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Donald R. Koelper @donaldfromhawaii.bsky.social · 4h

It doesn't matter that the National Capital Planning Commission hasn't approved Donald Trump's ballroom plans for the White House. He's going to do whatever he wants to do. And right now, he wants to demolish the White House's east wing. www.salon.com/2025/10/20/c...

Crews demolish White House facade to make way for Trump ballroom - Salon.com

Work began on Donald Trump's proposed White House ballroom on Monday.

www.salon.com

Donald R. Koelper @donaldfromhawaii.bsky.social · 4h

By most any measure, and with two Oscar nominations to his credit, James Woods is a good actor. But politics aside, he's also long had a reputation as a difficult and unpleasant person on film sets. No surprise that his job prospects have withered as a result. www.sfchronicle.com/entertainmen...

Why James Woods isn’t getting Hollywood roles anymore

Chronicle movie critic emeritus Mick LaSalle also answers questions about favorite sports movies, favorite Robert Redford movies and another really bad Daniel Day-Lewis movie.

www.sfchronicle.com

Donald R. Koelper @donaldfromhawaii.bsky.social · 14h

Democrats may well be perceived by voters as "weak." But in the face of the most serious militant domestic threat to our democracy since the Civil War of 1861-65, the mainstream media - forever wedded to the horse-race narrative - has been obtuse and incompetent. www.usatoday.com/story/opinio...

Don't count on a blue wave in midterms. Most Americans say Democrats are 'weak.' | Opinion

Congressional Democratic leaders are banking that the ongoing government shutdown will make them look tough and strong. That's a mistake.

www.usatoday.com

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Donald R. Koelper @donaldfromhawaii.bsky.social · 1d

UPDATE: Like I said, there was absolutely no good reason for the Marines - and U.S. Navy vessels offshore, as well - to be firing live rounds over I-5 for that dog and pony show ordered up by Pete Hegseth and J.D. Vance. They were lucky nobody was hurt or killed. www.latimes.com/california/s...

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Donald R. Koelper @donaldfromhawaii.bsky.social · 1d

"But the crowd cries out for another,
And they'll keep answering that bell
As another starry-eyed messiah
Meets a violent farewell.
Learn to be still."

Gainesville, Florida is where good coaching careers go to die.
www.espn.com/college-foot...

Florida Gators fire Billy Napier: Top candidates, transfers and recruits to watch

The Florida job is open. Would another offensive coach make sense and could that coach hang on to the Gators' loaded roster?

www.espn.com

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Donald R. Koelper @donaldfromhawaii.bsky.social · 1d

As I noted six days ago, any assumptions that a peace agreement in Gaza had been reached were premature.
www.independent.co.uk/news/world/m...

Israel suspends aid into Gaza after accusing Hamas of ceasefire breach

Hamas allegedly carried out attacks with an RPG and sniper fire against Israeli troops

www.independent.co.uk

Donald R. Koelper @donaldfromhawaii.bsky.social · 1d

All too often, far too many people have clung to a grievously misplaced hope that Chief Justice John Roberts would be a fair and impartial arbiter of the law, when his actual public record as a jurist really belies that false notion. theweek.com/politics/sup...

Supreme Court: Judging 20 years of Roberts

Two decades after promising to “call balls and strikes,” Chief Justice John Roberts faces scrutiny for reshaping American democracy

theweek.com

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Donald R. Koelper @donaldfromhawaii.bsky.social · 1d

🙄 Today in MAGA White Performance Art, Anti-Sharia Law Ed.:

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Donald R. Koelper @donaldfromhawaii.bsky.social · 1d

Today in "Florida Pastors Who Are Arrested for Pulling a Gun on City Council Candidates at Public Forums":
Even though Florida is both an open-carry and "stand your ground" state, doing both at a public election event is still not a very wise thing to do.
www.fox13news.com/news/tampa-p...

Tampa pastor free on bail after claiming to pull gun in self-defense at city council candidate forum

A Tampa pastor and former Tampa City Council candidate bonded out of jail after being arrested on Tuesday after police said he pulled a gun on one of the remaining candidates during a forum last week.

www.fox13news.com

Donald R. Koelper @donaldfromhawaii.bsky.social · 2d

Brewers fans in July, after going 6-0 against the Dodgers in the regular season: "Where's your payroll now?"

Brewers fans in October, after getting swept 4-0 by the Dodgers in the NLCS: "Payroll inequity is ruining baseball!" apnews.com/article/brew...

Brewers outclassed by Ohtani and big-money Dodgers as rousing season ends with NLCS sweep

Turned out the National League Championship Series was indeed a mismatch, just as Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy suggested. But not only in payroll and star power.

apnews.com

Donald R. Koelper @donaldfromhawaii.bsky.social · 2d

There's absolutely no good reason or plausible explanation for the Marines at Camp Pendleton to be shooting live-fire artillery rounds in such close proximity to I-5, the primary and very heavily traveled highway between Los Angeles and San Diego. www.latimes.com/politics/sto...

Interstate 5 temporarily reopens but gridlock is expected to continue through Camp Pendleton

California will close part of Interstate 5 today after military officials confirmed Saturday that live-fire artillery rounds will be shot over the freeway during a Marine Corps event.

www.latimes.com

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Donald R. Koelper @donaldfromhawaii.bsky.social · 2d

The experience of being subjected to recruitment ads for ICE, a domestic paramilitary force assembled by a power-hungry president, has generated an intense public backlash that’s culminated this week in calls for boycotts. www.latimes.com/world-nation...

Commentary: ICE ads are playing on a streamer near you. Can they survive the online rebellion?

As ICE recruitment ads stream on services including Spotify, Hulu and more, members of the online rebellion don't want to participate in the agency's mission.

www.latimes.com

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Donald R. Koelper @donaldfromhawaii.bsky.social · 2d

I'm attending No Kings's event, “NO DICTATORS (Honolulu)” - sign up now to join me! www.mobilize.us/nokings/even...

NO DICTATORS (Honolulu) · No Kings

**In America, we don’t put up with would-be kings.** Whether we are Black, white, or brown, Native or immigrant, transgender or not, we deserve and demand the freedom to be ourselves. Trump wants to...

www.mobilize.us

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Donald R. Koelper @donaldfromhawaii.bsky.social · 3d

FINAL, Major League Baseball
NLCS, Game 3 - Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles Dodgers 5, Milwaukee Brewers 1
(Dodgers win series, 4-0)

The Dodgers now have an opportunity to do what no Dodger team has ever done since the franchise's founding in 1884: repeat as World Series champions.

Donald R. Koelper @donaldfromhawaii.bsky.social · 3d

At the expressed directive of Gov. Phil Scott (R-VT), State Sen. Sam Douglass (R-VT) has resigned his legislative office in the wake of his active involvement in the Young Republicans' neo-Nazi hate chat scandal. www.politico.com/news/2025/10...

Lawmaker resigns after involvement in racist chat

Vermont state Sen. Sam Douglass will resign after intense pressure from top Republicans in the state.

www.politico.com

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Donald R. Koelper @donaldfromhawaii.bsky.social · 3d

Prince Andrew has to be the most disappointing and disreputable member of the British royal family since King Edward VIII abdicated the throne in December 1936 in order to marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson. www.nbcnews.com/world/united...

Prince Andrew to give up Duke of York title and honors amid Jeffrey Epstein developments

King Charles III's brother said that "the continued accusations about me" were distracting from the work of the royal family.

www.nbcnews.com

Donald R. Koelper @donaldfromhawaii.bsky.social · 3d

Last May, the Trump regime canceled a $20 million flood protection project for the native Yup'ik village of Kipnuk, Alaska, calling it "wasteful DEI spending." This past week, Kipnuk was largely destroyed by flooding from Typhoon Halong, which displaced over 1,400 residents.

Donald R. Koelper @donaldfromhawaii.bsky.social · 3d

It’s almost a year into Trump 2.0 and MAGA has gone full “snowflake.” It's not the Democratic left who are currently sniveling like a bunch of pusscakes whenever someone criticizes their heroes for being the racist and intolerant pieces of shit that they really are. www.latimes.com/california/s...

Commentary: Trump has turned the White House into a government of 'snowflakes'

It's almost a year into Trump 2.0 and MAGA has gone full "snowflake."

www.latimes.com

Donald R. Koelper @donaldfromhawaii.bsky.social · 4d

If you have the capability to blow a boat out of the water, then you also have the capacity to intercept it, detain its occupants and find out what they're doing and where they're going. You don't first turn them into a smoking wreck and then speculate about it afterward. www.cnn.com/2025/10/14/p...

Six killed after US strikes another boat off coast of Venezuela | CNN Politics

The US military conducted yet another strike on a boat alleged to be trafficking drugs off the coast of Venezuela, killing six people on board, President Donald Trump announced Tuesday.

www.cnn.com

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Donald R. Koelper @donaldfromhawaii.bsky.social · 4d

Rest in peace, Ace Frehley (1951-2025), the smokin' lead guitarist for the '70s rock group KISS - and honestly in my opinion, the best thing about them - who passed today from a cerebral hemorrhage. As a pioneer of big hair glam rock, Ace was (and is) the gold standard by which others are judged.

Donald R. Koelper @donaldfromhawaii.bsky.social · 4d

According to a June 2025 report from the Bay Area Council Economic Institute, 61% of construction workers in California are immigrants, and 26% of those are undocumented. The MAGA-addled GOP's tariff and anti-immigrant policies are undermining business in the state. www.latimes.com/business/sto...

California's economy is already getting hit by immigration raids

The number of people reporting to work in the private sector in California has decreased by 3.1% — a downturn only recently matched by the COVID-19 lockdown.

www.latimes.com

Donald R. Koelper @donaldfromhawaii.bsky.social · 5d

There's good reason why many airports around the country are refusing to broadcast Kristi Noem's video over their networks. Her overt political messaging, in which she blames Democrats for the government shutdown, is a clear violation of the Hatch Act. www.latimes.com/california/s...

Kristi Noem video blames Democrats for shutdown. These California airports won't show it

Several California airports join others across the country in refusing to play a video for travelers of DHS Secretary Kristi Noem blaming the federal shutdown, and travel delays, on Democrats.

www.latimes.com

Donald R. Koelper @donaldfromhawaii.bsky.social · 5d

This can't be repeated often enough these days:
John Roberts' legacy in American jurisprudence will surpass Roger Taney (1777-1864), author of the infamous Dred Scott decision (!857), in standing as the worst chief justice in U.S. Supreme Court history. www.esquire.com/news-politic...

Chief Justice John Roberts Is More Than Ready to Take Away Minority Voting Rights

If he pulls this off, it will be the crowning achievement of his miserable career.

www.esquire.com

Donald R. Koelper @donaldfromhawaii.bsky.social · 5d

As the Supreme Court ponders voiding the Voting Rights Act to allow a white nationalist GOP to target majority-Black congressional districts in the South, I'd note that this takes place against a backdrop of the Young Republicans' neo-Nazi chat scandal. www.latimes.com/politics/sto...

Supreme Court might upend Voting Rights Act and help GOP keep control of the House

The Trump administration's top courtroom attorney urged justices to rule that partisan politics, not racial fairness, should guide the drawing of election districts.

www.latimes.com

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Donald R. Koelper @donaldfromhawaii.bsky.social · 6d

“Such behavior is disgraceful, unbecoming of any Republican, and stands in direct opposition to the values of our Fatherland,” said Gruppenführer Karl Einundswanzig, Chief Gauleiter for the Young Republican National Federation. www.newsweek.com/young-republ...

Young Republicans hit with calls to resign as "vile" chats leaked

The uproar comes at a time of growing worries about political polarization and inflammatory language.

www.newsweek.com