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axbelt.bsky.social
@axbelt.bsky.social
200 followers 240 following 30 posts
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Reposted
propublica.org
Russ Vought set out to ensure a second Trump term would not be hampered by checks and balances:

“I don’t want President Trump having to lose a moment of time having fights in the Oval Office about whether something is legal or doable or moral.”

(Published Oct. 2025 with @newyorker.com)
Russell Vought, Trump’s Shadow President
From the wholesale gutting of federal agencies to the ongoing government shutdown, Russell Vought has drawn the road map for Trump’s second term. Vought has consolidated power to an extent that inside...
www.propublica.org
January 12, 2026 at 4:00 AM
axbelt.bsky.social
Videos Contradict Trump Administration Account of ICE Shooting in Minneapolis www.nytimes.com/video/us/100...
Video: Videos Contradict Trump Administration Account of ICE Shooting in Minneapolis
An analysis of footage from three camera angles shows that the motorist was driving away from — not toward — a federal officer when he opened fire.
www.nytimes.com
January 8, 2026 at 12:55 PM
axbelt.bsky.social
wapo.st/4q4TlEM - It's important to know and share your family history
Opinion | Every family has a history. Here’s how to make sure it’s handed down.
What happens when the children are the historians.
wapo.st
December 28, 2025 at 11:15 PM
Reposted
madhupai.bsky.social
Fewer than 60,000 people – 0.001% of the world’s population – control three times as much wealth as the entire bottom half of humanity

www.theguardian.com/inequality/2...
Just 0.001% hold three times the wealth of poorest half of humanity, report finds
Data from World Inequality Report also showed top 10% of income-earners earn more than the other 90%
www.theguardian.com
December 12, 2025 at 7:48 PM
axbelt.bsky.social
Most Immigrants Arrested in City Crackdowns Have No Criminal Record 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 4, 2025 at 10:44 PM
axbelt.bsky.social
Explore this gift article from The New York Times. You can read it for free without a subscription. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
60 Attorneys on the Year of Chaos Inside Trump’s Justice Department (Gift Article)
Sixty former staffers describe an environment of suspicion and intimidation within the nation’s most powerful law enforcement agency.
www.nytimes.com
November 17, 2025 at 8:45 PM
Reposted
eternaldefiance.bsky.social
Trump ordering Bondi to open an investigation into Dems appearing in Epstein files will effectively seal those files again while the investigation continues, leaving Trump free to disingenuously claim that he WANTS the files opened, but that they can't be, because of the investigation. Am I wrong?
November 17, 2025 at 2:49 PM
Reposted
theathletic.com
All J.J. McCarthy has done is win since the loss to TCU in the CFP semis.

H/T @brucefeldmancfb.bsky.social
September 9, 2025 at 4:46 AM
Reposted
reichlinmelnick.bsky.social
Bill Pulte ended up getting his own dad busted.
Summary • Pulte father, stepmother claim dual homestead exemptions in Michigan, Florida • Michigan revokes Pulte exemption after Reuters inquiry • Bill Pulte accuses Fed governor of similar dual residency claims
September 5, 2025 at 11:58 PM
Reposted
lilmsmisanthrope.bsky.social
How delightfully selective bodily autonomy applies to vaccines but not wombs. Apparently the Constitution protects your right to spread measles but not to choose motherhood. One can only admire such principled inconsistency. Freedom means infecting babies, tyranny means reproductive choice.
September 5, 2025 at 2:21 AM
Reposted
briantylercohen.bsky.social
SUPPORT THE CALIFORNIA REDRAW: secure.actblue.com/donate/erra-...

Watch the full interview with @gavinnewsom.bsky.social and subscribe to support independent media:
youtu.be
August 15, 2025 at 3:03 AM
Reposted
wired.com
Everything from military radios to AI can be hacked. At the Defcon hacker conference, researchers showed how they hacked into these systems—not for gain—but to point out vulnerabilities.

First, a student who found that vape detectors installed at his high school could be used for surveillance: 🧵
It Looks Like a School Bathroom Smoke Detector. A Teen Hacker Showed It Could Be an Audio Bug
A pair of hackers found that a vape detector often found in high school bathrooms contained microphones—and security weaknesses that could allow someone to turn it into a secret listening device.
www.wired.com
August 8, 2025 at 3:48 PM
Reposted
rickhasen.bsky.social
Oh boy.

www.nytimes.com/2025/07/31/u...
The filing, which is not public, was submitted to the inspector general’s office in electronic form on May 2, and a longer, printed version that included documentary evidence was delivered on May 5, according to people familiar with the filing. The inspector general appears to have done nothing with the information for more than two months, and many in that office did not realize they even had the material until a day or two before the full Senate voted on Mr. Bove’s nomination. He was confirmed Tuesday by a razor-thin margin, 50 to 49. Last Friday, when the whistle-blower group went public about the filing’s existence, the inspector general’s office told lawmakers that it had no such complaint, according to people familiar with the case, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private conversations. The office only found the documents after lawyers for the whistle-blower presented electronic and FedEx delivery receipts for them. The implications of that inaction are potentially significant, given that Republicans have cast skepticism on another Justice Department whistle-blower, Erez Reuveni, describing his account as part of a politically timed effort by Democrats to scuttle a Trump nomination. That someone appears to have come forward about Mr. Bove’s conduct well before his nomination was known would undercut those claims. The complaint, according to people familiar with it, outlines a set of allegations that largely tracks with Mr. Reuveni’s account.
July 31, 2025 at 7:44 PM
Reposted
weeklyshowpodcast.bsky.social
In this week’s new #TheWeeklyShow episode, Jon & @mehdirhasan.bsky.social discuss ⬇️:

>> Constitutional Fetishizing
>> Fox News vs. MSNBC
>> Israel & Gaza Fallout
>> Merrick Garland’s Timidity
>> Wile E. Coyote vs. Road Runner

NEW YouTube video out now.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IXX...
Mehdi Hasan on the Media, Democrats & The Crisis In Gaza | The Weekly Show
YouTube video by The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
www.youtube.com
July 31, 2025 at 7:10 PM
Reposted
jackjenkins.me
INBOX: Union for Reform Judaism, Central Conference of American Rabbis & American Conference of Cantors issue a lengthy statement declaring:

"Starving Gazan civilians neither will bring Israel the 'total victory' over Hamas it seeks, nor can it be justified by Jewish values or humanitarian law."
Reform Jewish Movement Statement on Starvation in Gaza July 27, 2025 - The ongoing crisis in Gaza is a devastating reminder of the immense human cost of war. Nearly two years into Israel's war against Hamas, Israelis are still waiting for the return of their loved ones held hostage, and innocent Palestinians are caught in a mounting humanitarian catastrophe. Hamas has repeatedly demonstrated its willingness to sacrifice the Palestinian people in its pursuit of Israel's destruction, but Israel must not sacrifice its own moral standing in return. Neither escalating military pressure nor restricting humanitarian aid has brought Israel closer to securing a hostage deal or ending the war. While long-delayed and not-yet-certain to be more effective than previous efforts, we are encouraged by Saturday night's announcement that the Israeli military would revive the practice of dropping aid from airplanes and make it easier for aid convoys, including those from the UN's World Food Program, to move through Gaza along "designated humanitarian corridors," and to temporarily cease fighting in Gaza for a humanitarian pause. No one should be unaffected by the pervasive hunger experienced by thousands of Gazans. No one should spend the bulk of their time arguing technical definitions between starvation and pervasive hunger. The situation is dire, and it is deadly. Nor should we accept arguments that because Hamas is the primary reason many Gazans are either starving or on the verge of starving, that the Jewish State is not also culpable in this human disaster. The primary moral response must begin with anguished hearts in the face of such a large-scale human tragedy. Our tradition teaches that all people are created b tzelem Elohim — in the image of God. One consequence of this is the moral priority, which is affirmed throughout the Bible and rabbinic tradition, of feeding the hungry - both for the individual and for the self-governing Jewish community. More than a few members of t… Despite PM Netanyahu's calls to ignore these full members of his cabinet, their presence in this government has consistently morally compromised Israel's actions. Starving Gazan civilians neither will bring Israel the "total victory" over Hamas it seeks, nor can it be justified by Jewish values or humanitarian law. It's hard to imagine that this tragic approach will bring home the 50 remaining hostages, including the 20 who we pray are still alive. It's imperative that the Government of Israel ensures that the recently announced plans to deliver humanitarian aid succeed as Israel works with international partners to ensure its safe and sustained delivery and do whatever possible to reduce or eliminate the shootings and other injuries sustained at food distribution centers. We applaud Israel's green light for foreign nations to resume providing humanitarian aid to the Gaza population desperate for food and are confident that they will do all they can to ensure that such aid does not fall into the hands of Hamas. As Israel has effective control of 70% of Gaza, with the intent to remain in significant swaths of it, even if only temporarily, it should be directly involved, facilitate and cooperate with the international community, international humanitarian NGOs, and regional friends, to take urgently needed actions, such as these suggested by Israeli Reform rabbi and Member of Knesset Gilad Kariv: • To prevent the alarming number of civilian deaths in and around the food and humanitarian aid distribution sites. • Opening a significant number of food distribution centers at various locations across the Gaza Strip. • Large-scale entry of infant formula (especially liquid formula) and ensuring safe delivery to both functioning medical centers and the few remaining international aid facilities. • Establishing secure methods - potentially through cooperation with regional countries - for delivering food supplies to aid organizations and international agencies. • Resuming su… Finally, while it is imperative that Israel and the U.S. resume diplomacy to bring home all hostages and end this war, denying basic humanitarian aid crosses a moral line. Blocking food, water, medicine, and power- especially for children- is indefensible. Let us not allow our grief to harden into indifference, nor our love for Israel to blind us to the cries of the vulnerable. Let us rise to the moral challenge of this moment. Union for Reform Judaism Shelley Niceley Groff (she/her) North American Board Chair Rabbi Rick Jacobs (he/him) President Central Conference of American Rabbis Rabbi David A. Lyon (he/him) President Rabbi Hara Person (she/her) Chief Executive Officer American Conference of Cantors Cantor Josh Breitzer (he/him) President Rachel Roth (she/her) Chief Operating Officer
July 28, 2025 at 2:01 AM
axbelt.bsky.social
The Raw Power of Repentance www.nytimes.com/2025/07/27/o...
Opinion | The Raw Power of Repentance
www.nytimes.com
July 27, 2025 at 3:06 PM
Reposted
wsj.com
Exclusive: The Justice Department told President Trump in May that his name is among many in the Epstein files.
Justice Department Told Trump in May That His Name Is Among Many in the Epstein Files
Bondi told president at the meeting that Justice also decided to not release more Jeffrey Epstein documents because of the presence of child pornography and the need to protect victims.
on.wsj.com
July 23, 2025 at 7:11 PM
Reposted
atrupar.com
District court judges voted today against keeping Alina Habba in her role as interim US attorney. Instead of abiding by that, AG Pan Bondi announces she's firing the woman who would've replaced her. A Watergate-style attack on the rule of law.
July 22, 2025 at 10:02 PM
Reposted
rgoodlaw.bsky.social
What an important point by @jkbjournalist.bsky.social back in February and ever more relevant.

"Pam Bondi was Florida's attorney general 2011-2109 ... So questions should be asked about why she didn't take up the [Epstein] case -- or launch a probe -- when she was attorney general in Florida."
July 18, 2025 at 9:24 PM
Reposted
meidastouch.com
The Guardian's investigation into this event is a must-read:
Teen models, powerful men and private dinners: when Trump hosted Look of the Year
In the early 90s, Donald Trump judged contestants at the world’s biggest modelling competition - since hit by allegations of abuse. This is how the people who were there remember it
www.theguardian.com
July 18, 2025 at 9:45 PM
Reposted
newseye.bsky.social
In 1998, this was correctly identified as Nazi speech.

(🎥 American History X, © New Line Cinema 1998)
July 17, 2025 at 10:10 PM
Reposted
weeknightmsnow.bsky.social
Florida Democrats want Ron DeSantis’ new detention site in the Florida Everglades shut down. State Sen. @shevrinjones.bsky.social, who toured the facility, joins The Weeknight to reveal what he calls a “morally bankrupt” operation.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPbv...
'Shackled' & 'in a cage': FL state senator’s firsthand account of detention center
YouTube video by MSNBC
www.youtube.com
July 15, 2025 at 4:30 PM
Reposted
atrupar.com
"Cruz inserted language into the reconciliation bill that eliminates a $150m fund to 'accelerate advances & improvements in research, observation systems, modeling, forecasting, and dissemination of info to the public' around weather forecasting."
Ted Cruz ensured Trump spending bill slashed weather forecasting funding
Senator on vacation abroad while Texas was hit by deadly floods, a disaster worsened by forecasting cuts, critics say
www.theguardian.com
July 11, 2025 at 5:22 PM
Reposted
atrupar.com
"Metadata embedded in the Epstein video and analyzed by WIRED and independent video forensics experts shows that rather than being a direct export from the prison’s surveillance system, the footage was modified, likely using the professional editing tool Adobe Premiere Pro."
Metadata Shows the FBI’s ‘Raw’ Jeffrey Epstein Prison Video Was Likely Modified
There is no evidence the footage was deceptively manipulated, but ambiguities around how the video was processed may further fuel conspiracy theories about Epstein's death.
www.wired.com
July 11, 2025 at 5:51 PM
Reposted
nickturse.bsky.social
Tom Bowman, policy counsel for the Center for Democracy and Technology, said disclosing immigrant tax records to DHS for immigration enforcement “sets a dangerous precedent for data privacy abuse in other federal programs.”
apnews.com/article/irs-...
IRS acting commissioner is resigning over deal to send immigrants' tax data to ICE, AP sources say
The Internal Revenue Service’s acting commissioner is resigning over a deal to share immigrants’ tax data with Immigration and Customs Enforcement for the purpose of identifying and deporting people i...
apnews.com
July 9, 2025 at 11:41 AM