Chris
@chris-hhh.bsky.social
state tax guy 🧾 | former #mnleg -er 🏛 | @minnesotaacs.bsky.social leader ⚖️ | @swaempls.bsky.social rabble-rouser 🪧
opinions ≠ my employer's
opinions ≠ my employer's
Pinned
Chris
@chris-hhh.bsky.social
· Jan 25
Breaking: Trump fires at least 12 independent inspectors general in late-night purge www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
Trump fires at least 12 independent inspectors general in late-night purge
The dismissals could clear the way for the president to install loyalists in the crucial role of identifying fraud, waste and abuse in the government.
www.washingtonpost.com
I just donated some $$ to folks I thought were doing the best at pushing back lately.
If you can, maybe think about doing the same?
Each day brings more news -- where will we be at in a month or two? Those doing the most now need the most resources -- so they can lead when things are more dire
If you can, maybe think about doing the same?
Each day brings more news -- where will we be at in a month or two? Those doing the most now need the most resources -- so they can lead when things are more dire
Reposted by Chris
Kavanaugh stop. Smashed the kid’s car windows and arrested him. He told them he was a U.S. citizen. The officer replied “I don’t care.”
www.oregonlive.com/portland/202...
www.oregonlive.com/portland/202...
High school senior, a U.S. citizen, detained by ICE in Oregon
The 17-year-old was held more than five hours Friday in an ICE facility, his brother said.
www.oregonlive.com
November 23, 2025 at 12:34 AM
Kavanaugh stop. Smashed the kid’s car windows and arrested him. He told them he was a U.S. citizen. The officer replied “I don’t care.”
www.oregonlive.com/portland/202...
www.oregonlive.com/portland/202...
"People drove 1.8 million fewer miles on city streets, according to government calculations, and emissions dropped by 24,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide a year. That’s the equivalent of taking 5,200 vehicles off the roads."
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/18/c...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/18/c...
Iowa City Made Its Buses Free. Traffic Cleared, and So Did the Air.
www.nytimes.com
November 24, 2025 at 12:51 AM
"People drove 1.8 million fewer miles on city streets, according to government calculations, and emissions dropped by 24,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide a year. That’s the equivalent of taking 5,200 vehicles off the roads."
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/18/c...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/18/c...
given the names already known, it ain't hard to figure out some of these
Thomas Massie says the FBI is sitting on information that implicates 20 other men in Epstein's child sex trafficking operation
They include a rockstar, six billionaires (including one from Canada), a high-profile government official, a very prominent banker, and a magician
They include a rockstar, six billionaires (including one from Canada), a high-profile government official, a very prominent banker, and a magician
November 23, 2025 at 4:32 PM
given the names already known, it ain't hard to figure out some of these
"the New Right now appears to be at the center of the most dynamic political movement in modern American history"
🧐
www.newyorker.com/culture/open...
🧐
www.newyorker.com/culture/open...
Does MAGA Have Ideas?
A new book traces the intellectual origins of Trumpism—straight into the void.
www.newyorker.com
November 22, 2025 at 3:49 PM
"the New Right now appears to be at the center of the most dynamic political movement in modern American history"
🧐
www.newyorker.com/culture/open...
🧐
www.newyorker.com/culture/open...
trump understands politics
national dems rely on consultants who clearly don’t
national dems rely on consultants who clearly don’t
The weird thing is with Donald Trump just said about Zohran Mandani is what every Democrat should’ve said about Zohran Mamdani the moment he secured the Democratic nomination.
November 22, 2025 at 12:27 AM
trump understands politics
national dems rely on consultants who clearly don’t
national dems rely on consultants who clearly don’t
ok we're clearly living in a simulation or hologram or something because it's clearly crashing
someone needs to unplug it and plug it back in
someone needs to unplug it and plug it back in
Q: would you feel comfortable living in NYC under a Mamdani administration ?
TRUMP: I would. I really would.
TRUMP: I would. I really would.
November 22, 2025 at 12:20 AM
ok we're clearly living in a simulation or hologram or something because it's clearly crashing
someone needs to unplug it and plug it back in
someone needs to unplug it and plug it back in
great night at the @swaempls.bsky.social election debrief
heard insightful, actionable election insights from @joshmartinmpls.bsky.social , an update on the Roof Depot project, and met a ton of neighbors who were checking out SWAE for the first time
heard insightful, actionable election insights from @joshmartinmpls.bsky.social , an update on the Roof Depot project, and met a ton of neighbors who were checking out SWAE for the first time
November 21, 2025 at 3:39 AM
great night at the @swaempls.bsky.social election debrief
heard insightful, actionable election insights from @joshmartinmpls.bsky.social , an update on the Roof Depot project, and met a ton of neighbors who were checking out SWAE for the first time
heard insightful, actionable election insights from @joshmartinmpls.bsky.social , an update on the Roof Depot project, and met a ton of neighbors who were checking out SWAE for the first time
Reposted by Chris
ICE’s Detention Center outside Chicago was sued on October 30 for allegedly abusing detainees. One day later, a "system crash" lost all video footage that could have shown how detainees were being treated. trib.al/QwT3aqI
November 21, 2025 at 12:12 AM
ICE’s Detention Center outside Chicago was sued on October 30 for allegedly abusing detainees. One day later, a "system crash" lost all video footage that could have shown how detainees were being treated. trib.al/QwT3aqI
For how much the national Dems could improve -- in leadership, media strategy, etc -- they are still light years beyond UK's Labour party
Why is Labour so consistently terrible? It's amazing how bad they are at all things
Why is Labour so consistently terrible? It's amazing how bad they are at all things
November 21, 2025 at 1:12 AM
For how much the national Dems could improve -- in leadership, media strategy, etc -- they are still light years beyond UK's Labour party
Why is Labour so consistently terrible? It's amazing how bad they are at all things
Why is Labour so consistently terrible? It's amazing how bad they are at all things
Reposted by Chris
Fascinating to think about the longterm consequences of this for social science. Might it lead to a reversal of the 'empirical turn' in economics and return to theory? A growth in popularity of in person qualitative research? Prioritisation of objective indicators in quant work?
new paper by Sean Westwood:
With current technology, it is impossible to tell whether survey respondents are real or bots. Among other things, makes it easy for bad actors to manipulate outcomes. No good news here for the future of online-based survey research
With current technology, it is impossible to tell whether survey respondents are real or bots. Among other things, makes it easy for bad actors to manipulate outcomes. No good news here for the future of online-based survey research
November 20, 2025 at 10:53 PM
Fascinating to think about the longterm consequences of this for social science. Might it lead to a reversal of the 'empirical turn' in economics and return to theory? A growth in popularity of in person qualitative research? Prioritisation of objective indicators in quant work?
student loan $$ w no cost controls --> "irresponsible"
health care $$ w no cost controls --> "capitalism"
health care $$ w no cost controls --> "capitalism"
Ron Johnson has a way with his talking points:
"The way you do it is you have people pay more of their own health care. You have them pay for things... That's real, free-market capitalism."
"The way you do it is you have people pay more of their own health care. You have them pay for things... That's real, free-market capitalism."
who's excited to price shop for emergency medical care?
November 20, 2025 at 9:48 PM
student loan $$ w no cost controls --> "irresponsible"
health care $$ w no cost controls --> "capitalism"
health care $$ w no cost controls --> "capitalism"
this all seems like that one twilight zone ep where the kid is a God and everyone worships him, only w Musk it's only bots and AI so it's extra pathetic
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It%27s_...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It%27s_...
November 20, 2025 at 9:45 PM
this all seems like that one twilight zone ep where the kid is a God and everyone worships him, only w Musk it's only bots and AI so it's extra pathetic
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It%27s_...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It%27s_...
this is tantamount to dissolving congress -- an appropriation controlled by the executive is no longer an expression of congressional will
Remember when Loper Bright was supposed to restore congressional primacy?
An important piece of reporting. Even congressional Republicans wanted to include appropriations-bill language to protect Congress's power of the purse. But Russ Vought has pressured them to cut the language, and the House Republicans rolled over. www.notus.org/congress/mar...
November 20, 2025 at 12:50 AM
this is tantamount to dissolving congress -- an appropriation controlled by the executive is no longer an expression of congressional will
Hope to see you there!
Join us tomorrow for election chat and community!
Join us at 7pm Thursday, 11/20, at Nico's Taco Bar for a post-election debrief.
We’ll reflect on the election results together, process the wins and the losses, and dig into what’s ahead.
RSVP: www.eventbrite.com/e/what-comes...
We’ll reflect on the election results together, process the wins and the losses, and dig into what’s ahead.
RSVP: www.eventbrite.com/e/what-comes...
November 19, 2025 at 10:24 PM
Hope to see you there!
Reposted by Chris
man this 2014-2024 map is pretty striking 🎁 www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Rising Home Insurance Premiums Are Eating Into Home Values in Disaster-Prone Areas (Gift Article)
Changes in the insurance market have started to affect home prices in the most disaster-prone areas, new research finds, pushing some homeowners’ finances to the breaking point.
www.nytimes.com
November 19, 2025 at 2:02 PM
man this 2014-2024 map is pretty striking 🎁 www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Dems "presume a (genuine!) commitment to protecting the status quo institutions of US electoralism amounts to support for democracy that the public ought to reward. But the public has grown jaded about the quality [of] those institutions"~ @interfluidity.com
drafts.interfluidity.com/2025/11/18/r...
drafts.interfluidity.com/2025/11/18/r...
Running on democracy hasn't been tried
drafts @ interfluidity
drafts.interfluidity.com
November 19, 2025 at 1:20 AM
Dems "presume a (genuine!) commitment to protecting the status quo institutions of US electoralism amounts to support for democracy that the public ought to reward. But the public has grown jaded about the quality [of] those institutions"~ @interfluidity.com
drafts.interfluidity.com/2025/11/18/r...
drafts.interfluidity.com/2025/11/18/r...
"When he was arrested, he said 'I'm ICE, boys'"
US is leading innovation on Get Out of Jail Free cards, between being an ICE officer, claiming you were cancelled, rioting on J6/ rigging elections, doing crypto scams, stealing copyrighted material, & doing sex crimes
www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/ne...
US is leading innovation on Get Out of Jail Free cards, between being an ICE officer, claiming you were cancelled, rioting on J6/ rigging elections, doing crypto scams, stealing copyrighted material, & doing sex crimes
www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/ne...
ICE employee among 16 men arrested in Bloomington sex trafficking sting, police say
According to Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges, officers started the three-day sting on Nov. 5. They used several methods to find people who were attempting to solicit a 17-year-old girl for sex.
www.cbsnews.com
November 18, 2025 at 7:56 PM
"When he was arrested, he said 'I'm ICE, boys'"
US is leading innovation on Get Out of Jail Free cards, between being an ICE officer, claiming you were cancelled, rioting on J6/ rigging elections, doing crypto scams, stealing copyrighted material, & doing sex crimes
www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/ne...
US is leading innovation on Get Out of Jail Free cards, between being an ICE officer, claiming you were cancelled, rioting on J6/ rigging elections, doing crypto scams, stealing copyrighted material, & doing sex crimes
www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/ne...
Reposted by Chris
“Things happen.”
Jamal Khashoggi was a journalist and Washington Post columnist who was literally murdered and dismembered by agents of the Saudi government inside a Saudi consulate.
Shameful. So shameful.
Jamal Khashoggi was a journalist and Washington Post columnist who was literally murdered and dismembered by agents of the Saudi government inside a Saudi consulate.
Shameful. So shameful.
Trump suggests Khashoggi had it coming: "You're mentioning someone that was extremely controversial. A lot of people didn't like that gentleman that you're talking about. Whether you like him or didn't like him, things happen. But he knew nothing about it. You don't have to embarrass our guest."
November 18, 2025 at 6:05 PM
“Things happen.”
Jamal Khashoggi was a journalist and Washington Post columnist who was literally murdered and dismembered by agents of the Saudi government inside a Saudi consulate.
Shameful. So shameful.
Jamal Khashoggi was a journalist and Washington Post columnist who was literally murdered and dismembered by agents of the Saudi government inside a Saudi consulate.
Shameful. So shameful.
Reposted by Chris
The Caribbean murders and the Epstein coverup underscore the importance of deterring compliance with Trump’s illegal and corrupt orders. But his poor character and the existence of the pardon power complicate the psychology of deterrence. www.offmessage.net/p/maga-corru...
MAGA Corruption And The Psychology Of Deterrence
Criminal accountability may be off the table for some Trump loyalists; but other forms—yes, including impeachment—are not.
www.offmessage.net
November 18, 2025 at 5:07 PM
The Caribbean murders and the Epstein coverup underscore the importance of deterring compliance with Trump’s illegal and corrupt orders. But his poor character and the existence of the pardon power complicate the psychology of deterrence. www.offmessage.net/p/maga-corru...
Reposted by Chris
About 30 cars of ICE and DEA agents staging st Newell park in St. Paul
November 18, 2025 at 2:34 PM
About 30 cars of ICE and DEA agents staging st Newell park in St. Paul
for sale: insights, never repeated
November 18, 2025 at 4:03 PM
for sale: insights, never repeated
"decision-based, evidence-making" is sort of the core DNA of MAGA
A new profile of RFK Jr offers fresh insights into how he works, the bond he shares with Trump, & how he's moved HHS “from evidence-based decision-making to decision-based evidence-making." Story by @chelseacirruzzo.bsky.social, @caseyross.bsky.social, & me:
www.statnews.com/2025/11/18/r...
www.statnews.com/2025/11/18/r...
How RFK Jr., America's celebrity health secretary, is steamrolling science
RFK Jr. is plowing ahead with sweeping changes to U.S. health care that have thrilled supporters, purged opponents, and horrified critics.
www.statnews.com
November 18, 2025 at 4:00 PM
"decision-based, evidence-making" is sort of the core DNA of MAGA
"Even without fusion, it’s possible for WFP to create a local party, recruit members, endorse candidates, and make members available to work in campaigns. The 2025 local elections proved that strategy to be an impressive success in places far from New York City."
prospect.org/2025/11/18/o...
prospect.org/2025/11/18/o...
Other Victories for Working Families - The American Prospect
Mamdani got the headlines, but New York was not a one-off. Candidates endorsed by the Working Families Party had amazing election successes elsewhere in America.
prospect.org
November 18, 2025 at 2:28 PM
"Even without fusion, it’s possible for WFP to create a local party, recruit members, endorse candidates, and make members available to work in campaigns. The 2025 local elections proved that strategy to be an impressive success in places far from New York City."
prospect.org/2025/11/18/o...
prospect.org/2025/11/18/o...
this is great ⤵️
I wrote about how an Iraq-war era military contractor ended up as a mall cop cracking down on a protest encampment in Minneapolis the summer after the George Floyd protests. This is the story of Nathan Seabrook and long arc of the war on terror. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
How a mercenary became a Minneapolis mall cop
After the George Floyd protests, a former military contractor named Nathan Seabrook brought the war home.
www.motherjones.com
November 17, 2025 at 11:37 PM
this is great ⤵️
Reposted by Chris
A few years ago, we asked @eamonwhalen.bsky.social to look into an odd story: A mall in Minneapolis hired a group led by a former military contractor in Iraq to crack down on a memorial garden.
Today, we’re publishing the wild story that Eamon dug up.
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
Today, we’re publishing the wild story that Eamon dug up.
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
How a mercenary became a Minneapolis mall cop
After the George Floyd protests, a former military contractor named Nathan Seabrook brought the war home.
www.motherjones.com
November 17, 2025 at 1:29 PM
A few years ago, we asked @eamonwhalen.bsky.social to look into an odd story: A mall in Minneapolis hired a group led by a former military contractor in Iraq to crack down on a memorial garden.
Today, we’re publishing the wild story that Eamon dug up.
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
Today, we’re publishing the wild story that Eamon dug up.
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...