Oblique
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obliques.bsky.social
Oblique
@obliques.bsky.social
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... Hegseth then posted this from his personal account: "The video made by the 'Seditious Six' was despicable, reckless, and false. Encouraging our warriors to ignore the orders of their Commanders undermines every aspect of 'good order and discipline.' Their foolish screed sows doubt and confusion — which only puts our warriors in danger. Five of the six individuals in that video do not fall under Dept of War jurisdiction (one is CIA and four are former military but not 'retired', so they are no longer subject to UCMJ). However, Mark Kelly (retired Navy Commander) is still subject to UCMJ — and he knows that. As was announced, the Dept is reviewing his statements and actions, which were addressed directly to all troops while explicitly using his rank and service affiliation — lending the appearance of authority to his words. Kelly's conduct brings discredit upon the armed forces and will be addressed appropriately." ... Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) posted a response: "Fuck you and your investigation." .... Gallego then went on CNN: "You will never ever be half the man that Sen. Kelly is. You, sir, are a coward. And the fact that you are following this order from the president shows how big of a coward you are. I can't wait until you are no longer the Secretary of Defense."
November 25, 2025 at 12:48 AM
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Jasmine Crockett Representing Texas’ 30th District Today an individual showed up to my D.C. office and made white supremacist threats and hand gestures. Everyone is safe, and I want to thank Capitol Police for their swift response. But let me be crystal clear: this cannot become the norm. We’re living in a time where political violence is being fueled from the very top. When the President of United States spreads hate and lies, when he targets his political opponents, when he openly calls for the death of sitting Members of Congress, he is putting a literal target on our backs. The President should be committed to unity, not more division. Some folks have questioned why I need security. This is why. Every time I speak truth, stand up for my constituents, or call out corruption, the threats get louder — and more dangerous. I will not be intimidated. I will not be silenced. I will continue to show up for the people of Texas' 30th Congressional District. But we cannot pretend that this is normal. When leaders promote hate, hate shows up — sometimes right at our door.
November 21, 2025 at 10:34 AM
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IN 1985, PRESIDENT RONALD REAGAN appointed me as a federal judge. I was 38 years old. At the time, I looked forward to serving for the rest of my life. However, I resigned Friday, relinquishing that lifetime appointment and giving up the opportunity for public service that I have loved. My reason is simple: I no longer can bear to be restrained by what judges can say publicly or do outside the courtroom. President Donald Trump is using the law for partisan purposes, targeting his adversaries while sparing his friends and donors from investigation, prosecution, and possible punishment. This is contrary to everything that I have stood for in my more than 50 years in the Department of Justice and on the bench. The White House's assault on the rule of law is so deeply disturbing to me that I feel compelled to speak out. Silence, for me, is now intolerable.
November 10, 2025 at 1:28 AM
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Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) does not let people decline to be scanned by its new facial recognition app, which the agency uses to verify a person's identity and their immigration status, according to an internal Department of Homeland Security (DHS) document obtained by 404 Media. The document also says any face photos taken by the app, called Mobile Fortify, will be stored for 15 years, including those of U.S. citizens. The document provides new details about the technology behind Mobile Fortify, how the data it collects is processed and stored, and DHS's rationale for using it. On Wednesday 404 Media reported that both ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) are scanning peoples' faces in the streets to verify citizenship.
November 3, 2025 at 5:58 AM
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And actually 60 Minutes paid me a lotta money. And you don't have to put this on, because I don't wanna embarrass you, and I'm sure you're not- you have a great - I think you have a great, new leader, frankly, who's the young woman that's leading your whole enterprise is a great-- from what I know. I don't know her, but I hear she's a great person. But 60 Minutes was forced to pay me- a lot of money because they took her answer out that was so bad, it was election-changing, two nights before the election. And they put a new answer in. And they paid me a lot of money for that. You can't have fake news. You've gotta have legit news. And I think that it's happening. I see- NORAH O'DONNELL: Mr. President- PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: - I see good things happening in the news. I really do. And I think one of the best things to happen is this show and new ownership, CBS and new ownership. I think it's the greatest thing that's happened in a long time to a free and open and good press.j
November 3, 2025 at 5:57 AM
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Last month, Democracy Docket published over 100 news stories and released more than a dozen new court documents — for anyone to access: for free. We sent out dozens of newsletters to free subscribers, produced 14 long-form videos and interviews to keep you informed and posted 1,30 pieces of content — resulting in 7 million impressions — across every major social platform to provide breaking news and deeper context about what's happening to our democracy. We also hosted a free virtual live event about the threats Donald Trump poses to our courts. Every time Democracy Docket develops something new for premium members, we ask: Is there a way to make it free without compromising the premium program? As our systems of government collapse around us, it is essential that Democracy Docket continue to grow to meet an even greater need. But ultimately, our growth depends on you. Our influence depends on you. Ou success depends on you. If you are able to support Democracy Docket's mission, please consider becoming a premium member today. Your support ensures that our independent, pro-democracy voice will grow stronger, louder and more influential. If not, we invite you to continue enjoying and sharing our free content.
November 2, 2025 at 4:37 PM
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Posted on X Gavin Newsom @Gavin Newsom Letting Americans starve doesn't horrify them. Letting healthcare costs triple doesn't horrify them. Letting our troops go unpaid doesn't horrify them. A toilet does. Karoline Leavitt @karolineleavitt When I first learned a toilet like that existed inside the White House, I was horrified President Trump is making the People's House more elegant and beautiful for generations of Americans to...
November 1, 2025 at 8:29 PM
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The clearest sign that a democracy has died is that a leader and his party make it impossible for their opponents to win an election and hold power. Once that stage is reached, however, the change is extremely difficult to reverse. And aspiring authoritarians use other excesses, like a cowed legislature and judiciary, to lock in their power. The United States is not an autocracy today. It still has a mostly free press and independent judiciary, and millions of Americans recently attended the "No Kings" protests. But it has started down an anti-democratic path, and many Americans - including people in positions of power - remain far too complacent about the threat.
November 1, 2025 at 6:55 PM
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CANYON COUNTY, Idaho - The FBI issued an updated statement on Wednesday after Idaho News 6 questioned the agency's denial that children were zip-tied during a federal raid at a horse track in Wilder on Oct. 19. Earlier, an FBI public affairs officer sent an email to Idaho News 6 stating,"Reports suggesting children were zip-tied or hit with rubber bullets during the October 19 FBI-led operation in Wilder are completely false." During coverage of the raid, Idaho News 6 obtained a photo showing a 14-year-old U.S. citizen in zip ties. The newsroom sent the image to the FBI in response to the initial statement. READ MORE | Canyon County sheriff calls DHS statement on Wilder raid "false and misleading" The FBI later replied with an "updated statement" that said, "Reports suggesting young children were zip-tied or hit with rubber bullets during the October 19 FBI-led operation in Wilder are completely false." Idaho News 6 followed up to clarify what age is defined as a "young child," but has yet to hear back. This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
November 1, 2025 at 1:39 PM
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Fearless Joy: Tom Bombadil’s Function in the Lord of the Rings, by Robert B. Chapman-Morales After a period of enchantment and of belief in progress & human achievement, the chaos & death caused by two world wars led many to find existence to be meaningless and futile. Authors turned to fiction to sort through the trauma they had seen or experienced. While most looked at the pointlessness of death in warfare, Tolkien & the Inklings looked at what could be gleaned from the devastation of war. The Inklings and Tolkien believed "that even ultimate defeat does not turn right into wrong" (Shippey 120) & this belief grounded the works of these authors & helped them define heroism as resistance to evil, holding on to moral values and looking to providence for purpose and direction. At the root of Tolkien's belief, the root of what kept Tolkien from turning to despair like other post-war authors was his belief that one should always have courage & hope, even in the darkest of situations. But in order to resist & have courage & hope, one must hold onto joy as a light to dispel the darkness. Readers of Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings do not fail to praise, admire, & love the courage & hope that is present in the story. Most also notice a providential force guiding Frodo to complete his quest. However, what is usually not fully appreciated is the comic joy present in the story. Furthermore, most scholars neglect Tom Bombadil, believing him to be a silly, unimportant addition to the story. While some scholars discuss the importance of laughter & humor to the story & note Bombadil's importance through his merriment and cheer, they do not fully appreciate his fundamental position in shaping Frodo's character. Bombadil shows the power of joy in a quest that will provoke Frodo's darkest feelings of despair. Bombadil is the nexus of joy in The Lord of the Rings & teaches the hobbits how to use joy to overcome the shadow of Mordor, the shadow of despair.
October 31, 2025 at 6:56 AM
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This spring, Binance took steps that catapulted the Trump family venture's new stablecoin product, enhancing its credibility and pushing its market capitalization up from $127 million to over $2.1 billion. Trump granted Zhao a presidential pardon last week, likely paving the way for the world's largest crypto-trading platform to return to the U.S., from where it was banned after the company pleaded guilty in 2023 to violating anti-money-laundering rules. At the time, the government said Zhao had caused "significant harm to U.S. national security" by allowing sanctioned Iranian crypto exchanges, Russian drug-traffickers, Hamas militants and other criminal groups to move billions of dollars through the exchange. The pardon marks the most distinct instance yet of Trump using the powers of his office to benefit someone at the center of deals that have enriched his family.
October 30, 2025 at 2:46 PM
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When someone uses the word,"illegals" I am done listening to what they have to say. I live in America, a nation stolen from the indigenous natives, built on the backs of slaves, & made prosperous by the sweat, & blood of immigrants. "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free." My country is not white. It's not Christian. It's American. It's made up of people from around the globe. Humans aren't illegal. But your dehumanization & demonization should be.
October 27, 2025 at 10:27 AM
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1. Reagan's speech is real 2. It's public domain 3. Americans pay the cost of the added 10% tariffs, not Canadians 4. Trump keeps lying because he thinks you're all too stupid to fact check 5. The average family will pay an extra $4900 this year because his tariffs
October 26, 2025 at 4:21 AM
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Just in: Documents show conclusively that Christopher Wray, Deranged Jack Smith, Merrick Garland, Lisa Monaco, and other crooked lowlifes from the failed Biden Administration, signed off on Operation Arctic Frost. They spied on Senators and Congressmen/women, and even taped their calls. They cheated and rigged the 2020 Presidential Election. These Radical Left Lunatics should be prosecuted for their illegal and highly unethical behavior!
October 25, 2025 at 5:39 AM
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The administration has found a two-part hack to the system in which executive branch lawyers are supposed to independently determine the legal boundaries within which policymakers may act. The first is that Mr. Trump has told executive branch lawyers that they may not question any legal judgment that he — or Attorney General Pam Bondi, subject to his "supervision and control" — already decided. "The president and the attorney general's opinions on questions of law are controlling on all employees in the conduct of their official duties," Mr. Trump declared in a February executive order. The second is that Mr. Trump has been declaring that as president, he has determined that the factual and legal scenarios exist that are necessary for him to exercise various extraordinary powers. The two tactics combined create a gigantic loophole. Mr. Trump is able to dictate his own factual and legal realities, and executive branch lawyers who want to keep their jobs must treat them as settled. The result is that Mr. Trump can order agencies to take actions to which independent-minded lawyers might have raised legal objections.
October 24, 2025 at 4:32 PM
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What has changed is simple: people are scared of crossing Trump this time. In researching this piece, I interviewed dozens of figures, including lawmakers, private sector executives, retired senior military figures and intelligence chiefs, current and former Trump officials, Washington lawyers and foreign government officials. Such is the fear of jail, bankruptey or professional reprisal, that most of these people insisted on anonymity. This was in spite of the fact that many of the same people also wanted to emphasise that Trump would only be restrained by powerful voices opposing him publicly. At times, it has felt like trying to report on politics in Turkey or Hungary.
October 24, 2025 at 11:50 AM
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No, a sitting president cannot tear down part of the White House without permission from Congress and other regulatory bodies. The White House is not the president's private property; it is a federally owned historic building protected by law. Key restrictions on altering the White House include: • The White House is a museum. A 1961 act of Congress declared the furnishings of the White House to be the inalienable property of the White House, formalizing its status as a museum and extending legal protections. • Historic landmark status. The White House is a National Historic Landmark, which means extensive regulations govern significant changes. This status is overseen by the National Park Service. • Committee for the Preservation of the White House. Established by President Lyndon Johnson in 1964, this advisory committee includes experts appointed by the president and a permanent curator. It is responsible for guiding the preservation of the White House's "museum quality" and must approve changes to public rooms.
October 22, 2025 at 3:34 AM
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A demolition job that began Monday with the disappearance of the White House's eastern entrance advanced Tuesday with the destruction of much of the East Wing, according to a photograph obtained by The Washington Post and two people who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the scene. Photos of construction teams knocking down parts of the East Wing, first revealed by The Washington Post on Monday, shocked preservationists, raised questions about White House overreach and lack of transparency, and sparked complaints from Democrats that President Donald Trump was damaging "the People's House" to pursue a personal priority. "They're wrecking it," said Martha Joynt Kumar, a political scientist and professor emeritus at Towson University in Maryland. "And these are changes that can't be undone. They're destroying that history forever."
October 22, 2025 at 1:59 AM
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ICE Pulls Gun on Illinois Congressional Candidate & State Rep. Hoan Huynh Huynh, a refugee from Vietnam, was alerting the community to ICE presence when ICE blocked the front and back of his vehicle on a residential street CHICAGO - Illinois Congressional Candidate for the 9th District and current State Representative Hoan Huynh (D-Chicago) was surrounded by six Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agents today, including one who pulled a gun on him, while he sat inside his vehicle on the Northwest Side of Chicago doing community ICE patrol. Local ICE rapid response networks have activated in many immigrant neighborhoods across the city following the illegal and aggressive detainment of residents without due process. At about 11:30 a.m. today, Representative Huynh was going door-to-door informing local businesses of their rights if ICE comes to their property when he received notice of nearby ICE presence. He and staff then drove to Montrose & Kimball avenues in Chicago's Albany Park neighborhood, the location of the reported sighting, to warn neighbors by honking and yelling, as has been protocol for rapid response. This is when six armed CBP agents blocked the front and back of the vehicle, sandwiching it on the street, and approached the car with a gun drawn, which the officer pressed against the window of the car and tried to bash the car windows in. Following guidance from the ICE rapid response network, Representative Huynh and his staff began filming and narrating what was happening, and Huynh kept his hands visible and clearly and repeatedly stated his name and office. The staff member narrating can be heard saying that ICE was trying to break into the car, and agents ci be seen taking photos of everyone inside.
October 21, 2025 at 11:18 PM
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Sign at a protest that reads “We are not being GOVERNED we are being LOOTED.”
October 18, 2025 at 9:34 PM
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Image of a large frog, cartoon style. Above the frog are the words “Ribbit. Resist. Repeat.” Below the frog are the words “No hope without HOP.”
October 18, 2025 at 4:01 PM
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Image of a frog. Above the frog are the words “Ribbit. Resist. Repeat.” Below the frog are the words “No hope without hop.”
October 17, 2025 at 8:10 PM
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Quote by Sojourner Truth reads: “If we laugh and sing a little as we fight the good fight of freedom, it makes it all go easier. I will not allow my life's light to be determined by the darkness around me.”
July 11, 2025 at 11:27 AM
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Screen shot from the end of a promotional video showing Zohran Mamdani talking to New Yorkers candidly & unrehearsed. The screen shot is of Zohran taking a selfie with another New Yorker. The words “Zohran for New York City” are visible toward the bottom of the photo. The font makes it seem like a postcard.
July 8, 2025 at 2:59 AM
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-Allow new priming series be available to anyone switching to Novavax -Reject bivalent shots, as they are less effective -Expand expiration dates of Novavax to 9 months -Vaccines should be available end of summer
May 19, 2025 at 8:00 PM