Calling Out In Transit. Tabs, Tues., March 18, 2025

Morning news roundup!

Mar 18, 2025

Donald Trump has revoked Hunter Biden’s ~~security clearance~~ Secret Service protection (obviously Hunter did not have a security clearance) because Donald Trump is a petty little bitch who never matured past approximately a fourth grade level. You know, if the fourth grader’s dad didn’t love or respect him. Lots of fourth graders would make better and wiser choices. Also did it for Ashley Biden. Also identified the country where Hunter is currently vacationing. [NBC News]

Ooh, huuuuuuuge protests against pro-Putin/pro-Trump tyrants all over the world! Democracy spring! Democracy spring! And America gets to (has to) play this time! Anyway, read about the enormous one in Serbia. [AP]

Of course, as Rachel Maddow noted last night, Serbia’s loathed leader told Donald Trump Jr. in an interview recently — you know, because obviously, why wouldn’t Junior be suckin’ authoritarian wang in Serbia? — that all the people protesting are an “imported revolution.” You know, just like how Hillary Clinton caused the 2013-14 pro-democracy protests in Ukraine, and how Ukrainians are still fighting for their country only because Joe Biden made them, and how Americans are showing up in the streets and at town halls to scream at their congressmen because they’re being paid by George Soros. We guess “pretending the democracy protesters are being funded by outside sources” is one of the stages of authoritarian grief on the path to accepting that humanity really loathes you that much. [Washington Post]

Hundreds of thousands in the streets in Hungary! Everybody hates Viktor Orban! Protests in Romania! Protests in Georgia! [RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty]

Seriously, everybody protesting in the streets right now has a thug leader, and all those thug leaders have this big thing in common. So, see y’all in the streets, fuckers? [Newsweek]

Elon Musk’s young men’s circle-jerking incel scout troop showed up to attack the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) last night. That’s an independent agency, not affiliated with the Executive Branch, not even really part of the US government. DOGE is a bunch of incel democracy-killing pipsqueaks whose balls have definitely dropped for sure (perhaps), but at least as far as we knew, they were only attacking Executive Branch agencies. New Rubicon crossed. USIP called the DC cops. And the DC cops … let DOGE continue its break-in? When they first tried to show up at USIP on Friday, DOGE brought the FBI with them. Because all the government’s thugs are being converted into Stupid Hitler’s Gestapo, we guess. [NBC4 Washington]

So that’s a whole fucking thing. Here, watch last night’s Maddow about it:

At my Friday place, ‘twas time for a massive update to my project where I’m tracking all the pastors and priests and youth pastors and other conservative Christian leaders caught/accused/prosecuted/jailed for abusing kids. Still not a drag queen in the bunch! Big former Trump spiritual adviser, though. If you’re not subscribed there yet, you sure should be! [The Moral High Ground]

We are definitely sympathetic to those who want to make sure Democrats don’t fall into dumb circular firing squads right now of all times. However, we also personally think Chuck Schumer needs to step down, largely for all the reasons Charlotte Clymer wrote here. Regardless of whether there was an argument for keeping the government open or not, it’s the whole we need fighters, stupid thing. And people, all people, need to feel like the people in Washington are fighting for them, are willing to scrap and get dirty. Chuck Schumer ain’t givin’ nobody that feeling. [Charlotte Clymer]

It’s time to wake up and confront the end of American democracy. So says Wajahat Ali. Emphasis on confront. [The Left Hook]

Donald Trump’s latest DEI purge is getting rid of all evidence of the Navajo Code Talkers who helped the United States win two world wars, by transmitting secret messages in the secret “code” that was their own fucking languages. (Which the US had otherwise worked very hard to eradicate.) Just more evidence of what absolutely morally bankrupt human trash the entire MAGA movement is, how irredeemable, how unforgiven, how unforgivable. [Axios]

Can’t imagine why we might all need this song right now. In fact, let’s get all our playlists in good working order. Seems more important every day.