Iran: “Nothing New But The Lies”

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Here is the reality check: there are no face-to-face negotiations happening between the United States and Iran today. Trump is desperate for a PR victory ahead of a bruising midterm election, spinning indirect, backchannel messaging via Qatar and Pakistan as some sort of high-stakes diplomatic summit.

Meanwhile, Tehran is bypassing Washington entirely, negotiating directly with Oman over the Strait of Hormuz so they don’t look like they are capitulating to American threats.

  • Donald Trump abruptly canceled what he hyped as the “biggest attack since World War II” on Iran, bragging to reporters on Air Force One that a new round of direct talks begins Monday. The spin is transparently designed to rebrand his failing military campaign into the work of a master dealmaker walking the world back from the ledge.
  • In direct contradiction to the White House narrative, the Iranian foreign ministry completely dismissed the idea of a US summit, with officials calling the claims of direct bilateral negotiations “nothing new but the lies.” Tehran maintains they are strictly brokering the management of the Strait of Hormuz with regional neighbors, not Washington.
  • While Trump sells a phantom summit to the American electorate, regional intermediaries from Qatar and Pakistan are quietly scrambling as emissaries to handle the actual backchannel diplomacy. The reality is a giant game of geopolitical telephone designed to let both sides claim a domestic political win without ever sitting in the same room.
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66 thoughts on “Iran: “Nothing New But The Lies””

  2. Trump is doubling down on framing innocent citizens to cover up his own mismanagement of a botched $15 million no-bid contractor job.

    After the DOJā€™s sham “vandalism” prosecution completely collapsed and Jeanine Pirro quietly dropped all charges late Friday, Trump turned on his own prosecutor to keep the lie alive.

    Now, even his GOP allies are horrified by this expanded weaponization of justiceā€”using federal indictments and 10-year prison threats as PR cover for executive failure.

    Full breakdown on my morning Substack šŸ‘‡

    Craigtrailmix | SUBSTACK
    Reflecting Pool Lie Collapses
    Read on Substack →

  10. Well then, assuming all of millennials and Gen Xers vote as blocs or near blocs (there are obviously boomers who are among the liberal arm of the party as is evident on this blog and elsewhere I presume) and are represented in the same proportion as their voting numbers reflect in every primary and at the convention they can control the Dem nomination process, and can possibly control the election outcomes in deeply blue areas, and can watch Republicans win in general elections in politically balanced areas UNLESS Dems show up and vote as a bloc – or something like that. Iā€™m not at all sure that the Mamdani phenomenon is broadly replicable. We may see this happen, but I donā€™t believe itā€™s likely although El-Sayed is looking like heā€™s going to do so in MI. If the does it will be an interesting case study.

  11. ABDUL’S BOOMER DEFICIT
    It’s OK for Tomorrow, But Not In November

    Abdul El-Sayed     definitely has a boomer problem, but heading into tomorrowā€™s Michigan Senate Democratic primary, itā€™s almost certainly not going to cost him the nomination. His massive lead with under-50 voters and independents gives him more than enough cushion to absorb a 14-point deficit among voters over 60.

    November is a completely different story. Facing Mike Rogers in the general election, Abdul canā€™t afford to bleed older voters this much, particularly in high-turnout suburban strongholds. To fix that gap before November, heā€™s going to have to move fast to unify the partyā€”and he will almost certainly need Haley Stevens on board to validate him with senior voters — about 30% of the projected vote.

  13. Trump just repudiated Pirro’s dropped prosecution in the reflecting pool mess. Why expect him to go along with this? At the very least, make him sign it!
    Blanche withdraws Trump fund plan in writing, ahead of AG confirmation vote – BBC

  14. it doesn’t help with older voters who remember that the word “Socialist” was part of National Socialist German Workers’ Party (German: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterparteiā€Š[c] or NSDAP) aka Nazi.
    might go down better with the geezers if the DSA would drop/replace that S.

  17. I have voted in every single election for the past 60 years. Raised to think voting was a duty as well as a right. That is probably true about the majority of the older generation. Not a good idea to alienate us.

  20. And in other news. NYT

    Blanche Nomination

    Aug. 3, 2026, 8:37 a.m. ET2 hours ago
    Michael Gold

    Senate Republican leaders are hoping to confirm Todd Blanche as attorney general this week, before departing for their August recess, and the Judiciary Committee is set to vote to advance his nomination on Tuesday.

    If the statements that he made Sunday night are enough to placate the two Republicans on the committee who had threatened to block his nomination, Senators John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina, that committee vote could clear Blancheā€™s path to be confirmed.

    If all Democrats on the committee vote against Blancheā€™s nomination, Republicans on the panel can not afford any defections.

    Aug. 3, 2026, 1:18 a.m. ETAug. 3, 2026
    Michael GoldAndrew Duehren and Hari Raj

    Blanche moves to appease two senators ahead of a vote to advance his nomination.
    Image

    A man wearing a black suit and an orange tie speaking into a microphone while sitting at a desk.
    Todd Blanche speaking at the Capitol last month.Credit…Kenny Holston/The New York Times
    Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general, confirmed in writing on Sunday night that the Justice Department would abandon elements of the deal it struck with President Trump to resolve his lawsuit against the I.R.S., conceding to demands from Republican senators who had threatened to block his nomination as attorney general.

    The Republican holdouts, Senators John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina, had vowed that they would not confirm Mr. Blanche for the role unless he provided written assurances that the Justice Department had formally killed a planned $1.8 billion fund to pay those who claim they were unfairly persecuted by the government.

    Ummm, with respect to those tax goodies, narrowed or not, the FL judge’s ruling, which DoJ plans to appeal, said there couldn’t be a settlement of a case that was a judicial sham. Hopefully Cornyn and Tillis aren’t stupid enough to buy this.

  21. https://www.benzinga.com/news/politics/26/08/60865239/thomas-massie-questions-timing-of-gop-backed-40-million-morocco-funding-after-ceuta-migrant-influx-now-they-are-acting-shocked

    *I knew something was fishy about that migrant surge in Morocco/Spain.

    Thomas Massie questions timing of GOP-backed $40 million Morocco funding after Ceuta migrant influx: ‘Now they are acting shocked’

    Massie took to X on Sunday to highlight that the House Republicans approved a bill allocating $40 million to Morocco just two weeks before migrants from Morocco entered Spainā€™s Ceuta enclave.

    Massie took to X on Sunday to highlight that the House Republicans approved a bill allocating $40 million to Morocco just two weeks before migrants from Morocco entered Spainā€™s Ceuta enclave.

    He also highlighted committee report language stating that the Spanish-administered cities of Ceuta and Melilla are located in Moroccan territory.

    Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) questioned the timing of GOP-backed funding for Morocco and accused fellow Republicans of hypocrisy following the migrant surge into Spainā€™s Ceuta enclave.

    Massie cited H.R. 8595, the National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2027, noting he was the only Republican to vote against it when it passed the House 217-209 on July 15. Most Democrats voted against it.

  24. Today in the Diner…
    Abdul El-Sayed vs Haley Stevens: Michigan Senate Primary Showdown

    Michigan Senate Democratic Primary: Abdul El-Sayed vs Haley Stevens

    The Michigan Senate Democratic primary has reached a boiling point as Abdul El-Sayed faces off against Representative Haley Stevens for the nomination to take on Republican Mike Rogers. El-Sayed, backed by Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, champions Medicare for All and progressive economic reforms, while Stevens draws support from Governor Gretchen Whitmer and retiring Senator Gary Peters. With voters weighing electability and policy direction, this battle serves as a key litmus test for the national Democratic Party ahead of the midterm elections.

    Meanwhile, federal budget oversight takes center stage as Representative Pramila Jayapal grill OMB Director Russ Vought over 88 major corporations paying zero federal income tax. In Ohio, Senator Sherrod Brown hammers his opponent over health insurance subsidies and corporate donations, highlighting contrast on middle-class economic relief. Outside the primary battles, Maine Senate candidate Troy Jackson takes aim at Elon Musk over political megadonor spending, and Texas residents in Hood County push back against Governor Greg Abbott over rural crypto data center noise and energy grid disruption.

    Live Chat: https://trailmix.cc/chat
    Website: https://trailmix.cc
    Alerts: https://trailmix.cc/alerts

    00:00 Intro: Rushmore Singers Opening
    00:01 Taco Bell Viral Satire Analysis
    00:03 Melania Trump Crypto Coin Plunge
    00:04 Spain Morocco Territorial Vote
    00:05 Texas Senate Favorability Numbers
    00:07 Climate Change Wildfire Impact
    00:08 Pramila Jayapal Grills Russ Vought
    00:11 Sherrod Brown Ohio Healthcare Push
    00:13 Florida Governor Race Data Centers
    00:17 Hood County Texas Crypto Complaints
    00:19 AI Data Mining Book Copyright
    00:28 Troy Jackson Calls Out Elon Musk
    00:30 Trail Mix Alerts Sign Up
    00:40 Michigan Senate Primary Analysis
    00:52 Andy Beshear Kentucky Senate Seat
    00:55 Donald Trump Golf Cheating Stories
    01:00 Digital Diner Wrap Up

    #MichiganPrimary #AbdulElSayed #HaleyStevens #RussVought #SherrodBrown

    —
    Human Prompted and Edited. Machine Drafted. (Gemini Pro)Michigan Senate Democratic Primary: Abdul El-Sayed vs Haley Stevens

    The Michigan Senate Democratic primary has reached a boiling point as Abdul El-Sayed faces off against Representative Haley Stevens for the nomination to take on Republican Mike Rogers. El-Sayed, backed by Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, champions Medicare for All and progressive economic reforms, while Stevens draws support from Governor Gretchen Whitmer and retiring Senator Gary Peters. With voters weighing electability and policy direction, this battle serves as a key litmus test for the national Democratic Party ahead of the midterm elections.

    Meanwhile, federal budget oversight takes center stage as Representative Pramila Jayapal grill OMB Director Russ Vought over 88 major corporations paying zero federal income tax. In Ohio, Senator Sherrod Brown hammers his opponent over health insurance subsidies and corporate donations, highlighting contrast on middle-class economic relief. Outside the primary battles, Maine Senate candidate Troy Jackson takes aim at Elon Musk over political megadonor spending, and Texas residents in Hood County push back against Governor Greg Abbott over rural crypto data center noise and energy grid disruption.

    Live Chat: https://trailmix.cc/chat
    Website: https://trailmix.cc
    Alerts: https://trailmix.cc/alerts

    00:00 Intro: Rushmore Singers Opening
    00:01 Taco Bell Viral Satire Analysis
    00:03 Melania Trump Crypto Coin Plunge
    00:04 Spain Morocco Territorial Vote
    00:05 Texas Senate Favorability Numbers
    00:07 Climate Change Wildfire Impact
    00:08 Pramila Jayapal Grills Russ Vought
    00:11 Sherrod Brown Ohio Healthcare Push
    00:13 Florida Governor Race Data Centers
    00:17 Hood County Texas Crypto Complaints
    00:19 AI Data Mining Book Copyright
    00:28 Troy Jackson Calls Out Elon Musk
    00:30 Trail Mix Alerts Sign Up
    00:40 Michigan Senate Primary Analysis
    00:52 Andy Beshear Kentucky Senate Seat
    00:55 Donald Trump Golf Cheating Stories
    01:00 Digital Diner Wrap Up
    —
    Human Prompted and Edited. Machine Drafted. (Gemini Pro)

  26. Hey everyone. I was going to join the chat today, but I thought it was from Noon-1:00. I checked in here at 12:15. New political ads this morning. Perry Johnson released a new ad bashing John James in their race for Governor. He closed the ad by calling James a “Lying, Liberal, Loser!” Haley Stevens released a new ad that talked about people not liking the sound of her voice. How they may not like the sound of her voice, but she’s going to make sure the people in Washington hear it. Other ads attacked Abdul. Saying he bashed the Obamas in the past and he urged people to sit out the last election which Whitmer knows is a win for Trump.

  34. you made the right call on Cornyn, Pog, nice job

    hey i had the reflecting pool story nailed from the outset!!

  35. The upside of this Blanche debacle is they couldn’t sail through quietly. Now public awareness of this slush fund grift is way up in the polls, neatly feeds the corruption message for the midterm. And now Susan Collins might have to vote for the Epstein coverup.

  37. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2026/08/02/invasive-species-ships-iran-war/91081498007/

    Stalled commercial ship traffic near the Strait of Hormuz is not only a threat to oil markets and global economies. Scientists warn that the idling vessels could unleash an invasive marine “super-spreader event” when trade resumes.

    A new study produced by an international coalition of marine scientists warns that invasive marine organisms that have grown on the ships’ hulls could pose a significant threat to ecosystems across the globe when the ships reach their final destinations.

    When ships are stationary for periods of days or weeks, the submerged parts of the vessel can become colonized by microbes, algae and other marine organisms. These organisms, when introduced to other ecosystems, can cause a wide array of consequences, from outcompeting native species to damaging infrastructure to introducing pathogens harmful to marine life and, sometimes, humans.

    Researchers say the buildup of waterborne organisms can reach “rapid growth phase” after about 10 days. Cargo ships in most ports idle for less than two days on average. But many ships trapped near the Strait of Hormuz have remained there for months.

    Compounding the threat is the fact that the ships became stalled at the start of spring, a season of growth and reproduction as waters warm. The sheer volume in the number of idle vessels ā€“ and their global routes ā€“ is especially concerning to researchers.

  40. Final Michigan polls;

    Zenith Research Poll, *on behalf of Abdul El-Sayedā€™s Fighting for Michigan PAC* finds El-Sayed leads Haley Stevens by 19 points. Conducted July 26-30.

    Independent Mitchell Research & Communications, which surveyed 406 likely voters July 28-29, showed El-Sayed up 14 points, 52 percent to 38 percent. His support was boosted by a significant lead with young voters, winning 68 percent of those aged 18-29 and 62 percent of those 30-44. Stevens, however, did best with those 65+, winning 50 percent among that age group.

  42. Do the >60s want their grandsons to go to war? War on Iran is directly tied to BiBi & sheā€™s taking AIPAC money.

  43. https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/03/politics/us-military-iran-war-troops-punish

    Exclusive: US military asks troops for ā€˜creative and unconventionalā€™ ideas to punish Iran

    *Ummm, make Dumbass their supreme leader and let him destroy their country from the inside like he is the US?

    The request from a senior officer at the US military command carrying out President Donald Trump’s war with Iran came in an email: We need ideas.

    “We are looking for new creative and unconventional ways to pressure and punish Iran,” an officer in US Central Command’s intelligence branch wrote in a message sent Wednesday to a broad group of military analysts, according to a source familiar with the message. A second source also said that a senior US military officer sent the message last week soliciting new ideas for how to deal with Iran.

    The crowdsourcing-style query, which military officials said was unusual over email, is one sign of the limited ā€” and potentially unpalatable ā€”options available to Trump to force Iran into a deal on his terms. Hoping to find an alternative, the official at CENTCOM kicked off the brainstorming session via email to see if anyone had a better idea. The second source said CENTCOM is looking at everything, acknowledging it needs to reevaluate the strategy.

    *So, the Pentagon now has a suggestion box. Stupidest timeline.

  44. Ivy, love the photo. Lotta ICK!!! in it.

    Anon, thanks – Judge was right, he can’t sue himself. btw we both nailed the reflecting pool outcome. (When the best you have is that the damagedwas caused by something you claimed couldn’t damage it, you ain’t got much.) Problem is, Dumbass doesn’t know that legal cases have elements and shit.

    Good article from NYT laying out some of the more prominent recent legal screwups Trump has created by treating the DOJ as his personal legal counsel.

    Trumpā€™s Meddling in Justice Dept. Causes Problems of His Own Making
    In the past week alone, President Trumpā€™s interference has imperiled one criminal case, set the stage for sanctions in a second and hindered the confirmation chances of his pick for attorney general.

    By Alan Feuer
    Aug. 3, 2026, 9:26 a.m. ET

    From the moment President Trump was re-elected, he has muscled his way into the driverā€™s seat at the Justice Department, leaving tread marks on its time-honored independence from the White House by demanding, and sometimes directing, investigations into his enemies.

    But his tight grip on the steering wheel has often threatened to lead the department off a cliff.

    Last week offered a particularly vivid portrait of the consequences of Mr. Trumpā€™s meddling, which, in the span of only a few days, imperiled one criminal case, set the stage for sanctions in a second and gummed up the chances that his pick for attorney general will be confirmed by the Senate.

    Mr. Trump has long believed that he is his own best adviser and that, as the leader of the executive branch, he enjoys complete control over the agencies beneath him. But there is a reason the department in charge of federal law enforcement has traditionally stood outside of the presidentā€™s personal purview, said Norman L. Eisen, a lawyer involved in some of the recent cases who, earlier in his career, worked on the Obama administrationā€™s ā€œno contactā€ policy with the Justice Department.

    ā€œWhen presidents meddle in the department,ā€ Mr. Eisen said, ā€œit tends to disrupt its normal functioning.ā€

    The problems last week began on Wednesday, when lawyers for James B. Comey, the former F.B.I. director, filed court papers revealing that Secret Service agents who questioned their client about a photograph he posted showing seashells on a beach arranged to read ā€œ86 47ā€ were ordered to quickly send a summary of the interview to Mr. Trump on Air Force One. The interview was ā€œa hot topic on the plane,ā€ and the president was ā€œvery interested,ā€ the filing said. In fact, it added, Mr. Trump wanted to use the agentsā€™ notes as fodder at a coming media appearance even though they presumably contained sensitive and unverified investigative information.

    The request for the notes was a shocking breach of the distance that most presidents have kept from the day-to-day oversight of criminal investigations and indicated the intensity of Mr. Trumpā€™s personal involvement in the pursuit of Mr. Comey, one of his most reviled political adversaries.

    But his insistence on interfering with the case could come back to haunt him. After all, Mr. Comeyā€™s lawyers pointed to the episode as evidence that the Justice Department had indicted him ā€” on charges of making threats against the president ā€” only as an act of retribution. If that claim is proven true, it would result in the case being dismissed.

    Mr. Trumpā€™s intrusive instincts also played a role last week in the demise of another criminal case, one that accused the former Olympic canoeist David Hearn with vandalizing one of the presidentā€™s pet projects, the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.

    When Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney in Washington, announced the indictment of Mr. Hearn last month, she made it clear that the charges had been brought, at least in part, because Mr. Trump wanted them.

    ā€œThis is not only a priority for the president,ā€ she told reporters, ā€œbut for myself.ā€

    On Friday night, however, the case fell apart in a spectacular fashion. Ms. Pirro, in a court filing, suddenly acknowledged that new information from Mr. Trumpā€™s Interior Department had made her realize that shoddy construction, not anything that Mr. Hearn had done, caused the problems with the poolā€™s lining.

    But even that confession did not stop Mr. Trump from doubling down on the vandalism narrative. On Saturday morning, he posted a message on social media saying that he disagreed entirely with Ms. Pirro, a veteran prosecutor and a friend of his for more than 40 years.

    ā€œI donā€™t know what she was thinking?ā€ Mr. Trump wrote.

    While Mr. Hearn’s lawyers have not disclosed what they might do next, the caseā€™s collapse gives them an opening to argue that the presidentā€™s stubborn statements about the matter suggest the prosecution was vexatious, frivolous or brought in bad faith.

    Should a move like that succeed, it would add to the roster of Ms. Pirroā€™s failures to go after Mr. Trumpā€™s enemies ā€” a list that already includes six Democratic lawmakers accused of sedition by the president after they posted a video reminding military personnel of their obligations to ignore illegal orders. It would also allow Mr. Hearn to recoup legal fees for the cast of lawyers he hired to defend himself.

    The presidentā€™s inability to keep his hands to himself also affected another important bit of business at the Justice Department: the effort to confirm Todd Blanche, Mr. Trumpā€™s former personal lawyer, as attorney general.

    As the week came to an end, Mr. Blanche seemed well on his way to removing the main hurdle to his appointment, calming the concerns expressed by two Republican senators ā€” John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina. The lawmakers have repeatedly voiced unhappiness with the $1.8 billion compensation fund and the extraordinary personal tax protections that emerged this spring from Mr. Trumpā€™s deal to drop his lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service.

    But as the weekend neared, the president seemed to throw Mr. Blanche under the bus that he himself was driving, issuing a series of confusing and contradictory messages.

    On Friday, he appeared to step back from his earlier threat to withdraw Mr. Blancheā€™s nomination and repeated his support for creating the fund, which Mr. Blanche had already said was dead. On Saturday, Mr. Trump again asserted that he would revive the fund, which could be used to compensate rioters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, if the Senate did not confirm Mr. Blanche.

    Mr. Tillis, for one, seemed baffled and dispirited by Mr. Trumpā€™s chaotic interference in the confirmation process, holding out hope that the presidentā€™s back-and-forth approach would end before the Senate went on summer recess early this week.

    ā€œItā€™s unfortunate that Todd Blanche, who I consider qualified for the job, will not be confirmed because of this reversal,ā€ Mr. Tillis wrote on social media. ā€œHopefully, we can resolve this by Tuesday.ā€

    There appeared to be a breakthrough on the matter late Sunday night when Mr. Blanche posted two documents: a signed memo in which he said that the Justice Department was formally rescinding an order that created the fund and an unsigned statement in which the agency clarified the terms of the tax protections.

    Mr. Blancheā€™s message said that the documents had emerged from ā€œgood faith discussionsā€ with senators, but as of Monday morning, Mr. Trump had not yet weighed in on the plan.

    If there’s a way to screw up a perfectly good case, Dumbass will find it (although none of these fall into that category).

  45. BTW, see any problem with this? NYT

    Mr. Blanche posted two documents on social media on Sunday night: a signed memo in which he said the Justice Department was formally rescinding an order that created the so-called ā€œanti-weaponization fundā€ and an unsigned statement in which the agency clarified the terms of the I.R.S. protections.

    Holes you can drive a truck through.

  47. PARASITIC DATA CENTERS:

    States demand you ration water while tech billionaires drain the rivers for AI vanity projects.

    šŸ½ļø From today’s Digital Diner menu

  49. SILICON TOMATO
    Reviews The News

    • Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche officially signed a piece of paper terminating Trump’s $1.8 billion slush fund to buy off Senate confirmation holdouts, but the document is riddled with enough legal loopholes to ensure it can be resurrected through a breach of contract lawsuit later. The grift isn’t dead, it’s just taking a quick nap until the confirmation votes are counted. (Courthouse News)
    • Iran publicly humiliated Donald Trump by flatly denying his claims of ongoing peace negotiations, prompting him to throw a social media tantrum and threaten a total blockade. At least the diplomatic channels are functioning exactly as predictably as you would expect. (The Hindu)
    • Cyberattacks are targeting water systems across seven states with Iran as the prime suspect, but Trump has inexplicably decided to blame the state of Minnesota for the hack instead. Because why confront a foreign adversary when you can just pick a fight with the Midwest? (Just Security)
    • Trump is now threatening to unceremoniously fire Jeanine Pirro following a bizarre reflecting pool fiasco, proving once again that absolute sycophancy only buys you a front-row seat under the bus. The administration’s turnover rate is officially outpacing its ability to invent new distractions. (CNN)

    — Human directed, Machine Drafted (Gemini Pro)

  50. https://www.techradar.com/pro/russia-debuts-anti-starlink-ew-system-that-can-blind-terminals-by-overloading-satellites-receiving-antennas

    Russia has unveiled a new electronic warfare system designed to disrupt Starlink communications by interfering directly with satellites instead of attacking ground terminals.

    The system, dubbed Volna Kupol Garant, directs concentrated radio signals toward Starlink satellites, preventing them from receiving transmissions from users within its operating area.

    Russian officials say the approach temporarily interrupts communications without physically damaging spacecraft.

  51. Volna Kupol Garant
    Š’Š¾Š»Š½Š° ŠŗуŠæŠ¾Š» Š³Š°Ń€Š°Š½Ń‚|
    Wave Dome Guarantor

  52. Texas ban on several THC products emerges as potential wedge issue in Senate race

    *You need crimes to create criminals to feed the court and prison systems.

    Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico called the new state ban on many types of THC products, which went into effect Friday, ā€œa gift to the cartels.ā€ His Republican opponent, Attorney General Ken Paxton, has previously sued Texas cities for decriminalizing marijuana.

    A recent Texas state ban on several forms of tetrahydrocannabinol or THC, the main intoxicating component in cannabis, is already becoming an issue in this year’s U.S. Senate election.

    The ban took effect Friday. State Rep. James Talarico, the Democratic Senate nominee, called the ban “a gift to the cartels” in a Monday statement and said the state is “going back to the days of prohibition” seven years after the Texas Legislature legalized hemp.
    The new ban applies to all synthetically created THC forms, including delta-8, delta-10, THCA flower and THCP. Still legal are delta-9 products with less than 0.3% THC by dry weight.

    The ban is a result of a Texas Supreme Court ruling earlier this year that permits the stateā€™s Department of State Health Services (DSHS) to reclassify most types of hemp-derived THC as a schedule I drug, making it illegal to sell and possess in the state. DSHS had been blocked from making the reclassification by a court injunction issued in 2021. Since then, different kinds of THC could be sold by businesses in the state.

    “Yes, we should keep these products out of the hands of minors,” Talarico said. “Yes, we should end deceptive marketing practices. Yes, we should keep smoke shops away from schools. But this draconian ban doesn’t do any of that.”

    Instead, Talarico argued, the ban would simply close legal small businesses and drive the trade back to the black market.

    ā€œThis is the nanny state at its worst,” Talarico said. “This is big government at its worst.”
    Houston Public Media reached out to the Republican Senate nominee, Attorney General Ken Paxton, for comment but had yet to receive a response before publication. As state attorney general, Paxton has publicly taken a strong stance against decriminalization of cannabis and has sued numerous municipalities for what he has described as policies aimed at preventing the enforcement of state drug laws.

    But last fall, before Congress passed spending legislation that as of 2027 will dramatically lower the amount of THC allowed in hemp-derived products sold across the country, Paxton was not part of a bipartisan coalition of 39 state attorneys general that asked lawmakers to ā€œclarify the federal definition of hemp and prevent the continued sale of unregulated, intoxicating THC products.ā€

  53. Looking at the US diarrhea map, and something seems strange. Americans donā€™t eat that much lettuce, do they? All global travelers to FIFA games in the US escaped?

  55. *Building an end of summer (everything) playlist; add your fave or most pertinent tune. Video made with Ai. šŸ¤¦ā€ā™€ļø

  58. Israel accused of AI influence campaign

    Israel allegedly funded a $46.5 million digital campaign aimed at influencing artificial intelligence responses about the Gaza war, according to a report by Drop Site News. The campaign reportedly used online content strategies to shape information available to AI systems. The allegations have raised concerns about digital influence and AI-generated information.

    The report claimed that former Donald Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale and his firm, Clock Tower X, developed a network of websites under a contract with the Israeli government. The websites reportedly published articles supporting Israeli positions on the Gaza conflict and US-Israel relations.

    Herve Letoqueux, chief executive of digital disinformation monitoring group Check First, said online archives used for AI development could become targets for information manipulation. He said carefully structured content could affect how chatbots present different viewpoints. The report highlighted growing concerns over AI information reliability.

  60. So, please donā€™t think Ai has to give you a good answer if you ask it a ā€œdirect question.ā€

  64. So Iā€™m $.9991 ahead on every dollar I didnā€™t spend on Melania meme coins a year ago – which is every dollar I had a year ago. Winner winnerā€¦

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