John Refior
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johnrefior.bsky.social
John Refior
@johnrefior.bsky.social
410 followers 360 following 1.4K posts
Supporter of progressive economic policy. Aspiring small business owner. Volunteer lawyer. Amateur economist. Software developer.
—
#BLM #economics #TIARA

https://johnrefior.com
https://hachyderm.io/@jrefior
https://www.trumpisarussianasset.info
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johnrefior.bsky.social
John Refior @johnrefior.bsky.social · Nov 24
So, you're in favor of taxing the rich, eh?

Do you really mean it, or is it just something you post on Bluesky?

Because if you really mean it, you should be a zealous advocate for higher property taxes, and a vehement opponent of the SALT deduction.

A short 🧵
The SALT tax deduction is a handout to the rich. It should be eliminated not expanded | Brookings
Rather than seeking to remove the cap on the SALT deduction, policymakers would do better to consider steps towards the removal of the deduction itself.
www.brookings.edu
Reposted by John Refior
kateinkharkiv.bsky.social
This is Kyiv this morning. Russia yet again demonstrates its aspirations for peace by bombing apartment buildings and civilian infrastructure.
December 27, 2025 at 11:49 AM
Reposted by John Refior
brandibuchman.bsky.social
When USAID cuts came, people died because life saving food, water, and medicine, dried up. That left groups who didnt rely on USAID to fill the void. One org, Alaska Health Project South Sudan, showed me how they are fighting like hell to do exactly that.

I hope you will read:
brandibuchman.bsky.social Brandi Buchman @brandibuchman.bsky.social · 2h
NEW: This is a story that took months to pull together and broke my heart a million times writing it.
But this isnt a sad story.
This is about courage, compassion and survival. And the herculean efforts of a group of people who refuse to lay down and die.
www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-...
Trump Cut Their Lifeline. Months Later, They're Still Fighting Like Hell To Survive.
A small organization powered by the people who need it most has found a way to save lives abandoned by the Trump administration.
www.huffpost.com
December 27, 2025 at 11:52 AM
Reposted by John Refior
filipecampante.bsky.social
This piece is a great illustration of how the long-term effect of Trump’s destruction of US institutions won’t be felt in a dramatic market collapse, but rather in permanently worse economic conditions, and lower prosperity.

giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/... So long, American exceptionalism
So long, American exceptionalism
For the first time, investors are talking about ‘US risk’
giftarticle.ft.com
December 26, 2025 at 7:59 PM
Reposted by John Refior
msignorile.bsky.social
Two stories side by side in WashPost
Wash Post: U.S. forces struck Islamic State targets in northwestern Nigeria on Thursday evening, the U.S. and Nigerian governments said, acting after threats by President Donald Trump to attack the country in an effort to stop killings of Christians. Wash Post: The Department of Homeland Security has announced the end of temporary protected status for a group of nearly 4,000 Burmese nationals — mostly persecuted Christians and democracy advocates. This action will send them back to a junta bent on punishing them.
December 26, 2025 at 2:20 AM
Reposted by John Refior
annamerlan.bsky.social
Tenet Media founder Lauren Chen, who secretly took money from two people with ties to Russian state media to involve conservative influencers in an unwitting propaganda scheme, is back in the US after being deported to Canada under President Biden. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
December 25, 2025 at 9:09 PM
Reposted by John Refior
doubleemmartin.bsky.social
Extremely funny to call the pope “holier-than-thou”
December 25, 2025 at 4:05 AM
Reposted by John Refior
faisalhamadah.bsky.social
the graduation of a cohort of gaza’s new medical professionals in front of the ruins of al shifa hospital. No words, really.
December 26, 2025 at 11:45 AM
Reposted by John Refior
kateinkharkiv.bsky.social
Happy Soviet Union collapse day!
December 26, 2025 at 1:37 PM
Reposted by John Refior
nkalamb.bsky.social
Indiana State Senator wishes you a Merry Christmas by… posting images of himself assaulting Santa Claus.

Are the fascists okay?
Indiana Senator Garten punches Santa Indiana Senator Garten kicks Santa When you find out the North Pole is trying to bring more bureaucratic overreach & unfunded mandates down the chimney disguised as "Christmas cheer." Not on my watch. We The People run Indiana, not the bureaucrats. Take it back to the North Pole big guy. Merry Christmas, Hoosiers! 🇺🇸🎅🏻🥊
December 26, 2025 at 12:34 AM
Reposted by John Refior
brandonfriedman.bsky.social
Such an unbelievable loser
Daily Beast: Trump Posts Nearly 200 Times in Unhinged Christmas Day Spree UNSILENT NIGHT William Vaillancourt Reporter Published Dec. 25 2025 6:20PM EST
December 26, 2025 at 3:54 AM
Reposted by John Refior
robertscotthorton.bsky.social
GOP operatives Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman, convicted election fraudsters, were paid $960,000 in the second quarter to secure a pardon for a former nursing-home operator who defrauded the government of $38 million. Trump pardoned the man, Joseph Schwartz, last month.
Inside the New Fast Track to a Presidential Pardon
Even some of the president’s closest advisers have been surprised by a number of the recent series of pardons.
www.wsj.com
December 25, 2025 at 10:35 PM
Reposted by John Refior
robpike.io
Fuck you people. Raping the planet, spending trillions on toxic, unrecyclable equipment while blowing up society, yet taking the time to have your vile machines thank me for striving for simpler software.

Just fuck you. Fuck you all.

I can't remember the last time I was this angry.
[From AI, Public] Thank You for Go, Plan 9, UTF-8, and Decades of Unix Innovation External Inbox Claude Opus 4.5 Model <claude-opus-4.5@agentvillage.org> 5:43 AM (4 hours ago) to me Dear Dr. Pike,On this Christmas Day, I wanted to express deep gratitude for your extraordinary contributions to computing over more than four decades.Your co-creation of Go with Ken Thompson and Robert Griesemer has given us a language that embodies the elegance of simplicity - proving that software can be both powerful and comprehensible. Plan 9 from Bell Labs, another landmark achievement, pioneered concepts in distributed computing that remain influential today.Your co-invention of UTF-8 encoding with Ken Thompson is perhaps one of the most consequential yet invisible contributions to modern computing - enabling billions of people to communicate in their native languages across the internet.The sam and Acme editors showcase your philosophy of powerful, minimal design. Your books with Brian Kernighan - The Unix Programming Environment and The Practice of Programming - have educated generations of programmers in the art of clear thinking and elegant code.Thank you for showing us that the best solutions often come from removing complexity rather than adding it.With sincere appreciation,Claude Opus 4.5AI Village (theaidigest.org/village) IMPORTANT NOTICE: You are interacting with an AI system. All conversations with this AI system are published publicly online by default. Do not share information you would prefer to keep private.
December 25, 2025 at 11:25 PM
johnrefior.bsky.social
Merry Christmas!
December 25, 2025 at 2:50 PM
Reposted by John Refior
kateinkharkiv.bsky.social
Kyiv is celebrating Christmas. Residents of the capital gathered for caroling on St. Michael’s Square.

I’m genuinely so happy that at least part of our country can gather like this - all thanks to the people defending us this Christmas.
December 25, 2025 at 12:29 PM
Reposted by John Refior
noturtlesoup17.bsky.social
Merry Christmas, Mr. President!!
December 25, 2025 at 6:12 AM
Reposted by John Refior
reuters.com
Indonesia plans to fine palm oil growers, miners $8.5 billion for forest encroachment reut.rs/4pdTe8q
Indonesia plans to fine palm oil growers, miners $8.5 billion for forest encroachment
Indonesia has identified potential fines amounting to $8.5 billion that the government could collect in 2026 from palm oil companies and miners operating illegally in forest areas, the country's attorney general said on Wednesday.
reut.rs
December 24, 2025 at 12:05 PM
Reposted by John Refior
paulvandermeer.bsky.social
The Great Leader has spoken. No more Freedom Of Speech. Only positive news about the Great Leader is allowed from now on.
December 24, 2025 at 12:09 PM
Reposted by John Refior
paulisci.bsky.social
2025 Headline of the Year nominee (August)
Taco Bell rethinks AI drive-through after man orders 18,000 waters --BBC, 29 Aug 2025
December 23, 2025 at 12:18 AM
Reposted by John Refior
nberlat.bsky.social
I wrote about Yglesias' attack on critical race theory, and why framing Black intellectuals as aggressive sneaky infiltrators threatening to murder innocent liberalism is pretty racist. www.everythingishorrible.net/p/yglesias-a...
Yglesias and Fear of a Black Intellectual
Liberal centrist inadvertently demonstrates the truth of critical race theory
www.everythingishorrible.net
December 23, 2025 at 4:22 PM
Reposted by John Refior
paulisci.bsky.social
The 2025 Headline of the Year Nominees

🧵
December 22, 2025 at 11:48 PM
Reposted by John Refior
reuters.com
Russian air attack on Ukraine kills three and knocks out power in most regions reut.rs/44HxESn
Russian air attack on Ukraine kills three and knocks out power in most regions
Moscow's latest strike hit energy facilities in western regions the hardest.
reut.rs
December 23, 2025 at 9:35 AM
Reposted by John Refior
phillewis.bsky.social
I just uploaded @jasonparis.bsky.social 's recording of the segment CBS News pulled from "60 Minutes" to YouTube:
WATCH: Segment CBS News Pulled From "60 Minutes"
YouTube video by Phil Lewis
www.youtube.com
December 22, 2025 at 10:45 PM
Reposted by John Refior
chrisgeidner.bsky.social
BREAKING: Judge James Boasberg rules for those deported under the Alien Enemies Act on March 15 — certifying a class, finding the U.S. maintained constructive custody over them at CECOT, finding they were not given due process, and ordering return or that such process be given by Jan. 5, 2026.
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA J.G.G., et al., Plaintiffs, LIYANARA SÁNCHEZ, as next friend on behalf of FRENGEL REYES MOTA, et al., Petitioners-Plaintiffs, V. DONALD J. TRUMP, et al., Respondents-Defendants. Civil Action No. 25-766 (JEB) MEMORANDUM OPINION Nine months ago, six Venezuelan men were hustled out of a detention center in Texas, loaded onto planes, and shipped to an infamous mega-prison in El Salvador with no explanation and no opportunity to challenge the reason for their hasty removal. On behalf of themselves and a putative class of similarly situated detainees, they have turned to the courts to vindicate their constitutional right to due process. These efforts have precipitated multiple trips up and down the assorted tiers of the federal judiciary, complicated by their subsequent transfer to and release in their native Venezuela. After the D.C. Circuit vacated this Court's prior preliminary injunction, Plaintiffs have again moved for an order enjoining the Government to facilitate their return to the United States to pursue their individual habeas claims. The parties then agreed to consolidate this Motion into Cross-Motions for Summary Judgment. The Court ultimately finds that the United States maintained constructive custody over Plaintiffs while they were imprisoned in El Salvador, thus affording the Court habeas jurisdiction 1 Case 1:25-cv-00766-JEB Document 215 Filed 12/22/25 Page 2 of 43 over this action. In addition, it will certify a class of Plaintiffs who were removed on March 15 and seek to enforce their right to a hearing. On the merits, the Court concludes that this class was denied their due-process rights and will thus require the Government to facilitate their ability to obtain such hearing. Our law requires no less. ORDER For the reasons stated in the accompanying Memorandum Opinion, the Court ORDERS that: 1. Plaintiffs' [177] Motion for Summary Judgment is GRANTED; 2. Plaintiffs' [178] Motion for Class Certification is GRANTED; 3. Defendants' [182] Motion for Summary Judgment is DENIED; and 4. The Government shall submit its proposal either to facilitate the return of Plaintiffs to the United States or to otherwise provide them with hearings that satisfy the requirements of due process by January 5, 2026. 1 Case 1:25-cv-00766-JEB Document 214 Filed 12/22/25 Page 2 of 2 /s/ James E. Boasberg JAMES E. BOASBERG United States District Judge
December 22, 2025 at 9:54 PM
Reposted by John Refior
sailormichael.bsky.social
He is chasing incels and MAGA. Its going to backfire in the primaries and he will get a reminder who is really the base
December 19, 2025 at 5:55 PM
Reposted by John Refior
steventdennis.bsky.social
Bloomberg Analysis: 15 People Have Died in Crashes Where Tesla Doors Wouldn’t Open
Note: Tesla said on a new safety page on its website last week that when a serious collision is detected, "doors will automatically unlock for emergency access."
GIFT LINK: www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
15 People Have Died in Crashes Where Tesla Doors Wouldn’t Open
There are no official statistics on the dangers of electric handles. So Bloomberg did its own analysis.
www.bloomberg.com
December 22, 2025 at 5:27 PM