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Visitors hoping to learn about the history of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program on the USDA website are also getting a dose of politics.
On a banner at the top of the page there’s a note saying that SNAP benefits would not be issued Nov. 1. It blames Democrats in the U.S. Senate for the ongoing government shutdown.
The note goes on to say “We are approaching an inflection point for Senate Democrats. They can continue to hold out for healthcare for illegal aliens and gender mutilation procedures or reopen the government so mothers, babies, and the most vulnerable among us can receive critical nutrition assistance.”
That’s not the only place that a government website looks like it’s being updated by an apoplectic talk-show host.
Here’s what’s currently atop the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service page:
“Due to the Radical Left Democrat shutdown, this government website will not be updated during the funding lapse. President Trump has made it clear he wants to keep the government open and support those who feed, fuel, and clothe the American people.”
And at the website of Health and Human Services: “Mission-critical activities of HHS will continue during the Democrat-led government shutdown. Please use this site as a resource as the Trump Administration works to reopen the government for the American people.”
To be fair, some government websites are taking a neutral stance. The IRS website, for example, simply says “The U.S. government is shut down. Services may be limited.”
The partisan messages, however, are egregious abuses of government resources, and whether put there by decree of the U.S. president or an overzealous webmaster, they should be swiftly taken down. They serve no one, least of all the public, and do nothing to improve President Trump’s standing with either his opponents or his supporters.
A group of senators has been trying for a month to put a stop to this nonsense, to no avail.
In a letter sent to Russ Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget, two dozen senators said that political notices started appearing on government websites Sept. 30, and were also appearing in emails from government addresses. The senators, all Democrats but for one independent, said that such messages are illegal and directed Vought to see that they are removed from all websites and communications of the executive branch.
“Spirited public debate has its place, but agency resources, including websites or emails, should not be used to send overtly political, and in this case, misleading messages, to the American people,” the letter said.
Of course, the senators crossed a line into partisanship themselves when they said the messages were misleading. Good people can disagree on who is responsible for the shutdown and whether it is serving any good purpose. For that matter, there are people within the Democratic Party who disagree on who is responsible.
At any rate, surely the Democratic senators could have found a Republican or two to sign off on a letter objecting to partisan messaging on a dot-gov website. Where are the Fettermans of the right?
And while we’re all objecting to this, how about we all object to the taxpayer-funded, partisan signage about construction projects, another dubious practice of presidents both Republican and Democrat. It’s cringy no matter who does it.
See, there’s plenty to unite us as a country, if only we know where to look.
Not on my Bingo card this week
In the Department of Not-on-My-Bingo-Card-This-Week, there are two developments.
First, Never Trumper Bill Kristol and his colleagues at The Bulwark announced “Trump is right: The Filibuster should die.” (Though this was accompanied by the adage “A broken clock is right twice a day.”)
Then, Ben Shapiro — Ben Shapiro! — seems to have earned the grudging respect of some on the left in becoming the leader of the opposition to Nick Fuentes and his followers, called “Groypers,” and those who platform Fuentes, most notably Tucker Carlson.
In an op-ed The Wall Street Journal published Tuesday, Shapiro wrote, “The Republican Party, like the Democratic Party before it, is at risk of being eaten alive by fringe actors. To allow it is both morally unjustifiable and politically obtuse. Americans reject this garbage. If Republicans cower before Nazi apologists and their popularizers, the GOP will lose — and deserve to.”
Shapiro’s op-ed echoed his remarks on a video that was widely praised on X.
There’s much more to this story, but my colleague Mariya Manzhos dives into part of it here: "Why Jews fear the left and now the right."
And for more background on why Carlson is hailed as the leader of the “woke right,” read Brigham Tomco’s analysis “Is there a woke right?”
Recommended reading
Tech titan Peter Thiel has recently been talking about Armageddon and the Antichrist, and Valerie Hudson is looking at his remarks with a skeptical eye, wondering about his motivation.
“To this day, about two-thirds of Americans identify as Christian of one variety or another, with higher levels of behavioral religiosity than European nations. In this uniquely American context, to label or identify something or someone as the Antichrist is a call to action, a prelude to a sacred and justified struggle against the forces of evil. It is a political act, first and foremost, and not a religious one.”
Why is Peter Thiel suddenly talking so much about the Antichrist?
Are Republicans or Democrats winning the meme war? Eva Terry and Emma Pitts examined everything from the J.D. Vance meme that inspired his Halloween costume, to the “Republican and Democratic kitties” video promoted by Democrats.
“In 2025, some may expect the news and media to be more ‘advanced’ than it has ever been, but perhaps society hasn’t changed all that much, two centuries removed from the French Revolution. The people want (and have always wanted) to be entertained, even as they’re informed. Republicans and Democrats are trying to cash in that desire.”
The political fight over memes
Political scientist Matthew R. Miles studies the relationship between religion and politics. He says that the development of virtues that he calls “religious becoming” is an important factor in rejecting political violence.
“For decades, social scientists assumed education was the main driver of tolerance, yet the effect of religious becoming is roughly four times stronger. People who cultivate these virtues view diverse groups — from atheists to fundamentalists, progressives to conservatives — as less threatening while maintaining realistic awareness of extremism. They hold firm convictions yet resist the urge to dehumanize opponents."
The antidote to political violence lives in our faith communities
End notes
In May, “Dilbert” creator Scott Adams announced that he had prostate cancer that had spread to his bones and that he didn’t expect to live past the summer. He’s had treatment since then that improved his prognosis and allowed him to keep doing his podcast and posting pictures of his adorable cats, despite considerable pain.
But over the weekend, things took a turn for the worse, and he wrote on X that he was headed to the ER. He also said that he was going to be reaching out to Donald Trump for help in solving a problem with his treatment since the president had offered to help in any way he could when he called Adams after his diagnosis.
Shortly after his post, Adams got calls from Donald Trump Jr., Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Mehmet Oz, and Trump wrote on Truth Social, “On it!" What happened next is unclear, but the problem getting the IV treatment that Adams needed was resolved.
There were, of course, a number of complaints online and in the press about the haves and the have-nots in health care, and even Adams seemed a little sheepish about his request on his podcast Monday, saying that some people with Kaiser Permanente probably had a bad weekend.
“I feel bad about it but good about it, because it might have saved my life,” Adams said. He then showed that he hasn’t lost his sense of humor throughout his ordeal when a phone rang unexpectedly in the background.
“That would be the Kremlin,” he quipped.