Independent Thought

About 50 U.S. Marines squared off against hundreds of protesters in front of a federal building in downtown Los Angeles on Saturday, with the crowd yelling in unison for them to go home.

The Marines had been sent to the city by U.S. President Donald Trump along with federalized members of the California National Guard earlier this week over the objections of the state governor and the city's mayor, as anger over immigration raid...

It has been eerily easy to find street parking in Los Angeles’s fashion district this week. In the nearby flower district, longtime vendors have locked up stalls. And in East LA, popular taquerías have temporarily closed.

Neighborhoods across LA and southern California have gone quiet since the Trump administration ramped up immigration raids in the region two weeks ago.

The aggressive arrests by federal agents have ignited roaring p...

Daniel Carlino is the current City Councilmember representing Ward 3 in Missoula Montana. Carlino is looking to run for re-election in Missoula as he faces new challengers in the 2025 city council election.

Carlino represents the left-flank of the city council & is running a progressive platform & vision for the city.

Follow Daniel Carlino:

WEBSITE: https://www.carlino2025.com/

INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/carlinoformi...

Elon Musk on Tuesday lashed out at President Donald Trump’s agenda bill — which the president is pressuring GOP senators to support — calling it a “disgusting abomination.”

“I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore. This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination,” the tech billionaire posted on X. “Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it.”

He added in a s...

U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas, says she would pursue at least an impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump if she becomes chair of the House Oversight Committee in the next Congress.

Crockett aims to be the top Democrat on that panel, known as the ranking member for those in the minority party. U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly of Virginia, 75, died last month, leaving the position vacant.

The sophomore representative alluded to ...

A U.S. judge on Tuesday allowed a group of 14 states to move ahead with a lawsuit challenging Elon Musk's efforts to slash federal spending as the head of President Donald Trump's new government efficiency agency, rejecting the Trump administration's effort to dismiss the case.

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, however, dismissed the states' claims against Trump himself, saying her court would not try to interfere w...

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 health care, after Republicans broadl...

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 pass, according to GOP senators and...

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 tally was 215-214.

The passage was a majo...

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 “positive love letter to America” whi...

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 administration had emerged, the sources said.

Ac...

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 impeached when I present my articles of imp...

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 activists to engage in conversation ...

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 said in a statement. “If you’re sick, yo...

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 this campaign video where he said th...

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 repayments - saying those who are unable to pay ...

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 rallies continue on - our reaction on their si...

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 for a woman to be President - we debate...

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 war mongering around the world-

Trump push...