Andrew H. Smith
@ahsmith923.bsky.social
Assistant Prof, Educator, of Political Science at the U of Cincinnati. Studies judicial politics, service learning. Views, reposts, etc. my own. Go Vols!
Reposted by Andrew H. Smith
Kavanaugh pretty much just said this out loud
The practical effect of overturning Humphrey’s will be that Republican presidents can stack the formerly independent agencies with their copartisans and SCOTUS will be cool with everything they do but when a Dem POTUS does the same Roberts et al will declare all those agencies’ actions unlawful.
In a memo John Roberts wrote just 4 yrs out of law school, he said the “time may be ripe to reconsider the existence” of independent agencies & bring them back into the executive branch. Now he’s poised to end what he has long called “a constitutional anomaly.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/07/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/07/u...
December 8, 2025 at 3:54 PM
Kavanaugh pretty much just said this out loud
Reposted by Andrew H. Smith
FACT CHECK: Despite claims that ICE is only targeting violent criminals, a new report finds that less than 30% of people arrested in recent major ICE operations have been convicted of a crime.
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
ICE Arrest Data Shows Many Immigrants With No Criminal Record
In high-profile operations, more than half of those arrested had no criminal record, an analysis shows.
www.nytimes.com
December 5, 2025 at 8:53 PM
FACT CHECK: Despite claims that ICE is only targeting violent criminals, a new report finds that less than 30% of people arrested in recent major ICE operations have been convicted of a crime.
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Two words: Nuremberg Trials. If we survive this, none of this "with malice toward none" or "truth and reconciliation" crap. Nuremberg and Tokyo should be the models.
The Secretary of Defense taking extrajudicial killing requests from podcast hosts
December 5, 2025 at 12:43 PM
Two words: Nuremberg Trials. If we survive this, none of this "with malice toward none" or "truth and reconciliation" crap. Nuremberg and Tokyo should be the models.
Reposted by Andrew H. Smith
NEW: In the five years since Texas created a $1.4 billion fund to guard against destructive flooding, at least 90 local governments turned down tens of millions of dollars in grants and loans.
That money went unused for years.
With @texastribune.org
That money went unused for years.
With @texastribune.org
Texas Lawmakers Criticized Kerr Leaders for Rejecting State Flood Money. Other Communities Did the Same.
Texas created a $1.4 billion fund to help pay for projects to guard against destructive flooding. But after learning that so many local communities turned down the money, two lawmakers who approved th...
www.propublica.org
December 3, 2025 at 2:00 PM
NEW: In the five years since Texas created a $1.4 billion fund to guard against destructive flooding, at least 90 local governments turned down tens of millions of dollars in grants and loans.
That money went unused for years.
With @texastribune.org
That money went unused for years.
With @texastribune.org
<laughs nervously>
December 1, 2025 at 1:39 PM
<laughs nervously>
It's always a good sign when you look at the fans trashing your BIL's hire as the head coach, and it's clear from their profiles that they couldn't spell Arkansas if you spotted them the "Arkansa." Oh well, good luck to him! #woopigsooie
December 1, 2025 at 12:45 AM
It's always a good sign when you look at the fans trashing your BIL's hire as the head coach, and it's clear from their profiles that they couldn't spell Arkansas if you spotted them the "Arkansa." Oh well, good luck to him! #woopigsooie
When a GWB administrator is saying that you've violated the laws of war...
Does Pete Hegseth have a "golden shield" against prosecution in the form of a DOJ OLC opinion? Ed Whelan thinks not.
November 29, 2025 at 12:35 AM
When a GWB administrator is saying that you've violated the laws of war...
Reposted by Andrew H. Smith
BREAKING: Missouri's AG has opened an immigration-related investigation into the signature drive aiming to overturn the GOP’s gerrymander.
She’s now demanding a list of employees and their identity documents just weeks before the signature deadline.
She’s now demanding a list of employees and their identity documents just weeks before the signature deadline.
Missouri AG Launches Last-Ditch Immigration Probe into Referendum that Threatens GOP Gerrymander
Read more here.
www.democracydocket.com
November 26, 2025 at 1:19 AM
BREAKING: Missouri's AG has opened an immigration-related investigation into the signature drive aiming to overturn the GOP’s gerrymander.
She’s now demanding a list of employees and their identity documents just weeks before the signature deadline.
She’s now demanding a list of employees and their identity documents just weeks before the signature deadline.
Reposted by Andrew H. Smith
This is wild. Under Atkins, SCiLL is modeling the civic virtues of a banana republic. @unc-ch-aaup.bsky.social
www.dailytarheel.com/article/inve...
www.dailytarheel.com/article/inve...
'Dictatorial powers': SCiLL dean ignored vote of the School's advisory board
New evidence obtained by The Daily Tar Heel gives weight to claims made by professors who resigned from the School of Civic Life and Leadership.
www.dailytarheel.com
November 25, 2025 at 3:29 PM
This is wild. Under Atkins, SCiLL is modeling the civic virtues of a banana republic. @unc-ch-aaup.bsky.social
www.dailytarheel.com/article/inve...
www.dailytarheel.com/article/inve...
Reposted by Andrew H. Smith
This is heartbreakingly cruel and hypocritical. The same admin that has redefined refugee status to cover white South Africans is now going to drown thousands of refugees already approved for their status in red tape, potentially even seeking to strip some of their status and deport them.
Trump Admin planning a rule to re-decide whether *every* refugee who entered under Biden meets their criteria for a refugee. That’s 230,000 people! And no appeals!
www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...
www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...
www.reuters.com
November 25, 2025 at 2:46 AM
This is heartbreakingly cruel and hypocritical. The same admin that has redefined refugee status to cover white South Africans is now going to drown thousands of refugees already approved for their status in red tape, potentially even seeking to strip some of their status and deport them.
Reposted by Andrew H. Smith
time for us to learn about Paul Newby, North Carolina Chief Justice, christofascist, serial adopter, adoption agency founder, and baby thief. 🥚
https://www.propublica.org/article/paul-newby-north-carolina-supreme-court
https://www.propublica.org/article/paul-newby-north-carolina-supreme-court
“Biblical Justice, Equal Justice, for All”: How North Carolina’s Chief Justice Transformed His State and America
Paul Newby, a born-again Christian, has turned his perch atop North Carolina’s Supreme Court into an instrument of political power. Over two decades, he’s driven changes that have reverberated well be...
www.propublica.org
November 9, 2025 at 11:25 PM
time for us to learn about Paul Newby, North Carolina Chief Justice, christofascist, serial adopter, adoption agency founder, and baby thief. 🥚
https://www.propublica.org/article/paul-newby-north-carolina-supreme-court
https://www.propublica.org/article/paul-newby-north-carolina-supreme-court
Reposted by Andrew H. Smith
As we all wait for Callais to come down, our piece showing that Shelby County increased the racial turnout gap in most of the covered parts of the country has cleared the replication check and is incoming at JOP.
Gutting the VRA was bad, actually.
Gutting the VRA was bad, actually.
November 24, 2025 at 12:47 AM
As we all wait for Callais to come down, our piece showing that Shelby County increased the racial turnout gap in most of the covered parts of the country has cleared the replication check and is incoming at JOP.
Gutting the VRA was bad, actually.
Gutting the VRA was bad, actually.
Reposted by Andrew H. Smith
Gov. Jeff Landry eliminated parole for prisoners arrested after Aug. 1, 2024, and tightened eligibility rules for those already in prison. Then he set all of that aside for one group: undocumented immigrants. Why? To have them deported.
By @richardawebster.bsky.social & Bobbi-Jeanne Misick
By @richardawebster.bsky.social & Bobbi-Jeanne Misick
Louisiana Made It Nearly Impossible to Get Parole. Now It’s Releasing Prisoners to Deport Them.
Gov. Jeff Landry eliminated parole for prisoners arrested after Aug. 1, 2024, and tightened eligibility rules for those already in prison. Then he set all of that aside for one group: undocumented imm...
www.propublica.org
November 24, 2025 at 12:57 PM
Gov. Jeff Landry eliminated parole for prisoners arrested after Aug. 1, 2024, and tightened eligibility rules for those already in prison. Then he set all of that aside for one group: undocumented immigrants. Why? To have them deported.
By @richardawebster.bsky.social & Bobbi-Jeanne Misick
By @richardawebster.bsky.social & Bobbi-Jeanne Misick
Reposted by Andrew H. Smith
My @nytimes.com op-ed: The Boomers Are Protesting Trump. Where Is Gen Z? www.nytimes.com/2025/11/24/o... (gift link)
The key point: "The absence of young people from conventional protests is both a problem and a warning."
The key point: "The absence of young people from conventional protests is both a problem and a warning."
Opinion | The Boomers Are Protesting Trump. Where Is Gen Z?
www.nytimes.com
November 24, 2025 at 1:37 PM
My @nytimes.com op-ed: The Boomers Are Protesting Trump. Where Is Gen Z? www.nytimes.com/2025/11/24/o... (gift link)
The key point: "The absence of young people from conventional protests is both a problem and a warning."
The key point: "The absence of young people from conventional protests is both a problem and a warning."
Reposted by Andrew H. Smith
X rolled out a new feature overnight showing where accounts are based. This network of “Trump-supporting independent women” that claimed to be “real Americans” are based in Thailand.
The photos were stolen from European models & posts pushed pro-Trump lines while targeting Islam and LGBTQ people.
The photos were stolen from European models & posts pushed pro-Trump lines while targeting Islam and LGBTQ people.
November 23, 2025 at 12:55 PM
X rolled out a new feature overnight showing where accounts are based. This network of “Trump-supporting independent women” that claimed to be “real Americans” are based in Thailand.
The photos were stolen from European models & posts pushed pro-Trump lines while targeting Islam and LGBTQ people.
The photos were stolen from European models & posts pushed pro-Trump lines while targeting Islam and LGBTQ people.
Simpsons Did It!
A 25-person startup is developing technology to block the sun and turn down the planet’s thermostat.
The stakes are huge — and the company and its critics say regulations need to catch up.
Read more: politi.co/4iaojIc
The stakes are huge — and the company and its critics say regulations need to catch up.
Read more: politi.co/4iaojIc
November 24, 2025 at 2:59 AM
Simpsons Did It!
Reposted by Andrew H. Smith
I wrote about Judge Jerry Smith's 104-page anti-semitic pro-racial gerrymandering crashout opinion, published yesterday, dissenting from the order blocking Texas's new electoral district map
ballsandstrikes.org/law-politics...
ballsandstrikes.org/law-politics...
November 20, 2025 at 8:10 PM
I wrote about Judge Jerry Smith's 104-page anti-semitic pro-racial gerrymandering crashout opinion, published yesterday, dissenting from the order blocking Texas's new electoral district map
ballsandstrikes.org/law-politics...
ballsandstrikes.org/law-politics...
What you won't see from the main newspapers in Memphis with their boot-licking coverage of the Occupation.
The Rev. ELaura James Reid was pulled over by a man in fatigues for “driving unsure,” despite obeying traffic rules: “I don’t think it fits the narrative of stopping violent criminals, unless you driving down the street is considered violent.”
By @wendicthomas.bsky.social @kathsburgess.bsky.social
By @wendicthomas.bsky.social @kathsburgess.bsky.social
“I Don’t Feel Safe”: Black Memphis Residents Report Harassment by Trump’s Police Task Force
A pastor was pulled over for looking lost. A 72-year-old was marched out in his bathrobe due to mistaken identity. Memphis’ mayor welcomed the federal law enforcement surge, but some residents say the...
www.propublica.org
November 21, 2025 at 12:04 PM
What you won't see from the main newspapers in Memphis with their boot-licking coverage of the Occupation.
Reposted by Andrew H. Smith
Less than a year from the midterm elections, state and local voting officials from both major political parties are actively preparing for the possibility of interference by the Trump administration. n.pr/3KcqSNg
How could Trump interfere in the midterms? Here's what voting officials are watching
Less than a year from the midterm elections, state and local voting officials from both major political parties are actively preparing for the possibility of interference by the Trump administration.
n.pr
November 21, 2025 at 10:09 AM
Less than a year from the midterm elections, state and local voting officials from both major political parties are actively preparing for the possibility of interference by the Trump administration. n.pr/3KcqSNg
Reposted by Andrew H. Smith
The podcast version of the @pablotorrefindsout @motherjonesmag story on sumner county library board member Riley Gaines: youtu.be/iKUl8lkuGOc?...
November 20, 2025 at 1:45 PM
The podcast version of the @pablotorrefindsout @motherjonesmag story on sumner county library board member Riley Gaines: youtu.be/iKUl8lkuGOc?...
Reposted by Andrew H. Smith
NEWSWEEK: “Chinese immigrant found hanging in ICE detention with his hands and feet tied behind him… Chaofeng Ge died 4 days after entering ICE custody in Pennsylvania… deaths in ICE custody have gone up under Trump…”
www.newsweek.com/ice-detainee...
www.newsweek.com/ice-detainee...
November 20, 2025 at 1:38 PM
NEWSWEEK: “Chinese immigrant found hanging in ICE detention with his hands and feet tied behind him… Chaofeng Ge died 4 days after entering ICE custody in Pennsylvania… deaths in ICE custody have gone up under Trump…”
www.newsweek.com/ice-detainee...
www.newsweek.com/ice-detainee...
Reposted by Andrew H. Smith
Thank you, student journalists at @theharvardcrimson.bsky.social
Lawrence Summers to Stop Teaching at Harvard While It Investigates His Epstein Ties
www.nytimes.com
November 20, 2025 at 1:48 AM
Thank you, student journalists at @theharvardcrimson.bsky.social
Reposted by Andrew H. Smith
Here's the law, if anyone wants to read it. It's pretty short, and provides a list of what has to be released and when (heads up that agencies routinely blow past statutory deadlines), lists exceptions (e.g., no publishing of CSAM) and requires reporting to Congress. www.congress.gov/bill/119th-c...
November 20, 2025 at 1:30 AM
Here's the law, if anyone wants to read it. It's pretty short, and provides a list of what has to be released and when (heads up that agencies routinely blow past statutory deadlines), lists exceptions (e.g., no publishing of CSAM) and requires reporting to Congress. www.congress.gov/bill/119th-c...
Suddenly Trump pushing for a vote on this bill makes sense. If Trump or his allies are mentioned, "national security" will get the names redacted. If Trump's enemies - including former president Clinton - get mentioned, suddenly national security won't apply & we'll see names
The Epstein files bill passed, but Speaker Johnson is circulating a plan to block transparency on "national security" grounds. Read the full document:
www.kenklippenstein.com/p/epstein-bi...
www.kenklippenstein.com/p/epstein-bi...
Epstein Bill Passes as Top Official Circulates Plan to Block Transparency
Official document warns of "National Security Concerns"
www.kenklippenstein.com
November 19, 2025 at 1:34 AM
Suddenly Trump pushing for a vote on this bill makes sense. If Trump or his allies are mentioned, "national security" will get the names redacted. If Trump's enemies - including former president Clinton - get mentioned, suddenly national security won't apply & we'll see names