Tyler Holmes
@holmestsj.bsky.social
American atty working to advance democratic rule of law. Past: Angola/CAR/Ghana/Southern Africa for the American Bar, 2ded to the Malawi Police, volunteer Southern Africa Litigation Centre, trial lawyer, KU Law, candidate for #ksleg.
Reposted by Tyler Holmes
Kansans cannot "bring a law or constitutional amendment to the ballot. Only #ksleg has that power.
...The Senate president and House speaker control the agenda and see to it that any legislation that doesn’t suit their fancy never comes to a floor vote."
...The Senate president and House speaker control the agenda and see to it that any legislation that doesn’t suit their fancy never comes to a floor vote."
Oklahoma pols hate initiatives; Kansas we can't do them at all. This bites on both sides of the border.
www.kansas.com/opinion/opn-...
www.kansas.com/opinion/opn-...
Democracy’s under fire in Oklahoma and they’re still better off than we are | Opinion
The Oklahoma Legislature is trying to cripple the state’s ballot initiative process; Kansas doesn’t even have one.
www.kansas.com
November 25, 2025 at 7:01 PM
Kansans cannot "bring a law or constitutional amendment to the ballot. Only #ksleg has that power.
...The Senate president and House speaker control the agenda and see to it that any legislation that doesn’t suit their fancy never comes to a floor vote."
...The Senate president and House speaker control the agenda and see to it that any legislation that doesn’t suit their fancy never comes to a floor vote."
Read the whole thing.
As a survivor of the Tulsa Race Massacre, Viola Ford Fletcher bravely shared her story so that we’d never forget this painful part of our history. Michelle and I are grateful for her lifelong work to advance civil rights, and send our love to her family.
Viola Fletcher, Oldest Survivor of the Tulsa Race Massacre, Dies at 111
www.nytimes.com
November 25, 2025 at 6:41 PM
Read the whole thing.
Reposted by Tyler Holmes
“We’ve tried to not have to do it, but we've got direct orders,” the masked ICE agents told them www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/i...
November 25, 2025 at 12:26 PM
“We’ve tried to not have to do it, but we've got direct orders,” the masked ICE agents told them www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/i...
Reposted by Tyler Holmes
A new kind of rapid Chotining. Please appreciate the alt-text.
November 25, 2025 at 1:09 AM
A new kind of rapid Chotining. Please appreciate the alt-text.
The most "refreshing part of being down there is that people were not...as the Democrats imagine, thinking, How do we cut taxes for rich people and screw the poor? They were saying, 'How do you make every American better?'"
Yet they still arrive at: "cut taxes for rich people and screw the poor."
Yet they still arrive at: "cut taxes for rich people and screw the poor."
Over many interviews, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told Michael Scherer about how he plans to remake America’s public-health system. Can he lead the scientific establishment he’s spent much of his life crusading against?
Read more in our new cover story: theatln.tc/q9hXxlbM
Read more in our new cover story: theatln.tc/q9hXxlbM
November 24, 2025 at 6:18 PM
The most "refreshing part of being down there is that people were not...as the Democrats imagine, thinking, How do we cut taxes for rich people and screw the poor? They were saying, 'How do you make every American better?'"
Yet they still arrive at: "cut taxes for rich people and screw the poor."
Yet they still arrive at: "cut taxes for rich people and screw the poor."
Reposted by Tyler Holmes
In Missouri, the Justice Department made an unprecedented demand to investigate voting machines, access old ballots and more.
Trump's unusual demands in Missouri show how he might interfere with midterm elections
Less than a year from the midterms, state and local voting officials from both major political parties are actively preparing for the possibility of interference by the Trump administration. In Missouri, the Justice Department made an unprecedented demand to investigate voting machines, access old ballots and more.
www.kcur.org
November 23, 2025 at 4:40 PM
In Missouri, the Justice Department made an unprecedented demand to investigate voting machines, access old ballots and more.
Reposted by Tyler Holmes
Not to excuse this at all, but a lot of these people legitimately believe the lies about election fraud and probably rationalize their actions as a result. The danger isn’t just that you get a Jan. 6.
Austin Smith, a former Republican state representative and onetime leader within Turning Point Action—the political arm of Turning Point USA—pleaded guilty to forging signatures on nominating petitions for his 2024 reelection bid.
open.substack.com/pub/theintel...
open.substack.com/pub/theintel...
November 23, 2025 at 3:08 PM
Not to excuse this at all, but a lot of these people legitimately believe the lies about election fraud and probably rationalize their actions as a result. The danger isn’t just that you get a Jan. 6.
"The industry, in effect, built a global supply system in which everyone involved can say someone else is responsible for oversight." www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Recycling Lead for U.S. Car Batteries Is Poisoning People
We documented the toxic fallout of a green technology.
www.nytimes.com
November 22, 2025 at 11:43 PM
"The industry, in effect, built a global supply system in which everyone involved can say someone else is responsible for oversight." www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Reposted by Tyler Holmes
Reminder:
SDNY "was running an active investigation into Jeffrey Epstein[’s] ... coconspirators. In January [2025], SDNY prosecutors were ordered to transfer the Epstein case files to DOJ headquarters in Washington, D.C. ... the investigation into co-conspirators has inexplicably ceased."
SDNY "was running an active investigation into Jeffrey Epstein[’s] ... coconspirators. In January [2025], SDNY prosecutors were ordered to transfer the Epstein case files to DOJ headquarters in Washington, D.C. ... the investigation into co-conspirators has inexplicably ceased."
November 21, 2025 at 5:13 PM
Reminder:
SDNY "was running an active investigation into Jeffrey Epstein[’s] ... coconspirators. In January [2025], SDNY prosecutors were ordered to transfer the Epstein case files to DOJ headquarters in Washington, D.C. ... the investigation into co-conspirators has inexplicably ceased."
SDNY "was running an active investigation into Jeffrey Epstein[’s] ... coconspirators. In January [2025], SDNY prosecutors were ordered to transfer the Epstein case files to DOJ headquarters in Washington, D.C. ... the investigation into co-conspirators has inexplicably ceased."
"If the Trump administration were to violate the Constitution or violate statutes, we'd happily sue," said the state's top attorney.
For reference, @justsecurity.org's tracker has *547* cases challenging executive actions. www.justsecurity.org/107087/track...
For reference, @justsecurity.org's tracker has *547* cases challenging executive actions. www.justsecurity.org/107087/track...
Speaking with Up To Date, Kobach also discussed his ongoing legal power struggle with Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly. Kelly has asked Kobach to sue the Trump administration over the release of federal funds for public health and safety programs.
Kansas Attorney General Kobach discusses ICE cooperation and legal battles with governor
Kris Kobach, the Republican attorney general, says that several Kansas Bureau of Investigation agents have been trained to make arrests in collaboration with federal immigration authorities. He talked about the state's recent law enforcement initiatives, plus his clashes over legal authority with Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly, in an interview with KCUR's Up To Date.
www.kcur.org
November 21, 2025 at 3:05 PM
"If the Trump administration were to violate the Constitution or violate statutes, we'd happily sue," said the state's top attorney.
For reference, @justsecurity.org's tracker has *547* cases challenging executive actions. www.justsecurity.org/107087/track...
For reference, @justsecurity.org's tracker has *547* cases challenging executive actions. www.justsecurity.org/107087/track...
Reposted by Tyler Holmes
Just when you think things can’t get shabbier
Kansas federal attorneys went 5 months without pay, sparking constitutional crisis • Kansas Reflector
For nearly 20 weeks, certain lawyers, paralegals, psychologists, interpreters, court reporters and investigators were not paid.Federal funding for a group of criminal justice professionals expired in ...
kansasreflector.com
November 21, 2025 at 1:44 AM
Just when you think things can’t get shabbier
Spending more time "signaling" toughness on crime / support for the police than *no taxation without representation*.
These 20 House Democrats just joined Republicans in voting to fully repeal DC's police reform laws.
Wiping off the books critical laws on use of force, transparency, and preventing violent cops from getting rehired.
They think that they should have more say over DC police than the people of DC.
Wiping off the books critical laws on use of force, transparency, and preventing violent cops from getting rehired.
They think that they should have more say over DC police than the people of DC.
November 20, 2025 at 5:33 AM
Spending more time "signaling" toughness on crime / support for the police than *no taxation without representation*.
Reposted by Tyler Holmes
no one wants to work anymore
private equity buys a company and immediately starts torturing their employees and the money
November 20, 2025 at 2:46 AM
no one wants to work anymore
Reposted by Tyler Holmes
Strangling the world-beating export industry which cross-subsidizes higher education for Americans. The White House says that's good news!
The White House just blasted this out under the headline "Good News You May Have Missed"
November 20, 2025 at 1:12 AM
Strangling the world-beating export industry which cross-subsidizes higher education for Americans. The White House says that's good news!
Reposted by Tyler Holmes
New Knives Out just dropped
so, in summary, ny-12 primary has:
* a nadler's protege
* a state assemblyman hated by the AI lobby
* a nyc council member
* a civil rights lawyer
* a rhodes scholar nonprofit guy
* the host of All Things Considered
* a march for our lives co-founder
* jfk's online grandson
* kellyanne conway's ex
* a nadler's protege
* a state assemblyman hated by the AI lobby
* a nyc council member
* a civil rights lawyer
* a rhodes scholar nonprofit guy
* the host of All Things Considered
* a march for our lives co-founder
* jfk's online grandson
* kellyanne conway's ex
"Mr. Conway outlined his pitch on Tuesday night at a private virtual event for paid members of Democracy Docket, the media outlet founded by Marc Elias, the Democratic attorney." www.nytimes.com/2025/11/19/u...
November 20, 2025 at 1:51 AM
New Knives Out just dropped
Reposted by Tyler Holmes
The reason we have laws* against bribery is that companies will absolutely bribe politicians at the very first opportunity if it is good for the bottom line, because they see it as a sound business decision, not a civilizational betrayal.
/1
/1
Coinbase donated to Trump's $300 million White House ballroom project as an appeal to the administration, Emilie Choi, the cryptocurrency exchange's president and COO, said at Axios' BFD event today.
Exclusive: Coinbase explains donation to Trump's ballroom
Tech firms like Google, Amazon, and Nvidia also donated to Trump's ballroom fund.
www.axios.com
November 18, 2025 at 9:28 PM
The reason we have laws* against bribery is that companies will absolutely bribe politicians at the very first opportunity if it is good for the bottom line, because they see it as a sound business decision, not a civilizational betrayal.
/1
/1
Reposted by Tyler Holmes
The bill only forces the release of unclassified information.
Pass it on.
Pass it on.
November 18, 2025 at 10:47 PM
The bill only forces the release of unclassified information.
Pass it on.
Pass it on.
Reposted by Tyler Holmes
Duke [non-athletes]: Richard Nixon, Stephen Miller, Tucker Max, Rand Paul, Ken Starr, Charlie Rose.
Kansas: Mandy Patinkin, Scott Bakula, Don Johnson, Paul Rudd, Kate Spade, Rob Riggle, Nikki Glaser, Gillian Flynn, Iliza Shlesinger, Juan Manuel Santos.
Friends, I submit that we have already won.
Kansas: Mandy Patinkin, Scott Bakula, Don Johnson, Paul Rudd, Kate Spade, Rob Riggle, Nikki Glaser, Gillian Flynn, Iliza Shlesinger, Juan Manuel Santos.
Friends, I submit that we have already won.
November 18, 2025 at 3:10 PM
Duke [non-athletes]: Richard Nixon, Stephen Miller, Tucker Max, Rand Paul, Ken Starr, Charlie Rose.
Kansas: Mandy Patinkin, Scott Bakula, Don Johnson, Paul Rudd, Kate Spade, Rob Riggle, Nikki Glaser, Gillian Flynn, Iliza Shlesinger, Juan Manuel Santos.
Friends, I submit that we have already won.
Kansas: Mandy Patinkin, Scott Bakula, Don Johnson, Paul Rudd, Kate Spade, Rob Riggle, Nikki Glaser, Gillian Flynn, Iliza Shlesinger, Juan Manuel Santos.
Friends, I submit that we have already won.
Reposted by Tyler Holmes
Okay, let's try this. One like, one good tax reform idea. Popular or not, but one I think will improve our country and strengthen our democracy.
November 16, 2025 at 6:03 PM
Okay, let's try this. One like, one good tax reform idea. Popular or not, but one I think will improve our country and strengthen our democracy.
Spoke last night with my Lyft driver about the incomprehensibility of this wealth. He made references to millionaires, Jay-Z, the lottery. I simply repeated: we cannot comprehend billionaires' finances.
I wish everyone financial security and more than that, true wealth. These people are hoarders.
I wish everyone financial security and more than that, true wealth. These people are hoarders.
The richest person on that list is Elon Musk. Convert his net worth to centimeters and it’s enough to circle the globe more than 100 times.
It’s not even really comparable.
7/8
It’s not even really comparable.
7/8
November 16, 2025 at 7:48 PM
Spoke last night with my Lyft driver about the incomprehensibility of this wealth. He made references to millionaires, Jay-Z, the lottery. I simply repeated: we cannot comprehend billionaires' finances.
I wish everyone financial security and more than that, true wealth. These people are hoarders.
I wish everyone financial security and more than that, true wealth. These people are hoarders.
Sen. Moran, if "[t]he filibuster provides senators, even when in the minority, the ability to stop bad policies," what bad policies are the Democrats stopping right now? What parts of the Trump agenda would Rs in the Senate not like to vote on?
U.S. senators from Kansas oppose eliminating filibuster to advantage Republicans | via @kansascarpenter.bsky.social #ksleg
U.S. senators from Kansas oppose eliminating filibuster to advantage Republicans • Kansas Reflector
Two Republican U.S. senators from Kansas oppose reforming the filibuster rule to gain an advantage when considering the agenda of President Donald Trump.
kansasreflector.com
November 16, 2025 at 4:29 PM
Sen. Moran, if "[t]he filibuster provides senators, even when in the minority, the ability to stop bad policies," what bad policies are the Democrats stopping right now? What parts of the Trump agenda would Rs in the Senate not like to vote on?
"[T]he 16-member task force contains only legislators and legislatively appointed members, none of them reps from any of Kansas’ four federally recognized tribes.
...'Just because you don’t have a seat here,' [Rep. Ken Rahjes] said, 'doesn’t mean you’re not listened to and being taken care of.'"
...'Just because you don’t have a seat here,' [Rep. Ken Rahjes] said, 'doesn’t mean you’re not listened to and being taken care of.'"
Kansas tribes navigate future water problems without representation on statewide task force | via @anna-writes.bsky.social #ksleg
Kansas tribes navigate future water problems without representation on statewide task force • Kansas Reflector
Joseph Rupnick, chairman of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Tribal Council, is disappointed that the recently formed Kansas water task force does not include any Native American representation.
kansasreflector.com
November 16, 2025 at 3:27 PM
"[T]he 16-member task force contains only legislators and legislatively appointed members, none of them reps from any of Kansas’ four federally recognized tribes.
...'Just because you don’t have a seat here,' [Rep. Ken Rahjes] said, 'doesn’t mean you’re not listened to and being taken care of.'"
...'Just because you don’t have a seat here,' [Rep. Ken Rahjes] said, 'doesn’t mean you’re not listened to and being taken care of.'"
"Either the speaker allowed his temper to get the better of him or — as I suspect — he knows the votes aren’t there...
We’ve seen what happens when Hawkins faces challenges before. He pitched a fit...
Finally, the entire situation highlights Hawkins’ tendency to mislead the public." #ksleg
We’ve seen what happens when Hawkins faces challenges before. He pitched a fit...
Finally, the entire situation highlights Hawkins’ tendency to mislead the public." #ksleg
Opinion editor @claywires.bsky.social writes: Smarting from special session embarrassment, Kansas House speaker drops hammer on holdouts #ksleg
Smarting from special session embarrassment, Kansas House speaker drops hammer on holdouts • Kansas Reflector
So the time has come for payback. The hammer fell Friday. Speaker Dan Hawkins purged holdouts from committee leadership roles.
kansasreflector.com
November 16, 2025 at 3:17 PM
"Either the speaker allowed his temper to get the better of him or — as I suspect — he knows the votes aren’t there...
We’ve seen what happens when Hawkins faces challenges before. He pitched a fit...
Finally, the entire situation highlights Hawkins’ tendency to mislead the public." #ksleg
We’ve seen what happens when Hawkins faces challenges before. He pitched a fit...
Finally, the entire situation highlights Hawkins’ tendency to mislead the public." #ksleg
Reposted by Tyler Holmes
The Founders were so concerned about bribery that the Constitution forbids it three separate times. Two emoluments clauses ban officials—unambiguously including the president—from accepting things of value, plus bribery is the only named impeachable offense besides treason.
Unprecedentedly corrupt.
Unprecedentedly corrupt.
To negotiate a trade deal with the President of the United States, the Swiss government arrived with a "special Rolex desktop clock" and "a 1-kilogram personalized gold bar"
www.axios.com/2025/11/14/t...
www.axios.com/2025/11/14/t...
How to lobby Trump with Swiss precision: gifts, gold and gab
How the Swiss broke a diplomatic logjam on tariffs by arriving with tributes fit for a king.
www.axios.com
November 16, 2025 at 1:50 PM
The Founders were so concerned about bribery that the Constitution forbids it three separate times. Two emoluments clauses ban officials—unambiguously including the president—from accepting things of value, plus bribery is the only named impeachable offense besides treason.
Unprecedentedly corrupt.
Unprecedentedly corrupt.