Black on Maroon https://botfrens.com/collections/25/contents/1124123

“A thug and a sick man.” Breaking from House Republicans who subpoenaed Jack Smith for a private interview about Trump prosecutions, Trump said Smith should appear in public hearing. “I’d rather see him testify publicly,” Trump said of Smith, after attacking him as a “thug” & “a sick man.”

Market Volatility Underscores Epic Buildup of Global Risk www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/b... "Critics warn that a small group of tech companies, including Nvidia, are essentially buying and selling to each other in circular deals that inflate their actual value." (Same thing with crypto. Massively.)

# NYT reporting on #Comey indictment dismissal incorrect on analysis of statute of limitations. Because first indictment is void, not defective, statute of limitations has run & case cannot lawfully be revived no matter what DoJ may claim. www.nytimes.com/live/2025/11... Case law is clear.

I do not see any legal basis for these operations would make them lawful. The implications if they are indeed unlawful under either domestic and international law for those involved in principle include potential legal actions by the families of the victims. www.nbcnews.com/politics/nat...

I met a traveller from an antique land, Who said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand, Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown, And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command, Tell that its sculptor well those passions read Which yet survive...

One of the characteristics of a totalitarian regime with a personality cult is that the leader makes no distinction between what is his privately and what belongs to the state. They are one and the same thing.

This kind of prepation of the public for how to manage what may be coming is of huge importance. The situation in Philadelphia is especially fraught because it is already so partisan. All but one GOP member of PA house earlier voted to impeach this Dem DA for not doing Philadelphia crime their way.

Seven deadly Sins Pride- Excessive love of oneself, the original & most serious sin. Greed-Excessive desire for wealth. Wrath - Uncontrolled hatred, rage, & fury. Envy. Lust. Gluttony. Sloth: Spiritual & physical laziness, indifference to the divine. Something to reflect on in this period.

His language is absolutist, grievance-laden, & punitive. The very existence of an authority beyond himself provokes him to try to destroy it. He will “never submit or yield,” urging his legions to find glory in rebellion and vengeance. Of course I am describing Satan in Milton’s “Paradise Lost.”

Everybody knows that the dice are loaded Everybody rolls with their fingers crossed Everybody knows the war is over Everybody knows the good guys lost Everybody knows the fight was fixed The poor stay poor, the rich get rich That's how it goes Everybody knows m.youtube.com/watch?v=Gxd2...

Not an accident and not a surprise but still a travesty. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/31/u...

First Amendment forbids govt role in curtailing speech on basis of content. Settled law. Heritage can do whatever it wants but feds cannot lawfully follow them. When they do, up to SCOTUS to stop it. Yes, I know.

E pur si muove. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/22/c...

Working on a piece about ICE's new budget, mission, and potential capacities. It's not a pretty picture and it has implications that go well beyond what will happen to people deemed to be illegal immigrants.

Democrats walked out of a committee vote Thursday to advance the judicial nomination of Emil Bove as Sen. Cory Booker accused the committee chairman of rushing the vote without following Senate rules.

The Gender Gap That Ate the Democrats www.nytimes.com/2025/07/08/o...

mei.edu/publications... #Iran #Israel #diplomacy

The Presidential planning for the use of emergency powers to militarize domestic law enforcement - and not just in Los Angeles. washingtonspectator.org/searching-fo...

Why restraint on rhetoric about #Iran would make us safer and why threats do not. www.mei.edu/blog/iran-us...

Just so we understand what this is and what it isn't but also knowing all of it is Trump's precursor to go after a bigger target: Elections 2026.

In 1954, Woody Guthrie wrote a song called "Old Man Trump." The lyrics start out like this: "I suppose that Old Man Trump knows just how much racial hate/He stirred up in that bloodpot of human hearts." en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Man... Yes, that Old Man Trump, Fred Trump. Some legacy he created.

Update on the continuation of the wrecking balls. www.wired.com/story/big-ba... ‘Big Balls’ Is Officially a Full-Time Government Employee | WIRED @steadystatevets.bsky.social

The principle Trump Administration follows to grab & disappear people is claim they have this power with no judicial process. For now, the policy covers only people they say have violated US immigration laws. But the policy can change- broadening threat they can later use this against any of us.

For now #ICE #raids supposedly limited to people assessed to be illegal immigrants. But with no due process, anyone can be grabbed by anonymous men (and women) in masks and spirited away to anywhere. Including anyone of us. This is not just illegal and unconstitutional. It’s a threat to us all.

#OMB head Russell T. #Vought in his own words: “We want the bureaucrats to be traumatically affected. When they wake up in the morning, we want them to not want to go to work because they are increasingly viewed as the villains. . . We want to put them in trauma.” www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBH9...

Immensely significant piece on Russell Vought. Please read and share. Its practical importance in stopping illegal executive action cannot be overstated. open.substack.com/pub/critical...

Questions: Who in #Libya govt endorses plan? Who will get $$$ Trump envoys have promised for the deal? Do Palestinians agree? Who will provide transport? Healthcare? Food? Jobs? Ensure billions not stolen? Meanwhile, PM Tripoli offices ransacked today. www.nbcnews.com/politics/nat...

U.S. spies on Greenland to 'win hearts'—Denmark's not likely to be amused. When allies act like adversaries, the Arctic can get icy fast. #GreenlandGate #NATOChill #ColdWar2.0 www.wsj.com/world/greenl...

keepourrepublic.org/article-iii-... retired federal judges working to protect and preserve rule of law to counter rule by edict.

steadystate1.substack.com/p/comment-op... Would the U.S. be better protected by having "spoils system" political appointees to replace career non-partisan civil servants? In a word - no.

What law firms like Paul Weiss signed up for: new Trump EO authorizes AG use "private-sector pro bono assistance" to defend police in police brutality cases. shorturl.at/sf6rX

This EO purports to authorize militarization of domestic law enforcement. www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...

How many businesses did Trump already bankrupt? I think it was six. USG is not a business but . . .

Trump last night: “These countries are calling us up, kissing my ass.” This morning:

President Trump is using the Abrego Garcia case to establish a truly chilling proposition: that no one can stop him from imprisoning anyone he wants anywhere else in the world never to be seen or heard from again. His dream is to preside over a police state. www.nytimes.com/2025/04/09/o...

Marharyta Polovinko, Ukrainian Defender and artist, died on the frontlines. In 2024, Marharyta evacuated wounded Defenders as a volunteer. Later, she joined the 3rd Assault Brigade. Marharyta shared about her drawings after Russian atrocities in Kyiv region became known:

One hundred seventy one major lawsuits and counting. Never anything in US history like the Trump assault on the US Constitution and federal law. State laws, too. www.justsecurity.org/107087/track...

The cruelty is a feature, not a bug of Trunp Administration's mass illegal federal civil service terminations and other abusive treatment. Indeed, it's a strategy. www.propublica.org/article/vide...