John M. Baker

As a man of faith, I pray every day. Faith is a thing there’s just too little of in Washington.

Zuma in Malibu? 20 years later, they might encounter Neil Young recording his 1975 album "Crazy Horse" in a studio there. #TCMParty #NoirAlley #Loophole.

Back in Trump 1, my EP and I used to spitball every now and then on the first question I'd ask Trump. We settled on "how do tariffs work?"

Something weirdly not noted in a lot of the coverage of the extortionate threats to murder the Kennedy Center unless it’s reimagined as a shrine to Trump: There was no dire fiscal crisis until Trump’s goombahs started mucking with it. Its finances were fine. projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/o...

Laughed out loud at the section of the Supreme Court opinion upholding Trump's ballroom that's like, "And would you doubt the veracity of these SWORN DECLARATIONS that the ballroom is ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY from a BUNCH OF PEOPLE WHO ARE IN TRUMP'S CABINET???" www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25p...

For this week's Substack, I wrote about the phenomenon of "gradual escalation" as illustrated by the Milgram experiment, and why we are already well into the high-voltage shocks asharangappa.substack.com/p/will-todd-...

The SAVE America Act mandates that all voters must bring to the polls specifically a photo ID which has proof of citizenship “on the front of the document.” So REAL IDs don’t count. If the ID does not precisely conform to that standard, you must also bring separate proof of citizenship.

One year ago.

Vandals? Of course not. 99 years and 11 months ago in the Reflecting Pool. www.shorpy.com/node/3463?si...

It's Dombrowski v Pfister time (because of "the impropriety of appellees' invoking the statute in bad faith to impose continuing harassment in order to discourage appellants' [constitutionally-protected] activities").

This is the best indicator of Trump's declining cognition. He used to phrase these racist statements carefully to make it sound like he was only against the crooked members of his hated minority groups. He's been gradually losing the qualifiers and keeping the racism.

A conversation that happened far too often in 1945 and 1946: "Dear, I've got an idea! Let's pick 'Veda' as the name for new daughter!" #MildredPierce #TCMParty

The actor playing the sailor in the passenger seat in Sam's crunched car? Blake Edwards. #TheStrangeLoveOfMarthaIvers #TCMParty #NoirAlley

I think Bernie Taupin read the book ("Love Lies Bleeding") or watched the movie: "Oh, it kills me to think of you with another man . . ." #noiralley #tcmparty #ThestrangelovesofMarthaIvers #GoodbyeYellowBrickRoad

That discussion at the local paper's morgue triggered a Model Code of Prof. Conduct Rule 3.7 (Advocate as Witness) moment. #thestrangeloveofmarthaivers #noiralley #tcmparty

Doesn't it seem odd that - 48+ hours after it was first reported - the operative complaint filed by an ABC-TV affiliate against the FCC arising from retaliatory measures, is still not available, even when the complainant is a media company and the FCC has an online site for electronic comments?

The Trump regime keeps citing things that require an ID that do not, in fact, require an ID. They’re elitists who are out of touch with the lives of everyday Americans.

Every splashy New York Times profile of a right wing influencer.

This is my favorite excerpt from a U.S. Census log. The year is pretty easy to guess. But who can name the address?

So which chapter of the contracts law hornbook is most relevant: Formation (there never was a cease fire agreement)? Breach (someone broke the cease fire agreement)? Discharge (we no longer have to obey the cease fire agreement)? Or rescission (there should no longer be a cease fire agreement)?

The real hero of the hour was Joe Neguse. Do you know how hard it is to explain: (a) no-bid contacts v.competitive bid contracts; (b) company incorporation; and (c) sub-contracting in FIVE minutes. As an Admin Nerd, I lost my mind.

This has nothing to do with fraud. The agents Trump allegedly sent to investigate fraud are shooting protesters and arresting children. His DOJ is gutting the U.S. Attorney’s Office and crippling their ability to prosecute fraud. And every week Trump pardons another fraudster.

NEW: Don Lemon is set to be arraigned this week on charges tied to a protest at a church. The case has raised press freedom concerns. But the constitutional provision most likely to derail the indictment isn’t the First Amendment—it’s the Commerce Clause. ⬇️⬇️⬇️ www.lawfaremedia.org/article/minn...

Here's an interesting alt-history thought experiment: Assume that, with Justice Garland rather than Justice Gorsuch, SCOTUS does not call political gerrymandering "a political question" in 2019 but declares it unlawful. Safe seats are fewer. Legislatures are less polarized. More voters matter.

It's almost like having the right people is important for the president to accomplish his agenda. And if you create an environment in which the right people aren't willing to work for the government, nothing is going to get done.

And the answer to the question on the minds of millions of movie and #Olympics fans - Yes. Francesca Lollobrigida is the great-niece of Gina. #TCMParty

IF YOU ARE A LAWYER AND ARE INTERESTED IN BEING AN AUSA DM ME!

From ~1925–39, Mussolini was particularly obsessed with Albania, across the Adriatic Sea, professed Italy’s peaceful intention and sent thousands of lira in aid Then suddenly, in April 1939, Italy invaded and made Albania an annexed territory of Italy bibliotekanauki.pl/articles/103...

People not in Minnesota: please read this excellent summary of what life is like in Minneapolis since the murderous scum ICE swarmed here. And more are on their way. By local reporter / writer / bike dude / legend @dbrauer.net .

The opening scene on the train, with Jeff's conversation with a doctor, takes place in the pre-HIPAA car, where no federal regulations stand in the way of speedy plot development. #TCMParty #TheSecondWoman

The next true journalist who interviews Trump should show him a photo of this inscription on one of the #KennedyCenter 's walls, and ask Trump to tell us who Pericles, Phidias, and Lorenzo De Medici were, and what their contributions were to public life or progress in the arts. #NoJackKennedy

Remarkable. US attorney general Pam Bondi tweets out a chart showing deaths from drug overdoses plummeting and giving the president credit. “Elections have consequences,” she says. One problem. The data ends in Oct 2024. www.researchgate.net/publication/...

Just heard Duke Ellington use a magnificent phrase in a 1974 BBC interview with Stanley Dance. Asked whether he regrets never having received a grant to sit at a university somewhere and compose in peace, he says he has no interest in such a stretch of “ornamental stagnation.”

The White House claims the vote to rename the Kennedy Center was “unanimous.” That is false. I was muted on the call and denied the opportunity to speak or register my opposition. That is not consensus. That is censorship.

Shocked by the awful death of Rob Reiner. I spoke with him for over an hour last night. We talked about his work and his plans for the future. I always enjoyed his company. We met at his Dad's in 1975. Last thing he said to me was "See you next year.." Such a terrible end. Such a sweet man.

Two billion people say, when seeing Peter Cushing in movie, "I've seen that guy someplace before." #NoirAlley #TCMParty #CashOnDemand #ANewHope

Busy bee! The rageaholic Swan couple melts down in #BestInShow #TCMParty

#ComingUpOnTCM BEST IN SHOW (2000) Fred Willard, Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara Dir.: Christopher Guest 6:45 PM PT A behind-the-scenes look at the competitive and cut-throat world of dog shows. 1h 30m | Mockumentary | TV-14 #TCM #TCMParty

Susan Tincher, a 55-year-old American citizen, said agents told her in the truck that if she didn’t watch herself “they were going to pull me over to the side of the road and give me this OC,” law enforcement shorthand for pepper spray.

we all got cowed into avoiding "virtue signaling" as if the public affirmation of socially agreed upon ethical principles was somehow cringey instead of a significant part of what a "society" even is. now all there's left is vice signaling, and it's reshaping society.