iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Borowitz Report: Fox News Channel’s top executive said last week that the company was “deeply relieved” to learn that the White House’s media ban would only apply to news outlets. CBS News chief Bari Weiss shared Murdoch’s satisfaction in knowing that her division would also be exempt from the ban.

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Jim Babbitt @jb2755.bsky.social · 13h

Poll watch: Almost 3/4 of Americans (72%) believe promoting DEI initiatives should be a priority for businesses, per a Bentley University/Gallup Business in Society survey of 3,007 US adults. “Even Republican employees” are “expressing approval for such workplace programs,” said USA Today.

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Jim Babbitt @jb2755.bsky.social · 18h

Last Saturday, DJT barred reporters from CNN, Politico and MS NOW from the White House, following up on his post a day earlier warning he was “banning” the 3 outlets “as a result of their constant ‘reporting’ FAKE NEWS!” DJT clearly isn’t interested in playing by traditional 1st Amendment rules.

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Jim Babbitt @jb2755.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Kevin D. Williamson in The Dispatch: “It’s essential to call out ‘liars’ and ‘clowns’. It is important to call things what they are. DJT is a habitual liar who has made his political career on the support of people, often dumb and mostly angry, who enjoy being lied to. JD Vance is a schmuck …”

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Jim Babbitt @jb2755.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Poll watch: 7 in 10 American voters (71%) believe DJT lacks a clear strategy for ending the Iran war, including 95% of Democrats, 83% of independents and 43% of Republicans, according to a Fox News survey of 1,211 U.S. adults. And 47% think the conflict will make the U.S. less safe in the long run.

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Jim Babbitt @jb2755.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Joe Scarborough, MSNOW host and former GOP Congressman, to JD Vance, “You work for a guy who has made more trades in the stock market than every member of the House and Senate combined. You work for a guy whose family has made billions and billions of dollars off of so-called public service.”

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Jim Babbitt @jb2755.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

United Nations investigators last week reported they had found “reasonable grounds” to believe the U.S. committed war crimes in Iran with its “indiscriminate” attacks on an elementary school and sports center, killing at least 178 civilians, mostly children. We’re now the new international villains!

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Jim Babbitt @jb2755.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

My Monday morning moment of Zen …

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Jim Babbitt @jb2755.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

The US is experiencing its worst measles outbreak since 1991, “driven largely by unvaccinated people.” About 3,300 cases have been confirmed this year, and the “7 reported measles-associated deaths in the last 2 years” are “more than the combined total” over the “previous 3 decades,” The AP said.

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Jim Babbitt @jb2755.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Paul Krugman: Even a massive blue wave in November won’t end DJT’s ability to do immense damage to the nation and world — damage that he may well do out of sheer spite. He is, after all, exactly the kind of person who will feel, not that he failed America, but that America failed him.

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Jim Babbitt @jb2755.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

My Sunday morning thought …

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Jim Babbitt @jb2755.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Polls show people don’t expect the $5,000 election bribe checks to materialize, said Axios. 61% of likely voters doubt DJT will keep his pledge and think it’s unclear “whether Republicans have the will to make” the checks a “reality.” This looks like a “publicity stunt,” said one voter to Fox News.

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Jim Babbitt @jb2755.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

A new report from the Congressional Budget Office said the Iran war, which has taken 18 U.S. lives and wounded more than 800 servicemembers, has also cost the US about $38 billion as of August 1 and could cost as much as $2 billion a month while it goes on, and it will continue to drive inflation.

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Jim Babbitt @jb2755.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Statistic of the day - $2.8 billion: The cost of the arms deal DJT’s administration has signed off on with Israel, including 40,000 one-ton bombs. The weapons have attracted international criticism because of the civilian casualties caused by their use in densely populated areas of Gaza and Lebanon.

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Jim Babbitt @jb2755.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Poll watch: More than half (57%) of Americans disapprove of DJT’s handling of AI, up 7% since March, while only 23% approve, according to a University of Massachusetts Amherst survey of 1,000 US adults. Only 11% support the building of a data center in their community, while 65% oppose it.

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Jim Babbitt @jb2755.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Poll watch: Americans’ trust in childhood measles vaccines has fallen from 2020 when 84% believed they are safe for kids to 76% believing the same now, according to a Reuters/Ipsos survey of 1,143 U.S. adults. The declining trust is “most pronounced among Republicans,” said Reuters.

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Jim Babbitt @jb2755.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

It’s Friday morning, which means it’s time for my billboard/sign of the week …

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Jim Babbitt @jb2755.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Borowitz Report: DJT told reporters that AI “is much less likely to destroy humanity than I am. In just 2 years, I tore down the East Wing, turned the Reflecting Pool green, put the Kennedy Center out of business, blew up the Middle East, and put Pete Hegseth in charge of the military.”

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Jim Babbitt @jb2755.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

The board of the Kennedy Center, chaired by DJT himself and stacked with allies he appointed, voted last week to close most of the performing arts center for renovation. But DJT immediately threatened to block that work unless his name is restored to the building. Truly a 5 year old’s behavior!

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Jim Babbitt @jb2755.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Last week, DJT blamed the global diesel shortage on Ukraine’s strikes in Russia. He’s ignoring a far more obvious cause: the war he started. At least DJT is consistent - it’s never ever his fault!

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Jim Babbitt @jb2755.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Poll watch: Americans’ satisfaction with K-12 education has dropped to 32% — the lowest in nearly 3 decades and down 11% over the past two years, according to a Gallup survey of 1,200 U.S. adults. And 47% of those polled give K-12 schools a “poor” rating for preparing students to think critically.

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Jim Babbitt @jb2755.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “You’ve got a con artist who has put in the White House another con artist, and they just keep running bigger and bigger cons.” by “Musk” documentary filmmaker Alex Gibney, in a keynote address at the Toronto International Film Festival, on Elon Musk and DJT’s unchecked power trip.

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Jim Babbitt @jb2755.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Umar Kremlev, a Russian oligarch close to Vladimir Putin, spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on the wedding of DJT Jr. and Bettina Anderson in May. Kremlev attended the wedding along with a large group of Russians. Can you imagine GOP outrage if that had been Hunter Biden?

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Jim Babbitt @jb2755.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

A YouGov poll showed only 24% of Americans think the construction of AI data centers is a good thing, while 47% say it’s bad. 61% of Americans don’t want one in their town. So of course, DJT is seeking to exempt data centers from having to notify anyone about how much air pollution will be released.

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Jim Babbitt @jb2755.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

My Monday morning moment of Zen …

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Jim Babbitt @jb2755.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

When DJT launched the Iran war in February, he declared that his “little excursion” would be over in “four to five weeks.” Six months later, the war is still raging—and DJT “is losing,” said Ishaan Tharoor in The New Yorker. And none of his initial goals have been achieved …

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Jim Babbitt @jb2755.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

The Guardian: DJT’s approval rating has cratered to 33%, we’re stuck in a never ending war with Iran and America’s reputation “has plummeted globally.” Meanwhile, DJT is trying to self-soothe by changing lake names and slapping his own name on everything from the Kennedy Center to battleships.

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Jim Babbitt @jb2755.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

My Sunday morning thought (notice, there is no distinction regarding skin color, immigration status, etc.) …

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Jim Babbitt @jb2755.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Borowitz Report: Calling it an effort to “restore sanity,” Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney offered every adult American $6000 to vote against Republicans in the midterms. His announcement seemed unlikely to make DJT increase his own offer, since $5000 is the most he has ever paid a non-pornstar.

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Jim Babbitt @jb2755.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Inflation is a big reason for DJT’s cratering approval and his party’s sinking odds in the midterm elections, but nearly every one of his signature policy ideas is actually inflationary. And DJT’s repeated strategy seems to be to commit to new proposals that would drive up costs even further.

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Jim Babbitt @jb2755.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Quote of the Day: DJT at GOP midterm convention. “Please raise your right hand. I pledge to the greatest president in the history of the United States. That loves us so much he can’t even breathe. That I will go out with my family, my friends (to vote) … I’m going to try and cheat like hell …” Wow!

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Jim Babbitt @jb2755.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Polls show data centers are broadly unpopular with both party’s voters. DJT is championing them anyway, raising concerns among his GOP allies that he’s hitching the party to another losing issue. But DJT has surrounded himself with Big Tech figures and he has become more of a tech investor.

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Jim Babbitt @jb2755.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

It’s Friday morning, which means it’s time for my billboard/sign of the week …

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Jim Babbitt @jb2755.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Last week at the “Trumpapaloosa” midterm convention in Dallas, DJT insisted that if the Republicans win the midterm elections, he will give all adult Americans a check for $5,000, a plan that would cost more than a trillion dollars and would require congressional approval. Unbelievable!!!

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Jim Babbitt @jb2755.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

What the Canadians may not realize is that, with this president, none of it has to make sense, and that if recent history is a guide, he will back down, perhaps after declaring victory over Ottawa. DJT will then move on, leaving ordinary Americans and their Canadian friends to deal with the damage.

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Jim Babbitt @jb2755.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Paul Krugman: There have been many trade conflicts in history, some more destructive than the US-Canada fight. But I don’t think there has ever been a dispute this stupid. It’s all deeply humiliating — for us. But it’s also important to realize that this will do real damage to the US economy.

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Jim Babbitt @jb2755.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “What he’s doing with this platform on X cannot be ignored, because he’s stoking flames that don’t exist in the real world.” Ashley St. Clair, at the Venice Film Festival premiere of the documentary “Musk”. He’s sowing “deliberate division,” said the mother of 1 of his 14 children.

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Jim Babbitt @jb2755.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Poll watch: A majority of Americans (89%) believe government corruption is widespread — the highest percentage in “20 years,” according to a Gallup survey of 1,000 adults. The percentage of Democrats who have this belief has risen most sharply since 2024, from 57% to 91%.

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Jim Babbitt @jb2755.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Musk’s open attempt to buy elections for both the Republicans and the AfD party in Germany should be bigger news, not only because of the political power his money has given to one man, but also because of what his behavior says about the “alt-right’s” and MAGA’s ideology and their goals.

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Jim Babbitt @jb2755.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Now that we have at least some information about the origins of the “tariff-free” beef, we are even less reassured. Recently, the European Union banned beef imports from Brazil because they weren’t adhering to EU standards on antibiotics use. So there are, in fact, real concerns here about safety.

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Jim Babbitt @jb2755.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Borowitz Report: DJT lashed out at critics of his aide Natalie Harp after she shared screenshots of the nation’s nuclear codes on her Instagram. In an unexpected vote of support, Canadian PM Mark Carney also defended Harp, saying “The world is safer if she has the nuclear codes and he doesn’t.”

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Jim Babbitt @jb2755.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

On CNN last week, pollster Harry Enten noted that while DJT enjoyed a 20% advantage over VP Kamala Harris in 2024 on economic issues, DJT’s approval rating for how he is handling the economy is now 41% underwater. “We’re talking about a switcheroo in the wrong direction of 61% on this Labor Day.”

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Jim Babbitt @jb2755.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

The Pentagon is in “turmoil,” said Axios, riven by internal ideological disputes while fighting a war with Iran. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s “firings and feuds” have left the Army “rudderless,” said The New York Times.

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Jim Babbitt @jb2755.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

In an interview with the New York Magazine published last Friday, DJT agreed that Senator Jon Ossoff was right to say he was putting his name on things now because nobody else will when he’s gone. “That’s true,” DJT told them. “Nobody will do it once I’m gone. When I leave here, nobody will.” Truth!

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Jim Babbitt @jb2755.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

My Monday morning moment of Zen …

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Jim Babbitt @jb2755.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

My Sunday morning thought …

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Jim Babbitt @jb2755.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Andy Borowitz: An 80 year-old man with severe dementia has started calling common objects different names, a leading expert in cognitive decline said. Calling the man’s dementia “advanced,” the expert said, “He must immediately be removed from any position where he can cause harm.”

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Jim Babbitt @jb2755.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Election analyst Charlie Cook told Republicans last week to “brace themselves” for the midterms. “The three most plausible outcomes are that it will be bad, really bad, or truly horrible.” God, I hope so!

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Jim Babbitt @jb2755.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

With just 4 days of work under their belts after the August recess, House speaker Mike Johnson canceled votes for the last two weeks in September, leaving the House with only a few days in Washington between now and the midterms. This will protect Republicans from having to weigh in on anything DJT.

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Jim Babbitt @jb2755.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

DHS has assigned hundreds of agents to an “intensive, weekslong hunt” for noncitizen voters, The NYT said last week. Such “election fraud is exceedingly rare,” but DHS is “pulling agents” from “investigating such serious crimes as human trafficking and terrorism” to scour state voter rolls.

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