Jessica Smock
@jasmock.bsky.social
Writer, editor, and mom living in western NY with a doctorate in education policy. Co-founder of Midstory Magazine on Substack and the HerStories Project. Swiftie.
Reposted by Jessica Smock
The Epstein story gets a something that is tearing at the heart of the electorate: elite impunity. The idea that wealthy and powerful people can do terrible things *at scale* and face no consequences for them. Whatever political party actually stops it could rule the country for a generation.
November 12, 2025 at 10:23 PM
The Epstein story gets a something that is tearing at the heart of the electorate: elite impunity. The idea that wealthy and powerful people can do terrible things *at scale* and face no consequences for them. Whatever political party actually stops it could rule the country for a generation.
Reposted by Jessica Smock
It’s far from the most important thing, morally right now, or in terms of the human stakes, but the ballroom thing is really breaking my brain.
October 22, 2025 at 9:38 PM
It’s far from the most important thing, morally right now, or in terms of the human stakes, but the ballroom thing is really breaking my brain.
Reposted by Jessica Smock
Agree with this. Make them fight for every inch. Worth reading this thread.
Monarez is playing her weak hand perfectly, and should be a model for institutional resistance for the next four years:
1. Make them fire you
2. Don’t go along to get along
3. Don’t apologize, have confidence in your own integrity and the importance of your role
4. Always escalate the conflict
1. Make them fire you
2. Don’t go along to get along
3. Don’t apologize, have confidence in your own integrity and the importance of your role
4. Always escalate the conflict
August 28, 2025 at 2:38 AM
Agree with this. Make them fight for every inch. Worth reading this thread.
Reposted by Jessica Smock
Thomas Chatterton Williams is like if you fed Rich Lowry through an Instagram filter for Ta-Nehisi Coates
August 4, 2025 at 11:42 AM
Thomas Chatterton Williams is like if you fed Rich Lowry through an Instagram filter for Ta-Nehisi Coates
Reposted by Jessica Smock
"If I replace the Labor Statistics Commissioner, the job numbers will be great!" is the new "If we stop testing, we'll have fewer Covid cases!"
August 1, 2025 at 7:04 PM
"If I replace the Labor Statistics Commissioner, the job numbers will be great!" is the new "If we stop testing, we'll have fewer Covid cases!"
Reposted by Jessica Smock
In 1999, Trump said on Howard Stern: “I have a deal with Ivanka. She’s 17 and doing great.
She made me promise, swear to her that I would never date a girl younger than her. So as she grows older, the field is getting very limited.”
She made me promise, swear to her that I would never date a girl younger than her. So as she grows older, the field is getting very limited.”
Donald Trump Said He Promised Ivanka He Wouldn't Date Girls Younger Than Her
“So as she grows older, the field is getting very limited.” 😬
www.huffpost.com
July 23, 2025 at 12:35 AM
In 1999, Trump said on Howard Stern: “I have a deal with Ivanka. She’s 17 and doing great.
She made me promise, swear to her that I would never date a girl younger than her. So as she grows older, the field is getting very limited.”
She made me promise, swear to her that I would never date a girl younger than her. So as she grows older, the field is getting very limited.”
Reposted by Jessica Smock
Trump’s immigration crackdown is taking a toll on the U.S. economy.
From small farms to corporate giants like Disney, businesses are scrambling to replace workers after recent admin actions have taken immigrants — both legal and undocumented — out of the labor force.
From small farms to corporate giants like Disney, businesses are scrambling to replace workers after recent admin actions have taken immigrants — both legal and undocumented — out of the labor force.
‘Essential isn’t a strong enough word’: Loss of foreign workers begins to bite US economy
Trump’s immigration policy is taking a toll on more than farms.
www.politico.com
July 8, 2025 at 10:45 PM
Trump’s immigration crackdown is taking a toll on the U.S. economy.
From small farms to corporate giants like Disney, businesses are scrambling to replace workers after recent admin actions have taken immigrants — both legal and undocumented — out of the labor force.
From small farms to corporate giants like Disney, businesses are scrambling to replace workers after recent admin actions have taken immigrants — both legal and undocumented — out of the labor force.
Reposted by Jessica Smock
🧵A Texas man, born to a US soldier on a US army base abroad was deported to Jamaica last week.
His father served the US for twenty years.
Yet he was escorted onto a plane with his wrists and ankles shackled.
He arrived in Jamaica, a country he’s never been to, and now a stateless man.
His father served the US for twenty years.
Yet he was escorted onto a plane with his wrists and ankles shackled.
He arrived in Jamaica, a country he’s never been to, and now a stateless man.
Man born on Army base to US soldier deported to Jamaica
Jermaine Thomas, who was born to a naturalized U.S. citizen father on a U.S. Army base, was recently deported to Jamaica.
www.newsweek.com
June 29, 2025 at 5:41 PM
🧵A Texas man, born to a US soldier on a US army base abroad was deported to Jamaica last week.
His father served the US for twenty years.
Yet he was escorted onto a plane with his wrists and ankles shackled.
He arrived in Jamaica, a country he’s never been to, and now a stateless man.
His father served the US for twenty years.
Yet he was escorted onto a plane with his wrists and ankles shackled.
He arrived in Jamaica, a country he’s never been to, and now a stateless man.
Reposted by Jessica Smock
according to conservatives on the court, the constitution does not protect your right to your own body but does enable the government to ship you off to a foreign gulag without any hope of return
NEW: The Supreme Court's conservatives halt a preliminary injunction that had restricted the Trump administration's ability to rapidly deport migrants to "third countries" where they have never lived and where allegedly face torture. All three liberals dissent. www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24p...
![DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY, ET AL. v.
D.V.D., ET AL.
ON APPLICATION FOR STAY
[June 23, 2025]
The application for stay presented to JUSTICE JACKSON
and by her referred to the Court is granted. The April 18,
2025, preliminary injunction of the United States District
Court for the District of Massachusetts, case No. 25–cv–
10676, is stayed pending the disposition of the appeal in the
United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and disposition of a petition for a writ of certiorari, if such writ is
timely sought. Should certiorari be denied, this stay shall
terminate automatically. In the event certiorari is granted,
the stay shall terminate upon the sending down of the judgment of the Court.
JUSTICE SOTOMAYOR, with whom JUSTICE KAGAN and
JUSTICE JACKSON join, dissenting.
In matters of life and death, it is best to proceed with caution. In this case, the Government took the opposite approach. It wrongfully deported one plaintiff to Guatemala,
even though an Immigration Judge found he was likely to
face torture there. Then, in clear violation of a court order,
it deported six more to South Sudan, a nation the State Department considers too unsafe for all but its most critical
personnel. An attentive District Court’s timely intervention only narrowly prevented a third set of unlawful removals to Libya.
Rather than allowing our lower court colleagues to manage this high-stakes litigation with the care and attention](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:6h7b2i6ttw3l4t7pvbvxdith/bafkreietxy2onxpw2fhgui4rl6cuor52zfdsq5dirhspuslk7tqxfq4rty@jpeg)
June 23, 2025 at 8:42 PM
according to conservatives on the court, the constitution does not protect your right to your own body but does enable the government to ship you off to a foreign gulag without any hope of return
Reposted by Jessica Smock
ICE has imprisoned the wife of a Marine veteran who was still breastfeeding a 3-month-old baby because her *mother* failed to attend a hearing in 2018 apnews.com/article/ice-...
ICE detains Marine Corps veteran's wife who was still breastfeeding their baby
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers detained the wife of a Marine Corps veteran in Louisiana during a routine immigration appointment in New Orleans.
apnews.com
June 23, 2025 at 7:54 PM
ICE has imprisoned the wife of a Marine veteran who was still breastfeeding a 3-month-old baby because her *mother* failed to attend a hearing in 2018 apnews.com/article/ice-...
Reposted by Jessica Smock
As major U.S. cities brace for possible terror attacks in response to the strikes on Iran, just a reminder of who Trump put in charge of terror prevention
God help us all
God help us all
June 22, 2025 at 6:33 PM
As major U.S. cities brace for possible terror attacks in response to the strikes on Iran, just a reminder of who Trump put in charge of terror prevention
God help us all
God help us all
Reposted by Jessica Smock
I was briefed on the intelligence last week.
Iran posed no imminent threat of attack to the United States. Iran was not close to building a deliverable nuclear weapon. The negotiations Israel scuttled with their strikes held the potential for success.
Iran posed no imminent threat of attack to the United States. Iran was not close to building a deliverable nuclear weapon. The negotiations Israel scuttled with their strikes held the potential for success.
June 22, 2025 at 4:58 AM
I was briefed on the intelligence last week.
Iran posed no imminent threat of attack to the United States. Iran was not close to building a deliverable nuclear weapon. The negotiations Israel scuttled with their strikes held the potential for success.
Iran posed no imminent threat of attack to the United States. Iran was not close to building a deliverable nuclear weapon. The negotiations Israel scuttled with their strikes held the potential for success.
So MAGA is going to pretend he never said any of this, right? I mean, obviously.
June 22, 2025 at 1:52 AM
So MAGA is going to pretend he never said any of this, right? I mean, obviously.
Reposted by Jessica Smock
This is not about the merits of Iran’s nuclear program. No president has the authority to bomb another country that does not pose an imminent threat to the US without the approval of Congress. This is an unambiguous impeachable offense.
June 22, 2025 at 12:26 AM
This is not about the merits of Iran’s nuclear program. No president has the authority to bomb another country that does not pose an imminent threat to the US without the approval of Congress. This is an unambiguous impeachable offense.
Reposted by Jessica Smock
Breaking News: The national suicide prevention hotline will no longer work with the Trevor Project or provide specialized support to LGBTQ callers under a new Trump administration directive effective July 17. nyti.ms/444VrdN
June 18, 2025 at 5:35 PM
Breaking News: The national suicide prevention hotline will no longer work with the Trevor Project or provide specialized support to LGBTQ callers under a new Trump administration directive effective July 17. nyti.ms/444VrdN
Reposted by Jessica Smock
This is driving me crazy.
It's infuriating how 99% of the coverage of this new war doesn't bother to mention that it is happening because we had an agreement to limit and monitor Iran's nuclear program, which even Trump's own aides said was working, and he blew it up because it was negotiated under Obama.
The consequences of JCPOA withdrawal in graph form www.ft.com/content/193f...
June 18, 2025 at 5:38 PM
This is driving me crazy.
Reposted by Jessica Smock
Via ABC News's Rachel Scott, let's never forget for a minute what a classless scumbag the President is.
x.com/rachelvscott...
x.com/rachelvscott...
June 15, 2025 at 5:57 PM
Via ABC News's Rachel Scott, let's never forget for a minute what a classless scumbag the President is.
x.com/rachelvscott...
x.com/rachelvscott...
Reposted by Jessica Smock
i'm surprised by how low energy and farcical that whole military parade situation was. I was expecting Moscow 1945 and we got Spirit Halloween instead.
June 15, 2025 at 12:36 AM
i'm surprised by how low energy and farcical that whole military parade situation was. I was expecting Moscow 1945 and we got Spirit Halloween instead.
Reposted by Jessica Smock
BREAKING @prri.org: 76% of Americans, including 52% of Republicans, oppose spending $45 million to hold a large parade of soldiers, weapons, and combat vehicles on the streets of Washington, D.C., in celebration of the Army’s 250th birthday and President Trump’s birthday.
prri.org/spotlight/mi...
prri.org/spotlight/mi...
New PRRI Poll: Three-Quarters of Americans Oppose Trump’s Military Parade
As the 250th anniversary of the United States Army approaches, which also coincides with President Donald Trump’s 79th birthday, Washington is preparing to mark the occasion with a large-scale…
prri.org
June 10, 2025 at 10:42 PM
BREAKING @prri.org: 76% of Americans, including 52% of Republicans, oppose spending $45 million to hold a large parade of soldiers, weapons, and combat vehicles on the streets of Washington, D.C., in celebration of the Army’s 250th birthday and President Trump’s birthday.
prri.org/spotlight/mi...
prri.org/spotlight/mi...
Reposted by Jessica Smock
BREAKING: Federal agents in plain clothes and unmarked cars tried to snatch 1st graders from LA elementary schools—told staff they had “parental consent.”
They lied. When pressed, they HID THEIR IDS. DHS admits they sent them. This wasn’t a welfare check. It was a test run for a police state.
They lied. When pressed, they HID THEIR IDS. DHS admits they sent them. This wasn’t a welfare check. It was a test run for a police state.
June 10, 2025 at 12:17 AM
BREAKING: Federal agents in plain clothes and unmarked cars tried to snatch 1st graders from LA elementary schools—told staff they had “parental consent.”
They lied. When pressed, they HID THEIR IDS. DHS admits they sent them. This wasn’t a welfare check. It was a test run for a police state.
They lied. When pressed, they HID THEIR IDS. DHS admits they sent them. This wasn’t a welfare check. It was a test run for a police state.
Reposted by Jessica Smock
First they illegally deport citizens. Then they unleash ICE to terrorize communities. Now they’ve got the National Guard in L.A. to silence protestors.
This ain’t about law and order.
This is what authoritarianism looks like.
This ain’t about law and order.
This is what authoritarianism looks like.
June 8, 2025 at 5:29 PM
First they illegally deport citizens. Then they unleash ICE to terrorize communities. Now they’ve got the National Guard in L.A. to silence protestors.
This ain’t about law and order.
This is what authoritarianism looks like.
This ain’t about law and order.
This is what authoritarianism looks like.
Reposted by Jessica Smock
One side is an unlawfully masked, unbadged secret police rounding and arresting law-abiding essential workers to prop up a fascist regime
The other side is citizens resisting an unjust government, just as MLK taught us to do.
I am 100% on the side of the American people against ICE. Who's with me?
The other side is citizens resisting an unjust government, just as MLK taught us to do.
I am 100% on the side of the American people against ICE. Who's with me?
June 8, 2025 at 2:47 PM
One side is an unlawfully masked, unbadged secret police rounding and arresting law-abiding essential workers to prop up a fascist regime
The other side is citizens resisting an unjust government, just as MLK taught us to do.
I am 100% on the side of the American people against ICE. Who's with me?
The other side is citizens resisting an unjust government, just as MLK taught us to do.
I am 100% on the side of the American people against ICE. Who's with me?
Reposted by Jessica Smock
The administration that is now using protests in Los Angeles to justify federalizing the National Guard supported Trump when he pardoned January 6 protestors who overran the Capitol.
June 8, 2025 at 3:42 PM
The administration that is now using protests in Los Angeles to justify federalizing the National Guard supported Trump when he pardoned January 6 protestors who overran the Capitol.
Reposted by Jessica Smock
He shouldn’t have taken the post down. He’s a reporter. And he was reporting facts.
June 8, 2025 at 1:48 PM
He shouldn’t have taken the post down. He’s a reporter. And he was reporting facts.
Reposted by Jessica Smock
PRO PUBLICA: Of the 238 men sent to an El Salvador mega prison, only 6 had prior violent crime convictions.
0 were on the gang member list.
130 had no criminal history.
32 had minor offenses.
All 238 thought they were being sent back to Venezuela. www.instagram.com/p/DKcjM7FPhz...
0 were on the gang member list.
130 had no criminal history.
32 had minor offenses.
All 238 thought they were being sent back to Venezuela. www.instagram.com/p/DKcjM7FPhz...
June 3, 2025 at 7:38 PM
PRO PUBLICA: Of the 238 men sent to an El Salvador mega prison, only 6 had prior violent crime convictions.
0 were on the gang member list.
130 had no criminal history.
32 had minor offenses.
All 238 thought they were being sent back to Venezuela. www.instagram.com/p/DKcjM7FPhz...
0 were on the gang member list.
130 had no criminal history.
32 had minor offenses.
All 238 thought they were being sent back to Venezuela. www.instagram.com/p/DKcjM7FPhz...