@wgzlk.bsky.social
Reposted
I wish it were possible to better put into words how the Americans who most publicly and arrogantly deem themselves courageous and patriotic are, in the view of History—the history of our country and the history of our species—the most abject, low, and pathetic, whose actions shame all of us forever
June 22, 2025 at 12:00 AM
I wish it were possible to better put into words how the Americans who most publicly and arrogantly deem themselves courageous and patriotic are, in the view of History—the history of our country and the history of our species—the most abject, low, and pathetic, whose actions shame all of us forever
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"The Court is troubled by the implication inherent in Defendants’ argument that protest against the federal government, a core civil liberty protected by the First Amendment, can justify a finding of rebellion."
![Moreover, the Court is troubled by the implication inherent in Defendants’ argument that protest against the federal government, a core civil liberty protected by the First Amendment, can justify a finding of rebellion. The U.S. Reports are chock-full of language explaining the importance of individuals’ right to speak out against the government—even when doing so is uncomfortable, even when doing so is provocative, even when doing so causes inconvenience. See, e.g., Cohen v. California, 403 U.S. 15, 24–25 (1972) (“To many, the immediate consequence of this freedom may often appear to be only verbal tumult, discord, and even offensive utterance. … That the air may at times seem filled with verbal cacophony is, in this sense not a sign of weakness but of strength.”); Tinker v. Des Moines Indep. Cmty. Sch. Dist., 393 U.S. 503, 508 (“But, in our system, undifferentiated fear or apprehension of disturbance is not enough to overcome the right to freedom of expression. Any departure from absolute regimentation may cause trouble. … Any word spoken … that deviates from the views of another person may start an argument or cause a disturbance. But our Constitution says we must take this risk.”); Cox v. Louisiana, 379 U.S. 536, 550–51 (rejecting the argument that a conviction for breach of the peace “should be sustained because of fear expressed by some [onlookers] that ‘violence was about to erupt’ because of the demonstration” and explaining “that constitutional rights may not be denied simply because of hostility to their assertion or](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:qrllvid7s54k4hnwtqxwetrf/bafkreicef73mhdhdkllvz3c36u6jystthou7yxo5m2hknejk7koc76oefq@jpeg)
June 13, 2025 at 1:08 AM
"The Court is troubled by the implication inherent in Defendants’ argument that protest against the federal government, a core civil liberty protected by the First Amendment, can justify a finding of rebellion."
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Senator David Padilla should not have attempted to politicize DHS Secretary Kristi Noem’s press conference announcing that the federal government would liberate Los Angeles from socialism. Tomorrow in the New York Times
June 12, 2025 at 10:35 PM
Senator David Padilla should not have attempted to politicize DHS Secretary Kristi Noem’s press conference announcing that the federal government would liberate Los Angeles from socialism. Tomorrow in the New York Times
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Outcomes like this with Penn seem notable because the gist of Trump's strategy is to make sure these claims of unlawful college discrimination *don't* get to court for a full airing of both sides, by applying pressure that forces college administrators to settle before that point.
June 7, 2025 at 3:09 PM
Outcomes like this with Penn seem notable because the gist of Trump's strategy is to make sure these claims of unlawful college discrimination *don't* get to court for a full airing of both sides, by applying pressure that forces college administrators to settle before that point.
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Now the ABA Journal covers the House attack on courts' contempt powers. "The budget bill provision 'appears meant to spare the federal gov't any legal consequences for even deliberate, continuing and belligerent defiance of court orders,' wrote Walter Olson, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute."
Proposal to limit courts' contempt power, part of spending bill, is 'terrible idea,' Chemerinsky says
A budget bill by the U.S. House of Representatives contains a “stunning” provision that would limit federal courts’ ability to hold government officials and other litigants in contempt for disobeying their orders, according to Erwin Chemerinsky, the dean at the University of California at Berkeley School of Law.
www.abajournal.com
May 21, 2025 at 3:21 PM
Now the ABA Journal covers the House attack on courts' contempt powers. "The budget bill provision 'appears meant to spare the federal gov't any legal consequences for even deliberate, continuing and belligerent defiance of court orders,' wrote Walter Olson, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute."
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Glad to see Erwin Chemerinsky sounded the alarm about it yesterday at @justsecurity.org
A Terrible Idea
Dean Chemerinsky discusses the reconciliation bill’s provision that would restrict federal courts’ authority to hold government officials in contempt for violating court orders
www.justsecurity.org
May 20, 2025 at 11:00 PM
Glad to see Erwin Chemerinsky sounded the alarm about it yesterday at @justsecurity.org
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Apparently the House budget bill *still* includes language aimed at barring federal court enforcement of most contempt findings. I wrote May 9 about how this not only seeks to get Trump agencies off the hook for recent misconduct, but imperils a wide range of vital legal and constitutional rights.
In Congress, a Move To Strip Courts of Contempt Powers
Contempt powers protect important rights. When the government tramples lawlessly on your interests, court orders—and the mechanisms for enforcing them—are often going to provide your only practical re...
www.cato.org
May 19, 2025 at 7:04 PM
Apparently the House budget bill *still* includes language aimed at barring federal court enforcement of most contempt findings. I wrote May 9 about how this not only seeks to get Trump agencies off the hook for recent misconduct, but imperils a wide range of vital legal and constitutional rights.
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/3 The student in question was clearly terrified. But he did it anyway.
“Bran thought about it. 'Can a man still be brave if he's afraid?'
'That is the only time a man can be brave,' his father told him.”
bsky.app/profile/jswe...
“Bran thought about it. 'Can a man still be brave if he's afraid?'
'That is the only time a man can be brave,' his father told him.”
bsky.app/profile/jswe...
Here is a clip of the student's speech.
May 15, 2025 at 4:24 PM
/3 The student in question was clearly terrified. But he did it anyway.
“Bran thought about it. 'Can a man still be brave if he's afraid?'
'That is the only time a man can be brave,' his father told him.”
bsky.app/profile/jswe...
“Bran thought about it. 'Can a man still be brave if he's afraid?'
'That is the only time a man can be brave,' his father told him.”
bsky.app/profile/jswe...
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/2 The proposition that American government and institutions should unite to use official power to punish and suppress criticism of Israel is unacceptable. It should be fought by law, by defiance, and eventually if necessary by force. Free people cannot be prevented from speaking about wrong.
May 15, 2025 at 4:23 PM
/2 The proposition that American government and institutions should unite to use official power to punish and suppress criticism of Israel is unacceptable. It should be fought by law, by defiance, and eventually if necessary by force. Free people cannot be prevented from speaking about wrong.
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I am unimpressed by NYU’s performative yawp. The student’s statement was brief and restrained. There is a long history of such statements in graduation speeches. The matter spoken of is historic and catastrophic. The crowd’s response was largely positive.
/1
/1
groveling collaborative fucks at nyu behaving exactly as expected
May 15, 2025 at 4:21 PM
I am unimpressed by NYU’s performative yawp. The student’s statement was brief and restrained. There is a long history of such statements in graduation speeches. The matter spoken of is historic and catastrophic. The crowd’s response was largely positive.
/1
/1
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Everyone laughed when I explained my plan to shit myself thin but who’s laughing now? Nobody that’s who
"The Agriculture Department will not require poultry companies to limit salmonella bacteria in their products, halting a Biden Administration effort to prevent food poisoning from contaminated meat."
www.seattletimes.com/business/usd...
www.seattletimes.com/business/usd...
USDA withdraws a plan to limit salmonella levels in raw poultry
The Agriculture Department says it is withdrawing a plan to limit salmonella bacteria in poultry products.
www.seattletimes.com
April 25, 2025 at 3:06 PM
Everyone laughed when I explained my plan to shit myself thin but who’s laughing now? Nobody that’s who
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This is a big deal for the Navy -- and $1.8M a relatively small sum relative to the maritime diplomacy that happens with heads of dozens of world navies all coming together.
news.usni.org/2025/04/24/n...
news.usni.org/2025/04/24/n...
Navy Cancels 56-Year-Old International Seapower Symposium Due to ‘Unavailable Funding’ - USNI News
THE PENTAGON — The Navy is canceling its biennial International Seapower Symposium due to “unavailable funding,” the service confirmed to USNI News Thursday. The chief of naval operations has hosted t...
news.usni.org
April 24, 2025 at 7:27 PM
This is a big deal for the Navy -- and $1.8M a relatively small sum relative to the maritime diplomacy that happens with heads of dozens of world navies all coming together.
news.usni.org/2025/04/24/n...
news.usni.org/2025/04/24/n...
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In fact, it is offensively ridiculous to think that any but a handful of people disappeared by ICE will be able to file habeas corpus, because it relies on them having informed families with connections to available knowledgeable lawyers with time and resources to act instantly.
How the FedSoc judges on SCOTUS want you think habeas corpus works:
a man sitting at a desk with a box of boise paper in front of him
ALT: a man sitting at a desk with a box of boise paper in front of him
media.tenor.com
April 8, 2025 at 12:56 AM
In fact, it is offensively ridiculous to think that any but a handful of people disappeared by ICE will be able to file habeas corpus, because it relies on them having informed families with connections to available knowledgeable lawyers with time and resources to act instantly.
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This is a grave and sobering admission: they are not pursuing the “WELL ACTUALLY he broke the law during protests,” they are bragging that they are deporting people for protected speech.
NEW: White House says the arrest and deportation of student activist & legal US resident, Mahmoud Khalil, is a blueprint for more.
The final line here is chilling. The White House specifically says Khalil was not breaking the law.
No evidence, no due process, no crime. He was just disappeared.
The final line here is chilling. The White House specifically says Khalil was not breaking the law.
No evidence, no due process, no crime. He was just disappeared.
March 11, 2025 at 5:34 PM
This is a grave and sobering admission: they are not pursuing the “WELL ACTUALLY he broke the law during protests,” they are bragging that they are deporting people for protected speech.
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I got laid off today, with the rest of 18F.
18F was an elite federal software shop. We made gov't websites work better, more efficiently for the American people. We saved taxpayers from getting screwed over by contractors. And were fired for it.
We made this website to tell our story:
18f.org
18F was an elite federal software shop. We made gov't websites work better, more efficiently for the American people. We saved taxpayers from getting screwed over by contractors. And were fired for it.
We made this website to tell our story:
18f.org
We're not done yet | 18F
18f.org
March 1, 2025 at 10:38 PM
I got laid off today, with the rest of 18F.
18F was an elite federal software shop. We made gov't websites work better, more efficiently for the American people. We saved taxpayers from getting screwed over by contractors. And were fired for it.
We made this website to tell our story:
18f.org
18F was an elite federal software shop. We made gov't websites work better, more efficiently for the American people. We saved taxpayers from getting screwed over by contractors. And were fired for it.
We made this website to tell our story:
18f.org
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"History will remember this day— when an American President and Vice President abandoned all we stand for."
February 28, 2025 at 9:25 PM
"History will remember this day— when an American President and Vice President abandoned all we stand for."
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Gee I wonder why there’s a shortage of air traffic controllers
February 27, 2025 at 3:43 PM
Gee I wonder why there’s a shortage of air traffic controllers
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Many of the USAID people getting RIF notices are being told they’re Schedule F. This is the first they’ve heard they’d been reclassified.
February 24, 2025 at 8:17 AM
Many of the USAID people getting RIF notices are being told they’re Schedule F. This is the first they’ve heard they’d been reclassified.
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Coming around to the view that a certain kind of narcissist simply needs Musk to be a genius rather than a fraud, because they want to believe there’s a hereditary Brahmin class of accomplished, beautiful minds—and that they’re a part of that class.
February 22, 2025 at 5:45 PM
Coming around to the view that a certain kind of narcissist simply needs Musk to be a genius rather than a fraud, because they want to believe there’s a hereditary Brahmin class of accomplished, beautiful minds—and that they’re a part of that class.
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let me say that this is the classic “just asking questions” approach to delegitimizing the achievements of black people. and critically, you don’t even have to be a black person who talks about race. simply being black to these people means you are “obsessed with race.”
Just look at these paragraphs from the AP story.
Hegseth called Brown unqualified solely because he's Black. Then they fired him... and replaced him with a white guy so indisputably unqualified that he requires a Presidential waiver.
This is what "merit" means to them.
apnews.com/article/trum...
Hegseth called Brown unqualified solely because he's Black. Then they fired him... and replaced him with a white guy so indisputably unqualified that he requires a Presidential waiver.
This is what "merit" means to them.
apnews.com/article/trum...
February 22, 2025 at 3:07 PM
let me say that this is the classic “just asking questions” approach to delegitimizing the achievements of black people. and critically, you don’t even have to be a black person who talks about race. simply being black to these people means you are “obsessed with race.”