Attention to the Unseen

Michelle Goldberg writes: About a decade ago, conservatives would often denounce Muslim immigration on the grounds that it threatened Western progress on gay rights. This posture, sometimes called homonationalism, got its start in Europe, then made its way into American politics with Donald Trump’s first presidential campaign. In his acceptance speech at the 2016 Republican National Convention, Trump decried the murder of 49 people in a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla., by the Islamist Omar Mateen. “As your president, I…

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Benjamin Ivry writes: On June 3, it was revealed that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered the Navy to rename a ship that was dedicated in honor of the American Jewish gay rights advocate Harvey Milk. This unusual move was scheduled by the current administration to coincide with Pride Month. A relevant office memo stated that the renaming is in “alignment” with the President, Secretary of Defense, and Secretary of the Navy’s “priorities of reestablishing the warrior culture.” Among reactions…

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The Wall Street Journal reports: President Trump is losing patience with Elon Musk after the billionaire attacked Republicans’ sprawling tax-and-spending bill. Musk is irked about Trump’s decision to withdraw the nomination of a key ally to lead the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The result is a fraying relationship between two of the world’s most powerful men. A senior White House official said Trump wasn’t happy about Musk’s decision to lambaste his signature legislation, describing the president as confused as…

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Andrei Popoviciu writes: From Bucharest’s corporate high-rise districts to its crumbling housing blocks, from sleepy suburbs in the flatlands to misty Transylvanian villages where the sheep outnumber voters, and others holding NATO bases and absorbing European Union funds, I crisscrossed my home country of Romania ahead of its May presidential election to speak to voters about the choices they were about to make. What I found was a country gripped by anxiety, suspicion, fear and a growing sense that democracy…

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By Hannah Allam This story was originally published by ProPublica When Thomas Fugate graduated from college last year with a degree in politics, he celebrated in a social media post about the exciting opportunities that lay beyond campus life in Texas. “Onward and upward!” he wrote, with an emoji of a rocket shooting into space. His career blastoff came quickly. A year after graduation, the 22-year-old with no apparent national security expertise is now a Department of Homeland Security official…

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Wired reports: Although Elon Musk has said that he is largely exiting his role at the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), at least three of his early operatives and key lieutenants throughout his government takeover have recently become full-time government employees. Edward Coristine, Luke Farritor, and Ethan Shaotran’s employment designations at the General Services Administration (GSA) have been officially converted to full-time from the restricted special government employee classification that limited their time in government to a period of…

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Peter Baker writes: In the Oval Office one day last week, President Trump renewed his no-holds-barred attack on the nation’s oldest university. “They’re totally antisemitic at Harvard,” he declared. Just 10 hours later, he posted an image of himself striding down a street with the caption, “He’s on a mission from God and nothing can stop what is coming.” Shown in the shadows, watching with approval, was a cartoon figure commonly seen as an antisemitic symbol. The appearance of the figure, the alt-right mascot…

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NBC News reports: Elon Musk issued a blistering criticism of the massive Republican bill for President Donald Trump’s agenda Tuesday, posting on X that it is a “disgusting abomination.” “I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore,” Musk wrote. “This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it.” “It will massively increase the already gigantic budget deficit to $2.5 trillion (!!!) and…

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