Good morning. I’m Ryan Rose, and this is AlterNet America. Please take a moment to click the ❤️ and restack this post. The oligarchs’ platforms are trying to keep stories like the ones below from hitting your feeds, and this helps us break through.
Donald Trump posted proposed Space Force uniforms that were deliberately modeled on a film inspired by Nazis. An armed man carrying two pistols charged at Ohio’s Democratic gubernatorial nominee at a county fair, injuring multiple people. A Trump-appointed federal judge ruled that Americans have no constitutional right to clean drinking water. And a fake Republican convention website has been sending visitors directly to the Epstein files.
**Before we get to the news, a brief ask: **AlterNet America was launched as a direct response to MAGA billionaires buying up networks like CBS and newspapers like the Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times. We’re going all-in on the bet that reader-supported journalism can compete directly with the billionaires by being the one thing they can’t buy.
We’re incredibly grateful to all the free subscribers who have signed up to receive our newsletters in recent weeks. But if you’ve been thinking about making the leap to become a paying subscriber, this is the time when it matters the most. Please upgrade today.
Every single person involved in this decision had access to the internet and chose not to use it.
Trump shared an image on Sunday of proposed “next generation” Space Force uniforms in dark gray with black jackboots. The image was accompanied by text stating the design was inspired by the uniforms in the 1997 film Starship Troopers.
Paul Verhoeven, who grew up in Nazi-occupied Netherlands, directed the film. Verhoeven has repeatedly and explicitly stated that the military uniforms in the film were designed to evoke the Third Reich and that the whole film is a satire of fascism and militarism.
Critics were quick to point out the similarity to Nazi-era military garb and the Imperial officer uniforms from Star Wars. Conservative commentator Jonah Goldberg said he did not know what would be worse: whether the administration understood the film’s point or whether they did not.
The branch recently went through a years-long rollout of new dress uniforms at significant cost, so a new Space Force uniform isn’t likely to actually be adopted. The good news is that nobody will actually have to wear these.
You can get a harsher sentence for shoplifting a candy bar at most Ohio gas stations.
An armed man pushed his way through a crowd at Ohio’s Canfield Fair on Sunday and charged Amy Acton, the Democratic nominee for governor. He didn’t reach her, but injured several other people before state troopers stopped him.
The suspect, 38-year-old Patrick Havas, was armed with two handguns, a taser, and brass knuckles. He is not charged with attempted assassination, but with disorderly conduct and two counts of assault.
Acton, a physician and former Ohio public health director, was not injured. She stayed on the scene to help treat one of the people who was.
Acton is facing Republican Vivek Ramaswamy in one of the most closely watched governor’s races in the country. Her campaign spokesperson said she “will always stand up to the chaos, hate and vitriol that pits us against one another.”
The Constitution protects your right to own a gun but not your right to drink water.
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday upheld a ruling dismissing a lawsuit against the city of Jackson over allegations that officials let residents drink lead-contaminated water for six months in 2015. Trump appointee Judge Kurt Engelhardt wrote that the Constitution does not provide a remedy for every governmental failure.
Jackson is more than 80% Black and its poverty rate is more than twice the national average. The city has been asking for help with its water system for years, and no level of government responded.
At least nine U.S. states and more than a dozen countries have enshrined clean drinking water as a protected right in their own constitutions. Massachusetts has protected the right to clean air and water since 1972 and New York added the same protection in 2021.
On the same day as the ruling, Trump’s EPA put forth a new rule that would allow companies to dump pollution into any stream or wetland that dries up more than 30 days a year.
Twelve dollars did more political damage than most super PACs.
A website called gopdallas2026.com has been posing as the official site for the Republican National Committee’s upcoming midterm convention in Dallas. Anyone who clicks on it gets sent directly to the Department of Justice’s available Epstein files.
The RNC quickly condemned the website and directed visitors to its actual convention site. The party’s spokesperson blamed Democrats for the stunt, though the identity of the person who registered the domain through GoDaddy on July 7 remains private.
Republicans have been trying to bury the Epstein files for years, and the voters aren’t letting them. Earlier this year, a YouGov poll found that just 26% of Americans approve of the way Trump has handled the investigations, and 68% think the government is covering up evidence.
The real convention is set for Sept. 9 and 10 at the American Airlines Center. The RNC is charging donors up to $250,000 to sit at a roundtable with Trump, and more than $88,000 for a photo with him. You can register a domain name for about $12 a year.
Right-wing billionaires are quietly gobbling up more media outlets, while smaller outlets unable to keep up shut down on a nearly daily basis. If left unchecked, the rich and well-connected get to do their dirt in the dark and escape all accountability. But AlterNet America doesn’t answer to them. We only answer to you, and that means we can cover these stories the way they need to be covered. But our editorial independence is only possible with the support of our paying subscribers.
If you’re still reading, that means you found this newsletter valuable. Now we need you to make your support official by upgrading your free subscription to a paying one.** It only costs 22 cents a day, and ensures AlterNet America will be able to continue working exclusively for you instead of a billionaire or corporate owner. Please subscribe or upgrade now.**
Thank you again for reading and for supporting independent media. And if you haven’t yet, click the ❤️ and restack this post so we can break through to more feeds.
** 106 Lawmakers Sign Petition to Force Release of More Epstein Files.** Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie now has 106 signatures on a discharge petition that would force a House vote on the Epstein Files Transparency Act II. The bill would give state attorneys general, victims, and members of Congress legal standing to sue the Justice Department over the withholding or redaction of Epstein-related records. Massie says the DOJ still has over three million files and has made “over the top redactions” to the documents it has released. He needs 218 signatures to force a vote, which will mean he needs at least four Republicans in total. He told CNN he believes they will get there, as nearly every Republican voted for the original Epstein transparency bill.
Federal Judge Blocks Trump Administration’s Mail-In Voting Order as Unconstitutional. U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani ruled Friday that the Trump administration’s attempt to impose new federal rules on mail-in ballots is unconstitutional and states cannot realistically comply before the November midterms. The ruling lifted a temporary restraining order and granted a preliminary injunction against the U.S. Postal Service’s enforcement of its new final rule on ballot mail. The rule would have required 10,000 jurisdictions to redesign ballots, submit to new federal review processes and upload voter information to a portal that does not yet exist, all within 60 days of the election. The judge also determined that Congress never gave the USPS the authority to create new classes of undeliverable mail.
** James Talarico Plans Statewide Food Drive to Counter GOP Convention.** Democratic U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico announced a statewide food drive this week to coincide with the Republican midterm convention in Dallas. Talarico is dubbing it the “Love Thy Neighbor” food drive, which will spotlight rising grocery prices as billionaire donors and politicians attend an event with ticket packages costing as much as $250,000. The campaign will accept donations at various locations around Texas and will distribute food at the Frederick Douglass Human Services and Justice Center in Dallas on Wednesday. Talarico’s opponent, Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton, will be at the convention.
Democrats Hold Largest Party Identification Advantage Since 2008, Gallup Finds. A new Gallup poll finds that 49% of Americans identify as or lean Democratic, while 39% identify as or lean Republican. That 10-point lead is the biggest either side has held since 2008. Today, 31% directly identify as Democrats, up from 28% when Trump took office, and 25% identify themselves as Republicans. The change is being driven mainly by independents, who now lean Democrat 49% to 39% Republican. The last time the gap was this large, Democrats gained 21 House seats and eight Senate seats.
