Jackie Smith

It's happening...

Thank goodness!

The line Trump referenced today from Apocalypse Now, "I love the smell of napalm in the morning," is about the absurdity of war and the profound psychological damage it inflicts on everyone involved. Seems like Trump was, unintentionally, right on target. open.substack.com/pub/joycevan...

A federal agency - which controls an enormous amount of money - is breaking the law to hide its decisions from you and avoid accountability. Hey OMB, see you in court.

#LibrariesRule📚

"Five months into its unprecedented dismantling of foreign-aid programs, the Trump administration has given the order to incinerate food instead of sending it to people who need it" @hana-kiros.bsky.social, on spending $130,000 to burn food worth $800,000 www.theatlantic.com/health/archi...

I don't know who needs to know this, but Pro Publica has an online thing that will format a letter to your US health insurance company to demand the records behind a claim denial. (which the insurance is then legally required to provide in most cases) projects.propublica.org/claimfile/

The Supreme Court’s “shadow docket” has cast very different shadows depending on which party holds the White House. When lower courts blocked Trump admin policies, SCOTUS intervened on an emergency basis to lift those orders in 77% of cases. For the Biden administration, that number was 0%.

Just wow! Can we appreciate the fact that a team from Mexico is in Texas helping with the search and rescue. 👏🏽

"The National Weather Service’s San Angelo office, which is responsible for some of the areas hit hardest by Friday’s flooding, was missing a senior hydrologist, staff forecaster and meteorologist in charge," according to its union's legislative director. 🎁 🔗 www.nytimes.com/2025/07/05/u...

i'm reading this charles sumner speech from february 1866 and my dude is cooking

"The rule of law is not a given in this Nation, nor any other. It is a precept of our democracy that will endure only if those brave enough in every branch fight for its survival. Today, the Court abdicates its vital role in that effort." —Justice Sotomayor

Former Deputy National Security Advisor for Obama 👇🏽

yep! unpaywalled:

Sen. Alex Padilla, who was just forcibly removed from a DHS press conference, is the ranking member of Judiciary’s subcommittee on immigration, citizenship, and border safety, which has “oversight of federal agencies with citizenship, asylum, refugee, and immigration enforcement responsibilities.”

Yep.

Good Lord, this just keeps getting worse snd worse.

On May 18, 1980, Richard Lasher got up early to get some photos at Spirit Lake. Instead, he was forced to stop because of the massive, explosive Mount St. Helens eruption and captured this iconic photo with his own red Ford Pinto on the road. 🧪⚒️ #OTD www.hemmings.com/stories/mt-s...

1/ Anne Applebaum, a Pulitzer-Prize-winning author, writes, "Before it’s too late, everyone who can do so must communicate what is happening: our gov't, foreign policy, & trade policy are being transformed, not to benefit Americans but to benefit the president, his family, his friends." Gift link.

This is s problem.

A man pulled up to a gas station to fill up his truck. ICE agents surrounded him and took him away. But his children were left behind. “They arrested someone,” witness said. “They left the children inside the truck.” www.sfgate.com/centralcoast...

I know this is terrible to see & hear. DON'T LOOK AWAY To look away is to ignore that masked, unditentified authorities are kidnapping people on the street with no warrant and no due process. Be ready to film, peacefully intervene, call local news stations to share video.

🧵 Martin Diaz came to the U.S. as a toddler, fleeing cartel violence with his family. They had proof of the danger—a letter from a Michoacán official. He married a U.S. citizen & was advancing his visa. Then ICE showed up at his home in Spokane: no warrant, no ID #OnYourSide VC pslspokane

Someone should ask Miller which article of the Constitution the Suspension Clause is located

One of the greatest travesties of this administration so far. Absolutely appalling.

You love to see it.

W

BREAKING NEWS: White smoke streams from a chimney atop the Sistine Chapel, signaling to the world that a new pope has been selected.

If our society is going to worship wealth, can we at least start idolizing the wealthy people who are also rich in charachter.

There are no words...

#WorldPressFreedomDay 🔥 @froomkin.bsky.social

A week ago today, FBI agents arrested Judge Hannah Dugan on courthouse grounds on outrageous charges. Immediately, Trump officials like Kash Patel and Pam Bondi began to celebrate. But this is not going well for them, and it’s going to age like milk on a Miami sidewalk. 🧵

Not suspicious at all. Feels like someone gave fed AI a prompt to write a report with the desired findings.

My family found a home here after fleeing the pogroms in Ukraine. This country accepted us as refugees when we had nothing except the shirts on our backs. We've seen what can happen when we don't speak up about the dangers — it's time to raise the alarm now.

1/ OK, kids, let's do some math. Here Bondi claims 3,400 kilos of fentanyl have been seized in Trump's first 100 days. That's great. The more fentanyl getting seized the better. But Republicans weren't celebrating this when Biden was president.

This is what courage looks like. Kudos to the team at 60 Minutes.

Canada’s brand-new Liberal Prime Minister Mark Carney: “Trump is attacking Canadian families, workers, and businesses, and we cannot let him succeed.” We must all take a page from their book and stop Trump from doing the same in our country. This could be us next year, America. Let’s be ready!

The Narcan Program Has Saved Thousands Of Lives! This Is Barbaric!

Warning: Your cybertruck is not a Duck (DUKW)!

This seems problematic... and makes me thankful to still be driving my 2015 vehicle with no tech upgrades.

'The new head of the DOJ civil rights division is dramatically reshaping the office to propel President Trump’s social agenda, prompting the departure of about half of the division’s lawyers in recent weeks, according to people familiar with the situation and public statements from top officials.'

Spring is finally springing in Madison.

🧵1 Unconstitutional. Unconscionable. ICE & FL law enforcement arrested 780 immigrants in 4 days—only 270 had final removal orders. Many still have legal status. This isn’t justice, it’s Trump’s mass deportation plan in action. Families shattered, rights trampled. www.nytimes.com/2025/04/26/u...

Do yourself a favor and see this movie. Every second is pure art. And be sure to stay for the after credit sequence.

Who could've seen this coming? Only everyone with a basic understanding of how our government functions. Can't wait until they have to hire and train new employees to replace those in crucial roles who aren't coming back...even more costly.