Mike Bertelson

Mike Bertelson

@microbeta.bsky.social

US Navy Vet. Retired mechanical engineer. SME in the marking, handling, and storage of classified material. My wife and I were life long Republicans, Never Trumpers and voting Blue for the foreseeable future...MAGA Must Go!

526 followers299 following358 posts

Mike Bertelson
@microbeta.bsky.social

I spent 2 years in the NJ Army National Guard, 10years is in the Navy, 26 years at a defense contractor...most of my adult life in defense of/supporting the defense of this country. At 63, I could never have imagined we would be watching American citizens being killed by our own government.

Mike Bertelson
@microbeta.bsky.social

I've downloaded all the video I can find on the Alex Pretti shooting. This image is the moment of the first shot fired by federal agents. I counted 11 shots. I defy anyone to show a legal/moral justification for shooting an unarmed man, who is on knees, in the back 11 times.

Mike Bertelson
@microbeta.bsky.social

What the actual ĵk is wrong with people?

Brad Lander@bradlander.bsky.social

I was back at 26 Federal Plaza today, where an ICE agent violently threw this bereft woman to the ground in front of her kids. She had not touched him. She did not pose any threat. She had to be taken to the hospital. (🎥: Elias Eliahu)

Mike Bertelson
@microbeta.bsky.social

In 2019, the Trump administration had to bail out US farmers due to tariffs on China. From the “history repeating itself” file, Trump is now saying he wants to take tariff money that was paid by Americans and give it to Americans hurt by the tariffs. Make it make sense.

Mike Bertelson
@microbeta.bsky.social

Except, Miller, and the Trump administration as a whole, doesn't care about reality. They're just pushing their scripted narrative and the Trumpers/MAGA are buying it hook, line, and sinker.

Steve Vladeck@stevevladeck.bsky.social

Even *if* you accept Stephen Miller’s (textually, historically, and morally indefensible) claim that undocumented immigrants are not entitled to due process, you’d *still* need due process to ensure that the individuals at issue are, in fact, undocumented. His argument fails even on its own terms.

Mike Bertelson
@microbeta.bsky.social

The stakes are incredibly high. AAMOF, in the 1930s Germany getting control of lawyers and the courts was the first thing the German government did. Just sayin'...

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Mike Bertelson
@microbeta.bsky.social

Question: "DON'T YOU NEED TO UPHOLD THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES AS PRESIDENT?" Answer: "I DON'T KNOW. I HAVE TO RESPOND BY SAYING, AGAIN, I HAVE BRILLIANT LAWYERS THAT WORK FOR ME..." He-Doesn't-Know! Trump is unfit to be President of the United States.

Mike Bertelson
@microbeta.bsky.social

Holy crap!

Alessandro Rigolon@alerigolon.bsky.social

I was just told that I have to remove “climate” from the title of an ongoing grant if I want to keep it. And publications from that grant cannot include “climate” and other forbidden words. I can’t believe I’m writing this from the United States of America. #AcademicSky

Mike Bertelson
@microbeta.bsky.social

If I had done this, I would have lost my clearance, my job, and possibly prosecuted.

The Lincoln Project@lincolnproject.us

"U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared details of a March attack on Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis in a message group that included his wife, brother and personal lawyer, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Sunday" www.reuters.com/world/us/def...

reuters.comDefense chief Hegseth shared war plans in second Signal chat, NYT reportsDefense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared details of a March attack on Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis in a message group that included his wife, brother and personal lawyer, the New York Times reported on Sunday, raising more questions about his use of an unclassified messaging system to share highly-sensitive security details.
Mike Bertelson
@microbeta.bsky.social

I think we're either there or will be in a crisis very soon.

NPR@npr.org

Every day it seems new conflicts arise between President Trump and the courts. Prompting another round of the question: Are we in a constitutional crisis?

npr.orgClash between Trump and the courts sparks questions of a constitutional crisisEvery day it seems new conflicts arise between President Trump and the courts. Prompting another round of the question: Are we in a constitutional crisis?
Mike Bertelson
@microbeta.bsky.social

I think it's about time for this to happen.

Bluesky@bsky.app

We’re introducing a new layer of verification on Bluesky — a user-friendly, easily recognizable blue check. In addition to account verification issued by Bluesky, we're also introducing Trusted Verifiers. Select independent organizations can verify accounts directly.

Mike Bertelson
@microbeta.bsky.social

No other reason but to hide the truth.

Harry Litman@harrylitman.bsky.social

Totally. At this point, the people that they want to deport are detained. What reason other than eluding judicial review, including individualized determinations, would they have from moving so quickly?

Mike Bertelson
@microbeta.bsky.social

I'm an engineer, not a lawyer, but this seems to be the test of whether or not we're in a Constitutional crisis. “The government is directed not to remove any member of the putative class of detainees from the United States until further order of this court,” www.nytimes.com/2025/04/18/u...

nytimes.comLawyers Urge Courts to Halt More Deportations of Venezuelans Under Alien Enemies ActMore than 50 Venezuelans were believed to be scheduled to be flown out of the country, presumably to El Salvador, from an immigration detention center in Anson, Texas.
Mike Bertelson
@microbeta.bsky.social

Trump is lying about China paying the tariffs...again. China pays nothing, the Chinese company pays nothing. The Importer Pays The Tariff. The importer and the American consumers are the one's paying the tariffs...NOT the country of origin.

Mike Bertelson
@microbeta.bsky.social

When they can't get in office with a fair election then...just cheat. I'm an engineer so my knowledge of the law is limited but it seems to me that this case is one of the most important cases it fight to save democracy.

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Mike Bertelson
@microbeta.bsky.social

What kind of an idiot would believe someone could spend hundreds of millions of dollars for 1,400 separate protests nationwide? What kind of cult brainwashed sheeple would believe something like this is possible and nobody know about it. My wife and friends didn't get any money.

Ron Filipkowski@ronfilipkowski.bsky.social

Must’ve cost big bucks to pay millions of people in 1,100 cities.

Mike Bertelson
@microbeta.bsky.social

When you don't know the answer...make some shit up.

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com

TAPPER: You're imposing a 10% on the Heard and MccDonald islands. They have zero human inhabitants. Why are you putting tariffs on islands entirely populated by penguins? ROLLINS: Whatever. Listen, the people leading this are serious, intentional, patriotic, the smartest I've ever worked with.

Mike Bertelson
@microbeta.bsky.social

rump just imposed a 10% tariff on Heard and McDonald Islands...an Antarctic island, one of the most remote places on earth. Oh yeah...it has a population of zero. That's right...nobody lives there. We'll pay 10% more for whatever the penguins are exporting. www.forbes.com/sites/mollyb...

forbes.comHere’s The Full List Of Trump's Reciprocal Tariffs Announced WednesdayReciprocal tariffs the U.S. is imposing on other countries will range from a flat 10% rate to 50%, President Donald Trump announced.
Mike Bertelson
@microbeta.bsky.social

I've got a question. How are migrant flights to El Salvador state secrets but the timing and weapons systems used in an active military operation is somehow not classified. Serious question because I don't get it.

Mike Bertelson
@microbeta.bsky.social

I'm Shocked! Shocked I tell ya. Okay...not shocked at all. If I had posted sensitive/classified information on a commercial app with know vulnerabilities, I would have lost my clearance, my job, and be prosecuted. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/27/u...

nytimes.comBondi Suggests Signal Chat Episode Is Unlikely to Be Criminally Investigated (Gift Article)The attorney general said the focus should be on the success of the U.S. military strike in Yemen, not that military information was shared in advance in a group text among top officials.
Mike Bertelson
@microbeta.bsky.social

Clearly, Fox News is an Trump agency.

Middle Age Riot@middleageriot.bsky.social

ABC News: "An unthinkable breach of national security." CBS News: "An unthinkable breach of national security." MSNBC: "An unthinkable breach of national security." CNN: "An unthinkable breach of national security." Fox News: "We've all texted the wrong person before."