Nikki Baszynski
@ntbaszynski.bsky.social
Attorney and former public defender working to shrink carceral systems and create real safety
Now: Wren Collective
Then: OJPC, TJC, OPD
Signal: ntb.28
Now: Wren Collective
Then: OJPC, TJC, OPD
Signal: ntb.28
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
Obviously corrupt on its face but even worse when you remember that Congress refuses to create a damages remedy for people abused by federal law enforcement, including ICE, and SCOTUS has narrowed the court-created remedy to almost nothing bsky.app/profile/atru...
AOC: "It is unconscionable that what we are debating right now is legislation that will give 8 senators over $1 million a piece & we're robbing people of their food assistance & healthcare to pay for it. How can we vote to enrich ourselves by stealing from the American people?"
November 13, 2025 at 1:35 AM
Obviously corrupt on its face but even worse when you remember that Congress refuses to create a damages remedy for people abused by federal law enforcement, including ICE, and SCOTUS has narrowed the court-created remedy to almost nothing bsky.app/profile/atru...
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
AOC: "It is unconscionable that what we are debating right now is legislation that will give 8 senators over $1 million a piece & we're robbing people of their food assistance & healthcare to pay for it. How can we vote to enrich ourselves by stealing from the American people?"
November 12, 2025 at 10:39 PM
AOC: "It is unconscionable that what we are debating right now is legislation that will give 8 senators over $1 million a piece & we're robbing people of their food assistance & healthcare to pay for it. How can we vote to enrich ourselves by stealing from the American people?"
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
New data shows that the CCRB retroactively doctored public data for more than 10,000 misconduct allegations against NYPD officers.
hellgatenyc.com/ccrb-whitewa...
hellgatenyc.com/ccrb-whitewa...
The NYPD’s Watchdog Whitewashed More Than 10,000 Misconduct Allegations in Public Data, New Evidence Shows
Allegations of lying, sexual misconduct, bigoted statements, and racist policing were among those quietly reclassified by the Civilian Complaint Review Board.
hellgatenyc.com
November 10, 2025 at 9:46 PM
New data shows that the CCRB retroactively doctored public data for more than 10,000 misconduct allegations against NYPD officers.
hellgatenyc.com/ccrb-whitewa...
hellgatenyc.com/ccrb-whitewa...
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
Business rent is way too high on Mag (not Miracle) Mile so companies are just shuffling around. H&M moved two blocks down the road to save cash.
He's blaming "murder and crime" in one of the safest parts of the city because the real problem is "landlords." Almost like that's the whole gambit.
He's blaming "murder and crime" in one of the safest parts of the city because the real problem is "landlords." Almost like that's the whole gambit.
Call in the troops to solve the commercial real estate crisis in our swanky downtown cores
You can’t make this shit up, folks
You can’t make this shit up, folks
November 11, 2025 at 3:50 PM
Business rent is way too high on Mag (not Miracle) Mile so companies are just shuffling around. H&M moved two blocks down the road to save cash.
He's blaming "murder and crime" in one of the safest parts of the city because the real problem is "landlords." Almost like that's the whole gambit.
He's blaming "murder and crime" in one of the safest parts of the city because the real problem is "landlords." Almost like that's the whole gambit.
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
Astonishing: Bovino and his agents showed up at the Bean this morning to pose for pictures. While Border Patrol snapped photos, one agent shouted, “Everyone say, ‘Little Village!’” The neighborhood where they are least welcome and most acutely felt. blockclubchicago.org/2025/11/10/b...
Border Patrol Agents Pose At 'The Bean' For Apparent Photo Op
The photo op came after agents tear-gassed a Little Village street and were spotted in the area numerous times. At the Bean, one agent shouted, "Everyone say, Little Village!"
blockclubchicago.org
November 10, 2025 at 3:53 PM
Astonishing: Bovino and his agents showed up at the Bean this morning to pose for pictures. While Border Patrol snapped photos, one agent shouted, “Everyone say, ‘Little Village!’” The neighborhood where they are least welcome and most acutely felt. blockclubchicago.org/2025/11/10/b...
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
Greg Bovino tells LA agents ‘it’s our f–king city’ in new video. In it, the Border Patrol boss also says “arrest as many people that touch you as you want to” — and later confirmed the statement applies to Chicago as well.
lapublicpress.org/2025/11/bord...
lapublicpress.org/2025/11/bord...
Border Patrol boss tells LA agents 'it's our f–king city' in new video
The video, taken June 7, was made public in a Chicago court case. In it, the Border Patrol boss also says “arrest as many people that touch you as you want to” — and later confirmed the statement appl...
lapublicpress.org
November 10, 2025 at 6:03 PM
Greg Bovino tells LA agents ‘it’s our f–king city’ in new video. In it, the Border Patrol boss also says “arrest as many people that touch you as you want to” — and later confirmed the statement applies to Chicago as well.
lapublicpress.org/2025/11/bord...
lapublicpress.org/2025/11/bord...
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
"It’s becoming clearer to me that the government is attempting to lay a foundation for dissenting political beliefs as grounds for terrorism."
- Sam Judy in @thebarbedwire.com
- Sam Judy in @thebarbedwire.com
Ya’akub Ira Vijandre is a 38-year-old Muslim Filipino photojournalist who sheds light on human rights abuses. As a DACA recipient, his arrest holds drastic implications for the state of free speech in America.
When Storytelling Is Called ‘Terrorism’: How My Friend and Fellow Journalist Was Targeted by ICE
As a DACA recipient, Ya'akub Ira Vijandre’s arrest holds drastic implications for the state of free speech in America.
thebarbedwire.com
November 5, 2025 at 10:25 PM
"It’s becoming clearer to me that the government is attempting to lay a foundation for dissenting political beliefs as grounds for terrorism."
- Sam Judy in @thebarbedwire.com
- Sam Judy in @thebarbedwire.com
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
Went back to the history of the Sicilian Mafia to illustrate something obvious but worth stating explicitly: The Trump administration behaves like an organized crime syndicate running a protection racket, not a representative government www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
November 8, 2025 at 2:02 PM
Went back to the history of the Sicilian Mafia to illustrate something obvious but worth stating explicitly: The Trump administration behaves like an organized crime syndicate running a protection racket, not a representative government www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
"How can I break America? Let me count the ways" might as well be Trump's love song to a country whose agriculture, construction, foreign trade, air travel, energy/electricity, rule of law, education systems, and health he's savaged.
Air traffic controllers are resigning due to the stress inflicted by the government shutdown, a union president warned
Air Traffic Controllers Union Head Gives Dire Warning About How This Shutdown's Different
Nick Daniels, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, said workers have gone too long without paychecks to work safely.
www.huffpost.com
November 8, 2025 at 4:22 PM
"How can I break America? Let me count the ways" might as well be Trump's love song to a country whose agriculture, construction, foreign trade, air travel, energy/electricity, rule of law, education systems, and health he's savaged.
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
Do you want to support our work at Bolts? Sign up as a $5 monthly donor today, & we’ll immediately get $60 in matching funds!
That’s right: The NewsMatch program, which launched on November 1, is multiplying all new monthly subscriptions by 12 right now.
That’s right: The NewsMatch program, which launched on November 1, is multiplying all new monthly subscriptions by 12 right now.
Support Bolts
We are a nonprofit publication that covers the nuts and bolts of political change, from the local up, and we need reader support to build our journalism.
boltsmag.org
November 4, 2025 at 7:45 PM
Do you want to support our work at Bolts? Sign up as a $5 monthly donor today, & we’ll immediately get $60 in matching funds!
That’s right: The NewsMatch program, which launched on November 1, is multiplying all new monthly subscriptions by 12 right now.
That’s right: The NewsMatch program, which launched on November 1, is multiplying all new monthly subscriptions by 12 right now.
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
Folks, while we're all procrastinating waiting for election night, consider this: Our journalism at Bolts has no paywall, but it requires a lot of resources. We're a nonprofit, and we thrive with your support, gifts, subscriptions.
And right now is the GOLDEN time to make your support multiply:
And right now is the GOLDEN time to make your support multiply:
Do you want to support our work at Bolts? Sign up as a $5 monthly donor today, & we’ll immediately get $60 in matching funds!
That’s right: The NewsMatch program, which launched on November 1, is multiplying all new monthly subscriptions by 12 right now.
That’s right: The NewsMatch program, which launched on November 1, is multiplying all new monthly subscriptions by 12 right now.
Support Bolts
We are a nonprofit publication that covers the nuts and bolts of political change, from the local up, and we need reader support to build our journalism.
boltsmag.org
November 4, 2025 at 7:51 PM
Folks, while we're all procrastinating waiting for election night, consider this: Our journalism at Bolts has no paywall, but it requires a lot of resources. We're a nonprofit, and we thrive with your support, gifts, subscriptions.
And right now is the GOLDEN time to make your support multiply:
And right now is the GOLDEN time to make your support multiply:
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
Border Patrol agent Lairmore testifies that he was not injured by the sandwich, but he felt the impact through his ballistic vest.
The sandwich came apart and "kind of exploded" on his chest upon impact, he says.
"I could smell the onions and mustard."
The sandwich came apart and "kind of exploded" on his chest upon impact, he says.
"I could smell the onions and mustard."
November 4, 2025 at 3:33 PM
Border Patrol agent Lairmore testifies that he was not injured by the sandwich, but he felt the impact through his ballistic vest.
The sandwich came apart and "kind of exploded" on his chest upon impact, he says.
"I could smell the onions and mustard."
The sandwich came apart and "kind of exploded" on his chest upon impact, he says.
"I could smell the onions and mustard."
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
Breaking WaPo:
The White House just fired all six members of the Commission of Fine Arts, an independent federal agency that was expected to review some of Trump's construction projects, including his planned arch in Washington. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
The White House just fired all six members of the Commission of Fine Arts, an independent federal agency that was expected to review some of Trump's construction projects, including his planned arch in Washington. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
White House fires arts commission expected to review Trump construction projects
The moves comes as President Donald Trump pursues efforts to build a White House ballroom and a triumphal arch in Washington.
www.washingtonpost.com
October 28, 2025 at 10:25 PM
Breaking WaPo:
The White House just fired all six members of the Commission of Fine Arts, an independent federal agency that was expected to review some of Trump's construction projects, including his planned arch in Washington. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
The White House just fired all six members of the Commission of Fine Arts, an independent federal agency that was expected to review some of Trump's construction projects, including his planned arch in Washington. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
An underrated storyline in 9 days: Youngkin has made it so people lose their voting rights for life for any felony at present. A Dem proposal that’s started advancing to restore voting rights hinges on Dems keeping the state House
Virginia Senator Scott Surovell says it’s offensive that his state makes people “get on their hands and knees and beg the governor” for their voting rights. He's championed automatic rights restoration for people released from prison.
Virginia Democrats Advance a Measure to End Lifetime Voting Ban. Now It Gets Complicated.
The measure’s fate likely hinges on this fall’s legislative races: Lawmakers will need to pass it again next year. In the meantime, Glenn Youngkin’s harsh restrictions remain in place.
boltsmag.org
October 26, 2025 at 9:25 PM
An underrated storyline in 9 days: Youngkin has made it so people lose their voting rights for life for any felony at present. A Dem proposal that’s started advancing to restore voting rights hinges on Dems keeping the state House
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
Some people are disabused of "But he did it first!" in kindergarten. Others become the president of the United States. www.thebulwark.com/p/trumps-pho...
Trump’s Phony “Karma Defense”
The claims that he was a victim of inappropriate “lawfare” are wildly inflated, and don’t justify his government’s lawsuits against his critics.
www.thebulwark.com
October 26, 2025 at 10:00 PM
Some people are disabused of "But he did it first!" in kindergarten. Others become the president of the United States. www.thebulwark.com/p/trumps-pho...
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
If Dems win the Supreme Court races in Pennsylvania in 9 days, it’s extremely likely the GOP can’t get a majority on that court until 2029.
The GOP really wants to have this majority during the 2028 presidential race.
Can’t put the stakes any more clearly than that. boltsmag.org/pennsylvania...
The GOP really wants to have this majority during the 2028 presidential race.
Can’t put the stakes any more clearly than that. boltsmag.org/pennsylvania...
Inside the Clunky Elections to Control Pennsylvania's Supreme Court - Bolts
The GOP is making an expensive push to end Democrats’ majority on a court at the center of election lawsuits, sparking a fledging campaign season with little precedent or template.
boltsmag.org
October 26, 2025 at 5:52 PM
If Dems win the Supreme Court races in Pennsylvania in 9 days, it’s extremely likely the GOP can’t get a majority on that court until 2029.
The GOP really wants to have this majority during the 2028 presidential race.
Can’t put the stakes any more clearly than that. boltsmag.org/pennsylvania...
The GOP really wants to have this majority during the 2028 presidential race.
Can’t put the stakes any more clearly than that. boltsmag.org/pennsylvania...
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
This video from Portland is a metaphor for what is going on in America. ICE trying so hard to get Americans to cross a line and if they don't, dragging them across the line and violently attacking.
October 26, 2025 at 7:17 PM
This video from Portland is a metaphor for what is going on in America. ICE trying so hard to get Americans to cross a line and if they don't, dragging them across the line and violently attacking.
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
Justice Sonia Sotomayor was right about Alabama’s death-by-prolonged-suffocation execution method.
(She has been right about this stuff before.)
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/24/u...
(She has been right about this stuff before.)
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/24/u...
October 26, 2025 at 10:12 PM
Justice Sonia Sotomayor was right about Alabama’s death-by-prolonged-suffocation execution method.
(She has been right about this stuff before.)
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/24/u...
(She has been right about this stuff before.)
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/24/u...
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
Scoop from Isabelle Taft: The Department of Homeland Security has sent unaccompanied immigrant teenagers $5,000 fines for illegally entering the United States.
nysfocus.com/2025/10/24/b...
nysfocus.com/2025/10/24/b...
Homeland Security Is Billing Immigrant Kids $5,000
The Trump administration is slapping unaccompanied teenagers with fees for crossing the border.
nysfocus.com
October 24, 2025 at 10:03 PM
Scoop from Isabelle Taft: The Department of Homeland Security has sent unaccompanied immigrant teenagers $5,000 fines for illegally entering the United States.
nysfocus.com/2025/10/24/b...
nysfocus.com/2025/10/24/b...
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
NEW: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services just got an email telling furloughed workers to return to work Monday. They will be paid starting Monday, but won’t get backpay for precious furlough days until the shutdown ends.
October 22, 2025 at 10:10 PM
NEW: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services just got an email telling furloughed workers to return to work Monday. They will be paid starting Monday, but won’t get backpay for precious furlough days until the shutdown ends.
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
For-profit deals between prisons and private fast food companies force incarcerated people to pay for their own poor health. Story via @prismreports.org.
The trap of Florida’s prison food
For-profit deals between prisons and private fast food companies force incarcerated people to pay for their own poor health
prismreports.org
October 22, 2025 at 7:22 PM
For-profit deals between prisons and private fast food companies force incarcerated people to pay for their own poor health. Story via @prismreports.org.
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
That’s the other thing that baffles me about AI and creative writing, actually.
The work IS the joy for me. I don’t want to be able to snap my fingers and have a completed “product.” I want to be transformed by the process. I’m an author but I do this because I enjoy the rigor of being a writer.
The work IS the joy for me. I don’t want to be able to snap my fingers and have a completed “product.” I want to be transformed by the process. I’m an author but I do this because I enjoy the rigor of being a writer.
In terms of process, I enjoy writing but revising????? Oh, that’s my real kink. A second or third draft???? A fourth???? Making tweaks on my desktop AND my phone???? *moans* I’m a WHORE for revision.
October 20, 2025 at 2:15 AM
That’s the other thing that baffles me about AI and creative writing, actually.
The work IS the joy for me. I don’t want to be able to snap my fingers and have a completed “product.” I want to be transformed by the process. I’m an author but I do this because I enjoy the rigor of being a writer.
The work IS the joy for me. I don’t want to be able to snap my fingers and have a completed “product.” I want to be transformed by the process. I’m an author but I do this because I enjoy the rigor of being a writer.
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
Everything about this case shows how easy it is to send someone to death row.
Anthony Boyd was sentenced to death entirely on dubious eyewitness testimony. His lawyer had a month to prepare for trial. Alabama plans to execute him next week.
My latest @boltsmag.org:
boltsmag.org/anthony-boyd...
Anthony Boyd was sentenced to death entirely on dubious eyewitness testimony. His lawyer had a month to prepare for trial. Alabama plans to execute him next week.
My latest @boltsmag.org:
boltsmag.org/anthony-boyd...
He Was Convicted Entirely On Clashing Eyewitness Testimony. Alabama Plans to Execute Him Next Week. - Bolts
No physical evidence connected Anthony Boyd to a 1993 murder. He was sent to death row on the word of a co-defendant who testified under the threat of capital punishment.
boltsmag.org
October 15, 2025 at 3:17 PM
Everything about this case shows how easy it is to send someone to death row.
Anthony Boyd was sentenced to death entirely on dubious eyewitness testimony. His lawyer had a month to prepare for trial. Alabama plans to execute him next week.
My latest @boltsmag.org:
boltsmag.org/anthony-boyd...
Anthony Boyd was sentenced to death entirely on dubious eyewitness testimony. His lawyer had a month to prepare for trial. Alabama plans to execute him next week.
My latest @boltsmag.org:
boltsmag.org/anthony-boyd...
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
Alabama plans to execute Anthony Boyd next week with nitrogen gas for a 1993 murder.
No physical evidence linked Boyd to the crime.
He was convicted solely on the testimony of a co-defendant who avoided the death penalty by testifying against him.
boltsmag.org/anthony-boyd...
No physical evidence linked Boyd to the crime.
He was convicted solely on the testimony of a co-defendant who avoided the death penalty by testifying against him.
boltsmag.org/anthony-boyd...
He Was Convicted Entirely On Clashing Eyewitness Testimony. Alabama Plans to Execute Him Next Week. - Bolts
No physical evidence connected Anthony Boyd to a 1993 murder. He was sent to death row on the word of a co-defendant who testified under the threat of capital punishment.
boltsmag.org
October 17, 2025 at 2:26 PM
Alabama plans to execute Anthony Boyd next week with nitrogen gas for a 1993 murder.
No physical evidence linked Boyd to the crime.
He was convicted solely on the testimony of a co-defendant who avoided the death penalty by testifying against him.
boltsmag.org/anthony-boyd...
No physical evidence linked Boyd to the crime.
He was convicted solely on the testimony of a co-defendant who avoided the death penalty by testifying against him.
boltsmag.org/anthony-boyd...
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
We're very close now to this execution—take the time to read @laurengill.bsky.social's important story:
Clashing, inconsistent testimony and a threadbare defense landed Anthony Boyd on Alabama’s death row. Boyd, who maintains his innocence, is set to be executed with nitrogen gas this week.
He Was Convicted Entirely On Clashing Eyewitness Testimony. Alabama Plans to Execute Him Next Week.
No physical evidence connected Anthony Boyd to a 1993 murder. He was sent to death row on the word of a co-defendant who testified under the threat of capital punishment.
boltsmag.org
October 21, 2025 at 11:55 PM
We're very close now to this execution—take the time to read @laurengill.bsky.social's important story: