Devon Paul
@devonp.bsky.social
Geek, politics junkie, lawyer. Everything is my own views, nothing to do with my employer. He/him.
Reposted by Devon Paul
First off, my suspension has ended. Got a little harsh with a post a few days ago but I didn’t have my feet on the ground and I’m sorry if I offended anyone. Will try to be more chipper. Knock on wood!
November 17, 2025 at 9:04 PM
First off, my suspension has ended. Got a little harsh with a post a few days ago but I didn’t have my feet on the ground and I’m sorry if I offended anyone. Will try to be more chipper. Knock on wood!
The mosaics of San Vitale are absolutely showstopping. Ravenna is absolutely worth a visit. It's a relatively easy day trip from Bologna too, if you're in that area of Italy.
November 17, 2025 at 1:47 PM
The mosaics of San Vitale are absolutely showstopping. Ravenna is absolutely worth a visit. It's a relatively easy day trip from Bologna too, if you're in that area of Italy.
What the heck is wrong with the UK education system that they don't teach this history?
holy shit: “Among the 2,000 UK adults surveyed, 85% were unaware that Britain forcibly transported more than 3 million Africans to the Caribbean, 89% did not know that Britain enslaved people in the Caribbean for more than 300 years” www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
Caribbean reparations leaders in ‘historic’ first UK visit to press for justice
CRC mission will seek to deepen public understanding of Britain’s colonial legacy and its lasting impact
www.theguardian.com
November 17, 2025 at 1:07 PM
What the heck is wrong with the UK education system that they don't teach this history?
Ah yes, an emergency stay motion that it took nine days to file.
UPDATE: Today, DOJ filed an "emergency" motion in the Ninth Circuit seeking a stay of Judge Immergut's Nov. 7 ruling siding with Oregon (and others suing) in the case over Trump's effort to federalize and deploy National Guard troops in the state.
Filing: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
Filing: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
November 17, 2025 at 3:14 AM
Ah yes, an emergency stay motion that it took nine days to file.
Reposted by Devon Paul
Shabana Mahmood on the BBC this morning talking about desperate people fleeing war and persecution as being given a "golden ticket" and "handouts" and saying she's got a "moral mission" to take them away from them
Indistinguishable from the rhetoric of Reform www.adambienkov.co.uk/p/shabana-ma...
Indistinguishable from the rhetoric of Reform www.adambienkov.co.uk/p/shabana-ma...
Shabana Mahmood and the Politics of Extortion
Labour's strategy of telling its supporters to back Reform-style policies, or get a Reform Government, is the politics of the protection racket and it is not going to work
www.adambienkov.co.uk
November 16, 2025 at 9:25 AM
Shabana Mahmood on the BBC this morning talking about desperate people fleeing war and persecution as being given a "golden ticket" and "handouts" and saying she's got a "moral mission" to take them away from them
Indistinguishable from the rhetoric of Reform www.adambienkov.co.uk/p/shabana-ma...
Indistinguishable from the rhetoric of Reform www.adambienkov.co.uk/p/shabana-ma...
Reposted by Devon Paul
Deep breath, once more for those at the back, seeking asylum is not illegal. No matter route used, which considering Labour has closed pretty much all the last remaining alternatives means irregular ones.
Anti-immigration sentiments are stoked by politicians like Mahmood, not people seeking safety.
Anti-immigration sentiments are stoked by politicians like Mahmood, not people seeking safety.
November 16, 2025 at 9:46 AM
Deep breath, once more for those at the back, seeking asylum is not illegal. No matter route used, which considering Labour has closed pretty much all the last remaining alternatives means irregular ones.
Anti-immigration sentiments are stoked by politicians like Mahmood, not people seeking safety.
Anti-immigration sentiments are stoked by politicians like Mahmood, not people seeking safety.
Reposted by Devon Paul
people don't even notice how at the beginning of the last chapter of The Lord of the Rings, Frodo defunds the police
February 28, 2025 at 7:56 AM
people don't even notice how at the beginning of the last chapter of The Lord of the Rings, Frodo defunds the police
Picking a fight with the spiritual leader of a huge number of people, who either party need to win any remotely fair election, for standing for basic decency seems like a losing proposition.
The U.S. bishops defended migrant families. Tom Homan snapped. Nan Hayworth called Pope Leo a “tool of our enemies.” Tim Burchett accused the church of getting rich off of sex trafficking.
Matt Walsh, Lara Logan, and the rest joined in. This is what MAGA anti-Catholicism looks like.
Matt Walsh, Lara Logan, and the rest joined in. This is what MAGA anti-Catholicism looks like.
“Pope Leo Is a Tool of Our Enemies”: Homan Leads MAGA Attacks as Hayworth, Others Pile On
It’s the latest MAGA attack on Pope Leo’s pro-immigrant stance. Disgraced border chief Tom Homan — caught taking a $50,000 bribe in a Cava takeout bag — led the charge against Leo and the bishops.
www.thelettersfromleo.com
November 15, 2025 at 11:45 PM
Picking a fight with the spiritual leader of a huge number of people, who either party need to win any remotely fair election, for standing for basic decency seems like a losing proposition.
This is just looting the Treasury behind a legal facade.
NEW: DOJ has been in settlement talks with Michael Flynn -- Trump's first national security adviser seeking $50M for his prosecution by ex-special counsel Robert Mueller -- and Stefan Passantino, a Trump I White House lawyer who accused the House Jan. 6 committee of privacy violations
bit.ly/4hWdolc
bit.ly/4hWdolc
November 14, 2025 at 6:34 PM
This is just looting the Treasury behind a legal facade.
This is an inane moderation decision.
patton oswalt has been suspended from bluesky for saying that megyn kelly should be fed to a woodchipper for justifying the sexual abuse of minors
November 14, 2025 at 1:57 PM
This is an inane moderation decision.
War crime tourism. Monsters.
November 12, 2025 at 1:59 PM
War crime tourism. Monsters.
This is ridiculous. A decision with no reasons given is just an arbitrary exercise of power and presumptively done for illegitimate reasons unless proven otherwise (say by giving comprehensible reasons).
Our policy has been not to comment on individual accounts. You end up having to litigate every case in public, and we don’t have the capacity for infinite debates in public.
Then there’s also the consequences such as the increased litigation and bad actors gaming your systems.
Then there’s also the consequences such as the increased litigation and bad actors gaming your systems.
November 12, 2025 at 12:25 PM
This is ridiculous. A decision with no reasons given is just an arbitrary exercise of power and presumptively done for illegitimate reasons unless proven otherwise (say by giving comprehensible reasons).
I'm so mad that every time there is a big aurora it is super cloudy here in Toronto. Snowing tonight.
November 12, 2025 at 5:03 AM
I'm so mad that every time there is a big aurora it is super cloudy here in Toronto. Snowing tonight.
Reposted by Devon Paul
This a big deal: "China’s carbon dioxide emissions have been flat or falling for 18 months"
China's economy has grown by ~5% in the last year, so this comprehensively debunks the idea (again) that emissions are tied to growth. So yes, faster progress needed, but this is how you turn the corner.
China's economy has grown by ~5% in the last year, so this comprehensively debunks the idea (again) that emissions are tied to growth. So yes, faster progress needed, but this is how you turn the corner.
China’s CO2 emissions have been flat or falling for past 18 months, analysis finds
World’s biggest polluter on track to hit peak emissions target early but miss goal for cutting carbon intensity
www.theguardian.com
November 11, 2025 at 9:20 AM
This a big deal: "China’s carbon dioxide emissions have been flat or falling for 18 months"
China's economy has grown by ~5% in the last year, so this comprehensively debunks the idea (again) that emissions are tied to growth. So yes, faster progress needed, but this is how you turn the corner.
China's economy has grown by ~5% in the last year, so this comprehensively debunks the idea (again) that emissions are tied to growth. So yes, faster progress needed, but this is how you turn the corner.
Reposted by Devon Paul
UK government project using AI to find benefit fraud resulted in:
- A 46% false fraud rate
- Anguish for families who were wrongly accused of fraud and had benefits stopped
- Months of additional work for government, setting up a hotline, correcting false fraud
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
- A 46% false fraud rate
- Anguish for families who were wrongly accused of fraud and had benefits stopped
- Months of additional work for government, setting up a hotline, correcting false fraud
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
HMRC trial of child benefit crackdown wrongly suspected fraud in 46% of cases
Exclusive: Almost half of families flagged as emigrants based on Home Office travel data were still living in UK
www.theguardian.com
November 9, 2025 at 3:11 PM
UK government project using AI to find benefit fraud resulted in:
- A 46% false fraud rate
- Anguish for families who were wrongly accused of fraud and had benefits stopped
- Months of additional work for government, setting up a hotline, correcting false fraud
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
- A 46% false fraud rate
- Anguish for families who were wrongly accused of fraud and had benefits stopped
- Months of additional work for government, setting up a hotline, correcting false fraud
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
Thanks, antivaxxers, for making this country less safe for everyone. A hearty go fuck yourselves to you on this Monday.
November 10, 2025 at 3:33 PM
Thanks, antivaxxers, for making this country less safe for everyone. A hearty go fuck yourselves to you on this Monday.
Reposted by Devon Paul
Remember when they said the reason they caved in March was so they could get a better deal in September lmao
November 10, 2025 at 2:20 AM
Remember when they said the reason they caved in March was so they could get a better deal in September lmao
Reposted by Devon Paul
The coordinated nature of this—none are facing voters in 2026—means that either Schumer approved it or failed in his job as Senate Majority Leader to stop it.
Dems voting "no" get zero credit until they demand a change in leadership. Schumer out as Leader, Durbin out as Whip.
Dems voting "no" get zero credit until they demand a change in leadership. Schumer out as Leader, Durbin out as Whip.
so currently defectors are:
Kaine (2030)
Shaheen (Retiring)
Hasan (2028)
Fetterman (2028)
Durbin (Retiring)
CCM (2028)
Rosen (2030)
King (2030)
Kaine (2030)
Shaheen (Retiring)
Hasan (2028)
Fetterman (2028)
Durbin (Retiring)
CCM (2028)
Rosen (2030)
King (2030)
November 10, 2025 at 2:43 AM
The coordinated nature of this—none are facing voters in 2026—means that either Schumer approved it or failed in his job as Senate Majority Leader to stop it.
Dems voting "no" get zero credit until they demand a change in leadership. Schumer out as Leader, Durbin out as Whip.
Dems voting "no" get zero credit until they demand a change in leadership. Schumer out as Leader, Durbin out as Whip.
Reposted by Devon Paul
if you genuinely think Schumer and Democratic leadership opposed this & Republicans coincidentally got exactly the number of votes they needed to avoid a filibuster and none of those votes are from Democratic Senators who are up for reelection in the midterms next year, I have a bridge to sell you.
November 10, 2025 at 3:05 AM
if you genuinely think Schumer and Democratic leadership opposed this & Republicans coincidentally got exactly the number of votes they needed to avoid a filibuster and none of those votes are from Democratic Senators who are up for reelection in the midterms next year, I have a bridge to sell you.
The number of people desperately trying to excuse a liberal favourite for stepping in to let Trump starve kids is really something.
November 8, 2025 at 4:06 AM
The number of people desperately trying to excuse a liberal favourite for stepping in to let Trump starve kids is really something.
In which apparently Justice Jackson thinks taking food out of the mouths of children is totally cool.
#BREAKING: Justice Jackson has issued an "administrative" stay, temporarily pausing a district court order that would've required the USDA to continue using contingency funds to pay SNAP benefits.
The stay expires 48 hours after the First Circuit rules on USDA's request for a stay pending appeal.
The stay expires 48 hours after the First Circuit rules on USDA's request for a stay pending appeal.
November 8, 2025 at 2:51 AM
In which apparently Justice Jackson thinks taking food out of the mouths of children is totally cool.
Watching juries in the United States exercise the power of nullification is a beautiful, beautiful, thing. A striking way for ordinary people to push back against an attempt to use the legal system to enact tyranny.
November 6, 2025 at 9:24 PM
Watching juries in the United States exercise the power of nullification is a beautiful, beautiful, thing. A striking way for ordinary people to push back against an attempt to use the legal system to enact tyranny.
Reposted by Devon Paul
BREAKING: JUSTICE DEPARTMENT EATS A LOSS IN 'SANDWICH GUY' CASE AS JURORS FIND DEFENDANT NOT GUILTY www.nbcnews.com/politics/jus...
Jury acquits D.C. 'sandwich guy' charged with chucking a sub at a federal agent
Sean Dunn faced single misdemeanor offense after federal grand jurors refused to indict him on the felony charge sought by prosecutors.
www.nbcnews.com
November 6, 2025 at 7:27 PM
BREAKING: JUSTICE DEPARTMENT EATS A LOSS IN 'SANDWICH GUY' CASE AS JURORS FIND DEFENDANT NOT GUILTY www.nbcnews.com/politics/jus...
Intriguing. I had always just assumed that it was like pepper spray, and came from or had something to do with the spice Mace, but it seems not.
He hit upon a clever name for it, and called it "Chemical Mace" , naming it after the medieval club-like weapon.
November 6, 2025 at 2:24 PM
Intriguing. I had always just assumed that it was like pepper spray, and came from or had something to do with the spice Mace, but it seems not.
The bragging that Trump is going to do about winning the "FIFA Peace Prize" is going to have the exact same energy as a kid bragging about getting a "mom's favourite little guy" prize but with the overpowering stench of corruption.
November 6, 2025 at 2:06 PM
The bragging that Trump is going to do about winning the "FIFA Peace Prize" is going to have the exact same energy as a kid bragging about getting a "mom's favourite little guy" prize but with the overpowering stench of corruption.