/5 This is not merely about indifference to the brutality against the least of us that is characteristic of our system; that happens under every administration. This is about brutality being the goal, because it makes evil people happy to see others brutalized.

There is a gulf in America. I submit it is the gulf between good and evil, or at least not-evil and evil. The gulf is not just between people who oppose this and people who are indifferent to it or reluctantly accept it in support of immigration policy or see it as collateral damage. /1

Talarico: if you read the new testament, Jesus doesn't spend most of his time preaching or teaching or even praying. He spends most of his time healing the sick. Right now, we have politicians in congress with Christ follower in their Twitter bio, but they are kicking the sick off their health care

a heartwarming story of how being an unethical and talentless hack is no barrier to success when you are willing to endlessly flatter the wretched views of rich dipshits

DOJ has fired two more prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney's office that charged Comey, just days after Trump fired their boss. As we told @cbsnews.com.web.brid.gy: Under this DOJ leadership, "blind loyalty is the only factor that matters." www.cbsnews.com/news/doj-fir...

Absolutely true. The crop that has been mainstay of (especially) South Dakota economy now zeroed out, in exports to their biggest customer. Those farmers know (have told us) that they will never get those markets back. The PRC has switched to Brazil and Argentina.

NEW on Press Watch: Trump games the press, so maybe change the rules?: presswatchers.org/2025/10/trum...

I haven't seen whether the CBS acquisition means that The Free Press is leaving Substack. If it does, that means a loss of $1M a year to the platform, or 2.5% of its entire revenue. That might not sound like much but if the FP offers a model for other successful publications to leave...

The Trump admin has completely gutted the Office of Fair Housing and fired the federal workers investigating housing discrimination. A core civil rights protection against discrimination is being dismantled. Federal workers are sounding the alarm.

Jeffries: In that Oval Office meeting, which lasted over an hour, the amount of time spent talking about health insurance for undocumented immigrants was less than 10 seconds. You know why? Because they know it’s a lie. They didn’t even bother to bring it up—because the cameras weren’t rolling.

“.. another setback for the Cybertruck, which has sold poorly and been recalled eight times since last year.” @nytimes.com $TSLA www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/b...

In case it wasn’t clear, the anti-DEI crusade has never been about merit. Zero news experience. Never been a reporter. Elevated to Editor in Chief of CBS News, one of the most storied news institutions in the nation. www.mediaite.com/media/news/p...

Daily Developments: Legal Challenges to Trump Administration Actions See here for the full tracker: www.justsecurity.org/107087/track...

It’s amusing to see how surgical this administration thinks it can be — in an economy filled with interdependencies. @politico.com @gregsargent.bsky.social www.politico.com/news/2025/10...

This week, DOJ has all but eliminated 3 more offices responsible for law enforcement, including prosecuting drug cartels & deescalating community violence. As we told @reuters.com: "This isn't a reorganization — it's a decimation of some of DOJ's most vital work."

the optics of Trump building a ballroom while laying people off and jacking up healthcare costs for everyone is a rich tapestry for an opposition party comfortable with doing good propaganda

BREAKING: A federal judge kept a New Hampshire law blocked that banned diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in K-12 public schools and universities. Students have the right to an inclusive education — and we'll keep fighting this discriminatory law until it's stopped for good.

@adambonica.bsky.social has done a series of analyses showing that DOGE layoffs/probationary firings disproportionately occur in agencies seen as serving progressive goals. The pattern is consistent: it is not just downsizing, it is targeting progressivism data4democracy.substack.com/p/the-doge-p...

The shutdown as ideological targeting. If agencies fire non-essential employees as Vought wants, the losses fall more on liberal agencies, even though such agencies already saw more cuts during previous Trump layoffs. H/T @adambonica.bsky.social donmoynihan.substack.com/p/shutdown-h...

"God will ask us if we have cultivated and cared for the world that he created for the benefit of all and for future generations, and if we have taken care of our brothers and sisters - what will be our answer, my dear friends?"

Hey now Tyler Cowen is one of the funniest economists around

I don't see a big problem with the curriculum.

My advice to Democrats today and assuming the government shuts down at midnight tonight? Don't cave! Tell the public what’s at stake. Some thoughts... https://robertreich.substack.com/p/senate-dems-dont-cave-and-explain

I’ve been through government shutdowns. This one is radically different. Here’s what is at stake, and why Democrats must hold the line. https://robertreich.substack.com/p/this-shutdown-is-different

Using partisan messages is inappropriate for all federal agencies, but especially for DOJ, which must remain impartial and insulated from partisan influences.

Meiselas: You’re saying to Donald Trump, to Senator Thune, to JD Vance: show up at the Capitol. We’re going to do this in front of the press and address these issues before the American people, correct? Jeffries: That’s my position—and we’ll even let Mike Johnson into the meeting as well.

Now we're talking: Hakeem Jeffries just called JD Vance's bluff and challenged Trump and GOP leaders to meet TOMORROW in front of the press to discuss the shutdown. Allow the cameras in. Full transparency.

Performers were asked to agree to censorship rules that prohibit material that would "degrade, defame, or bring into public disrepute" the following: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, including its ldrshp & public figures The Saudi royal family or the country's legal system, government, or any religion.

Gavin Newsom announces that any California university that caves to Trump and signs his “loyalty pledge” will be immediately defunded. “CALIFORNIA WILL NOT BANKROLL SCHOOLS THAT SELL OUT THEIR STUDENTS.”

“.. Some Republicans estimate they will eventually need to provide $35 billion to $50 billion in aid to farmers hit by Trump’s tariffs.” [.. That’s roughly half of all the revenue raised from new 2025 tariffs so far this year, notes @ernietedeschi.bsky.social] www.politico.com/news/2025/10...

Sort of amazing that Weiss doesn’t understand that she’s in a no-win position. MAGA will get mad about something and she will be blamed and the whole effort won’t have helped CBS anyway.

“What I’m trying to show you is I’m a real guy who takes the bus to the city to get the information that you need.” Here’s how Poynter Journalism Prize winner and NJ.com’s S.P. Sullivan approaches TikTok, Instagram and the news: https://buff.ly/VBRMiwd

Tesla Tells Texas Court It Has No Duty to Warn Owners of Defects. Customer Says Defective Door Handles Trapped Her In Burning Car. www.autoblog.com/news/tesla-t...

"One clinical psychologist [said] he considers Trump such a 'classic' pathological narcissist that he is actually 'archiving video clips of him to use in workshops because there’s no better example' of the characteristics of the disorder he displays."

Born in 1934, Goodall loved wildlife from a very young age, so much so that her father once gave her a stuffed monkey doll that young Jane named Jubilee and kept for the rest of her life.

Breaking: The FDA this week approved a generic version of the abortion pill mifepristone.

This is an outrageous slander against Tom Homan, with the implication that someone who took a bag of cash from undercover FBI agents might be less than ethical

Fires Stephen Colbert. Hires Bari Weiss. So many talented people still working there. So many still-excellent shows. And now ...

Secretary Pete Hegseth's new facial hair grooming standards are discriminatory against troops who can't shave for religious reasons and Black and Brown people, who are more likely to have skin conditions that make shaving difficult and painful.

“The royals loved the show.” -Bill Burr

NEW: Cliff Johnson, a Mississippi civil rights attorney, is running as a Democrat against Mississippi's 1st Congressional District Republican incumbent, Trent Kelly. Johnson has successfully litigated against debtors' prisons and practices that jailed people for months and years without attorneys.

Lol, climate people will be very, very familiar with this genre: "everything is going terribly & all signs point toward continued decline, but it's important that you not get a big sad about it!"

I've just received an email from BlueSky telling me the original post in this thread has been taken down because of a Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) violation, so I guess someone is taking copyright seriously.

Trump has run roughshod over the Constitution. He's used this power to cut vital funding for healthcare programs while passing massive tax cuts for himself and his rich donors. Now is the clearest opportunity for Democrats to point out the devastating realities of this regime.

Senior federal officials have quietly counseled several agencies against firing employees while the government is shut down — as President Trump has suggested he will — warning the strategy may violate appropriations law.

Libertarians watching Government goons fast rope from black helicopters into a Chicago apartment complex, drag Americans from their beds, and leave them hogtied naked on the street:

Everything is going great.

"If everything is 'AI,' it stops lawmakers and their constituents from meaningfully engaging with what a given piece of regulation would actually do. This presents a problem..." More from @kara-williams.bsky.social and me on how ~we~ need to be talking about AI consumerfed.org/specific-ter...

The operations blackout at the Bureau of Labor Statistics creates a unique opportunity for an administration averse to accurate data. talkingpointsmemo.com/news/governm...