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<channel>
 <title>Latest articles from Crooks and Liars</title>
 <link>https://crooksandliars.com</link>
 <description>The latest articles from Crooks and Liars</description>
 <language>en-us</language>
<itunes:explicit>no</itunes:explicit><itunes:subtitle>The latest articles from Crooks and Liars</itunes:subtitle><item>
    <title>Tiffany Is Bothered By Black Man Not Appreciating Slavery</title>
    <link>https://crooksandliars.com/2026/07/tiffany-bothered-black-man-not</link>
    <description>&lt;div class="node-media"&gt;&lt;img src="https://crooksandliars.com/files/primary_image/26/07/screenshot_2026-07-05_144558.png" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p&gt;Tom Tiffany, a white man running to be Wisconsin's next governor, is running an ad of a sound bite he gave at a sparsely attended event in someone's alley. In the soundbite ad, Tiffany says he has complaints about people like Mandela Barnes, a Black man who is also running for governor. You can already see where this is headed:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;blockquote class="transcript"&gt;&lt;p&gt;You know what really POs me?  It's politicians like Mandela, Barnes, and others, and you're seeing it from the socialist left that trash America every single day. And they live off of America's birthright. What our founders gave this country, this great experiment that led to the most prosperous, great nation in the history of mankind, and they trash it every single day. Rather than creating a more perfect union, they want to destroy the union. That's what bothers me.
&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;So what has Trump's Mini-Me so upset?  &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Four years ago, Barnes made comments at a campaign event about &lt;a href="https://crooksandliars.com/2022/07/wisconsin-gop-outraged-over-criticism"&gt;how awful&lt;/a&gt; it was that slavery was part of this country's founding and pointing out that Republicans were trying to whitewash it by banning the fact from being taught in schools.  Radio squawker Dan O'Donnell, who would later go on &lt;a href="https://crooksandliars.com/2026/03/right-wing-radio-host-wants-someone-take"&gt;to infamy&lt;/a&gt; for calling for Governor Tim Walz's assassination, took it out of context to rile up the GOP base against the uppity Black man who was running against Ron Johnson.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://crooksandliars.com/2026/07/tiffany-bothered-black-man-not" target="_blank"&gt;read more&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
     <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/62034">Mandela Barnes</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/59546">Tom Tiffany</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/19270">white supremacy</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/100722">Election 2026</category>
 <pubDate>Mon, 06 Jul 2026 13:52:35 +0000</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>Chris capper Liebenthal</dc:creator>
</item>
<item>
    <title>Karoline Leavitt Smoked For Trashing Her Own Generation, Damage Control Did NOT Help</title>
    <link>https://crooksandliars.com/2026/07/karoline-leavitt-smoked-trashing-her-own</link>
    <description>&lt;div class="node-media"&gt;&lt;img src="https://crooksandliars.com/files/primary_image/26/07/kleavitt_0.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p&gt;White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said some no-good, very bad things about her own generation in her recent interview with Fox News that ultimately left her scrambling to control the damage before her peers burned her at the proverbial stake.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Appearing on Jesse Watters' "Primetime," Leavitt went scorched earth on the younger generations of America, accusing Gen Z of "laziness" amid the Democratic Party's attempt at a "full-blown communist revolution" before stating with her whole chest that these "young kids" should just be sent to Cuba or Iran to learn their lesson regarding the value of a hard day's work. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Speaking on modern-day Leftist politicians like New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Leavitt spewed, "This is not your granddaddy's Democrat Party. This is not the grand Democrat Party of JFK. This is a full-blown communist revolution that is taking over Capitol Hill right here in Washington, DC, just a few steps away from where we are sitting right now. The inmates are running the asylum. These are crazy people who are advocating against what I call the three Ps: prison, police, and private property. They don't want any of those things, and those are the ideals that founded this great country 250 years ago. But as President Trump says, communism is easy to sell. You just promise people free stuff until a few years later you're living in squalor with no free home, no free food. You're just sitting there with a whole bunch of communists looking around and saying, 'What the heck happened...'"&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://crooksandliars.com/2026/07/karoline-leavitt-smoked-trashing-her-own" target="_blank"&gt;read more&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
     <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/11836">Donald Trump</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/tags/jesse-watters">Jesse Watters</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/93634">Karoline Leavitt</category>
 <pubDate>Mon, 06 Jul 2026 12:18:27 +0000</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>Andrea Thompson</dc:creator>
</item>
<item>
    <title>Ingraham, Lee Get More Egg On Their Faces</title>
    <link>https://crooksandliars.com/2026/07/ingraham-lee-get-more-egg-their-faces</link>
    <description>&lt;div class="node-media"&gt;&lt;img src="https://crooksandliars.com/files/primary_image/26/07/screenshot_2026-07-05_172556.png" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p&gt;Karoli reported how Sen Mike Lee and Fox personality Laura Ingraham had spent an entire day trying to portray the white supremacist group Patriot Front as a bunch of &lt;a href="https://crooksandliars.com/2026/07/antifa-costume-famous-racist-denies"&gt;Antifa cosplaying &lt;/a&gt;as white supremacists. Apparently, they felt that being white supremacists themselves made them the experts on identifying other white supremacists. Or something like that.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;What Lee and Ingraham didn't mention is that these clever Antifa agents were so convincing, they tricked even Thomas Rousseau, the founder of Patriot Front, who led them marching all over Washington, DC.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;&lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;.&lt;a href="https://x.com/SenMikeLee?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;@SenMikeLee&lt;/a&gt; and Fox News host &lt;a href="https://x.com/IngrahamAngle?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;@IngrahamAngle&lt;/a&gt; both claimed the Patriot Affront march through DC on the Fourth of July was really an Antifa rouse.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;That’s interesting. So Antifa dressed up in Patriot Affront uniforms and tricked the founder of Patriot Front, Thomas Rousseau, to… &lt;a href="https://t.co/pwkKhvx3eg"&gt;pic.twitter.com/pwkKhvx3eg&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;mdash; Moe Davis (U.S. Air Force, Retired) (@ColMoeDavis) &lt;a href="https://x.com/ColMoeDavis/status/2073753998692168183?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;July 5, 2026&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"
&gt;&lt;/script&gt;&lt;p&gt;
There is something else that I'm curious about, however.  Lee said that "real patriots" don't wear masks on their faces:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://crooksandliars.com/2026/07/ingraham-lee-get-more-egg-their-faces" target="_blank"&gt;read more&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
     <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/651">Laura Ingraham</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/85081">patriot front</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/60424">Sen Mike Lee</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/90879">Thomas Rousseau</category>
 <pubDate>Mon, 06 Jul 2026 12:18:19 +0000</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>Chris capper Liebenthal</dc:creator>
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<item>
    <title>Mallory McMorrow Drops Out Of The Democratic Senate Primary In Michigan</title>
    <link>https://crooksandliars.com/2026/07/mallory-mcmorrow-drops-out-democratic</link>
    <description>&lt;div class="node-media"&gt;&lt;img src="https://crooksandliars.com/files/mediaposters/2026/07/59357.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p&gt;Probably for the best. &lt;a href="https://x.com/PollTracker2024/status/2067344736453595208?s=20"&gt;Recent polls&lt;/a&gt; have become increasingly grim for McMorrow.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Source: &lt;a href="https://www.cnn.com/2026/07/05/politics/mallory-mcmorrow-michigan-senate-end-campaign"&gt;CNN&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;p&gt;Mallory McMorrow dropped out of the Democratic Senate primary in Michigan on Sunday, narrowing the field to two as the party faces a crucial choice next month in picking a nominee to defend a must-win seat.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;That leaves Rep. Haley Stevens facing Abdul El-Sayed, a candidate running from the Bernie Sanders wing of the party who is trying to extend the momentum progressives have seen in recent primaries across the country.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;McMorrow’s exit ahead of the early August primary doesn’t just reflect her own struggles, but also an emphasis among many Democrats to stop El-Sayed, out of fear he would be a weaker general election candidate against former Rep. Mike Rogers, a Republican.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;&lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;Today, I&amp;#39;m announcing that I am suspending my campaign for United States Senate.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;And I&amp;#39;m doing it with a deep, deep sense of gratitude. For our thousands of volunteers, for everyone who donated what you could — building a campaign with zero corporate PAC dollars. For my staff,… &lt;a href="https://t.co/nGVymlpPXm"&gt;pic.twitter.com/nGVymlpPXm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;mdash; Mallory McMorrow (@MalloryMcMorrow) &lt;a href="https://x.com/MalloryMcMorrow/status/2073823061191659714?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;July 5, 2026&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://crooksandliars.com/2026/07/mallory-mcmorrow-drops-out-democratic" target="_blank"&gt;read more&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
     <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/85571">Dr. Abdul El-Sayed</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/90310">Mallory McMorrow</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/1637">Michigan</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/99994">Rep. Haley Stevens</category>
 <pubDate>Mon, 06 Jul 2026 12:18:11 +0000</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>Ed Scarce</dc:creator>
</item>
<item>
    <title>Mike’s Blog Round-Up</title>
    <link>https://crooksandliars.com/2026/07/mike-s-blog-round-0</link>
    <description>&lt;div class="node-media"&gt;&lt;img src="https://crooksandliars.com/files/primary_image/26/07/screen_shot_2026-07-05_at_8.16.49_am.png" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p&gt;Congrats! We have survived &lt;em&gt;Hair Füror's 4th of July Celebration of himself&lt;/em&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://field-negro.blogspot.com/2026/07/what-was-old-is-new-again.html"&gt;The Field Negro&lt;/a&gt;: What was old is new again.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://homelessonthehighdesert.com/2026/07/05/smoky-stinky-starday-soliloquy/"&gt;Cassandra's Grandson&lt;/a&gt; rounds-up highlights/low-lifes from the holiday weekend. The headlines tell a story.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://rmadisonj.blogspot.com/2026/07/damned-good-question.html"&gt;Adventus&lt;/a&gt; asks a damned good question.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.eschatonblog.com/2026/07/rookie-mistake.html"&gt;Eschaton&lt;/a&gt; argues that a "rookie mistake" is a ruse for something else. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Bonus Track: &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;a href="https://misscellania.blogspot.com/2026/07/if-jurassic-park-had-10-budget.html"&gt;Miss Cellania&lt;/a&gt; presents the low-budget summer blockbuster that I would pay to see!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Round-up by Tengrain who blogs at &lt;a href="http://mockpaperscissors.com"&gt;Mock, Paper, Scissors&lt;/a&gt;. You can follow &lt;a href="@https://@Tengrain@mastodon.social"&gt;Tengrain on the Fediverse&lt;/a&gt;, or on &lt;a href="https://@tengrain.bsky.social"&gt;BlueSky&lt;/a&gt;. Send tips, requests, and suggestions to &lt;a href="mailto:mbru@crooksandliars.com"&gt;mbru@crooksandliars.com&lt;/a&gt; (with &lt;b&gt;For MBRU&lt;/b&gt; in the subject line).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://crooksandliars.com/2026/07/mike-s-blog-round-0" target="_blank"&gt;read more&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
     <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/16331">mikes blog round up</category>
 <pubDate>Mon, 06 Jul 2026 12:02:02 +0000</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>Tengrain</dc:creator>
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<item>
    <title>Republicans Are A Toxic Partisanship Machine</title>
    <link>https://crooksandliars.com/2026/07/republicans-are-toxic-partisanship-machine</link>
    <description>&lt;div class="node-media"&gt;&lt;img src="https://crooksandliars.com/files/primary_image/26/07/getty-toxic-partisanship.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p&gt;Mainstream journalists and pundits decry "toxic partisanship" in America without ever recognizing the fact that the Republican Party and its agents treat the generation of toxic partisanship as a primary goal. They wake up every morning, sip their coffee, open their laptops, and think, How can I make my audience hate Democrats and liberals today? Every news story must be recast so that their political enemies are the villains, while they are either victims or heroes.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;So we had the neo-fascist Patriot Front marching through Washington yesterday, their faces covered by gaiters. Some of them carried &lt;a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jul/04/neo-fascist-patriot-front-washington-dc" target="_blank"&gt;Confederate flags&lt;/a&gt;. This was embarrassing to Republican commentators, so they agreed on the message that these marchers couldn't possibly be people from &lt;i&gt;their&lt;/i&gt; side. Their only disagreement was over which hated group was responsible.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;&lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;I call fake. Looks more like Antifa in costume. No one should be allowed to cover their faces &lt;a href="https://t.co/2NoBWHpkKT"&gt;pic.twitter.com/2NoBWHpkKT&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;mdash; Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle) &lt;a href="https://x.com/IngrahamAngle/status/2073501357139513577?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;July 4, 2026&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;&lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;
&lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;Feds &lt;a href="https://t.co/sOwAPseYPg"&gt;https://t.co/sOwAPseYPg&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://crooksandliars.com/2026/07/republicans-are-toxic-partisanship-machine" target="_blank"&gt;read more&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
     <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/tags/communism">Communism</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/294">Fox News</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/651">Laura Ingraham</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/tags/opinion">opinion</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/276">Republicans</category>
 <pubDate>Mon, 06 Jul 2026 12:00:02 +0000</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>Steve M.</dc:creator>
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<item>
    <title>Missioned Souls Cover Boston's 'Foreplay/Long Time'</title>
    <link>https://crooksandliars.com/2026/07/missioned-souls-cover-bostons-foreplaylong</link>
    <description>&lt;div class="node-media"&gt;&lt;img src="https://crooksandliars.com/files/embeds/2026/07/70905.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p&gt;It's been about a year or so since we featured this amazing family band from the Philippines. Here they handle Boston's demanding arena rock anthem with ease, capturing it almost note-for-note. And now they've announced their first tour dates in North America, in Texas beginning in September.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Source: &lt;a href="https://musescore.com/news/daily-score/missioned-souls-cover-bostons-foreplay-long-time-kids-steal-the-show/?srsltid=AfmBOornJ37CLwC6OaJELf5EdJQko5jLowmpwOCr2wFKo5ELDSMk7qNy"&gt;Musescore&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;p&gt;These young musicians from the Philippines, called Missioned Souls, tackle one of rock's most technically demanding tracks. In this note-perfect run of the Boston piece, they were joined by their parents.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Based in the Philippines, Missioned Souls comprises bassist Secan and vocalist Sheena, with their four children: 17-year-old Naces (keyboard), 16-year-old Neisha (lead guitar), 13-year-old Stacey (vocals and rhythm guitar), and 12-year-old ICE (drums).
&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;And a snippet of their review.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;p&gt;Naces nails the triplet-driven right-hand figures that cascade through “Foreplay” with ease. It begins with a repeated pattern (Db-F-Db-Eb-Ab-C) that expands, eventually adding the left hand to reinforce the harmonic motion in a way that recalls the keyboard-driven accompaniment textures of Baroque music. Once the guitars and drums come in, it feels like a full-on symphony.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://crooksandliars.com/2026/07/missioned-souls-cover-bostons-foreplaylong" target="_blank"&gt;read more&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
     <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/98508">Missioned Souls</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/12997">Philippines</category>
 <pubDate>Mon, 06 Jul 2026 03:00:01 +0000</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>Ed Scarce</dc:creator>
</item>
<item>
    <title>An 18th Century French Philosopher Helps Explain The USA's Current Dilemma</title>
    <link>https://crooksandliars.com/2026/07/18th-century-french-philosopher-helps</link>
    <description>&lt;div class="node-media"&gt;&lt;img src="https://crooksandliars.com/files/primary_image/26/07/file-20260629-57-i7l5rx.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;By &lt;a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/robert-a-ballingall-2696282"&gt;Robert A. Ballingall&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;em&gt;&lt;a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-maine-2120"&gt;University of Maine&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;As the 250th anniversary of American independence approaches, many people in the U.S. are deeply concerned about the country’s future. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.elon.edu/u/news/2026/06/02/elon-poll-a-proud-but-deeply-uneasy-public-as-america-celebrates-250th/"&gt;A recent poll&lt;/a&gt; by Elon University found that 69% of respondents “believe the signers of the Declaration of Independence would feel more disappointment than pride about modern American democracy.” Confidence in public institutions is &lt;a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/1597/confidence-institutions.aspx"&gt;historically low&lt;/a&gt;, and the most recent &lt;a href="https://iop.harvard.edu/youth-poll/52nd-edition-spring-2026"&gt;Harvard Youth Poll&lt;/a&gt; indicates that just a quarter of 18- to 29-year-olds “feel hopeful about the future of America.”&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Many are also afraid. For the 10th consecutive year, Americans reported corrupt government officials to be their single greatest fear, according to the &lt;a href="https://news.chapman.edu/2025/10/21/what-americans-fear-most-in-2025-chapman-universitys-annual-survey-reveals-top-fears-and-the-psychology-behind-them/"&gt;Chapman University Survey of American Fears&lt;/a&gt;, ranking above financial collapse or a loved one becoming seriously ill. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://crooksandliars.com/2026/07/18th-century-french-philosopher-helps" target="_blank"&gt;read more&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
     <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/102604">Montesquieu</category>
 <pubDate>Mon, 06 Jul 2026 01:30:01 +0000</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>The Conversation</dc:creator>
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<item>
    <title>From Saints To Founders: The Long Road To Church-State Split</title>
    <link>https://crooksandliars.com/2026/07/saints-founders-long-road-church-state</link>
    <description>&lt;div class="node-media"&gt;&lt;img src="https://crooksandliars.com/files/primary_image/26/07/gettyimages-1035081670-594x594.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;By &lt;a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/steven-k-green-346301"&gt;Steven K. Green&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;em&gt;&lt;a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/willamette-university-3013"&gt;Willamette University&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The Trump administration’s Religious Liberty Commission released its report on June 26, 2026, on the state of religious freedom in the United States, &lt;a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/president-trumps-religious-liberty-commission-delivers-historic-report-draft"&gt;declaring it to be under attack&lt;/a&gt;. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The commission was &lt;a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/05/establishment-of-the-religious-liberty-commission/?utm_medium=email&amp;amp;utm_source=govdelivery"&gt;established in May&lt;/a&gt; 2025 to identify and report on “emerging threats to religious liberty, uphold Federal laws that protect all citizens’ full participation in a pluralistic democracy, and protect the free exercise of religion.” Despite those altruistic goals, from the beginning, the commission faced criticism that the composition and agenda of the body were &lt;a href="https://www.au.org/the-latest/press/religious-liberty-commission-disclosure/"&gt;slanted toward a conservative Christian perspective&lt;/a&gt;. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The commission conducted seven hearings over the course of a year, taking testimony from approximately 100 witnesses. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://crooksandliars.com/2026/07/saints-founders-long-road-church-state" target="_blank"&gt;read more&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
     <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/97998">Commission Religious Liberty</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/28261">religious liberty</category>
 <pubDate>Sun, 05 Jul 2026 20:53:29 +0000</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>The Conversation</dc:creator>
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<item>
    <title>Doug Burgum Goes Off When Pushed On Reflecting Pool 'Vandalism'</title>
    <link>https://crooksandliars.com/2026/07/doug-burgum-gets-peturbed-how-dare-you</link>
    <description>&lt;div class="node-media"&gt;&lt;img src="https://crooksandliars.com/files/mediaposters/2026/07/59353.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p&gt;U.S. Interior Sec. Doug Bergum lost his temper when CNN host Dana Bash refused to buy into the multitude of lies Trump and his minions have spewed while trying to cover up for the shoddy work done by Trump's no-bid reflecting pool contractor.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;blockquote class="transcript"&gt;&lt;p&gt;
BASH: I want to ask you about the Reflecting Pool, because we spoke about a month ago. And the $16 million no-bid contract to renovate the Reflecting Pool was something you called fantastic, and you certainly defended the expediting contract in order to try to get it fixed in time for July 4.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Now, of course, chunks of paint are peeling off the floor. The algae has returned. What went wrong?
&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Burgum's response refutes Trump's idiotic lie that vandals poured algae into the pool.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;blockquote class="transcript"&gt;&lt;p&gt;
BURGUM: Well, the algae is all gone. I mean, that was a momentary thing. As they -- as it was being refilled, there was algae in the pipes. But the new technology, the nano-bubblers that have been installed, if you go down there today and look at it, it is completely clean and clear.
&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Burgum then got angry over Bash pushing back against the lies being told to the US public.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;blockquote class="transcript"&gt;&lt;p&gt;
BASH: But it peeled off. Why did that happen? Do you know?&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;BURGUM: It didn't peel off. There was there was vandalism. There was box cutters. There have been seven arrests. There was people literally trying to destroy part of a monument, the Reflecting Pool. It's not just a pool on the Mall.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://crooksandliars.com/2026/07/doug-burgum-gets-peturbed-how-dare-you" target="_blank"&gt;read more&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
     <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/102563">algae-green reflecting pool</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/tags/dana-bash">Dana Bash</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/82322">Doug Burgum</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/102098">Reflecting Pool</category>
 <pubDate>Sun, 05 Jul 2026 19:29:15 +0000</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>John Amato</dc:creator>
</item>
<item>
    <title>Trump Misquotes Declaration Of Independence During Speech At National Mall</title>
    <link>https://crooksandliars.com/2026/07/trump-misquotes-declaration-independence</link>
    <description>&lt;div class="node-media"&gt;&lt;img src="https://crooksandliars.com/files/primary_image/26/07/fox-trump-declaration-070426.png" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p&gt;As always, just imagine what the reaction in the right-wing media would be if Joe Biden had done something like this.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Trump delivered a venom-filled speech this &lt;a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-mark-us-250th-anniversary-with-campaign-style-rally-national-mall-2026-07-04/"&gt;Saturday for America's 250th anniversary&lt;/a&gt;:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;p&gt;President &lt;a data-testid="Link" href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/donald-trump/"&gt;Donald Trump&lt;/a&gt; marked the 250th anniversary of the United States on Saturday with ​a  campaign-style speech that repeated his calls for new voting  restrictions, warned that "communists" could gain ground in the country  and cycled through what he touted ‌as his achievements.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;After  a storm-related delay of nearly two hours, Trump appeared on the  National Mall in Washington to deliver a speech that mixed broad appeals  to patriotism with pointed attacks on perceived ideological threats at  home and abroad. [...]&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;TRUMP WARNS OF COMMUNIST 'CANCER,' WHITE NATIONALISTS APPEAR&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;"We like to stop a threat like that immediately and before it begins. It's ⁠like a cancer – you've got to cut it out and you got to cut it out fast," he said.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The Republican president has in the past repeatedly referred to left-wing Democratic ​candidates who have won a string of primary elections as "communists," though he did not explicitly do so on Saturday.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;And he managed to misquote the Declaration of Independence while he was doing it.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://crooksandliars.com/2026/07/trump-misquotes-declaration-independence" target="_blank"&gt;read more&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
     <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/102275">America 250</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/tags/declaration-independence">Declaration of Independence</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/11836">Donald Trump</category>
 <pubDate>Sun, 05 Jul 2026 18:28:25 +0000</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>Heather</dc:creator>
</item>
<item>
    <title>'Antifa In Costume': Famous Racist Denies Friendly Fascists</title>
    <link>https://crooksandliars.com/2026/07/antifa-costume-famous-racist-denies</link>
    <description>&lt;div class="node-media"&gt;&lt;img src="https://crooksandliars.com/files/primary_image/26/07/screenshot_2026-07-05_at_8.30.00_am.png" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p&gt;Laura Ingraham, who rose to prominence by being an out-and-proud racist, is suddenly flummoxed by the &lt;a href="https://crooksandliars.com/2026/07/trumps-friends-showed-his-big-party"&gt;Patriot Front march&lt;/a&gt; in Washington, DC on July 4th. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;In the video she quotes, one unmasked person tells her he doesn't like Kash Patel because he is Indian. When the videographer points out that Patel was born in this country, the Patriot Front person apparently speaking for the group says no, Patel is Indian. When asked what he is, the white fascist boy says he was born American. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Yes, this is how stupid and hateful they are. Ingraham has the weirdest response. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;&lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;I call fake. Looks more like Antifa in costume. No one should be allowed to cover their faces &lt;a href="https://t.co/2NoBWHpkKT"&gt;pic.twitter.com/2NoBWHpkKT&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;mdash; Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle) &lt;a href="https://x.com/IngrahamAngle/status/2073501357139513577?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;July 4, 2026&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;&lt;p&gt;
Huh. I've been wondering all day how many of those clowns were ICE agents. But I agree 100% with part of what she said. ICE agents should not be allowed to be masked and neither should these cowards. They should own their hate. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Response was swift:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://crooksandliars.com/2026/07/antifa-costume-famous-racist-denies" target="_blank"&gt;read more&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
     <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/651">Laura Ingraham</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/85081">patriot front</category>
 <pubDate>Sun, 05 Jul 2026 16:27:57 +0000</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>Karoli Kuns</dc:creator>
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<item>
    <title>Doug Burgum's Response To Patriot Front: Very Fine People On Both Sides</title>
    <link>https://crooksandliars.com/2026/07/interior-secretary-refuses-condemn-white</link>
    <description>&lt;div class="node-media"&gt;&lt;img src="https://crooksandliars.com/files/primary_image/26/07/cnn-doug-burgum-070526.png" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p&gt;Why do these people always have such a  hard time condemning white nationalists? We all know why.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;As we &lt;a href="https://crooksandliars.com/2026/07/trumps-friends-showed-his-big-party"&gt;discussed here, Trump's fascist friends showed up&lt;/a&gt; for his big party in Washington DC this weekend and &lt;a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/masked-patriot-front-white-nationalists-stage-july-4-march-through-dc-2026-07-04/"&gt;marched throughout the city&lt;/a&gt;:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;p&gt;Hundreds of masked members of the white nationalist group Patriot ‌Front marched  through parts of Washington, D.C., on Saturday ahead of Independence  Day festivities planned for the evening that have been &lt;a data-testid="Link" href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-mark-us-250th-anniversary-with-campaign-style-rally-national-mall-2026-07-04/"&gt;criticized as divisive&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The  group posted on social media that it had arrived in the capital with  about 400 members, and Reuters photographers saw hundreds of people  dressed in Patriot Front ​outfits traveling on D.C. Metro trains.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Videos posted on various social media platforms and shared on Patriot Front's own Telegram ​channel showed the group marching to drummers near the U.S. Capitol and the Union Station transit center ⁠while wearing khaki pants and caps, blue shirts, white face coverings and sunglasses. Many were carrying the group's flag, Confederate flags, and ​variations of the U.S. flag, at times chanting "Reclaim America."&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://crooksandliars.com/2026/07/interior-secretary-refuses-condemn-white" target="_blank"&gt;read more&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
     <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/539">CNN</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/tags/dana-bash">Dana Bash</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/82322">Doug Burgum</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/85081">patriot front</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/310">racism</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/tags/state-union">State Of the Union</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/tags/washington-dc">Washington DC</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/73141">whataboutism</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/53183">white nationalists</category>
 <pubDate>Sun, 05 Jul 2026 15:15:19 +0000</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>Heather</dc:creator>
</item>
<item>
    <title>Bribe Paying For More Pavement On White House Grounds</title>
    <link>https://crooksandliars.com/2026/07/bribe-paying-more-white-house-grounds</link>
    <description>&lt;div class="node-media"&gt;&lt;img src="https://crooksandliars.com/files/primary_image/26/07/gettyimages-2284193014.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p&gt;Are you having trouble keeping track of all of the ways that President Donald Trump is desecrating Washington, D.C., with his signature blend of shoddiness, cronyism, bad taste, and grift?&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;There are many, so we should all forgive ourselves for not catching his latest White House project: &lt;a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/zacharyfolk/2026/06/30/white-house-helipad-construction-reportedly-starts-but-trumps-unusually-quiet-on-plans/"&gt;a new helipad&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Of course, like most things with this administration, we only learned about this by accident when people saw construction crews on the South Lawn.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Not to sound too much like “kids these days,” but listen, kids: There was once a time when adding something like a helipad to the White House would have been discussed well in advance.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The contracting process would have been transparent and lengthy enough to allow for actual bidders, not handpicked “donors,” we would know how much it was really going to cost, there would be construction permits, the normal district preservation groups would have weighed in—you get the picture.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Instead, we’ve got this.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;This little project is ostensibly &lt;a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/06/30/trump-adds-white-house-helipad-resolve-marine-one-helicopter-issue/"&gt;fully funded&lt;/a&gt; by a “donation” from Lockheed Martin. Did I mention that this is also not how things were when the government wasn’t run by having private companies bribe the president to cover the construction costs for his pet projects?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://crooksandliars.com/2026/07/bribe-paying-more-white-house-grounds" target="_blank"&gt;read more&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
     <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/11836">Donald Trump</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/102591">South Lawn</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/388">White House</category>
 <pubDate>Sun, 05 Jul 2026 14:28:12 +0000</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>Lisa Needham</dc:creator>
</item>
<item>
    <title>Everything Is Communism Now On Fox 'News'</title>
    <link>https://crooksandliars.com/2026/07/everything-communism-now-fox-news</link>
    <description>&lt;div class="node-media"&gt;&lt;img src="https://crooksandliars.com/files/primary_image/26/07/fox-lisa-boothe-070426.png" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p&gt;Who knew Mitt Romney's healthcare plan is now a secret communist plot to get us to Medicare-for-all?&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The red-baiting on Fox continues unabated. They've been attacking Democrats non-stop since a few members of the DSA won some primary races across the country, and this Saturday on a special weekend edition of &lt;em&gt;Outnumbered&lt;/em&gt;, the propagandists on Fox — after attacking party leadership for not sounding more like John Fetterman (who does nothing but regurgitate right-wing talking points for Fox these days) — ridiculously asserted that the Democratic Party has always been radical, with cohost Lisa Boothe trotting out the tired Bill Ayers card and calling the ACA communism.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;blockquote class="transcript"&gt;&lt;p&gt;
MCENANY: I would just say this — we need to reject this. John Fetterman said call this out. We heard JD Vance today state "Reject this." We heard the president say the same last night.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;But to your point, Aishah, we need Hakeem Jeffries to say this. We need Chuck Schumer to say this. We need the leaders in the Democratic Party to be leaders... because I consider you my brothers and sisters — we think differently, but you are by and large rational and don't believe in this. You are catering to a political base. We need you to do what John Fetterman, JD Vance and Donald Trump have done and say "reject this" on America's birthday.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;BOOTHE: But they're not going to, because they're afraid of what's happening on their left. They're afraid of getting primaried. They're seeing...&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;MCENANY: They want to win.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://crooksandliars.com/2026/07/everything-communism-now-fox-news" target="_blank"&gt;read more&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
     <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/12916">aca</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/15636">Affordable Care Act</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/1332">Bernie Sanders</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/tags/communism">Communism</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/86258">Democratic Socialists of America</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/86887">DSA</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/90519">Emily Campagno</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/294">Fox News</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/58969">Kayleigh McEnany</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/59762">Lisa Boothe</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/30593">Marxism</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/54875">Outnumbered</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/tags/red-baiting">red-baiting</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/tags/socialism">Socialism</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/71809">Tim Walz</category>
 <pubDate>Sun, 05 Jul 2026 14:28:03 +0000</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>Heather</dc:creator>
</item>
<item>
    <title>Mike's Blog Round Up</title>
    <link>https://crooksandliars.com/2026/07/mikes-blog-round-2</link>
    <description>&lt;div class="node-media"&gt;&lt;img src="https://crooksandliars.com/files/primary_image/26/07/frederick_douglass_circa_1879_cropped.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://mockpaperscissors.com/2026/07/04/happy-independence-day-4/"&gt;Mock Paper Scissors&lt;/a&gt;: Happy Independence Day. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://first-draft.com/2026/07/03/a-tale-of-three-dollars/"&gt;First Draft&lt;/a&gt;: A tale of three dollars.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://digbysblog.net/2026/07/04/hes-not-wrong-2/"&gt;Hullabaloo&lt;/a&gt;: Trump, accidentally correct, and still a menace. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://tomengelhardt.substack.com/p/the-american-way-of-war-war-war"&gt;Tom Engelhardt&lt;/a&gt;: The American way of war, war, war. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://rooseveltinstitute.org/publications/the-good-life-reviving-the-governing-tools-and-capacities-we-need/"&gt;Roosevelt Institute&lt;/a&gt;: The good life agenda.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://tinyview.com/this-modern-world/2026/06/29/swamp-creature"&gt;This Modern World&lt;/a&gt;: Swamp creature.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;This installment by &lt;a href="http://vagabondscholar.blogspot.com/"&gt;Batocchio&lt;/a&gt;.  E-mail tips to mbru AT crooksandliars DOT com.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://crooksandliars.com/2026/07/mikes-blog-round-2" target="_blank"&gt;read more&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
     <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/tags/mikes-blog-round">Mike's Blog round up</category>
 <pubDate>Sun, 05 Jul 2026 13:32:01 +0000</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>Batocchio</dc:creator>
</item>
<item>
    <title>Unhinged Fox Host Calls Talarico 'Demon In Human Skin'</title>
    <link>https://crooksandliars.com/2026/07/unhinged-fox-host-calls-talarico-demon</link>
    <description>&lt;div class="node-media"&gt;&lt;img src="https://crooksandliars.com/files/primary_image/26/07/fox-emily-campagno-070326.png" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p&gt;Fox has absolutely no business calling itself a "news" network while spewing this type of garbage, but we all knew that already. If any of these people actually believe in God, they should be worried about lightening strikes after telling this many lies.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;On this Friday's &lt;em&gt;Outnumbered&lt;/em&gt; on Fox, during what basically amounted to an in-kind campaign contribution to the Paxton campaign for US Senate in Texas, cohost Emily Campagno made the outrageous statement that Paxton's opponent, James Talarico, was a "demon in human skin" while helping the rest of them lob false attacks on him.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Earlier in the segment, Lisa Boothe told the audience that Paxton had some "moral shortcomings," (&lt;a href="https://crooksandliars.com/2026/05/james-talarico-hits-ken-paxton-upside-his"&gt;sure Jan&lt;/a&gt;) adding that Talarico was just too "weird" because of all of the things they were about to lie or exaggerate about him. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;As we've already discussed here, one of their latest lame attempts to smear him has been to try to &lt;a href="https://crooksandliars.com/2026/06/james-talarico-wears-dress-and-sings-gop"&gt;paint him as gay or trans&lt;/a&gt;. Now their latest nonsense is to go after him for calling the flag "a complicated symbol," and for some &lt;a href="https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/fact-check-posts-sharing-james-100000532.html"&gt;out-of-context quote&lt;/a&gt; about Christianity.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://crooksandliars.com/2026/07/unhinged-fox-host-calls-talarico-demon" target="_blank"&gt;read more&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
     <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/90519">Emily Campagno</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/294">Fox News</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/53735">Harris Faulkner</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/87135">James Talarico</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/61808">Ken Paxton</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/59762">Lisa Boothe</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/tags/lying-liars">Lying Liars</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/54875">Outnumbered</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/tags/trace-gallagher">Trace Gallagher</category>
 <pubDate>Sun, 05 Jul 2026 13:30:01 +0000</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>Heather</dc:creator>
</item>
<item>
    <title>Semiquincentennial Blues</title>
    <link>https://crooksandliars.com/2026/07/semiquincentennial-blues</link>
    <description>&lt;div class="node-media"&gt;&lt;img src="https://crooksandliars.com/files/primary_image/26/07/july_4th_copy.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p&gt;This is the saddest birthday ever, do you agree? I was not in the mood for much beyond hearing that the National Mall was evacuated ahead of a thunderstorm and some wingnuts refused to leave, claiming the &lt;a href="https://bsky.app/profile/murshedz.bsky.social/post/3mpudftyask22"&gt;libs were engineering the weather&lt;/a&gt;. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Because apparently they're too dumb to know that it's all those fossil fuels supercharging the weather. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;How was your 4th? Were you in the mood to celebrate or no?&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;- Karoli&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://crooksandliars.com/2026/07/semiquincentennial-blues" target="_blank"&gt;read more&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
     <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/99905">250th anniversary</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/tags/declaration-independence">Declaration of Independence</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/tags/independence-day">Independence Day</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/99188">King George III</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/98593">No Kings</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/26820">Political Cartoon</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/98069">semiquincentennial</category>
 <pubDate>Sun, 05 Jul 2026 12:00:01 +0000</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>Ratt</dc:creator>
</item>
<item>
    <title>C&amp;L's Late Nite Music Club: Taylor Swift: I Was There </title>
    <link>https://crooksandliars.com/2026/07/cls-late-nite-music-club-taylor-swift-i</link>
    <description>&lt;div class="node-media"&gt;&lt;img src="https://crooksandliars.com/files/embeds/2026/07/70886.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p&gt;The New York Knicks had a historic run to win the 2026 NBA Championship. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;As a kid, I saw Willis Reed, Walt Frazier, and the rest of Red Holzman's teams win two championships. Game seven vs the Lakers in 1970 was not even televised locally because it wasn't a total sell-out -- if you can believe that.  &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;It has been darkness for decades. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;In Game One of the conference finals against Cleveland, the Knicks were down by 22 with under 8 minutes to go, and they orchestrated an amazing comeback to win in OT and then sweep the Cavaliers. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Game four of the NBA finals will go down as one of the greatest NBA finals games, with the Knicks by 29 points at home, rallying again to take the game and win the series in 5 games. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Taylor Swift was there too. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;blockquote class="transcript"&gt;&lt;p&gt;
I WAS THERE" tells the story of a once-in-a-generation night at Madison Square Garden when the New York Knicks came back from 29 points down and reminded the world who they were. Through the eyes of an outsider, this song captures the emotion, the hope, the tears, and the belief that filled the arena that unforgettable night. This isn't just a basketball song. It's about perseverance. It's about faith. It's about never giving up when the odds say you should.
&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Open thread.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://crooksandliars.com/2026/07/cls-late-nite-music-club-taylor-swift-i" target="_blank"&gt;read more&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
     <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/50252">C&amp;L's Late Nite Music Club</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/tags/taylor-swift">Taylor Swift</category>
 <pubDate>Sun, 05 Jul 2026 00:59:56 +0000</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>John Amato</dc:creator>
</item>
<item>
    <title>Trump Admits No End In Sight For War With ‘Totally Defeated’ Iran</title>
    <link>https://crooksandliars.com/2026/07/trump-admits-no-end-sight-war-totally</link>
    <description>&lt;div class="node-media"&gt;&lt;img src="https://crooksandliars.com/files/primary_image/26/07/trump_for_070326.png" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p&gt;Donald Trump, the draft dodger who bungled his way into the unnecessary and unpopular Iran war, made it clear he has no strategy to get us out of it.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Looking like a beached whale that can’t sit up straight, the elderly Trump defended his now four-month-old war that was supposed to last only &lt;a href="https://www.politifact.com/article/2026/mar/30/Trump-Hegseth-Iran-war-timeline/"&gt;four to five weeks&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;“We were in Vietnam for 19 years (&lt;a href="https://crooksandliars.com/2026/04/trump-cites-vietnam-while-attacking"&gt;In April&lt;/a&gt;, he said 18 years), but we were in Afghanistan for like 10 years. We were in the Korean War forever. I don't even mention World War I and World War II; they're biggies,” President Bone Spurs said.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Regardless, suggesting that his unpopular war won't last a decade or two is hardly reassuring.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;“I've been there for four months, and what have I done? I've defeated them militarily. They're totally defeated militarily,” Trump claimed. &lt;a href="https://crooksandliars.com/2026/04/trump-cites-vietnam-while-attacking"&gt;Two months ago&lt;/a&gt;, Trump also claimed that Iran’s military “is totally defeated.” Not surprisingly, CNBC host &lt;a href="https://crooksandliars.com/2024/09/cnbcs-joe-kernen-idiot"&gt;Joe Kernan&lt;/a&gt; did not question the obvious lie.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://crooksandliars.com/2026/07/trump-admits-no-end-sight-war-totally" target="_blank"&gt;read more&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
     <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/11836">Donald Trump</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/95448">Trump is unfit</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/80761">Trump's Iran War</category>
 <pubDate>Sat, 04 Jul 2026 23:01:07 +0000</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>NewsHound Ellen</dc:creator>
</item>
<item>
    <title>Happy 250 Years Of America! ICE Decides It Isn’t Brutal Enough</title>
    <link>https://crooksandliars.com/2026/07/happy-250-years-america-ice-decides-it-isn</link>
    <description>&lt;div class="node-media"&gt;&lt;img src="https://crooksandliars.com/files/primary_image/26/07/gettyimages-2277698675.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p&gt;The White House is supercharging its deportation efforts again, and the timing shouldn’t go unnoticed. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;According to &lt;a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/01/us/politics/ice-immigrant-arrests-surge.html"&gt;The New York Times&lt;/a&gt;, daily immigration arrests have recently doubled as Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers put in seven-day workweeks to sweep the streets of people they’ve deemed deportable. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Over 10,000 immigrants were reportedly detained within a five-day span, with many being targeted at immigration check-ins, traffic stops, and simply while walking down the street. This increase in quota—which demands agents to hit 2,000 arrests a day—comes from the White House, according to the Times. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The timing of this deportation push speaks volumes. The documented and undocumented immigrant communities in the U.S. have been in mourning and shock. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Last week, The Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to rip away Temporary Protected Status from Haitian and Syrian immigrants, enabling Trump to deport them more easily and leaving them vulnerable to his will. Many are now &lt;a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/6/29/800062572/courts/the-legality-and-inhumanity-of-2-new-supreme-court-rulings/"&gt;scrambling to secure&lt;/a&gt; a different type of protected status before ICE comes knocking on their doors.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;“Now we are vulnerable, we are exposed to detention and to deportation,” Viles Dorsainvil, executive director of the Haitian Support Center, told Daily Kos in a phone call this past weekend. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://crooksandliars.com/2026/07/happy-250-years-america-ice-decides-it-isn" target="_blank"&gt;read more&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
     <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/21576">deportation</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/14483">ICE</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/tags/venezuela">venezuela</category>
 <pubDate>Sat, 04 Jul 2026 21:39:49 +0000</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>Alix Breeden</dc:creator>
</item>
<item>
    <title>Gov. Jared Polis Fires Clemency Board Members For Speaking Out</title>
    <link>https://crooksandliars.com/2026/07/co-governor-jared-polis-pulls-trump</link>
    <description>&lt;div class="node-media"&gt;&lt;img src="https://crooksandliars.com/files/primary_image/26/07/sara-wilson-jared-polis-march24-1024x7681783033071.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p&gt;by Lindsey Toomer, &lt;a href="https://coloradonewsline.com"&gt;Colorado Newsline&lt;/a&gt; &lt;br /&gt;July 2, 2026&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Colorado Gov. Jared Polis fired two members of his clemency advisory board who spoke publicly about the board’s recommendation against releasing Tina Peters.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Peters, the former Mesa County clerk and election denier who was &lt;a href="https://coloradonewsline.com/2024/08/12/tina-peters-mesa-county-guilty/"&gt;convicted&lt;/a&gt; and sentenced for her role in a breach of her office’s election system, was &lt;a href="https://coloradonewsline.com/2026/06/01/unapologetic-tina-peters-release-prison/"&gt;released&lt;/a&gt; from state prison on June 1 after Polis &lt;a href="https://coloradonewsline.com/2026/05/15/polis-tina-peters-prison-sentence/"&gt;cut&lt;/a&gt; her sentence in half under pressure from the Trump administration.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Peters &lt;a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/116840714775652406"&gt;visited&lt;/a&gt; President Donald Trump at the White House earlier this week.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://crooksandliars.com/2026/07/co-governor-jared-polis-pulls-trump" target="_blank"&gt;read more&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
     <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/102599">clemency board</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/98354">Gov. Jared Polis</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/88496">Tina Peters</category>
 <pubDate>Sat, 04 Jul 2026 18:58:04 +0000</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>Colorado Newsline</dc:creator>
</item>
<item>
    <title>Video Of Dallas PD Officer Shoving Egypt World Cup Staff Goes Viral</title>
    <link>https://crooksandliars.com/2026/07/video-dallas-pd-officer-shoving-egypt</link>
    <description>&lt;div class="node-media"&gt;&lt;img src="https://crooksandliars.com/files/primary_image/26/07/dpd.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p&gt;There have been lots of reports of World Cup teams facing issues in America due to insanely &lt;a href="https://www.npr.org/2026/06/09/nx-s1-5851634/immigration-policies-affect-fifa"&gt;horrible new immigration policies&lt;/a&gt; rolled out by the fascist Trump regime.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Reports have included a referee from Somalia being denied entry, an Iraqi team member being denied entry, fans from countries being denied entry (even though they have tickets), Iran's team being forced to lodge their team in Mexico, and after each game, they had to fly out immediately. They could not stay in America overnight at all.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Now we have a viral video of a Dallas Police Department officer getting into a physical altercation with a staff member of the Egypt team. And it looks bad.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The video shows an officer getting into a confrontation with Egypt's team as they posed with fans outside their hotel in Dallas. The officer shoved Egypt national team director Ibrahim Hassan while posing for a photo with a young fan.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The Dallas officer began arguing with the staff member, with the officer shouting “Back off! Back off!” as he shoved the man backward. Hassan says, “No pushing, no pushing,” to the officer as the altercation intensifies. Another officer can be seen attempting to separate people. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Police claim that the hotel security team called them.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;DPD spokesperson put out a statement saying:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://crooksandliars.com/2026/07/video-dallas-pd-officer-shoving-egypt" target="_blank"&gt;read more&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
     <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/102606">ACAB</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/tags/dallas">Dallas</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/tags/egypt">Egypt</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/1407">Police</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/14130">soccer</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/14129">World Cup</category>
 <pubDate>Sat, 04 Jul 2026 17:58:43 +0000</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>Red Painter</dc:creator>
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<item>
    <title>Trump's Fascist Friends Showed Up For His Big Party</title>
    <link>https://crooksandliars.com/2026/07/trumps-friends-showed-his-big-party</link>
    <description>&lt;div class="node-media"&gt;&lt;img src="https://crooksandliars.com/files/primary_image/26/07/patriot_front.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p&gt;Looks like some of Donald Trump's best fascist friends have shown up in DC for his big party! Heat be damned, ICE and lots of feds took a day off to show their support, donning khakis, dark polo shirts, face-covering gators, hats, and wraparound sunglasses. Oh, and they were carrying American flags and chanting Nazi rhetoric.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Who are they?&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;PATRIOT FRONT!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;They are, as defined aptly by google AI, "a white supremacist and neo-fascist hate group that formed in the aftermath of the 2017 Charlottesville "Unite the Right" rally. Led by Thomas Rousseau, the Texas-based organization aims to establish a white ethnostate in the United States."&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Here are some disturbing videos of DC Police (MPD) guarding their path.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;In front of Union Station (the large train station near the Capitol):&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;div class="embedfield embedfield-embed-html "&gt;
&lt;blockquote class="bluesky-embed" data-bluesky-uri="at://did:plc:5mj3u4tnxciyyvrsxqv254xw/app.bsky.feed.post/3mpt5rdwoec2a" data-bluesky-cid="bafyreib7rf7g3kjjycryrfes2hg7px26gyxui3nloxfspjgweywx7aol74"&gt;&lt;p lang="en"&gt;Patriot front marching from Union Station right now. White supremacist and neo-fascist organization. Cowards.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;mdash; &lt;a href="https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:5mj3u4tnxciyyvrsxqv254xw?ref_src=embed"&gt;Rafael M Batista (@rafmbatista.bsky.social)&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:5mj3u4tnxciyyvrsxqv254xw/post/3mpt5rdwoec2a?ref_src=embed"&gt;2026-07-04T13:22:25.438Z&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://crooksandliars.com/2026/07/trumps-friends-showed-his-big-party" target="_blank"&gt;read more&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
     <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/102608">250th</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/1287">America</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/26886">DC</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/11836">Donald Trump</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/43117">Feds</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/14483">ICE</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/35188">July 4th</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/67909">MAGA</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/tags/nazis">Nazis</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/85081">patriot front</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/tags/washington-dc">Washington DC</category>
 <pubDate>Sat, 04 Jul 2026 15:32:00 +0000</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>Red Painter</dc:creator>
</item>
<item>
    <title>Happy Fourth Of July, Trump-Style</title>
    <link>https://crooksandliars.com/2026/07/happy-fourth-july-trump-style</link>
    <description>&lt;div class="node-media"&gt;&lt;img src="https://crooksandliars.com/files/primary_image/26/07/hmurfrfwqaazqfi.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p&gt;Symbolic, no? And crashing with Lee Greenwood's 'Proud to be American' was perfect.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Source: &lt;a href="https://fox40.com/news/local-news/sacramento-county/folsom/skydiver-crash-folsom-rodeo/"&gt;Fox40, Sacramento&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;p&gt;(FOX40.COM) — A skydiver crashed Thursday night while parachuting into the Folsom Pro Rodeo, videos on social media show. Event organizers said the parachutist, Ross Vail, was uninjured and will jump again on Friday.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;A &lt;a href="https://www.facebook.com/reel/1042784598252450"&gt;video posted to Facebook&lt;/a&gt; showed a Vail skydiving with an American flag attached to his feet parachuting in to the grandstands. The crowd watched as it appears the flag gets snagged on a tree, forcing Vail to face plant at a 90-degree angle.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Exclusive video provided by the Folsom Pro Rodeo shows skydiver Vail after the crash walking on stage in front of a cheering crowd.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;A statement from the event organizers reads: “On behalf of the Folsom Pro Rodeo and Choose Folsom, our skydiver Ross is safe and walked into our arena, post jump to a standing ovation. He will be skydiving into our arena again tonight, July 3rd.“
&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;&lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;The best representation you’ll ever see of the fall of America. &lt;a href="https://t.co/obBpxd6NeA"&gt;pic.twitter.com/obBpxd6NeA&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;mdash; ??????? (@LucifersTweetz) &lt;a href="https://x.com/LucifersTweetz/status/2073223979431592116?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;July 4, 2026&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://crooksandliars.com/2026/07/happy-fourth-july-trump-style" target="_blank"&gt;read more&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
     <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/tags/fourth-july">Fourth of July</category>
 <pubDate>Sat, 04 Jul 2026 14:57:26 +0000</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>Ed Scarce</dc:creator>
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