Nora Demleitner
@norademleitner.bsky.social
Writer, educator, lawyer, immigrant. Served as college president & law dean. Writing on problems — and ways forward — in criminal justice & sentencing and higher education, often with a look abroad for different approaches.
And Trump now takes now credit for the crime decline. It does not matter however much crime & the economy are multi-causal.
Trump accepts ownership of the current economy:
'I'm very proud of it'
More charts, facts from @steverattner.bsky.social
'I'm very proud of it'
More charts, facts from @steverattner.bsky.social
February 9, 2026 at 5:05 AM
And Trump now takes now credit for the crime decline. It does not matter however much crime & the economy are multi-causal.
I thought the subliminal message was about protecting children, playing on even more powerful emotions than those tied to dogs.
February 9, 2026 at 5:04 AM
I thought the subliminal message was about protecting children, playing on even more powerful emotions than those tied to dogs.
What an incredible show!
If you didn’t understand what was great about that halftime show you don’t understand what is great about America. Or should be.
February 9, 2026 at 1:38 AM
What an incredible show!
Another scandal that will pass without a meaningful response, to be followed by another.
The federal government at work: Trump says New York and New Jersey can have money Congress already appropriated for a major rail project but only if Chuck Schumer renames Penn Station and Dulles airport after him
Trump promises Schumer funding for NY tunnel project — if Penn Station and Dulles Airport are renamed after him | CNN Politics
President Donald Trump told Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer last month that he was finally prepared to drop his freeze on billions of dollars in funding for a major New York infrastructure projec...
www.cnn.com
February 7, 2026 at 12:12 AM
Another scandal that will pass without a meaningful response, to be followed by another.
Important message 👇 about supporting local journalism. Adding The Baltimore Banner to the list.
Also read @bethmacy.bsky.social books. They document the impact of national (and international) political & economic decisions on rural communities.
Also read @bethmacy.bsky.social books. They document the impact of national (and international) political & economic decisions on rural communities.
Great reporting on reporting. Support local journalism—I read and support Cardinal News, Ohio Capitol Journal, Springfield News-Sun, Roanoke Times and NYT daily. So sad about WaPo’s destruction by greedhead power grabbing.
February 7, 2026 at 12:03 AM
Important message 👇 about supporting local journalism. Adding The Baltimore Banner to the list.
Also read @bethmacy.bsky.social books. They document the impact of national (and international) political & economic decisions on rural communities.
Also read @bethmacy.bsky.social books. They document the impact of national (and international) political & economic decisions on rural communities.
I wonder whether they understood that „The Handmaid‘s Tale“ is a dystopian novel, not an aspiration.
they're trying to be coy about salivating over the prospect of raping women, they'll contest that but if pushed to explain, that's exactly what they would describe. forced pregnancy of any kind, by a man or by the state, is gender-based violence
February 4, 2026 at 8:58 PM
I wonder whether they understood that „The Handmaid‘s Tale“ is a dystopian novel, not an aspiration.
@thebaltimorebanner.com is truly a model for independent local coverage.
Spitballing/bargaining stage of grief: A “Washington Banner” outlet, spun off the successful Baltimore Banner and taking advantage of its backend, built out of laid off Washington Post Metro and Sports staffers and funded via a mixed nonprofit and subscription model…
February 4, 2026 at 3:39 PM
@thebaltimorebanner.com is truly a model for independent local coverage.
If there were a betting pool, what‘s more likely to end the plan to send federal prosecutors into ICE surge areas:
1. Congress
2. Mass resignations by AUSAs around the country
1. Congress
2. Mass resignations by AUSAs around the country
Congress has got to force an end to these surges.
Exclusive: DOJ is requiring all 93 US attorneys to designate prosecutors for "emergency jump teams" supporting surge districts dealing with assaults & obstruction of federal officers, per internal memo. Comes as more Minn. prosecutors resign. news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...
February 4, 2026 at 3:05 AM
If there were a betting pool, what‘s more likely to end the plan to send federal prosecutors into ICE surge areas:
1. Congress
2. Mass resignations by AUSAs around the country
1. Congress
2. Mass resignations by AUSAs around the country
We have also come to love our bird camera & are grateful for its help identifying the birds.
February 4, 2026 at 3:00 AM
We have also come to love our bird camera & are grateful for its help identifying the birds.
Call-out for @vanhollen.senate.gov He has modeled Democratic opposition.
We have no idea where Yglesias got his numbers but they’re wrong. This debate has for so long been plagued by numbers basically pulled out of thin air
Right pic is from my and @adambonica.bsky.social’s response essay: www.bostonreview.net/forum/how-no...
Right pic is from my and @adambonica.bsky.social’s response essay: www.bostonreview.net/forum/how-no...
February 4, 2026 at 2:56 AM
Call-out for @vanhollen.senate.gov He has modeled Democratic opposition.
Not how this works.
Trump lies: "Minnesota, their crime, because of us -- because we've taken out thousands of criminals -- their crime is down. Not because of anybody else. Because of us."
February 4, 2026 at 12:25 AM
Not how this works.
Heartbreaking deportation stories, like this one out of Maryland @thebaltimorebanner.com , fall below the radar. There is so much suffering -- individuals, families. We cannot take it all in.
Hutzell: Maryland to El Salvador, a trip through the deportation grinder
Column: José Serrano Maldonado is an almost anonymous victim of the industrial deportation complex, a cruel machine that spits people out without compassion or discretion. Here’s his story.
www.thebanner.com
February 3, 2026 at 8:54 PM
Heartbreaking deportation stories, like this one out of Maryland @thebaltimorebanner.com , fall below the radar. There is so much suffering -- individuals, families. We cannot take it all in.
Standard gaslighting, the entire message.
The problem isn’t acoustics or construction. The problem is the leadership & name — and the audience voted with their feet.
The problem isn’t acoustics or construction. The problem is the leadership & name — and the audience voted with their feet.
Donald Trump and Ric Grenell want to do to the Kennedy Center what Donald Trump and Stephen Miller want to do to America: Crush everything about it that is pure and good and remake it in their distorted, hateful image.
February 2, 2026 at 2:36 AM
Standard gaslighting, the entire message.
The problem isn’t acoustics or construction. The problem is the leadership & name — and the audience voted with their feet.
The problem isn’t acoustics or construction. The problem is the leadership & name — and the audience voted with their feet.
contact lens prescription is way off.
Or someone’s too vain to wear reading glasses 🤷♀️
Or someone’s too vain to wear reading glasses 🤷♀️
February 1, 2026 at 3:58 AM
contact lens prescription is way off.
Or someone’s too vain to wear reading glasses 🤷♀️
Or someone’s too vain to wear reading glasses 🤷♀️
There has been very little discussion about the utter failure of the sex offender registry & notification in Epstein‘s case.
Usually the failures are very different & the impact dramatic and negative. His wealth insulated Epstein entirely from its intended impact.
Usually the failures are very different & the impact dramatic and negative. His wealth insulated Epstein entirely from its intended impact.
February 1, 2026 at 3:22 AM
There has been very little discussion about the utter failure of the sex offender registry & notification in Epstein‘s case.
Usually the failures are very different & the impact dramatic and negative. His wealth insulated Epstein entirely from its intended impact.
Usually the failures are very different & the impact dramatic and negative. His wealth insulated Epstein entirely from its intended impact.
Most underreported news: ongoing drop on crime rate, including homicide rates.
Yet, fixation on supposedly horrific immigrant offenders (reminder: most arrested have been perfectly law-abiding) provides false impression about public safety.
Yet, fixation on supposedly horrific immigrant offenders (reminder: most arrested have been perfectly law-abiding) provides false impression about public safety.
Crime rates fell across US cities in 2025 missouriindependent.com/2026/01/30/r...
Crime rates fell across US cities in 2025 • Missouri Independent
Crime continued to decline in 2025, with homicides down 21% from 2024 and 44% from a peak in 2021, according to a new analysis of crime trends in 40 large U.S. cities released by the nonpartisan think...
missouriindependent.com
January 30, 2026 at 2:11 PM
Most underreported news: ongoing drop on crime rate, including homicide rates.
Yet, fixation on supposedly horrific immigrant offenders (reminder: most arrested have been perfectly law-abiding) provides false impression about public safety.
Yet, fixation on supposedly horrific immigrant offenders (reminder: most arrested have been perfectly law-abiding) provides false impression about public safety.
Another video that shows clearly how ICE isn’t trained to deal with members of the public in a non-confrontational way.
Imagine local police used this amount of pepper and tear gas — police chiefs would be fired, officers disciplined, city managers & majors would be replaced.
Imagine local police used this amount of pepper and tear gas — police chiefs would be fired, officers disciplined, city managers & majors would be replaced.
Okay so I was actually at this encounter, filmed the aftermath, and am briefly visible in this video, and I would point out that what he does here is briefly kick a car twice. ICE beats him up, shoots pepper balls into the crowd, and launches tear gas at everyone else before leaving.
News Movement posted this video of Alex Pretti on Jan 13, showing him spitting at ICE agents and kicking their taillight.
Now conservatives are suggesting this changes things.
That would mean they are suggesting he deserved to be target of an extrajudicial execution.
The video changes nothing.
Now conservatives are suggesting this changes things.
That would mean they are suggesting he deserved to be target of an extrajudicial execution.
The video changes nothing.
January 29, 2026 at 1:27 PM
Another video that shows clearly how ICE isn’t trained to deal with members of the public in a non-confrontational way.
Imagine local police used this amount of pepper and tear gas — police chiefs would be fired, officers disciplined, city managers & majors would be replaced.
Imagine local police used this amount of pepper and tear gas — police chiefs would be fired, officers disciplined, city managers & majors would be replaced.
They are working overtime and according to the @nytimes.com Fox is broadcasting it as if any reality backed up the fanciful stories.
January 26, 2026 at 3:44 AM
They are working overtime and according to the @nytimes.com Fox is broadcasting it as if any reality backed up the fanciful stories.
The end of states’ rights is now coming.
Let’s get this straight: first demand eviscerates state court decisions and criminal judgments & sentences. It would end them awful enforcement of state sentences.
That fits perfectly with Trump’s so-called pardon of a state prisoner.
Let’s get this straight: first demand eviscerates state court decisions and criminal judgments & sentences. It would end them awful enforcement of state sentences.
That fits perfectly with Trump’s so-called pardon of a state prisoner.
January 26, 2026 at 12:12 AM
The end of states’ rights is now coming.
Let’s get this straight: first demand eviscerates state court decisions and criminal judgments & sentences. It would end them awful enforcement of state sentences.
That fits perfectly with Trump’s so-called pardon of a state prisoner.
Let’s get this straight: first demand eviscerates state court decisions and criminal judgments & sentences. It would end them awful enforcement of state sentences.
That fits perfectly with Trump’s so-called pardon of a state prisoner.
In any type of deadly shooting, the officers cannot be back on the street the next day. It is dangerous for everyone.
This shooting and the officers are treated like military in combat. That is the core of the issue.
This shooting and the officers are treated like military in combat. That is the core of the issue.
CBP chief Bovino has confirmed that the officers who executed Alex Pretti in the street yesterday are not only *not on administrative leave,* they have all been reassigned to other jurisdictions and are all on the street today.
This is totally unheard of for any officer-involved shooting
This is totally unheard of for any officer-involved shooting
January 25, 2026 at 8:43 PM
In any type of deadly shooting, the officers cannot be back on the street the next day. It is dangerous for everyone.
This shooting and the officers are treated like military in combat. That is the core of the issue.
This shooting and the officers are treated like military in combat. That is the core of the issue.
The utter confusion in the moments before they killed Alex Pettit shows the ICE agents inability (and perhaps unwillingness) to work effectively with civilians, on the streets, in urban environments.
Curious why ICE and CBP agents are so brutal? Here's a useful explainer I wrote last week, before Saturday's outrageous murder, about how uniquely unsuited ICE and CBP are for this moment—and why they were so corruptible into Trump's own fascist secret police: www.doomsdayscenario.co/p/ice-101-ho...
"ICE 101" — How Trump changed ICE and CBP into a fascist secret police
ICE and CBP are fatally flawed products of the post-9/11 War on Terror — now Trump has weaponized those very flaws to occupy America.
www.doomsdayscenario.co
January 25, 2026 at 5:41 PM
The utter confusion in the moments before they killed Alex Pettit shows the ICE agents inability (and perhaps unwillingness) to work effectively with civilians, on the streets, in urban environments.
And the head of the FBI is wrong on the law on the book (this isn’t about a disagreement on application).
Patel is wrong. Only 16 states prohibit guns at protests & Minnesota is not one of them.
Gun-rights extremists—like many in the trump admin—have fought against restrictions like these, calling them infringements on the Second Amendment right.
giffords.org/lawcenter/gu...
Gun-rights extremists—like many in the trump admin—have fought against restrictions like these, calling them infringements on the Second Amendment right.
giffords.org/lawcenter/gu...
January 25, 2026 at 5:33 PM
And the head of the FBI is wrong on the law on the book (this isn’t about a disagreement on application).
What craziness. Greenlanders know — and distrust — US health coverage (with reason). Apparently some here know nothing, or care to know, about Greenland’s health care.
Great piece in @newyorker.com about Denmark’s extensive financial support for Greenland.
Great piece in @newyorker.com about Denmark’s extensive financial support for Greenland.
Waltz: "Denmark has ignored Greenland from a defense standpoint and they have ignored the Greenlandic native iniut people ... if you get a cancer diagnosis in Greenland right now, it's darn near a death sentence. Denmark has not invested in the way it should've over the years."
January 25, 2026 at 5:31 PM
What craziness. Greenlanders know — and distrust — US health coverage (with reason). Apparently some here know nothing, or care to know, about Greenland’s health care.
Great piece in @newyorker.com about Denmark’s extensive financial support for Greenland.
Great piece in @newyorker.com about Denmark’s extensive financial support for Greenland.
“The Pitt”.
Could the popularity of that show help make those generally inclined to believe the government’s version see the humanity & dedication of Alex Pretti, who is the victim here?
Could the popularity of that show help make those generally inclined to believe the government’s version see the humanity & dedication of Alex Pretti, who is the victim here?
The US government is now calling this ICU nurse who worked at a Veterans hospital a ‘domestic terrorist’. The NY Times has this profile of Alex Pretti who ‘wanted to be a ‘force of good in the world.’
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/24/u...
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/24/u...
Alex Jeffrey Pretti Knew He Wanted to Help Others
www.nytimes.com
January 25, 2026 at 5:27 PM
“The Pitt”.
Could the popularity of that show help make those generally inclined to believe the government’s version see the humanity & dedication of Alex Pretti, who is the victim here?
Could the popularity of that show help make those generally inclined to believe the government’s version see the humanity & dedication of Alex Pretti, who is the victim here?
Blaming others is an automatic reflex for this administration.
Talking responsibility is out of the question.
Talking responsibility is out of the question.
WELKER: It appears Pretti was shot 10 times. He was pummeled & sprayed with gas. Why shouldn't every American be bothered by what they see?
BLANCHE: Every American should be bothered. But they should be bothered that ICE is going to arrest a criminal & they have 0 support from law enforcement
BLANCHE: Every American should be bothered. But they should be bothered that ICE is going to arrest a criminal & they have 0 support from law enforcement
January 25, 2026 at 3:26 PM
Blaming others is an automatic reflex for this administration.
Talking responsibility is out of the question.
Talking responsibility is out of the question.