example, I bet everyone knows.  So that'll be an earlier version before he reworked the songs for later release.  I like the idea.  I wasn't that keen on TRACKS.  I think Elaine made a great point recently when she wrote about Bruce's NEBRASKA:

 
His  sixth great album for me is the boxed set LIVE/1975-85.  I'm not big on all of his re-releases which come off to me as mere product.  But LIVE/1975-1985 came after the huge success (BORN IN THE USA) and they probably did want to cash in.  But at fifty bucks (that's what I remember paying for the vinyl edition), they knew they had to do something great and they picked great performances.  His "Fire" rivals the Pointer Sisters' version while "Rosalita" has never been better -- studio or live -- and "Candy's Room" demonstrates that drama he can provide live. There are not a lot of multi-disc albums that need to be.  Sorry, but it is true.  A lot of boxed sets really were unneeded.  But LIVE/1975-85 really is a great album and a classic boxed set.  (Everyone of the Joni Mitchell boxed sets -- the archive ones -- has been worthy of release and I mention that because someone will wonder, "Was that a slam at Joni?"  No, it was not.) 


That set, the live set, really was something.  It was amazing and it stands up as one of his classic albums.  A lot of live albums aren't.  They're a quick way to make some fast money.  And you get it because you try to get everything by the artist you love.  But you get it and then you just quickly stop listening.  


Of the upcoming album, Andrew Korpan (CLUTCHPOINTS) notes:

Springsteen has been talking about a second edition of the compilation for years. In 2017, he told Rolling Stone that he was working on a second box set.

Fans will have to wait for more details from “The Boss.” If you sign up through the registration form on his website, it tells you to return to the site on April 3. Perhaps that is when a release date and tracklist will be revealed.

It has been over two years since Springsteen’s last release. He dropped Only the Strong Survive on November 11, 2022, which was a cover album. It was his second album full of covers after 2006’s We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions.


I'll add I have no idea why they are calling it TRACKS II or TRACKS anything.  TRACKS, the original, wasn't a big hit.  'It sold a million copies!'  Not really.  It's certified platinum in the US and that means one million units -- kind of.   It was four CDs or four cassettes.  Which means TRACKS sold 250,000 copies in the US.  Multi-volume releases go gold or platinum based on how much sold and how many discs.  So four discs means each copy of TRACKS that sold counted as four copies.  

Be sure to read Elaine's "If you don't know about Fleetwood Mac, don't write about them" -- she's calling out an idiot who decided to write about Fleetwood Mac's RUMOURS without even knowing what songs were on the album -- and the idiot got paid for that piece of bad writing.

Closing with C.I.'s "The Snapshot:"

Friday, April 4, 2025. Chump tanks the economy, right wing conspiracy nut whispers in Chump's ear, protests gear up for tomorrow, and much more. 


Starting with news of an action.  This Saturday.  Tyler, Texas will be participating in the Hands Off action at the intersection of Broadway and Shiloh Road -- where the Barnes & Noble parking lot is, people will be gathering at 3:00 pm to tell the government hands off.  You can visit this webpage for more information:


Donald Trump and Elon Musk think this country belongs to them. We are fighting back!


They're taking everything they can get their hands on—our health care, our data, our jobs, our services—and daring the world to stop them. This is a crisis, and the time to act is now.


🚨 On Saturday, April 5th, we're taking to the streets to fight back with a clear message: Hands off! 🚨


This mass mobilization day is our message to the world that we do not consent to the destruction of our government and our economy for the benefit of Trump and his billionaire allies. Alongside Americans across the country, we are marching, rallying, and protesting to demand a stop the chaos and build an opposition movement against the looting of our country.


A core principle behind all Hands Off! events is a commitment to nonviolent action. We expect all participants to seek to de-escalate any potential confrontation with those who disagree with our values.


These actions will be taking place across the country.  Mike noted the action at his website last night and added, "I loved being in Texas and campaigning.  I loved the people of Texas.  Tyler was a great place and I spent a week there while speaking in Tyler, in Kilgore and in Longview.  I'm so glad that Tyler's going to show their strength on Saturday.  I applaud you and I'm there with you in spirit."


So that's tomorrow.  Today?  Good morning and, if you have one, how was your morning cup of coffee?  Lee Moran (HUFFINGTON POST) notes:


Donald Trump’s new trade war will likely mess with your cup of joe.

The price of coffee could be set to soar for Americans after the president on Wednesday announced tariffs on countries worldwide, including steep rates on Brazil, Colombia and Indonesia ― from where the U.S. buys the majority of its unroasted coffee beans.

The move prompted an immediate backlash online with critics pointing out America’s minimal coffee-growing capacity, due to the climate, which makes the importation of beans so important.



If you think about politics traditionally, Trump’s tariffs don’t make sense. Presidents’ political fortunes are generally tied to the strength of the economy, so they can be expected not to take actions that almost all economists predict will cause economic pain, both short and long term. So if Trump is willing to hurt the economy, he must be getting something he wants even more in return.

That thing is power. With tariffs, Trump can exercise a kind of corruption that the country hasn’t experienced in some 150 years—a kind of control that is ultimately incompatible with both democracy and prosperity.

 With tariffs, Trump is poised to trade a strong economy for one run on loyalty and retribution. Trump, a president who rules like a mob boss while claiming vast new powers, is transforming the government into a tool of reward and punishment. Already, prosecutions against Trump’s friends are being dropped, while those who have crossed him find themselves the target of vindictive executive orders. Media critical of Trump are under investigation by a weaponized Federal Communications Commission, while universities are being bullied into shutting down free speech. Tariffs will scale this weaponization across the entire economy. Viewed in this light, Trump’s willingness to sacrifice the economy in exchange for control over it makes perfect sense.

Even those close to Trump see this trade for what it is. “Tariffs are a tool the president enjoys because it’s personal power,” Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-Mont.), who served in Trump’s first-term cabinet, told HuffPost Tuesday. “It’s personal―he doesn’t have to go through Congress. He can exercise personal power.”

But history shows that an economy run on favors and grievances is ultimately a poor one. “If you look around the world, it’s really clear that the places that are rich have good governments,” says John Joseph Wallis, an economic historian at the University of Maryland. “What Trump is doing is not governing well. He’s like a third world dictator. He’s trying to behave that way.”

Wallis’ research focuses on understanding why fairer political systems tend to create the strongest economies. His conclusion is that the answer lies in allowing everyone to operate by the same set of rules—what are known as impersonal or general laws. Just as American democracy was only truly realized by the 14th Amendment’s promise of equality and the expansion of voting rights to all citizens, an advanced capitalist society requires that every person and company operate under the same set of financial rules. The rules do not necessarily have to be unbound, laissez-faire capitalism without redistribution, but the rules and regulations must be evenly enforced.


Betty notes, "America has foolishly let an idiot direct traffic and now wants to wonder how we ended up with one fender bender after another at the school cross walk."  She's absolutely correct.  I would add though that he's clearly bankrupting the country.  After all of the times he's had to declare bankruptcy, you have to be really dumb to have not grasped what a threat to our economy the business failure Chump actually is.



How strong is the rejection of Chump and his tariffs?  The Convicted Felon fled to his Florida home yesterday.  Normally, he at least pretends to do a little work on Friday before flying out of DC.  Aaron Parnas (MTN) describes how the market's responded as Chump fled DC:

Wall Street was engulfed in chaos today as a wave of panic selling erased $2.8 trillion in market value, triggered by escalating fallout from the Trump administration’s aggressive new tariff regime. Investors fled equities in droves, hammering every major index and dragging the U.S. dollar back to pre-election levels.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average cratered 1,642 points, or 4.7%, marking one of the steepest one-day point drops in history. The Nasdaq Composite nosedived 1,022 points, or 5.4%, while the S&P 500 shed 4.8%, its worst session since the early days of the pandemic in March 2020.

Leading the rout was the KBW Bank Index, which tumbled 9.9%, its steepest plunge since the 2023 regional banking crisis. Financials, already reeling from rising default risk and narrowing margins, bore the brunt of the downturn as bond yields collapsed and credit spreads widened.

Adding to the market stress, the U.S. dollar plunged in foreign exchange markets, erasing all gains made since Trump’s re-election victory on November 5, 2024. Analysts point to growing fears of a global trade war, weakening investor confidence in the U.S. economy, and expectations of imminent Federal Reserve intervention as key drivers of the dollar's reversal.


As Kat pointed out, Propaganda Pig Karoline Levitt was deployed to wallow in lies to the media including on CNN:


BOLDUAN: On taxes, JP Morgan just came out with an analysis in response to this tariff announcement, saying that these tariffs will be the largest tax hike on Americans since 1968. A tax hike by $660 billion a year. What is JP Morgan missing? What are world markets getting wrong? What — what are — when you see stock futures down, what is everyone missing, including that local farmer in North Carolina?

LEAVITT: Well, they’re missing the massive revenue that these tariffs are going to bring into the United States. Trillions and trillions of dollars in investment, which leads to more jobs in American communities, higher wages —

BOLDUAN: But on immediate, Karoline, I’m sorry to interrupt, but on the immediate. I mean, in the most immediate, I mean, these farmers, as Thom Tillis says, farmers are one crop away from bankruptcy. That farmer doesn’t have time to wait for tariffs to work their way into the system, the benefit of it to work its way into the system at all.

This is going to mean higher prices for Americans in the most immediate. That’s why I asked the question. How much pain on a temporary basis is OK? What’s the standard that the President is looking at in terms of how much pain Americans can feel on a temporary basis that he’s OK with?


Propaganda Pig Karoline Leavitt went on NEWS NATION yesterday to proclaim (lie), "There’s not going to be any pain for American-owned companies and American workers, because their jobs are going to come back home, and again, as for prices, President Trump is working on tax cuts to put more money back into the pockets of Americans." 
Propaganda Pig should have gone to Florida with Chump instead of going before the cameras to lie.  Before she left her sty to lie yesterday, we'd already included this in the snapshot:



Stephanie Ruhle, on MSNBC, explained the claim Chump was making for tariffs, "We need to impose these taeriffs because other companies have been ripping us off for years, taking advantage of the American people."  That's Chump's claim.  Reality is, as Stephanie explained, far different. 





Stephanie Ruhle: The White House says the 10% tariffs are going to apply everywhere.  Well WIRED and AXIOS pointed out that those taxes include the Heard and McDonald Islands.  You can see right here on the massive list that the administration put out on social media.  But here's what you might now realize.  Those islands?  They're in Antarctica.  They don't produce any exports.  Do you know why?  Because there are not any human beings that even live there.  There's no possible way that they could be taking advantage of us on trade.  What we do not know is if the penguins that live there will retaliate.

 
Stephanie and her guest panel addressed the reality of Chump's claims that this will lead to more things being built in the US.  No.  For increased production you need factories and you're looking at three to five years for those to be constructed.  By which time, Chump will be headed out or already out of the White House.  And his tariffs will most likely leave with him.  His erratic behavior on tariffs has not inspired confidence in the business community.  Who's going to work on constructing new factories for temporary tariffs?  He has no credibility on the topic.


Yesterday morning, she Tweeted these basic facts. 



And last night on her MSNBC program, she again addressed these realities.




Stephanie Ruhle:  He was never a great business guy.  This guy never ran a successful public company.  He never ran a successful, big operation.  He went bankrupt six times.  What he was most known for was shirking on contracts, not standing up to deals.  And the whole point of trusted global trade is trusting is I'm going to make a big investment because I believe what you've told me, I know these policies -- you will stand up to them in five or ten years after I've invested billions and billions of dollars.  That's the opposite of how people are feeling now.

[. . .]

The fact that he has this misunderstanding that all of these jobs are going to come back here?  We haven't heard from one CEO saying I'm going to build a giant manufacturing plant and, by the way, if they did, it takes three to five years to build a plant and three to five years from now, Donald Trump will not be in office.  Who knows what the policies will be?  You're not going to find a single corporate board that's going to sign off on a multi-billion dollar investment when Donald Trump is so skittish about policy. 


Yet Propaganda Pig Karoline continues attempting to lie and spin.  How bad is it?  Senator John Kennedy told CNN, "In the long run, we're all dead.  Short run matters too.  Nobody knows what the impact of these tariffs is going to be on the economy."

 
Well we've got jobs.  

Thank goodness for Joe Biden.  He turned it around and the job market got better.  So at least we have jobs and -- 


Oh, wait.  

 74.  

That's the number of days Chump has been president.  And he needed less than that number of days to start putting people out of jobs in massive numbers.  Thanks to his stupidity, he's created tons of unemployed.   Alicia Wallace (CNN) reports:


More than 275,000 layoffs were announced last month, reaching a level not seen since the pandemic, according to a new report published Thursday.

The biggest culprit was one particular employer: The federal government.

The federal government announced plans to axe 216,215 jobs, accounting for nearly 80% of the 275,240 layoffs announcements made by US employers in March, according to Challenger Gray & Christmas’ latest report. It’s the third-highest monthly total behind April 2020 (671,129) and May 2020 (397,016).
The Department of Government Efficiency has run roughshod on the federal government, slashing funding, scrapping contracts and laying off droves of federal workers.

“Job cut announcements were dominated last month by [DOGE] plans to eliminate positions in the federal government,” Andrew Challenger, senior vice president for the global outplacement and coaching firm. “It would have otherwise been a fairly quiet month for layoffs.”

Of the remaining 59,025 cuts announced outside of the federal government, the biggest share was in technology and retail, according to the report.

  



Let's move over to the issue of the security breach(es) and note this informed discussion with Jeffrey Goldberg from AMANPOUR & COMPANY (PBS).



The Convicted Felon has still refused to hold anyone accountable for the security breaches in his administration.  VOTEVETS offers Tammy Duckworth on why Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Defense, needs to resign or be fired.





No offense to the senator, but maybe we've been going about this all wrong.  We've pointed out the grave and serious breach and how it put many -- including our armed forces -- at risk.  We've used that evidence to draw the natural conclusion that accountability has to take place.

That works -- with sane people.


As we learned yesterday, however, the best approach with Chump is for a conspiracy mongering nut job to whisper in his ear, "Fire this person."  

That's what happened with right wing social media personality Laura Loomer.  What are we talking about?  Donald Trump fired three National Security Council staffers Thursday.  On Loomer's say so.  Katie Bo Lillis, Kylie Atwood, Alayna Treene and Kaitlan Collins (CNN) report:


The firings came after Laura Loomer, the far-right activist who once claimed 9/11 was an inside job, urged President Donald Trump during a Wednesday meeting to get rid of several members of his National Security Council staff, including his principal deputy national security adviser, claiming that they are disloyal. One of the sources said the firings were a direct result of the meeting with Loomer.
Principal Deputy National Security Adviser Alex Wong was not among those who had been dismissed on Wednesday, however, one White House official speculated to CNN Thursday that Wong could be out as soon as today, though a final decision remains to be seen.

Wong was one of the advisers specifically targeted by Loomer, who publicly questioned his loyalty to Trump and criticized him privately as a “Never Trumper.”

One of the sources speculated that National Security Adviser Michael Waltz may have been reluctant to fire Wong because he has been embroiled in the controversy surrounding the leak of controversial Signal messages related to military strikes on Yemen that Waltz and his team have been under fire for initiating.

The three officials fired include Brian Walsh, a director for intelligence and a former top staffer for now-Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the Senate Intelligence Committee; Thomas Boodry, a senior director for legislative affairs who previously served as Waltz’s legislative director in Congress; and David Feith, a senior director overseeing technology and national security who served in the State Department during Trump’s first administration.



             The Trump administration has fired the director and deputy director of the National Security Agency, the United States’ powerful cyber intelligence bureau, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the situation, members of the Senate and House intelligence committees and two former officials familiar with the matter.

The dismissal of Gen. Timothy Haugh, who also leads US Cyber Command — the military’s offensive and defensive cyber unit — is a major shakeup of the US intelligence community which is navigating significant changes in the first two months of the Trump administration. Wendy Noble, Haugh’s deputy at NSA, was also removed, according to the former officials and lawmakers.

The top Democrats on the Senate and House intelligence committee, Sen. Mark Warner and Rep. Jim Himes, denounced the firing of Haugh, who served in the roles since February 2024, in statements on Thursday night.     



So that's how it works.  Over 60% of Americans demand accountability and Chump blows them off.  But an online nut job whispers in his ear and BOOM! at least five people are immediately fired.





A recent mishandling of sensitive military discussions has brought national security concerns to the forefront. Journalist Jeffrey Goldberg was mistakenly added to a Signal app chat discussing Yemen airstrikes, drawing widespread scrutiny. The group included Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, National Security Advisor Michael Waltz, and CIA Director John Ratcliffe, all of whom had denied any leak of classified information. President Donald Trump's niece, Mary Trump, said the mishap provided a "golden opportunity" for Democrats.
Mary wrote, "These were the war plans. This is what these breathtakingly shameless liars claimed never happened. But it all did happen, didn't it?" She added, "They denied the texts existed; they denied that any classified information was shared. Then in order to deflect from their crimes, they attacked Jeffrey Goldberg, who was there at their invitation, intentional or otherwise. They've been caught red-handed."
Mary said, "They know, to a person, how serious this is. In a sane world, they understand that every single traitor in that chat would be fired and tried under the Espionage Act."


Tommy Christopher (MEDIAITE) notes that Don Lemon and Jim Acosta pointed out that Pete Hegseth's lack of qualifications to be Secretary of Defense led to the security breach:


Former CNN stars Don Lemon and Jim Acosta roasted Trump Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth with perhaps the worst CNN-related insult imaginable, comparing him to an infamously failed executive at their former network.

On Tuesday’s edition of his Substack video podcast The Jim Acosta Show, Acosta ripped Hegseth by suggesting that, despite all the rhetoric about “merit” at the DOD, Hegseth was grossly unqualified based on the Signalgate scandal.

Lemon compared Hegseth to former CNN chief Chris Licht — whose tenure at the network was brief and widely seen as a disaster:

JIM ACOSTA: You know, Pete Hegseth gets up at his confirmation hearing, you know, a guy who comes from Fox and he’s going to be announced as the defense secretary. He’s at his confirmation hearing. He’s going off on DEI. He’s saying we need merrit back at the Pentagon and he is in this job for what? Seven weeks?

And he puts war plans, he puts attack plans for airstrikes on the Houthis on Signal. Way to go. I’m sorry, that just blows a hole in all of the crap he was peddling up on Capitol Hill. It just pisses me off to no end.

DON LEMON: Well, it’s confirmation for– that he is not qualified.

Two things here. When has America ever been merit-based? When you actually think about it, right? And you think about all the people who are in positions of power, especially, and all the chances that they’ve had to screw up this country and they have in many ways.

When you look at the people who are now in, who have been appointed to positions and confirmed by the Congress and whoever, they are not qualified.

You think Pete Hegseth is qualified to be the defense secretary? Of course he’s not qualified to the defense secretary.

You know, he reminds me of this boss I once had who did not last very long at the company I was at, and he was extremely overconfident.

And it’s just basically the same sort of personality and attitude that–.

JIM ACOSTA: Mmm-hmmm.

DON LEMON: –you know, they think that they’re qualified for a job that they and they’re in way over their head and they don’t even realize it.


Let's wind down with this from Senator Adam Schiff's office:


Letter Follows Reporting that National Security Waltz and His Team Set Up At Least Twenty Chats on Signal and Used Gmail

Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senators Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), and Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), sent a letter to White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles requesting new information to determine the full scope of and damage to national security by the repeated use of unclassified messaging applications, like Signal and Gmail, by senior White House officials and members of President Trump’s cabinet.

The Senators, all of whom have deep experience in defense, intelligence, and diplomacy, emphasized the severe national security consequences of what appears to be an extensive pattern and practice of using unsecured commercial apps for sensitive national security communications. Recent reporting indicates that there are at least 20 such chats.  

“New reporting indicates that the “Houthi PC small group” chat established by Mr. Waltz was not an isolated incident. According to recent reporting, Mr. Waltz and his team “regularly set up chats on Signal to coordinate official work on issues including Ukraine, China, Gaza, Middle East policy, Africa and Europe, according to four people who have been personally added to Signal chats.” This may have included “at least 20” such chats, which participants in the chat say included “instances of sensitive information being discussed.” As one alleged participant in at least some of the group chats commented: “Waltz built the entire NSC communications process on Signal,”’ wrote the Senators. 

“Mr. Waltz’ first message to the group on March 11, 2025, referenced an earlier meeting in the “Sit Room” (White House Situation Room), a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF) equipped to handle the nation’s most sensitive information and the appropriate venue for communicating and coordinating on matters of national security. None of the at least 18 participants in the group chat interjected when others provided clearly classified or operationally sensitive information, or requested that they be removed at any time during the conversation, even though Mr. Waltz adjusted the settings at the beginning of the chat to auto-delete all of group’s messages after a week and then changed the auto-delete setting to 4 weeks shortly after Defense Secretary Hegseth provided specific classified details on the impending military strikes,” the Senators continued.  

The Senators demanded specific details on the full scope of national security-related communications using such commercial messaging applications and that the White House take all steps to preserve and recover records, as required by federal law. 

Read the full text of the letter here and below. 

Dear Ms. Wiles, 

As Senators with deep experience in defense, intelligence, and diplomacy, we are writing to express grave concern and request information necessary to determine the full scope of and damage caused by the use of unclassified commercial applications, like Signal and Gmail, by senior White House officials and members of the President’s Cabinet to conduct classified and sensitive national security activity and communications. 

In a grave breach of national security, senior White House officials and members of the President’s Cabinet, including National Security Advisor Michael Waltz, appear to have engaged in an extensive pattern and practice of using unsecure commercial messaging applications to undertake sensitive national security deliberations and discussions, in violation of federal criminal laws and other requirements designed to safeguard classified and other sensitive national security information and preserve presidential and federal records. 

New reporting indicates that the “Houthi PC small group” chat established by Mr. Waltz was not an isolated incident. According to recent reporting, Mr. Waltz and his team “regularly set up chats on Signal to coordinate official work on issues including Ukraine, China, Gaza, Middle East policy, Africa and Europe, according to four people who have been personally added to Signal chats.” This may have included “at least 20” such chats, which participants in the chat say included “instances of sensitive information being discussed.” As one alleged participant in at least some of the group chats commented: “Waltz built the entire NSC communications process on Signal.” 

This follows earlier reporting that Mr. Waltz “created and hosted multiple other sensitive national security conversations on Signal with cabinet members, including separate threads on how to broker peace between Russia and Ukraine as well as military operations.” Another recent report indicates that one or more messaging chats initiated by Mr. Waltz involved Somalia. This same report alleges, moreover, that Mr. Waltz used his personal email account to conduct government business, while a senior aide to Mr. Waltz used the same “commercial email service for highly technical conversations with colleagues at other government agencies involving sensitive military positions and powerful weapons systems related to an ongoing conflict […]. 

These revelations are shocking, but not surprising, in light of the Signal group chat that Mr. Waltz established ahead of military attacks in Yemen. When Mr. Waltz initiated the messaging group on March 11, 2025, none of the invited participants, including you, Vice President J.D. Vance, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, and Central Intelligence Agency Director John Ratcliffe, expressed surprise, confusion, or unease at having been added to such a group on a commercially-available messaging application that is downloaded for use on unclassified electronic devices. 

Mr. Waltz’ first message to the group on March 11, 2025, referenced an earlier meeting in the “Sit Room” (White House Situation Room), a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF) equipped to handle the nation’s most sensitive information and the appropriate venue for communicating and coordinating on matters of national security. None of the at least 18 participants in the group chat interjected when others provided clearly classified or operationally sensitive information, or requested that they be removed at any time during the conversation, even though Mr. Waltz adjusted the settings at the beginning of the chat to auto-delete all of group’s messages after a week and then changed the auto-delete setting to 4 weeks shortly after Defense Secretary Hegseth provided specific classified details on the impending military strikes. 

The destruction of presidential or federal records is illegal. To ensure that the Senate can fulfill its constitutionally mandated oversight duties, and to inform future remedial legislation, we seek and expect your full cooperation by Thursday, April 10, 2025, with the initial requests below. 

  1. Please take immediate action to (1) preserve all national security-related communications involving White House officials that have occurred since January 21, 2025, on commercial messaging platforms, like Signal or Gmail; (2) prevent the destruction of such records, including through autodelete settings, and take all necessary and possible measures to retrieve communications that may have been deleted on some devices but that may still be visible on others; and (3) issue a directive to all senior White House officials and Cabinet Members to cease immediately the use of unclassified, non-government communications platforms to conduct national security communications. 
  1. In addition, as we begin our inquiry, please provide full and truthful answers to the following, including in classified form, if necessary: 
    • Please identify and itemize in precise detail all other national security-related communications that Mr. Waltz or other senior White House officials initiated or participated in using Signal, Gmail, or other commercially available platforms, to include messaging groups to discuss diplomatic or military activity.
    • Relatedly, please identify all military operations or activities that Mr. Waltz or other senior White House officials discussed using Signal, Gmail, or other commercially available platforms, including whether those discussions referred to, among others: 
      • the U.S. military’s January 30, 2025, airstrike in Syria targeting a senior operative in Hurras al-Din, an al-Qaeda affiliate; 
      • a March 14, 2025, military operation in Iraq that targeted the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria’s (ISIS) chief of global operations, which occurred three days after Mr. Waltz established the “Houthi PC small group” Signal chat on March 11, 2025, and one day before Secretary of Defense Hegseth disclosed classified information about the military strikes in Yemen; or 
      • air strikes in Somalia, which U.S. Africa Command has undertaken several times since January 21, 2025. 
    • Please clarify whether any senior White House officials and Cabinet officials, to include Mr. Waltz, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, used their personal devices for any of the communications described above. 
    • Please clarify whether any senior White House officials and Cabinet Officials were on foreign travel while participating or included in any national security-related messaging groups or communications on Signal or other commercially-available platforms. If so, please explain which officials were on foreign travel, where they were located, whether they used Signal or other platforms on their personal or work devices, and who in the White House authorized the platforms’ use. 
    • Have any relevant communications been irretrievably destroyed, including through the use of an auto-delete function, such that they cannot be recovered, reproduced, or copied to government systems, as required by federal records retention laws and policies? If so, please clarify which communications can no longer be retrieved with as much specificity as possible. 

            ###



            -----------------------------------------

            Dona here.  I'm adding the following to C.I..'s snapshot due to community members e-mailing asking that it go in. I would also recommend that you read Marcia's "You really can't trust American Socialists."  From Ann, as requested by community members:

            Poor little racist can't catch a break.  On that, an e-mailer wanted to inform me that Amy Goodman tackled Musk's South African links.  Did she?  Like most Socialists, she took her sweet damn time, didn't she.  Eoin Higgins, also a Socialist, wrote a book ignoring it that was just published this year.  Ava and C.I. didn't ignore it.  And they didn't ignore it when it came time to review Higgins' bad book -- see "Media: OWNED finds Eoin Higgins owned by bad journalism."


            Socialists don't really care about Black people.  We got that when they worked overtime to pose as Democrats and tell people not to vote for Kamala.

            Socialists give lip service to the notion of reparations; however, they don't believe in them.  If they truly did, they wouldn't have campaigned against Kamala to put the racist Chump back in the White House.  Grasp that.  Think of all the White Socialists you saw trashing Kamala -- Amy Goodman, Norman Solomon, Rashida Tlaib (Arabs are White but only White Socialists are racist enough not to know that fact), Jill Stein, Rashida's ugly sister, etc etc -- they claim to believe in reparations.  But Black people saw the truth in the fall of 2024.

            We were enslaved.  A debt is supposedly owed as a result.  Therefore reparations are needed.  That's what they pretend.

            But in the fall of 2024, they could have worked to elect a Black woman -- these people who supposedly feel guilty for their involvement in the slave trade -- but they instead worked to put a White racist back in the White House.

            We see you.  JACOBIN and you other worthless outlets (THE NATION), we see you.  

            Black people aren't going to be tricked by you liars ever again.  Pretending to believe in reparations but, at the end of the day, you couldn't even vote for a Black woman to defeat the twice impeached, racist and insurrectionist Donald Trump.  Bitches, we see you.  We've got your number.  And we will overcome you the same we overcame slavery -- by fighting and truth telling.  It's over for you fake asses. 

            -------------------------------


            The following sites updated: