drtcsmith.bsky.social

Watching Brazil from USA and it must be amazing to live in an actual electoral democracy — where the candidate who gets the most votes wins.

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Congrats to Lula on overcoming Mark Zuckerberg and Donald Trump to defeat Hospital Pervert Jr., even as his opposition literally blocked off roads and turned off bus service during election day. Fascists are scary but they are always, 100% of the time, ultimately gigantic fucking losers.

Remember that DOJ wasn't sure they had the voting file at one point.

The Trump administration has been unable to achieve the election interference it desires through: 🗺️ Gerrymandering 📮 Weaponizing USPS 📊 Obtaining sensitive state data Now, it's going after election officials. Voters win when people pay attention. Follow us to keep the spotlight on.

Here is the TLDR of the 9th Circuit hearing: DOJ will lose. It will be either 2-1 or 3-0. It will be on jurisdiction and perhaps on the merits. The argument was a debacle for Trump and the DOJ lawyer who argued it. Watch for details. www.youtube.com/live/EsuYPbm...

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🇺🇦 Zelensky suggested why Putin wanted to resume negotiations with Ukraine "Perhaps there are some agreements between America and Russia that I don't know about," the president said.

It should have been all over when he said, “find 11,780 votes.”

NEW: Judge Mike Bennet, a Trump appointee on the 9th Circuit, just told the DOJ he doesn't think they have jurisdiction as the district court was prepared to rule after he already knew 331K ballots were processed.

NEW: this is so bizarre

This is a very good analysis by a former CIA analyst supporting what other Iran watchers have been arguing: the Iran war has produced more hardline and less cautious Iranian leaders. This helps explain why Trump keeps getting it wrong and isn't finding it easy to end this catastrophic war.

🇺🇸🇺🇦 Trump has largely halted direct US financial and military aid to Ukraine, despite broad support from Democratic and Republican lawmakers as it fights a Russian invasion, - Reuters With a victory in both chambers in November, Democrats would be able to decide what gets voted on and when.

Do yourself a favor and watch a bunch of these Obama clips from his rally today in Ohio. He is on fire, just the energy we need.

Freshly back from Ukraine, historian @timothysnyder.bsky.social joins Bill Kristol and Tom Joscelyn to explain why Russia is losing on the battlefield, and why that makes Donald Trump Vladimir Putin’s best hope. Watch the conversation on the latest episode of It's Happening Here!

What President Trump has seen as an American–Iranian war is becoming connected with the Yemeni civil war, the Horn of Africa, the Nile dispute, and the security of the Red Sea. Wars grow. ICYMI @markhertling.bsky.social:

Bill Clinton: "I think Congress made a mistake not protesting turning the Rose Garden into what looks like the entrance to Liberace's bathroom"

NEW: Ukrainian officials are confirming the resumption of unrestricted access to SpaceX’s low-earth orbit satellite communication technology (Starlink and Starshield) without disruptions in Ukraine on October 24. 🧵(1/5) Read more: isw.pub/UkrWar1024206

There it is. Elon Musk admits it. “That loophole was closed last week.” In a deranged post on X, Musk openly acknowledges that SpaceX recently restricted Ukraine’s ability to use Starlink.

NEW: Blanche claims DOJ's Alaska lawsuit doesn't seek to block certification of the state's election results. The actual complaint says it does. His attempt to reframe the lawsuit is a bid to push back against how it's been correctly interpreted: a dangerous effort to subvert the midterms.

Trump’s scheme to enlist Congressional Republicans to refuse to seat victorious Democrats after the midterms would be complicated and far-fetched. But experts say ignoring even implausible hypotheticals would be naive: https://demdock.com/4hYsmsM

Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández credited our reporting as the catalyst for the Justice for Citizens Wrongfully Detained by ICE Act. We revealed that 500+ U.S. citizens have been detained in warrantless arrests since Trump returned to office.

The allegations in the Jared story have a known true core, which was exposed in the (failed) Tom Barrack prosecution none of you know about. The prosecution was a referral from Mueller, but Barr tried to sabotage it, as he did all other referrals in summer 2019. emptywheel.net/2026/10/23/j...

4/ Iran Update, October 22, 2026:

3/ The US and Israel are reportedly making preparations for renewed strikes on Iran after the US midterms. The NYT reported on October 21 that the US and Israeli militaries have developed specific plans for a short and intensive operation against Iran after the US midterm elections on November 3.

Nearly 2 in 3 U.S. adults younger than 30 who plan to vote in midterms say their main motivation is to oppose Trump and his policies, according to a new Harvard Youth Poll. 77% disapprove of Trump's handling of the economy — including about half of young Republicans.

Jesus Christ. Trump's Pentagon is putting the pain ray on the southern border. This was a weapon yanked from Iraq ... for being too inhumane. www.laserwars.net/p/military-h...

Judge orders Trump to sit for deposition he canceled in BBC lawsuit politi.co/4i2jTET

BREAKING: MIAMI (AP) - Federal judge orders Trump to sit for a deposition in his defamation lawsuit against the BBC by Dec. 11.

Elon Musk is too big to trust. A THREAD.

🇺🇦💔 Zelensky: Bucha. This is genocide, recognized by everyone. They buried hundreds of people, tortured them. We found a grave where there were about five hundred people. When we deoccupied these towns around Kyiv, hatred for “Russians” appeared. It was at this moment.

Corruption, oligarchy and impunity must be confronted consistently, anywhere and everywhere, or we'll remain exposed, with a back door left open for the enemies of democracy.

Ukraine was winning the war, so Trump kneecapped Ukraine to help Russia. I wish it weren’t that simple, but it is. Our president is in bed with our enemies.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hails the resumption of US intelligence sharing on looming Russian strikes, but insists Kyiv must be included in any future talks on its fate after meetings with US envoys. u.afp.com/SCKJ

Republika Srpska’s government has directed millions of dollars in public funds toward lobbying firms and political consultants connected to Donald Trump, including individuals with direct access to him, in order to undo US sanctions, and gain support for its separatist movement.

All of us need to remember that if any of these criminals made money through illegal stock trading, they cannot expect immunity from a Trump pardon. All stock trading is subject to the New York state law. State crimes are not pardonable by any president.

OUCH -- Trump refuses to endorse JD Vance for 2028 and says "we've never talked about it"

This is the follow-up to the Susan Collins story. Interestingly, Lindsey Graham got $100K and a $5,000 bottle of Bourbon. Clyburn got $20K and a $100 fruit basket to match Graham's language in the House budget. Clyburn had part of his donation go to the University of South Carolina.

This 👇

Ossoff: "What worries me right now is complacency about this race in Georgia, overconfidence about this race in Georgia. There's no such thing as a landslide victory in the state of Georgia. This remains the crucial battleground state."

“They’re desperate. It’s embarrassing for them. They’re in the death throes of this election cycle, staring down a blue wave where they’re going to get thrashed, and they are planning for what they do after they get thrashed,” Bonta told MS NOW. www.ms.now/news/califor...

With two weeks until Election Day, we are at the intersection of Donald Trump's plan to make it harder for you to vote and easier for him to cheat. When Republicans lose the House and Senate Trump will escalate the attacks. But he will fail and we will win.

5/ Read the full update:

4/ Recent aggressive Russian military satellite maneuvers are a continuation of Russia’s space policy against third country satellites since at least 2022. Ukrainian forces recently advanced in the Lyman tactical area, east of Dobropillya, and in western Zaporizhia Oblast.

NEW: Ukrainian officials continue to report disruptions to US assistance to Ukraine. Read the full update: isw.pub/UkrWar101926 (1/5)

Soak this in. If you know anyone planning on doing the worst - voting republican or not voting - share this with them to ponder. A reckoning is upon us and we better vote for the survival of our country. It is beyond time to stand tall no matter what is thrown at us.

Current and former defense officials say former Wall Street executives have taken hold of a wing of the Pentagon and they’re favoring people and companies with close ties to the Trump administration.