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Jim Brunner
@jimbrunner.bsky.social
3.5K followers 580 following 330 posts
Seattle Times politics reporter
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https://www.seattletimes.com/author/jim-brunner/
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jimbrunner.bsky.social
Sheeeitt
nytimes.com The New York Times @nytimes.com · 3d
Isiah Whitlock Jr., a character actor best known for his scene-stealing role as a smooth-talking, corrupt politician in the widely acclaimed HBO show “The Wire,” died on Tuesday. He was 71.
Isiah Whitlock Jr., Scene-Stealing Character Actor in ‘The Wire,’ Dies at 71
In one of his most enduring roles, he played a corrupt state senator known for his ability to fashion an expletive into an outstretched catchphrase.
nyti.ms
December 31, 2025 at 3:32 AM
Reposted by Jim Brunner
paleofuture.bsky.social
The largest generation in U.S. history is in their 70s now. And Stephen Miller’s podcaster wife thinks it’s suspicious that there’s a huge surge in home health aides.
Katie Miller: BLS data confirms home health aides as the fastest-growing U.S. occupation with a 10% surge to over 500,000 in 2024. It's MOSTLY Medicaid-funded. 42% are foreign-born across the US. 78% are foreign-born in NYC where most home health aides are used. Want to guess where the fraud is? 6:15 AM • 12/28/25 • 6.4M Views
December 29, 2025 at 3:06 AM
jimbrunner.bsky.social
By announcing his support for this tax idea today (it would not kick in til 2029), Ferguson was able to take away some attention from the fire his immediate supplemental budget proposal is taking from fellow Democrats and progressive groups for its mix of cuts and fund swipes.
December 24, 2025 at 12:15 AM
jimbrunner.bsky.social
NEW: Gov. Bob Ferguson has thrown his support behind a WA income tax on millionaires. www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...
Ferguson backs WA income tax on millionaires
Gov. Bob Ferguson announced support for an income tax on people earning over $1 million, raising the prospects that the tax long sought by Democrats will pass.
www.seattletimes.com
December 23, 2025 at 9:59 PM
Reposted by Jim Brunner
mjsdc.bsky.social
NEW: By a 6-3 vote, the Supreme Court blocks Trump’s deployment of the National Guard to Chicago to assist immigration agents. A majority holds that he likely lacks authority to do so. Thomas, Alito, and Gorsuch dissent. www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25p...
The Government asked this Court to stay the District Court's order. After the response and reply were filed, JUSTICE BARRETT referred the application to the Court. We directed the parties to file supplemental letter briefs on an issue that the District Court had addressed but the parties' initial briefs had not: the meaning of the term "regular forces" in §12406(3). In its supplemental brief, the Government argues that the term refers to civilian law enforcement officers, such as those employed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement or the Federal Protective Service. Respondents, echoing the District Court, maintain that the term refers to the regular forces of the United States mili-tary. We conclude that the term "regular forces" in §12406(3) likely refers to the regular forces of the United States mili-tary. This interpretation means that to call the Guard into active federal service under §12406(3), the President must be "unable" with the regular military "to execute the laws of the United States." Because the statute requires an assessment of the military's ability to execute the laws, it likely applies only where the military could legally execute the laws. Such circumstances are exceptional: Under the Posse Comitatus Act, the military is prohibited from "execut[ing] the laws" "except in cases and under circumstances expressly authorized by the Constitution or Act of Congress." 18 U. S. C. §1385. So before the President can federalize the Guard under §12406(3), he likely must have statutory or constitutional authority to execute the laws with the regular military and must be "unable" with those forces to perform that function.
December 23, 2025 at 8:16 PM
Reposted by Jim Brunner
keithboykin.bsky.social
The New York Times investigated 346 people who donated at least $250,000 to Trump and found that more than half of them (197) have received pardons, jobs, government contracts, special treatment, or favors.
Hundreds of Big Post-Election Donors Have Benefited From Trump’s Return to Office
Well into his second term, the president and his allies have continued aggressively raising money. Many donors have interests before his administration, The Times found.
www.nytimes.com
December 22, 2025 at 3:41 PM
Reposted by Jim Brunner
annabower.bsky.social
Per NY Times’s Michael Grynbaum on X, this is Sharyn Alfonsi’s email to her “60 Minutes” colleagues in full:
News Team, Thank you for the notes and texts. I apologize for not reaching out earlier. I learned on Saturday that Bari Weiss spiked our story, INSIDE CECOT, which was supposed to air tonight. We (Ori and I) asked for a call to discuss her decision. She did not afford us that courtesy/opportunity. Our story was screened five times and cleared by both CBS attorneys and Standards and Practices. It is factually correct. In my view, pulling it now-after every rigorous internal check has been met is not an editorial decision, it is a political one. We requested responses to questions and/or interviews with DHS, the White House, and the State Department. Government silence is a statement, not a VETO. Their refusal to be interviewed is a tactical maneuver designed to kill the story. If the administration's refusal to participate becomes a valid reason to spike a story, we have effectively handed them a "kill switch" for any reporting they find inconvenient. If the standard for airing a story becomes "the government must agree to be interviewed," then the government effectively gains control over the 60 Minutes broadcast. We go from an investigative powerhouse to a stenographer for the state. These men risked their lives to speak with us. We have a moral and professional obligation to the sources who entrusted us with their stories. Abandoning them now is a betrayal of the most basic tenet of journalism: giving voice to the voiceless. CBS spiked the Jeffrey Wigand interview due to legal concerns, nearly destroying the credibility of this broadcast. It took years to recover from that "low point." By pulling this story to shield an administration, we are repeating that history, but for political optics rather than legal ones. We have been promoting this story on social media for days. Our viewers are expecting it. When it fails to air without a credible explanation, the public will correctly identify this as corporate censorship. We are trading 50 years of "Gold Standard" reputation for a single week of political quiet. I care too much about this broadcast to watch it be dismantled without a fight. Sharyn
December 22, 2025 at 3:37 AM
Reposted by Jim Brunner
conradswanson.bsky.social
The Desimone levee seemed destined to fail

Here’s why: www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...
A damaged King County levee awaited fixes for years. Then it failed
Officials knew for years that the Desimone levee needed repairs, but a partnership between the federal government and the county broke down, upending a fix.
www.seattletimes.com
December 20, 2025 at 4:56 PM
Reposted by Jim Brunner
phillewis.bsky.social
WASHINGTON (AP) — At least 16 files from Epstein release disappeared from DOJ webpage, including photo of Trump, with no explanation.
December 20, 2025 at 9:26 PM
jimbrunner.bsky.social
"Until now, the most terrifying sight in the history of college football was Dick Butkus, the ferocious University of Illinois linebacker (1962-1964), flattening an opponent. Now, however, an even scarier sight is Maria Cantwell carrying a letter"

www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
Opinion | Maria Cantwell blitzes college football’s nonprofit status
The NCAA money machine is facing some tough questions.
www.washingtonpost.com
December 19, 2025 at 3:28 PM
Reposted by Jim Brunner
jevinwest.bsky.social
Superhuman intelligence.
December 19, 2025 at 5:11 AM
jimbrunner.bsky.social
A new mayor can set standards and expectations for public records.
ericacbarnett.bsky.social Erica C. Barnett @ericacbarnett.bsky.social · 16d
Just got 10 form messages letting me know that the Seattle Police Department has moved my "placeholder date" for the records requests they are ignoring, going back te 2023, to the end of NEXT year. Almost unbelievably, they have only provided ONE set of records on ONE request (from 2024) this year.
December 18, 2025 at 8:11 PM
Reposted by Jim Brunner
tessowen.bsky.social
big scoop from reuters:

pardoned j6-ers are.... advising DOJ officials" "weaponization working group" on whether to bring charges against prosecutors who worked on j6 cases.

www.reuters.com/investigatio...
They prosecuted the Capitol rioters. Now the rioters and the DOJ are after them.
After Trump’s mass pardons of the U.S. Capitol rioters, some have gained influence inside the Justice Department. The January 6 prosecutors describe mounting threats, harassment and fear of lasting da...
www.reuters.com
December 18, 2025 at 5:12 PM
Reposted by Jim Brunner
haleaziz.bsky.social
SCOOP: The Trump administration plans to ramp up efforts to strip some naturalized Americans of their citizenship, according to internal guidance obtained by The New York Times.

www.nytimes.com/2025/12/17/u...
Trump Administration Aims to Strip More Foreign-Born Americans of Citizenship
www.nytimes.com
December 17, 2025 at 10:18 PM
jimbrunner.bsky.social
Newhouse's 2024 far-right opponent Jerrod Sessler is already running for the seat. But Yakima County Commissioner Amanda McKinney may grab support of Newhouse-aligned (relatively) moderate GOP.

McKinney texted me she's "humbled" by encouragement she's gotten & will share news about her plans soon.
December 17, 2025 at 8:47 PM
Reposted by Jim Brunner
pbump.com
Per @garretthaake.bsky.social, the extremely tacky "presidential wall of fame" that lines the colonnade to the West Wing now has obviously-Trump-penned plaques insulting or praising the presidents.
December 17, 2025 at 5:47 PM
jimbrunner.bsky.social
Big news: Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA) won't run for reelection in 2026 in the state's most conservative congressional district www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...
WA Rep. Dan Newhouse won’t seek reelection after six terms in Congress
U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse will not seek reelection in 2026. He announced Wednesday he will retired after serving six terms representing Central WA in Congress.
www.seattletimes.com
December 17, 2025 at 3:30 PM
Reposted by Jim Brunner
the-downballot.com
Rep. Dan Newhouse, who is one of just two House Republicans still in office who voted to impeach Trump after Jan. 6, announces he won't seek reelection next year. Newhouse represents a conservative seat in central Washington.
Dan Newhouse won't seek re-election in 2026, retiring after 12 years representing Central Washington in Congress
WASHINGTON – Rep. Dan Newhouse will announce Wednesday that he won't seek re-election and will retire at the end of 2026, stepping down after a dozen years representing Central Washington's 4th Congre...
www.spokesman.com
December 17, 2025 at 3:23 PM
Reposted by Jim Brunner
briefingwithpsaki.bsky.social
"A blockade is literally, by definition, an act of war." Rep. Adam Smith sounds the alarm that Donald Trump is inching the U.S. closer to war with Venezuela.
December 17, 2025 at 4:33 AM
Reposted by Jim Brunner
ceej.online
"please come back to twitter"
ceej.online ceej @ceej.online · Feb 6
*yelling from inside the getting kicked in the nuts factory* it's actually insane that you guys won't come in here
December 15, 2025 at 6:03 PM
Reposted by Jim Brunner
justinbaragona.bsky.social
Fox News is really going out of its way to pay tribute to Rob Reiner while fully ignoring what Trump posted about him today.

Tomi Lahren: "Let's all find our humanity. It really doesn't matter what someone’s political beliefs are. It doesn't matter at all. They're human... life is sacred."
December 15, 2025 at 6:11 PM
Reposted by Jim Brunner
jaketapper.bsky.social
Rep. Don Bacon, R-NE, tells me, regarding the president‘s truth social post about the Reiners being murdered,”I’d expect to hear something like this from a drunk guy at a bar, not the President of the United States. Can the President be presidential?”
December 15, 2025 at 5:26 PM
Reposted by Jim Brunner
ryanjreilly.com
Here is what the president of the United States posted about two murder victims.
A very sad thing happened last night in Hollywood. Rob Reiner, a tortured and struggling, but once very talented movie director and comedy star, has passed away, together with his wife, Michele, reportedly due to the anger he caused others through his massive, unyielding, and incurable affliction with a mind crippling disease known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME, sometimes referred to as TDS. He was known to have driven people CRAZY by his raging obsession of President Donald J. Trump, with his obvious paranoia reaching new heights as the Trump Administration surpassed all goals and expectations of greatness, and with the Golden Age of America upon us, perhaps like never before. May Rob and Michele rest in peace!
December 15, 2025 at 3:06 PM
jimbrunner.bsky.social
Covered aftermath of flooding today in Skagit County. This kid was having a great on a jet ski - in his front yard
December 14, 2025 at 3:05 AM
jimbrunner.bsky.social
NEW: President Trump has signed an emergency declaration requested by WA officials for this week's massive flooding, per Gov. Bob Ferguson. Live updates @seattletimes-rss.bsky.social www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...
Live: WA flooding prompts Burlington evacuation, Leavenworth power outage while Mount Vernon floodwall holds
Nearly 10,000 Burlington, WA, residents were told to evacuate their homes early Friday as Gages Slough flooded. Here are the latest Washington flood updates.
www.seattletimes.com
December 12, 2025 at 7:12 PM