Patrice McDermott
@pmcd.bsky.social
[Government Information Watch]
Government accountability through openness
Government accountability through openness
Pinned
Patrice McDermott
@pmcd.bsky.social
· Feb 13
WRECKonciliation is the perfect name...
And for those in the back, while the GOP forces women to give birth, the TAX Scam is trying to take away healthcare coverage for 300,000 pregnant women in Texas alone.
And for those in the back, while the GOP forces women to give birth, the TAX Scam is trying to take away healthcare coverage for 300,000 pregnant women in Texas alone.
Reposted by Patrice McDermott
This is also true about RFK Junior
Remember, too, that Hegseth would have been rejected if a single additional Republican senator — or, JD Vance — had joined Sen. Collins, McConnell, and Murkowski in voting no with the Democrats. See: www.senate.gov/legislative/...
November 29, 2025 at 8:18 PM
This is also true about RFK Junior
Reposted by Patrice McDermott
A🧵
This is profoundly irresponsible by AGSulzberger’s NYT, @by-cjewett.bsky.social +eds.
The normalization, “view-from-nowhere”, “born-yesterday”, stenography, “both-sides”, irresponsible headline are disgraceful.
THE story is the CDC&FDA are being destroyed by antiscience & Americans will die.
1/n
This is profoundly irresponsible by AGSulzberger’s NYT, @by-cjewett.bsky.social +eds.
The normalization, “view-from-nowhere”, “born-yesterday”, stenography, “both-sides”, irresponsible headline are disgraceful.
THE story is the CDC&FDA are being destroyed by antiscience & Americans will die.
1/n
November 29, 2025 at 5:40 PM
A🧵
This is profoundly irresponsible by AGSulzberger’s NYT, @by-cjewett.bsky.social +eds.
The normalization, “view-from-nowhere”, “born-yesterday”, stenography, “both-sides”, irresponsible headline are disgraceful.
THE story is the CDC&FDA are being destroyed by antiscience & Americans will die.
1/n
This is profoundly irresponsible by AGSulzberger’s NYT, @by-cjewett.bsky.social +eds.
The normalization, “view-from-nowhere”, “born-yesterday”, stenography, “both-sides”, irresponsible headline are disgraceful.
THE story is the CDC&FDA are being destroyed by antiscience & Americans will die.
1/n
Reposted by Patrice McDermott
So if all the people from “third world countries” should be banned from migrating to America because of a deadly shooting, what are we going to do about all the armed and alienated young white men?
November 28, 2025 at 8:59 PM
So if all the people from “third world countries” should be banned from migrating to America because of a deadly shooting, what are we going to do about all the armed and alienated young white men?
Try actually reading the editorial...
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
November 22, 2025 at 9:37 PM
Try actually reading the editorial...
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
Try actually reading it www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
November 22, 2025 at 9:35 PM
Try actually reading it www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
⬇️
"The 'anti-establishment' figures have government positions. They’re billionaires and VPs. They’re not fighting power—they ARE power. But they’ve convinced people they’re still rebels because they’re cruel on the internet."
www.notesfromthecircus.com/p/they-dont-...
www.notesfromthecircus.com/p/they-dont-...
They Don’t Understand Orwell. At All.
On censorship and hypocrisy.
www.notesfromthecircus.com
November 22, 2025 at 9:19 PM
⬇️
Reposted by Patrice McDermott
Agree this is an important piece.
Also:
-Don't miss Lincoln Caplan's excellent piece, on same theme, last month in Harvard magazine www.harvardmagazine.com/legal/suprem...
-Every Roberts profile should point out that he was on GWB's Florida Recount team in 2000. As were Brett K, Amy CB.
Also:
-Don't miss Lincoln Caplan's excellent piece, on same theme, last month in Harvard magazine www.harvardmagazine.com/legal/suprem...
-Every Roberts profile should point out that he was on GWB's Florida Recount team in 2000. As were Brett K, Amy CB.
I have long said people don't be hatin Chief Justice John Roberts as much as they should be hatin Chief Justice John Roberts
“Roberts has been embedding white-dominant authoritarianism into the country’s source code for two decades. It’s impossible to imagine today’s crisis without the Roberts court having first undermined the foundations of our democracy.”
This all on the leader of the MAGA #scotus ↘️
This all on the leader of the MAGA #scotus ↘️
November 19, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Agree this is an important piece.
Also:
-Don't miss Lincoln Caplan's excellent piece, on same theme, last month in Harvard magazine www.harvardmagazine.com/legal/suprem...
-Every Roberts profile should point out that he was on GWB's Florida Recount team in 2000. As were Brett K, Amy CB.
Also:
-Don't miss Lincoln Caplan's excellent piece, on same theme, last month in Harvard magazine www.harvardmagazine.com/legal/suprem...
-Every Roberts profile should point out that he was on GWB's Florida Recount team in 2000. As were Brett K, Amy CB.
Kirk was _murdered_ not "assassinated." He was an advocate/instigator and not a public official.
New: Reuters has tallied job losses, suspensions and investigations stemming from the reaction to Charlie Kirk's Sept. 10 assassination. Its findings: More than 600 Americans have been punished, and the figure is likely to be an under-count.
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
November 19, 2025 at 4:03 PM
Kirk was _murdered_ not "assassinated." He was an advocate/instigator and not a public official.
Reposted by Patrice McDermott
🌐 THE WEB WE’VE BUILT is a cinematic journey through our shared digital history & preserved pages in the Wayback Machine.
archive.org/details/the-...
Learn more ⤵️
blog.archive.org/2025/11/11/l...
#Wayback1T
archive.org/details/the-...
Learn more ⤵️
blog.archive.org/2025/11/11/l...
#Wayback1T
The Web We've Built: Documentary : Internet Archive : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
The Web We've Built is a 90-second cinematic reflection on the web as humanity’s greatest shared creation—built together, preserved together, and...
archive.org
November 11, 2025 at 8:01 PM
🌐 THE WEB WE’VE BUILT is a cinematic journey through our shared digital history & preserved pages in the Wayback Machine.
archive.org/details/the-...
Learn more ⤵️
blog.archive.org/2025/11/11/l...
#Wayback1T
archive.org/details/the-...
Learn more ⤵️
blog.archive.org/2025/11/11/l...
#Wayback1T
Reposted by Patrice McDermott
Congress is debating a provision in the Intelligence Authorization Act that would get rid of the confirmation process for senior positions at CIA and other spy agencies.
Tell your Senators to reject this harmful proposal. The last thing we need is less public oversight of intelligence agencies.
Tell your Senators to reject this harmful proposal. The last thing we need is less public oversight of intelligence agencies.
Transparency From Spy Agencies Now
We cannot afford to weaken transparency and public oversight of the intelligence community. Join the ACLU in demanding Senators reject the provision to remove confirmation hearings for spy agencies.
action.aclu.org
November 4, 2025 at 8:29 PM
Congress is debating a provision in the Intelligence Authorization Act that would get rid of the confirmation process for senior positions at CIA and other spy agencies.
Tell your Senators to reject this harmful proposal. The last thing we need is less public oversight of intelligence agencies.
Tell your Senators to reject this harmful proposal. The last thing we need is less public oversight of intelligence agencies.
Reposted by Patrice McDermott
After gleefully and illegally plowing over every statute and regulation they don't like—such as by destroying USAID, refusing to enforce CFPB regs, and withholding SNAP funding—the Trump admin has decided 88 FR 8255 is ironclad law that must be ruthlessly enforced to ensure more people go hungry.
The USDA sent an email to grocery stores telling them they are prohibited from offering special discounts to customers affected by the SNAP funding lapse.
I'm aware of at least 2 stores that had offered struggling customers a discount, then withdrew it after receiving this email
I'm aware of at least 2 stores that had offered struggling customers a discount, then withdrew it after receiving this email
November 2, 2025 at 9:49 PM
After gleefully and illegally plowing over every statute and regulation they don't like—such as by destroying USAID, refusing to enforce CFPB regs, and withholding SNAP funding—the Trump admin has decided 88 FR 8255 is ironclad law that must be ruthlessly enforced to ensure more people go hungry.
Reposted by Patrice McDermott
The primary business in the US is bankrolling genocides abroad for two means of profit: weapons sales and then resource control and extraction. #freesudan #freepalestine
If you want clear and accurate info to understand what is happening in Sudan, and how you can help stop this genocide, here is the piece that will provide you that clarity.
This is a guest piece by Sudanese-American attorney Mo Seifeldein. Please read & share.
www.qasimrashid.com/p/sudan-isnt...
This is a guest piece by Sudanese-American attorney Mo Seifeldein. Please read & share.
www.qasimrashid.com/p/sudan-isnt...
Sudan Isn’t a Civil War. It’s an Empire-Fueled Genocide.
A guest post by Mo Seifeldein, a Sudanese-American refugee and attorney
www.qasimrashid.com
November 2, 2025 at 7:33 PM
The primary business in the US is bankrolling genocides abroad for two means of profit: weapons sales and then resource control and extraction. #freesudan #freepalestine
And are the women who are not allowed to leave their homes okay? Does anyone know; has anyone even asked?
A strong, 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck in Afghanistan on Monday, according to the USGS.
Map: 6.3-Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Afghanistan
View the location of the quake’s epicenter and shake area.
nyti.ms
November 2, 2025 at 10:00 PM
And are the women who are not allowed to leave their homes okay? Does anyone know; has anyone even asked?
.@billkristolbulwark.bsky.social
That is not accountability! Ask the women he raped (except the one who committed suicide). And don't compare his inconvenience with their suffering.
That is not accountability! Ask the women he raped (except the one who committed suicide). And don't compare his inconvenience with their suffering.
"The British royal family has, in effect, defenestrated Prince Andrew—who is no longer 'Prince.' I was beginning to think there was no accountability in the world—certainly none for wrongdoing in the Epstein matter...The contrast with us Americans is stark."
open.substack.com/pub/jaynordl...
open.substack.com/pub/jaynordl...
No More a Haven, &c.
On America and refugees; the British royal family and Epstein; populism and plutocracy; the joys of the tuba; and more
open.substack.com
November 2, 2025 at 9:24 PM
.@billkristolbulwark.bsky.social
That is not accountability! Ask the women he raped (except the one who committed suicide). And don't compare his inconvenience with their suffering.
That is not accountability! Ask the women he raped (except the one who committed suicide). And don't compare his inconvenience with their suffering.
Reposted by Patrice McDermott
Had to write about Bessent's terrible defense of Trump's let-them-eat-cake weekend. Actually, Trump is playing golf far more often than Obama did, almost matching Obama's eight year total in less than five. www.pbump.net/o/in-less-th...
November 2, 2025 at 5:55 PM
Had to write about Bessent's terrible defense of Trump's let-them-eat-cake weekend. Actually, Trump is playing golf far more often than Obama did, almost matching Obama's eight year total in less than five. www.pbump.net/o/in-less-th...
Reposted by Patrice McDermott
"The case serves as a reminder that in public administration, the effort to conceal information often reveals more than disclosure ever could." Great read from @willfries.bsky.social
City Says Public Can’t Be Trusted With Email Addresses, Admits Records Misconduct
Claims of “security risk” mask mismanagement and likely violations of public records law
willfries.substack.com
November 2, 2025 at 8:35 PM
"The case serves as a reminder that in public administration, the effort to conceal information often reveals more than disclosure ever could." Great read from @willfries.bsky.social
Interesting discussion on Fareed Zakaria today (and Prof Galloway was appreciative of women's continuing 'getting on with it' (my words) and leading their lives). Another take ⬇️ theonion.com/area-man-afr...
November 2, 2025 at 8:29 PM
Interesting discussion on Fareed Zakaria today (and Prof Galloway was appreciative of women's continuing 'getting on with it' (my words) and leading their lives). Another take ⬇️ theonion.com/area-man-afr...
Reposted by Patrice McDermott
One indication that career lawyers w/ subject matter expertise have been sidelined from the boat strike business is that the admin is citing irrelevant OLC opinions from 1984 and 1994 to supposedly bolster its argument for why US strikes are not "hostilities." 6/n
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/01/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/01/u...
War Powers Law Does Not Apply to Trump’s Boat Strikes, Administration Says
www.nytimes.com
November 2, 2025 at 8:04 PM
One indication that career lawyers w/ subject matter expertise have been sidelined from the boat strike business is that the admin is citing irrelevant OLC opinions from 1984 and 1994 to supposedly bolster its argument for why US strikes are not "hostilities." 6/n
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/01/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/01/u...
Reposted by Patrice McDermott
By the middle of the 19th century, the four million people of African descent in the U.S. made it the largest slave society in the world.
The Complex Role of Slavery in Building America’s Wealth
It was a crucial factor in the country’s economic takeoff well beyond what’s commonly assumed.
on.wsj.com
November 2, 2025 at 8:08 PM
By the middle of the 19th century, the four million people of African descent in the U.S. made it the largest slave society in the world.
Reposted by Patrice McDermott
I’m proud to say that my office once beat the Heritage Foundation with baseball bats. OK, it was the think tank softball league many decades ago, but the grudge match did make the network news.
Kevin Roberts wants to normalize little Nazi lovers like Nick Fuentes, but also wants to destroy Harvard and other universities on Trumped up charges of antisemitism.🙄
“The Heritage Foundation is facing a staff rebellion over its president, Kevin Roberts, expressing support of Tucker Carlson following his softball interview with…Nick Fuentes.” 10/31/25 … 1/ newrepublic.com/post/202569/...
October 31, 2025 at 11:25 PM
I’m proud to say that my office once beat the Heritage Foundation with baseball bats. OK, it was the think tank softball league many decades ago, but the grudge match did make the network news.
Reposted by Patrice McDermott
I put off doing the inevitable…I called my insurance provider.
My current premium is $480. It will be almost $900 next year.
Thanks, Trump voters.
My current premium is $480. It will be almost $900 next year.
Thanks, Trump voters.
October 29, 2025 at 9:27 PM
I put off doing the inevitable…I called my insurance provider.
My current premium is $480. It will be almost $900 next year.
Thanks, Trump voters.
My current premium is $480. It will be almost $900 next year.
Thanks, Trump voters.
Exactly.
I hear people all around me saying, “They are going to crash the economy. Surely they don’t mean to crash the economy.”
I beg to differ. This is curated failure.
jesspiper.substack.com/p/i-know-exa...
I beg to differ. This is curated failure.
jesspiper.substack.com/p/i-know-exa...
I Know Exactly What They Are Doing
Rural foresight
jesspiper.substack.com
October 30, 2025 at 3:21 PM
Exactly.
Reposted by Patrice McDermott
Indeed love this idea.
October 29, 2025 at 6:52 PM
Indeed love this idea.
Reposted by Patrice McDermott
the electoral juggernaut that Ds cower in fear of
Donald Trump's approval rating in our tracker has fallen to -18, the lowest it has ever been (lower than any point in his first term) www.economist.com/interactive/...
October 28, 2025 at 3:44 PM
the electoral juggernaut that Ds cower in fear of
Reposted by Patrice McDermott
Even if you are leader of the free world, you don’t just get an MRI without a clear reason to do so.
There’s no such thing as a “screening” MRI.
There’s no such thing as a “screening” MRI.
October 27, 2025 at 4:46 PM
Even if you are leader of the free world, you don’t just get an MRI without a clear reason to do so.
There’s no such thing as a “screening” MRI.
There’s no such thing as a “screening” MRI.