Brian White

In one day, two politicians - Bolsonaro in Brazil and Vucic in Serbia - with ties to Trump have lost surprise elections thanks to high turnout. The rise of the international far-right is not inevitable.

The United States put Trump in power in 2016, failed to jail him after attempting a coup, and then allowed him to return to power in 2024. Brazil elected Bolsonaro, appropriately jailed him for a coup attempt, and then rejected his wannabe successor. A tale of two democracies.

Kate and her team do important work.

If you're not already, really recommend you follow @katestarbird.bsky.social to unpack the election mis and disinformation.

Andy's right. "Look forward, not back" is how we got here. Ford pardoned Nixon. Obama passed on prosecuting torture. Jan. 6th accountability went nowhere. Each time, the lesson learned wasn't restraint, it was impunity. Muddling through this isn't the safe option. It's an invitation to the next one.

“In a highly unusual move, the Trump administration asked a federal court on Friday to block certification of the Senate election in Alaska if the Republican incumbent loses.”

Oh FFS. There really is no bottom for Trump and his ghoulish menagerie of freaks.

Not good.

Pro tip for @salesforce.com brand team: skip the middle step. Go straight to TIforce now and save yourselves the second round of logo work. Gold cloud. Very elegant. Everyone's saying it. 🙄

Staggering, breathtaking corruption. And we have a negligent Congress that has completely abdicated its constitutional duty.

Now that he and his family are fully in the defense contract game, and involved in myriad aligned grift schemes, a giant defense budget he controls seems an obvious and easy mark.

ICE has now signed 2,589 287(g) agreements deputizing local sheriffs and police to do immigration enforcement, 225 in the last 30 days alone. Most were signed without a public vote. Is your local police department one of them? Look it up, and find who to call.

😐

Tomorrow they’re holding a funeral in Springfield for the Haitian college kid Pierre Damas Bel who killed himself. On the same day in nearby Dayton Ohio suburb President trump will be there holding a fun little rally, not far from the body of the student his policies appear to have, you know, killed

Congress gets the headlines, but if you want to know where the fight against authoritarianism will actually be won, look down the ballot. States and local jurisdictions are the real bulwark. Know your ballot before Nov. 3.

"When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time" – Maya Angelou. John Fetterman needs to go.

Shameful and embarrassing.

Iowa's family farmers aren't sitting this one out. The Iowa Farmers Union endorsed Democrats in all five federal races, from Josh Turek for Senate on down. Trade wars, consolidation, water quality, rural hospitals: farmers are paying attention.

Each day I think we have to have reached peak stupid for the Trump regime – and then we have things like this. The very idea that the FBI Director would be sitting in front of a senate panel, defending embezzlement and bestiality, would be unfathomable at any other time in history. But, here we are.

A remarkable artist.

You know, I kinda think that if Trump wants to fully brand this utter debacle – a military and foreign policy failure of epic proportions – he should go for it. I suspect it would also greatly incentivize Iran to really double down. 🙄

AI fantasy slop. But from the person with the largest nuclear arsenal in the world, a sycophantic and lawless military, and no meaningful legislative or judicial checks.

🙂

This is Trumpism and the GOP. Their idea of “make America great again” is going back to the 50s – the 1850s – when black people were shackled and sold as property. It’s a racist regime, led by the stupid, the corrupt, and those with evil at their core. An “R” after your name is a modern swastika.

This. State legislatures, governors, and election officials are the real bulwark protecting liberal democracy in this country.

Good reminder that immigration judges are part of the Executive Office for Immigration Review, which sits within the Department of Justice, not the judicial branch. They're appointed by the Attorney General, and they're DOJ employees. So they operate under the executive branch, not the judiciary.

I’m am starting to get the sense that if the Democrats take the House and Senate in the midterms, the Supreme Court will somehow determine Congress is unconstitutional.

This is the 100% correct point of view.

A good (short) read by @justinwolfers.bsky.social "The president is selling something you and I own...but only to people willing to write a six-figure check to a company owned in large part by the president himself."

This.

They rescheduled this whole thing to honor a war criminal and insurrectionist. The White House pre-billed Trump’s speech as “unifying yet vicious.” The WHCA is fine with someone who is bent on jailing them. This is the most pathetic organization. These people have zero credibility.

Federal officials acknowledged this month that they had terminated the funding “based solely” on political criteria, targeting projects in states that were represented by Democrats and had voted for Kamala Harris, the party’s presidential nominee, in the 2024 election.

I don’t typically find myself rooting for cannibals, but…

What a pathetic little man.

This is disturbing – and dangerous, and unacceptable.

Maybe someone can get him to comprise, and go with, say, three-fifths. FFS. 🤦🏻

Appointing Lindsey Graham's sister to his seat isn't unprecedented — Jean Carnahan, Muriel Humphrey, and Jocelyn Burdick all got there the same way. The tradition is real. It's also bad. Constituents deserve a qualified senator chosen for what they can do, not simply who they are related to.

There’s an unwritten rule that we soften our tongues when someone dies. And for most people, that’s a decent instinct. Death makes small grievances look small. But, when someone spent their life causing real harm to others, dying doesn’t wash it clean. Nobody is obligated to mourn evil.

The Game Was Never the Point They spent years manufacturing the trans-athlete case and still can't cite a single number. That's the tell. The ruling was never about sports — it certified a method for sorting Americans by who holds rights fully and who holds them at someone else's discretion.

This.

And checkout hurling while you are at it.

For those enjoying the World Cup soccer, I invite you to check out Gaelic Football.

I only recently discovered the Playing Along podcast hosted by the amazing Norah Jones. This week she did an episode with the legendary Ron Carter and one of the most unique and important modern guitarists, Bill Frisell. It’s wonderful. Ron Carter just turned 89! @adamkeiper.com might enjoy this.

I suppose surrendering at Versailles is the traditional way to do it.