It turns out that racial profiling in the real world doesn’t work the way it does in Brett Kavanaugh’s imagination.

In trumped-up charges (a term I suppose now has dual meanings), DOJ has formally accused… Comey of lying to Congress (Trump officials regularly do) James of mortgage fraud (Trump found liable in court for it) Bolton of mishandling classified docs (Trump did maybe the single worst in US history)

The corrupt DOJ isn’t only manufacturing prosecutions against Trump’s political enemies, creating the government weaponization and “lawfare” Republicans pretended was happening before when it objectively wasn’t, they’re charging people with crimes Trump himself literally did at much greater scale.

This is what a top US military officer objecting to illegal orders looks like. Adm. Alvin Holey is the head of Southern Command, which covers the Caribbean, where Trump has ordered 5 deadly strikes on civilian boats (and counting). Has integrity, plus he’s Black, so Hegseth presumably welcomed it.

Chicago standing together, with politicians, papers, priests and the people all objecting to armed federal invasion, has been nice to see. The city shouldn’t have to face all these rights violations by agents of the federal government, but since it does, it’s good to see solidarity in opposition.

Zohran Mamdani is a trained performer who has an extremely disciplined and laser-focused ability to recite on-message talking points in response to any question, and yet voters overwhelming praise him as being especially "authentic" compared to other politicians. There's a lesson here!

The stench of fear emanating from Trump, Vance, Johnson and other GOP officials in advance of No Kings protests is because they know the protests will be unignorably large, peaceful, and deeply American. As @jilldlawrence.bsky.social, the absurdity of their lies highlights their desperation.

Lethal strikes on civilian boats in the Caribbean that don’t threaten US forces is illegal, unethical, and terrible strategy to boot, with very serious implications. Congressional Dems should make a big issue of Adm. Holsey resigning, and Rep. Adam Smith tells @gregsargent.bsky.social they plan to.

Kinda seems like whether or not the president has the power to assassinate people with no due process, no input from Congress, no review, no oversight, and with no obligation to provide anyone with any information or evidence other than “trust me” is an important test of our democracy.

The two biggest militaries in the world getting pulled towards personalism simultaneously seems like a bad portent for the future www.bbc.com/news/article...

The regime wants people afraid. They’re afraid of people who aren’t. They’re far from consolidated authoritarianism, relying on fear to make up the difference. They know people peacefully expressing opposition to dictatorial monarchy is very American. And they worry such lack of fear is contagious.

I think Measles is bad, and we should be working to prevent cases and eliminate the disease, rather than taking steps to facilitate the spread and get more people infected with Measles. Sorry to get so partisan, but that’s how I feel.

What's that they say? Cower in fear, obey in advance, forfeit my fundamental right to peaceful expression without even being forced to? Hard no.

Anyone who criticizes Democratic officials for not seeing the problem, not taking it seriously enough, not speaking plainly about it, or not working to counter it should listen to this. Rep. Adam Smith, ranking member of the House Armed Service committee, sure sounds like he's taking it seriously.

On the occasion of the release of "2+2=5," I interviewed @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social to see if we are living to an age of totalitarianism in America. www.editorialboard.com/totalitarian...

The purge of prosecutors with professional integrity continues. Apply the law impartially, according to established procedure? Then you’re not welcome in the Department of “ Justice. What was once a Saturday Night Massacre is now a regular occurrence.

The explicitly bigoted, violence-embracing chat logs of Young Republican leaders was quite bad on its own, but as @anthonylfisher.bsky.social writes, JD Vance's defense of them was worse, showing how even directly pro-Hitler is welcome in MAGA. Also, they think it's unfair if you call them fascists.

Meeting Putin in Hungary, of all places? Hosted by the EU's most Putin-sympathetic leader? In the country with Europe's worst case of democratic backsliding? The one who hosted CPAC and did the keynote at CPAC in the US, broadcasting transnational anti-democracy solidarity? That's quite the message.

What's with the fixation on tomahawk missiles and Ukraine? Tomahawks are large (about two stories tall) and typically fired from surface ships or submarines. Moving them on land can be spotted from the air and targeted. If the Ukrainians say they want them, sure, but seems an odd choice of focus.

The regime's desire for authoritarian control is bottomless, but its capacity is not. In carrying out abuses, it reduces its own resources, and ties up some of what remains. It can be pushed beyond its limits. Then it breaks.

CAL RALEIGH TIES IT IN THE 8TH

I suspect the MAGA government decided to launch all these Bluesky accounts tonight to try to bait people in advance of No Kings. These people have incurable 4chan brain and this is how they operate. Block them. Do not engage. Do not give them what they want.

This one hadn't even opposed his invasions, with manly firmness or otherwise! It's like he dissolved it over the pure principle of the thing, that he has the right to rule without parliaments

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world: For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent: For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury: For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither

If I have time to make signs for No Kings tomorrow, they're just going to be lines from the Declaration of Independence cataloguing George III's offenses that match things Trump has done.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

Also, love too see the "Trump taking an L is irreparable harm" doctrine making another appearance bsky.app/profile/kels...

If the Court grants this, and ESPECIALLY if it does so on the shadow docket w/o explanation..... then things are really gonna explode, I think

I actually found this a pretty remarkable little speech, genuinely humane and reflective and self-aware. I definitely think more and better of him as a person, having watched this, than I did before this entire controversy came to light

Yeah I strongly, STRONGLY agree with this. We need a model for all the Bad People in the country today to stop being Bad People! And frankly, you couldn't do much better than this from Platner bsky.app/profile/linu...

California leads the way!

Holy shit lmao. The GOP is in deep shit.

Trump's tantrum appears to be directly connected with this push from Massie, shown by posts to Xitter an hour ago

Good things are still happening. The world isn't ending, it hasn't ended, and it's not going to end until well after our grandchildren's grandchildren are all dead.

So re: Trump and Vought’s cuts to democratic areas, that’s money that is not going out right now on account of the shutdown but they’re promising won’t once it ends, right? Or was the money available under different budget authority and they’re yanking it?

It’s a small thing and I don’t want to headline/summary police, but “expanding his […] authority” implies it’s a done deal. The story says he granted Hegseth authority but it is authority he does not possess the right to grant. Things are confusing and moving fast and precision is vital.

you know I could have sworn that like ten years ago they pretended this happened against them (it didn’t) and said it was the worst offense that had ever happened (again it didn’t).

This is completely fucked. Also waiting for the opinion piece from WaPo’s editorial board that’s like “SecWar Hegseth’s media policy is no big deal.”

“It’s” no longer protecting consumers. Sure buddy.

Clear movement from republicans toward democrats, yes. But it’s still funny that Thune says democrats have to take yes for an answer when all he’s offering is a specific time for his guys to say no.

It seems like a bunch of people can only conceptualize of the Civil Rights Struggle as something which, having worked, was fated to have done so; there’s no attempt to think about what it was like as an ongoing concern. No Kings, not being already in the past, can only have failed.

VITALI: What I'm hearing from you is it might be be enough that Thune is now saying I could do a vote on ACA subsidies JEFFRIES: Republicans have tried to repeal the ACA more than 70 different times. They can't be trusted on a wing and a prayer. We need a real path forward.

my always very unpopular hot take: the George Floyd / BLM protests wound up doing more material harm than good because 1. there was never a cohesive goal outside of too-nebulous demands for "better policing," and 2. as a direct result of the protests policing *got measurably worse* in MANY cities.

This is true, and re: 2, it is bad bad bad that police can just…stop doing their jobs if they’re mad at you? Like if you have the wrong rep, police can just not do basic law enforcement in your neighborhood? And they’re just…allowed? What the fuck?

police are gangs that we all collectively pretend answer to elected officials because the truth is scary i'm not even properly an anarchist but i thought we all knew this