Ellis Hankins
@forrepdemruleoflaw.bsky.social
Very concerned American in North Carolina. Retired lawyer & public policy/management professor in a purple state (the state, not me). Married up. Public commercial airport board member, aviation enthusiast.
The MAGA partisan hack majority feel free to ignore facts & precedent, engage in revisionist history & just make up new “legal doctrines” (major questions doctrine). They decide their preferred policy outcome, & then reverse engineer the rationale, if they bother to explain the result at all.
US Supreme Court may be poised to ditch more of its precedents
How much allegiance do conservative justices owe to legal precedents set years ago?
www.reuters.com
December 7, 2025 at 12:34 PM
The MAGA partisan hack majority feel free to ignore facts & precedent, engage in revisionist history & just make up new “legal doctrines” (major questions doctrine). They decide their preferred policy outcome, & then reverse engineer the rationale, if they bother to explain the result at all.
“We are witnessing an unprecedented situation – really as far as I can tell in history – where a global leader of education and research is voluntarily dismantling that which gave it an advantage.”
These people are diminishing the United States in so many ways—deliberately, it appears to me.
These people are diminishing the United States in so many ways—deliberately, it appears to me.
MAGA 101: Inside Trump’s fast-track masterclass in undermining academic freedom - Index on Censorship
A report on the impact of the Trump administration’s assault on research and teaching in the United States and what the future might hold for free expression in academia in other democracies
www.indexoncensorship.org
December 7, 2025 at 12:11 PM
“We are witnessing an unprecedented situation – really as far as I can tell in history – where a global leader of education and research is voluntarily dismantling that which gave it an advantage.”
These people are diminishing the United States in so many ways—deliberately, it appears to me.
These people are diminishing the United States in so many ways—deliberately, it appears to me.
Even the WSJ editorial board gets it.
Russian fool tools.
Russian fool tools.
December 6, 2025 at 11:39 PM
Even the WSJ editorial board gets it.
Russian fool tools.
Russian fool tools.
If the boat strikes in the Caribbean & Pacific really were about drugs, the regime instead would order more Coast Guard interdictions like this. It’s not. It’s about blood lust & demonstrating that this lawless regime can kill anybody they want to, any time & anywhere.
20,000-pound cocaine seizure by Coast Guard breaks 18-year-old record
Video shows Coast Guard vehicles pursuing a go-fast vessel that appeared to have multiple people aboard.
www.cbsnews.com
December 6, 2025 at 8:24 PM
If the boat strikes in the Caribbean & Pacific really were about drugs, the regime instead would order more Coast Guard interdictions like this. It’s not. It’s about blood lust & demonstrating that this lawless regime can kill anybody they want to, any time & anywhere.
Ukraine & the rest of the civilized world needs effective German leadership, in light of the abdication & hostility of our kleptocratic American regime. We’re getting it.
Merz and Pistorius Just Closed the One Gap Putin Was Counting On
Europe’s Entire Defense Collapsed Into One Question. Germany Answered It.
open.substack.com
December 6, 2025 at 4:00 PM
Ukraine & the rest of the civilized world needs effective German leadership, in light of the abdication & hostility of our kleptocratic American regime. We’re getting it.
Part of their continuing campaign to eliminate all constraints and accountability. And obviously Little Marco has sold his soul.
Exodus From State Department Legal Office Could Heighten Risk Of Trump Admin Breaking The Law
The office tackles global issues such as the administration’s deadly strikes in the Caribbean, which lawmakers and experts say could involve war crimes. Dozens of officials have left this year.
www.huffpost.com
December 6, 2025 at 3:45 PM
Part of their continuing campaign to eliminate all constraints and accountability. And obviously Little Marco has sold his soul.
These people are going to cause even more avoidable deaths than last time.
Trump asks RFK Jr. to ‘fast track’ vaccine schedule review
The president weighed in after the health secretary’s vaccine advisers recommended a major change to the shots routinely given to children.
www.politico.com
December 6, 2025 at 12:28 PM
These people are going to cause even more avoidable deaths than last time.
We’re now commemorating the MAGA Maximum Leader’s birthday at our national parks, & ignoring Juneteenth & MLK Day, by the way, in case you missed it. Probably we’ll soon have large portrait banners on federal buildings.
National parks cut free entry for MLK Day, add Trump's birthday
NPS changed its free admission days in 2026, removing MLK Day and Juneteenth while adding Trump's birthday.
www.usatoday.com
December 6, 2025 at 12:16 PM
We’re now commemorating the MAGA Maximum Leader’s birthday at our national parks, & ignoring Juneteenth & MLK Day, by the way, in case you missed it. Probably we’ll soon have large portrait banners on federal buildings.
Reposted by Ellis Hankins
The new National Security Strategy is a propaganda document, designed to be widely read. It is also a performative suicide. Hard to think of another great power ever abdicating its influence so quickly and so publicly. It will be worth following the reactions around the world, not just in Europe.
Trump's national security strategy is out and some of the Europe sections are shocking. "...the growing influence of patriotic European parties indeed
gives cause for great optimism."
www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/u...
gives cause for great optimism."
www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/u...
December 5, 2025 at 12:17 PM
The new National Security Strategy is a propaganda document, designed to be widely read. It is also a performative suicide. Hard to think of another great power ever abdicating its influence so quickly and so publicly. It will be worth following the reactions around the world, not just in Europe.
Miles Taylor
“What happened on Sept. 2 was an apparent trial-less execution carried out by what is supposed to be the freest country in the world….It was a deliberate killing of civilians whom the U.S. government chose not to capture, when they very well could have.
“What happened on Sept. 2 was an apparent trial-less execution carried out by what is supposed to be the freest country in the world….It was a deliberate killing of civilians whom the U.S. government chose not to capture, when they very well could have.
The most damning revelation yet: they KNEW.
Despite "fog of war" denials, Hegseth's team watched drug boat for an hour -- and saw the survivors -- before killing everyone.
open.substack.com
December 5, 2025 at 1:23 PM
Miles Taylor
“What happened on Sept. 2 was an apparent trial-less execution carried out by what is supposed to be the freest country in the world….It was a deliberate killing of civilians whom the U.S. government chose not to capture, when they very well could have.
“What happened on Sept. 2 was an apparent trial-less execution carried out by what is supposed to be the freest country in the world….It was a deliberate killing of civilians whom the U.S. government chose not to capture, when they very well could have.
Wow. Good for those grand jurors.
Grand Jury Rejects New Indictment Against Letitia James
A judge dismissed the previous mortgage fraud prosecution encouraged by President Donald Trump.
www.huffpost.com
December 5, 2025 at 2:30 AM
Wow. Good for those grand jurors.
What a surprise.
Supreme Court lets Texas use gerrymandered map that could give GOP 5 more House seats
The Supreme Court has cleared the way for a Texas congressional map that may help the GOP win five more U.S. House seats in the 2026 midterms. A lower court found the map is likely unconstitutional.
www.npr.org
December 5, 2025 at 2:25 AM
What a surprise.
Chuck Todd
“If nothing improves, the GOP is staring at a historically bad midterm environment.”
“If nothing improves, the GOP is staring at a historically bad midterm environment.”
JUST HOW MUCH HAS THE MIDTERM ENVIRONMENT SHIFTED TOWARD THE DEMOCRATS
(More than you may realize)
open.substack.com
December 4, 2025 at 3:25 PM
Chuck Todd
“If nothing improves, the GOP is staring at a historically bad midterm environment.”
“If nothing improves, the GOP is staring at a historically bad midterm environment.”
Another Eric Adams type pardon. Trump hates prosecution of public corruption, except when real Democrats are indicted, because he, like all authoritarians, is all about public corruption himself. Lawless mob.
thehill.com
December 3, 2025 at 4:11 PM
Another Eric Adams type pardon. Trump hates prosecution of public corruption, except when real Democrats are indicted, because he, like all authoritarians, is all about public corruption himself. Lawless mob.
The answer is:
They don’t care about you or anyone who needs help. They only care about helping their friends & billionaire benefactors who don’t need any help at all.
They don’t care about you or anyone who needs help. They only care about helping their friends & billionaire benefactors who don’t need any help at all.
Obamacare subsidies expire this month. Many Republicans are shrugging.
"No one wants a primary challenge where the accusation is: ‘You supported Obamacare.'"
www.politico.com
December 3, 2025 at 12:43 PM
The answer is:
They don’t care about you or anyone who needs help. They only care about helping their friends & billionaire benefactors who don’t need any help at all.
They don’t care about you or anyone who needs help. They only care about helping their friends & billionaire benefactors who don’t need any help at all.
Of course they did. Only the best people.
All authoritarians abuse power to protect & enrich themselves & their friends & benefactors, & punish their enemies.
All authoritarians abuse power to protect & enrich themselves & their friends & benefactors, & punish their enemies.
The White House Intervened on Behalf of Accused Sex Trafficker Andrew Tate During a Federal Investigation
Federal authorities were chided for seizing electronic devices from Tate and his brother, and told to return them, records and interviews show. Experts said the intervention was highly inappropriate.
www.propublica.org
December 3, 2025 at 12:26 PM
Of course they did. Only the best people.
All authoritarians abuse power to protect & enrich themselves & their friends & benefactors, & punish their enemies.
All authoritarians abuse power to protect & enrich themselves & their friends & benefactors, & punish their enemies.
Best (sad) headline today.
Department of War Crimes
Since September 2, the Department of Defense (DOD) has used drones to kill more than 80 people traveling by boat in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific.
popular.info
December 3, 2025 at 2:20 AM
Best (sad) headline today.
Gen. Mark Hertling
Remembering Spc. Sarah Beckstrom and Honoring Her Service
A soldier lost in Washington, and what her death means for those who served beside her.
www.thebulwark.com
December 2, 2025 at 2:09 AM
Gen. Mark Hertling
Reposted by Ellis Hankins
"When senior leaders disparage legal oversight, sideline JAG officers, impede the ability of the press to report, or treat accountability as the enemy, they do more than risk unlawful action. They weaken the moral foundation that makes our military credible in the eyes of the American people...
@markhertling.bsky.social warns the gravest threat to the U.S. military is the erosion of the values that keep our forces lawful and legitimate. He implores Congress to investigate whether unlawful orders were issued in the Caribbean, and hold every official to account.
December 2, 2025 at 12:16 AM
"When senior leaders disparage legal oversight, sideline JAG officers, impede the ability of the press to report, or treat accountability as the enemy, they do more than risk unlawful action. They weaken the moral foundation that makes our military credible in the eyes of the American people...
Reposted by Ellis Hankins
Reposted by Ellis Hankins
I want Admiral Bradley to know that I admire him greatly and will support him completely, and if he could just lie on the pavement for a minute longer, I need to put this bus in reverse and then into drive just one more time.
If Admiral Bradley didn’t realize before that these cowards were setting him up to take the fall, he knows it now. Time to hire a good lawyer.
December 2, 2025 at 1:13 AM
I want Admiral Bradley to know that I admire him greatly and will support him completely, and if he could just lie on the pavement for a minute longer, I need to put this bus in reverse and then into drive just one more time.
Tom Nichols
As to the Franklin turtle meme that Sec’y Three Sheets Pete posted in a juvenile manner, I object. We read the Franklin books to our children years ago, over & over. The Franklin character is a much, much better being than this evil moron.
As to the Franklin turtle meme that Sec’y Three Sheets Pete posted in a juvenile manner, I object. We read the Franklin books to our children years ago, over & over. The Franklin character is a much, much better being than this evil moron.
Pete Hegseth Needs to Go—Now
A man with such contempt for the military should not run the Pentagon.
www.theatlantic.com
December 2, 2025 at 1:43 AM
Tom Nichols
As to the Franklin turtle meme that Sec’y Three Sheets Pete posted in a juvenile manner, I object. We read the Franklin books to our children years ago, over & over. The Franklin character is a much, much better being than this evil moron.
As to the Franklin turtle meme that Sec’y Three Sheets Pete posted in a juvenile manner, I object. We read the Franklin books to our children years ago, over & over. The Franklin character is a much, much better being than this evil moron.
These people can’t get their war criming straight.
We can conclude from this that there is proof that Three Sheets Pete ordered the second strike, so they can’t plausibly deny it. So they double down that killing defenseless noncombatants, because they want to, is fine.
We can conclude from this that there is proof that Three Sheets Pete ordered the second strike, so they can’t plausibly deny it. So they double down that killing defenseless noncombatants, because they want to, is fine.
White House Confirms and Defends 2nd Strike on Boat, Contradicting Trump
Karoline Leavitt's comments appear to contradict those Trump made a day earlier about the boat strikes
time.com
December 1, 2025 at 8:09 PM
These people can’t get their war criming straight.
We can conclude from this that there is proof that Three Sheets Pete ordered the second strike, so they can’t plausibly deny it. So they double down that killing defenseless noncombatants, because they want to, is fine.
We can conclude from this that there is proof that Three Sheets Pete ordered the second strike, so they can’t plausibly deny it. So they double down that killing defenseless noncombatants, because they want to, is fine.