In the long run, Biden keeping that wall between himself and DOJ - leading to the conviction and humiliation of his son - achieved absolutely nothing. The standard is gone. The incentive for future presidents is to punish your enemies and say "your mom, lol" when reporters ask about it.

I don’t think I can articulate a reason why Biden’s respect for the long tradition of DOJ independence achieved absolutely nothing without digging into @mtsw.bsky.social’s back catalogue.

The optics of Trump building a ballroom that 99.9% of Americans will never set foot in while millions line up for food banks are worth more than any policy paper or economic proposal. This image is a visceral punch in the mouth that needs no words. It should haunt the GOP for a generation.

The day after the Chinatown raid, New York AG Tish James launches an online portal for the public to submit photos and videos of ICE activity. "We are committed to reviewing these reports and assessing any violations of law," she writes. Portal ag.ny.gov/federal-acti...

The repeated lying is noted, in a begrudging nonconfrontational way, but it doesn’t stop the piece from wholly relying on what these bald-faced liars are saying now.

This little item by Luke Broadwater on the abrupt, wholly unannounced destruction of a major component of the White House complex is a microcosm of the dysfunctional relationship the press has with this mendacious administration. www.nytimes.com/live/2025/10...

*screams*

“Are Democrats too centrist? Progressives think so. Are Democrats too progressive? Centrists think so. Not populist enough, populists complain. Not online enough or perhaps, for some, too online? Or some combination of any of those things, thus bringing on further inevitable electoral humiliation.”

I'm a union president in New Jersey. Let me summarize the race: Sherrill stands for affordability, public education, and women's rights. Ciattarelli is the next Chris Christie, defunding institutions and giving money to the rich. His platform is to stand in front of a CGI bar and say, "C'mon!"

I think these videos are going to break through and upset voters…..

East wing carnage

I'm quoted in this and will highlight that the conventional wisdom about NJ circa 3 wks ago (Sherill is behind the benchmark and might even be favored to lose) was largely driven by an onslaught of internal/partisan GOP polls. Neutral pollsters have her ahead by 5+ fiftyplusone.news/polls/govern...

Protesters have blocked the westbound side of Canal. They are chanting "ICE out of New York now!" and "Liberation, not deportation!"

I wrote about some things making me furious open.substack.com/pub/mollyjon...

I am kind of astonished at how muted the reaction has been so far in a country were people try to get, like, gas stations declared as historic landmarks. Can we at least get Mike Johnson on camera claiming he hasn’t seen these pictures? Or doesn’t know where or what the White House is?

absolutely shameful that the university has embraced the administration’s demand that it discriminate against its students. this is the board of visitors telling UVA students that if they aren’t white and cisgendered then they don’t belong.

Corruption goes courtside.

(Senior judges don’t have a vote on rehearing a case en banc)

The changing face of the ninth circuit really on display in all the senior judges who joined the dissent

The White House is asking people not to share pictures of the East Wing because it’s even worse today.

Heck, if you really need to link this back to kitchen-table-kitchen-table-kitchen-table, it's easy to do: While Trump is driving costs through the roof with his unhinged tariff spree and other reckless, failed policies, he's looting $230 million from the US Treasury and sticking it in his pocket.

The White House Belongs to the American People Act of 2025 should be pushed in parallel and with equal vigor.

Democrats should be drawing up legislation right now, this very minute, to bar Trump from helping himself to $230 million in taxpayer funds from DOJ. Challenge Republicans to hold a vote on it. Push this so hard in the media that every GOP Senate and House candidate is pressed to comment on it.

Agree with @gregsargent.bsky.social here.

Welp. gothamist.com/news/federal...

And yes, I waited: it was about halfway into the episode before the word "media" was even uttered, a single time. Again I have to quote at length because, reader, I could not fucking believe what I was hearing. I'm going to lose my f'ing mind. All right here we go, the *sole* discussion of media:

Just, as someone with "scientist" attached to your name, what exactly *is* this, as an explanation? We don't disagree, we're just divided ... over partisanship? Partisanship is some mysterious exogenous factor imposing itself on an otherwise naturally unified populace? This is a wild just-so story!

"... So in other words, it doesn't have to be this way, it's teammanship, it's tribalism, but it's not based in really different views about issues." You see? We don't really disagree over values or policy in this country. All the fighting is unnecessary. We're just divided over ... division. 😐

Here we go: "So the way we sum this up, if you think of what I was saying earlier about public policy issues and how we don't differ very much, rural & urban Americans, on these issues, we barely disagree, but we are bitterly divided and the divide is over partisanship. ..."

I couldn't begin to pick out particular lines -- I smacked myself in the head probably two dozen times -- but there was one part in particular where she said something so deeply, fundamentally, poisoninly wrong that I thought I was going to faint. I had to stop and lean on something. Lemme look.

If you listen, you'll probably think I'm crazy for getting so worked up about it. It's all so smooth, delivered in this soothing low tone, the very model of Very Serious discourse. It's stuff any NYT listener has heard 1000 times, designed to go down easy. That's precisely why it's so toxic.

It's astonishing -- almost every single sentence uttered by Mettler in this pod made me want to scream. This is every bit of reheated reactionary-centrist conventional wisdom, distilled to its essence, delivered under the guise of "political science." So utterly, disastrously wrong, all of it.

NEW: After The Washington Post reported Monday on the demolition of the "East Wing facade," a new picture obtained by Law Dork that was taken on Tuesday shows that a substantial portion of the entirety of the East Wing has been demolished.

This was very clearly part of Project 2025

"The discharge petition does" though. "Cover-up" Swear in @adelitaforcongress.bsky.social

The media never even talks about how he cannot stay on topic in any speech to save his life

Fascism is built by overwhelming our ability to fully see its scope.

Political organizing rarely sees as good a day as Saturday, Oct. 18. No Kings protests brought millions of Americans into the streets, some for the first time. Organizers moved through crowds, getting signatures, passing out info, finding new members. That's one of 6 things No Kings accomplished:

Good point from @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social in this very good piece: Attacking Trump's tyranny and lawlessness breaks through and gets attention, including that of nonengaged voters:

gangs all here! #startrek

I think I found the TV miniseries that Trump was talking about today. It's called "A Woman Named Jackie" and aired on NBC in 1991. He misremembered what happened, of course. Jackie Kennedy's assistant is the one who tries to get into the pool, where JFK is swimming with mistresses.

"This was a part of a movie." Trump's understanding of everything in the world is based on TV and movies.

Trump: "That was the swimming pool where Jackie would say, 'I hear women inside. Are women inside?' Quite a famous... I'm not saying anything. This was a part of a movie. And the Secret Service said, 'No, ma'am. There's no women inside, ma'am. I'm sorry, ma'am. You're going to have to move along.'"

The Return of Jack Smith, pt. II: The former Trump prosecutor's lawyers offered the latest rebuttal to escalating attacks -- this time re: a grand jury subpoena for lawmakers' phone activity records during the 2020 election probe buff.ly/Kp0Oaq6 Letter: buff.ly/hVUbwGl

Jack Smith's devastating letter to Grassley. Latter's revelation—that Smith analyzed toll records of 8 US Senators—was disclosed in Smith's report, obvious from the indictment, & produced to Trump's attys who are now top DOJ officials. Trump did same to Swalwell, Schiff & 43 staffers during Trump I.

Looting the treasury

Enough is enough. Adelita Grijalva was elected on September 23. The people of Arizona have a right to be represented in Congress.   During today’s pro forma session, when the House is called to order I will seek unanimous consent to insist upon the swearing-in of Adelita Grijalva.