3662 - California Election Conspiracy Idiocy; Trump's Crony Judges w/ David Dayen, Josh Orton

California’s election count isn’t rigged—it’s working exactly as designed, with postmarked ballots up to seven days late and rigorous signature verification preventing fraud, yet right-wing conspiracy theorists still scream 'rigged' to stoke fear. The real conspiracy? A Republican strategy to weaponize voter distrust in a system that’s transparent, bipartisan, and lawful. Meanwhile, the New World Screw Worm—once contained by USDA monitoring—has breached the border after Trump dismantled federal science programs, threatening to collapse the beef industry and spike prices. This isn’t just a bug; it’s a symptom of a deeper institutional decay. As David Dayen and Josh Orton argue, Democrats can’t afford to apologize for structural reform anymore. The Supreme Court’s legitimacy is crumbling, with polls showing it’s widely unpopular and its rulings seen as political. The judiciary is no longer neutral—it’s the front line of a war over democracy. With Trump preparing to nominate loyalists who answer to him like NFL players to a coach, the Senate is becoming a battleground for ideological purity. The bold move by Senator Elissa Slotkin to personally vet a nominee and demand he affirm Biden won the 2020 election and that January 6 was an insurrection sets a new precedent. If confirmed, it forces all future nominees to answer the same questions, exposing years of evasions. This is no longer about judges—it’s about whether government can serve the people or just the powerful.