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Tom Eblen

@tomeblen.com
3.7K followers 1.3K following 3.7K posts

Writer, photographer, Kentucky history nerd. Retired newspaper editor, columnist, reporter. (AP, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Lexington Herald-Leader.) Opinions are my own.

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Tom Eblen @tomeblen.com · 3m
The Five Trump Scandals That Deserve Thorough Investigation newrepublic.com/article/2160... via @newrepublic.com
newrepublic.com
The Five Trump Scandals That Deserve Thorough Investigation
A guide for the Democrats’ coming congressional majority
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Tom Eblen @tomeblen.com · 2h
One more thing to add to Trump's Articles of Impeachment. www.cnn.com/2026/09/29/m...
cnn.com
Trump’s ads have cost taxpayers at least $2.5 million, with funding from Customs and Border Protection | CNN Business
Millions of taxpayer dollars have already been spent on President Donald Trump’s hagiographic ads, according to estimates by a leading political ad-tracking firm. And a total of $20 million has been a...
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Tom Eblen @tomeblen.com · 4h
Monday is last day to register to vote in Kentucky before November election kentuckylantern.com/2026/09/29/m...
kentuckylantern.com
Monday is last day to register to vote in Kentucky before November election • Kentucky Lantern
This coming Monday — Oct. 5 — is the last day for Kentuckians to register to vote ahead of the November general election.
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Reposted by Tom Eblen
DeedsMcDeeDee @deedeedeeds.bsky.social · 4h
I’m with Jack. He should be the next Attorney General.
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Tom Eblen @tomeblen.com · 4h
If there were any doubt, we now know which of these men is the "dirtbag." heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/september-...
heathercoxrichardson.substack.com
September 29, 2026
The scene that unfolded today at a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee was a snapshot of politics in the U.S.
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Tom Eblen @tomeblen.com · 16h
youtube.com/shorts/luyU7...
youtube.com
Jack Smith: "I will not be silenced"
YouTube video by C-SPAN
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Tom Eblen @tomeblen.com · 16h
Trump Launches Government Chatbot That Contradicts Some of His Claims www.nytimes.com/2026/09/29/u...
nytimes.com
Trump Launches America.gov, an AI Chatbot That Contradicts Some of His Claims
Democrats amplified statements from America.gov that frequently contradict the president on tariffs, election fraud and other topics.
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Tom Eblen @tomeblen.com · 17h
www.kentucky.com/news/local/e...
kentucky.com
Many records from new UK partner will not be public. Why lawyer says it’s ‘concerning’
UK isn’t violating open records law by rejecting the requests, but one lawyer says it’s troublesome that the public university’s partnership allows records to be concealed.
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Tom Eblen @tomeblen.com · 22h
newrepublic.com/post/215971/... via @newrepublic.com
newrepublic.com
Jack Smith Found Proof Beyond “Reasonable Doubt” of Trump’s Guilt
The former special counsel testified he would prosecute anyone, regardless of political party, based on the evidence he found about Donald Trump.
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Reposted by Tom Eblen
Mark Jacob @markjacob.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Imagine if congressional Republicans cared as much about poor people getting to see doctors as they care about limiting the paydays of college athletes.
nbcnews.com
Senate passes college sports bill that would rein in athlete payments and transfers
The overwhelming 77-22 vote to pass the legislation is Congress’ strongest effort yet to set national regulations governing payments to college athletes for their names, images and likenesses and how ...
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Tom Eblen @tomeblen.com · 29/09/2026
dicktofel.substack.com/p/mcclatchy-...
dicktofel.substack.com
McClatchy, Cutting Newsrooms, Says the Quiet Part Out Loud
A timely reminder of where hedge fund ownership is leading
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Tom Eblen @tomeblen.com · 29/09/2026
www.wired.com/story/these-...
wired.com
These Extremists Are Running for Election in November
With the threat of political violence at unprecedented levels, state and federal GOP candidates are openly sharing racist, pro-militia, anti-vaccine, sexist, antisemitic, and secessionist views.
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Tom Eblen @tomeblen.com · 29/09/2026
Richard Painter, who served as a White House ethics lawyer under President George W. Bush, said using public funds for “government-sponsored propaganda” could be “an impeachable offense.” heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/september-...
heathercoxrichardson.substack.com
September 28, 2026
It has become routine for Trump to spend the weekend posting wildly on social media, and this weekend was no exception.
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Tom Eblen @tomeblen.com · 28/09/2026
We need a president who will stand up to Putin. Not one who is in his pocket. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/28/w...
nytimes.com
Russian Drone Strikes Ukraine’s Science Academy, Causing Fire in City Center
A Russian jet-powered drone hit Ukraine’s National Academy of Sciences, the source of almost all of the country’s major scientific discoveries.
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Tom Eblen @tomeblen.com · 28/09/2026
The Untold Origins of Trump’s Plan to Sharply Restrict Mail-In Voting www.propublica.org/article/trum...
propublica.org
The Untold Origins of Trump’s Plan to Sharply Restrict Mail-In Voting
ProPublica’s reporting reveals for the first time the extent of the White House’s role in trying to dictate how mail-in ballots are processed, spurring behind-the-scenes drama that played out for near...
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Tom Eblen @tomeblen.com · 28/09/2026
Trump has turned our government into a criminal enterprise. Impeach, remove, prosecute, imprison. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/28/w...
nytimes.com
Trump Brought Venezuelan Gold to the U.S., but Refiners Won’t Touch It (Gift Article)
The administration is brokering deals in a notoriously corrupt industry, including one with a company that the United States deems a security threat.
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Tom Eblen @tomeblen.com · 28/09/2026
Trump has switched into full-traitor mode. Yet our biggest threat to national security isn't China; it's Trump and the Republicans who allow him to remain in power. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/27/u...
nytimes.com
Trump Offered to Sell Arms to China, U.S. Ambassador Says (Gift Article)
President Trump made the offer to Xi Jinping, China’s leader, said David Perdue, the ambassador to China. The White House later said the U.S. had no plans for such a sale.
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Reposted by Tom Eblen
Rima I Anabtawi @rimaanabtawi.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
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Reposted by Tom Eblen
The Atlantic @theatlantic.com · 28/09/2026
“The world has watched Russia’s war against Ukraine largely through the movement of its front lines,” Maksym Beznosiuk and Thom Reilly write. “But behind those lines, Moscow is building something more durable: a hidden state inside Ukraine”:
bit.ly
The Hidden State Russia Is Building Inside Ukraine
Russian occupation authorities are doing everything possible to make Ukrainian lands unrecoverable.
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Reposted by Tom Eblen
Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 28/09/2026
New in PN: Trump loves Xi because he wants to be him "Trump throws tantrums and damaging trade wars at utterly imaginary sleights from close allies like Canada. Yet he falls to his orange belly to abase himself before a country that is directly endangering US troops. What is he thinking?"
publicnotice.co
Trump loves Xi because he wants to be him
Kowtowing to tyrants makes him think he’s strong.
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Tom Eblen @tomeblen.com · 27/09/2026
"It’s not that the wealthy become evil; it’s that their environment stops teaching them the things that non-wealthy people are forced to learn simply by living in a world that pushes back." www.theatlantic.com/magazine/202...
theatlantic.com
What I Learned About Billionaires at Jeff Bezos’s Private Retreat
For the richest men on Earth, everything is free and nothing matters.
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Tom Eblen @tomeblen.com · 27/09/2026
UK violated open records law 3 times in recent cases, AG finds kentuckylantern.com/2026/09/24/u...
kentuckylantern.com
UK violated open records law 3 times in recent cases, AG finds • Kentucky Lantern
Attorney General Russell Coleman found the University of Kentucky to be in violation of Kentucky’s open records law in three different cases since August
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Tom Eblen @tomeblen.com · 27/09/2026
youtu.be/9vTA4JJyLTg?...
youtu.be
Dutch PM Rob Jetten Defies Trump at UNGA, His Blunt ICC Warning Draws Huge Applause
YouTube video by Hook Global
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Tom Eblen @tomeblen.com · 26/09/2026
Poor, Bret! His argument might have substance had he cited any examples of “conservative” literature he thought had been snubbed. The truth is that right-wing literature is as vacuous as most right-wing commentary, this column being a prime example. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/22/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | The Literary World’s D.E.I. Checklist (Gift Article)
The National Book Awards longlists are a study in tedious political orthodoxy.
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Tom Eblen @tomeblen.com · 26/09/2026
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
theatlantic.com
Blame Trump for Rising Borrowing Costs
Lenders don’t trust the United States anymore.
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Tom Eblen @tomeblen.com · 26/09/2026
Our toddler president. Such a loser. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/25/b...
nytimes.com
White House Blocks CNN From Air Force One
CNN won’t be able to join President Trump on a Saturday trip to Tennessee. He had banned CNN and two other news outlets from the White House, but a court order on Thursday restored their access.
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Tom Eblen @tomeblen.com · 25/09/2026
www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...
democracydocket.com
Supreme Court revives DHS use of flawed immigration database for voter purges
The decision lets the administration move forward with a key provision of President Trump’s first anti-voting executive order.
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Tom Eblen @tomeblen.com · 25/09/2026
Republicans in Congress will never hold Trump accountable for anything, which is why they must be voted out. A vote for a Republican this year is a vote for more chaos, higher prices, a weaker, poorer America and destruction of our democracy. apnews.com/article/war-...
apnews.com
Senate rejects resolution to halt the Iran war as gas prices upend midterms
Despite increasing political anxiety over Iran war, senators narrowly rejected a war powers resolution.
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Tom Eblen @tomeblen.com · 24/09/2026
McClatchy, a once-great newspaper company now being dismantled by a hedge fund, has lost its way. That's bad for communities and bad for democracy. Here's a report on the Lexington Herald-Leader, where I spent 21 years as the managing editor and a columnist. www.poynter.org/commentary/2...
poynter.org
McClatchy laid me off. The need for local journalism didn’t go with me. - Poynter
I was hired to fill a gap in local news coverage. Seven years later, that gap is widening again.
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Tom Eblen @tomeblen.com · 24/09/2026
www.nytimes.com/2026/09/23/u...
nytimes.com
8 Sailors in U.S.S. Lincoln Strike Group Attempted Suicide, Navy Says (Gift Article)
The aircraft carrier with its crew of about 5,000 sailors has spent more than 300 days at sea.
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Tom Eblen @tomeblen.com · 24/09/2026
The British press doesn't mince words about what's going on here. www.the-independent.com/news/world/a...
the-independent.com
Trump’s media ban shows steady slide of his regime into outright dictatorship
The US president has moved fast to create the conditions for an authoritarian regime. America can fight back, but is running out of time, explains world affairs editor Sam Kiley
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Tom Eblen @tomeblen.com · 24/09/2026
"Hegseth’s breaking faith with the men and women who’ve volunteered to serve. By robbing them of the ability to tell their stories to the nation and the world, he’s not just silencing them, he’s further separating the military from the civilian population it serves." www.nytimes.com/2026/09/24/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | What Hegseth Is Hiding (Gift Article)
Soldiers want to tell their stories, and we need to hear them.
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Tom Eblen @tomeblen.com · 24/09/2026
www.mediaite.com/media/news/d...
mediaite.com
DOJ Lawyer Behind Filing in Press Ban Case Admired Hitler
The Justice Department lawyer who signed the department's legal filing in response to a lawsuit over its press ban once admired Adolf Hitler.
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Tom Eblen @tomeblen.com · 24/09/2026
Here's how much of your money the Trump administration has been blowing on its illegal war with Iran. In November, elect a Congress that will put a stop to it. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
nytimes.com
How Much Has the U.S. Spent on the War in Iran? (Gift Article)
A detailed look at the $43.6 billion the Pentagon has spent so far.
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Tom Eblen @tomeblen.com · 24/09/2026
Inside Trump’s Effort to “Take Over” the Midterm Elections www.propublica.org/article/trum...
propublica.org
Inside Trump’s Effort to “Take Over” the Midterm Elections
When Trump tried to overturn the 2020 election, the institutional guardrails of American democracy held. But if faced with the same tests today, those barriers — and people who held the line — would l...
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Tom Eblen @tomeblen.com · 24/09/2026
Remember when we had an intelligent president in the White House? youtu.be/74StWMzr-7M?...
youtu.be
‘My Imagination Could NOT Foresee…’: Obama Hilariously Mocks Trump’s White House Media Ban
YouTube video by Hook Global
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Tom Eblen @tomeblen.com · 24/09/2026
We can only hope this is an omen of good things to come. youtu.be/jxy1Txou1oU?...
youtu.be
New poll reveals how Trump's low approval might affect midterms
YouTube video by PBS NewsHour
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Tom Eblen @tomeblen.com · 24/09/2026
Our biggest threat to national security is Donald Trump and the spineless Republicans who allow him to remain in power. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/22/u...
nytimes.com
Trump Cites National Security as He Faces Pushback on Press Ban, D.C. Arch and More (Gift Article)
The president is increasingly invoking the rationale while facing legal challenges to his plans, even in more curious cases like his triumphal arch, which he says will now include snipers and drones.
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Tom Eblen @tomeblen.com · 23/09/2026
"At some point, chasing a mirage across the same stretch of desert stops being persistence and starts being a delusion you should probably examine." @kentuckylantern.com kentuckylantern.com/2026/09/23/o...
kentuckylantern.com
Commentary: Once again: Revenue growth through tax cuts is a mirage • Kentucky Lantern
Nearly two years ago, I wrote in this publication that the Kentucky General Assembly’s faith in income tax rate cuts as a vehicle for generating revenue was a mirage.
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Tom Eblen @tomeblen.com · 23/09/2026
Another brilliant column by @jamellebouie.net “We shouldn’t let discussions about new legal regimes distract from the fact that there’s no A.I. exemption from laws already on the books.” New technologies must serve our needs, not the other way around. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/23/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | New Matrix, Meet the Old Matrix (Gift Article)
The railroads were once the octopus that A.I. is now.
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Tom Eblen @tomeblen.com · 22/09/2026
Trump TV is propaganda — and a crime open.substack.com/pub/protectd...
open.substack.com
Trump TV is propaganda — and a crime
The “Anti-Publicity & Propaganda Rider,” explained
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Tom Eblen @tomeblen.com · 22/09/2026
If Trump can make immigrants disappear, who's next? apnews.com/article/ice-...
apnews.com
AP Exclusive: ICE hides locations of thousands of detainees with final removal orders
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has stopped publicly revealing where it is holding most detainees who are subject to final deportation orders, in a move that has made it harder for lawyers an...
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Tom Eblen @tomeblen.com · 22/09/2026
Karma youtu.be/jbcdeFER5hg?...
youtu.be
Media ban backfires, leaving Trump silenced
YouTube video by CNN
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Reposted by Tom Eblen
Marc Elias @marcelias.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
🚨BREAKING: A federal appeals court on Monday ordered Missouri to reinstate a gerrymandered map that eliminates a Democratic district in Kansas City, even though the state has already distributed ballots. www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...
democracydocket.com
Missouri again ordered to use gerrymandered map for midterms — Supreme Court likely to decide
The circuit court ruling injects even more confusion into a year-long battle over which map the state will use for the general election.
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Tom Eblen @tomeblen.com · 20/09/2026
"The center’s first Trump-appointed director, Richard Grenell, pursued a plan, not previously reported, to replace works in the center’s art collection, including gifts from foreign nations honoring Kennedy, with art selected by Trump patrons." www.nytimes.com/2026/09/20/u...
nytimes.com
How President Trump Broke the Kennedy Center (Gift Article)
Internal emails and documents demonstrate the political capture of the institution, including how officials once pursued a plan to unload much of the art collection.
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Tom Eblen @tomeblen.com · 20/09/2026
"These people do not talk about spreading democracy ... They are deploying the tools of American diplomacy and government ... to promote their own business interests or their own ideological goals, because, suddenly, they can." @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu www.theatlantic.com/magazine/202...
theatlantic.com
MAGA Is Making the World Safe for Corruption
Far-right ideologues have transformed American foreign policy into a tool of private gain and antidemocratic reaction.
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Tom Eblen @tomeblen.com · 20/09/2026
“When the next administration comes, Republican or Democrat, funding may be restored, but it’s going to be incredibly difficult to rebuild.” www.nytimes.com/2026/09/19/c...
nytimes.com
How Trump Has Disrupted National Parks (Gift Article)
Maintenance projects have been put off around the country and resources diverted to the president’s favored projects in Washington.
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Reposted by Tom Eblen
Annette Gordon-Reed @agordonreed.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Two Centuries On, Smithsonian Connects Jefferson’s Hair to Hemings’s Children www.nytimes.com/2026/09/18/a...
nytimes.com
Two Centuries On, Smithsonian Connects Jefferson’s Hair to Hemings’s Children (Gift Article)
A new book describes how cutting-edge genomics techniques yielded “extraordinary proof” that Thomas Jefferson fathered children with Sally Hemings.
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Tom Eblen @tomeblen.com · 19/09/2026
Best reader comment: "The real "hoax" is the Republican Party pretending that Trump is intellectually or morally fit to be President." www.nytimes.com/2026/09/18/u...
nytimes.com
Trump Calls A.I. Fears a Hoax. Inside the White House, the Debate Is More Complex. (Gift Article)
The president seems driven chiefly by the sense that A.I. is the way to economic growth, and nothing can be allowed to stand in its way.
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Tom Eblen @tomeblen.com · 19/09/2026
“The White House belongs to the American people and the decisions made inside are funded by our tax dollars. MS NOW intends to take any and all steps necessary to defend our First Amendment rights and the essential role of independent journalism in our democracy.”
apnews.com
MS NOW says its journalists were denied access to the White House grounds
MS NOW says its journalists were denied access to the White House grounds Saturday morning. This comes a day after President Donald Trump announced he would ban the network and other outlets from the ...
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