brianfike.bsky.social

Has anyone noticed that the Republican discourse about North Carolina’s storm recovery vanished after the election? Nothing. Not a peep from them. Probably because they don’t want you to know THEY LITERALLY DENIED FUNDING FOR NORTH CAROLINA THIS WEEK! Crazy how that works!

I don’t think a better headline could have been written about what happened yesterday. www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...

The parents should be charged with manslaughter or child neglect at the very least.

Bernie Sanders: "I think this is a prelude not only to cutting benefits, but to privatizing Social Security ... why do you lie so much about Social Security? Why do you make it look like it's a broken system? The reason is to get people to lose faith in the system so you can give it over to Wall St"

Being a historian, people ask me if I think the US is living through Germany 1933. I answer no, analogies are always imperfect but to me it feels more like Russia 1999: a blatant theft of state assets and liberals in a fugue state, refusing to believe the arc of progress is bending against them.

Throwback Thursday… Remember that time Biden cornered the entire Republican Party into denying they’d cut Social Security, Medicare & Medicaid for a $1T tax break for billionaires? That was only a year ago. Now, the biggest earned benefits cut in history is in their budget.

French Senator Claude Malhuret: "Washington has become Nero’s court, with an incendiary emperor, submissive courtiers and a jester high on ketamine... We were at war with a dictator, we are now at war with a dictator backed by a traitor."

The Dow has dropped 1300 points over the last two days as Trump defiantly plows forward with tariffs against Mexico, Canada and China — America's most prominent trading partners.

Donald Trump is lying to you.

NEW: The Trump administration claims gutting federal agencies will save money, but cutting the IRS means the government collects less taxes. “If you’re interested in the deficit and curbing it, why would you cut back on the revenue side?” one expert asks. By @andykroll.bsky.social

COLBERT, on Rep. Al Green’s removal: “Some people questioned why so much muscle was needed to remove an old man with a cane. But it turns out it was for a serious reason. When security searched him, they found that he smuggled in a spine." @latenightercom.bsky.social

Sign of the day…

70% of people on SNAP already have full time jobs. They're not lazy. They're underpaid.

Chuck Schumer: "Today Leader Jeffries and I are joining together to push legislation to prevent unlawful meddling in the Treasury Department's payment systems & protect Americans across the country ... we call our legislation, 'STOP THE STEAL'" 😂 Funny, but not! Sure hope the legislations passes!

By 51-50, we now have a deeply compromised, unqualified, D-list Fox host running the US military at the command of a convicted felon who once hosted a reality show. Just as the Founders intended.

But at least they didn't vote for Genocide with Harris, amirite?

President Jimmy Carter’s memorial service was today at the National Cathedral near where I live in DC. This seems like an apt quote when I think about his amazing legacy. We should all live our lives like this.

It's less not knowing how to buy groceries and more not knowing how to cook. In today's YouTube age, it's inexcusable for the two generations who learned everything on YT to not know how to cook.

Congratulations to Mike Johnson for trying to pressure the House Ethics Committee into burying a report that found the then-nominee for attorney general had engaged in sexual activity with a minor. Party of Family Values, am I right?

Elon got exactly what he wanted from the government funding fight: shielding his Chinese investments from scrutiny. Trump got nothing of what he wanted: getting the debt limit dealt with before his inauguration. Winners & losers among the co-presidents, from Bob Kuttner:

These people eliminated 190 million dollars in childhood cancer research money to pay for tax cuts for the wealthiest corporations in human history. I’m a no.

"Tolerance becomes a crime when applied to evil." Thomas Mann

I'm going to post this video every day so we never forget

I expensed my cab ride home. I'm tired so I put "korea coup" down in the expense code field.

8. What I have come to realize, however, is that the fight against the far right is secondary to the fight to strengthen liberal democracy. These are related but fundamentally not the same struggles.

So a reminder: It’s not ‘liberals’ saying Hegseth abuses women. It’s his mom. It’s not ‘liberals’ comparing Trump to Hitler. It’s his vice-president. It’s not ‘liberals’ calling Musk a liar and a racist. It’s his own child. For the record.

Literally..

I need a Twitter to BlueSky import tool...

These appointments prove that insisting people achieve and be promoted based on “merit” was never really their real concern.