@rainydayreflection.bsky.social
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I just taught my lecture course on mid-20th c US history, which starts with Harding and concludes with Nixon.
For the first time, I had to pause and stress that those scandals were actually shocking at the time and, what’s more, that Americans actually demanded people be held accountable.
For the first time, I had to pause and stress that those scandals were actually shocking at the time and, what’s more, that Americans actually demanded people be held accountable.
All of the money that changed hands in the Teapot Dome scandal totaled less than $10 million after adjusting for inflation, and it was considered so corrupt we still teach it in high school government classes a century later.
Corruption so pungent, it wafts right off the page:
Lobbyists who do pardon deals “say their going rate is $1 million. Pardon-seekers have offered some lobbyists close to the president success fees of as much as $6 million if they can close the deal.”
Gift link www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
Lobbyists who do pardon deals “say their going rate is $1 million. Pardon-seekers have offered some lobbyists close to the president success fees of as much as $6 million if they can close the deal.”
Gift link www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
December 27, 2025 at 9:30 PM
I just taught my lecture course on mid-20th c US history, which starts with Harding and concludes with Nixon.
For the first time, I had to pause and stress that those scandals were actually shocking at the time and, what’s more, that Americans actually demanded people be held accountable.
For the first time, I had to pause and stress that those scandals were actually shocking at the time and, what’s more, that Americans actually demanded people be held accountable.
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“it is illegal for you not to like me”
This is the logical and inevitable conclusion of the last decade of elite media "free speech" discourse.
December 28, 2025 at 1:54 AM
“it is illegal for you not to like me”
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A reasonable interpretation of the Trump-Vance play is they are telling Europe that in unless it gifts Greenland to the US we will abandon Europe to Russia.
So our madman leader is now simultaneously attempting to take all of Venezuela's oil and a big chunk of mineral-rich European territory.
So our madman leader is now simultaneously attempting to take all of Venezuela's oil and a big chunk of mineral-rich European territory.
This dramatically enhanced pressure on Europe/Denmark and the new outrageous sanctions on info researchers coming at a time when Putin is escalating his physical attacks on Ukraine suggests that the US is now *coordinating* with Russia to weaken Europe and Ukraine.
bsky.app/profile/donm...
bsky.app/profile/donm...
Denmark lost more troops per capita in the post 9/11 war on Afghanistan. Saying they “are not a good ally” because they won’t surrender their territories to the US is lunacy. We are betraying our allies to satisfy the whims of a would-be Emperor for whom the US is not enough.
December 27, 2025 at 8:16 PM
A reasonable interpretation of the Trump-Vance play is they are telling Europe that in unless it gifts Greenland to the US we will abandon Europe to Russia.
So our madman leader is now simultaneously attempting to take all of Venezuela's oil and a big chunk of mineral-rich European territory.
So our madman leader is now simultaneously attempting to take all of Venezuela's oil and a big chunk of mineral-rich European territory.
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Attorneys at the Education Department’s civil rights office describe working in a “dismissal factory.”
Most discrimination complaints filed by students’ families have been dismissed without ever being investigated, records show.
Most discrimination complaints filed by students’ families have been dismissed without ever being investigated, records show.
Monkey Sounds, “White Power” and the N-Word: Racial Harassment Against Black Students Ignored Under Trump
Since Trump returned to office, the Education Department’s civil rights office has not resolved a single racial harassment investigation. It sends a message that “people impacted by racial discriminat...
www.propublica.org
December 27, 2025 at 8:53 PM
Attorneys at the Education Department’s civil rights office describe working in a “dismissal factory.”
Most discrimination complaints filed by students’ families have been dismissed without ever being investigated, records show.
Most discrimination complaints filed by students’ families have been dismissed without ever being investigated, records show.
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We haven’t just been filing lawsuits — we’ve been winning key victories protecting our civil rights and liberties nationwide.
We aren’t stopping now.
We aren’t stopping now.
December 27, 2025 at 9:04 PM
We haven’t just been filing lawsuits — we’ve been winning key victories protecting our civil rights and liberties nationwide.
We aren’t stopping now.
We aren’t stopping now.
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Hate, threats, and disinformation are essential campaign strategies for this admin and most of the GOP. They will fight anything that hinders them.
Let’s talk about something not many people are chatting about and what’s actually happening right now.
You might wonder why Imran Ahmed and the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) suddenly became targets of the U.S. government. The honest answer is that their research hit where it hurt.
You might wonder why Imran Ahmed and the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) suddenly became targets of the U.S. government. The honest answer is that their research hit where it hurt.
December 27, 2025 at 9:05 PM
Hate, threats, and disinformation are essential campaign strategies for this admin and most of the GOP. They will fight anything that hinders them.
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This isn’t just about one researcher or one organization. It’s about whether exposing disinformation is treated as a civic duty, or as an act of resistance punishable by the state. And that’s exactly why they’re being targeted.
December 27, 2025 at 9:02 PM
This isn’t just about one researcher or one organization. It’s about whether exposing disinformation is treated as a civic duty, or as an act of resistance punishable by the state. And that’s exactly why they’re being targeted.
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Please correct me here cause I am not sure what I am talking about. But I think the below shows that the Russian Government is issuing bonds (borrowing money) from commercial banks, who pay for the bond with the liquid cash they have. But as the commercial banks now have too little cash to...
🧵1/12: Russia’s economy hasn’t collapsed, but it is suffering immensely. It still runs, but only because the central bank keeps it alive with constant REPO liquidity. What was once emergency support is now the daily operating system.
📷: @evgen-istrebin.bsky.social
📷: @evgen-istrebin.bsky.social
December 27, 2025 at 8:55 PM
Please correct me here cause I am not sure what I am talking about. But I think the below shows that the Russian Government is issuing bonds (borrowing money) from commercial banks, who pay for the bond with the liquid cash they have. But as the commercial banks now have too little cash to...
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DHS Official quote tweeting a paid Russian propagandist.
By amplifying this post calling Kilmar Abrego Garcia a “terrorist,” the Trump administration just violated the court order that they reference.
December 27, 2025 at 11:40 PM
DHS Official quote tweeting a paid Russian propagandist.
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I've quietly watched Brynn go through this for the past year. It's absolutely heartbreaking. I'm glad she can share her story now but it's rough. She gave her life to helping people and doing medivac rescues with the California national guard and she's being tossed out line trash because she's trans
I told my story. It's behind a paywall, but here it is. www.sfchronicle.com/california/a...
A California National Guard pilot warned about Trump for years. Now she’s being forced out
Brynn Tannehill is a Navy-trained helicopter pilot who joined the California Air National Guard in 2023. She says she’s being kicked out for being transgender.
www.sfchronicle.com
December 27, 2025 at 11:33 PM
I've quietly watched Brynn go through this for the past year. It's absolutely heartbreaking. I'm glad she can share her story now but it's rough. She gave her life to helping people and doing medivac rescues with the California national guard and she's being tossed out line trash because she's trans
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“Orphan wells have no known owner, and Ohio has a program to plug them in an effort to ‘protect public health and safety, conserve natural resources, and allow the efficient development of Ohio’s oil and gas resources,’ according to the program’s website.”
A second death announced following August orphan well-plugging explosion in Wayne National Forest. Eric Bevin News and Sentinel: bit.ly/3KVZtzL
And BLM and U.S. Forest Service claim there will be "no significant impact" from fracking the Wayne...
@buckeyeenviro.bsky.social @ccbecker271.bsky.social
And BLM and U.S. Forest Service claim there will be "no significant impact" from fracking the Wayne...
@buckeyeenviro.bsky.social @ccbecker271.bsky.social
2 injured in Washington County well explosion have died
PARKERSBURG – Two people have died since being injured in an orphan well explosion in Washington County in August — the most recent on Dec. 14. Chris Pinkerton, 48, of Woodsfield, was an employee of M...
bit.ly
December 27, 2025 at 11:37 PM
“Orphan wells have no known owner, and Ohio has a program to plug them in an effort to ‘protect public health and safety, conserve natural resources, and allow the efficient development of Ohio’s oil and gas resources,’ according to the program’s website.”
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Trump is not above or beyond those political considerations: the value of a self-pardon (and the charges he'd face) is functionally dependent on his approval when he leaves office.
'I let Russia murder a thousand American soldiers and did nothing'? Turns out self-pardons are not constitutional.
'I let Russia murder a thousand American soldiers and did nothing'? Turns out self-pardons are not constitutional.
December 28, 2025 at 12:27 AM
Trump is not above or beyond those political considerations: the value of a self-pardon (and the charges he'd face) is functionally dependent on his approval when he leaves office.
'I let Russia murder a thousand American soldiers and did nothing'? Turns out self-pardons are not constitutional.
'I let Russia murder a thousand American soldiers and did nothing'? Turns out self-pardons are not constitutional.
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This seems true. Why do y'all think this is?
December 28, 2025 at 12:53 AM
This seems true. Why do y'all think this is?
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Add in the size of the oil reserves in Saudi Arabia, then Russia, and you begin to understand the motivation behind Trump’s “foreign policy”
Largest oil reserves in the world: Venezuela
Largest oil producer in Africa: Nigeria
One of the largest undeveloped rare earth mineral deposits outside China: Greenland
Largest oil producer in Africa: Nigeria
One of the largest undeveloped rare earth mineral deposits outside China: Greenland
December 27, 2025 at 11:31 PM
Add in the size of the oil reserves in Saudi Arabia, then Russia, and you begin to understand the motivation behind Trump’s “foreign policy”
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This message hits hard.
December 27, 2025 at 8:38 PM
This message hits hard.
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The two parties are not remotely the same, & yet they are covered in our most prominent outlets in exactly opposite proportions to the actual degree of scandal, lawbreaking, authoritarianism, etc. It has been uneven for decades, but it’s reached new levels of farce & obscenity since Trump.
December 28, 2025 at 1:39 AM
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The baseline expectation of the Trump Administration is maximum corruption, so nobody (certainly not these yahoos) gets excited about business as usual. But Biden suffered from the expectation that he not use the presidency as a personal asset to benefit and enrich cronies, friends, and family, so
Barely a blip in the news. 🦗from the New York Times editorial and opinion pages. Compare with days of Hunter Biden Hysteria about unprecedented abuse of the pardon power.
December 28, 2025 at 1:19 AM
The baseline expectation of the Trump Administration is maximum corruption, so nobody (certainly not these yahoos) gets excited about business as usual. But Biden suffered from the expectation that he not use the presidency as a personal asset to benefit and enrich cronies, friends, and family, so
Reposted
Corruption so pungent, it wafts right off the page:
Lobbyists who do pardon deals “say their going rate is $1 million. Pardon-seekers have offered some lobbyists close to the president success fees of as much as $6 million if they can close the deal.”
Gift link www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
Lobbyists who do pardon deals “say their going rate is $1 million. Pardon-seekers have offered some lobbyists close to the president success fees of as much as $6 million if they can close the deal.”
Gift link www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
Inside the New Fast Track to a Presidential Pardon
Even some of the president’s closest advisers have been surprised by a number of the recent series of pardons.
www.wsj.com
December 27, 2025 at 8:39 PM
Corruption so pungent, it wafts right off the page:
Lobbyists who do pardon deals “say their going rate is $1 million. Pardon-seekers have offered some lobbyists close to the president success fees of as much as $6 million if they can close the deal.”
Gift link www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
Lobbyists who do pardon deals “say their going rate is $1 million. Pardon-seekers have offered some lobbyists close to the president success fees of as much as $6 million if they can close the deal.”
Gift link www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
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The Post was around 50% as deranged in its de Blasio coverage, but he didn’t come into office with the massive outside force that Mamdani is bringing. Gonna be a test of the paper’s influence; it beats him up every second but he’s got a posse saying “shut the fuck up.”
Insane NY Post column suggesting that the new First Lady who is sad about leaving her longtime neighbors in a not fancy NYC neighborhood is an ungrateful brown woman
December 28, 2025 at 2:04 AM
The Post was around 50% as deranged in its de Blasio coverage, but he didn’t come into office with the massive outside force that Mamdani is bringing. Gonna be a test of the paper’s influence; it beats him up every second but he’s got a posse saying “shut the fuck up.”
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I don't think most Americans have any idea how dangerous it is for a president to declare an entire ethnic group to be "garbage." This is how the worst atrocities in human history have begun.
December 27, 2025 at 4:50 PM
I don't think most Americans have any idea how dangerous it is for a president to declare an entire ethnic group to be "garbage." This is how the worst atrocities in human history have begun.
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Christmas attack on civilians in Kyiv. Sure, the Russians want peace
‼️ Movement of missiles and drones during the massive Russian attack on Ukraine
December 27, 2025 at 9:43 AM
Christmas attack on civilians in Kyiv. Sure, the Russians want peace
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If Russia wasn't nuclear armed, there is no way in Hell EU/USA would be standing by while Putin flies drones into residential buildings. It's madness that everyone is allowing him to get away with this. If we won't attack them, the least we can do is stop oil from leaving and money from entering.
December 27, 2025 at 9:11 AM
If Russia wasn't nuclear armed, there is no way in Hell EU/USA would be standing by while Putin flies drones into residential buildings. It's madness that everyone is allowing him to get away with this. If we won't attack them, the least we can do is stop oil from leaving and money from entering.
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Context you rarely hear: global stocks are up about 30% over the past year. U.S. stocks? Around 18%. That means American investors underperformed the world by about 12 percentage points, even while headlines called it a “fantastic year.”
December 27, 2025 at 12:52 PM
Context you rarely hear: global stocks are up about 30% over the past year. U.S. stocks? Around 18%. That means American investors underperformed the world by about 12 percentage points, even while headlines called it a “fantastic year.”