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file770_feeddailykos_feedFar-right influencer Candace Owens has gone down a rabbit hole so deep that you nearly expect her to pop up in Australia. In fact, it’s so deep that reportedly even President Donald Trump told her to back off.
For years now, Owens has been consumed by a singular fixation: to persuade the world that Brigitte Macron, the wife of French President Emmanuel Macron, is secretly a man.
“After looking into this, I would stake my entire professional reputation on the fact that Brigitte Macron is in fact a man,” Owens posted on X in March 2024. “I do not intend to let up on this story and I am calling on other journalists to look into this explosive story and report accordingly.”
Imagine thinking this is relevant to anything at all, much less an “explosive” matter.
The conspiracy’s origins lie in fringe online spaces that have for years claimed, without evidence, that Brigitte Macron was born male under the name Jean-Michel Trogneux, a name that belongs to her brother. Owens eagerly amplified the lie to her nearly 7 million followers on X and over 4.5 million followers on YouTube, where she produced a series of videos collectively titled “Becoming Brigitte.” The French first family has repeatedly sought to have the material removed, but Owens ignored them.
Having had enough, the Macrons sued Owens for defamation in a Delaware court on July 23.
“Owens has dissected their appearance, their marriage, their friends, their family, and their personal history—twisting it all into a grotesque narrative designed to inflame and degrade,” the lawsuit claims. “The result is relentless bullying on a worldwide scale. Every time the Macrons leave their home, they do so knowing that countless people have heard, and many believe, these vile fabrications. It is invasive, dehumanizing, and deeply unjust.”
If Owens had any substance to her claims, this would be her moment to shine. Truth is a defense in a defamation case, and the discovery process would give her the chance to dig up the evidence she’d need to prove her point. But that would require a genuine pursuit of truth, something Owens—and the rest of her conservative colleagues—have little interest in.
Instead, adding to the episode’s overall bizarreness, she’s appealed to Trump to bail her out, and his silence is driving her absolutely mad.
You have a literal European leader that is basically saying “eff you” to the American Constitution, right? Emmanuel Macron and Brigitte are saying, “You know what, we don’t like that podcaster in America, and we are gonna launch a lawsuit that’s never been launched before, an unprecedented lawsuit, to impoverish her for speaking.” And both [Vice President] JD Vance and Trump have not issued a statement.In fact, where are the journalists even asking them to make a statement, okay? A state leader—a state leader is speaking about your constituent and launching a lawsuit and saying they’re gonna impoverish them for executing a First Amendment right. Where are you? If you are Trump, the first thing you should have done, if you purport to care about America and our Constitution … you would come out and you would say, “I don’t even know whether I believe that she’s a man or a woman. It doesn’t matter”—right?
It’s particularly rich for Owens to expect Trump, of all people, to suddenly care about the First Amendment. He’s been suing news organizations left and right for publishing the truth about him. He added Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to his administration, someone who has actually sued this site to try to strip our community of its First Amendment protections. (We mostly won, though the case is still pending appeal at a New York appellate court.)
And then there’s Brendan Carr, Trump’s head of the Federal Communication Commission. Carr is perhaps the biggest opponent of the First Amendment to serve in a presidential administration since the Richard Nixon era. This is the guy who seemingly threatened CBS into cancelling Stephen Colbert’s show, boasting, “The American people simply do not trust the mainstream media, and for broadcasters—again, different than cable, different than podcasts—for broadcasters, they have a federal license, and they are obligated to operate in the public interest. And to the extent that we’re starting to see some changes, I think that’s a good thing.”
Carr has long championed using federal licensing as a political weapon against media outlets he and his allies dislike—a direct attack on press freedom. In his hands, “public interest” becomes whatever the party in power says it is, turning broadcast licenses into loyalty tests and chilling dissent. It’s the same kind of government overreach conservatives once railed against when they thought the Fairness Doctrine targeted them—but that they have now reimagined as a one-sided cudgel for their own benefit.
Second of all, the Constitution doesn’t protect defamatory speech. As a public figure, Brigitte Macron does face a higher bar to win her case—as a public figure, she’ll need to show actual malice, or a “reckless disregard” for the truth—but that doesn’t shield Owens from the lawsuit itself. And it’s a solid bet the Macrons can clear that bar, given Owens’ own reckless disregard for the truth.
Finally, why would Owens think Trump or Vance would ride to her rescue? The two don’t care about anyone but themselves, and she’s brought this entirely on herself. She even admitted on her podcast that Trump directly told her to back off, saying, “I looked at her real close in the Eiffel Tower, and it looked like a woman to me.” According to Owens, the president of the United States told her she was full of it—which the Macron lawyers will absolutely love—and she ignored him while begging for his help.
What does she expect, Trump to declare war on France on her behalf?
Even British right-wing commentator Piers Morgan wouldn’t back her up.
“You’ve been duped,” he told her on his show. “Worse, you gotta know it’s not true, but you’ve ridden the wave of conspiracy theory about it because it’s been so lucrative.”
Owens went looking for a war, and now she’s shocked to find herself on the battlefield alone.
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starwatchersiriasheafrotherdon for betaing.dailykos_feedMaybe President Donald Trump needs to fly back from his meeting with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin sooner rather than later. His MAGA lackeys seem to be fighting—again.
But for those not closely following the episodes of “The Real Housewives of Pennsylvania Avenue,” we’ve got you covered.
On Friday morning, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced that he was 100% absolutely not running for president in 2028. As a matter of fact, his loyalty is to Trump, he said—despite the fact that the Constitution bars Trump from running again.
"The swamp is in full panic mode," Kennedy wrote on X. "They’re pushing the flat-out lie that I’m running for president in 2028. Let me be clear: I am not running for president in 2028."
According to the toxic-water-swimming, anti-vaccine head of the U.S. health apparatus, the “DC lobby shops” are just vying to "drive a wedge” between him and Trump.
Then again, if we wind back the tape to a few episodes earlier, the rumor—or the call—seems to be coming from inside the house.
Everything appears to stem from pro-bigotry activist Laura Loomer’s dissatisfaction over the Trump administration rehiring Vinay Prasad as Food and Drug Administration’s top vaccine regulator earlier this week. As Daily Kos previously reported, Prasad was initially pushed out on Loomer’s behest in late July, but his layoff was short-lived.
After Prasad made his return this week, Loomer had plenty of thoughts about Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy Again” agenda to go along with it. However, this time, she aimed her sights at Kennedy and Stefanie Spear, his senior counselor and former staffer on his failed 2024 presidential campaign.
Per Politico on Wednesday, Loomer said that Spear’s position would result in her trying to “utilize her position to try to lay the groundwork for a 2028 RFK presidential run.”
Loomer went on to paint Spear as someone against the administration for her environmentally friendly media outlet, EcoWatch, previously sharing alleged screenshots of Kennedy’s right-hand staffer calling Secretary of State Marco Rubio a climate change denier.
But it wasn’t just Spears whom Loomer is out for. Loomer—who has seemingly helped to oust a handful of Trump administration employees, despite holding no federal position herself—is looking toward Kennedy, with an odd dose of modesty too.
“I’m not naive enough to think that the president is going to get rid of RFK, but I will say that … there are concerns about some of the staffing decisions over at HHS,” she told Politico.
While Kennedy shut down the rumors outright, Kennedy’s supporters—and Spears—attended a call to mobilize grassroots support for a super PAC with ties to Kennedy just last month.
In other words, whether a presidential run comes out of the throes of MAHA remains unclear. However, the infighting and pettiness coming from within is guaranteed.
dailykos_feedPresident Donald Trump said he and Vladimir Putin didn’t reach a deal to end Russia’s war in Ukraine after meeting on Friday — despite Putin saying they had come to “an understanding” — as the two leaders offered scant details on what was discussed while heaping praise on each other.
In brief remarks as they shared a stage after meeting for about 2 ½ hours in Alaska, Putin said he and Trump had reached an “understanding” on Ukraine and warned Europe not to “torpedo the nascent progress.”
But Trump then said, “There’s no deal until there’s a deal” and said he planned to speak with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders soon, to brief them on the discussions.
“We had an extremely productive meeting, and many points were agreed to,” Trump said. “And there are just a very few that are left. Some are not that significant. One is probably the most significant, but we have a very good chance of getting there.”
He continued: “We didn’t get there.”
The high-profile summit ended without a deal to end, or even pause, the brutal conflict — the largest land war in Europe since 1945 — which has raged for more than three years.
Related | Trump claps giddily for Putin
It was an abrupt ending to an otherwise friendly meeting in which a red carpet was rolled out for Putin as he landed at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. The two leaders greeted each other with a handshake and a smile, and Putin even got a ride in the presidential limousine — an unusually warm reception for a U.S. adversary.
While the two leaders were still on the tarmac, reporters nearby yelled, “President Putin, will you stop killing civilians?” Russia’s leader put his hand up to his ear as though to indicate he couldn’t hear them. Trump and Putin then shared the U.S. presidential limo known as “The Beast” for a short ride to their meeting site, with Putin offering a broad smile as the vehicle rolled past the cameras.
Zelenskyy and European leaders were excluded from Trump and Putin’s discussions, and Ukraine’s president was left posting a video address in which he expressed his hope for a “strong position from the U.S.”
“Everyone wants an honest end to the war. Ukraine is ready to work as productively as possible to end the war,” he said, later adding, “The war continues and it continues precisely because there is no order, nor any signals from Moscow, that it is preparing to end this war.”
Trump had both raised and lowered expectations for the summit, at turns characterizing it as a “feel-out meeting” but also warning of “very severe consequences” for Russia if Putin didn’t agree to end the war.
He boasted before taking office that he could end the war in 24 hours, a comment he later said was in jest. The opportunity to talk to Putin face-to-face gave him his best chance to date to get the fighting to stop, but he came up short.
aurumcalenduladailykos_feedAfter California Gov. Gavin Newsom called out the U.S. Border Patrol for their attempt to intimidate Democrats in his state, one of their leaders ran to Fox News to complain.
California Democrats held a rally on Thursday to announce plans to push for redistricting changes in response to President Donald Trump’s order for Republicans to further gerrymander districts. Outside the event in California, U.S. Border Patrol agents in full gear walked around carrying weaponry.
“Right outside, at this exact moment, [are] dozens and dozens of ICE agents. Donald Trump—you think it’s coincidental?” Newsom asked the audience, who booed the intimidation tactic.
On Friday, Border Patrol El Centro Sector Chief Greg Bovino, who led the group of agents at the event, appeared on Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom” to discuss the incident. Directly asked by co-host Dana Perino whether the Border Patrol was at the meeting to purposely target participants, Bovino refused to directly answer the question.
“We absolutely targeted all of Los Angeles yesterday,” he replied. “We had 40 law enforcement teams spread across Los Angeles, going after those bad people and bad things.”
Bovino claimed that a suspected member of the Tren de Aragua gang had been arrested a few blocks away from the location, but he offered no evidence to substantiate his claims. The Trump administration and other Republicans have frequently invoked the Venezuelan gang to justify immigration enforcement abuses.
Bovino went on to complain that Newsom and other Democratic officials were having “meltdowns” and “tantrums” and wanted gang members “walking the streets.” Bovin’s rhetoric echoes other right-wing defenses of fascistic behavior, like the recent attempt by Attorney General Pam Bondi to usurp the power of the Washington, D.C., city government.
The appearance is in line with Bovino’s method of doing business. He frequently appears in the media to promote harsh right-wing treatment of migrant populations and their families.
He also has a history of lying. In January, after Congress had certified Trump’s election victory, Bovino conducted an immigration raid in Kern County, California. At the time, he claimed that the action was mainly targeting people who had criminal records. But a subsequent review conducted by the outlet CalMatters revealed that of the 78 people arrested, 77 had no prior record with the Border Patrol agency.
It is under Bovino’s command that many of the disruptive immigration raids ordered by the Trump administration in Los Angeles took place. In recent weeks, Bovino-led operations in which rental trucks were used to abduct migrants have come under criticism.
The Trump administration has shown an inability to handle mockery and direct criticism. Facing legitimate blowback, figures like Bovino often turn to the right-wing airwaves of Fox News, which they then use as a platform to complain and make allegations that won’t be questioned.
On Friday, it was Bovino’s time to join the growing list of complainers.
dailykos_feedThe New York Times got its mitts on some confidential documents showing that Elon Musk’s privately held SpaceX had likely paid little or no income tax since being founded in 2002. And the company is even secretly telling investors it may never have to pay any. It’s all part of the joy of how the American tax system props up the ultrawealthy, especially when they are bad at business.
Here’s how it works. SpaceX accumulated over $5 billion in losses by late 2021. There was an existing tax benefit that allowed companies to offset future taxable income, then Trump’s 2017 tax changes eliminated the expiration date on the benefit. Now SpaceX is able to apply almost $3 billion of losses against that future taxable income indefinitely.
It’s always been known that SpaceX gets billions in federal contracts, but because the company is privately held, no one knew what portion of its profits relies on those contracts. The Times found that in 2020, those contracts generated $1.4 billion, or almost 84%, of the company’s total revenue. In 2021, federal contracts represented $1.7 billion in revenue, or 76% of the total.
It’s a pretty sweet deal for SpaceX—and for Musk, who owns an estimated 42% of the company. Meanwhile, taxpayers are getting double-charged. Billions of your tax dollars go to contracts for SpaceX, which then gets to avoid paying taxes. Meanwhile, NASA, the government institution with a rich and successful tradition of space exploration, is seeing both its staffing and funding decimated.
With the huge reliance on federal contract dollars, it’s questionable whether SpaceX would continue to exist without relying on government handouts. And let’s not forget that the company gets other government benefits, like Texas working to sweep away regulations so the company doesn’t have to spend money to follow environmental rules.
Musk has a similar sweet welfare deal going on over at his electric vehicle company as well. Tesla makes a lot of money via selling tax credits. Under a government program meant to incentivize carmakers to build low- or zero-emission cars, Tesla earns that tax credit by manufacturing electric vehicles. It is then able to turn around and sell credits to other manufacturers that need carbon credits to meet climate regulations. Over the past decade, Tesla made $10.7 billion through this process, representing about a third of its profits during that time. In the first quarter of 2025, Tesla would reportedly have posted a loss but for the credits.
Musk and his companies aren’t the only ones gaming the tax system. The whole thing is reminiscent of Trump’s ability to avoid income taxes because he sucks at running companies. For eight out of 10 years, from 1985 to 1994, Trump was able to pay no federal income tax because he lost so much money. His 1995 filings showed a loss of $916 million, a sum so large that experts told The New York Times that Trump could have avoided taxes for up to 18 years.
Trump got this benefit in a way similar to that of Musk: The tax code has a giant loophole where business owners can use their losses to offset taxes on future income.
We’re forced to treat people like Trump and Musk as if they were business geniuses and wealth and job creators. Instead, they are people who are bad at keeping their companies and themselves afloat absent government handouts. This is nothing but capitalism for gains, socialism for losses. We all bear the burden of subsidizing their crappy business models, but they get all the upsides and profits.
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Book recommendation of the week: I’m Glad My Mom Died, by Jenette McCurdy. An incredible memoir about her abusive stage mom that grabs you and won’t let you put it down. (Amazon, Bookshop)
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twocents_feedIf you use an ESR power bank to charge your phone, you may need to stop doing so right now. Several models of the company's HaloLock wireless power bank are being recalled by the Consumer Product Safety Commission due to the risk of the lithium-ion battery overheating and catching fire. Nine incidents have been reported so far causing $20,000 in property damage.
Here's what you need to know about the affected models—and how to get a refund if yours is one of them.
The recall includes ESR HaloLock wireless power banks with model numbers 2G520, 2G505B and 2G512B, which you can find printed on the right side of the bank. The two former models have kickstands. All were sold in dark blue, light blue, gray, black, and white and have five circular LED display lights on the side.
According to the recall notice, the affected power banks were sold via Amazon.com, Homedepot.com, and Esrtech.com between September 2023 and July 2025. Approximately 24,000 devices were sold in the United States, with an additional 9,900 sold in Canada.
If your power bank is among those covered by the recall, you should stop using it ASAP. WayMeet, the distributor, is offering refunds, so if you want your money back, you'll need to write "Recalled" on the device in permanent marker and send a photo via email to support@esrtech.com (along with your order number if available).
You can also contact the company by calling 888-990-0280 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. PT Monday to Friday.
Note that lithium-ion batteries typically cannot be disposed of in regular waste or recycling bins or even battery recycling programs. You may need to find your municipal household hazardous waste collection center or contact your local government for instructions.
kaberettJeannie Di Bon is a "Movement Therapist" who "specialis[es] in Hypermobility, Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and Chronic Pain." In the introduction, she talks about her own experiences in a way I find very sympathetic:
I've lost count of the number of times a doctor has told me it's all down to IBS and instructed me to eat more fibre and try Pilates or yoga to relax. Dismissive in its nature and kind of ironic now, as I trained to become a Pilates teacher in 2008.
And, you know, the actual core (yes I did that) of her Integrated Movement Method is sound: she's giving advice about fostering body awareness, of when and where you're tense and when you're not, working through a pretty standard sequence of breathing exercises and gentle movements. All the exercises in this book are the kind of thing that show up pretty early on in any full-body physiotherapy programme, that have loads of progressions available (particularly within the Pilates model), and they're absolutely fine and probably useful to folk who've not been able to access care covering this kind of topic.
If it were just the exercise programme, it would be ... fine. More or less. I think a bunch of the ways she explains movements are unclear and counterintuitive, but hey, presumably they work for at least some people.
Unfortunately, there are all of the bits in between.
Chapter 4 is where they went from "okay, you're simplifying to the point of lies-to-children but you are also explaining why" to "... either you're deliberately misrepresenting things for personal gain or you're wildly incompetent", and I'm still not sure which of those it actually is. (I am trying not to think too hard about the possibility that the answer is "both".)
( Read more... )
tl;dr there is nothing you will get from the Integral Movement Method that you won't get from competently-taught or -explained Pilates except scaremongering and misdirection... and unlike IMM, you can get decent Pilates resources for free. Don't bother with this one.
file770_feed - Pixel Scroll 8/15/25 Bad Moon Rising, Pixels On The Prowl. Stay Insidedailykos_feed - This far-right influencer is too crazy even for Trumpdailykos_feed - Cartoon: Join the war on US citiesdailykos_feed - The Recap: Gavin Newsom's epic Trump trolling, and DC's illegal checkpointssuperfangirl1 in scans_daily - Supergirl #4: Girls Night Outstarwatcher - Sad news for Sentinel fandomsiria - 2537 / Fic - The Old Guarddailykos_feed - RFK Jr. says he won't run for president in 2028. Who asked?dailykos_feed - Trump says no deal to end Russia's war in Ukraine—as Putin claims an 'understanding' was reachedaurumcalendula - Two cyberpunk novels I've been reading recentlydailykos_feed - Border Patrol goon whines to Fox News after Newsom hurt his feelingsdailykos_feed - Elon Musk's SpaceX makes money burn up faster than his rocketsfile770_feed - 2024 Endeavour Award Finalists Announcedfile770_feed - Seattle Worldcon 2025 Hugo Base by Joy Alyssa Dayaskamanager_feed - weekend open thread – August 16-17, 2025double_dutchess in su_herald - The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Friday, August 15thsenmut in communal_creators - 16 days to sign up!princessofgeeks - GRRRtwocents_feed - If You Have One of These ESR Power Banks, Stop Using It ASAPkaberett - [books, embodiment] Hypermobility Without Tears, Jeannie Di Bontimeasmymeasure
