The Fascinating Evolution (?) of Marjorie Taylor Greene; Cathedral City Councilmember Mark Carnevale Passes Away–Coachella Valley Independent’s Indy Digest: Nov. 17, 2025

Indy Digest: Nov. 17, 2025

I must confess that I am fascinated by whatever in the heck is going on with Marjorie Taylor Greene.

CNN reports:

Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said Sunday she will stop using “toxic” rhetoric, marking what would be a dramatic shift in a political brand hallmarked by derogatory comments.

The commitment comes amid a rift with Donald Trump that has spilled into public view, with the president attacking the Georgia Republican personally. Greene, meanwhile, has pivoted away from the Republican Party more broadly recently, criticizing the GOP on a number of fronts, including the party’s handling of the government shutdown.

In an exclusive interview with CNN’s Dana Bash on “State of the Union” on Sunday, Greene said she worried Trump’s rhetoric toward her could lead to violence against her.

“The most hurtful thing (Trump) said, which is absolutely untrue, is he called me a traitor, and that is so extremely wrong,” Greene said, “and those are the types of words used that can radicalize people against me and put my life in danger.”

When pressed by Bash on why she didn’t speak out against Trump using such rhetoric until it was directed at her, Greene conceded that it was “fair criticism.”

“I would like to say, humbly, I’m sorry for taking part in the toxic politics; it’s very bad for our country,” Greene said. “It’s been something I’ve thought about a lot, especially since Charlie Kirk was assassinated.”

She then goes on to say something that, if you know anything about MTG, is shocking: “I really want to just see people be kind to one another.”

Wow. “I really want to just see people be kind to one another.”

Until recently, MTG acted in ways that made her seem like a terrible person—and I don’t use that term lightly. She was terrible not because of her political beliefs, but because of how she treated other people.

This is the second paragraph of the Georgia congresswoman’s Wikipedia page—and all of the statements are backed up with citations:

Greene has promoted antisemitic and white supremacist views including the white genocide conspiracy theory, QAnon, and Pizzagate. She has amplified conspiracy theories that allege government involvement in mass shootings in the United States, implicate the Clinton family in murder, and suggest the attacks of 9/11 were a hoax. Before running for Congress, Greene supported calls to execute prominent Democratic Party politicians, including Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. As a congresswoman, she equated the Democratic Party with Nazis, and compared COVID-19 safety measures to the persecution of Jews during the Holocaust, later apologizing for this comparison. During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Greene promoted Russian propaganda and praised its president Vladimir Putin. Greene identifies as a Christian nationalist.

That’s just a start. There are many, many examples of Greene being nasty and mean.

Now … she’s really saying, “I really want to just see people be kind to one another.” I repeat: Wow.

Do I buy what MTG is figuratively selling—calling for kindness as she speaks out in favor of the release of the Epstein files, and in support of an extension of the Affordable Care Act health-insurance credits? While I am glad she’s supporting these things, I most certainly do not buy it. I find the fact that some people, like Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin, are saying she’d be welcome in the Democratic Party to be utterly laughable. Go back and re-read that Wikipedia paragraph.

But … people can change, at least to an extent. I admit to being fascinated—and I am eager to see what happens next.

—Jimmy Boegle

More News

• Cathedral City City Councilmember Mark Carnevale has passed away. From a news release: “The City of Cathedral City is deeply saddened by the passing of Councilmember Mark Carnevale on Nov. 16, 2025, a dedicated public servant, beloved family man, and pillar of the Cathedral City community. First elected to the City Council in November 2014, Councilmember Carnevale represented District 3 and served the city with distinction for over a decade. He served as mayor twice—first following the passing of Mayor Gregory S. Pettis in 2019, and again in December 2023. Mark Carnevale called the Coachella Valley home since 1969. Alongside his wife Rhonda—his high school sweetheart of 50 years—he owned and operated Nicolino’s Italian Restaurant, a Cathedral City institution since 1985. The restaurant, serving fine Italian cuisine prepared by three generations of family members including his son Nick and grandchildren, embodied Mark’s commitment to family and community.” A cause of death has not been announced.

• The feds are saying they will soon require everyone receiving SNAP benefits to re-apply every year. Politico reports: “The Trump administration will require millions of low-income people to reapply for food stamps as part of an effort to crack down on ‘fraud,’ Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said. Rollins told Newsmax on Thursday that she plans to ‘have everyone reapply for their benefits, make sure that everyone that’s taking a taxpayer-funded benefit through … food stamps, that they literally are vulnerable and they can’t survive without it.’ She did not provide further information on when or how people would need to reapply. Her comment comes after funds for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program ran out of federal funding during the government shutdown, leading many conservative pundits and even President Donald Trump to criticize just how much the government spends on food stamps. SNAP, which serves nearly 42 million Americans, cost roughly $100 billion in fiscal year 2024. SNAP fraud can occur when participants intentionally lie about their qualifications for the program, retailers exchange benefits for cash or criminals skim EBT cards for benefits, per USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service. But anti-hunger groups say there’s not nearly as much fraud as the Trump administration alleges and note that SNAP only issues about $6 a day in benefits to the average participant.”

• A federal judge has ruled that Trump’s demands that UCLA pay a $1.2 billion settlement, and agree to all sorts of restrictions, are illegal. Our partners at Calmatters say: “The decision by Judge Rita Lin is a preliminary injunction and represents a significant victory for University of California scientists, professors, graduate students and other researchers. They and a national professors association sued Trump in September, claiming that his settlement demand—the most sweeping to date in his war on exclusive universities—represents an ‘unlawful threat’ of funding cuts to coerce the university system into ‘suppressing free speech and academic freedom rights.’ Lin agreed with that assessment, calling Trump’s actions toward the university ‘coercive and retaliatory.’ Her ruling doesn’t just apply to UCLA. It largely ties the hands of the Trump administration to target the rest of the UC system for current and future research grants. ‘Agency officials, as well as the president and vice president, have repeatedly and publicly announced a playbook of initiating civil rights investigations of preeminent universities to justify cutting off federal funding, with the goal of bringing universities to their knees and forcing them to change their ideological tune,” Lin wrote in her ruling.”

• The Trump administration has officially withdrawn a proposal requiring airlines to compensate passengers when many flights are cancelled or delayed. NBC News says: “Though the move was announced in September, the Transportation Department formalized it in the Federal Register on Monday. It said it was withdrawing the Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking submitted under President Joe Biden in December. Under the Biden-era plan, passengers would have received reimbursements based on how long delays lasted. The scale began at $200 and went up to $775 for delays that lasted at least nine hours. The proposal, which was never enacted, would have aligned U.S. regulation more closely with airline rules in Europe. A spokesperson for the department said last week that the Biden-era proposal ‘does not reflect the compensation consumers are currently entitled to with respect to delays and cancellations. These actions are part of our broader effort to ensure the traveling public is treated fairly while also recognizing how overly burdensome regulations will raise ticket prices for the traveling public and compromise safety for the sake of efficiency,’ the spokesperson said.” Huh?

• Here’s another policy change from the feds, this one involving how to deal with the homelessness crisis. NPR reports: “The Trump administration is upending its homelessness policy, with deep cuts to funding for long-term housing. Instead, it will shift money toward transitional housing that requires work and addiction treatment. In a statement, the Department of Housing and Urban Development said the new policies will ‘restore accountability’ and promote ‘self-sufficiency’ by addressing the ‘root causes of homelessness, including illicit drugs and mental illness.’ It also noted that overall homelessness funding is going up, from $3.6 billion to $3.9 billion. … Critics warn the major overhaul could put 170,000 people at risk of losing their housing again. And they say the timing is terrible. Normally, funding notices go out months earlier, but now programs around the country will have little time to start applying for new funding. And in many places, it will leave a months-long gap after current funding runs out and before new money flows.”

• And finally … if the color orange offends you, or you’re simply offended by artificial dyes, we have some good (albeit weird) news for you. CBS News says: “Starting in December, stores will sell Simply NKD versions of the popular snacks that have no artificial flavors or dyes—meaning no bright orange color, PepsiCo announced Thursday. The move comes following a push by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to get rid of synthetic food dyes in the nation’s food supply. The Food and Drug Administration asked the industry to stop using dyes in April, but stopped short of banning them. For Cheetos and Doritos, the original versions will still be available in addition to the new options. ‘NKD is an additive option, not a replacement, introduced to meet consumer demand,’ CEO of PepsiCo Foods U.S. Rachel Ferdinando said in a statement.”

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