What Happened Today - 15 May 2025
What Happened Today – 15 May 2025
Mike Johnson supports Greed
Supreme Court and Birthright Citizenship
Zelensky, Putin, and Trump: Turkey Talks
Economic Outlook: Recession Risk
Donald Trump
Karoline Leavitt
RFK Jr. (Robert F. Kennedy Jr.)
Kristi Noem
Welcome White People - South African refugees
Gold Covered Air Force One and F-55’s
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Mike Johnson supports Greed
Speaker Mike Johnson is out here saying members of Congress should be able to trade stocks-even though he claims to support a ban-because their salaries haven’t kept up with inflation and they’re supposedly making “sacrifices.” He actually argued that lawmakers need to trade stocks just to “support their families,” since their pay hasn’t gone up since 2009.
Give me a break. Regular people, including service members and federal workers, make way less and don’t get to pad their income by trading on inside info or market-moving decisions. Congress trying to justify special privileges for themselves while everyone else gets by on less is just ridiculous.
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Supreme Court and Birthright Citizenship
The Supreme Court just heard arguments on Trump’s executive order trying to restrict birthright citizenship. The justices seemed split-not so much on whether Trump’s order is legal, but on whether lower courts can block it nationwide. Some of the conservatives looked ready to rein in those nationwide injunctions, while others were actually worried about what it would mean if the government could just deny citizenship to kids born here. No decision yet, but this could end up being a huge shakeup to how the Constitution’s been interpreted for generations.
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Zelensky, Putin, and Trump: Turkey Talks
Here’s what’s going on with these so-called Ukraine “peace talks” in Turkey: Zelenskyy showed up ready to negotiate, but both Putin and Trump bailed. Putin sent a bunch of low-level guys-basically a “decorative” team, as Zelenskyy called it-while Trump said he’d only bother flying in if there was “meaningful progress.” Spoiler: there wasn’t.
Both sides are just trading insults now. Russian officials are mocking Zelenskyy, calling him “pathetic” and a “clown,” while Zelenskyy is calling out Russia for not being serious. Meanwhile, the U.S. is saying nothing real will happen until Trump and Putin actually sit down together. This is all just more stalling and posturing-no one’s actually moving toward peace.
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Economic Outlook: Recession Risk
So even though the U.S. and China just cut a deal to lower tariffs, the risk of a recession is still pretty high. JPMorgan says there’s about a 50% chance we end up in a downturn-that’s only a little better than earlier this year. Why? Because things like high tariffs, global tensions, and rising interest rates are still hanging over the economy. Even JPMorgan’s CEO, Jamie Dimon, won’t rule out a recession with all this uncertainty going on.
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Donald Trump
Trump just wrapped up his Middle East tour and is pushing this wild plan to turn Gaza into a so-called “freedom zone.” He’s pitching the idea that the U.S. should take over Gaza, clear everyone out, and redevelop it-basically turning it into beachfront real estate. Israel’s far-right government is all for it, but every Arab country and Palestinian group is calling it what it is: forced relocation, or ethnic cleansing.
Trump keeps saying Gaza is destroyed and there’s nothing left to save, so his “solution” is to move Palestinians somewhere else and let the U.S. rebuild the strip. He made these comments in Qatar, but he’s dodged questions about the actual fighting and the humanitarian crisis. Meanwhile, the death toll in Gaza is still climbing-over 53,000 Palestinians killed, including thousands of children, just as Israeli airstrikes keep pounding the area.
Trump’s plan is getting slammed by the entire region (except Israel’s far-right), and even his own team can’t stick to one story about whether Palestinians would ever be allowed back. This is less about peace and more about pushing Palestinians out and handing Gaza over for redevelopment, while the crisis on the ground just gets worse.
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Karoline Leavitt
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt faced pointed questions regarding the administration’s response to a federal judge’s order to release a detained Tufts University student. Leavitt repeatedly dodged direct answers, instead defaulting to statements that judges are overstepping their authority and doubling down on the administration’s hardline immigration stance. She did not address the specifics of the court’s rebuke, reflecting a broader pattern of selectively respecting judicial decisions.
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RFK Jr. (Robert F. Kennedy Jr.)
RFK Jr. is getting grilled in Congress for slashing health programs and his out-there takes on vaccines. When lawmakers asked for details on the budget cuts or why programs are delayed, he dodged every question-just kept saying he’d “get back” to them later. When Senator Chris Murphy pressed him on whether vaccines are safe, RFK Jr. wouldn’t give a straight answer and even threw in some weird alligator metaphor. The guy literally said, “I don’t think people should be taking medical advice from me,” which is wild considering he’s supposed to be the nation’s top health official. Both parties are calling him out for undermining public trust and refusing to give real answers on serious health issues.
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Kristi Noem
Noem just got grilled in Congress over Trump’s mass deportations, and she dodged every real question. Lawmakers pressed her about deporting people with legal protections, including U.S. citizen kids and a guy with stage 4 cancer, but she kept repeating that “everyone got due process”-even though courts have already said that’s not true. In one case, they deported a Maryland resident despite a court order, then tried to smear him as an MS-13 member with a doctored photo Trump posted online. When called out on it, Noem wouldn’t even admit the photo was fake.
She also backed Trump’s idea of suspending habeas corpus, basically saying the president could ignore basic constitutional rights if he wanted. And when members of Congress tried to check on conditions at a detention center, Noem accused them of “committing felonies” for demanding oversight.
This administration is deporting people-including U.S. citizens and sick kids-without real due process, lying to the courts and the public, and attacking anyone who tries to hold them accountable. It’s lawless, cruel, and they’re not even trying to hide it anymore.
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Welcome White People - South African refugees
Trump just fast-tracked 59 white South Africans into the country, saying they’re fleeing “discrimination.” At the same time, his administration has basically slammed the door on almost every other group of refugees-including people running from war, famine, and actual persecution in places like Sudan and Afghanistan. He’s stepped up ICE raids, deporting folks who are following the legal process, and even cut off legal help for kids locked up in detention.
Let’s be real: this isn’t about “human rights.” It’s straight-up hypocrisy and racism. Giving white refugees a shortcut while blocking everyone else just makes it crystal clear where this administration’s priorities are.
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Gold Covered Air Force One and F-55’s
Trump isn’t just taking this 17-year-old “free” jet from Qatar to save money-he wants something as flashy as what the royals and foreign leaders have. He’s literally said he’s embarrassed landing next to their brand-new, gold-plated planes, and thinks the U.S. deserves the “most impressive” ride. BUT -- retrofitting this thing for Air Force One will take years and cost taxpayers up to a billion dollars, all while it’s missing the top-level security we actually need. So this isn’t about being practical-it’s about Trump’s ego and wanting a plane that looks as fancy as anyone else’s, no matter the risk or the cost.
At a recent breakfast, Trump started rambling about “F-55s”-which, by the way, aren’t even real planes-and went on about how he likes fighter jets with two engines, because “if one goes out, you’ve got another.” He said, “I like two engines. I like the F-55. I like two engines.” It was classic Trump word salad: making up plane names, ignoring the actual models our military uses, and acting like personal preference is military strategy. Meanwhile, everyone in the room just kind of nodded along.
I guess there was no kid menu available at this breakfast, otherwise he could have done the word search and coloring activity to keep him busy.
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Stay tuned in. Keep speaking the truth, even when it feels like nobody wants to hear it. Protest, organize, and push back-because real change only happens when we refuse to stay silent. But remember: it’s okay to take a breath, to step back and recharge when you need it. This fight is a marathon, not a sprint. Take care of yourself, support each other, and come back stronger. We need every voice, every story, and every bit of courage. Don’t give up-we’re in this together.
Speak Truth!
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**These are facts that I researched and verified – AI helped put together some sentence structure, but the words and tone are mine. These are my views based upon facts, research and thoughtful consideration using logic. I own the copyright to any images used. I’m comfortable to stand alone to uphold truth. Feel free to check me, but do not attack me. I am only causing good trouble.**