Pinned
Lynda Dodd
@ldodd.bsky.social
· Dec 5
The Case Against Despair in Trump’s Second Term
David Cole, the former legal director of the ACLU, believes that civil society helped protect the Constitution before and will do so again.
www.theatlantic.com
David Cole on the role of civil society as the "ultimate protector" defending democracy and the Constitution:
"I have faith in [civil society's] power and resilience."
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
"I have faith in [civil society's] power and resilience."
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
Reposted by Lynda Dodd
"But what is striking about the opinion is what’s new—that, at this moment in the history of the fed cts, the Committee went out of its way to underscore the propriety (if not the imperative) of fed judges speaking out in defense of the rule of law, & against those who would seek to undermine it."
Today's bonus issue of "One First" looks at a quiet new "advisory opinion" from the federal judiciary's "Codes of Conduct Committee," and how it reinforces the propriety (if not the importance) of federal judges speaking out in defense of their colleagues, judicial independence, and the rule of law:
Bonus 210: Federal Judges Speaking Out
A new advisory opinion from the Judicial Conference's Codes of Conduct Committee reinforces the appropriateness of federal judges speaking publicly in defense of their colleagues—and the rule of law.
www.stevevladeck.com
February 19, 2026 at 3:27 PM
"But what is striking about the opinion is what’s new—that, at this moment in the history of the fed cts, the Committee went out of its way to underscore the propriety (if not the imperative) of fed judges speaking out in defense of the rule of law, & against those who would seek to undermine it."
Reposted by Lynda Dodd
It is notable that Andrew has been arrested for "misconduct in public office", which is precisely what the US Supreme Court decided no American president can ever be charged with.
So SCOTUS, with its fabricated-out-of-thin-air immunity doctrine, has actually made American presidents less accountable than LITERAL royalty.
Breaking News: Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew, was arrested in Britain on suspicion of misconduct in public office over his links to Jeffrey Epstein, the BBC said.
February 19, 2026 at 12:22 PM
It is notable that Andrew has been arrested for "misconduct in public office", which is precisely what the US Supreme Court decided no American president can ever be charged with.
Reposted by Lynda Dodd
Since I've seen a few skeets implying otherwise, I'll note that nothing in Trump v. United States prevents a president from being held criminally liable for acts taken when he wasn't the president, though longstanding DOJ policy would prevent a federal criminal prosecution while he's in office.
February 19, 2026 at 3:38 PM
Since I've seen a few skeets implying otherwise, I'll note that nothing in Trump v. United States prevents a president from being held criminally liable for acts taken when he wasn't the president, though longstanding DOJ policy would prevent a federal criminal prosecution while he's in office.
Reposted by Lynda Dodd
So SCOTUS, with its fabricated-out-of-thin-air immunity doctrine, has actually made American presidents less accountable than LITERAL royalty.
Breaking News: Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew, was arrested in Britain on suspicion of misconduct in public office over his links to Jeffrey Epstein, the BBC said.
UK Police Arrest Former Prince Andrew Over Epstein Ties: Live Updates
The British police on Thursday arrested Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor on suspicion of criminal activity linked to the Epstein files.
nyti.ms
February 19, 2026 at 10:50 AM
So SCOTUS, with its fabricated-out-of-thin-air immunity doctrine, has actually made American presidents less accountable than LITERAL royalty.
Reposted by Lynda Dodd
Every American needs to read this (gift link) www.nytimes.com/2026/02/19/o...
Opinion | ‘Our Patients Are More Frightened and Sicker Than Ever’
www.nytimes.com
February 19, 2026 at 12:20 PM
Every American needs to read this (gift link) www.nytimes.com/2026/02/19/o...
Reposted by Lynda Dodd
Wow.
Fed. judge tells DHS, ICE, Sec. Noem, AG Bondi, EOIR and others that they are harming "the fabric of this very nation" by defying a court order that vacated their automatic-detention policy.
Order is linked here:
www.reuters.com/world/us/us-...
Fed. judge tells DHS, ICE, Sec. Noem, AG Bondi, EOIR and others that they are harming "the fabric of this very nation" by defying a court order that vacated their automatic-detention policy.
Order is linked here:
www.reuters.com/world/us/us-...
February 19, 2026 at 2:45 AM
Wow.
Fed. judge tells DHS, ICE, Sec. Noem, AG Bondi, EOIR and others that they are harming "the fabric of this very nation" by defying a court order that vacated their automatic-detention policy.
Order is linked here:
www.reuters.com/world/us/us-...
Fed. judge tells DHS, ICE, Sec. Noem, AG Bondi, EOIR and others that they are harming "the fabric of this very nation" by defying a court order that vacated their automatic-detention policy.
Order is linked here:
www.reuters.com/world/us/us-...
Reposted by Lynda Dodd
Looking forward to attending this Stafford Little Lecture with @katemanne.bsky.social and @tressiemcphd.bsky.social at @princeton.edu, later today. There will be a livestream starting at 5 pm, available here: mediacentrallive.princeton.edu
lectures.princeton.edu/lectures/202...
lectures.princeton.edu/lectures/202...
Tressie McMillan Cottom and Kate Manne
Join us as Tressie McMillan Cottom and Kate Manne engage in a wide-ranging conversation on feminism, gender, race, culture, education, and current events. Tressie McMillan Cottom is is a sociologist,...
lectures.princeton.edu
February 18, 2026 at 12:35 PM
Looking forward to attending this Stafford Little Lecture with @katemanne.bsky.social and @tressiemcphd.bsky.social at @princeton.edu, later today. There will be a livestream starting at 5 pm, available here: mediacentrallive.princeton.edu
lectures.princeton.edu/lectures/202...
lectures.princeton.edu/lectures/202...
Reposted by Lynda Dodd
As someone who is dealing with the full impact of progressive multiple sclerosis, I cannot put into words how much I am disappointed in and morally offended by everything and everyone leading us to this anti-science era. The irrationality and the arrogance . . .
"Citing theTrump administration’s stance...Moderna has halted preparatory work for large late-stage clinical trials of vaccines to prevent and treat Epstein-Barr, a common virus that may be linked to multiple sclerosis."
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/16/h...
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/16/h...
Vaccine Makers Curtail Research and Cut Jobs
www.nytimes.com
February 18, 2026 at 11:22 AM
As someone who is dealing with the full impact of progressive multiple sclerosis, I cannot put into words how much I am disappointed in and morally offended by everything and everyone leading us to this anti-science era. The irrationality and the arrogance . . .
Looking forward to attending this Stafford Little Lecture with @katemanne.bsky.social and @tressiemcphd.bsky.social at @princeton.edu, later today. There will be a livestream starting at 5 pm, available here: mediacentrallive.princeton.edu
lectures.princeton.edu/lectures/202...
lectures.princeton.edu/lectures/202...
Tressie McMillan Cottom and Kate Manne
Join us as Tressie McMillan Cottom and Kate Manne engage in a wide-ranging conversation on feminism, gender, race, culture, education, and current events. Tressie McMillan Cottom is is a sociologist,...
lectures.princeton.edu
February 18, 2026 at 12:35 PM
Looking forward to attending this Stafford Little Lecture with @katemanne.bsky.social and @tressiemcphd.bsky.social at @princeton.edu, later today. There will be a livestream starting at 5 pm, available here: mediacentrallive.princeton.edu
lectures.princeton.edu/lectures/202...
lectures.princeton.edu/lectures/202...
As someone who is dealing with the full impact of progressive multiple sclerosis, I cannot put into words how much I am disappointed in and morally offended by everything and everyone leading us to this anti-science era. The irrationality and the arrogance . . .
"Citing theTrump administration’s stance...Moderna has halted preparatory work for large late-stage clinical trials of vaccines to prevent and treat Epstein-Barr, a common virus that may be linked to multiple sclerosis."
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/16/h...
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/16/h...
Vaccine Makers Curtail Research and Cut Jobs
www.nytimes.com
February 18, 2026 at 11:22 AM
As someone who is dealing with the full impact of progressive multiple sclerosis, I cannot put into words how much I am disappointed in and morally offended by everything and everyone leading us to this anti-science era. The irrationality and the arrogance . . .
Reposted by Lynda Dodd
“I don’t want to be in this place I want to go to my school.”
- 7 year old imprisoned by ICE for 70 days in a concentration camp in Texas.
Today, after @propublica.org published this story, the camp was raided to confiscate letters from the children.
www.propublica.org/article/ice-...
- 7 year old imprisoned by ICE for 70 days in a concentration camp in Texas.
Today, after @propublica.org published this story, the camp was raided to confiscate letters from the children.
www.propublica.org/article/ice-...
February 17, 2026 at 7:31 PM
“I don’t want to be in this place I want to go to my school.”
- 7 year old imprisoned by ICE for 70 days in a concentration camp in Texas.
Today, after @propublica.org published this story, the camp was raided to confiscate letters from the children.
www.propublica.org/article/ice-...
- 7 year old imprisoned by ICE for 70 days in a concentration camp in Texas.
Today, after @propublica.org published this story, the camp was raided to confiscate letters from the children.
www.propublica.org/article/ice-...
🙌
👀 Invoking Orwell, a federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to restore panels and historical acknowledgments of the history of slavery that the National Park Service removed in Philadelphia. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
February 16, 2026 at 7:00 PM
🙌
Reposted by Lynda Dodd
from the perspective of someone who might want to be president, the best time to run for the white house is now, not later. so if AOC is thinking about it — if the white house is her ambition — then her best bet is to throw her hat in the ring
You Know What? Maybe the Time Is Right for an AOC Presidential Bid
She’s only 36, and there’s a good argument that she should run for Senate and bide her time. But she also could be a formidable White House candidate.
newrepublic.com
February 16, 2026 at 2:13 PM
from the perspective of someone who might want to be president, the best time to run for the white house is now, not later. so if AOC is thinking about it — if the white house is her ambition — then her best bet is to throw her hat in the ring
Reposted by Lynda Dodd
My theory of the moment: The extraordinary courage of ordinary people in places like Minneapolis is reawakening us to our social and economic ties to immigrants. It's making "love thy neighbor" cool again. That's the ultimate antidote to MAGA hate.
Thoughts on this:
newrepublic.com/article/2059...
Thoughts on this:
newrepublic.com/article/2059...
February 16, 2026 at 1:21 PM
My theory of the moment: The extraordinary courage of ordinary people in places like Minneapolis is reawakening us to our social and economic ties to immigrants. It's making "love thy neighbor" cool again. That's the ultimate antidote to MAGA hate.
Thoughts on this:
newrepublic.com/article/2059...
Thoughts on this:
newrepublic.com/article/2059...
Reposted by Lynda Dodd
Everyone in America should see this and think about what it implies. And have the courage, like him, to stand up.
Yesterday morning kids were sent running from their bus stop in panic because ICE showed up. This guy at today’s ICE Out of Lindenwold protest is a must watch 😭. @maddow.bsky.social
February 14, 2026 at 7:14 PM
Everyone in America should see this and think about what it implies. And have the courage, like him, to stand up.
Reposted by Lynda Dodd
This is the single most effective pro-vaccine piece I've ever read. Especially if you are also active on other, bigger social media platforms, share the gift link below. You might save a life. (I am already extremely pro-vaccine and I suspect most others on this platform are too.)
This is a vivid, horribly relevant read. “She does not sleep well. And as you lift up her pajama top to check her rash one morning, you see that her breathing is labored, shadows pooling between her ribs when she sucks in air. You suffer an icy moment of realization: This is a medical crisis.”
This Is How a Child Dies of Measles
When your family becomes a data point in an outbreak
www.theatlantic.com
February 13, 2026 at 2:49 PM
This is the single most effective pro-vaccine piece I've ever read. Especially if you are also active on other, bigger social media platforms, share the gift link below. You might save a life. (I am already extremely pro-vaccine and I suspect most others on this platform are too.)
“You can make all sorts of improvements to Dilley, but it’s still going to be a prison,” said Ms. Welch, the class-action lawyer, who regularly visits Dilley to assess conditions.
“You can improve education, and they should,” she added, but “it will still be a place with sick, sad children.”
“You can improve education, and they should,” she added, but “it will still be a place with sick, sad children.”
‘I Just Want to Get Out of Here’: ICE Is Detaining Hundreds of Children (gift link)
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/u...
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/u...
‘I Just Want to Get Out of Here’: ICE Is Detaining Hundreds of Children
www.nytimes.com
February 13, 2026 at 1:37 PM
“You can make all sorts of improvements to Dilley, but it’s still going to be a prison,” said Ms. Welch, the class-action lawyer, who regularly visits Dilley to assess conditions.
“You can improve education, and they should,” she added, but “it will still be a place with sick, sad children.”
“You can improve education, and they should,” she added, but “it will still be a place with sick, sad children.”
Reposted by Lynda Dodd
There are so many fucked up things with the current administration that it's hard to focus on one but this recent move is basically a death sentence for the planet. I've been involved with more boots on the ground actions over the years than I can count and this really bums me out.
EPA reverses long-standing climate change finding, stripping its own ability to regulate emissions
The agency announced it is repealing its 2009 conclusion that greenhouse gases warm the Earth and endanger human health and well-being.
www.nbcnews.com
February 13, 2026 at 6:06 AM
There are so many fucked up things with the current administration that it's hard to focus on one but this recent move is basically a death sentence for the planet. I've been involved with more boots on the ground actions over the years than I can count and this really bums me out.
The moves to mainstream him are alarming and should be taken very seriously. ⤵️
Fuentes, yesterday: “Our #1 political enemy is women because women constrain everything, every conversation, every man, everything. They have to be imprisoned. They are the ones that are hurting the fertility rate. They're the ones making us sympathetic to poor people, which are also brown people.”
Nick Fuentes: “The number one political enemy in America is women. … They have to be imprisoned.”
www.mediamatters.org
February 13, 2026 at 12:46 PM
The moves to mainstream him are alarming and should be taken very seriously. ⤵️
Reposted by Lynda Dodd
Nearly two out of three surveyed high school principals (64%) NATIONWIDE said “students from immigrant families missed school due to policies or political rhetoric related to immigrants.”
A new report describes the impact of the Trump administration immigration enforcement efforts on U.S. schools. bit.ly/4kwx3JK
The Fear is Everywhere
A new report entitled The Fear is Everywhere describes the impact of the Trump administration immigration enforcement efforts on U.S. schools.
nepc.colorado.edu
February 12, 2026 at 3:50 PM
Nearly two out of three surveyed high school principals (64%) NATIONWIDE said “students from immigrant families missed school due to policies or political rhetoric related to immigrants.”
Reposted by Lynda Dodd
Peyton Rollins, the 21-year-old official behind a monthslong stream of Labor Dept. social media posts that parroted white-nationalist messaging has a new employer: the Department of Homeland Security. He appears to have been promoted.
Homeland Security Hires Labor Dept. Aide Whose Posts Raised Alarms
www.nytimes.com
February 12, 2026 at 5:02 AM
Peyton Rollins, the 21-year-old official behind a monthslong stream of Labor Dept. social media posts that parroted white-nationalist messaging has a new employer: the Department of Homeland Security. He appears to have been promoted.
Reposted by Lynda Dodd
"Some were as young as 13, and at least half of those taken in so far became pregnant as a result of rape, sources said."
The Trump administration is incarcerating migrant girls in, essentially, a forced pregnancy camp.
Trump administration is sending pregnant migrant girls to South Texas shelter flagged as medically inadequate
Government sources and advocates for the children worry the goal is to concentrate them in Texas, where abortion is banned.
www.kut.org
February 12, 2026 at 5:09 PM
"Some were as young as 13, and at least half of those taken in so far became pregnant as a result of rape, sources said."
Reposted by Lynda Dodd
This is the aftermath of an ICE kidnapping a few blocks from my home in St. Paul—an hour ago. A quiet street full of broken glass and at least three wrecked cars. The target of the kidnapping was taken away by ambulance. He was on a stretcher and covered by a sheet, though a cop said he was alive.
February 11, 2026 at 4:46 PM
This is the aftermath of an ICE kidnapping a few blocks from my home in St. Paul—an hour ago. A quiet street full of broken glass and at least three wrecked cars. The target of the kidnapping was taken away by ambulance. He was on a stretcher and covered by a sheet, though a cop said he was alive.
ICYMI: This YLJ article on the internal Court deliberations in Younger v. Harris, and its racial context, is fascinating. ⤵️ yalelawjournal.org/article/the-...
The Forgotten Face of “Our Federalism” | Yale Law Journal
Younger v. Harris is canonical in the field of federal courts, but its origins remain largely unknown. Examining diverse sources, this Article reconstructs...
yalelawjournal.org
February 11, 2026 at 5:36 PM
ICYMI: This YLJ article on the internal Court deliberations in Younger v. Harris, and its racial context, is fascinating. ⤵️ yalelawjournal.org/article/the-...
Reposted by Lynda Dodd
This training was an inspiration. So grateful for the work @npapjustice.bsky.social is doing in Minneapolis and around the country.
After the murders of Renée Good and Alex Pretti, attorneys in Minneapolis were flooded with requests from people whose rights were violated. We responded by training 150+ attorneys how to sue ICE. #ICEout
www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BzL...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BzL...
In Minneapolis, We Trained 150 Lawyers How to Sue ICE.
YouTube video by National Police Accountability Project
www.youtube.com
February 11, 2026 at 3:34 PM
This training was an inspiration. So grateful for the work @npapjustice.bsky.social is doing in Minneapolis and around the country.