Arleigh Helfer
@arleighhelfer.bsky.social
Literate lawyer, advocate for free expression, erstwhile Reagan Youth conscript, and chap with a quirky, dark sense of humor. Fond of dandelion breaks. Fan of 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘵𝘦 𝘒𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘵. "Where law ends, tyranny begins."
"The new billboards are designed to inform troops of legal resources … 'The [Southern Command] strikes … represent the most blatantly illegal act that this administration has had the military carry out.'"
taskandpurpose.com/news/vet-group-billboards-caribbean-strikes/
taskandpurpose.com/news/vet-group-billboards-caribbean-strikes/
Billboards outside US Southern Command urge troops not to 'break the law’ in Caribbean strikes
“Don’t let them make you break the law,” reads a billboard along the road to U.S. Southern Command, one of several set up by veterans.
taskandpurpose.com
November 1, 2025 at 2:39 PM
Judge Admonishes Border Patrol Leader for Tactics in Chicago
www.nytimes.com
October 29, 2025 at 12:34 AM
Reposted by Arleigh Helfer
Protecting your privacy doesn't have to be scary. Check out our Surveillance Self-Defense guides for step-by-step tutorials for keeping your data and devices secure. ssd.eff.org/
Surveillance Self-Defense
We’re the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a member-supported non-profit working to protect online privacy for over thirty-five years. This is Surveillance Self-Defense: our expert guide to protecting you and your friends from online spying.
Read the BASICS to find out how online surveillance works. Dive into our TOOL GUIDES for instructions...
ssd.eff.org
October 28, 2025 at 8:02 PM
Protecting your privacy doesn't have to be scary. Check out our Surveillance Self-Defense guides for step-by-step tutorials for keeping your data and devices secure. ssd.eff.org/
Took Kimber for a hike at Hickory Run State Park yesterday. Explored the Shades of Death trail. Saw the boulder field. It was a beautiful day to spend walking in the mountains and the woods.
October 25, 2025 at 2:58 PM
Took Kimber for a hike at Hickory Run State Park yesterday. Explored the Shades of Death trail. Saw the boulder field. It was a beautiful day to spend walking in the mountains and the woods.
Which way are you looking?
Is it hard to see?
Do you say "What's wrong for him is not wrong for me"?
You walk the streets of righteousness
But you refuse to understand
You say you love the baby
Then you crucify the man
Is it hard to see?
Do you say "What's wrong for him is not wrong for me"?
You walk the streets of righteousness
But you refuse to understand
You say you love the baby
Then you crucify the man
Which Way Are You Goin’?
YouTube video by Jim Croce - Topic
music.youtube.com
October 15, 2025 at 4:19 PM
Which way are you looking?
Is it hard to see?
Do you say "What's wrong for him is not wrong for me"?
You walk the streets of righteousness
But you refuse to understand
You say you love the baby
Then you crucify the man
Is it hard to see?
Do you say "What's wrong for him is not wrong for me"?
You walk the streets of righteousness
But you refuse to understand
You say you love the baby
Then you crucify the man
One of the best things about free speech is that it often shows you who people really are. Without censorship, scoundrels can't claim to be free-speech martyrs. Make no mistake: Hate speech is protected speech, and these young leaders are within their rights to use it to tell us their beliefs.
‘I love Hitler’: Leaked messages expose Young Republicans’ racist chat
Thousands of private messages reveal young GOP leaders joking about gas chambers, slavery and rape.
www.politico.com
October 14, 2025 at 10:48 PM
One of the best things about free speech is that it often shows you who people really are. Without censorship, scoundrels can't claim to be free-speech martyrs. Make no mistake: Hate speech is protected speech, and these young leaders are within their rights to use it to tell us their beliefs.
I discovered Camper van Beethoven via Dr. Demento in the 1980s. He went to Reed College, which is fitting. I'm surprised he was still making shows. He will be missed.
so, this weekend the great Dr. Demento did his final show. I could write a lot about the importance of his show to me & my friends when we were 12 and 13. there's more to it than "he played funny stuff" and "his show is where @alyankovic.bsky.social got his start." 1/3
October 12, 2025 at 8:57 PM
I discovered Camper van Beethoven via Dr. Demento in the 1980s. He went to Reed College, which is fitting. I'm surprised he was still making shows. He will be missed.
This summer I went swimming
This summer I might have drowned
But I held my breath and I kicked my feet
And I moved my arms around
I moved my arms around
This summer I might have drowned
But I held my breath and I kicked my feet
And I moved my arms around
I moved my arms around
The Swimming Song
YouTube video by Loudon Wainwright III - Topic
music.youtube.com
October 11, 2025 at 1:26 AM
This summer I went swimming
This summer I might have drowned
But I held my breath and I kicked my feet
And I moved my arms around
I moved my arms around
This summer I might have drowned
But I held my breath and I kicked my feet
And I moved my arms around
I moved my arms around
Our wildflower meadow still attracts pollinators in October. Here's hoping the first frost doesn't come soon.
October 9, 2025 at 6:36 PM
Our wildflower meadow still attracts pollinators in October. Here's hoping the first frost doesn't come soon.
Reposted by Arleigh Helfer
Shirley Jackson’s short story from 1948, which inspired the most mail The New Yorker had ever received in response to a work of fiction—and caused some readers to cancel their subscriptions.
“The Lottery,” by Shirley Jackson
Fiction, from 1948: “The people had done it so many times that they only half listened to the directions; most of them were quiet, wetting their lips, not looking around.”
www.newyorker.com
October 8, 2025 at 10:40 PM
Shirley Jackson’s short story from 1948, which inspired the most mail The New Yorker had ever received in response to a work of fiction—and caused some readers to cancel their subscriptions.
Cat in a skylight. That is all.
October 7, 2025 at 8:00 PM
Cat in a skylight. That is all.
Reposted by Arleigh Helfer
Reposting this as long as he keeps killing civilians by bombing them from the sky. The war on drugs is a metaphor, not a justification for cold blooded murder.
There’s abuse of power. And then there’s ordering the killing of civilians in cold blood. The latter is called murder under federal law.
Trump has crossed a line. Will it matter?
Getting Away with Murder | David Cole | The New York Review of Books
www.nybooks.com/online/2025/...
Trump has crossed a line. Will it matter?
Getting Away with Murder | David Cole | The New York Review of Books
www.nybooks.com/online/2025/...
Getting Away with Murder | David Cole
During his first presidential campaign Donald Trump famously claimed that he could “stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody” and not lose
www.nybooks.com
October 7, 2025 at 1:47 PM
Reposting this as long as he keeps killing civilians by bombing them from the sky. The war on drugs is a metaphor, not a justification for cold blooded murder.
While cleaning up the spent annuals in our pollinator oasis of a backyard, I spotted this happy lady sunning herself on the fence. It's only the second praying mantis I've seen in our yard in more than 25 years. She looks ready to lay some eggs. No sign of decapitated males around, though.
October 4, 2025 at 10:26 PM
While cleaning up the spent annuals in our pollinator oasis of a backyard, I spotted this happy lady sunning herself on the fence. It's only the second praying mantis I've seen in our yard in more than 25 years. She looks ready to lay some eggs. No sign of decapitated males around, though.
These are troubled times that demand we raise our voices in defense of our most cherished freedoms.
Coalition Letter to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr | Arleigh Helfer
These are troubled times in the US: Many of those entrusted with the power and responsibility to defend our Constitution are shirking their oaths. Instead, they are waging open war against our most fu...
www.linkedin.com
October 1, 2025 at 7:08 AM
These are troubled times that demand we raise our voices in defense of our most cherished freedoms.
A dog starv'd at his master's gate
Predicts the ruin of the state.
– William Blake
Predicts the ruin of the state.
– William Blake
September 27, 2025 at 8:53 PM
A dog starv'd at his master's gate
Predicts the ruin of the state.
– William Blake
Predicts the ruin of the state.
– William Blake
What's the over/under on how many days it will be before Trump has his paramilitary forces seize a judge who rules against him? Clearly, any adverse rulings are a threat to national security. Any odds-makers out there?
September 27, 2025 at 3:03 PM
What's the over/under on how many days it will be before Trump has his paramilitary forces seize a judge who rules against him? Clearly, any adverse rulings are a threat to national security. Any odds-makers out there?
Reposted by Arleigh Helfer
"Living through the rise of a dictatorship just means inhabiting a space that is gradually shrinking. There’s no point in resisting, not at first. You just make do with whatever breathing room you still have—until you lose that too."
Read Gisela Salim-Peyer:
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
Read Gisela Salim-Peyer:
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
Authoritarianism Feels Surprisingly Normal—Until It Doesn’t
Life in Venezuela was deceptively mundane. Then everything collapsed.
www.theatlantic.com
September 27, 2025 at 2:13 PM
"Living through the rise of a dictatorship just means inhabiting a space that is gradually shrinking. There’s no point in resisting, not at first. You just make do with whatever breathing room you still have—until you lose that too."
Read Gisela Salim-Peyer:
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
Read Gisela Salim-Peyer:
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...