Michael Planey
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Michael Planey
@airplaney.bsky.social
Transportation consultant and engineer.

He said “Kid, it's not me, it's this town”
So I rail against that feeling when it comes
Pinned
Some thoughts on Wednesday-night’s tragic air accident near Washington, DC:

The mid-air collision of American Airlines flight 5342 and a US Army VH-60 helicopter is highly personal for me. It literally hits close to home as I live approximately three miles away from National Airport.
Reposted by Michael Planey
And this “An arts commission stacked with President Trump’s allies approved his $400 million ballroom on Thursday, bypassing the normal review process”
Arts Panel Packed With Trump Allies Approves White House Ballroom Project
www.nytimes.com
February 20, 2026 at 5:56 AM
Reposted by Michael Planey
British far-right agitator Stephen Yaxley-Lennon (aka Tommy Robinson), previously barred from the US because of his long rap sheet, secured a visa and has met with Kari Lake, the self-proclaimed acting CEO of USAGM. He has recently been revealed to be in the pay of the Kremlin for decades.
Tommy Robinson was barred from the US. Trump's border force has now let him in
The anti-migrant activist reportedly received a visa hours before his flight departed
inews.co.uk
February 20, 2026 at 5:20 AM
Reposted by Michael Planey
Imagine if you had no shame and could just make shit up all the time. It must be an amazing feeling.
Peter Navarro: "Here's the statistic I want every American to understand -- 1% increase in rents for every 1 million illegals that cross our border. In the four years of Biden we had 20 million, so rents went up nationally 20% because Joe Biden left that border open."
February 20, 2026 at 4:04 AM
Reposted by Michael Planey
The University of Texas System’s Board of Regents unanimously approved a rule requiring its universities to ensure students can graduate without studying “unnecessary controversial subjects,” despite warnings it could leave them less prepared for the real world.
University of Texas regents OK limits on controversial subjects
Opponents warned the policy’s vagueness could push professors to self-censor and leave students less prepared for the workplace.
www.texastribune.org
February 19, 2026 at 7:33 PM
Reposted by Michael Planey
In the 1800s, a slave owner purchased over a dozen people in Georgia and set the foundation for his family’s generational wealth

Generations later, a railroad company owned by one of his descendants is using eminent domain to seize land of Black farmers
Georgia Is Letting a Railroad Seize Land a Black Family Has Owned For 100 Years
Descendants of enslaved people are fighting an attempt to use eminent domain to carve a spur through one of Georgia’s largest Black‑owned farms.
capitalbnews.org
February 20, 2026 at 2:06 AM
Reposted by Michael Planey
Trump has ordered the Treasury to send him $10 billion in cash & $10 billion for a slush fund (on top of the $200 million in cash stolen from Venezuela for another slush fund), on top of $10+ billion gotten from foreign governments in exchange for favors, but do go on about not taking a salary ...
Trump: "I get no credit. As president I make $2.5 million over four years. I waived it. I'm the only president that ever waived it."
February 19, 2026 at 11:56 PM
Reposted by Michael Planey
Protesters appear to be Armenian-Americans demonstrating against Azerbaijan's policies in Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) and related human rights concerns during Aliyev's visit to DC for Trump's BOP meeting. Reports differ on whether protesters initiated contact.
February 20, 2026 at 2:48 AM
Reposted by Michael Planey
this is straightforwardly in violation of the 8th amend. and the ADA, as well as the PREA regs (unless those were withdrawn).

the problem is that it’s federal so you need Bivens actions (at least for damages). the good news is the prison is one place where Bivens is pretty well established.
BREAKING: Trump admin issues new policy aimed at ending transgender-related care in federal prisons.

"It's a really dangerous policy,” an ACLU lawyer representing trans people in federal prison suing the Trump administration tells Law Dork of the new Bureau of Prisons policy.
Trump admin issues new policy aimed at ending transgender-related care in federal prisons
"It's a really dangerous policy,” an ACLU lawyer representing trans people in federal prison suing the Trump administration tells Law Dork of the new Bureau of Prisons policy.
www.lawdork.com
February 20, 2026 at 1:57 AM
Reposted by Michael Planey
When a hacker named "Waifu" and "Judische" began posting death threats against security researcher Allison Nixon, she had no idea why he targeted her. So she set out to unmask him. The quest led her to Connor Moucka, a 25-yr-old Canadian who was ringleader of infamous Snowflake/AT&T hacks. My story:
Hackers made death threats against this security researcher. Big mistake.
Allison Nixon had helped arrest dozens of members of The Com — a loose affiliation of online groups responsible for violence and hacking campaigns. Then she became a target.
www.technologyreview.com
February 17, 2026 at 6:04 PM
Reposted by Michael Planey
Trump says Obama leaked classified information when he said that aliens are real.
Trump Claims Obama Leaked Classified Intel When He Said Aliens Are Real
Lara Trump recently claimed the president already has a speech prepared on UFOs.
gizmodo.com
February 19, 2026 at 10:17 PM
Reposted by Michael Planey
The executive jet that DHS says it needs has a “bedroom with a queen bed, showers, a kitchen, four large flat-screen TVs and even a bar ..”

@nbcnews.com
www.nbcnews.com/politics/imm...
February 19, 2026 at 3:33 PM
Reposted by Michael Planey
Labor Secretary’s Husband Barred From the Department After Sexual Assault Reports
Labor Secretary’s Husband Barred From the Department After Sexual Assault Reports
www.nytimes.com
February 19, 2026 at 10:05 PM
Reposted by Michael Planey
Mike Collins: "I'm gonna kick Juuuh -- Ossoff, out of the state's, US Senate, we're gonna restore Georgia values out-- and that's Senate. And y'all ... "
February 19, 2026 at 10:16 PM
Reposted by Michael Planey
A large banner of Donald Trump was hung outside of the Justice Department headquarters in Washington, DC, emphasizing the White House’s control over the nation’s top law enforcement branch that once pursued criminal prosecutions against the president. https://cnn.it/4cBCqW7
February 19, 2026 at 8:29 PM
Reposted by Michael Planey
Rep. Steil on criticism that the SAVE America Act will disenfranchise women: "It'll look a lot like if an individual wanted to go sell their car. If you have a different name on your car, there's a simple straightforward process for that."
February 19, 2026 at 5:18 PM
Reposted by Michael Planey
America gave up kings 250 years ago and adopted a system in which “no one is above the law.”

But presidents? SCOTUS gives them immunity.

Corporations? SCOTUS makes it easier for them to pollute.

Billionaires? SCOTUS says they can buy elections.

The legacy of the John Roberts Supreme Court.
February 19, 2026 at 5:32 PM
Reposted by Michael Planey
Trump: "We are going to have the Save America Act, one way or the other ...

1. ALL VOTERS MUST SHOW VOTER I.D. (IDENTIFICATION!).

2. ALL VOTERS MUST SHOW PROOF OF CITIZENSHIP IN ORDER TO VOTE.

3. NO MAIL-IN BALLOTS (EXCEPT FOR ILLNESS, DISABILITY, MILITARY, OR TRAVEL!)."
February 19, 2026 at 8:16 PM
Reposted by Michael Planey
“my children might see the children I voted to put in shackles, how shall they grow up”
February 19, 2026 at 4:44 AM
Reposted by Michael Planey
A 9-year old girl traveled to Florida for a vacation at Disney.

Then, she spent four months imprisoned in Texas.

Gutting story:
www.propublica.org/article/ice-...
How a Planned Disney World Vacation Turned Into Four Months in Immigration Detention
A 9-year-old shares her story of being held at the nation’s only operating detention center for immigrant families in Dilley, Texas.
www.propublica.org
February 19, 2026 at 8:27 PM
Reposted by Michael Planey
In the midst of the most aggressive and alarming federal assault on the First Amendment since the Palmer raids, the Biden-era free speech warriors have focused their outrage on . . . the injustice of releasing the Epstein files.
What Are Heterodox Free Speech Warriors Doing About Trump's Censorship-Industrial Complex? Nada
Trump is issuing subpoenas demanding social media platforms hand over data about ICE protesters but the 'Twitter Files' agitators couldn't care less
www.theunpopulist.net
February 19, 2026 at 8:49 PM
Reposted by Michael Planey
Why Is Trump Dumping East Wing Rubble in a Public Park? www.nytimes.com/2026/02/19/u...
Why Is Trump Dumping East Wing Rubble in a Public Park?
www.nytimes.com
February 19, 2026 at 8:45 PM
Reposted by Michael Planey
February 19, 2026 at 7:42 PM
Reposted by Michael Planey
In rapid succession:
- former British royal arrested
- former Korean president sentenced
- former Norwegian PM charged
- former French and Brazilian presidents imprisoned

And then there’s Trump and the Republican-appointed justices on the U.S. Supreme Court.
www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...
Former Prince Andrew’s arrest, Yoon Suk Yeol’s sentence and the power of accountability
In many democracies, criminal suspects are often held accountable — even if they’re politically powerful, even if they’ve served at the highest levels.
www.ms.now
February 19, 2026 at 1:49 PM
Reposted by Michael Planey
This story from the Cleveland PD’s Patterns or Practice Investigation:

In 2012, a car backfires in front of a Cleveland PD station which begins a 22 minute, 23 mile long high speed chase involving 60 officers who fatally shoot two unarmed civilians over 20x in a school parking lot.
February 19, 2026 at 5:14 PM