Matt Case

Let me explain what just happened 👇 5 minutes before the President announced a halt to attacks on Iran… someone placed a $1.5 BILLION bet on stocks going up and dumped $192 million in oil. 5 minutes… These trades were 4 to 6 times larger than anything else in the entire market. Whoever did this wasn’t guessing. You don’t risk $1.5 billion on a hunch. There was zero public indication this announcement was coming. No leaks. No press. Nothing. The only people who knew were in the room when the decision was made. Someone in that room picked up a phone. And within minutes they made more money than most Americans will earn in a thousand lifetimes. In a single trade. On a war that cost you $4+ a gallon gas and $16 billion in tax dollars. American citizens funded this war. Politicians are profiting from it. This is not the first time. Every major announcement from this administration has had massive suspicious trades right before it dropped. Tariff reversals. Policy shifts. War decisions. This is the most blatant insider trading operation in the history of American politics. It’s not even close. And it’s happening over and over in broad daylight. You would go to federal prison for trading on a tip from your cousin. These people are front running war decisions with billion dollar bets and nobody will ever ask a single question. Nobody will be investigated. Nobody will be charged. By tomorrow this will be buried under the next satisfying headline. Just like last time. And the time before that. The game is rigged. And they’re not even trying to hide it anymore…

President Trump keeps calling @RepThomasMassie a RINO. But if the Republican platform still advocates limited government, fiscal responsibility, and Constitutional fidelity, then Massie is not only far from a RINO, but among the few true Republicans. We create the Freedom Index so citizens don't have to depend on the rhetoric and slogans of politicians to know who they really are as legislators. You can access the Freedom Index for free. Check for link in the comments.

Trump launches a war against Iran, Russia then sides with Iran and helps Iran locate & kill American service members, Trump then rewards Russia by lifting sanctions on Russian oil. Tell me again Trump doesn’t work for Putin. Tell me again Trump isn’t a traitor to America.

My favourite LEGO designer detail: to reduce manufacturing complexity, LEGO limits amount of new pieces that an employee can make. To enforce this policy, LEGO has an internal currency called “frames” that designers have to spend for new pieces or colors. Since “frames” are a scarce resource, designers try to find creative ways to use old pieces or they will pool their “frames” with other designers and aim to make new pieces that can be used across many new sets. At its peak — and during a near bankruptcy crisis — LEGO made 12,000 different parts at its peak but got too confusing. It’s down to ~7,000 now. *** More details on “frames” from The Verge: theverge.com/c/23991049/leg…

Research shows that regularly practicing gratitude can lead to measurable changes in the brain. This effect is driven by neuroplasticity, the brain’s ability to reorganize itself based on repeated thoughts and behaviors. When people intentionally focus on appreciation, neural pathways involved in emotional control and coping become stronger. Grateful thinking also stimulates the release of dopamine and serotonin, chemicals linked to pleasure and motivation, while helping reduce cortisol, the hormone associated with stress. Brain regions such as the prefrontal cortex and hypothalamus become more active, supporting improved mood regulation and overall mental health. Over time, gratitude does more than provide short-term emotional relief. It gradually shifts the brain away from its natural bias toward threat detection and toward noticing positive experiences instead. Simple habits like writing down what you’re thankful for or expressing appreciation aloud reinforce these patterns, making optimistic thinking more automatic. Studies indicate that this repeated practice builds lasting neural connections, promoting emotional balance, resilience, and well-being. In essence, regularly acknowledging what’s going well can retrain the brain showing that small daily moments of gratitude can produce meaningful, long-term psychological benefits.

@Scuds93 @charliekirk11 The organization Charlie started is calling Massie a RINO and a hater Charlie called Massie “one of my favorite congressmen” not once, several times You don’t see how inappropriate that is?

50,000 U.S. Troops have been deployed in an undeclared War on Iran. The people have had no say in this, Congress has been too cowardly to act, and American blood has already been shed. We must take the power over our government back.

The Pentagon just threatened to BLACKLIST one of America's most valuable AI companies. Not Huawei or some Chinese chip maker... It's ANTHROPIC. The company behind Claude. $380 billion valuation. And the reason is genuinely insane: For months, the Pentagon has been pushing every major AI lab to remove their safety restrictions for military use. The ask is simple: let us use your models for anything that's technically legal. Weapons development, intelligence collection, battlefield operations, mass surveillance of American citizens. OpenAI said yes. Google said yes. xAI said yes. Anthropic said no. Not to everything tho. They were willing to negotiate. But they held firm on two things: They don't want Claude used to build fully autonomous weapons that fire without a human in the loop, and they don't want it used to mass surveil American citizens. That's it. That's the line they drew. But Pete Hegseth's response was to threaten to designate Anthropic a "supply chain risk." Here's why that matters: That label isn't a contract cancellation. It's not a fine. It's not a strongly worded letter... It means every single company that wants to do business with the US military has to certify they don't use Claude anywhere in their operations. 8 of the 10 largest companies in America use Claude. Defense contractors, government suppliers, enterprise companies with any federal exposure... ALL of them would have to cut ties with Anthropic overnight or lose their government contracts. A senior Pentagon official told Axios: "It will be an enormous pain in the ass to disentangle, and we are going to make sure they pay a price for forcing our hand like this." That's a US government official threatening to financially destroy an American company because it doesn't want its AI used to spy on American people. And it gets WORSE. Last week, Anthropic's head of safeguards research resigned. His parting message: "the world is in peril." Elon Musk - whose xAI already handed the Pentagon a blank check - is now publicly attacking Anthropic calling Claude anti-human. And the Pentagon official told Axios they're "confident" OpenAI, Google, and xAI will all agree to the "all lawful purposes" standard. So what you're actually watching right now is every major AI company in America quietly handing the government unlimited access to the most powerful technology ever built. With no guardrails. No limits. No company-imposed restrictions on what it can be used for. One company tried to hold a line. But the government is about to make an example out of them. If Anthropic folds, it's over. Every lab just learned what happens when you push back. And every restriction, every safety policy, every ethical guardrail these companies spent years building gets negotiated away behind closed doors the second the government asks. If they don't fold, a $380 billion company gets made radioactive in its OWN country. Watch what happens next. Because whatever Anthropic decides in the next few weeks, it sets the precedent for how much control AI companies actually have over their own technology. Turns out the answer might be: none.

Full Justin Verlander Press Conference Recap: • Justin said he called Scott Harris, Chris Ilitch & AJ Hinch immediately after the season to express his intentions of wanting to come back. • JV clearly REALLY wanted to be back. He straight-up said things didn’t look good for a return when he initially reached out, but injuries changed the equation. Without saying it — Reese Olson getting hurt is likely why it came to fruition. So JV basically waited out the entire offseason hoping things would change, & they did. • Says the one thing he still wants to accomplish is winning a World Series in Detroit. Says the previous era gave it everything they had, and they just needed one bounce to change the course of history. Calls the playoffs a crapshoot. • JV says the Tigers have a great ball club and should not shy away from the fact that they can win a title. • Calls his return surreal. Said Tarik Skubal showed him around the club house & he had a laugh when Skubal was pointing out pictures of him around the facility. • Refers to Tarik Skubal as “Scoob” • Says he wanted to introduce himself to Skubal last year & did when Tigers came to SF. Says their names will always be linked together in Tigers history. • He can’t wait to watch Skubal every 5th day, and hopes he can learn from him & vice versa. • Wants to play until he’s 45. Has talked to Tom Brady & Tiger Woods about how to extend his career. • Answers “Absolutely” when asked if he had doubts a return would ever work out. Talks about the Tigers rebuild & his injuries, but also said he had the idea even when he was first traded that he wanted to come back when the team was competitive again. • Said he has felt Detroit’s presence in his life since he left. Says he got just as many texts/calls when the news broke that he was returning than he did when he won a World Series or Cy Young. Says that made him feel great. • “That really meant a lot to me” he says in reference to his early years in Detroit when the city was going through tough times & people would spend money to watch the Tigers play. • He’s really looking forward to being in the city now that he’s been married for years & is a dad. Says he’s a different person now than when he was in his young 20’s & didn’t have anything figured out. • Says his daughter has changed him to his core. He was a horse with blinders on, but now he’s more present & has learned to remove those blinders & take in the bigger picture. • Laughs his 7-year-old daughter doesn’t know anything about his days in Detroit since she wasn’t alive yet & says she wore a Verlander Mets jersey to school the other day. He hopes she can have some Detroit memories now. • Laughs & says the video of his brother taking him deep is an old story, but maybe not an old story for Ben. Says he’s sure Ben will be around in Detroit. • Pro-actively has worked on & made it a point to share things, mentor guys & communicate better as a teammate. Wants people to know he’s available & not scary to talk to. He relishes the role, whereas early in his career he admits he wasn’t great at it due to his drive/focus, which he says he needed at the time, but is happy now to fully embrace that role. • Says Leyland & Hinch have many similarities. Calls it a great question. They are both great at connecting with players, but still being leaders. • Says the pitching staff has a chance to be one of the best he’s been a part of. • He doesn’t want to be a mercenary. Wants to play somewhere that means something to him. • Says Brad Ausmus opened his eyes to analytics in 2017 & then when he went to Houston he dove head first into it all & was mind blown. It helped him tremendously & he acknowledges Detroit has improved in that regard since he was last here. • Stopped eating Taco Bell in 2017.

I grew up Republican. Still am in many ways. But MAGA pushed the party so far right that I get called a liberal now. Let me explain the difference: Traditional Republicans believe in: • Fiscal responsibility (balanced budgets, not exploding deficits for tax cuts) • Limited government (actual small government, not big government that punishes your enemies) • Strong institutions (courts, elections, constitutional norms matter) • Personal responsibility (your actions have consequences) • Free markets (not tariffs and trade wars) • Strong alliances (NATO, international partnerships) • Rule of law (no one is above it, including the president) MAGA Republicans believe in: • Whatever Trump says today (even if it contradicts yesterday) • Loyalty tests (agree 100% or you're a traitor/RINO) • Conspiracy theories over facts (stolen election, deep state, QAnon adjacent stuff) • Grievance politics (owning the libs > actual policy) • Personality cult (Trump loyalty above party, above country, above truth) • Performative outrage (culture war theater instead of governance) • Ends justify means (storm the Capitol, ignore election results, whatever it takes) I didn't move left. The party moved off a cliff. I still believe in conservative principles. But when you say "maybe we should respect election results" or "fiscal responsibility matters" or "rule of law applies to everyone," you get called a liberal. That's not conservatism. That's a cult.

Tom Morello plays Killing in the Name Of at Minneapolis benefit concert, and the entire crowd absolutely loses it.

Wild. The reliable, hi-res HRRR model now suggests isolated SNOW SQUALLS possible near the Tampa metro on Sunday morning. A few ocean-effect snow showers are likely near Pinellas, Manatee, Hillsborough, Polk, Sarasota, Pasco and/or Hernando Counties, and an isolated brief moderate squall can’t be ruled out. This is the result of very cold air — the coldest since 2018 — passing over warmer Gulf waters. There’s even a potential for Tampa to see its first mensurable snowfall since 1977 (measureable means 0.1 inches or more). There has only ever been one other documented snowfall — February 13, 1899! If you encounter a snow shower, turn on your low beam headlights, drive slowly, plan for brief reductions in visibility and don’t be surprised for up to a dusting on grassy surfaces.

Fun fact: If you’re standing on a public sidewalk filming ICE operations, you’re usually more legally protected than the agents yelling at you. Every federal appeals court that’s ruled on it says Americans have a First Amendment right to record government officials in public. Meanwhile, ICE has no authority to order bystanders to disperse, create exclusion zones, or boss citizens around unless you’re committing an actual federal crime. In plain terms: an ICE agent telling you to “move along” has about as much legal force as a random stranger doing the same thing. Physics, statutes, and the Constitution all agree. The Receipts [1] U.S. Courts of Appeals (1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, 11th Cir.) — All recognize a First Amendment right to record police and government officials in public spaces Fields v. City of Philadelphia, 862 F.3d 353 (3d Cir. 2017) supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/21/2… [2] ACLU — “Taking photographs and video of things plainly visible in public spaces is a constitutional right” aclu.org/know-your-righ… [3] 8 U.S.C. § 1357 — ICE statutory authority (limited to immigration enforcement and specific federal crimes; no general police powers) uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req…) [4] Code of Federal Regulations, 8 C.F.R. § 287.8(b)(1) — ICE officers may not restrain individuals not under arrest from walking away ecfr.gov/current/title-… [5] U.S. Marshals vs. ICE authority comparison — ICE lacks authority to issue dispersal orders or establish exclusion zones military.com/feature/what-f…

If the Second Amendment does not apply to this exact kind of moment, what do people think it is for? A citizen can lawfully carry, see masked federal agents beating someone in public, move toward the scene to help, and then get erased with a hail of bullets because “he had a gun.” That excuse is an insult in a country where possession is legal by design, where the whole point is that the public never becomes a disarmed audience watching state power operate with impunity. I’m not interested in arguing frame-by-frame footage. I’m interested in the principle that a free people cannot accept a standard where lawful carry becomes a death sentence the second authority feels threatened. If that is the standard, then the 2nd Amendment has been reduced to a vibe. The founders did not write it so Republicans could do militia cosplay on weekends.

Smith: I came to the conclusion we had proof beyond a reasonable doubt. We were ready, willing and able to go to trial.

"This is the most astonishing graph of what the Trump regime has done to US science. They have destroyed the federal science workforce across the board." —@_david_ho_ nature.com/immersive/d415…

Read this thread. DOGE. IS. A. FRAUD.

For more information about the facts, visit @fema’s Rumor Response webpage: fema.gov/disaster/curre…

24 hours. ⏰

This is new: FEMA has a "Rumor Response" website on Hurricane Helene. fema.gov/disaster/curre…