Tracey Barnett
@traceybarnett.bsky.social
Politics. Commentary. Ideas. Non-award-winning Columnist in Auckland, New Zealand.
My Pohutakawa tree can beat up your Pohutakawa tree. #BestXmasTreeEva
December 3, 2025 at 1:53 AM
My Pohutakawa tree can beat up your Pohutakawa tree. #BestXmasTreeEva
Yep, here they are. Tell me if you agree. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/02/b...
The 10 Best Books of 2025
www.nytimes.com
December 3, 2025 at 1:12 AM
Yep, here they are. Tell me if you agree. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/02/b...
Reposted by Tracey Barnett
Comey rightly calls out the "biglaw" lawyers who have abdicated their responsibilities to uphold the rule of law, which -- after all -- is why the legal profession exists in the first place, as I discussed a few months ago.
November 24, 2025 at 10:19 PM
Comey rightly calls out the "biglaw" lawyers who have abdicated their responsibilities to uphold the rule of law, which -- after all -- is why the legal profession exists in the first place, as I discussed a few months ago.
Reposted by Tracey Barnett
The truly wild thing is this isn’t even true, a shit-ton of their oil reserves on paper are heavy tar sands and every US oil company will take one look at that at $80/bbl and walk away because it isn’t close to economically viable.
Rep. Salazar on Venezuela: "We're about to go in ... we need to go in ... Venezuela for the American oil companies will be a field day"
November 24, 2025 at 9:26 PM
The truly wild thing is this isn’t even true, a shit-ton of their oil reserves on paper are heavy tar sands and every US oil company will take one look at that at $80/bbl and walk away because it isn’t close to economically viable.
Reposted by Tracey Barnett
Rep Maria Salazar (R-FL) says Trump is about to invade Venezuela, and the objective is to seize their oil. Remarkable candor, because this seems to be precisely what is going on. bsky.app/profile/atru...
Rep. Salazar on Venezuela: "We're about to go in ... we need to go in ... Venezuela for the American oil companies will be a field day"
November 24, 2025 at 9:35 PM
Rep Maria Salazar (R-FL) says Trump is about to invade Venezuela, and the objective is to seize their oil. Remarkable candor, because this seems to be precisely what is going on. bsky.app/profile/atru...
Reposted by Tracey Barnett
He went to Jared*
*who doesn’t currently hold any position in the govt??
*who doesn’t currently hold any position in the govt??
Reuters has confirmed that President Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and his special envoy Steve Witkoff held a private meeting in Miami with a sanctioned Kremlin proxy to help shape the new "peace plan" for Ukraine. www.reuters.com/world/europe...
www.reuters.com
November 23, 2025 at 6:02 AM
He went to Jared*
*who doesn’t currently hold any position in the govt??
*who doesn’t currently hold any position in the govt??
Here they come. Those seductive year’s best lists. Get on it, holiday readers.
www.washingtonpost.com/books/2025/1...
www.washingtonpost.com/books/2025/1...
The 10 best books of 2025
The year’s best fiction and nonfiction, as selected by the staff of The Washington Post’s Book World.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 21, 2025 at 5:49 PM
Here they come. Those seductive year’s best lists. Get on it, holiday readers.
www.washingtonpost.com/books/2025/1...
www.washingtonpost.com/books/2025/1...
Reposted by Tracey Barnett
NEW TONIGHT: Judge temporarily blocks Trump from deploying troops in Portland
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
Judge temporarily blocks Trump from deploying troops in Portland
Oregon officials had challenged President Donald Trump’s move to send troops to the state’s largest city, calling it “patently unlawful.”
www.washingtonpost.com
October 5, 2025 at 3:55 AM
NEW TONIGHT: Judge temporarily blocks Trump from deploying troops in Portland
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
Reposted by Tracey Barnett
BREAKING: The Israeli army says it will attack Yemen’s Red Sea port of Hodeidah “in the coming hours”.
🔴 LIVE updates: aje.io/8swszf
🔴 LIVE updates: aje.io/8swszf
September 16, 2025 at 12:08 PM
BREAKING: The Israeli army says it will attack Yemen’s Red Sea port of Hodeidah “in the coming hours”.
🔴 LIVE updates: aje.io/8swszf
🔴 LIVE updates: aje.io/8swszf
Reposted by Tracey Barnett
Another federal official is refusing to step aside after the White House tried to fire him: Robert E. Primus, a board member of the federal agency responsible for approving railroad mergers. “It’s illegal," he said of the move. "The president cannot remove me arbitrarily."
Trump Fires Member of Board That Approves Railroad Mergers
Robert E. Primus received an email from the White House terminating his position, but he said he would continue his duties.
nyti.ms
August 28, 2025 at 8:05 PM
Another federal official is refusing to step aside after the White House tried to fire him: Robert E. Primus, a board member of the federal agency responsible for approving railroad mergers. “It’s illegal," he said of the move. "The president cannot remove me arbitrarily."
Reposted by Tracey Barnett
BREAKING: Big moment as CDC staff stage a mass walkout.
They have lined the street outside its HQ to greet and salute the four top officials who have resigned in protest at RFK Jr’s attack on the agency’s science base.
(🎥 AP)
They have lined the street outside its HQ to greet and salute the four top officials who have resigned in protest at RFK Jr’s attack on the agency’s science base.
(🎥 AP)
August 28, 2025 at 7:42 PM
BREAKING: Big moment as CDC staff stage a mass walkout.
They have lined the street outside its HQ to greet and salute the four top officials who have resigned in protest at RFK Jr’s attack on the agency’s science base.
(🎥 AP)
They have lined the street outside its HQ to greet and salute the four top officials who have resigned in protest at RFK Jr’s attack on the agency’s science base.
(🎥 AP)
Reposted by Tracey Barnett
My heart breaks into 10,000 pieces once again.
August 25, 2025 at 11:33 PM
My heart breaks into 10,000 pieces once again.
Just went to the post office today in Auckland, New Zealand and was told that all packages to the US cannot be sent, as of yesterday. #TariffHell
August 22, 2025 at 3:55 AM
Just went to the post office today in Auckland, New Zealand and was told that all packages to the US cannot be sent, as of yesterday. #TariffHell
Reposted by Tracey Barnett
"Give me the Nobel Peace Prize or you'll be sorry" doesn't sound very peaceful.
Out of the blue, Trump called the Norwegian finance minister to ask when he would get the Nobel prize suggesting he would impose tariffs if he did not www.dn.no/politikk/fre...
Kilder til DN: Trump tok opp nobelpris i tolltelefon med Stoltenberg (+)
Ut av det blå, mens finansminister Jens Stoltenberg gikk på gaten i Oslo, ringte Donald Trump fra Det hvite hus. Han ville ha Nobelprisen – og diskutere toll.
www.dn.no
August 15, 2025 at 12:44 AM
"Give me the Nobel Peace Prize or you'll be sorry" doesn't sound very peaceful.
Reposted by Tracey Barnett
Birth control is routine for many Americans and polls show it's popular across party lines. Now, the Trump administration is withholding funds that provide contraception for low income people.
Trump cuts threaten access to birth control for millions of women
Birth control is routine for many Americans and polls show it's popular across party lines. Now, the Trump administration is withholding funds that provide contraception for low income people.
n.pr
August 8, 2025 at 12:45 AM
Birth control is routine for many Americans and polls show it's popular across party lines. Now, the Trump administration is withholding funds that provide contraception for low income people.
Reposted by Tracey Barnett
Trump announces federal law enforcement will patrol Washington, D.C..
Trump announces federal law enforcement will patrol Washington D.C.
The move comes one day after the president threatened to take over the city’s police force.
www.politico.com
August 8, 2025 at 12:48 AM
Trump announces federal law enforcement will patrol Washington, D.C..
Big fan of Ezra Klein. Here he gives us an excellent deep dive into what makes JD Vance tick.
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/01/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/01/o...
Opinion | Behind Trump and Vance Is This Man’s Movement
www.nytimes.com
August 1, 2025 at 8:24 PM
Big fan of Ezra Klein. Here he gives us an excellent deep dive into what makes JD Vance tick.
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/01/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/01/o...
Reposted by Tracey Barnett
We’ve got in the habit, starting in earnest a year ago, of blaming the craziness of populists on political polarization.
But there has not, in any measurable way, been a general polarization to extremes of left and right. Only one side became polarized
www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...
But there has not, in any measurable way, been a general polarization to extremes of left and right. Only one side became polarized
www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...
Opinion: No, politics haven’t become polarized. Only one side has moved to the extremes
Many became attracted to fringe ideas and conspiracy theories on the right, but there hasn’t been a similar shift, of any significant scale, on the left
www.theglobeandmail.com
July 25, 2025 at 3:49 PM
We’ve got in the habit, starting in earnest a year ago, of blaming the craziness of populists on political polarization.
But there has not, in any measurable way, been a general polarization to extremes of left and right. Only one side became polarized
www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...
But there has not, in any measurable way, been a general polarization to extremes of left and right. Only one side became polarized
www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...
Reposted by Tracey Barnett
A Black man whose car window was broken by a white police officer and who was then punched, dragged out of his car and thrown to the ground during a traffic stop in February said on Wednesday he was “really just scared” during the arrest. The sheriff’s office said this week that it is investigating.
Inquiry Is Opened After Jacksonville Officer Punches Man Through His Car Window
A Black man was beaten by a white officer in Jacksonville, Fla., during a traffic stop. The sheriff’s office said that it was reviewing the episode.
trib.al
July 23, 2025 at 8:10 PM
A Black man whose car window was broken by a white police officer and who was then punched, dragged out of his car and thrown to the ground during a traffic stop in February said on Wednesday he was “really just scared” during the arrest. The sheriff’s office said this week that it is investigating.
Reposted by Tracey Barnett
More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since May while trying to get food in Gaza, mostly near food sites run by an American contractor, the U.N. human rights office said.
Israeli forces have killed over 1,000 aid-seekers in Gaza since May, the U.N. says
More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since May while trying to get food in Gaza, mostly near food sites run by an American contractor, the U.N. human rights office said.
n.pr
July 23, 2025 at 8:19 PM
More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since May while trying to get food in Gaza, mostly near food sites run by an American contractor, the U.N. human rights office said.
Just seeing the ribs on that child. Politics did this. Politics that kill. The utter cruelty…https://www.ft.com/content/acb6116e-18cb-4af4-9eee-1c005869ef70
Doctors and health officials report wave of hunger deaths in Gaza
Health ministry says dozens have died this month as aid agencies warn that even their workers are suffering from malnutrition
www.ft.com
July 23, 2025 at 8:26 PM
Just seeing the ribs on that child. Politics did this. Politics that kill. The utter cruelty…https://www.ft.com/content/acb6116e-18cb-4af4-9eee-1c005869ef70
Because y’all needed this today. youtu.be/rEq3TCxbvJs
Colbert Finale Annotated
YouTube video by Slate
youtu.be
July 23, 2025 at 4:52 AM
Because y’all needed this today. youtu.be/rEq3TCxbvJs