tryg72.bsky.social

This piece by @michelledbernard is very long, but also very, very good. All the way to the end. michelledbernard.substack.com/p/gayle-king...

This is absolutely outrageous. SCOTUS reinstated Texas gerrymander 15 weeks before primary because they claimed it was too close to election to block it but now allowing Alabama to gerrymander one week before primary after trial court found map was intentionally discriminatory against Black voters

The Purcell Principle means it always too late for courts to fix something racist and never too late for states to do something racist

The @nytimes.com reporting reveals more about the dysfunction and poor leadership at the Supreme Court. These revelations underscore the brilliant observations of @mjsdc.bsky.social , @audrelawdamercy.blacksky.app , and @nanagyamfi.bsky.social at our 14th Amendment Ctr symposium last week.

This is bad, only if you think society needs more minimum wage earners to support existing and future tax cuts on the wealthy. If you think life is about pursuit of happiness for all, this is not extremely bad. bsky.app/profile/garr...

It’s not about drugs. If it was, Trump wouldn’t have pardoned one of the largest narco traffickers in the world last month. It’s about oil and regime change. And they need a trial now to pretend that it isn’t. Especially to distract from his sinking under Epstein and skyrocketing healthcare costs.

This isn't about democratizing the news. It's about elevating "vibes" and "feelings" to be on par with lived experience and subject-matter expertise.

This allows Trump (via DOJ) to use taxpayer money to bribe eight GOP Senators. It's that simple, there's no other way to describe it. And where's the compensation for people injured by the Trump admin's unlawful conduct through DHS & DOGE? Take a bow, @schumer.senate.gov, you did this.

The Louisiana argument is essentially that you CAN use race to be racist but you CAN'T use race to ameliorate racism.

I did not expect this kind of fire from Eliot Cohen, but he has Hegseth absolutely pegged www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

“awful people don’t deserve to be killed, but they don’t deserve to be praised, either” is apparently a thought too complex for the pundit mind

This point from Sotomayor: what Kavanaugh is proposing to shift administrative burdens from the state to the individual, with the widely-agreed upon expectation that the burdens will fall heavier on some groups more than others.

Know your rights, Illinois. Stay safe and stay informed.

“Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the PROPOSITION that all men are created equal.” This man takes aim at Lincoln’s words because he’s working for the same league of traitors that took aim at his skull.

holy shit this is a helluva ad from the Democrat running against Joni Ernst in Iowa. worth every second

Yup. As I’ve said before, the right’s constant sense of grievance even as they control every branch of government stems from the fact that the base doesn’t really want specific policy reforms. They’re angry about cultural trends the government can’t really do anything about in a free society.

It gets more galling everyday that Justice Amy Cooney Barnett lectured Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson on not replacing an Imperial Executive with an Imperial Court. An Imperial Court does not apparently feel the need to explain itself with an opinion at all.

This is a great thread. If you want to feel good about things, click it and scroll up. Then come back here. Because I have my own short thread as a follow-up and a warning. It is this: Do not underestimate these people. There is no bottom. There are no atrocities they won't eventually aspire to. 🧵

By popular request, linking Mikie Sherrill's "3 kinds of incompetence," which is also superb. Best part is she dings him for his Fox News tactics and then ... those Fox News tactics fail. Second best part is this kicks off her Gubernatorial campaign against a MAGAt. www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Fup...

At least 27 are dead in Missouri in Kentucky after severe weather alerts were delayed overnight because of DOGE cuts. www.mesoscalenews.com/p/tornado-wa...

I am heir to 2,400 year old living traditions of self-government and historical inquiry, which have weathered two millennia of setbacks and long nights. They are heirs of a 10-minute old rebrand of a murderous 20th century ideology that failed almost immediately when tried. So, yeah, contempt.

If an administration can get away with falsifying social security records to target individuals, then there is no bottom. There's also no such thing as a "citizen" because that can be changed with a couple button presses too. Mark your SSN and passport as dead then ship you to El Salvador.

“The customs official canceled Ms. Petrova’s visa on the spot and began deportation proceedings.” One way to understand Trump effect in govt: an ever widening circle of people, like low-level customs officials, get to make categorical decisions abt lives of others. www.nytimes.com/2025/04/11/s...

We are seeing a very clear pattern of banning things that make Trumpists and their kids feel bad: - Books about colonialism, slavery and segregation - Challenging ideas about gender - Protests against genocide - Science generally It's a blanket ban on hard feelings. They called us snowflakes.

Red Wave

this is however a common mistake. you don't want a larger more powerful army if you're Trump. You want powerful extensive unaccountable cops. And he has that.

1/ I wonder if there's a complement to Mettler's _Submerged State_ thesis: the successful state thesis. In brief: American government has *in many ways* been so successful for so long that Americans have forgotten why they need it, making anti-government rhetoric more appealing.

The tactics Trump used with Zelensky don’t shock Black USians because the gov has always used the same with us: 1) Be respectful/“professional” even if they aren’t. 2) To get help, expect to give up resources. 3) Be thankful/grovel for crumbs or be punished. 4) Say/do what they want or expect rage.