"We suffer through daily reminders of the weakness of his mind, but the U.S. has muddled along with other dim presidents. Where Trump occupies a category all his own is in his breathtaking moral depravity. The man is a moral abomination, and so are his defenders." open.substack.com/pub/thebulwa...

"It's the great mystery of human life that old grief passes gradually into quiet tender joy, as the mild serenity of age takes the place of the riotous blood of youth." ~ Fyodor Dostoevsky A Village Street in Winter 🎨 Alfred Sisley (1893)

My take on the FBI’s press conference today. Join the discussion on Substack: substack.com/@thefrankfig...

Poverty is a policy choice. Concentrated wealth is a policy choice. Inequality is a policy choice. None of it is natural or inevitable. Remember: We have the power to build a system that serves the many, not the powerful few.

As Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis stated in 1933; “We can have democracy in this country or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of the few, but we cannot have both.” Today, at a time of unprecedented income & wealth inequality, his words ring truer than ever.

This issue hasn't gotten as much attention in recent months as the practice has been slowly expanding at the local level in various courts and ICE field offices, but immigration lawyers around the country are reporting that in the last couple weeks it's now kicking into high gear.

Illinois's Dick Durbin is retiring. Who'll be our next US Senator? Attend the virtual IL Democratic Senate Candidate Forum, US Senate – Hear from the candidates! Wednesday, Dec. 17th, 7:00 pm CT. Hosted by @nwsofa-indivisible.bsky.social. Get info & register for Zoom link ⤵️

Tomorrow on my live podcast, History Matters: Profiting Off the Presidency: Why the Gold and Gifts Matter The founders and framers had STRONG feelings about public officials not accepting foreign gifts. Why? Let’s take a dive into corruption. Friday 10AM ET m.youtube.com/@joannefreem...

🎉 BREAKING: WE DID IT! 🎉 After days of intense pressure from D.C., the Indiana Senate REJECTED the mid-decade gerrymandered map! This victory belongs to every Indivisible member, every activist, and every Hoosier who called, emailed, and showed up.

I'm glad to see the Ohio Nurses Association fighting back against the new federal student loan deprofessionalization proposal. Reclassifying these degree programs would add yet another strain on an already stretched workforce and put a greater burden on students. spectrumnews1.com/oh/columbus/...

We have 24 hours before the Senate vote to stop the January premium increases - $6,200 annual increase for the average Connecticut family on an ACA plan. Republicans can still choose to do the right thing and vote with us.

I’ve been through a lot worse than anything Donald Trump or Pete Hegseth can throw at me. And I'm not backing down, because this isn't about me — it's about you and every American's First Amendment right.

The Trump administration is going to try very hard not to release the complete September 2 video or accompanying documents. They're going to try not to release the complete Epstein files. To which the response should be: No Kings. No Cover-ups.

Indiana Republicans are under significant pressure to do something they know is wrong: rig the maps and silence voters. Washington Republicans are demanding a "9–0 map." That’s not democracy - that’s cheating. They know it, and they’re ashamed, which is why they’re hesitating.

In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends. ---Martin Luther King Jr. US black civil rights leader & clergyman (1929 - 1968)

It’s not coded communication just ordinary, unpredictable chatter that blends into the broader online landscape and keeps monitored spaces from becoming neatly organized or easy to interpret. A random post could be a call to action, or it could just be a random post, it all depends on its context.

A remarkable project - a consortium of scholars from prehistorians to modern history. The Russians are indeed trying to kill an entire country and its culture, Ukrainians and their friends are resisting uhgi.org

Know your rights. Protect your neighbors. New York is — and always will be — a city for all immigrants.

Spot on, Mr. Rather. 🎯 💯

An additional 500 National Guard members have arrived in Washington, D.C., bringing the total deployment to 2,750 troops, according to the National Guard and bringing the cost to taxpayers to roughly $1.6 million per day.

Trump’s new national security strategy was released Thursday. It’s naive at best; dangerous at worst. I break it down on Substack. Consider joining me there: substack.com/@thefrankfig...

What we are watching - as U.S. citizens are dragged out of cars and illegal war is waged in the Caribbean - is the corruption of the most sacred power we give the President - the power of violence. We are no longer a democracy if the regime can use violence without restraint.

"We take for granted the degree of peace that we’ve enjoyed over the past eight decades. We think that’s the norm. The norm is actually a lot more like what the world looked like before 1945. I don’t think people are ready for the world that we’re now moving into." open.substack.com/pub/thebulwa...

I'm not exaggerating when I say following @boltsmag.org rn will unlock money for our journalism. A generous reader, @russ41.bsky.social, has offered to donate $1 for every 1-person increase to our follower count. If you're not following @boltsmag.org yet, it'll directly help fund our reporting!

No one has been more fearless, impassioned, and authoritative on the abject incompetence and lawlessness of the regime’s use of the military than Senator Mark Kelly. open.substack.com/pub/contrari...

I wake up early each morning and grind through the morning shows for newsy clips with help from @snapstream.com, the premier tool for social media video. If your company or org wants to post like me, click the link below for more info and to set up a demo.

Lots of interest here, and I will write about it. But what jumped out at me was ZM's observation that the laws we need are already on the books. We just need to enforce them. I mean, OF COURSE, but... it needs to be said.

I am taking the next few days off from writing to prepare for a Supreme Court argument. If you want to support Democracy Docket during my pause, here is there link. hubs.ly/Q03M8rql0

My tribute to my dad, who passed away last month in the UK. He was a proud Indian immigrant *and* a proud British citizen. His life story is one long rebuttal to the nativists, bigots and xenophobes.

The real Election Day is Tuesday, December 2, 2025. We’re closely monitoring this election and will keep you updated with any further warnings.

There are flyers circulating and even mailers showing up in people’s mailboxes in Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District that list the wrong date for the upcoming special election. Voters are being told to vote on the incorrect day.

Where is the outrage in Congress? Why do we have a Congress? www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

Five-byline alert: 🚨 “.. the full scope of [Witkoff’s talks] went much further, according to people familiar .. They were privately charting a path to bring Russia’s $2 trillion economy in from the cold—with American businesses first in line .. to the dividends. 🇺🇦 www.wsj.com/world/russia...

I need a foster squirrel in my life

Gentoo penguin with chick, Watercolour painting. #Penguin #GentooPenguin #Birds #BirdsArt #Art #Watercolour #WatercolourArt #Painting #BirdsWallArt #ArtPrints #BirdsGiftIdea

😢 MELIA will spend her second Thanksgiving at the shelter. She wants a home for Christmas. She can live with cats, no dogs. Low traffic home, adult only. Needs training. Please adopt her. 😢 Hempstead Animal Shelter (516) 785-5220 [email protected] 3320 Beltagh Avenue , Unit Wantagh, NY 11793

Homes filled with holiday visitors should bring joy not tragedy. Secure your firearms now: www.prnewswire.com/news-release...

Last week, we published this article on how Illinois still has burdensome hurdles for trans people to change their names: boltsmag.org/illinois-nam... Reporter @adamrhodes.bsky.social talked about it today with @thegailyshow.org: check it out below!

Genuine question: has any GOP member of house or senate spoken out about the Dept of defense and Hegseth threatening sen Mark Kelly with lawfare? Beyond disturbing Especially any veterans? Shame on all those who stay silent

1) Start the worst European war since 1945 and commit every imaginable war crime 2) Decide how you want to be rewarded for your aggression 3) Leak the list of your desiderata to the US press 4) Wait for the US president to enforce your wish list on your victim. Russian policy 2025

Major good news updates!! There is so much chaos in this world, so start your day off with some good news. My good news? Our Epstein coverage reached 10s of millions of Americans. We uplifted the voices of the survivors, and I am so proud of our work. Let me know your good news!

November 22, 2025

What are you doing

Calling on our service members to remember their training isn’t controversial. Using “trust me bro” as justification for killing in international waters should be. Where is the Republican Doormat Congress? @wellmanformo.bsky.social #teamwellman #Missouri #military #veteran #StLouis #Congress

"We enter a period more dangerous than the last months of Nixon. The Trump presidency won’t end well. The question is whether harm to the nation can be contained. All honor to Slotkin, Kelly, Crow, Goodlander, Houlahan, and Deluzio for trying to limit the damage." www.thebulwark.com/p/brace-your...

Bolts thrives with your support. And right now, NEWSMATCH is still on: The initiative doubles any gift you make to Bolts! Easy: boltsmag.org/donate But let me do this: I want to share some of our 2025 stories that I value the most. Skim my 🧵: and if anything moves you, consider supporting us!

Cliffs of Moher, watching the last of the days sunlight put on a show. County Clare, Ireland.

Before the midterms of 1866, President Andrew Johnson called his congressional opponents traitors and said they should be hanged. Voters were so profoundly moved by his words... that they gave his opponents a supermajority in Congress, and the nation got the Fourteenth Amendment.

Yup. It’s a combo misogynistic, anti-press, unpresidential smack of entitlement. And it could be aimed at anyone. All of us.