williambell.bsky.social
@williambell.bsky.social
Reposted
this isn't hyperbole or caricature! It's a straightforwad, accurate characterization of what he said.
Trump's argument for the elimination of the estate tax is that the heirs of the super rich will no longer have to go beg a predatory Jewish banker for a bridge loan to overcome cash flow problems associated with the $15 million dollar estate they're about to get.
July 4, 2025 at 3:21 PM
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It’s so much crazier than that. A woman appealed a lower court ruling for her ex-husband, pointing out the court’s order relied on 4 hallucinated or real-but-irrelevant cases. Ex-husband’s lawyer then files a reply to the appeals court with ELEVEN hallucinated or irrelevant case citations!
First time a judge has decided a case based on hallucinated case law in the US that I've encountered.

caselaw.findlaw.com/court/ga-cou...
July 4, 2025 at 3:44 PM
No Kings Day Reflections from an American-Irish in the Home of Her Ancestors www.emptywheel.net/2025/07/04/n...
No Kings Day Reflections from an American-Irish in the Home of Her Ancestors - emptywheel
On this No Kings Day, remember that America is a tapestry of from-ness that Kings failed to stamp out.
www.emptywheel.net
July 4, 2025 at 5:18 PM
Reposted
Judge Michael Luttig: the self-evident truths of freedom and tyranny.
The Self-Evident Truths of Freedom—and of Tyranny
Twenty-seven truths about America, our Democracy and Rule of Law, and our rights, freedoms, and liberties.
www.telos.news
July 4, 2025 at 12:08 PM
Reposted
Trump has established a fourth defense zone along the US-Mexico border, designating a strip of land in Arizona where anyone crossing the border is subject to charges of trespassing on military property. This policy creates a state akin to war with Mexico on no pretext whatsoever.
Fourth military zone established in Arizona under the Marine Corps
The military has established a fourth defense zone along the U.S. border with Mexico — creating a strip of land in Arizona where anyone crossing the border is subject to charges of trespassing on mili...
www.stripes.com
July 4, 2025 at 12:10 PM
Reposted
Opus Dei slavery operations included the cult's senior most leadership, a fact that deeply disturbed Pope Francis. Prosecutors now seek to question Msgr Mariano Fazio, the Opus Dei number two who is expected soon to head the order.
Argentinian prosecutors want to question a top Opus Dei official in enslavement investigation
The group, which has been under investigation by the Vatican, "categorically denies" any accusations of human trafficking or labor exploitation.
www.ncronline.org
July 4, 2025 at 12:51 PM
Reposted
The Trump idea of a grand bargain with China is pure delusion. The history of the strategic rivalry between China and the United States and each country’s internal politics make the likelihood of reaching one remote. www.foreignaffairs.com/united-state...
The Fantasy of a Grand Bargain Between America and China
Why deadlock is more likely than détente.
www.foreignaffairs.com
July 4, 2025 at 1:14 PM
The Anti-Democracy Project Of John Roberts www.emptywheel.net/2025/07/03/t...
The Anti-Democracy Project Of John Roberts - emptywheel
John Roberts doesn't believe in our system of checks and balances.
www.emptywheel.net
July 4, 2025 at 1:24 PM
Reposted
Apparently it needs to be said.

Hakeem Jeffries has a day job. Often, what he does in that day job is not immediately obvious, especially to lazy people.

But amid all the whines about him not catering to your fee fees, by public appearance he is doing his day job quite well today.
July 2, 2025 at 5:31 PM
Reposted
The Sentinel ICBM program has a little "excess" $. Trump is using it not to help Ukraine or fill gaps in domestic programs but to revamp the Qatar-gifted 747 into a gold-plated Air Force One--i.e., to goose his own ego. slate.com/news-and-pol...
The Pentagon Had a Budget Surplus. Guess What Trump Decided to Do With It.
This could have been good news, if Trump had followed a different path.
slate.com
July 2, 2025 at 8:47 PM
The Sound of Teeth on Bone: Leopard Eating Leopards [UPDATE] www.emptywheel.net/2025/07/01/t...
The Sound of Teeth on Bone: Leopard Eating Leopards [UPDATE] - emptywheel
Keep your hands and feet inside the cab, stay clear of the leopards as they begin to gnaw on their own.
www.emptywheel.net
July 2, 2025 at 11:48 AM
Reposted
Wow. Please, PLEASE watch this two-minute video.

In which Lisa Murkowski, in a self-pitying way, admits to being everything that is wrong with the politics of this moment.
Sen. Murkowski admits Trump's budget bill is harmful after she folded and voted yes on it:

"I know that in many parts of the country, there are Americans that are not going to be advantaged by this bill"
July 1, 2025 at 7:59 PM
Reposted
While I'm at it:

Lisa Murkowski was *appointed* to US Senate, BY HER FATHER, after he resigned that seat to become Gov

Truly inspiring story about opportunity in America

Topped now by "poor little me" rationale for supporting a bill she knows is bad for America. And that she could have blocked.
I'm going to re-up this.

Lisa Murkowski just gave a two-minute, unintentional master-class in why the GOP of the MAGA era will be studied forever in chronicles of cowardice.

These are the two minutes she should be remembered for.

(She could have stopped this bill.)
Wow. Please, PLEASE watch this two-minute video.

In which Lisa Murkowski, in a self-pitying way, admits to being everything that is wrong with the politics of this moment.
July 1, 2025 at 9:55 PM
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RFKJr says he has complete faith in the cutting edge of AI to do work previously done by research scientists. gizmodo.com/rfk-jr-says-...
RFK Jr. Says AI Will Approve New Drugs at FDA 'Very, Very Quickly'
gizmodo.com
July 1, 2025 at 9:58 PM
Reposted
A perfect summation of what Trump and DeSantis think of judges.
Q: DeSantis has proposed deputizing the National Guard and using them as immigration judges. Would you be open to that?

TRUMP: Yes. He has my approval.
July 1, 2025 at 10:02 PM
The Sound of Teeth on Bone: Leopard Eating Leopards [UPDATE] www.emptywheel.net/2025/07/01/t...
The Sound of Teeth on Bone: Leopard Eating Leopards [UPDATE] - emptywheel
Keep your hands and feet inside the cab, stay clear of the leopards as they begin to gnaw on their own.
www.emptywheel.net
July 1, 2025 at 10:04 PM
Reposted
I obtained this from a community member minutes after arriving on scene following a raid at the Cypress Park Home Depot this morning. they detained day laborers.
June 30, 2025 at 7:13 PM
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John Yoo was on Rupert Murdoch TV this morning insisting that the parents of the Idaho shooter needed to be criminally investigated and prosecuted. So here they are.
June 30, 2025 at 7:51 PM
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A solid remembrance of Bill Moyers
Passage: Remembering Bill Moyers
YouTube video by CBS Sunday Morning
youtu.be
June 29, 2025 at 3:24 PM
Reposted
“Rafael Grossi’s comments appear to support an early assessment from the Pentagon’s Defense Intelligence Agency, which suggests the United States’ strikes on key Iranian nuclear sites last week did not destroy the core components of its nuclear program, and likely only set it back by months.”
UN nuclear watchdog chief says Iran could again begin enriching uranium in ‘matter of months’ | CNN
The head of the UN’s nuclear watchdog says US strikes on Iran fell short of causing total damage to its nuclear program and that Tehran could restart enriching uranium “in a matter of months,” contrad...
www.cnn.com
June 29, 2025 at 4:03 PM
Reposted
A solid report on the immediate impact of the Trump decision to end cancer research funding. www.cbsnews.com/news/when-is...
"When is cancer political?" Medical researchers, patients decry Trump admin's layoffs, budget cuts
Scientists conducting medical research are facing an existential crisis: Layoffs and budget cuts pushed by President Trump that, they say, jeopardize finding a cure for cancer.
www.cbsnews.com
June 29, 2025 at 5:17 PM
Reposted
Trump's secret police reported today to be attacking motorists on I-10, focusing on people with skin darker than a paper bag.
June 29, 2025 at 5:21 PM
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It's not just Rome and Athens, today the Opus Dei court tells us 6–3 that the US Constitution will say one thing in Arkansas and something else in Illinois, so long as that serves the will of the emperor.
June 27, 2025 at 4:04 PM
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Let's challenge Kash's fitness to be FBI Director then.
“Without 14th Amendment, various figures would not have gained U.S. citizenship…
— Marco Rubio, Cuban parents
— Kash Patel, Indian parents
— Mehmet Oz, Turkish parents
— Usha Vance, Indian parents
— Nikki Haley, Indian parents
www.newsweek.com/donald-trump...
Trump's own Cabinet would have been harmed by birthright citizenship move
The policy would in theory harm some of Trump's own Cabinet members and other prominent political figures.
www.newsweek.com
June 27, 2025 at 4:27 PM