Julie Barthold
@juliebarthold.bsky.social
Lurking on the lake with the loons
Reposted by Julie Barthold
Like most of the House, Mike Johnson has only been there in the Trump era. It’s not simply that he’s abdicating his power as a coequal branch, it’s that he doesn’t seem to understand that it *is* a coequal branch.
WELKER: MTG says you're '100% under the direct orders of the WH'
JOHNSON: The president and I work closely together because we have unified govt. That's what the American people voted for
W: Is there any area where you disagree?
J: Yes. But we do that privately. I'm going to support my president.
JOHNSON: The president and I work closely together because we have unified govt. That's what the American people voted for
W: Is there any area where you disagree?
J: Yes. But we do that privately. I'm going to support my president.
February 1, 2026 at 3:07 PM
Like most of the House, Mike Johnson has only been there in the Trump era. It’s not simply that he’s abdicating his power as a coequal branch, it’s that he doesn’t seem to understand that it *is* a coequal branch.
Reposted by Julie Barthold
I wonder if the New York Times will go after any of the prominent academics in the Epstein files for being rapists as hard as they went after Claudine Gay for being kind of sloppy with citations in her graduate thesis.
If not, why not?
If not, why not?
Here’s Duke behavioral economist Dan Ariely asking Jeffrey Epstein for “the name and email of the redhead that was here with you.” This is four years after Epstein’s 2008 conviction for procuring a child for prostitution.
Doo do doo
January 31, 2026 at 2:34 PM
I wonder if the New York Times will go after any of the prominent academics in the Epstein files for being rapists as hard as they went after Claudine Gay for being kind of sloppy with citations in her graduate thesis.
If not, why not?
If not, why not?
Reposted by Julie Barthold
Oh, this Wormtongue thing is catching on!
January 31, 2026 at 8:10 PM
Oh, this Wormtongue thing is catching on!
Reposted by Julie Barthold
President Trump has made $4 billion by illegally trading access to the White House to get rich. He controls the Dept of Justice and the Congress so he won't be held accountable - until he doesn't control the Dept of Justice and Congress.
Trump’s Profiteering Hits $4 Billion
In August, I reported that the President and his family had made $3.4 billion by leveraging his position. After his first year back in office, the number has ballooned.
www.newyorker.com
January 31, 2026 at 8:26 PM
President Trump has made $4 billion by illegally trading access to the White House to get rich. He controls the Dept of Justice and the Congress so he won't be held accountable - until he doesn't control the Dept of Justice and Congress.
Reposted by Julie Barthold
Popping out of the vehicle guns drawn and pointing them at a legal observer exercising her constitutional rights.
Everything about this is reckless, dangerous, the opposite of law & order and keeping anyone safe… how do people see this and not see masked secret police style terror on US streets
Everything about this is reckless, dangerous, the opposite of law & order and keeping anyone safe… how do people see this and not see masked secret police style terror on US streets
This is just insane. It’s only a matter of time before DHS kills another innocent person here.
(clip via MPR and @davidjbier.bsky.social on X)
(clip via MPR and @davidjbier.bsky.social on X)
January 31, 2026 at 7:10 PM
Popping out of the vehicle guns drawn and pointing them at a legal observer exercising her constitutional rights.
Everything about this is reckless, dangerous, the opposite of law & order and keeping anyone safe… how do people see this and not see masked secret police style terror on US streets
Everything about this is reckless, dangerous, the opposite of law & order and keeping anyone safe… how do people see this and not see masked secret police style terror on US streets
Reposted by Julie Barthold
I trust Congressional Republicans are aware of what they have enabled. There is Ukrainian blood all over their hands.
Greetings from Kyiv.
Saturday morning.
No power.
No water.
No heating.
I’m reading that similar problems are reported across the city. Total blackout in Kyiv.
Saturday morning.
No power.
No water.
No heating.
I’m reading that similar problems are reported across the city. Total blackout in Kyiv.
January 31, 2026 at 9:38 AM
I trust Congressional Republicans are aware of what they have enabled. There is Ukrainian blood all over their hands.
Reposted by Julie Barthold
ICE agents think they’re above the law. They’re not.
@repdangoldman.bsky.social and I just dropped the ICE OUT Act to end their immunity.
@repdangoldman.bsky.social and I just dropped the ICE OUT Act to end their immunity.
January 30, 2026 at 9:57 PM
ICE agents think they’re above the law. They’re not.
@repdangoldman.bsky.social and I just dropped the ICE OUT Act to end their immunity.
@repdangoldman.bsky.social and I just dropped the ICE OUT Act to end their immunity.
Reposted by Julie Barthold
BREAKING: Bernie Sanders is introducing an amendment to cut ICE’s $75 billion funding increase, and to use those funds to restore the federal cuts to health care.
January 30, 2026 at 8:31 PM
BREAKING: Bernie Sanders is introducing an amendment to cut ICE’s $75 billion funding increase, and to use those funds to restore the federal cuts to health care.
Reposted by Julie Barthold
An NIH source tells me that after this story was published, agency leadership held an emergency meeting about Council approval and is looking for ways to speed up the pipeline.
"Better late than never?" the source says.
"Better late than never?" the source says.
🚨 New from me: Grant review at more than half of NIH's institutes could be frozen by the end of the year.
That's because crucial NIH grant-review panels are slated to be empty at those institutes by Jan 2027.
A wonky bureaucratic problem with big implications.
A short 🧵
That's because crucial NIH grant-review panels are slated to be empty at those institutes by Jan 2027.
A wonky bureaucratic problem with big implications.
A short 🧵
Exclusive: key NIH review panels due to lose all members by the end of 2026
Thirteen of the agency’s advisory councils, which must review grant applications before funding is awarded, are on track to have no voting members.
www.nature.com
January 26, 2026 at 9:51 PM
An NIH source tells me that after this story was published, agency leadership held an emergency meeting about Council approval and is looking for ways to speed up the pipeline.
"Better late than never?" the source says.
"Better late than never?" the source says.
Reposted by Julie Barthold
There's no ICE accountability without ending qualified immunity.
They're murdering people. There won't be justice for the lives they've stolen, but there must be accountability.
My bill with @markey.senate.gov would ensure families can sue the agents murdering their loved ones.
They're murdering people. There won't be justice for the lives they've stolen, but there must be accountability.
My bill with @markey.senate.gov would ensure families can sue the agents murdering their loved ones.
January 27, 2026 at 9:02 PM
There's no ICE accountability without ending qualified immunity.
They're murdering people. There won't be justice for the lives they've stolen, but there must be accountability.
My bill with @markey.senate.gov would ensure families can sue the agents murdering their loved ones.
They're murdering people. There won't be justice for the lives they've stolen, but there must be accountability.
My bill with @markey.senate.gov would ensure families can sue the agents murdering their loved ones.
Reposted by Julie Barthold
Needless to say that Renee Good and Alex Pretti will go down as heroes here in Minnesota and nationally, their names synonymous with sacrifice and caring for vulnerable neighbors even at the risk of your own life. And hopefully no more innocent lives are lost.
January 26, 2026 at 7:10 PM
Needless to say that Renee Good and Alex Pretti will go down as heroes here in Minnesota and nationally, their names synonymous with sacrifice and caring for vulnerable neighbors even at the risk of your own life. And hopefully no more innocent lives are lost.
Reposted by Julie Barthold
Here's the thing, Greg — free speech is still protected by the First Amendment under the Constitution.
If you want folks to stop saying you're the secret police who are kidnapping and killing people, maybe stop acting like the secret police who are kidnapping and killing people.
If you want folks to stop saying you're the secret police who are kidnapping and killing people, maybe stop acting like the secret police who are kidnapping and killing people.
Bovino: "When politicians, community leaders, & some journalists engage in that heated rhetoric we keep talking about, when they make the choice to vilify law enforcement calling law enforcement 'Gestapo' or using the term 'kidnapping,' that is a choice & there are actions & consequences."
January 26, 2026 at 7:33 PM
Here's the thing, Greg — free speech is still protected by the First Amendment under the Constitution.
If you want folks to stop saying you're the secret police who are kidnapping and killing people, maybe stop acting like the secret police who are kidnapping and killing people.
If you want folks to stop saying you're the secret police who are kidnapping and killing people, maybe stop acting like the secret police who are kidnapping and killing people.
Reposted by Julie Barthold
Damn proud of Minnesota.
January 26, 2026 at 2:01 AM
Damn proud of Minnesota.
Reposted by Julie Barthold
Republican politicians who think that Minneapolis is a political problem are missing the point. It is a moral problem. But they are in so deep that they cannot see just how morally bankrupt they have become. They do not understand that we are as revulsed by their complicity as by Trump's cruelty.
January 26, 2026 at 1:25 AM
Republican politicians who think that Minneapolis is a political problem are missing the point. It is a moral problem. But they are in so deep that they cannot see just how morally bankrupt they have become. They do not understand that we are as revulsed by their complicity as by Trump's cruelty.
Reposted by Julie Barthold
“Over the course of a lifetime, we face only a few moments where the decisions we make and the actions we take will shape our history for years to come. This is one of them. If we give our freedoms away after 250 years, we might never get them back.” — President Bill Clinton, 1/25/26
January 26, 2026 at 10:27 AM
“Over the course of a lifetime, we face only a few moments where the decisions we make and the actions we take will shape our history for years to come. This is one of them. If we give our freedoms away after 250 years, we might never get them back.” — President Bill Clinton, 1/25/26
Reposted by Julie Barthold
This is apparently on X. I have a few concerns: 1) why is DHS sending photos of (alleged) evidence that should be in a secure chain of custody that is now lying on a car seat??? and 2) being armed does not on its own justify the use of deadly force — there has to be evidence he was trying to use it
January 24, 2026 at 5:09 PM
This is apparently on X. I have a few concerns: 1) why is DHS sending photos of (alleged) evidence that should be in a secure chain of custody that is now lying on a car seat??? and 2) being armed does not on its own justify the use of deadly force — there has to be evidence he was trying to use it
Reposted by Julie Barthold
Reposted by Julie Barthold
Dems should introduce legislation now defunding ICE and CBP operations in Minnesota, so they have to leave the state. One sentence bill. Demand an immediate vote. Maybe refuse to vote for cloture on any funding bills (or other bills) until a vote. Make the GOP Congress break w/ Trump or own it all.
January 25, 2026 at 1:47 PM
Dems should introduce legislation now defunding ICE and CBP operations in Minnesota, so they have to leave the state. One sentence bill. Demand an immediate vote. Maybe refuse to vote for cloture on any funding bills (or other bills) until a vote. Make the GOP Congress break w/ Trump or own it all.
Reposted by Julie Barthold
Journalists need to ask, “What made Pettri a ‘suspect’?” He was ‘seized’ under the meaning of the Fourth Amendment, which requires *probable cause that he was committing a crime*
MAKE THEM ARTICULATE THE BASIS FOR THE SEIZURE
MAKE THEM ARTICULATE THE BASIS FOR THE SEIZURE
BASH: Where did he assault an officer? It looked to us that he was approached by them when he was helping another individual who was pushed down
BOVINO: We don't need a suspect's help in a law enforcement scene
BASH: So when somebody is pushed down, you stand back?
BOVINO: Follow directions
BOVINO: We don't need a suspect's help in a law enforcement scene
BASH: So when somebody is pushed down, you stand back?
BOVINO: Follow directions
January 25, 2026 at 2:37 PM
Journalists need to ask, “What made Pettri a ‘suspect’?” He was ‘seized’ under the meaning of the Fourth Amendment, which requires *probable cause that he was committing a crime*
MAKE THEM ARTICULATE THE BASIS FOR THE SEIZURE
MAKE THEM ARTICULATE THE BASIS FOR THE SEIZURE
Reposted by Julie Barthold
Putin pioneered this. No opposition is legitimate. Regular, decent, “ordinary” people cannot possibly be against us because only we represent “the real people.”
Tell-tale sign of authoritarianism.
Tell-tale sign of authoritarianism.
January 25, 2026 at 2:43 PM
Putin pioneered this. No opposition is legitimate. Regular, decent, “ordinary” people cannot possibly be against us because only we represent “the real people.”
Tell-tale sign of authoritarianism.
Tell-tale sign of authoritarianism.
Reposted by Julie Barthold
The nurses are pissed
January 25, 2026 at 4:48 AM
The nurses are pissed
Reposted by Julie Barthold
Murphy on Bovino: "That was a bone-chilling interview. I was shaking while I was listening to it, in large part bc it takes just an unbelievable amount of gall to lie to the American public. Everybody saw that video ... it should freak the public out that the Trump administration lies this easily"
January 25, 2026 at 2:36 PM
Murphy on Bovino: "That was a bone-chilling interview. I was shaking while I was listening to it, in large part bc it takes just an unbelievable amount of gall to lie to the American public. Everybody saw that video ... it should freak the public out that the Trump administration lies this easily"
Reposted by Julie Barthold
Stephen Miller is a very sick person, more so, IMO, than the president. And he is calling the shots.
I remember when Terry Moran dared to make this observation and got fired from ABC for it.
I remember when Terry Moran dared to make this observation and got fired from ABC for it.
January 25, 2026 at 12:58 AM
Stephen Miller is a very sick person, more so, IMO, than the president. And he is calling the shots.
I remember when Terry Moran dared to make this observation and got fired from ABC for it.
I remember when Terry Moran dared to make this observation and got fired from ABC for it.
Reposted by Julie Barthold
Just when you thought it could not get worse: extortion on the table?
Pam Bondi just sent a letter to Minnesota officials saying ICE will leave if the state turns over its voter database to Trump.
Guess what? This has never been about safety or immigration. It’s a pretext for Trump to take over elections in swing states.
Guess what? This has never been about safety or immigration. It’s a pretext for Trump to take over elections in swing states.
January 25, 2026 at 10:35 AM
Just when you thought it could not get worse: extortion on the table?
Reposted by Julie Barthold
Not one more cent for DHS and ICE. We have the power to end this.
January 24, 2026 at 10:51 PM
Not one more cent for DHS and ICE. We have the power to end this.