@insp3ktr.bsky.social
Reposted
When a federal judge starts a ruling about the government's actions with an extended retelling of Kafka's "The Trial," you know the state of democracy in the good old US of A is in tip-top shape 🙃
Judge Boasberg's intro to the J.G.G. class cert. starts with Kafka.
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
![One morning, Kafka’s Josef K. awakens to encounter two strange men outside his room.
As he gets his bearings, he realizes that he is under arrest. When he asks the strangers why, he
receives no answer. “We weren’t sent to tell you that,” one says. “Proceedings are under way
and you’ll learn everything in due course.” Franz Kafka, The Trial 5 (Breon Mitchell trans.,
Schocken Books Inc. 1998). Bewildered by these men and distressed by their message, K. tries
to comfort himself that he lives in “a state governed by law,” one where “all statutes [are] in
force.” Id. at 6. He therefore demands again, “How can I be under arrest? And in this manner?”
“Now there you go again,” the guard replies. “We don’t answer such questions.” Undeterred, K.
offers his “papers” and demands their arrest warrant. “Good heavens!” the man scolds. “There’s
been no mistake.” “[O]ur department,” he assures K., is only “attracted by guilt”; it “doesn’t
seek [it] out . . . . That’s the Law.” Id. at 8–9. “I don’t know that law,” K. responds. “You’ll feel
it eventually,” the guard says. Id. at 9.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:24vva42nxim6zbcmnozegoef/bafkreihqu2ltxtejo74ua7znl7sifigkenohhszydiphitdvuvaf7qagka@jpeg)
June 4, 2025 at 9:19 PM
When a federal judge starts a ruling about the government's actions with an extended retelling of Kafka's "The Trial," you know the state of democracy in the good old US of A is in tip-top shape 🙃
Reposted
"The Democratic Party, at least in theory, is an organization dedicated to winning political power through elected office, though this might seem hard to believe on the evidence provided by its official proceedings."
www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...
www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...
The Democrats Show Why They Lost
At a meeting of the DNC, the party seemed to be at pains to demonstrate that it learned nothing from its 2024 defeat.
www.theatlantic.com
February 4, 2025 at 4:01 AM
"The Democratic Party, at least in theory, is an organization dedicated to winning political power through elected office, though this might seem hard to believe on the evidence provided by its official proceedings."
www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...
www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...
Reposted
Even before its website was taken down by Trump, the vast system of global aid that USAID manages had already been plunged into chaos by an “unexplained and abrupt pause with no guidance [that] has left all our partners around the world high and dry,” a USAID official told @propublica.org
February 1, 2025 at 8:55 PM
Even before its website was taken down by Trump, the vast system of global aid that USAID manages had already been plunged into chaos by an “unexplained and abrupt pause with no guidance [that] has left all our partners around the world high and dry,” a USAID official told @propublica.org
Usaid.gov is no longer accessible
U.S. Agency for International Development
Usaid.gov
February 1, 2025 at 8:24 PM
Usaid.gov is no longer accessible
Can someone share any analysis of the legality of the foreign aid stop work order? Some of the funds are congressionally appropriated and already disbursed. It seems the foreign aid community is too afraid to stand up, and isn’t this a usurpation of congressional power?
@stevevladeck.bsky.social
@stevevladeck.bsky.social
January 31, 2025 at 11:35 AM
Can someone share any analysis of the legality of the foreign aid stop work order? Some of the funds are congressionally appropriated and already disbursed. It seems the foreign aid community is too afraid to stand up, and isn’t this a usurpation of congressional power?
@stevevladeck.bsky.social
@stevevladeck.bsky.social
Reposted
International development is about power not charity. Don’t be fooled: USAID freeze will immediately hurt people fascists don’t care about AND serve as a performative display of nationalism for the people they pretend to care about. It will be quickly restored under fascist terms, unless…
January 26, 2025 at 9:57 PM
International development is about power not charity. Don’t be fooled: USAID freeze will immediately hurt people fascists don’t care about AND serve as a performative display of nationalism for the people they pretend to care about. It will be quickly restored under fascist terms, unless…