Morning, Kitties. A watchdog says DHS has failed to produce records supporting Trump’s claim that 278,000 noncitizens were registered to vote, while the government keeps expanding election messaging and private voter data projects. Veterans are losing mental health professionals, a Georgia school blocked a transgender girl from running for homecoming queen, and a Pentagon adviser has reportedly called liberal women a threat to Western civilization. Meanwhile, Silicon Valley money, cryptocurrency, government regulators, sanctioned Russian banking, and Trump family business interests keep colliding in the same increasingly crowded fucking room.
The Shit Show Highlights
Congress Keeps Producing Bills Worth Watching
KittM tracks legislation being introduced in Congress and highlights proposals that could otherwise disappear beneath the daily political circus. The boring bill nobody notices today can become the law everybody is screaming about tomorrow.
Silicon Valley and the Far Right Are Building a Political Alliance
Anthony Davis examines the growing relationship between technology wealth, far right politics, artificial intelligence, surveillance, and government power. The important question is not whether every technology executive shares one ideology, but how concentrated private wealth translates into political influence.
DHS Has Not Produced Records Supporting Trump’s Noncitizen Voting Claim
CREW says DHS and other agencies failed to provide records supporting Trump’s claim that 278,000 noncitizens were registered to vote, prompting litigation seeking the government’s methodology and data. If government makes a claim involving hundreds of thousands of voters, asking to see the fucking evidence seems fairly reasonable.
The Final Five Weeks Before the Midterms Are Here
The 50501 Movement lays out organizing and civic participation priorities for the final weeks before the 2026 midterms. Voters should independently verify registration, deadlines, polling locations, and voting requirements with official state or local election authorities.
The CLARITY Act Could Reshape Crypto Regulation
GovTrack examines the CLARITY Act and the fight over which federal regulators should oversee digital assets. The legislation sits at the center of a larger struggle involving cryptocurrency companies, regulators, investors, and politically connected financial interests.
Russia Is Manufacturing Another Political Narrative
Olga Lautman examines what she argues is a Russian information operation and traces how narratives can move from Russian sources into Western political discourse. Claims about coordinated influence deserve evidence based scrutiny of origins, amplification networks, and documented relationships.
Ballroom Donor Connection Meets a Sanctioned Russian Bank
ICIJ reports that the administration authorized a company connected to a Trump ballroom donor to conduct business involving a sanctioned Russian bank. The authorization does not establish misconduct, but the donor relationship makes transparency around the decision especially important.
Abortion Pills Head Toward Another Supreme Court Fight
Jessica Valenti examines Louisiana’s challenge involving abortion medication and state shield laws protecting providers who prescribe pills across state lines. The dispute could help determine how far one state can reach into another state to enforce its abortion laws.
Fetterman Fundraising Message Targets Trump Supporters
The Daily Beast reports that a fundraising message associated with Sen. John Fetterman sought money from Republican and Trump aligned donors. Political fundraising frequently reveals which constituencies politicians believe are worth courting even when their party labels suggest otherwise.
Trump’s $500 Checks Become Another Economic Political Fight
Thom Hartmann examines Trump’s proposed $500 payments through a broader argument about economic policy, inequality, and electoral politics. The conclusions are commentary, but voters can separately examine the proposal’s cost, eligibility rules, funding source, and legislative requirements.
Georgia School Blocks Trans Girl From Running for Homecoming Queen
A Georgia school district blocked transgender student Riley Williams from running for homecoming queen, citing federal Title IX rules and guidance even though the district reportedly has no policy requiring that exclusion. Williams says she is challenging the decision for transgender students who come after her.
Appeals Court Revives Trump IRS and Treasury Lawsuit
A federal appeals court revived litigation involving Trump, the IRS, and Treasury over allegations concerning the handling of his tax information. Reviving a case allows the litigation to continue and does not itself establish the underlying allegations.
FCC Chair Says Government Funded Trump Ads Raise No Red Flags
FCC Chair Brendan Carr says he sees no legal problem with government funded advertisements featuring Trump despite criticism that the spots resemble campaign messaging. The dispute centers on where legitimate government communication ends and taxpayer funded political promotion begins.
SEC Quorum Proposal Could Concentrate Regulatory Power
The Lever examines a proposed SEC quorum change that could allow dramatically fewer commissioners to conduct agency business. Rules about who constitutes a quorum sound painfully bureaucratic until one person potentially has the power to make decisions affecting trillions of dollars.
Veterans Keep Losing Mental Health Therapists
ProPublica found that hundreds of mental health professionals have left the VA while veterans report canceled appointments, long waits, shorter sessions, and difficulty maintaining relationships with therapists. The VA disputes that the reporting reflects the broader system and says overall mental health appointments have increased.
Congressional Staff Trip Included Luxury Stops in Italy and France
NBC News examines an official congressional staff trip that included plans for luxury destinations in Italy and France. Government travel deserves scrutiny when taxpayers are footing the bill, particularly when leisure and legitimate official business begin sharing an itinerary.
Women Are Not Safe in America Even When Institutions Promise Protection
Sunny Apocalypse examines sexual violence, institutional failures, and the burden placed on women to protect themselves from danger. The larger problem is a culture that routinely teaches potential victims how to avoid assault while investing far less energy in accountability for perpetrators.
Intelligence Inspector General Investigates CIA Officer Allegations
The intelligence community inspector general is investigating allegations involving a CIA officer and whether information was improperly handled or represented. An investigation is not a finding of wrongdoing, making the inspector general’s eventual evidence and conclusions the important part.
Anthropic Leaders Reportedly Used Stuffed Animals to Mediate Workplace Disputes
A report says Anthropic cofounder Daniela Amodei and her husband used stuffed animals as a playful advisory council while discussing workplace conflicts. Humanity may be racing toward artificial general intelligence, but apparently corporate governance still occasionally requires Mr. fucking Snuggles.
Pentagon Adviser Called Liberal Women a Pestilence
WIRED reports that retired Army colonel Kurt Schlichter worked with a Pentagon task force after years of public statements praising authoritarian leaders and attacking women, immigrants, and political opponents. The Pentagon defended his contribution to its military education review while WIRED reported it was unclear whether he still worked there.
Explore Trump’s Network as an Interactive Map
Kim Albrecht’s interactive project visualizes relationships surrounding Trump and provides another way to explore networks of people, institutions, money, and influence. Network graphics are starting points for investigation, not proof that every connection represents misconduct.
Closing Kitty Thoughts
Today’s stories keep circling the same uncomfortable question: who gets to control the information?
Government officials make enormous claims about voters but watchdogs cannot obtain the supporting records. Private technology interests are moving deeper into elections. Government advertisements increasingly resemble political messaging. Regulators are considering rules that could concentrate authority in fewer hands. Veterans are struggling to maintain access to therapists while Washington argues about what government should look like.
Then there is the Pentagon, where a man who reportedly called liberal women a pestilence was considered useful enough to help examine military education.
And somewhere in Silicon Valley, stuffed animals are apparently helping humans manage the company building some of the world’s most sophisticated artificial intelligence.
Honestly, the stuffed animals may be the most emotionally regulated institution in today’s fucking news.
Follow the money. Read the legislation. Verify election information. Protect your data. Keep the receipts.
Claws out.
Featured Resisters and Resources
- East Wing Restoration is a nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing the representation of Democratic women in state legislatures across the United States. The organization identifies, recruits, trains, and supports women candidates who are running for state legislative office, with a particular focus on building long term political leadership and strengthening representative democracy.
- UndoTrump.org is a political action campaign focused on removing the name and branding of Donald Trump from federal property, monuments, and public assets once legally possible. The initiative centers on accountability, symbolic restoration, and reversing what organizers describe as the politicization and personalization of government infrastructure.
What We Are Watching Today
- 6:33 AM MDT
Democratic Lawmakers & Military Veterans Protest Pres. Trump’s Memorial Arch - 7:20 AM MDT
Weather Hampering NASA SpaceX Crew-13 Launch Live - 8:00 AM MDT
NYC Mayor Mamdani Makes Green Spaces Announcement - 8:01 AM MDT
North Carolina Democrats Hold Virtual News Conference on Election Security - 8:29 AM MDT
Senate Pro Forma Session - 9:00 AM MDT
Maine Democrats Hold Press Conference on Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) - 9:30 AM MDT
U.S. House of Representatives - 11:00 AM MDT
Vice President Vance Remarks at Midterm Rally in Lakeland, FL - 11:30 AM MDT
House Democrats Hold Meeting on Election Security - 3:00 PM MDT
Governor Candidate Zach Lahn (R-IA) Speaks at GOP Fundraiser - 4:00 PM MDT
U.S. House Candidate Derek Merrin (R-OH) Speaks at Republican County Dinner - 6:00 PM MDT
Maine 2nd Congressional District Debate - 8:00 PM MDT
California 11th Congressional District Debate - Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs | 10:00 AM (EDT) | Meeting Details
- Senate Committee on Foreign Relations | 11:00 AM (EDT) | Meeting Details
Today’s Call to Action
1. Read Today’s Resistance Survival Guides
2. Sign these Petitions and Send These Pre Written Letters
- MS NOW: Stop Airing Trump’s Taxpayer Funded Propaganda Ads
- Tell Congress: Trump’s war against Iran is a bad deal for families
- Don’t let Medicare Advantage insurers dump seniors
- Sign the petition: Congress must bring down energy costs by putting an end to Donald Trump’s war against affordable, renewable electricity generation.
- Let’s back up those face-to-face meetings with grassroots action. Click here to send a message to your senators and representative urging them to expand the Child Tax Credit so that it reaches every household, and make those payments monthly.
3. Verify your voter registration status and help at least one other person check theirs
4. Save contact information for local legal aid and voting support organizations
5. Attend a Virtual Event
- MoveOn Monthly Phone Bank
Monday, October 5, 2026, from 6 to 8 p.m. Eastern, 4 to 6 p.m. Mountain. Join MoveOn members nationwide for a virtual advocacy phone bank. 50501 Missouri - What Activists Can Do to Fix Media Now
Monday, October 5, 2026, from 7 to 8 p.m. Eastern, 5 to 6 p.m. Mountain. Join the Media and Democracy Project to learn how media shapes public opinion and take action on a current information issue. 50501 Missouri - How to Have Successful Volunteer Recruitment Conversations
Tuesday, October 6, 2026, from 1 to 2 p.m. Eastern, 11 a.m. to noon Mountain. This free virtual training from the National Democratic Training Committee helps you turn conversations into volunteer commitments. mobilize.us
6. Contact Your Lawmakers Directly
- Call your House representative about the Epstein files: “Hi, my name is [name], and I live in [ZIP code]. I’m asking Representative [name] to demand a public accounting of which Epstein records remain unreleased, why they are being withheld, and when they will be reviewed for release. Please protect survivors’ identities while making the government’s decisions transparent. Can you tell me the representative’s position?”
- Call your senators about oversight: “Hi, my name is [name], and I live in [ZIP code]. I’m asking Senator [name] to support hearings on how the DOJ and FBI handled Epstein evidence, including missing or withheld records. Survivors deserve answers, and the public deserves a documented explanation. Will the senator press for a hearing?”
- Call your lawmakers about survivor protections: “Hi, my name is [name], and I live in [ZIP code]. I’m asking [representative or senator] to put survivors first in every Epstein records review. That means protecting identifying information, consulting survivors before sensitive material is released, and explaining redactions without hiding institutional failures. Will [name] commit to those safeguards?”
7. Who Are We Boycotting This Week?
- Starbucks corporate stores: Skip a corporate Starbucks this week in solidarity with its workers. The AFL CIO’s current boycott list specifies corporate stand alone stores.
- Breyers, Klondike, Talenti and Yasso: Skip these Magnum ice cream brands. Ben Cohen has called for the boycott to pressure Magnum to sell Ben & Jerry’s to an independent owner; he has asked supporters to keep buying Ben & Jerry’s.
- Mondelēz and Nabisco snacks made in Mexico: Check the package and skip the products covered by the AFL CIO boycott. This is a targeted boycott, not a call to avoid every Nabisco product.
