"The very foundation of this country lies in rejecting the whims, pettiness, corruption, viciousness & unaccountability of a foolish king. "As we prepare to celebrate our 250th birthday, reupping that spirit feels like a worthy gift we can give ourselves once again." -- @elliotkirschner.bsky.social

@lyz.bsky.social on Amazon's film: "On the entire one hour, 41-minute run time, nothing is illuminated except Melania's skin. . . . All we are left with is a sort of uncanny valley first lady. The documentary is as intimate as window shopping; as lifelike as an ice sculpture."

"Recent election wins by Democrats, low approval ratings and defeats in court are fueling Trump's increasingly desperate attempts to find ways to manipulate the system to guarantee Republicans wins in November." -- @thedanrather.bsky.social [1/2]

"When organizations like CBP or ICE are equipped—and rhetorically encouraged—to behave like battlefield units, the discipline that restrains military forces is often absent, while the consequences of misuse are magnified." — @markhertling.bsky.social, retired lieutenant gen'l, at @thebulwark.com 1/2

"A spokesperson for DHS accused the media of 'peddling hoaxes about poor conditions in detention centers. But DHS has lied about so many things that no one should take their words seriously." — @hcrichardson.bsky.social

"I'm beginning to think that the only bar Bondi passed was the one she drives by on her way to work." — @lyz.bsky.social

"History still has lessons to teach us, most importantly, the importance of not backing down in a moment like this one.  "Without our opposition, this administration could be doing far worse. We are where we need to be right now. . . . We're in this together." — @joycewhitevance.bsky.social

"There are some things that you just have to sit back and say, wow. And that's kind of what the Olympics is about. Admiration for things that you could never dream of doing." -- @jenrubin.bsky.social at @contrariannews.org

"You couldn’t have made a better statement [than the halftime show] as to why the administration is now so desperate, so defensive, becoming more and more extreme, more and more violent, because they're losing. "They've lost the threat. . . ." -- @jenrubin.bsky.social at @contrariannews.org [1/2]

@pablo.show, sportswriter and podcaster, at @contrariannews.org on Bad Bunny's show: "It felt like the metaphor for, like, do you believe your eyes, or do you believe what the administration’s telling you?"

"Since the latest [Epstein] file dump, a few members of Congress seem to have finally located their spines. "Today, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnik faced bipartisan calls for his resignation after multiple appearances in the files." — @thedanrather.bsky.social

"Many Trump voters appeared to cling to the belief that a Trump administration would deport only 'criminal' immigrants. . . . "Now they are making the idea of purging Brown and Black people from the United States central to federal policy." — @hcrichardson.bsky.social

"There will certainly be books written, songs composed and movies made about this dark age, and we do not yet know where it might lead." -- @elliotkirschner.bsky.social

The arc is long and it bends back toward reality, historian @hcrichardson.bsky.social senses:

Sweet start to this week . . . Wordle 1,696 3/6 ⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨 🟨🟨⬜⬜🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

"These are not times for people who don’t like anything that challenges their comfortable existence. The days of comfortable existence are over for anyone who’s paying attention." -- @joycewhitevance.bsky.social

"There are many pressing needs in this country, but journalism is foundational. It is protected in the First Amendment and that . . . reflects the idea that democracy depends on an informed public." -- @elliotkirschner.bsky.social

"Don't check out. Don't let your anger become apathy. Don't convince yourself that things can't get better. . . . "I have seen time and time again that we are not as divided as our politics. We will find a way forward, together." -- Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan

@elliotkirschner.bsky.social reflects on "how little we hear any mention of children" by "this tyrannical regime," as he calls it. "Presidential speeches are typically filled with invocations of 'our children' and 'our grandchildren.'" [1/2]

"Trump has made no secret of his plans to thwart, question and/or subvert the 2026 midterms. Democratic secretaries of state...are strategizing in group calls and gaming out how to stop him. Anyone who really cares about the country should be paying close attention." -- @thedanrather.bsky.social 1/2

Iowa writer @lyz.bsky.social on Turning Point USA's alternative halftime show today: "Kid Rock has a song where he sings about liking underage girls. . . . Apparently it makes him relatable to their base, which is now just everyone who emailed with Jeffrey Epstein."

"To me, this is the gravest danger: that Trump's army and the Department of Homeland Security will use some warped rationale to interfere directly with elections." -- @charlesmblow.bsky.social

Will Lewis quit Saturday after overseeing deep cuts to the Washington Post newsroom. "Lewis' short resignation note and the lack of a permanent succession plan suggests his departure wasn't on schedule." -- @maxtani.bsky.social, @semafor.com media editor [1/2]

"The patriots at Turning Point USA have organized their own halftime show, which will somehow involve Kid Rock. "Kid Rock is like if you turned Coors Light into music: You can convince yourself it's fine, if you add in a shot of whiskey, but mostly it's carbonated piss water." -- @lyz.bsky.social

Straight talk from @paulkrugman.skystack.xyz:

"Trump has made no secret of his plans to thwart, question and/or subvert the 2026 midterms. Democratic secretaries of state . . . are currently strategizing in group calls and gaming out how to stop him." -- @thedanrather.bsky.social [1/2]

"The outrages of this regime are no longer defying the laws of political gravity. . . . "Voices of dissent are becoming bolder and more courageous. Poll numbers are plummeting. Election surprises are surging." — @elliotkirschner.bsky.social

Savvy insights into how "the Epstein files mix the mundane and the horrific, the thirsty and the criminal." "Many of the emails show a world that includes a form of status upselling."

"One retiring House Republican told @semafor.com that Trump's post depicting Barack and Michelle Obama as apes validated the choice to leave. "Not long after that, Nevada Rep. Mark Amodei announced his retirement — the 2nd House Republican this week to do so, and the 30th of this election cycle."

Iowa writer @lyz.bsky.social comments on the newspaper owner she calls Jeffeneezer Scrooge: "Democracy doesn’t die in darkness; it dies in the hands of a man whose business practices would make robber barons blush."

"Moral outrage over the Trump administration’s brutality . . . has exploded as a political force over the past two months. The public is not on the side of the thugs. . . . "The Trump/Miller assault on Minnesota has produced a huge, rapid backlash." -- @paulkrugman.skystack.xyz

"Boy am I glad this week is over. "But maybe it's not. Who knows what he’ll do overnight?" — @lktiv.bsky.social

"Trump is some kind of malign surgeon, operating on the nation's perfectly healthy architectural and cultural treasures and removing essential limbs like the East Wing of the White House or shuttering the Kennedy Center." — @joycewhitevance.bsky.social substack.com/home/post/p-...

"Turning Point USA is raging mad because the NFL decided to have a wildly popular pop star, Bad Bunny, perform at the halftime show. . . . "That’s right, Bad Bunny is coming to our country! From Puerto Rico, which is also our country! To steal our country!" -- @lyz.bsky.social [1/2]

@paulkrugman.substack.com.web.brid.gy wonders "how many bitterly disillusioned [crypto]bros there will be now." "The whole 'Say what you like about Trump, but markets are up' mindset must be under severe strain. "Are we having fun yet?"

"It is a sign of these unprecedented times that we even have to explain who runs elections, that we need to protect this constitutional guarantee against presidential overreach." -- @thedanrather.bsky.social

"In 2017, The Post adopted the motto 'Democracy dies in darkness.' Now [Jeff] Bezos is the one with his hand on the light switch." -- @elliotkirschner.bsky.social

Book reviewer @roncharles.bsky.social, laid off Wednesday after 20 years at The Washington Post, reacts wryly (in part): "For book critics, getting laid off is practically a rite of passage — usually the last rite of the final passage."

"When [Steve] Bannon, Donald Trump or anyone from MAGA world talks about 'protecting' elections or 'guarding their integrity,' remember this is precisely the language used by the architects of Jim Crow: the purification of the ballot to produce outcomes they deemed legit" - @charlesmblow.bsky.social

Voice from The Washington Post's trenches: "The same people who were telling us to break the paradigm, to think of 'the newspaper' in a new way, were unable to look at these things in a new way. . . . Guess what? Their way didn’t work." -- John Kelly, Postie from 1989-2023 [1/2]

This sharpie eviscerates Sen. Collins for watchging silently as the president denigrated Kaitlan Collins. "Susan Collins is always deeply concerned and troubled, which in practice means she stages concern the way other people stage interpretive yoga—stretching just enough to look engaged..." [1/2]

Margaret Sullivan (@sulliview.bsky.social), Washington Post media columnist from 2016-22, tells @jenrubin.bsky.social at @contrariannews.org that its losses are "not something that requires you to wreck the paper" She's also mystified that “Bezos has uttered no words about this” week's mass layoffs

"Everyone who bought Bitcoin in the belief that Trump would make Bitcoin greater than ever has lost money, in many cases a lot of money. "So this is another case of ETTD: everything Trump touches dies." -- @pkrugman.bsky.social

50 years after they played Washington Post reporters and editors in "All the President's Men," these actors' grim stares fit a different context also involving that legendary newspaper.

@joycewhitevance.bsky.social detects a hopeful sign from at least a few federal judges lately:

The Post took away this book critic's job yesterday, but not his sense of humor: "Honestly, the worst aspect of this impoverishing, family-wrecking, confidence-crushing ordeal is that it will inspire David Brooks to write an essay about the hubris of American media."

Blunt talk about The Washington Post from @jfallows.bsky.social:

"Trying to make a living as a reporter is a bit like earning a living as a farrier after the advent of the automobile. There are still opportunities, but they are scarce, often niche and rapidly disappearing." -- @elliotkirschner.bsky.social, former CBS News journalist

"Almost everyone, myself included, underestimated how far MAGA would go in engaging in open violence and abuse of power against those it considers enemies. "On the other hand, we overestimated the movement’s impulse control, its ability to mask its tyrannical goals." -- @pkrugman.bsky.social

😲 Yow, Peter Noone still goes on stage six decades after piggybacking on the Beatles-era "British Invasion." He fronted Herman's Hermit's from 1963-71 and will play 5 US cities this year. "I'm Into Something Good" he sang on the debut single . . . and now does at age 78. 🎸 Geezer rock represents! 🎤