Craig Riley

For all the things I hold dear, I am first and foremost a #climatevoter. The ominous brown clouds that floated into my neighborhood from the #OregonFires tonight remind me that we have a true #ClimateEmergency on our hands. Please let’s act and vote like it. #2020worstyear

It only took 8 years, a failed insurrection, the loss of all personal dignity, and how many Americans killed by ICE? After all that, they STILL aren't moved by a single moral principle. It's the loss of their own personal power. Useless fools.

This should be on the front page of every newspaper in America. A Syrian billionaire needed U.S. sanctions lifted so he could cash in on $12 billion in reconstruction contracts. In an attempt to influence American foreign policy, he proposed a Trump-branded golf course, cut Jared Kushner & Ivanka Trump into a multibillion-dollar real estate deal for a resort in Albania, and had someone physically deliver a stone engraved with the Trump family crest to a Republican Member of Congress with instructions to take it to the White House to get the President's attention. Trump threw his weight behind repealing the sanctions. They were lifted. The contracts are moving, the Trump family’s deals are expanding, and not a single Washington Republican is willing to say a word about any of it. This is a corruption of everything the office of the presidency is supposed to stand for, and the American people deserve to know about it. nytimes.com/2026/04/19/us/…

We are committing superpower suicide in real time. Trump is making China Great Again.

Trump is now attacking the Pope for speaking out against war while posting images of himself as a messianic figure. This is not only offensive. It is deranged, egomaniacal behavior. When will Republicans in Congress stop blindly following this dangerous and unhinged man?

I blame his voters for this. I blame every Republican elected official. I blame his media sycophants. I blame every media outlet, university president, private company CEO, and world leader who bent the knee to him. They’re all to blame for this. They ALL taught him to believe he can do whatever he wants. They ALL taught him to believe he should be worshipped.

Let’s call this what it is, it’s not just hypocrisy, it’s moral fraud. Franklin Graham had no problem demonizing Barack Obama, a faithful husband, scandal-free, disciplined, educated, Black man, the very embodiment of the “bootstraps” gospel white evangelicals preach about, as some kind of threat, even suggesting that he was antichrist. Yet, the same Graham bows in reverence to Donald Trump, an adjudicated rapist, convicted felon, unrepentant racist, porn star banging, pathological liar, with a trail of infidelity, exploitation, documented racism, and associations with convicted child sex traffickers, and has the caucasity to call him “raised up by God.” That’s not discernment, that’s deception, dishonesty, and disregard for the sacred text he claims to believe. The standard didn’t change, the subject did. Obama’s integrity was dismissed because he was Black. Trump’s corruption is sanctified because he is white and politically useful. Graham isn’t applying scripture, he’s weaponizing it. He ignores sin when it serves power, then quotes the Bible to justify the very wickedness it condemns. That’s not Christianity, that’s idolatry of whiteness, wrapped in religious language and draped in a flag.  This is hypocrisy at its highest level: Calling evil good when it benefits you, and calling good evil when it threatens your power. And then having the audacity to say God said it.

Absolute bombshell. Pope Leo directly rebukes Pete Hegseth for trying to frame the Iran war as a Christian holy crusade. The Pope declares God will not listen to their prayers because their hands are full of blood. A devastating moral condemnation of the Pentagon.

It's time to accept that the resist-libs and never Trump conservatives have been 100% right about the man, since 2015.

What a fucking embarrassment. American troops are being sent into harm’s way in Iran and this fucking idiot is doing his double jerkoff dance while waving a sword, like a drunk uncle at a wedding. This is who has the nuclear codes. America is a parody.

Let me say something every Republican needs to hear right now. Trump does not care if you lose. He does not care about your career, your district, your donors, or your family. Trump cares about three things. Money. Attention. Self-aggrandizement. That’s the complete list. And the idea that Trump is going to help Republicans win in 2028 is a bunch of malarkey. You want to know who Trump actually wants as his successor? Gavin Newsom. The narcissistic nihilistic logic is this: you were nothing before I got here and when I leave, you’ll be nothing again. That’s the supreme narcissist’s final move. A Democrat winning in 2028 proves his point perfectly. Don Jr. has already said they want to be the richest family in the world before they leave the presidency. God only knows what they’re doing to get there. So if you’re a Republican still betting your future on this man’s loyalty — understand one thing clearly. There is no loyalty. There is only the transaction. And you’re not the one getting paid.

“One day, when it's safe, when there's no personal downside to calling a thing what it is, when it's too late to hold anyone accountable, everyone will have always been against this.” -Omar El Akkad

First look at Trump's reaction to the SCOTUS decision on tariffs.

It’s important that you understand what happened last night. Last night, Stephen Colbert interviewed Democratic Texas Senate candidate James Talarico, a candidate who, by all accounts, is on track in the polls to flip Texas blue. In response, Trump’s FCC reportedly threatened CBS if the interview aired. CBS caved and pulled the segment, citing “financial reasons.” In modern American history, no president has been more hostile to free speech than Donald Trump. But censorship always backfires. Here’s the full segment Trump didn’t want you to see.

Americans across the political spectrum are rejecting Trumpism.

One of my former research assistants was killed by ICE in Minneapolis today😢 Alex was the kindest, sweetest human and a ICU nurse with a bright future ahead of him May his soul rest in peace and this senseless carnage stop💔

If there was ever a moment for libertarians and conservatives to step up and join the rest of us, we’re in it. Americans have to unite and stop this descent from a freedom-loving nation into the kind of place where masked, militarized government agents are sent to politically noncompliant areas to roam the streets, terrorize civilians, and deploy violence with impunity.

A statement from the family of Alex Pretti, obtained by CNN: "We are heartbroken but also very angry. Alex was a kindhearted soul who cared deeply for his family and friends and also the American veterans whom he cared for as an ICU nurse at the Minneapolis VA hospital. Alex wanted to make a difference in this world. Unfortunately he will not be with us to see his impact. I do not throw around the hero term lightly. However his last thought and act was to protect a woman. The sickening lies told about our son by the administration are reprehensible and disgusting. Alex is clearly not holding a gun when attacked by Trump’s murdering and cowardly ICE thugs. He has his phone in his right hand and his empty left hand is raised above his head while trying to protect the woman ICE just pushed down all while being pepper sprayed. Please get the truth out about our son. He was a good man. Thank you."

No new funding. Kristi Noem must RESIGN. Greg Bovino must be FIRED. Suspend the LAWLESS mass deportation raids nationwide NOW — ICE is no longer just deporting dangerous criminals. Send the border patrol back to the border. End the militarization of ICE + the sick racial profiling. End the perverse cash incentives that are bounties to perpetrate Trump’s cruel agenda. Require thorough, real background checks for everyone, and 2+ years of training before even setting foot in the field. INVESTIGATE and PROSECUTE every single federal agent who is breaking the law.

Alex Pretti was an American hero. He saved lives. He protected people. He cared deeply about his community, unlike the murderous thugs who killed him. The very last thing he did was try to help a woman who had been pepper-sprayed and violently shoved to the ground by ICE. He was a Good Samaritan — and they murdered him for it. Now they’re trying to rewrite his history. They want to smear him. To dehumanize him. Don’t let them.

Shared today by Bev Perry in the Expand Dem Values in the House and Senate Facebook group. I need to say something that's been bothering me for a while, and I'm saying it as a Marine Corps veteran who leans center-right. This isn't partisan. This is observation. We've slow-faded into accepting militarized police as normal, and nobody seems to notice or care. Even as a USMC pilot, I went through six months of infantry training as an officer before flight school. I've worn the gear. The helmet, the tactical vest, the whole kit. And I can tell you from experience, it changes you. There's a psychological shift that happens when you strap that stuff on. You feel different. You carry yourself different. You start seeing the environment differently. In the Marine Corps, that shift was appropriate because it's a combat culture and organization. But these are American streets. American citizens. And we've got law enforcement dressed like they're kicking down doors in Fallujah to serve warrants in suburbia. What happend to high standards and real policing tactics? Think Adam-12...Officers Reed and Malloy. Crisp uniforms. A revolver. A baton. High standards and professionalism. They looked like public servants because they were public servants. They de-escalated. They talked to people. They were part of the community. Now? Tactical gear, beards, ball caps, Oakley sunglasses, sleeve tattoos, and a tactical kit that would make special operators jealous. And we've turned it into a fetish. We celebrate it. We assume that because someone looks hard, they must be a professional. They're not. I loved the Marine Corps. But I'll be honest, I was also blinded by it for a while. Mission first. Unit over everything. And that mentality made sense in that context. But law enforcement doesn't get that critical examination. "Back the Blue" has become a shield against accountability. A blanket assumption that a badge plus gun equals hero. That tactical gear equals competence. It doesn't. Most people who join law enforcement aren't special operators. They're average people who desperately want to belong to something bigger than themselves. I understand that impulse deeply, it's why I joined the Marines. But wanting to belong doesn't make you qualified. Looking the part doesn't mean you can perform under pressure. And wrapping yourself in warrior aesthetics doesn't make you a warrior. Old school law enforcement represented something. Standards. Bearing. Discipline. Professionalism that was demonstrated, not costumed. A revolver and a baton meant you had to rely on your training, your words, your judgment, not overwhelming firepower. What I see now in law enforcement is the costume without the culture. The gear without the training. The authority without the accountability. Are there good people in law enforcement? Of course. I know some personally. But this reflexive "law enforcement can do no wrong" mentality is lazy, dangerous, and intellectually dishonest. A woman is dead. And before we sort ourselves into teams and start assigning blame, maybe we should ask harder questions: Why do we accept a militarized police force as normal? Why do we assume tactical gear equals tactical competence? Why have we let "Back the Blue" become a substitute for actual standards? I wore the uniform. I went through the training. I know what that gear does to your head. It shouldn't be normalized on American streets against American citizens. And we shouldn't pretend everyone wearing it is qualified to carry it. The fact that he called her a “fucking bitch” after he shot her three times should be a huge red flag for all of us.