Reposted by RandomUser7752
The current Supreme Court has forfeited all legitimacy.
Democrats (and everyone) need to address that reality.
John Roberts > Roger Taney.
Court needs to expand. And have fixed terms—like *every* other supreme court in developed world. And have ethics rules, like all normal organizations.
Democrats (and everyone) need to address that reality.
John Roberts > Roger Taney.
Court needs to expand. And have fixed terms—like *every* other supreme court in developed world. And have ethics rules, like all normal organizations.
Democrats need to lay the groundwork for reform by attacking the villains on the Supreme Court - loudly, angrily, personally, relentlessly. And they should start now.
paulwaldman.substack.com/p/democrats-...
paulwaldman.substack.com/p/democrats-...
Democrats Need to Treat the Supreme Court Like the Villain It Is
The Court is out of control, and we'll never see reform unless we build the case for it. Starting now.
paulwaldman.substack.com
December 5, 2025 at 7:00 PM
The current Supreme Court has forfeited all legitimacy.
Democrats (and everyone) need to address that reality.
John Roberts > Roger Taney.
Court needs to expand. And have fixed terms—like *every* other supreme court in developed world. And have ethics rules, like all normal organizations.
Democrats (and everyone) need to address that reality.
John Roberts > Roger Taney.
Court needs to expand. And have fixed terms—like *every* other supreme court in developed world. And have ethics rules, like all normal organizations.
Reposted by RandomUser7752
They are beating people who maybe once had a broken taillight and sending them to foreign slave prisons while freeing the worst fraudsters and every corrupt pol. The juxtaposition is so stark and appalling.
NEW: The commutation Trump issued to David Gentile wipes away all further fines & restitution.
Gentile had been sentenced to 7 years for his role in a $1.6B scheme that defrauded thousands of investors.
Prosecutors had been seeking $15.5M in forfeiture.
www.justice.gov/pardon/media...
Gentile had been sentenced to 7 years for his role in a $1.6B scheme that defrauded thousands of investors.
Prosecutors had been seeking $15.5M in forfeiture.
www.justice.gov/pardon/media...
December 3, 2025 at 5:39 PM
They are beating people who maybe once had a broken taillight and sending them to foreign slave prisons while freeing the worst fraudsters and every corrupt pol. The juxtaposition is so stark and appalling.
Reposted by RandomUser7752
Absolute debasement of academic standards
*student submits opinion in psych class
*gets bad grade
*instructor says she can make whatever arguments she wants but must draw on empirical sources
*student & Turning Point says her religious freedom & first amendment rights violated
*professor suspended
*student submits opinion in psych class
*gets bad grade
*instructor says she can make whatever arguments she wants but must draw on empirical sources
*student & Turning Point says her religious freedom & first amendment rights violated
*professor suspended
OU has put the professor here on administrative leave:
November 30, 2025 at 9:37 PM
Absolute debasement of academic standards
*student submits opinion in psych class
*gets bad grade
*instructor says she can make whatever arguments she wants but must draw on empirical sources
*student & Turning Point says her religious freedom & first amendment rights violated
*professor suspended
*student submits opinion in psych class
*gets bad grade
*instructor says she can make whatever arguments she wants but must draw on empirical sources
*student & Turning Point says her religious freedom & first amendment rights violated
*professor suspended
Reposted by RandomUser7752
Being among the first interrogated and ultimately fired by DOGE, I certainly felt we were facing the business end of a right-wing conspiracy theory 🧵
DOGE was not a money-saving effort. It was an effort to chase down and prove right-wing conspiracy theories. They went after USAID to prove conspiracy theories about foreign aid. Then they went after SSA to, again, pursue conspiracy theories about Dems paying "illegals" to vote. 1/2
All DOGE accomplished was purging critical government staff, handing private data to outsiders, and sentencing thousands in developing countries to death by gutting USAID.
I don’t say this lightly: if there were any justice in this world, the people responsible for this devastation would be in jail
I don’t say this lightly: if there were any justice in this world, the people responsible for this devastation would be in jail
November 26, 2025 at 2:31 AM
Being among the first interrogated and ultimately fired by DOGE, I certainly felt we were facing the business end of a right-wing conspiracy theory 🧵
Reposted by RandomUser7752
In this piece, I tackle three myths / building blocks of the misleading “realignment” narrative: The idea that U.S. society moved right in accordance with the broader outlines of Trumpism’s vision; that Trump is the tribune of the working class; that he is building a stable multiracial coalition.
November 27, 2025 at 12:09 AM
In this piece, I tackle three myths / building blocks of the misleading “realignment” narrative: The idea that U.S. society moved right in accordance with the broader outlines of Trumpism’s vision; that Trump is the tribune of the working class; that he is building a stable multiracial coalition.
Reposted by RandomUser7752
Biden was old, tired, sick, stuttered, & clearly wasn't what he once was, even ten years ago.
But everyone, especially Tapper, Thompson, Nuzzi, & the rest of the elites, who made it something else & pretended he was just like Trump should be deeply ashamed. But we don't seem to do shame anymore.
But everyone, especially Tapper, Thompson, Nuzzi, & the rest of the elites, who made it something else & pretended he was just like Trump should be deeply ashamed. But we don't seem to do shame anymore.
Look I don't want to say you're a rube if you fell for the "Biden's incompetent" trope but it was clearly a con coming almost exclusively from bad faith actors and had almost zero solid evidentiary basis.
November 26, 2025 at 11:29 PM
Biden was old, tired, sick, stuttered, & clearly wasn't what he once was, even ten years ago.
But everyone, especially Tapper, Thompson, Nuzzi, & the rest of the elites, who made it something else & pretended he was just like Trump should be deeply ashamed. But we don't seem to do shame anymore.
But everyone, especially Tapper, Thompson, Nuzzi, & the rest of the elites, who made it something else & pretended he was just like Trump should be deeply ashamed. But we don't seem to do shame anymore.
Reposted by RandomUser7752
Reposted by RandomUser7752
Lots of people are calling out the fact that X is filled with fake MAGA influencers from far away countries, but I wanted to point out that this, not "ideological censorship," is why companies have trust & safety teams that work on stopping inauthentic behavior.
X’s New Feature Reveals Why Trust & Safety Work Was Never About The ‘Censorship Industrial Complex’
For the last few years, Matt Taibbi, Michael Shellenberger, and their allies have spent considerable energy attacking both academic researchers studying disinformation and the trust & safety teams…
For the last few years, Matt Taibbi, Michael Shellenberger, and their allies have spent considerable energy attacking both academic researchers studying disinformation and the trust & safety teams…
X’s New Feature Reveals Why Trust & Safety Work Was Never About The ‘Censorship Industrial Complex’
For the last few years, Matt Taibbi, Michael Shellenberger, and their allies have spent considerable energy attacking both academic researchers studying disinformation and the trust & safety teams at social media platforms working to identify and remove coordinated inauthentic behavior—particularly foreign influence operations. They've insisted that any attempt to study and limit such operations is actually just "censorship" with various forms of cover, whether academic or operational.
www.techdirt.com
November 24, 2025 at 5:57 PM
Lots of people are calling out the fact that X is filled with fake MAGA influencers from far away countries, but I wanted to point out that this, not "ideological censorship," is why companies have trust & safety teams that work on stopping inauthentic behavior.
Reposted by RandomUser7752
Targeting Kelly is one of those “this is why we’ll win” moments, bc it shows how politically impetuous this admin is.
There’s clearly no adult in the room to say “wait, maybe don’t go after the charismatic war hero turned literal astronaut who ran after his wife was a victim of political violence.”
There’s clearly no adult in the room to say “wait, maybe don’t go after the charismatic war hero turned literal astronaut who ran after his wife was a victim of political violence.”
Mark Kelly: "My wife, Gabby Giffords, meeting with her constituents, shot in the head. Six people killed around her, a horrific thing. She spent six months in the hospital. We know what political violence is and we know what causes it too, The statements that Donald Trump made incites others."
November 25, 2025 at 3:10 AM
Targeting Kelly is one of those “this is why we’ll win” moments, bc it shows how politically impetuous this admin is.
There’s clearly no adult in the room to say “wait, maybe don’t go after the charismatic war hero turned literal astronaut who ran after his wife was a victim of political violence.”
There’s clearly no adult in the room to say “wait, maybe don’t go after the charismatic war hero turned literal astronaut who ran after his wife was a victim of political violence.”
Reposted by RandomUser7752
For thirty years I worked in the post-Soviet successor states in Central Asia and observed over and over again precisely the cycle that Bill Kristol describes. Corruption leads to authoritarianism, directly. The path is utterly predictable.
November 17, 2025 at 12:02 AM
For thirty years I worked in the post-Soviet successor states in Central Asia and observed over and over again precisely the cycle that Bill Kristol describes. Corruption leads to authoritarianism, directly. The path is utterly predictable.
Reposted by RandomUser7752
The DOJ is suing to stop California’s redistricting map. Apparently vote approved maps are a problem, but partisan gerrymanders done without public input are just democracy working as intended?
November 14, 2025 at 11:53 AM
The DOJ is suing to stop California’s redistricting map. Apparently vote approved maps are a problem, but partisan gerrymanders done without public input are just democracy working as intended?
Reposted by RandomUser7752
University of Viginia's ex-President James Ryan explaining his 12-page letter, which documents events that led up to his resignation: www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...
"I didn’t have time to make it as concise as it should be."
Also known as, "If I had more time I would have said less.
"I didn’t have time to make it as concise as it should be."
Also known as, "If I had more time I would have said less.
November 14, 2025 at 11:36 PM
University of Viginia's ex-President James Ryan explaining his 12-page letter, which documents events that led up to his resignation: www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...
"I didn’t have time to make it as concise as it should be."
Also known as, "If I had more time I would have said less.
"I didn’t have time to make it as concise as it should be."
Also known as, "If I had more time I would have said less.
Reposted by RandomUser7752
Like literally every thing they say isn’t true. It’s oligachical, illiberal contempt for every day Americans.
JD Vance: "There's a lot of people out there, Sean, who are saying 'things are expensive.' And we have to remember they're expensive because we inherited this terrible inflation crisis from the Biden administration."
November 14, 2025 at 2:13 AM
Like literally every thing they say isn’t true. It’s oligachical, illiberal contempt for every day Americans.
Reposted by RandomUser7752
If you have tenure at Texas A&M and aren't maliciously emailing the president a dozen times every day to ask if you can say this or you can say that, then what's the point in having tenure?
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) — Texas A&M adopts policy requiring professors to get OK from school president to discuss certain race and gender issues.
November 13, 2025 at 11:18 PM
If you have tenure at Texas A&M and aren't maliciously emailing the president a dozen times every day to ask if you can say this or you can say that, then what's the point in having tenure?
Reposted by RandomUser7752
I've talked before about power struggles within hardening authoritarianism. Usually, regime supporters fight over using rule-of-law in crackdowns (with massive abuses, of course) vs. completely embracing extrajudicial methods. Here, we see the latter dominating. Which is very bad news going forward.
🚨BIG changes happening -- ICE leadership is being purged tonight. The old guard, which prioritized targeted enforcement operations aimed at people with criminal records, is being replaced with Border Patrol and Gregory Bovino's "Midway Blitz" style.
Think things are bad now? It'll get worse.
Think things are bad now? It'll get worse.
October 28, 2025 at 12:51 AM
I've talked before about power struggles within hardening authoritarianism. Usually, regime supporters fight over using rule-of-law in crackdowns (with massive abuses, of course) vs. completely embracing extrajudicial methods. Here, we see the latter dominating. Which is very bad news going forward.
Reposted by RandomUser7752
This is a good illustration of what’s happening tonight re ICE leadership purge. Posts and caption identify this dude as ICE, but his uniform says Border Patrol. A LOT of the most aggro stuff that has been casually attributed to ICE (esp in Chicago and LA, and in Portland in 2020) was actually CBP.
ICE agent: If you keep on following me, you're gonna get arrested.
Photographer: We're in a Sam's Club parking lot.
Photographer: We're in a Sam's Club parking lot.
🧵1/2 IG: mike_kelly_photography
“After an unsuccessful foot
chase outside a Sam's Club, this ICE agent became visibly angry with my presence documenting their activity, threatening to arrest me several times-as seen in this video” 🟥cont.🧵⤵️⤵️⤵️
▪️Chicago
video taken 9:25 a.m. 10/22/2025
“After an unsuccessful foot
chase outside a Sam's Club, this ICE agent became visibly angry with my presence documenting their activity, threatening to arrest me several times-as seen in this video” 🟥cont.🧵⤵️⤵️⤵️
▪️Chicago
video taken 9:25 a.m. 10/22/2025
October 28, 2025 at 12:49 AM
This is a good illustration of what’s happening tonight re ICE leadership purge. Posts and caption identify this dude as ICE, but his uniform says Border Patrol. A LOT of the most aggro stuff that has been casually attributed to ICE (esp in Chicago and LA, and in Portland in 2020) was actually CBP.
Reposted by RandomUser7752
This paragraph effectively gives the game away. Loper Bright was decided just last year, and the GOP celebrated, because it effectively stripped the Executive Branch of basically any power not explicitly handed over by Congress. Which they wanted. When a Democrat was President.
But suddenly...
But suddenly...
October 23, 2025 at 3:27 AM
This paragraph effectively gives the game away. Loper Bright was decided just last year, and the GOP celebrated, because it effectively stripped the Executive Branch of basically any power not explicitly handed over by Congress. Which they wanted. When a Democrat was President.
But suddenly...
But suddenly...
Reposted by RandomUser7752
This is so, so grim
Earlier this week, ICE grabbed another Russian dissident, in this case a decolonization activist from the Buryat community. If his case goes the way of Artyom Vovchenko and Leonid Melekhin, he could soon be deported and left to rot in a Russian prison. meduza.io/en/brief/202...
This was Russia today Wednesday, October 22, 2025 — Meduza
meduza.io
October 23, 2025 at 12:45 AM
This is so, so grim
Reposted by RandomUser7752
Political scientists are the Generation X of academic disciplines. No one remembers we exist.
You want the law professors to write the USA 3.0 Constitution? Are you sure about that?
(There’s literally an entire field of study dedicated to understanding how institutions determine outcomes. It ain’t Law.)
(There’s literally an entire field of study dedicated to understanding how institutions determine outcomes. It ain’t Law.)
Not to diminish law review articles & law school committee work, but right now law professors should be working collectively on an intellectual & service project of immense, existential importance: building consensus around a revolutionary constitutional framework-of a Reconstruction 2.0 magnitude.
October 23, 2025 at 2:57 AM
Political scientists are the Generation X of academic disciplines. No one remembers we exist.
Reposted by RandomUser7752
No, and what he's doing now isn't legal, either. It is, on the more important point of how it's being funded, insanely unconstitutional. But not everything is fixable by litigation, even constitutional violations. Some parts are up to Congress to enforce or else they simply aren't enforced at all.
As a matter of current law, could the president just…knock down the entire White House? Just raze the whole thing to the ground?
October 22, 2025 at 11:11 PM
No, and what he's doing now isn't legal, either. It is, on the more important point of how it's being funded, insanely unconstitutional. But not everything is fixable by litigation, even constitutional violations. Some parts are up to Congress to enforce or else they simply aren't enforced at all.
Reposted by RandomUser7752
Good 🧵. Definitely something to the "skills that got folks here pre-2025 are totally & wildly inadequate for dealing with a far right authoritarian party/president." Normal politics & the people/skills they select for don't yield leaders for fighting against fascism. See also: university presidents.
Consider Sen Merkley: degrees from Stanford and Princeton, a Masters in Public Policy, a lifetime spent in public service non-profits, then every rank of elected office. You want someone to craft and pass effective legislation? He’s your guy. Inspiring a mass populist uprising? Prob not.
October 22, 2025 at 11:26 PM
Good 🧵. Definitely something to the "skills that got folks here pre-2025 are totally & wildly inadequate for dealing with a far right authoritarian party/president." Normal politics & the people/skills they select for don't yield leaders for fighting against fascism. See also: university presidents.
Reposted by RandomUser7752
He's going to take money from my importation business (in the form of tariffs) and give it to other Americans who don't import goods.
Unless I'm misunderstanding, this is just wealth redistribution Republicans claim to despise. *At the expense of small businesses.*
Unless I'm misunderstanding, this is just wealth redistribution Republicans claim to despise. *At the expense of small businesses.*
Trump: "We'll probably make a distribution out of some of the tariff money over the next fairly short period of time to people."
October 22, 2025 at 12:25 AM
He's going to take money from my importation business (in the form of tariffs) and give it to other Americans who don't import goods.
Unless I'm misunderstanding, this is just wealth redistribution Republicans claim to despise. *At the expense of small businesses.*
Unless I'm misunderstanding, this is just wealth redistribution Republicans claim to despise. *At the expense of small businesses.*
Reposted by RandomUser7752
the president has destroyed the east wing of the white house without so much as a word of input from anyone else to build a royal ballroom paid for with bribes
NEW: After The Washington Post reported Monday on the demolition of the "East Wing facade," a new picture obtained by Law Dork that was taken on Tuesday shows that a substantial portion of the entirety of the East Wing has been demolished.
October 21, 2025 at 8:27 PM
the president has destroyed the east wing of the white house without so much as a word of input from anyone else to build a royal ballroom paid for with bribes
Reposted by RandomUser7752
Trump spoke to Vought, a self-described Christian nationalist about the “gorgeous” and “beautiful ladies” who roam Trump’s club, Mar-a-Lago, so often that it “weirded out” some of his advisers. Trump spoke crudely of all the “pussy” that Vought would surely get as the president’s favorite “bachelor"
October 21, 2025 at 5:13 PM
Trump spoke to Vought, a self-described Christian nationalist about the “gorgeous” and “beautiful ladies” who roam Trump’s club, Mar-a-Lago, so often that it “weirded out” some of his advisers. Trump spoke crudely of all the “pussy” that Vought would surely get as the president’s favorite “bachelor"
Reposted by RandomUser7752
Here's the thing I don't understand. You can't as much as sneeze near a historic site in Washington without like 14 commissions, councils, and advisory boards giving you the okay. And everybody now is like...yup, fine with us? wtf?
NEW: After The Washington Post reported Monday on the demolition of the "East Wing facade," a new picture obtained by Law Dork that was taken on Tuesday shows that a substantial portion of the entirety of the East Wing has been demolished.
October 21, 2025 at 8:43 PM
Here's the thing I don't understand. You can't as much as sneeze near a historic site in Washington without like 14 commissions, councils, and advisory boards giving you the okay. And everybody now is like...yup, fine with us? wtf?