zoe
@zoeprglr.bsky.social
Policy and law (and bikes) in Michigan and DC. A better world is possible.
Reposted by zoe
With this vote, Congress makes ICE the highest-funded federal law enforcement agency in history, with more money per year at its disposal over the next four years than the budgets of the FBI, DEA, ATF, US Marshals, and Bureau of Prisons combined.
🚨🚨 NEW: House passes sprawling domestic policy bill, sending it to Trump's desk
Final House vote is 218-214, with TWO Rs voting no (Massie & Fitzpatrick).
Senate passed it 51-50.
www.nbcnews.com/politics/con...
Final House vote is 218-214, with TWO Rs voting no (Massie & Fitzpatrick).
Senate passed it 51-50.
www.nbcnews.com/politics/con...
House passes sprawling domestic policy bill, sending it to Trump's desk
The Republican package would slash taxes, boost spending on immigration and the military, and impose steep cuts to Medicaid, SNAP and clean energy funding.
www.nbcnews.com
July 3, 2025 at 6:35 PM
With this vote, Congress makes ICE the highest-funded federal law enforcement agency in history, with more money per year at its disposal over the next four years than the budgets of the FBI, DEA, ATF, US Marshals, and Bureau of Prisons combined.
Reposted by zoe
Just before 1 a.m., #SCOTUS stepped back into the Alien Enemy Act litigation with a (remarkable) ruling that suggests, among other things, that a majority of the justices is tiring of the Trump administration’s Calvinball.
For more, see the latest “One First”:
www.stevevladeck.com/p/144-the-su...
For more, see the latest “One First”:
www.stevevladeck.com/p/144-the-su...
144. The Supreme Court's Late-Night Alien Enemy Act Intervention
Just before 1:00 a.m., the justices (aggressively) stepped back into the Alien Enemy Act litigation—in a decision suggesting that a majority understands that these are no longer normal circumstances.
www.stevevladeck.com
April 19, 2025 at 12:45 PM
Just before 1 a.m., #SCOTUS stepped back into the Alien Enemy Act litigation with a (remarkable) ruling that suggests, among other things, that a majority of the justices is tiring of the Trump administration’s Calvinball.
For more, see the latest “One First”:
www.stevevladeck.com/p/144-the-su...
For more, see the latest “One First”:
www.stevevladeck.com/p/144-the-su...
Reposted by zoe
This is an obvious point, but cannot overstated. There is an enormous difference between deporting someone - where they get off a plane as a free citizen in their home country AND FUNNELING THEM INTO A BRUTAL PRISON FROM WHICH THEY HAVE NO CHANCE OF EVER EMERGING!!!
April 18, 2025 at 11:08 PM
This is an obvious point, but cannot overstated. There is an enormous difference between deporting someone - where they get off a plane as a free citizen in their home country AND FUNNELING THEM INTO A BRUTAL PRISON FROM WHICH THEY HAVE NO CHANCE OF EVER EMERGING!!!
Reposted by zoe
I'm at the constitutional crisis / I'm at the collapsing economy / I'm at the ccccccombination constitutional crisis and collapsing economy
April 14, 2025 at 7:05 PM
I'm at the constitutional crisis / I'm at the collapsing economy / I'm at the ccccccombination constitutional crisis and collapsing economy
Reposted by zoe
Before folks overreact to headlines about the judge’s ruling in the Khalil case, please note that (1) it was an immigration judge (IJ), not a federal district court; and (2) the IJ had no power to consider Khalil’s constitutional objections.
This particular decision was a fait accompli.
This particular decision was a fait accompli.
April 11, 2025 at 8:23 PM
Before folks overreact to headlines about the judge’s ruling in the Khalil case, please note that (1) it was an immigration judge (IJ), not a federal district court; and (2) the IJ had no power to consider Khalil’s constitutional objections.
This particular decision was a fait accompli.
This particular decision was a fait accompli.
Reposted by zoe
The equivalent here isn’t “doctor gives penicillin for infection,” it’s “barber gives leeches to treat ill humours.”
REPORTER: Is there pain in the market at some point you're unwilling to tolerate?
TRUMP: I think your question is so stupid. I don't want anything to go down, but sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something.
TRUMP: I think your question is so stupid. I don't want anything to go down, but sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something.
April 6, 2025 at 11:58 PM
The equivalent here isn’t “doctor gives penicillin for infection,” it’s “barber gives leeches to treat ill humours.”
Reposted by zoe
that said: I think the "it's not fascism unless they're good at it" brand of analysis probably isn't the move
February 5, 2025 at 7:28 PM
that said: I think the "it's not fascism unless they're good at it" brand of analysis probably isn't the move
Reposted by zoe
No news organization should ever use the words "third term" without the word "unconstitutional" preceding it
March 30, 2025 at 4:49 PM
No news organization should ever use the words "third term" without the word "unconstitutional" preceding it
Reposted by zoe
a bunch of government goons from ICE/HSI showed up to an elementary school in DC this morning and tried to detain a staff member in the parking lot but the person's colleagues intervened and stopped it and let that be a reminder to all of us that we can do that
March 26, 2025 at 7:02 PM
a bunch of government goons from ICE/HSI showed up to an elementary school in DC this morning and tried to detain a staff member in the parking lot but the person's colleagues intervened and stopped it and let that be a reminder to all of us that we can do that
Reposted by zoe
Unidentified men grabbing someone off the street and putting her in a car because she wrote an op-Ed. This as flatly authoritarian as anything we’ve seen in this country in a very long time.
Video of the international student at Tufts being arrested by "federal authorities" in Massachusetts has been released and it's terrifying.
They're not even uniformed officers. Just secret police thugs in hoodies and masks.
From WCVB: youtu.be/PuFIs7OkzYY
They're not even uniformed officers. Just secret police thugs in hoodies and masks.
From WCVB: youtu.be/PuFIs7OkzYY
March 26, 2025 at 5:41 PM
Unidentified men grabbing someone off the street and putting her in a car because she wrote an op-Ed. This as flatly authoritarian as anything we’ve seen in this country in a very long time.
Reposted by zoe
When scholars of authoritarianism and fascism leave U.S. universities because of the deteriorating political situation here, we should really worry.
March 26, 2025 at 12:50 AM
When scholars of authoritarianism and fascism leave U.S. universities because of the deteriorating political situation here, we should really worry.
Reposted by zoe
We're close to Cybertrucks having more rights than women
BREAKING: Trump says he will label violence against Tesla, $TSLA, dealerships as domestic terrorism.
March 11, 2025 at 9:00 PM
We're close to Cybertrucks having more rights than women
Reposted by zoe
I don’t care how you felt about the campus protests, this is one of those moments that reveals whether you believe “never again” is more than an empty slogan.
March 10, 2025 at 12:38 AM
I don’t care how you felt about the campus protests, this is one of those moments that reveals whether you believe “never again” is more than an empty slogan.
Reposted by zoe
UPDATE—Mahmoud's attorney says they do NOT know where he is.
They were first told he was sent to an ICE facility in Elizabeth, NJ. But when his 8-month-pregnant wife tried to visit him, she was told he's not there.
They've received reports he may be sent as far away as Louisiana.
They were first told he was sent to an ICE facility in Elizabeth, NJ. But when his 8-month-pregnant wife tried to visit him, she was told he's not there.
They've received reports he may be sent as far away as Louisiana.
March 9, 2025 at 7:58 PM
UPDATE—Mahmoud's attorney says they do NOT know where he is.
They were first told he was sent to an ICE facility in Elizabeth, NJ. But when his 8-month-pregnant wife tried to visit him, she was told he's not there.
They've received reports he may be sent as far away as Louisiana.
They were first told he was sent to an ICE facility in Elizabeth, NJ. But when his 8-month-pregnant wife tried to visit him, she was told he's not there.
They've received reports he may be sent as far away as Louisiana.
Reposted by zoe
re the previous repost: if they can disappear permanent residents they can disappear citizens
March 9, 2025 at 10:25 PM
re the previous repost: if they can disappear permanent residents they can disappear citizens
Reposted by zoe
Yes. If DHS can barge in, say your visa was revoked, be told you have a green card, say it's revoked too, and then disappear you so that neither your lawyer nor your family can find you, then all the guardrails are gone. There is no policy, practice, or law protecting anyone.
re the previous repost: if they can disappear permanent residents they can disappear citizens
March 9, 2025 at 10:30 PM
Yes. If DHS can barge in, say your visa was revoked, be told you have a green card, say it's revoked too, and then disappear you so that neither your lawyer nor your family can find you, then all the guardrails are gone. There is no policy, practice, or law protecting anyone.
Reposted by zoe
“The thing that I can’t get over is that the actual richest man in the world directed my fucking firing. I make $50k a year and work to keep drinking water safe. The richest man in the world decided that was an expense too great for the American taxpayer.”
Yesterday many thousands of federal employees were terminated. This is a Reddit thread for federal employees that got laid off.
From the fednews community on Reddit
Explore this post and more from the fednews community
www.reddit.com
February 15, 2025 at 11:24 PM
“The thing that I can’t get over is that the actual richest man in the world directed my fucking firing. I make $50k a year and work to keep drinking water safe. The richest man in the world decided that was an expense too great for the American taxpayer.”
Reposted by zoe
Purging dissent in the security services and giving loyalists power is something we *instantly* recognize in other contexts.
EXCLUSIVE: Candidates for national security roles in the new administration have been posed loyalty questions, such as: Was Jan. 6 an inside job, and Was the 2020 presidential election stolen? They were asked to give straight "yes" or "no" answers. Here's our story.
wapo.st/3EF3aWN
wapo.st/3EF3aWN
U.S. intelligence, law enforcement candidates face Trump loyalty test
Candidates for top intelligence and law enforcement jobs were asked to give “yes” or “no” responses to questions such as: Was Jan. 6 “an inside job?”
wapo.st
February 9, 2025 at 1:19 AM
Purging dissent in the security services and giving loyalists power is something we *instantly* recognize in other contexts.
Reposted by zoe
We are at the point of the fascist autocoup where the interim US Attorney is replying to an anonymous pro-Nazi account who wants to see someone punished for simply sharing the names of Elon Musk's lackeys who have gotten access to extremely sensitive government data systems.
February 4, 2025 at 2:30 AM
We are at the point of the fascist autocoup where the interim US Attorney is replying to an anonymous pro-Nazi account who wants to see someone punished for simply sharing the names of Elon Musk's lackeys who have gotten access to extremely sensitive government data systems.
Reposted by zoe
"Musk is a private citizen taking control of established government offices. That is not efficiency; that is a coup."
nymag.com/intelligence...
nymag.com/intelligence...
Elon Musk May Have Your Social Security Number
The billionaire and his DOGE agents were reportedly granted full access to the Treasury’s federal payments system, and nobody knows to what end.
nymag.com
February 3, 2025 at 9:24 AM
"Musk is a private citizen taking control of established government offices. That is not efficiency; that is a coup."
nymag.com/intelligence...
nymag.com/intelligence...
Reposted by zoe
is it good or bad that a billionaire oligarch with close ties to foreign dictators is currently downloading the most sensitive information the us federal government has about its citizens to his own private servers?
February 2, 2025 at 6:36 AM
is it good or bad that a billionaire oligarch with close ties to foreign dictators is currently downloading the most sensitive information the us federal government has about its citizens to his own private servers?
Reposted by zoe
The press needs to be asking Musk, Trump, press secretary, & any Sunday show guest, why is Musk accessing the Treasury payment system?, who is working for Musk on this?, are they govt officials?, have they had background checks?, and what is the legal authority for stopping payments?
Several conversations today w people in the key executive departments. And while the particulars are hard to pin down my impression is that the Musk take over stuff is considerably worse than is being presented in the press. By this I don’t necessarily things they *done* yet but the level of …
February 2, 2025 at 12:03 PM
The press needs to be asking Musk, Trump, press secretary, & any Sunday show guest, why is Musk accessing the Treasury payment system?, who is working for Musk on this?, are they govt officials?, have they had background checks?, and what is the legal authority for stopping payments?
Reposted by zoe
8/ the levels of illegality having a group of people who don’t even seem to be US government employees doing it.
February 2, 2025 at 5:19 AM
8/ the levels of illegality having a group of people who don’t even seem to be US government employees doing it.
Reposted by zoe
7/ They’re not saying that last part explicitly but that’s certainly the logic of what they’re saying. (Go look at his tweets over thd last two days). So a group of Musk protégés seem to be overruling the US federal budget. Impoundment by the president is illegal. It’s hard to think through …
February 2, 2025 at 5:19 AM
7/ They’re not saying that last part explicitly but that’s certainly the logic of what they’re saying. (Go look at his tweets over thd last two days). So a group of Musk protégés seem to be overruling the US federal budget. Impoundment by the president is illegal. It’s hard to think through …
Reposted by zoe
6/ It’s important to know what this means. This is simple his DOGE team reviewing the US federal budget, law of the land and deciding which parts aren’t necessary. It sounds like they’re saying they will unilaterally cut these funds with control over the check writing at Treasury.
February 2, 2025 at 5:19 AM
6/ It’s important to know what this means. This is simple his DOGE team reviewing the US federal budget, law of the land and deciding which parts aren’t necessary. It sounds like they’re saying they will unilaterally cut these funds with control over the check writing at Treasury.