Independent Thought

Early battle lines are forming over a centerpiece of the sprawling domestic policy bill that House Republicans narrowly passed, with Medicaid spending cuts emerging as a flash point that could define the 2026 midterm elections. Democrats are fine-tuning their message as they blast the legislation, which now heads to the GOP-led Senate, as a tax cut for the wealthy that would be funded by cutting h...

Senate Republicans are deeply divided over President Trump’s “big, beautiful bill,” which the House passed by a single vote last week, setting up a battle in the upper chamber between moderates and conservatives that is likely to drag on well into July. GOP senators are vowing to rewrite the bill, but they’re still weeks away from putting together a package that can muster the 51 votes it needs to...

Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives came together early Thursday to pass President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful” tax bill out of the chamber on a narrow vote. Every Democrat on the floor voted no, as did Republican Reps. Warren Davidson of Ohio and Thomas Massie of Kentucky. Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., who chairs the conservative House Freedom Caucus, voted present. The final vote tall...

The Department of Homeland Security is reviewing a reality TV pitch where immigrants would compete for American citizenship, according to a spokesperson who said in a statement to CNN that “the show in question is in the very beginning stages of that vetting process and has not received approval or denial by staff.” A producer who has pitched the idea to DHS said he envisions the show as being a “...

The United States and Israel have discussed the possibility of Washington leading a temporary post-war administration of Gaza, according to five people familiar with the matter. The "high-level" consultations have centered around a transitional government headed by a U.S. official that would oversee Gaza until it had been demilitarized and stabilized, and a viable Palestinian administrat...

Texas Democratic Representative Al Green issues a statement directed at Donald Trump: “I will not allow a twice-impeached, 34-time convicted felon, full-time Don the Con man, and tinhorn de facto dictator to destroy American democracy. Impeachment is the constitutionally accorded remedy for a tinhorn dictator, and I'm coming for you, Mr. President! The world will know why you should be impeach...

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Sen. Cory Booker are holding a sit-in on the steps of the US Capitol — the latest move by Democrats to stand up to President Donald Trump as they face pressure from constituents. The Democratic lawmakers started their demonstration just before sunrise on Sunday, highlighting what Booker called a moment of “moral urgency,” and invited community members and...

Bernie Sanders is once again asking for something literally every other industrialized nation in the world has except for the United States — universal health care. The U.S. Senator was joined on Tuesday by Michigan’s U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell and U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington to introduce the Medicare for All Act of 2025. “Every American has the right to health care, period,” Dingell sai...

A military veteran in Indianola-- who was deployed to Iraq three times, served in both the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Army, and said that he knows family financial struggles after growing up in a trailer in Mason City -- officially launched his U.S. senate campaign Wednesday for the seat held by Republican Joni Ernst. Nathan Sage, executive director for the Knoxville Chamber of Commerce, released...

Yesterday, I joined independent journalist, Natalie Bencivenga, for a conversation on Substack live. We covered: - Donald Trump sending the FBI to arrest a judge, who would not allow ICE to detain immigrants before they could have their day in court - Trump considering giving families a “baby bonus” of $5,000 to incentivize more people into having children - Trump restarting student loan repayment...

Friday, I joined Chuck Corra, the host of the political account  @Appodlachia  for a conversation on Substack live. We covered: - The illegal detainment of Kilmar Abrego Garcia - Donald Trump passes legislation that endangers coal mine workers - Trump removes IRS free to file system, that would have saved working class people billions of dollars a year - Bernie & AOC fight the oligarchy rallie...

Yesterday, I joined independent journalist, Natalie Bencivenga, for a conversation on Substack live. We covered: - Gayle King, Katy Perry & other celebrities head into space via Jeff Bezos Space Program - Natalie goes into her issues with this story & why she believes they contradict feminism - AOC's popularity is rising - will she be the Democratic nominee in 2028? - Is America ready...

Yesterday, I joined independent journalist, Natalie Bencivenga, for a conversation on Substack live. We covered: - The Save Act & how it will force at least 69 million people to update their identification documentation, just to be able to vote in federal elections - Voter suppression tactics by the Republican Party - Trump administration considering drone strikes in Mexico - Donald Trump’s wa...

Earlier, I joined independent journalist, Natalie Bencivenga, for a conversation about: - Donald Trump - The power of right-wing media - MAGA voters - Tesla protests - Billionaire influence over our government - Impacts of Trump’s tariff policy - Can AOC win a Senate or Presidential election? Follow Natalie Bencivenga: SUBSTACK: ⁠https://substack.com/@factsoverfearnatalieb⁠ INSTAGRAM: ⁠https://www...

Earlier, I joined independent journalist, Natalie Bencivenga, for a conversation about: - Cory Booker’s 25 hour filibuster - Where the Democrats are doing the right things - Where Democrats can improve - Wisconsin Supreme Court election - Special elections in Florida - The 2028 Presidential election - And more 0:00 - Cory Booker's 25 Hour Speech 5:10 - What More Should Democrats Do? 10:00 - Ca...

SJ Howell - Democratic Legislator HD 100 - Montana State Legislature SJ Howell was recently re-elected to the Montana State House of Representatives, for their 2nd term. Howell was elected in the 2022 election to the 95th district, making them the first non-binary person to be elected to the state legislature in Montana. SJ is also the Executive Director of  Catalyst Montana  - which uplifts low-i...

According to Italian news agency, ANSA, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni revealed on Tuesday during a debate at the Italian Senate that, following Israel’s invasion of Gaza in October last year, “the government immediately suspended all new export licences, and all agreements signed after October 7th were not implemented”. Stating that the authorisation of arms export licences are being “analysed on...

Democratic governors were in control of Montana for 16 years prior to Greg Gianforte winning in 2020. Gianforte is seeking another four years for the Republicans, but Democrats are pushing for change. Ryan Busse is running for the position with his Lt. Governor, Raph Graybill. Speaking in Glendive this week, Graybill accused Gianforte of raising property taxes and creating hardships for low-income...

Busse, 54 as of Election Day, spent 25 years working as a salesman for the firearm company Kimber. He left his position as vice president of sales in 2020 and published a memoir, “Gunfight,” criticizing radicalization in the firearms industry the following year. Busse, who was born in Omaha, Nebraska, and grew up on his family’s ranch in northwestern Kansas, has lived in the Flathead Valley since...

Urban campers will find themselves with a strict new set of rules to abide by in the city of Bozeman in the coming months. Going forward, the commission is expected to formally adopt ordinance 2172, which sets an expiration date on urban camping in the city, and until then gives the city manager full authority to move campers to wherever he sees fit and creates a permit system that includes $25 pe...

In the aftermath of Donald Trump’s disastrous performance in his first—and perhaps only—debate against Kamala Harris, Republicans kept bemoaning their candidate’s lack of discipline. Instead of talking about inflation or immigration or, for that matter, any basic needs or concerns of ordinary Americans, Trump spent 90 minutes raving about crowd sizes and lying about immigrants eating dogs and cats...

At least 569 people, including 50 children, have been killed and 1,835 wounded in Israel’s fierce bombardment of various parts of Lebanon, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. Lebanon’s Hezbollah fired a barrage of missiles at Israeli air bases and attacked a naval base with drones in response as world leaders and the United Nations called for urgent de-escalation. Israel’s top army commande...

With a recorded vote of 124 nations in favour, 14 against, and 43 abstentions, the resolution calls for Israel to comply with international law and withdraw its military forces, immediately cease all new settlement activity, evacuate all settlers from occupied land, and dismantle parts of the separation wall it constructed inside the occupied West Bank. The General Assembly further demanded that I...

Almost 60 million people watched Tuesday night’s debate between Vice President Harris and former President Trump, according to initial Nielsen research. That total audience figure is 10 million more than watched this cycle’s first presidential debate between Trump and President Biden in May, but well short of the record 84 million that watched a 2016 clash between Trump and then-Democratic nominee...

On Monday, Zuckerberg sent a letter to the powerful House Judiciary Committee, stating that the Biden administration had “pressured” Meta to “censor” content during the pandemic. “In 2021, senior officials from the Biden Administration, including the White House, repeatedly pressured our teams for months to censor certain COVID-19 content, including humor and satire, and expressed a lot of frustra...