Supreme killers
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Conservatives force abortion rights back into spotlight
A right-wing court thrust the issue of abortion rights back into focus on Friday, when it banned providers nationwide from using telehealth appointments to prescribe the abortion drug mifepristone and then ship patients the drug. This method is used in nearly two-thirds of abortions in the United States. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled that mifepristone must be…
Bernie Reminds His Fans: He Would Have Won
This 18-second clip of Bernie Sanders went viral over the weekend. It’s not because, at 84-years-old, he demonstrates near-perfect form. Or because he drains four consecutive shots. Or even because he ends the whole thing with a characteristically grumpy “that’s it!” before stopping. It’s because on that Minnesota basketball court, in town to stump for Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan (D-Minn.) for the U.S. Senate on his Fighting Oligarchy tour, Sanders reminded America generally, and the Democratic party specifically, that inspiring a new generation of elected officials is all fine and well, but he coulda been our guy, but we blew it. And we know it.
It’s not the first time basketball has played a nostalgic role in reminding America of times past. Former President Barack Obama was campaigning for Joe Biden during the 2020 election when he oh-so-casually drained a three-pointer. Spring in his step, all swagger, he lowered his mask and said, “That’s what I do!”
DK6 Early Week 4: Having Logout Problems?
The Current Work List The Fix List Logout Problems The length of time we have set before you should need to log in to Daily Kos again is 14 days (we do need to force people to re-login periodically for security; I know the old site didn’t work like that). If you are being asked to log in to Daily Kos more frequently than every 14 days, could you help us track down what is…
Trump regime isn’t done tormenting federal workers
The heyday of the Trump administration’s mass firings of federal workers may have passed, but the chaos they created continues. Let’s check in with the Internal Revenue Service, shall we? That agency lost 20,000 employees, or over 20% of its headcount, in 2025. The Trump administration couldn’t be arsed to adequately staff up for the 2026 tax season, however, so it solved that problem by…
Millionaire taxes gain steam as states face budget crunches
Lawmakers in at least a dozen states have proposed hiking taxes on the wealthy. By Kevin Hardy for Stateline While the idea of a special tax on millionaires is hotly debated across the country, Maine state Rep. Cheryl Golek characterized her state’s new tax as a modest and reasonable step toward fairness. That’s because, she said, working- and middle-class households in Maine…
Lessons learned
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Why Lauren Sánchez Bezos Is Storming the Gates of the Met Gala
When distinguished guests and A-listers gather tonight for this year’s Met Gala, two new faces will greet them on the receiving line: Lauren Sánchez Bezos and Jeff Bezos, both of whom will be at Monday’s event as honorary chairs, in addition to their roles as lead sponsors.
The appointment, which prompted a small outcry and calls for a boycott, is something of an apotheosis for the Bezoses, who have spent recent years effectively inviting themselves into some of the most exclusive corners in high fashion. There they were in January, sitting next to Anna Wintour herself, at the Paris couture shows. During the same visit, Sánchez Bezos was seen palling around with Zendaya’s stylist, the highly influential “image architect,” Law Roach. (The following day, Sánchez Bezos was spotted tripping in sky-high heels on her way to dinner with her husband.) And in June 2025, Sánchez Bezos became one of the exceedingly few brides to have their nuptials celebrated with a Vogue cover.
The enthusiasm with which the Bezoses have stormed the gates of the fashion world is the latest attempt among today’s oligarchs to seize cultural cachet. These titans of industry, apparently no longer satisfied with enormous wealth and power, now seem hellbent on sealing their reputation as fashion insiders.
But is any of this landing with the public? Will serving as honorary chair at the top of fashion’s biggest staircase cement the Bezoses’ status in high fashion? I talked to Anne Higonnet, an art historian at Columbia University, for more.
Lauren Sánchez attends the 2026 Vanity Fair Oscar Party hosted by Mark Guiducci at Los Angeles County Museum of Art on March 15, 2026Daniele Venturelli/WireImage/GettyLauren Sánchez’s eagerness to join fashion royalty is well established at this point. Now, as honorary chairs for the Met Gala this year, a sort of “storming the gates” image is invoked.
I’m going to use that image to say that what we have been witnessing in our culture is that the gates have been moved to a new place, and the most visible peak of the phenomenon is the Met Costume Institute. We are witnessing a sea change in cultural values, with fashion rising in the hierarchy of the arts with lightning speed, and the power of the super-rich to control culture. And this is the moment where the change really becomes visible. You’re absolutely correct that Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez have realized that this is the gate.
“We are witnessing a sea change in cultural values and the power of the super-rich to control culture.”
Can you point to any historical precedents for this? The rich and powerful attempting to gain further influence through fashion?
Yes and no. In the larger scheme of clothing history, every society has expressed its hierarchy through clothing. Societies used to be run by a very tiny group at the top, or even just one or two people. Basically, a king, who sometimes has a queen, would get to wear something different from what anyone else was allowed to wear. The birth of modernity overturned many of those rules, including what art forms were considered to have more prestige. Of course, there were other prestigious art forms, but before modern times, clothing was much more powerful as a marker of hierarchy than we tend to remember.
What’s happening now is that the hierarchies of the art world are tumbling around, and fashion is really rising in the cultural scheme. As it does that, the super-rich, who are smart, are increasingly involved in fashion. One very, very visible, important way to do that is to be the chair of the Met Gala. So, surprise, surprise: Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez are the chairs of the Met Gala.
Relatedly, Big Tech is set to have a major presence at this year’s event. These are people who have enormous wealth and seemingly everything. Why are they so eager to conquer fashion?
Because fashion has become so much more visible and important, largely thanks to social media, where you see much more [content] about fashion than painting, sculpture, or architecture, which used to be the three dominant arts. This power is quantifiable, too. Just look at the number of followers fashion influencers have versus how many followers high art museums have. Consider that the floor plan of the Met has always been a map of cultural power. And now, with this gala, the Met recently decided to allocate its prime real estate on the ground floor to the Costume Institute because it is so commercially important. It will be the first thing people see when they enter, instead of the gift shop.
Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez are the lead sponsors and honorary co-chairs of the 2026 Met Gala, taking place on May 4th.Angela Weiss/ AFP/GettyAt the same time, the announcement of the Bezoses’ honorary chair appointments was tucked into the end of a two-page memo. Is there an implication here that organizers, namely Anna Wintour, understand that this is a controversial appointment?
Anna Wintour rides controversy like the wind. She’s one of the great culture power brokers of our time, and perhaps the single most visible power broker today. She’s way too smart not to realize that something is changing. The way I would put it is that she understands the magnitude of the move she’s made with [the Bezos appointment]. It’s as big a change as people think it is, whether you approve of it or you don’t approve of it. She’s doing it, and she’s being bold. She’s riding the wind of cultural change.
Evidence number one is the Sánchez Bezos appointment to the gala. Evidence number two is the new location of the Costume Institute inside the Met. Evidence number three is the theme of the show and of the gala, “fashion is art.” Because while it is not historically specific or even thematically specific, it’s a power manifesto. It’s not begging for fashion to be recognized as art. It’s just announcing, painting, sculpture, and architecture—move over.
“The greatest style in the world is confident, understated style, which we call elegant or chic. Sánchez Bezos is not either. She’ll never be elegant, ever.”
Let’s talk about Sánchez’s fashion more broadly. How would you describe her style? What is the story that Sánchez is trying to tell us through her clothing?
Her clothes are self-objectifying showcases of Bezos’ wealth. There’s this brilliant economic historian, Thorstein Veblen, who wrote these essays about what he called “conspicuous consumption.” Even though it’s from the 1890s, my students just love this concept and totally understand why it’s as relevant now as it ever was. He said clothing can manifest conspicuous consumption to show everyone that you have money to waste. Veblen also made a brilliant gender point by noting that we live in a world that is controlled by men, and the ultimate way in which [men] show their wealth is how their wives or mistresses dress. It was the ultimate show of power, because they got to do all the conspicuous consumption with none of the bother of having to wear the clothes that were not comfortable or practical in any way.
Some have argued that despite the expensive clothes, Sánchez often comes away looking cheap or tacky. Why?
That’s because her clothes have to be screamingly expensive. Style has to do with individuality and an affirmation of one’s aesthetic place in the world; it’s very much an affirmation of self. And the greatest style in the world is the most confident, understated style, which we call elegant or chic. Sánchez Bezos is not either. She’ll never be elegant, ever.
The mayor, who, at least to my mind, is on the opposite end of this, is not coming. What is he signaling here?
Well, first of all, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez got in big trouble for going in 2021. So he hasn’t forgotten that. I mean, if you’re a socialist, and you go to an event where the seats cost $75,000, you’ve got a lot of explaining to do.
But also, look at his wife, who is actually quite elegant because she conveys that she is a person in her own right and that her worth in the world does not depend on money.
Finally, things are bad out there. Economic inequality, war, constant dystopia. Parties like this can feel a bit strange. Historically, though, is there something to say about fashion’s role in class struggle?
Clothing’s role in expressing social hierarchy is the rule, not the exception, of history. Now, in our modern post-French Revolution, universal rights of man, way of thinking, we don’t think that clothing should necessarily express social hierarchy. But at the same time, as with all forms of art, some people do it better than others. I’ve seen homeless people with more style than some supermodels. Style is why I’ll never stop loving clothing as an art form. Clothing and style are also one of the most democratic of all the arts. We all do it. We all can do it.
Court Clears Path for “Alligator Alcatraz” on Sacred Tribal Land
This story was originally published by Inside Climate News and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration.
Every spring, Florida’s Miccosukee Tribe observes its corn dance season on lands the tribe holds as sacred within the fragile Everglades. But this year’s festivities are different because of the migrant detention site that now looms among the tribal lands, Alligator Alcatraz.
One hindrance is that the light emanating for miles from the facility interferes with an important aspect of the Miccosukee’s religion, the orientation of the stars, said Curtis Osceola, the tribe’s chief operating officer. If not for the light pollution, the stars would gleam bright here in the night sky above the vast sawgrass prairies and cypress marshes of the remote river of grass.
“It’s hard to explain, and not everyone will understand our relationship with the land,” he said. “It’s as if someone went to a holy place, whether it was like church land, and said, ‘We’re going to raze this church land and put up a prison and put up a detention center.’ People would be up in arms. This is our place of worship. This is a sacred place. This doesn’t seem fair.”
“This is our place of worship. This is a sacred place. This doesn’t seem fair.”
The tribe, along with environmental groups, says they will continue their litigation over Alligator Alcatraz, where thousands of undocumented migrants have been detained since the facility opened last summer as part of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. The 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals last week invalidated a preliminary injunction issued by District Judge Kathleen Williams, who had ordered in August a winding down of the facility. The case now will go back to Williams, who will decide the next steps.
The ruling means the detention site may keep operating while the environmental groups and the tribe’s litigation proceed. In this case, the Miccosukee and their fellow plaintiffs accused the federal and state governments of unlawfully rushing the facility to completion without a required environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The government agencies have contended that the site is a state and not a federal one, and that the federal review is not necessary. The agencies also said the facility’s impact on the environment is minimal. The Everglades, which span central and south Florida, are responsible for the drinking water of millions of people in the state. A $27 billion restoration effort is among the most ambitious of its kind in human history.
The appeals court, in siding with the government agencies, said the plaintiffs failed to prove the federal government controlled the site. Judges William Pryor and Andrew Brasher also said Williams’ preliminary injunction violated, in part, a statutory prohibition on enjoining immigration enforcement. The judges reasoned that for the site’s Florida operators to follow federal immigration standards does not transform the facility into a federal one. They compared the situation with that of an office building owner who adheres to the Americans with Disabilities Act. Compliance with the federal law does not make the building federal, they said.
But Judge Nancy Abudu dissented. She characterized the federal and state roles in Alligator Alcatraz as one where the federal government enlisted the state not as an equal partner but as a “deputy of the federal government operating at its request.” She said her colleagues’ analogy involving the office building owner and the Americans with Disabilities Act was weak.
“Here, the detention facility’s only goal is to house thousands of people under DHS and ICE’s control, in a secluded area, away from the public, without any accountability,” Abudu wrote. “If not for its partnership with DHS and ICE, Florida’s housing of these individuals (and in some cases families) would be more akin to kidnapping and, at its most extreme, perhaps human trafficking. The state cannot detain a non-citizen without the proper authority to do so.”
The court’s ruling was disappointing, but the environmental groups and tribe remain optimistic they eventually will prevail, said Elise Bennett, Florida and Caribbean director and senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, one of the plaintiffs in the case.
“We were prepared for any potential outcome, but that doesn’t make it sting any less because we know that there is irreparable harm ongoing in the Everglades, from water pollution to impacts to the Florida panther and bonneted bat,” she said. “We were hopeful we would put an end to that harm in the early stages in the case. Now we’re reinvigorated to get back in there and win.”
Friends of the Everglades, the third plaintiff in the case, said public records obtained through a separate lawsuit filed by the advocacy group show the Federal Emergency Management Agency promised hundreds of millions of dollars to Florida to build and operate the facility. Friends of the Everglades and the Center for Biological Diversity filed the lawsuit last June in the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Florida, with the Miccosukee Tribe joining later on. The Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, acting director of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, executive director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, and Miami-Dade County, which owns the property, are named as defendants in the case. The government agencies did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the appeals court ruling.
During the First and Second Seminole Wars, in the first half of the 19th century, the Miccosukee were pushed deep within the watery wilderness of the Everglades and found sanctuary on the tree islands scattered here. For them, the land is sacred because it saved their tribe from annihilation. Osceola said the detention site’s close proximity to tribal lands and the Big Cypress National Preserve is a concern. Within a three-mile radius of Alligator Alcatraz are 10 Miccosukee villages, including one a mere 1,000 feet from the facility. A school is 10 miles away.
“We survived in the Big Cypress. It cared for us. The Everglades likewise cared for us and helped us survive. The plants and animals of those lands sustained our existence, and we were able to make it through that wartime period,” he said. “We have a very strong religious connection with the land. And so activities like this are going to disrupt that relationship, that sort of strong relationship we have with the sacred land.”
Kamala Harris might run again. Here’s why she shouldn’t.
Survey Says is a weekly series rounding up the most important polling trends or data points you need to know about, plus a vibe check on a trend that’s driving politics or culture. Third time’s a charm, right? Kamala Harris seems to think so. The former vice president is feeding into speculation that she will mount a third campaign for the presidency, recently telling an audience in…
Drop on the deck and flop like a fish
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FIFA could make billions from the world cup. Host cities will get little in return.
by Dylan McGuinness, Houston Chronicle, for ProPublica When Texas dedicated $22 million to host the 2017 Super Bowl between the New England Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons, state officials expected a return on their investment. But a state analysis after the Patriots’ thrilling comeback win said it was “impossible” to tell if Texas taxpayers broke even on their investments.
Pain at the pump? Republicans have a scapegoat for that.
Congressional Cowards is a weekly series highlighting the worst Donald Trump defenders on Capitol Hill, who refuse to criticize him—no matter how disgraceful or lawless his actions. Gas prices surged this week amid oil scarcity and investors’ realization that the Strait of Hormuz is not close to reopening. “If it feels like gas prices are suddenly jumping everywhere…
Hamberder royalty
A cartoon by Clay Jones. Related | Trump’s speech to King Charles leaves Melania royally confused…
Minnesota passes the nation’s first ban on ‘nudification’ apps
The apps are one of the major ways nonconsensual AI deepfakes can be made without any technical expertise — including by kids. By Jasmine Mithani for The 19th The Minnesota Senate on Wednesday passed the country’s first ban on “nudification” apps 65-0, addressing one of the main sources of nonconsensual deepfakes. The bill was passed by the state House last week and now just needs…
It’s a bunker … it’s a bribe … it’s Trump’s ballroom
After yet another assassination attempt against him, you’d think that President Donald Trump might want to discuss things like national security or gun violence. But nope! We’re dealing with a toddler president who wants his big, special ballroom, damnit! Here are some of our favorite cartoons making fun of how absolutely ridiculous—and expensive—Trump’s fun little project truly is.
An urgent care treated her allergic reaction. An ER monitored her—for $6,700.
By Andrew Jones for KFF Silvana Toska was playing in a grass field with her daughters late last fall when she felt a sting on her ankle. The family had come to listen for barred and great horned owls as the sun set on a large park near their Davidson, North Carolina, home. It was “just like a mosquito bite, nothing major, and I just scratched it,” said Toska…
‘Get Up Offa That Thing’ and celebrate ‘Godfather of Soul’ James Brown
Black Music Sunday is a weekly series highlighting all things Black music, with over 300 stories covering performers, genres, history, and more, each featuring its own vibrant soundtrack. I hope you’ll find some familiar tunes and perhaps an introduction to something new. Happy James Brown Day! The legendary musician and showman was born on May 3, 1933. He would have been 93 years old…
The left’s monster
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Trump’s SEC Slammed the Door on Small Investors. They Built a New One.
This story was originally published by Grist and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration.
Since President Donald Trump took office, the Securities and Exchange Commission has made it harder for small and activist investors to raise concerns through the government filing system known as EDGAR. Now they’re pushing back with their own alternative platform, which they call the Proxy Open Exchange—or POE.
Literary puns aside, the initiative is aimed at bringing greater transparency to an increasingly restricted space. In January, the SEC said it would no longer allow investors with less than $5 million in shares to use EDGAR to send communiqués called exempt solicitations to fellow shareholders. Such documents are often used to lay out an investor’s stance on a given issue, including climate action, board accountability, and diversity, equity, and inclusion.
“We believe a free market requires communication,” said Andrew Behar, CEO of the shareholder advocacy group As You Sow, which spearheaded the new site. “If they’re going to take away EDGAR, we’re going to give them POE.”
The response has been swift. In less than a week, POE has 63 filings, with dozens more expected. EDGAR shows just 39 exempt solicitations so far in 2026.
The SEC declined to comment about POE, but has previously told Grist that limiting access to the system is an attempt to rein in the scope of government, ease burdensome regulation, and curtail the “large volume” of requests that often require prompt attention. “Over the years, companies have expressed concerns that this misuse has caused confusion among their investor base,” an SEC spokesperson said at the time. “Shareholders can continue to conduct exempt solicitations through other commonly used means, such as press releases, emails, websites, and social media, and electronic shareholder forums.”
Critics of the move see it as an attempt to silence irksome investors.
The workaround is not the only attempt at an alternative to the official platform. The nonprofit Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, for instance, recently started putting exempt solicitations and proxy memos it receives about issues relevant to its members on its website. Still, POE is the most robust effort yet to fill the gap the government created.
It is designed to mimic EDGAR, Behar said. It even relies on the same set of codes—known as central index keys—to identify individuals and companies making posts. Although As You Sow reviews submissions for basic errors, it doesn’t filter content, making POE, like EDGAR, open to all viewpoints.
“POE is a new and adventurous approach to try to set up a large public website that people of all persuasions can post their solicitations on,” said Tim Smith, senior policy advisor for the Interfaith Center, who applauded the idea. “It could be an investor that’s filing a resolution on climate. It could be a conservative investor who decides to push a resolution that’s challenging diversity, equity, or inclusion.”
Any filings are subject to the same anti-fraud legal provisions required by EDGAR, says Jill Fisch, a professor of business law at the University of Pennsylvania. “The postings have to be accurate, so that doesn’t change,” she said. What is new is that POE’s interface is much more user-friendly, she said, calling the government’s site “kind of old and glitchy.”
Not everyone, however, is embracing the system. According to Behar, one of the world’s largest proxy advisors—which helps its clients research shareholder proposals—won’t consider any information that’s not on the official platform. The company, ISS, declined an interview request and did not respond to written questions. Still, Fisch said the pool of potential users of the new system is vast.
“The great thing about these being public websites is that they’re available to mutual funds, to smaller institutions, to universities, and so forth,” she said. She’ll be curious to see data on who uses the site in the coming weeks and months. So far, though, “it’s way too early to tell.”
Fisch will also be watching how corporations respond. Some, like Exxon Mobil, which has often opposed shareholder advocacy, could see it as a threat (the company did not respond to an interview request) and start their own platforms. Or, perhaps, the existence of unregulated alternatives will encourage companies to ask the SEC to push people back to EDGAR, where everything will be in the same place.
Whatever the rationale, it would be relatively easy for the government to reverse course. “Any new administration or new SEC could change this in a moment,” said Smith. That, in many ways, would be an ideal outcome for Behar, who hopes that POE will be temporary.
“We do not want this to be a necessary platform into perpetuity,” he said. “This is hopefully short-lived. When the administration changes and the SEC returns to its core mission, we expect EDGAR to be restored because transparent information sharing is essential for the free market.”
More often, though, Fisch finds that platforms like POE are one-way streets. Even if EDGAR is loosened back up, she expects people to continue finding the alternatives useful. “Once investors figure out how cheap and easy and convenient it is to use the internet and social media to communicate, I don’t think they’re going to stop,” she said. “The cat’s out of the bag.”