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jeffburtka.bsky.social
Jeff Burtka🇲🇽🇨🇦🇬🇱🇵🇦🇺🇦
@jeffburtka.bsky.social
850 followers 450 following 1.7K posts
Writing. Running. Outdoors.
Anishinaabe & Wyandot Land (Metro Detroit)
Writer. Lawyer.
Used to blog about the State of Michigan (Lifelong Michigander blog).
I blame it on my elegance.
#detroit #michigan
https://jburtka.journoportfolio.com
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jeffburtka.bsky.social
Google search results for "Miracle Mile Shopping Center."

None of these are in Chicago or Illinois.

How long before Noem and Bovino invade Monroeville, PA?
Image of a google search result showing 3 shopping centers named "Miracle Mile." One is in Pennsylvania, another is in Ohio, and the last one is in Nevada.
November 11, 2025 at 2:47 PM
jeffburtka.bsky.social
He's got lifeless eyes, black eyes, like a doll's eyes.
Photo of Donald Trump. His tie is too long as usual.
November 6, 2025 at 7:11 PM
jeffburtka.bsky.social
My phone gave me this notification this morning.

I guess Mike Pence finally had the courage.

#WorldSeries
Image of text that reads: Google Blue Jays win World Series The Toronto Blue Jays defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers to win the 2025 World Series
November 2, 2025 at 2:18 PM
jeffburtka.bsky.social
Actually, Tommy, it's up to you to stop him from attempting to blatantly violate the Constitution. You took an oath.

The GOP is anti-American for even entertaining this BS.
Image of United States Senate webpage with text that reads: About the Senate & the U.S. Constitution | Oath of Office I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.
October 28, 2025 at 8:41 PM
jeffburtka.bsky.social
This message is on the SNAP page. This GOP is so sick and lawless.

www.fns.usda.gov/snap/supplem...
Image of propaganda from the MAGA regime of text that reads: Senate Democrats have now voted 12 times to not fund the food stamp program, also known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Bottom line, the well has run dry. At this time, there will be no benefits issued November 01. We are approaching an inflection point for Senate Democrats. They can continue to hold out for healthcare for illegal aliens and gender mutilation procedures or reopen the government so mothers, babies, and the most vulnerable among us can receive critical nutrition assistance.
October 28, 2025 at 8:11 PM
jeffburtka.bsky.social
Image of Kent Brockman from the Simpsons with caption: I, for one, welcome our new Canadian overlords
October 27, 2025 at 7:36 PM
jeffburtka.bsky.social
What a shit show of a country.

So much money for fraud, waste, and abuse like a gilded ballroom and jets for Noem.

But the kids? The elderly? Those with disabilities?

Nah, they can starve. They're just the collateral damage of "winning."

The GOP's America!

www.michigan.gov/mdhhs/inside...
Text that reads: The federal government’s delay of SNAP benefits will place Michiganders at risk of food insecurity and poverty. SNAP, a critical program for families and individuals across Michigan to access food, is the nation’s largest food assistance program and one of the most effective tools to reduce food insecurity. Nearly 13% of Michigan households, approximately 1.4 million people, receive SNAP benefits. About 43% are families with children and 36% are families with members who are older adults or disabled.
October 23, 2025 at 6:27 PM
jeffburtka.bsky.social
The U.S. Communist Party? Sounds like they're flush with cash and have the manpower to organize a nationwide rally.

Image is from the Communist Party USA Wikipedia page.
Text that reads: In 2011, CPUSA claimed 2,000 members.[9] In 2017 and 2018, CPUSA claimed 5,000 members.[10][11] In 2019, former Party member Daniel Rosenberg claimed that "nearly half" of new joiners since 2000 had "paid no dues" and merely signed up for the mailing list.[12]: 54  In 2023, CPUSA claimed 15,000 members.[13] In 2024, CPUSA claimed 20,000 members on its mailing list.[14]
October 23, 2025 at 2:18 PM
jeffburtka.bsky.social
This rhetoric, Homan?

The call is coming from inside your house.
Image of racist and violent messages from the young Republicans. They include: "Great. I love Hitler." "Everyone that votes no is going to the gas chamber." and "They love the watermelon people."
October 22, 2025 at 7:31 PM
jeffburtka.bsky.social
No Kings.

Farmington Hills, Michigan.

Bigger turnout than I expected for a suburb.

"Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

#NoKings
Crowd of people holding signs Man in baseball cap holding a "No Kings" sign in a crowd. A person in an inflatable poop costume standing next to a person in an inflatable toilet costume. One is holding a sign that says "Don't Let Them Flush Away Our Rights." A person next to them hold a sign that says "No Faux-King Oligarchs."
October 18, 2025 at 7:33 PM
jeffburtka.bsky.social
If only the Founders created a branch of government that had the power to check the president.

[Image with alt text included]
Tweet from Chuck Grassley dated 10/17/25 that states: Pres Trump takes an oath to uphold the constitution & the laws but he hasnt told Congress he was firing the Ex-Im Inspector General The law says POTUS has to specifically inform Congress abt IG firings and unless the courts say otherwise thats still the law
October 18, 2025 at 1:30 PM
jeffburtka.bsky.social
Also, AI isn't real knowledge. Here's the @merriam-webster.com definition.

Arguably, it could be 2.a., but I think even that is a stretch.
Screenshot of the definition of "knowledge" from the Merriam-Webster website. It reads: 1 a (1) : the fact or condition of knowing something with familiarity gained through experience or association (2) : acquaintance with or understanding of a science, art, or technique b (1) : the fact or condition of being aware of something (2) : the range of one's information or understanding answered to the best of my knowledge c : the circumstance or condition of apprehending truth or fact through reasoning : cognition d : the fact or condition of having information or of being learned a person of unusual knowledge Image of text that reads: 2 a : the sum of what is known : the body of truth, information, and principles acquired by humankind b archaic : a branch of learning 3 archaic : sexual intercourse 4 obsolete : cognizance
October 16, 2025 at 4:51 PM
jeffburtka.bsky.social
This is awful. It's as if @stephenking.bsky.social wrote the Shawshank Redemption in his typical horror genre.

This guy basically is a real-life Andy Dufresne.
Text that reads: Zoë described her uncle as a deeply compassionate man who transformed his decades of imprisonment into a mission of service. “He really did so much over those years to show the person that he is,” she said. “He worked as a teacher, helping many, many people get their degrees — people who’ve spoken to us afterwards about how having him support them while they were incarcerated really changed their lives. He completed multiple degrees himself. He was always learning and caring.” She added that Vedam’s potential deportation to India would be devastating. “India, in many ways, is a completely different world to him,” she said. “He left India when he was nine months old. None of us can remember our lives at nine months old. He hasn’t been there for over 44 years, and the people he knew when he went as a child have passed away. His whole family — his sister, his nieces, his grand-nieces — we’re all U.S. citizens, and we all live here.”
October 13, 2025 at 8:52 PM
jeffburtka.bsky.social
"You have very little crime."

He's praising Egypt for being an oppressive regime. The type of regime he wants to have.

www.amnesty.org/en/location/...
Text that reads: Egypt 2024 The authorities continued to crack down on criticism, stifle civil society and restrict street protests. Authorities carried out mass arrests to prevent planned anti-government protests and forcibly dispersed the few small peaceful protests that took place. Authorities released 934 prisoners held for political reasons but arrested another 1,594. Those targeted included journalists, lawyers, protesters, dissidents, opposition politicians and those critical of the government’s human rights record and handling of the economic crisis. Dozens of individuals were subjected to enforced disappearance. Torture and other ill-treatment remained routine. Death sentences were imposed, including for crimes other than “intentional killing”, after grossly unfair trials. Executions were carried out.
October 13, 2025 at 4:37 PM
jeffburtka.bsky.social
I wonder where ICE got their tactics from.

(Text is from MLK's Letter from a Birmingham Jail to southern clergy in 1963.)

(Image is by photographer Bill Hudson taken in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1963.)
Text that reads: impelled to mention one other point in your statement that has troubled me profoundly. You warmly commended the Birmingham police force for keeping "order" and "preventing violence." I doubt that you would have so warmly commended the police force if you had seen its dogs sinking their teeth into unarmed, nonviolent Negroes. I doubt that you would so quickly commend the policemen if you were to observe their ugly and inhumane treatment of Negroes here in the city jail; if you were to watch them push and curse old Negro women and young Negro girls; if you were to see them slap and kick old Negro men and young boys; if you were to observe them, as they did on two occasions, refuse to give us food because we wanted to sing our grace together. I cannot join you in your praise of the Birmingham police department. Black and white photo of two police dogs attacking a Black teen as a cop holds the teens upper shirt and sweater. One dog lunges and bites at the teen's abdomen.
October 11, 2025 at 1:58 AM
jeffburtka.bsky.social
Considering the dancing crowds in Portland, antifa is closer to the Jets and Sharks.
Picture of Kristi Noem. Text above photo reads: Kristi Noem compares antifa to MS-13, Hamas, Hezbollah and the Islamic State
October 9, 2025 at 10:11 AM
jeffburtka.bsky.social
Owen Wilson in Meet the Parents saying, "Carpentry? I guess I'd have to say Jesus."
October 7, 2025 at 12:25 AM
jeffburtka.bsky.social
Pulling people from their homes and zip tying crying kids together in the middle of the night apparently is just a "brief encounter" that innocent people must endure for ICE to catch a few immigrants.

These ICE actions blatantly violate the 4th Amendment, but 6 SCOTUS "justices" don't care.
Screenshot of text that reads: NOEM v. VASQUEZ PERDOMO KAVANAUGH, J., concurring “relevant factor” when considered along with other salient factors. Id., at 887. Under this Court’s precedents, not to mention common sense, those circumstances taken together can constitute at least reasonable suspicion of illegal presence in the United States. Importantly, reasonable suspicion means only that immigration officers may briefly stop the individual and inquire about immigration status. If the person is a U. S. citizen or otherwise lawfully in the United States, that individual will be free to go after the brief encounter. Only if the person is illegally in the United States may the stop lead to further immigration proceedings.
October 2, 2025 at 1:15 PM
jeffburtka.bsky.social
Amendment IV The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
October 1, 2025 at 2:33 PM
jeffburtka.bsky.social
Reading some of this badass new print magazine about women runners tonight and thinking that there are tons of women who could smoke the manly man Pete Hegseth at every distance from 100 meters to 100 miles (and beyond).
Magazine cover of a magazine called "runher." Two women runners smiling and embracing on the cover.
October 1, 2025 at 1:01 AM
jeffburtka.bsky.social
The GOP has failed to live up to even one purpose of the Constitution.

Justice? For the rich only.

Domestic Tranquility? Unleashing ICE on US streets.

Common defense? Declaring war on US cities.

General Welfare? LOL. Like they give a shit.

Liberty? Only if you're a white "Christian" MAGA.
Image of text that reads: We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
October 1, 2025 at 12:27 AM
jeffburtka.bsky.social
Lindsey Halligan should read "The Federal Prosecutor" speech (which, surprisingly, is still on the DOJ website) by Robert Jackson, former U.S. Attorney General, chief U..S. prosecutor of Nazi war criminals, and Supreme Court justice.

www.justice.gov/sites/defaul...
Text that reads: The qualities of a good prosecutor are as elusive and as impossible to define as those which mark a gentleman. And those who need to be told would not understand it anyway. A sensitiveness to fair play and sportsmanship is perhaps the best protection against the abuse of power, and the citizen’s safety lies in the prosecutor who tempers zeal with human kindness, who seeks truth and not victims, who serves the law and not factional purposes, and who approaches his task with humility.
September 25, 2025 at 12:29 AM
jeffburtka.bsky.social
The @democrats.org who voted to honor Kirk should take a seat and stay silent on MLK Day. Maybe they can read his Letter from a Birmingham Jail to get a better understanding of their cowardice.

They could've condemned political violence without honoring his legacy.

They are a disappointment.
Text from MLK's Letter from a Birmingham Jail: I must make two honest confessions to you, my Christian and Jewish brothers. First, I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to "order" than to justice
September 23, 2025 at 11:57 AM
jeffburtka.bsky.social
Thanks for sharing this. Here's the image with alt text for those who need it.
What are we to make of a man who called for the execution of the American president, and then was executed himself? What are we to make of an NFL that, on one hand, encourages us to “End Racism,” and, on the other, urges us to commemorate an unreconstructed white supremacist? And what of the writers, the thinkers, and the pundits who cannot separate the great crime of Kirk’s death from the malignancy of his public life? Can they truly be so ignorant to the words of a man they have so rushed to memorialize? I don’t know. But the most telling detail in Klein’s column was that, for all his praise, there was not a single word in the piece from Kirk himself. More than a century and a half ago, this country ignored the explicit words of men who sought to raise an empire of slavery. It subsequently transformed those men into gallant knights who sought only to preserve their beloved Camelot. There was a fatigue, in certain quarters, with Reconstruction—which is to say, multiracial democracy—and a desire for reunion, to make America great again. Thus, in the late 19th century and much of the 20th, this country’s most storied intellectuals transfigured hate-mongers into heroes and ignored their words—just as, right now, some are ignoring Kirk’s. Words are not violence, nor are they powerless. Burying the truth of the Confederacy, rewriting its aims and ideas, and ignoring its animating words allowed for the terrorization of the Black population, the imposition of apartheid, and the destruction of democracy. The rewriting and the ignoring were done not just by Confederates, but also by putative allies for whom the reduction of Black people to serfdom was the unfortunate price of white unity. The import of this history has never been clearer than in this moment when the hard question must be asked: If you would look away from the words of Charlie Kirk, from what else would you look away?
September 18, 2025 at 12:07 AM
jeffburtka.bsky.social
Great piece. Here's the image with alt text.
What are we to make of a man who called for the execution of the American president, and then was executed himself? What are we to make of an NFL that, on one hand, encourages us to “End Racism,” and, on the other, urges us to commemorate an unreconstructed white supremacist? And what of the writers, the thinkers, and the pundits who cannot separate the great crime of Kirk’s death from the malignancy of his public life? Can they truly be so ignorant to the words of a man they have so rushed to memorialize? I don’t know. But the most telling detail in Klein’s column was that, for all his praise, there was not a single word in the piece from Kirk himself. More than a century and a half ago, this country ignored the explicit words of men who sought to raise an empire of slavery. It subsequently transformed those men into gallant knights who sought only to preserve their beloved Camelot. There was a fatigue, in certain quarters, with Reconstruction—which is to say, multiracial democracy—and a desire for reunion, to make America great again. Thus, in the late 19th century and much of the 20th, this country’s most storied intellectuals transfigured hate-mongers into heroes and ignored their words—just as, right now, some are ignoring Kirk’s. Words are not violence, nor are they powerless. Burying the truth of the Confederacy, rewriting its aims and ideas, and ignoring its animating words allowed for the terrorization of the Black population, the imposition of apartheid, and the destruction of democracy. The rewriting and the ignoring were done not just by Confederates, but also by putative allies for whom the reduction of Black people to serfdom was the unfortunate price of white unity. The import of this history has never been clearer than in this moment when the hard question must be asked: If you would look away from the words of Charlie Kirk, from what else would you look away?
September 18, 2025 at 12:06 AM