Over at his personal blog, Emory Law Professor @matthewsag.bsky.social offers some very interesting thoughts on structuring law school exams in an era of AI and common extra-time accommodations. matthewsag.com/ai-accommoda...

I cannot overstate how important it is to amplify these lines of argument. We're in an unconsolidated authoritarian regime — and there's no line Trump and his inner circle won't cross *if* they think they can get away with it.

Greg Sargent@gregsargent.bsky.social · 2w ago

Crucial from @ryanenos.bsky.social: If you doubt Trump might try to seize ballot boxes, recall that not long ago it seemed outlandish that armed government militias would be roving our streets, killing people. On the pod, Ryan is so good on the danger of this moment: newrepublic.com/article/2132...

BREAKING: the Judge in the bogus Trump v IRS case that resulted in the $1.7b slush fund has SANCTIONED the attorneys, referred Blanche, Woodward, & Brito to the Bar, nullified the “settlement”, and awarded monetary sanctions! More to come… storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

I'm so disillusioned, I almost don't even care who gets the FIFA Peace Prize next year

I think we are all going to start having more conversations about Jon Ossoff.

Poll Tracker 📊@polltracker.bsky.social · last mo.

Georgia Senate poll (Fox News) Ossoff 56% Collins 43%

The October 2024 cover of The Economist:

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · last mo.

REED: A lot of people don't really realize what a horrible economy Trump inherited SEN. DAVE McCORMICK: Terrible

My domestic policy preferences are closer to those of Democratic centrists than they are to Mamdani and the DSA. But my sympathy is pretty low for complaining centrists who decided to support Andrew Fricking Cuomo as their alternative to Mamdani.

It seems somewhat bad that the richest man in the world can use his money to bankrupt individuals or organizations -- including officials who are tasked with holding him accountable -- that accurately point out that his actions plausibly facilitated the deaths of millions.

The Independent@the-independent.com · last mo.

Elon Musk promises to sue lawmaker who suggested DOGE cuts led to the deaths of 4.5 million kids

The US finally admitting it lost a war on the same day that we're doing UFC fights on the White House lawn is going a bit too hard on the "late Roman Empire" vibes.

elon musk becoming a trillionaire the same day the DOJ approves the paramount/warner brothers merger is too much. only one sign of the apocalypse per day, thanks.

Musk buying twitter, Bezos buying WaPo, Ellison buying CBS—all are less profitable now. But they’re political investments that increase the value of the new owners’ portfolios Wealth concentration makes this possible, and that’s one mechanism by which inequality destroys democracy

I thought people were kidding, turns out Elon really did axe the screwworm containment program back in March 25. fucking imbecile www.agri-pulse.com/articles/226...

Bird flu, screwworm monitoring among foreign aid programs killed by Trump

Among the more than 5,300 grants and programs killed as a result of the Trump administration’s USAID cuts are a slate of U.S.-funded programs at the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, including eff...

agri-pulse.com

Different people will react differently to this, but I think it's great. If anyone can get high-quality answers to their individualized questions—as good as asking a professor of that subject—that can democratize learning in a really profound way.

Orin Kerr@orinkerr.bsky.social · 2mo ago

A group of contracts professors wrote some short-answer contracts questions, wrote answers, and then did a blind-test comparison between AI-written answers and the answers of the other professors. The AI-written answers were generally rated as better. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

A 51-49 Dem Senate is one in which, for example, many Trump nominees never even make it out of committee, making it irrelevant which way Fetterman or Platner or whomever would vote on the floor.

Will Stancil@whstancil.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Nah sorry guys, it’s not a close call. Platner is 100 times better than Collins. The reason why is that any Democrat will vote for a million little things that no Republican will vote for. Plus, control of the committees, etc., hinge on who controls the chamber.

Even if you have a paper copy of today's NYT, read this op-ed on line for the awesome infographics. And yeah, today is one of those days where I go, "I get to work with these guys?!" like the rookie on the 10-day contract who snares a lob from Lebron.

Miles Corak@milescorak.com · 2mo ago

www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Jake hits the highlights here, but worth emphasizing: At recent growth rates, a one-time 5% tax means that CA billionaire wealth will increase by ~$200 billion this year, *after they pay the tax*.

Jake Grumbach@jakemgrumbach.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Saez and @gabrielzucman.bsky.social on the CA billionaire tax 250 households (0.001% of the state) holds wealth equal to more than half of California’s entire annual economic output Their wealth grows 15% a year and is taxed at just 0.26% per year www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Hey, if you're a CA voter who hasn't returned your ballot, and you also want to pass the #BillionaireTax, then there is a great strategic voting opportunity here. If there are no R governor candidates on the ballot in November, then the sub-tabs of recent polling suggest the tax wins easily.

David Dayen@ddayen.bsky.social · 2mo ago

First poll to show a Republican lockout... Steyer & Becerra are the top two as Dem turnout finally dusted to surge (returned ballots now above 2022, as it should be with a contested primary at the top)

These fucking demons told me that my neighbor wanted to eat my dog and now they want to talk about social trust evaporating

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 2mo ago

Ferguson: "Just this weekend, I was shopping at a big home improvement store to buy a drill. I had to hit a call button and wait 15 minutes for an associate to unlock a padlock. Social trust has evaporated and people are taking advantage of it, and the same is true of our federal benefit programs."

What if taxing the rich works?

The ‘millionaires tax’ was pitched as a $2 billion revenue source. It’s blown past that, yet again. - The Boston Globe

The state’s so-called millionaires tax has already generated more than $3.1 billion in revenue from Massachusetts' highest earners this fiscal year.

bostonglobe.com

Saez and @gabrielzucman.bsky.social on the CA billionaire tax 250 households (0.001% of the state) holds wealth equal to more than half of California’s entire annual economic output Their wealth grows 15% a year and is taxed at just 0.26% per year www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Opinion | The Case for California’s Billionaire Wealth Tax

Silicon Valley’s growth over recent decades has made California rich — and one of the most unequal places in America.

nytimes.com

The facts: -Bezos paid $0 fed'l income tax in 2007 -He paid $0 in '11 -Btn '14-19, his wealth grew by $99 BILLION and he paid $973 million in taxes. Sounds like a lot but it's 0.98% of his wealth growth (which is his true income). www.propublica.org/article/the-...

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 3mo ago

Bezos on CNBC: "You could double the taxes I pay, and it's not gonna help that teacher in Queens. I promise you."

This seeming technicality is potentially highly significant. As we saw in my thread this am, 28 usc 1304 does authorize settlement payments (tho not on these facts, arguably). This takes us outside 1304 and into "whoever cuts this check commits a federal crime" territory.

Deborah Pearlstein@debpearlstein.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Need something official? Judge Williams herself makes clear the DOJ slush fund is NOT. A. SETTLEMENT. "Because the Notice does not reference any settlement or include a stipulation of settlement, there is no settlement of record." Try the same headline you'd use for a corrupt foreign dictator.

This suggests a lack of internal alignment among political appointees as to legality. Needless to say, it takes a lot of illegality for this administration to get to that point.

Allison Gill@muellershewrote.com · 3mo ago

NEW: The top lawyer at the Treasury Department just resigned. Even though he clerked for Clarence Thomas, perhaps the $1.7B heist was probably too much. Also note the Times (right) and the WSJ (left) refer to it as a settlement. The judge found IT IS NOT A SETTLEMENT. 1/

I say without hyperbole that this is the most brazenly corrupt action in US Presidential history. That it does not immediately lead to impeachment is a dangerous sign of how far the rule of law has declined.

Ok, let's live-skeet my research on the DOJ Judgment Fund. Here's the authorizing statute, 31 USC 1304: www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/...

31 U.S. Code § 1304 - Judgments, awards, and compromise settlements

law.cornell.edu

You should all read Brian's excellent analysis re the dubious legality of this "settlement." Since we're apparently scholarly live-skeeting this disaster, here are my two cents from my research for a book I'm working on, about how we got here. 🧵/1

Brian Galle@bdgesq.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Ok, let's live-skeet my research on the DOJ Judgment Fund. Here's the authorizing statute, 31 USC 1304: www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/...

It is difficult to overstate the level of institutional destruction at the IRS during the first year of the Trump admin. The IRS has been decimated. Let's begin with the IRS Senate-confirmed positions. There are only two at the IRS: The Commissioner and the Chief Counsel. /3

None of this would be possible without turning the IRS and the DOJ into personalist agencies. This is authoritarianism 101. Take over an agency, and then use it to attack rivals and enrich self. Mainstream media covers the DOJ pretty well. Less so re the IRS. /2