Happy Tuesday from the nation where the president’s family is moving closer to operating its own federally regulated bank, DHS allegedly treated lawful Minnesota protesters like members of a terrorist financing network, contractors are being hired to chase deported immigrants through foreign countries for money, and bulldozers are chewing into Big Bend National Park. Meanwhile, a Navy destroyer spent four days powerless in the South China Sea and Pete Hegseth is reportedly thinking about becoming president. Apparently successfully managing the military is no longer considered a prerequisite for requesting a promotion.
Key Takeaways
A Navy Destroyer Spent Four Days Powerless in the South China Sea
The USS Benfold lost power after a generator casualty, leaving sailors without functioning toilets, air conditioning, or normal galley service before the ship was towed to the Philippines. America’s global military posture currently includes aircraft carriers with exhausted crews and destroyers temporarily auditioning as very expensive driftwood.
Trump’s Family Crypto Company Is Moving Closer to Having Its Own Bank
World Liberty Trust Company received conditional approval for a national trust bank charter and would issue and redeem the Trump family company’s USD1 stablecoin if final requirements are satisfied. A sitting president whose administration regulates a bank financially connected to his family is apparently the conflict of interest version of cutting out the middleman.
Trump’s Stablecoin Could Become Payment Infrastructure for Artificial Intelligence
World Liberty Financial is developing AgentPay, which it says could allow autonomous AI agents to hold money and make payments using stablecoins while the company’s proposed bank moves through federal approval. We have officially reached the sentence “the president’s family currency could pay the robots,” and somehow there are still eleven stories left today.
DHS Surveillance of Minnesota Protesters Went Far Beyond Watching Demonstrations
Discovery in federal cases reportedly shows investigators demanded years of financial records from unions and nonprofits while pursuing a theory involving domestic terrorist financing tied to anti ICE activism. Apparently attending protests was not sufficiently suspicious, so the government went looking through everybody’s financial underwear drawer.
CBP Hired Contractors to Chase Fines From People Already Deported
CBP awarded four contracts capped at $9 million each for companies to locate deported people in Mexico, Honduras, and Guatemala, deliver fine notices, and obtain photographs confirming receipt. America is now apparently exporting debt collectors along with deportees.
Trump’s Border Wall Is Moving Into Big Bend National Park
Crews have begun clearing land for more than one hundred miles of border wall construction through the Big Bend region after DHS waived twenty eight environmental and historic preservation laws. It took millions of years for the Rio Grande to carve those canyons, but apparently nobody anticipated a president with bulldozers and absolutely no patience for environmental review.
Trump’s Culture War Is Reaching National Parks
National parks are increasingly caught in fights over staffing, historical interpretation, environmental protections, and the administration’s effort to reshape how federal sites present American history. Apparently even trees have become suspiciously woke.
Pete Hegseth Is Reportedly Thinking About 2028
People around Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly believe his travel to early primary states and political activity indicate presidential ambitions, although Hegseth has not announced a campaign. Nothing says “promote me” quite like sailors reporting terrible conditions while one of your destroyers waits for a tow truck.
Jared Kushner Is Back at the Center of High Stakes Diplomacy
Jared Kushner is serving as a special envoy involved in Gaza negotiations while Greg Conners carefully documents Kushner’s peripheral appearances in Epstein related records, including an event invitation and Steve Bannon’s private commentary. The records reviewed do not establish a direct Epstein relationship, which is exactly why evidence should be described precisely instead of upgraded for clicks.
Virginia Giuffre’s Records Are Moving Toward Release
The latest EpsteinWiki news roundup follows legal efforts surrounding Virginia Giuffre’s records, reporting about reputation professionals who attacked survivors, and continuing questions about institutional failures surrounding Epstein. The real Epstein story remains considerably uglier than a celebrity list because respectable institutions helped make the machine work.
Private Contractors Are Training Mexican Forces for Clandestine Operations
Contract records and recruiting materials show American contractors supporting tactical training, surveillance technology, and special operations capabilities for Mexican forces as the United States expands its counternarcotics campaign. Apparently the War on Drugs has entered its private contractor cinematic universe.
Trump Is Still Floating Ways to Interfere With the Midterms
Former federal prosecutor Elie Honig argues that Trump may attempt to invoke emergency authority to interfere with election administration, while emphasizing that the Constitution gives election authority to states and Congress, not the president. The plan may be legally ridiculous, but legally ridiculous has unfortunately stopped being synonymous with harmless.
Election Day Is Getting Closer Whether We Are Ready or Not
Organizers are urging voters to verify registration, learn deadlines, volunteer, and begin turnout work now rather than waiting for November. Democracy remains annoyingly high maintenance and continues refusing to save itself.
Closing RK Thoughts
Today’s stories have one common denominator: power trying to remove the irritating middle steps.
Why deal with environmental review when you can waive it? Why leave protest surveillance to ordinary investigations when you can demand years of financial records? Why separate presidential wealth from government regulation when your family business can simply apply for a bank charter?
And why wait until Election Day to worry about election interference?
The boring safeguards are the safeguards.
Permits. Warrants. Courts. Inspectors. Disclosure rules. Environmental reviews. Independent regulators. Election officials. Journalists who read the paperwork everyone else skips.
Authoritarianism rarely announces itself with dramatic music.
Sometimes it arrives as an exemption form.
Read the fucking form.
Claws out. Receipts ready.
Featured Resisters and Resources
- Civil Service Strong is a nonpartisan initiative focused on protecting, strengthening, and modernizing the professional civil service in the United States. The organization provides resources for understanding why an independent, merit based public workforce is essential to effective government and democratic institutions.
- January 6 Attack is a public research and documentation resource dedicated to organizing information about the January 6, 2021 attack on the United States Capitol. The site provides researchers with tools for exploring people, photographs, videos, timelines, and other records associated with the events surrounding the Capitol attack.
What We Are Watching Today
- 8:30 AM EDT
NASA Conducts 97th U.S. Spacewalk at the International Space Station Live - 10:00 AM EDT
U.N. Security Council Holds Meeting on Libya - 12:30 PM EDT
Sen. Mark Kelly Campaigns for Sen. Jon Ossoff - 6:00 PM EDT
U.S. House Candidate Matt Dunlap (D-ME) Holds Town Hall - 7:00 PM EDT
South Carolina U.S. Senate Republican Special Election Primary Debate
Today’s Call to Action
1. Read Today’s Resistance Survival Guides
2. Sign these Petitions and Send These Pre Written Letters
- Subpoena the Epstein Tapes: Preserve the Wolff and Bannon Recordings Now
- Tell Congress: Pass the AVERT Act to Stop the Cycle of Cruelty and Violence
- Tell mayors: Don’t let Trump make policing harder
- Denounce Trump’s DOJ for Giving Felons Access to Guns
- Will you sign our petition and demand Congress restore the evidence-based vaccine schedule and protect public health guidance from political interference?
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 an Event
- RSVP to join us tomorrow, August 18, at 8 p.m. ET for a training on protecting our elections with our partners at Voto Latino and Hispanic Federation.
- Eyes on ICE: Document and Record Tuesday, August 18 at 2:30 p.m. ET
- How Craftivism Can Save Democracy Tuesday, August 18 at 7:30 p.m. ET
- What’s the Plan with Leah and Ezra Thursday, August 20 at 3:00 p.m. ET
6. Contact Your Lawmakers Directly
- Stop DHS Surveillance: Tell your lawmakers to demand hearings into DHS spying on protesters, unions, and political groups. Protect lawful First Amendment activity.
- Protect Voting Rights: Tell your lawmakers to oppose the SAVE America Act and its restrictive citizenship document requirements.
- Stop Unauthorized War: Tell your lawmakers to enforce the Iran War Powers Resolution and block funding for unauthorized military action.
7. Who Are We Boycotting This Week?
The People’s Union USA has placed these corporations on its permanent boycott list:
Buy only what you need. Support local businesses, independent sellers, and union shops whenever possible.
