Yossarian's Roost Resuscitated

November 2025 and Beyond: If the shutdown persists, yes, SNAP benefits will be cut or suspended nationwide for all recipients starting November 1, 2025. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has warned states of "insufficient funds" for full payments, with November costs estimated at $8 billion—exceeding the $6 billion contingency reserve (after reserving ~$500 million for state admin costs). USDA directed states on October 10 not to process November loads onto EBT cards until further notice.At least 25 states (half the country) have already announced suspensions, including Texas (halt after Oct. 27), Pennsylvania ("cannot be paid"), Missouri ("temporarily suspend"), Oklahoma (suspension from Nov. 1), New York, New Jersey, Nevada, North Dakota, California, and Washington. Even if funding resumes, delays could last weeks due to processing backlogs. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins confirmed benefits would "go away" without a deal by November.

This differs from the 2018-2019 shutdown, where early February payments were issued as a workaround (unused here due to depleted reserves). Additional 2025 Trump administration changes—$186 billion in cuts over 10 years, stricter work requirements—exacerbate the strain, potentially disqualifying 22 million more families by 2026.What SNAP Recipients Should DoAction
Details
Budget Existing Funds
Use October balances wisely; they expire after 9-12 months (state-specific), but post-Oct. 31 usability is unclear in some states. Lock EBT cards against fraud.
Seek Alternatives
Contact local food banks (e.g., Feeding America network) now—demand is surging. Apply for emergency aid via 211.org or state hotlines.
Stay Informed
Monitor USDA.gov or your state's human services site (e.g., Texas HHS, PA DHS) for updates. Applications/recertifications continue processing.
Advocacy
Urge Congress to pass a continuing resolution; groups like the Food Research & Action Center track impacts.

This crisis risks spiking hunger rates (already at 12-13% nationally) and overwhelming nonprofits. Food banks report reserves could deplete in 1-2 weeks if cuts hit. If resolved soon, backpay may follow, but families face tough choices like skipping meals or rent in the interim.

Muhammad Asghar
9h
·
Science does not support the idea of pure races with ancient origins. In the past few years, genetic sequencing of ancient and modern humans and related species has given us a flood of new information about how human populations have evolved.
The evidence reveals a history of ongoing genetic mingling, due to interbreeding between different populations and even species. Humans from different groups had children together, and even with Neanderthals and members of other now-extinct hominin species. This mingling occurred constantly in the long process of human migration across the globe. Europeans inhabit one region of a large genetic continuum and are no more or less “pure” than any other population.
▪︎From Africa to the world:
The genetic history of humanity begins in what we now know as Africa. The exact location (or locations) of the first anatomically modern humans is debated, but there is a consensus they lived south of the Sahara desert between 100,000 and 200,000 years ago. A group or groups of these early humans migrated out of Africa and into the Middle East, as we now know it, some time between 50,000 and 70,000 years ago. Next, some went east into Asia while others headed west into Europe.
At some point, the wandering humans met and bred with Neanderthals. These now-extinct hominins had left Africa many thousands of years earlier. Modern Asians and Europeans still carry genetic signatures of Neanderthals, while sub-Saharan Africans do not.
The humans that migrated east into Asia also met and bred with other extinct species of hominins, including at least two major injections of genes from a group we call Denisovans. Early modern humans almost certainly bred with other ancient hominins as well, because interspecies breeding was likely common. The remains of a girl with a Neanderthal mother and Denisovan father have recently been discovered. Another recent study has shown some Neanderthals too carried traces of human DNA.
▪︎Genetic diversity leads to greater fitness:
Genetic diversity, as measured by a metric called heterozygosity, decreases with geographic distance from Africa. Higher heterozygosity is generally associated with greater genetic fitness for survival. From this perspective it could be argued that, when the humans who walked away from Africa lost genetic diversity through living in small groups, they also lost genetic fitness. By the same argument, interbreeding between populations increases fitness.
In fact, Europeans probably benefited from picking up some Neanderthal DNA: these genes are thought to have diversified their immune systems and may have contributed to their lighter pigmentation. Humans who migrated west into Europe continued to meet and breed with other human populations.
Another wave of humans from what we call Anatolia (roughly modern-day Turkey) followed the initial spread of humans into Europe. The Yamnaya population from what we now know as the Russian steppe migrated west into Europe between 3,000 and 5,000 years ago. In fact, little genetic trace remains of the first human inhabitants of Europe, as they were continually supplanted by others.
Even the Roman civilisation, considered to be one of the historical foundations of European identity, was home to great genetic variety. A recent study looked at the genomes of 127 people from 29 sites across the past 10,000 years. It found an initial wave of hunter-gatherers had been supplanted by an Anatolian population, and during the age of Imperial Rome (27 BC to 300 AD) there were significant introductions of genes from what is now Iran and the eastern Mediterranean.
▪︎Even Vikings were diverse:
Blonde-haired, blue-eyed northern Europeans are considered by many white supremacists as the ideal of racial purity. They are epitomised historically by the Vikings. However, the reality was different. A recent study of 442 human genomes from archaeological sites across Europe and Greenland found substantial ancestry from elsewhere in Europe entering Scandinavia during the Viking Age. In fact, Vikings were more likely to have dark hair than modern Scandinavians.
In short, the idea of a pure white race has no basis in genetics. Lightly pigmented skin, hair and eyes are simply an adaptation to northern European climates (and represent an inferior adaptation in equatorial regions). These features exist in a background of countless other genetic influences borrowed from many populations, old and new.

Here's a thought for Venezuela: Send out unmanned little boats by the dozens until the supply of bombs is depleted.

Caitlin Johnstone
caitoz
You think Hamas killed Israelis because they're a bunch of monsters who hate Jews? Of course you do, you're twelve.

You think Trump is trying to get rid of Maduro because Maduro is an evil dictator who wants to poison Americans with fentanyl? Hell yeah homie, you're twelve.

You think Putin invaded Ukraine because he hates freedom and democracy and wants to conquer the world? Bless your heart my twelve year-old buddy.

You think the US and Israel have been attacking and eliminating rivals in Iran, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Palestine in order to fight terrorism, stop tyranny, and protect the world from nuclear weapons? Yeah, that checks out, you're twelve.

The ultimate example of "everyone is twelve now" thinking is in the mainstream worldview promoted by western pundits and politicians which holds that the world is full of evil monsters doing evil things simply because they are evil, while being opposed by the virtuous Good Guys of the US-led world order.

It's like a children's cartoon, with the Bad Guys doing Bad Things simply because they are Bad, and the Good Guys striving heroically to stop them. It sounds like a shitty PG-13 summer blockbuster starring The Rock, but it's the consensus worldview of serious professional pundits and analysts who share this view on mainstream platforms with serious expressions on their faces, and anyone who calls any part of it into question is dismissed as an extremist or a deranged crackpot. Because everyone is twelve now.

Garcia is new to me. eb

·
⚠ In short, 24 headlines from the last 24 hours… [don’t forget, DEEP BREATH IN — exhale; here we go 😅]
1. Hurricane Melissa now the strongest tropical cyclone on Earth in 2025; landfall around the time you read this near Montego Bay, Jamaica at 7a w/ 175mph sustained winds; expected to hit SE Cuba late tonight/early am
2. Bobbie Coleman, chairwoman Hardin County Rep Party (KY), posted video on Hardin County GOP’s FB Sat depicting frmr Pres. Obama & frmr First Lady Michelle, as apes, dancing to a song from Disney's `The Lion King,` and DJT depicted as Lion King triumphing over liberal Dems
3. Kid Rock, real name Robert James Ritchie, told Fox News’ Jesse Watters that he planned to dress as a “retard” for Halloween after pulling out a mask; the Special Olympics responds - “words matter,” ask him to acknowledge harm in ableism
4. Nearly 3K arrested in IL since DJT’s ‘Operation Midway Blitz’ began last month; CBP Chief Bovino will testify before Judge Ellis in Chicago today to explain vid of Bovino throwing tear gas into crowd of protestors last Thurs in direct violation of the her current TRO against it; among others
5. Statue in DC of self professed white supremacist and Confederate general, Albert Pike - torn down by protestors in June 2020 - reinstalled per DJT’s EO on Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History
6. “How long have you known about Andrew and Epstein;” King Charles is heckled mercilously by a protestor outside Lichfield Cathedral over his brothers Epstein ties after Virginia Giuffre’s posthumous memoir reignites outrage, which already led Andrew to give up his Duke of York title
7. Yesterday, Elon Musk launched an online-encyclopedia to challenge 'woke' Wikipedia he named Grokipedia; it briefly crashed shortly thereafter
8. UN commission concluded that Russia is committing crimes against humanity/war crimes; documenting hundreds of times Russian drone pilots targeted civilians in Ukraine; including hand grenades dropped on civilians on sidewalks or working in backyard gardens
9. Former IL deputy sheriff, Sean Grayson testified in his own defense, telling the jury that Sonya Massey’s vow to “rebuke him in the name of Jesus” with a pot of hot water in her hand (that he told her to move), led him to shoot her
10. Everyone knew they attended, NO ONE KNEW Epstein, Maxwell, AND Harvery Weinstein all STAYED at Prince Andrew’s private home (Royal Lodge) in 2006; 2mo AFTER the arrest warrant was issued for Epstein for SA of a minor, and 8 days before he was arrested in FL
11. MN man, Tyler Avalos(29) arrested in alleged viral murder-for-fire plot; offering $45K to kill AG Pam Bondi after posting a TikTok with her image targeted through a sniper scope; charged with making an online threat and released on GPS monitoring
12. Oct 30th hearing for Charlie Kirk suspect, Tyler Robinson, is canceled; both sides argued to ban cameras with the judge ruling he could wear plain clothes although still shackled; next hearing Jan. 16th at 1pm
13. In the largest cut in its corporate history, Amazon will lay off as many as 30K corporate employees starting today; 10% of its roughly 350K corporate employees
14. Households nationwide facing soaring electricity bills as utilities won approval from state regulators for $34B in rate increases in the 1st 9 months of 2025—nearly DOUBLE 2024’s $16B—impacting over 124M
15. Yesterday, VA Dems kicked off effort to create more congressional seats; Nov 4th election will ultimately determine if changes to the 6 of VA’s 11 districts represented by Dems is possible by retaining control (🗳️ Nov. 4th: all 100 seats in the House of Delegates; Gov, Lt. Gov; and AG)
16. 100+ former Dem and GOP DOJ officials sign an amicus brief (friend of the court brief) saying Comey case is vindictive, urged the federal judge in VA to dismiss
17. Staten Island voters filed a lawsuit in NY yesterday in an attempt to redraw NY’s 2024 District 11 map [including all of S.I. & parts of Brooklyn], arguing it dilutes Black and Latino votes; a change could flip the GOP seat held by Nicole Malliotakis to Dems
18. The American Federation of Government Employees, the largest federal workers union, calls for ‘clean’ bill to end shutdown, bring its 800k member workers back with pay
19. IN Gov. Mike Braun (R) called a special session to begin Nov 3rd to redraw their congressional map DESPITE reports there are not enough GOP votes to pass a redistricting bill in the state Sen; IN currently has 9 congressional districts split 7-2 in favor of GOP
20. CBS’s John Dickerson (16-yr ver), the latest high-profile figure to resign amid growing concern that new owner Skydance and incoming editor, Bari Weiss, threaten the networks editorial independence and journalistic integrity
21. 2 key FL reef corals, staghorn and elkhorn, are now functionally extinct—a stage before global extinction—after a heatwave caused up to 100% mortality, signaling a tipping point as global heating threatens to wipe out reefs worldwide
22. DJT ruled out running for VP in the 2028 election, calling it “too cute,” but declined to definitively say he would not seek a 3rd term when asked aboard Air Force One mid-Asia tour
23. By 2030, the US is expected to owe more money than Italy and Greece bc DJT’s “big, beautiful bill” of tax cuts and defense spending will add up to huge annual deficits—potentially $7T a year by 2029
24. DJT has asked SCOTUS to let him fire Shira Perlmutter, head of the US Copyright Office—a govt agency that registers and protects creative works and advises on copyright law—after she issued a report questioning the legality of using copyrighted works to train AI; she sued saying only the Librarian of Congress can remove her
If you’re reading this… that… was 24 headlines from JUST the last 24 hours.
And idk about you; but it’s a lot.
All day; every day.
Imagining what I have missed or gotten wrong; is what scares me most.
Thank you to everyone who keeps sharing these; for telling me these posts make a difference; for holding me accountable.
Every story feels like it should stop the world tbh—but it doesn’t.
It never does.
The chaos just, refreshes.
They’re flooding you with the chaos so you’ll stop asking questions; see this clearly.
They want you to scroll, not think;
to react, not remember.
Billions are spent every day to keep it this way —to lull you into silence, to make you forget that the power of the People… is more powerful than any of these people in power.
Bc if they can convince you that nothing changes, or can change…you’ll stop realizing how much has, and you’ll stop striving to be the change you wish to see.
But here you are.
Still here.
Still with me; at least if you read this far.
You are still awake when you weren’t supposed to be. I just wanted to say; that inspires me.
Bc that makes people like you and me, the flaw in their formula.
We are what they can’t algorithm away.
We are not a casualty of their chaos;
we are the proof it didn’t work.
We are the keepers of memory.
And the second you stopped being hypnotized by their noise — their billions burned to ash.
Be proud of that; and thank you for sharing; means more than you know.
Now.. Breathe DEEP… exhale… and keep burning — so the ash remembers who lit the match. 🔥
As always, sources/links in comments.
Proud of you!
~Ms. G, J.D. ⚖️

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has sued the makers of Tylenol, alleging that they deceptively marketed the medication to pregnant women despite alleged links to autism and other disorders.

The genocide continues after scarcely a pause.

Direct Action Everywhere
DxEverywhere
Animal rescuer Zoe Rosenberg was just found guilty of felony conspiracy and three misdemeanors for her rescue of four chickens from Perdue's Petaluma Poultry slaughterhouse. These charges carry a potential sentence of nearly 5 years in jail. Meanwhile, Petaluma Poultry faces no consequences for leaving sick animals to die or scalding animals alive. Zoe was represented by Chris Carraway, Staff Attorney at the Animal Activist Legal Defense Project (
@AALDP_DU
), and attorney Kevin Little. She will appeal her conviction, including several of the court’s rulings, such as its refusal to allow her to present a necessity defense and severe restrictions on what animal cruelty evidence the jury was allowed to see.

US Attempted a Covert Operation to Capture Maduro by Diverting His PlaneAccording to a detailed Associated Press investigation published on October 28, 2025, the United States government pursued a 16-month covert plot to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro by recruiting his chief pilot, General Bitner Villegas, to secretly divert Maduro's plane to a location where U.S. authorities could arrest him on federal drug trafficking charges. The operation ultimately failed, as Villegas refused to cooperate and cut off contact.Key Details of the PlotInitiation (April 2024): The plan began under the Biden administration when a tipster approached U.S. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agent Edwin López at the U.S. Embassy in the Dominican Republic. The informant revealed that two private jets frequently used by Maduro were undergoing repairs at La Isabela executive airport in Santo Domingo—repairs that violated U.S. sanctions on Venezuela, as they involved prohibited American parts.
Recruitment Pitch (May 2024): López, a veteran agent and former U.S. Army Ranger, met secretly with Villegas (a colonel in the Venezuelan Air Force and member of Maduro's presidential honor guard) at the airport hangar. López offered Villegas a "fortune" in money, U.S. protection for his family, and a chance to become a "hero" in exchange for betraying Maduro. The jets were later seized by U.S. authorities as part of sanctions enforcement.
Ongoing Efforts (2024–2025): López maintained encrypted WhatsApp contact with Villegas for over a year, even after retiring in July 2025. He referenced a U.S. Justice Department bounty, doubled to $50 million under the Trump administration in August 2025 for information leading to Maduro's arrest on narcoterrorism charges from a 2020 indictment. López urged Villegas to act before it was "too late," citing his three children by name.
Escalation and Failure (September 2025): As Trump intensified pressure on Maduro—including authorizing CIA covert actions in Venezuela and increasing U.S. military presence in the Caribbean—López made a final push. When Villegas remained noncommittal, the U.S. and anti-Maduro allies attempted to unsettle the regime by timing a public social media post about sanctioned aircraft just before one of Maduro's jets took off from Caracas. The plane aborted takeoff 20 minutes later but returned safely. Villegas then called López a "coward" and blocked him.

Broader ContextThis operation highlights escalating U.S.-Venezuela tensions, with Washington accusing Maduro's regime of running a "narco-state" and supporting drug cartels, terrorist groups, and Cuba—allegations Venezuela denies. Maduro has responded by placing his military on high alert, citing Soviet-era air defense systems, and accusing the U.S. of fabricating a pretext for invasion to seize Venezuela's oil reserves. The plot, described by sources as resembling a "Cold War spy thriller," involved luxury jets, hidden recordings, and high-stakes diplomacy but underscores the haphazard and often unsuccessful nature of U.S. efforts to oust Maduro since 2019.The U.S. Departments of Homeland Security and State declined to comment, while Venezuela did not respond to requests for verification. No arrests or further actions from this specific plot have been reported as of October 29, 2025.

Middle East Monitor
·
In a shocking admission, former Mossad director Yossi Cohen has openly boasted that Israel has deployed a global sabotage and espionage network which uses “booby-trapped and spy-manipulated equipment”. The method, denounced as terrorism by ex-CIA chief Leon Panetta, was used to target Hezbollah and now, according to Cohen, is embedded in “all the countries you can imagine.”
In a video that’s now circulating on social media, Cohen is seen speaking on The Brink podcast hosted by Jake Wallis Simons, editor of The Jewish Chronicle. The former Mossad director, who led a blackmail campaign against ICJ judges, detailed the covert programme Israel has planted across the globe. He claimed personal credit for inventing the “pager method” during his tenure at Mossad’s Special Operations division between 2002 and 2004.
“You know how many treated equipment we have in these countries? Not only booby-trapped, but spy-manipulated… in all countries you can imagine,” Cohen told Simons, describing what appears to be a far-reaching system of compromised commercial hardware used to gather intelligence or, in some cases, cause physical harm.

Woke to a headline of Trump telling Republicans to revoke the filibuster. Will they do it?

Caitlin Johnstone
caitoz

What percentage of Americans do you think are aware that Trump has bombed Somalia nearly a hundred times this year? Would it even be one percent?
Quote
Antiwar.com
Antiwarcom
·
Oct 29
US Bombs Somalia for Three Consecutive Days
The US launched at least 89 airstrikes in Somalia this year
#Somalia #AFRICOM #AlShabaab #ISIS #Puntland
https://news.antiwar.com/2025/10/29/us-bombs-somalia-for-three-consecutive-days/

Sony Thăng
You ask why Venezuela can’t "grow food and transport it."

The answer is simple:

Because Washington made sure it couldn’t.

You can’t grow food when your fertilizer imports are banned.

You can’t transport it when your fuel refineries are sanctioned.

You can’t sell it when your banks are blocked and your ships are seized for touching Venezuelan ports.

Venezuela isn’t starving because it forgot how to farm.

It’s starving because the world’s richest nation decided to choke its economy until its people begged for regime change.

Before sanctions, Venezuela imported 80% of its food through oil revenue.

Once the U.S. froze its assets and banned its exports, that entire system collapsed overnight.

That’s not mismanagement.

That’s economic warfare dressed up as "policy."

If you blockade a country’s currency, fuel, trade, and medicine,

Then point to the resulting shortages as proof of failure.

You’re not describing an economic crisis.

You’re describing a siege.

So don’t ask why Venezuela can’t grow food.

Ask why America keeps burning the fields.

David Sirota
October 29 at 10:41 AM
·
As you read about the big CBS News layoffs today, watch this clip from Democracy Now! in which I discuss the never-before-seen documents showing CBS's president declaring his support for the Powell Memo, which called for a corporate takeover of democracy. The CBS president then says he is working to "correct the situation at CBS News." What we are seeing today is the culmination of a master plan that we expose for the first time in our new book MASTER PLAN. Get the book here - and pass it on: LeverNews.com/book

Kat Abughazaleh, a progressive candidate running for the US House of Representatives in Illinois' 9th Congressional District, struck a defiant tone on Wednesday after being indicted on federal charges by the US Department of Justice.
As MSNBC reports, the charges against Abughazaleh relate to her frequent protests outside of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Broadview, Illinois. She faces one count of conspiracy to impede or injure an ICE officer, and one count of assaulting or impeding that officer while he was engaged in his official duties.
According to MSNBC, the indictment accuses Abughazaleh and five other anti-ICE protestors of "banging aggressively" on an ICE vehicle's back windows and hood, as well as "pushing against it to 'hinder and impede its movement,' and etching the word 'PIG' on the car."
In a video posted on social media after the indictment, Abughazaleh labeled the criminal charges as baseless and an attempt to intimidate Americans out of exercising their First Amendment rights to protest.
"This is a political prosecution and a gross attempt to silence dissent," she said. "This case is a major push by the Trump administration to criminalize protest and punish anyone who speaks out against them. That's why I'm going to fight these unjust charges."
Abughazaleh proceeded to accuse ICE agents of physically assaulting peaceful demonstrators outside the Broadview facility "simply because we had the gall to say masked men coming into our communities, abducting our neighbors, and terrorizing us cannot be our new normal."
She then closed her video by asking that her supporters show courage in the face of attempts to intimidate them.
"As scary as all this is, I have spent my career fighting America's backslide into fascism," she said. "I'm not going to stop now. And I hope you won't either."
Abughazaleh has been a regular presence at protests outside the Broadview facility, and an ICE officer last month was caught on camera throwing her to the ground during a demonstration.
Federal law enforcement officials stationed in Broadview have faced numerous accusations of deploying excessive force, including from Rev. David Black, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Chicago, who was shot repeatedly with pepper balls while peacefully protesting outside the ICE facility.
---
Brad Reed is a staff writer for Common Dreams.
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.

Prof Zenkus

The Obama administration cut SNAP benefits by nearly $9 billion in 2014. Democrats didn't say a word. Neither party cares if you eat or not.

The problem with taking a Mercutio approach, "A curse on both your houses," is that it suggests equality, that MAGA Republicans are as bad as the Democrats.

That is not the case, the MAGA lot are the biggest threat to democracy since WW2, the Democrats at worse are more of the same.

There is a huge difference.

No argument as to who is worse. I'm with you on that point. Where we may differ is, I don't see the Democrats as any kind of a solution. If the mass of people don't rise up, almost yesterday, our goose, our future, is cooked.

Trump orders military to prepare plans for 'action' in Nigeria.
Yep, they have oil.