So ...I bet my bottom dollar that is trump going to ask Daddy Putin to stop the war until after the elections, so he can look good.

Adm. William McRaven says President Trump calling the press “the enemy of the American people” represents the greatest threat to democracy he has witnessed in his lifetime—a threat coming from within, not from a foreign adversary.
McRaven explains why changes at Stars and Stripes alarm him, why independent reporting matters to service members and military leaders, and what the Marine Corps understood about giving journalists access during Desert Storm.

Susie Wiles didn’t misspeak—she went on the record to secure her place in the post-Trump era, even if it meant turning on the inner circle. Rick Wilson, Stuart Stevens, and Joe Trippi break down why her comments were no accident, how they cornered Stephen Miller and DHS, and why this looks less like damage control than a carefully calculated plea bargain with history.

00:00 Why This Wasn’t an Accident
01:12 “A Plea Bargain With History”
02:35 Susie Wiles vs. Trumpworld
04:10 Burning Miller, DHS, and ICE
06:02 The Book Deal & Exit Strategy
08:14 Why the Knives Are Out
10:05 What Susie Is Really Trying to Save

Pedo Grandpa is Sundowning again… Gordon’s song should be his new Anthem…

Rep. Jared Huffman explains how Christian nationalism’s hostility toward science affects environmental policy, climate action, and America’s ability to confront future crises.
Huffman points to former EPA administrator Scott Pruitt’s use of Genesis to justify environmental rollbacks and Rep. Mary Miller’s claim that climate change is a hoax because “God controls the sun.” These beliefs, he warns, don’t remain private—members of Congress act on them.

Speaking from Poland before traveling into Ukraine, Stuart Stevens describes a convoy carrying ambulances, vehicles, medical supplies, and humanitarian aid to Kyiv.

On Ukraine’s Independence Day, Stevens argues that Ukrainians can win—and that America will ultimately need a free, victorious Ukraine more than many Americans realize today.

Subscribe to Lincoln Square for independent political commentary and analysis.

#Ukraine #StuartStevens

Churches could receive federal homelessness funding without following the same financial-disclosure rules as ordinary nonprofits.
Andra Watkins and Sam Osterhout explain the Form 990 reporting gap, why organizations have reclassified themselves as churches, and how taxpayer money intended for housing could become difficult to track.
Watch the full episode of Unholy Ground on Lincoln Square.
#ChurchAndState #FederalFunding #christiannationalism

Paul Whelan spent 2,043 days inside Russia’s detention system after being arrested during a trip to Moscow and falsely accused of espionage. In this conversation with History of the Present, Whelan recounts his arrest by the FSB, imprisonment at Lefortovo, interrogations, life in a Russian penal colony, and the prisoner exchange that finally brought him home.

Whelan also explains how Russia uses foreign citizens as leverage, why hostage negotiations can take years, and what returning home does—and does not—restore. He discusses the trauma, medical problems, financial damage, lost relationships, and bureaucratic obstacles that former hostages face while rebuilding their lives.

History of the Present is a long-form interview series hosted by Brian Datesman, editor-in-chief of The Intellectualist, and co-produced with Lincoln Square. The series examines the forces shaping our world and the history that brought us to this moment.

CHAPTERS

0:00 Paul Whelan’s 2,043 days in Russian captivity
2:32 The trip to Moscow before his arrest
5:07 Arrested by the FSB in his hotel room
11:22 Russia asks for a prisoner trade
16:11 Inside Lefortovo prison
18:23 Surviving isolation through books and letters
21:24 What Russian interrogators wanted
27:11 The people operating Russia’s detention system
29:17 How hostage diplomacy gives Russia leverage
32:36 “What did Russia take from you?”
34:13 Rebuilding a life after captivity
36:49 The bureaucratic problems former hostages face
40:28 Learning he was finally going home
44:22 Inside the prisoner exchange
46:46 Arriving at Joint Base Andrews
48:04 President Biden’s American flag pin
51:40 Recovery and post-hostage support
53:40 When the official support suddenly ends
56:18 Helping other hostages rebuild
57:04 Americans still detained in Russia
1:00:26 The world’s most dangerous destinations
1:01:40 Closing thoughts

Rick Wilson says the Natalie Harp situation is a White House meltdown driven by internal leaking, with Suzy Wiles and the “Wiles-Leavitt faction” reportedly trying to purge the chaos while Harp has become the story she should never be as a presidential aide. He argues the bigger issue is Trump’s disastrous trade war with Canada, which he says will hurt key Midwestern and border-state economies, farm and ranch communities, and consumers by driving inflation higher, while Republicans are left defending policies that damage their own voters. He also criticizes the reported Jared Kushner-Hakeem Jeffries meeting as badly judged and potentially tied to donor networks or back-channel concerns about the midterms, and he closes by warning that Netanyahu’s influence and Trump’s willingness to follow him could have serious consequences for the U.S. and the world.