Elinor Stillman
elinorhs.bsky.social
Elinor Stillman
@elinorhs.bsky.social
Retired Lawyer (NLRB and DOJ). Was going to be an EngLit prof but wandered into law school. Fan of newspapers, print and digital. Owned by a cat. RIP his brother, Papaya, 2011-2025.
Reposted by Elinor Stillman
What we need to do is put Hegseth and his admiral out floating on a piece of driftwood and see if they make it back in good enough shape to continue doing their jobs.
And the point goes to "other source with direct knowledge of the briefing."
December 5, 2025 at 1:04 AM
Reposted by Elinor Stillman
Same survey says that more than a third of Republicans believe the moon landing was faked, including more than half of Republican men under 50. Conspiracism in the GOP is a huge problem but those numbers seem *really* high and I hope they're wrong! manhattan.institute/article/the-...
December 4, 2025 at 9:22 PM
Reposted by Elinor Stillman
Where’s the CBS News town hall focused on the Democrats assassinated in Minnesota?
Bari Weiss has a CBS town hall set with Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk.

If you want to attend, you're asked a series of questions on an online form.

The first question is: “Do you consider yourself a conservative? If so, why?”

Via Jeremy Barr

www.theguardian.com/media/2025/d...
Bari Weiss to moderate CBS News town hall with Charlie Kirk’s widow Erika Kirk
Exclusive: event, scheduled to air on 13 December, will focus on ‘grief, faith, politics, and more’, according to internal files
www.theguardian.com
December 4, 2025 at 9:23 PM
Reposted by Elinor Stillman
December 4, 2025 at 5:11 PM
Reposted by Elinor Stillman
Found on Facebook -
December 4, 2025 at 5:31 AM
Reposted by Elinor Stillman
The US is close to an institutional collapse across multiple public health agencies. Trump/RFK have purged anyone with expertise, many have fled and they’ve been replaced w functionaries who are either incompetent or malicious. I don’t think many understand how close to the edge we are right now.
a night time view of a city with a few buildings lit up
ALT: a night time view of a city with a few buildings lit up
media.tenor.com
December 4, 2025 at 7:06 PM
Reposted by Elinor Stillman
The original White House--like the Capitol--was deliberately NOT garish.They were supposed to reflect republican governance: not monarchies, not aristocracies.They were supposed to show a commitment to We the People.

The current decorations are the precise opposite.
www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-...
We Asked Interior Designers To Explain Trump's 'Garish' White House Redesign — And They Had THOUGHTS
Experts weigh in on the president's gold-soaked makeover of the Oval Office and more.
www.huffpost.com
December 3, 2025 at 7:08 PM
Reposted by Elinor Stillman
New from 404 Media: ChatGPT told a violent stalker to continue running his misogynistic and threat-filled podcast despite the “haters,” and to visit more gyms to find women. The man stalked women in multiple states, including touching and following from work

www.404media.co/chatgpt-spot...
ChatGPT Told a Violent Stalker to Embrace the 'Haters,' Indictment Says
A newly filed indictment claims a wannabe influencer used ChatGPT as his "therapist" and "best friend" in his pursuit of the "wife type," while harassing women so aggressively they had to miss work a...
www.404media.co
December 3, 2025 at 5:37 PM
Reposted by Elinor Stillman
*narrator voice* you can, in fact, just make this up
December 3, 2025 at 7:29 PM
Reposted by Elinor Stillman
Melania and Barron Trump have dual citizenship (US and Slovenia). Elon Musk has citizenship in the US, South Africa, and Canada.
Karoline Leavitt: “You’re either a U.S. citizen or not — You can’t be a U.S. citizen & a citizen of another country”

The Supreme Court thought differently as it ruled in 1967 that the government can’t strip U.S. citizenship unless a person voluntarily relinquishes it - not that they care
December 4, 2025 at 12:57 AM
Reposted by Elinor Stillman
To fascists, words don’t have meanings, words are merely tools to get what you want, especially power for yourself.

In a way, Hegseth’s stance is consistent.

2016: refuse orders while Obama is president no matter the legality

2025: follow orders while Trump is president no matter the illegality
NEW VIDEO: We uncovered footage showing Pete Hegseth in 2016 saying the military won’t follow unlawful orders — the same point he has recently criticized Democrats, including Sen. Mark Kelly, for making - and which Trump has said is punishable by death.
December 3, 2025 at 1:57 PM
Reposted by Elinor Stillman
After World War II, 3 German U-boat crewmen were sentenced to death for machine-gunning Allied sailors who were clinging to life rafts after their boat was sunk.
It's long been known in the military that this is a war crime. Pete Hegseth must be fired and prosecuted.
December 1, 2025 at 10:20 PM
Reposted by Elinor Stillman
Lesson 6: If you have a theory of the Supreme Court that does not include political ideology, its going to be wrong. During the Biden administration it was all major questions because they did not like his policies, and during Trump it is mostly unitary executive, because they do.
December 3, 2025 at 2:02 PM
Reposted by Elinor Stillman
Fascinating: The Trump administration claims that the answer to offensive speech is “more speech” when the offensive speech comes from Tucker or Musk — but when it’s on college campuses, the administration’s answer is to attack civil liberties, due process, and academic freedom. 🤔
December 3, 2025 at 1:51 PM
Reposted by Elinor Stillman
That’s not how you spell “sanity”
Trump’s night of 160 posts on Truth Social fuels debate about US president’s stamina
The 79-year-old president’s social media blitz included conspiracies, attacks on political foes and self-praise
www.theguardian.com
December 2, 2025 at 10:07 PM
Reposted by Elinor Stillman
they’ll do anything to avoid being woke
Trump dozes while Marco Rubio speaks to him directly next to him. Just insane optics.
December 2, 2025 at 7:52 PM
Reposted by Elinor Stillman
Thinking a lot about this moment from literally the first chapter of "1984."
December 2, 2025 at 2:19 PM
Reposted by Elinor Stillman
Yeah, one of the many nightmare scenarios facing us is that a badly led and mostly destroyed intelligence infrastructure fails to prevent a major terrorist attack and that attack is then used as justification to speed up the fascism.
I do in fact stay awake at night sometimes thinking about how the MAGA ghouls are destroying actually-essential counterterrorism efforts in favor of directing resources towards brutalizing elderly taco truck workers
NEW: Oregon could lose nearly $18 million worth of terrorism prevention and emergency funding.

In the past, the money has paid for bomb detectors, law enforcement training and barriers that prevent cars from plowing into crowds.
December 2, 2025 at 4:30 PM
Reposted by Elinor Stillman
While researching this piece on Trump pardons, rediscovered what some season 1 characters are up to now.

For Jack Burkman and Jacob Wohl, they have shrugged off their voter suppression convictions and are now selling Trump pardons for $1 million.
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/pardon-the...
December 2, 2025 at 5:04 PM
Reposted by Elinor Stillman
What they say:
-We are at war with "narcoterrorists"! To prove it, we will murder people on boats!

What they do:
-Pardon convicted drug trafficker who facilitated 500 tons of cocaine being smuggled to the US
-Cut drug crime prosecutions to their lowest level in 25 years
DOJ's claim that re-assigning thousands of agents to immigration has had no impact on its other work is demonstrably untrue. Court dockets show the number of people charged with drug crimes this year is the lowest in at least three decades.

www.reuters.com/legal/govern...
December 2, 2025 at 5:33 PM
Reposted by Elinor Stillman
My great-uncle was born in the Russian Empire and wrote God Bless America
Rep. Kat Cammarck: "Today, one in six people in the US is foreign born. That quite frankly is not sustainable to maintain a culture that we are known for here in the United States."
December 2, 2025 at 5:18 PM
Reposted by Elinor Stillman
North Korean-style. A Potemkin village of fake journalists.
December 2, 2025 at 5:31 PM
Reposted by Elinor Stillman
"The requirement to refuse to comply with orders to commit law of war violations applies to orders to perform conduct that is clearly illegal or orders that the subordinate knows...are illegal. For example, 𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐮𝐩𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐰𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐥."

-DoD Law of War manual
December 2, 2025 at 12:26 AM
Reposted by Elinor Stillman
Hegseth is very transparently blaming a Navy admiral for his own decision. Let this be a lesson for every other military officer: The Trump administration will issue unlawful orders, then blame you for following them.
December 2, 2025 at 3:04 AM
Reposted by Elinor Stillman
the use of "color revolution" here is like the spoor of the authoritarian internationale--the way that russian propaganda has slithered its way in to the american right
Sen. Eric Schmitt: "This is the language of a color revolution where you're calling on military men and women to disobey orders."
December 1, 2025 at 8:24 PM