Matt Ford
@mford.bsky.social
Staff writer, The New Republic. Law, democracy, and the courts. 49ers/Dodgers stuff too.
And the five-year-old boy who was in the car? His mom says he's "traumatized" and hasn't spoken since the shooting. www.nytimes.com/2026/10/09/n...
Eric Umansky@ericumansky.bsky.social · yesterdayWhat neighbors sat about Oscar Belgal, who agents shot. “Nice kid.” “Very nice-mannered.” "He was fine." “Not a menace — annoying. He did not deserve that.”” www.nytimes.com/2026/10/09/n...
The right wing crash out over asian students celebrating at a UT football game reveals that all along the true goal of reactionary colorblindness was never “meritocracy” but resegregation. (Gift link) www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/1...
Weird coincidence he sanctions the ICC on the same day he gets a very, totally real trade deal with a dictator wanted by the ICC.
Matt Novak@paleofuture.bsky.social · 2d agoTrump says we’re now going to be getting diesel from Russia
It’s like the nation’s top rapists and abusers all unionized.
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 2d agoMike Tyson: "There's no way I would be here if it wasn't for a president like Donald Trump"
Putin throws lifeline to try to save Trump in the midterms. In return, American dollars go to Russia and get put toward killing innocent Ukrainians. Trump/Russia right out in the open. www.dailymail.com/news/article...
Putin throws Trump midterm lifeline as Russia agrees to supply diesel
Donald Trump announced today that Vladimir Putin has agreed to supply the US with hundreds of thousands of tons of diesel.
dailymail.com
NEW from me: The National Association of Evangelicals (along with several other religious groups) are now joining the USCCB in condemning Defense Sec. Pete Hegseth’s plans to publicly execute Nidal Malik Hasan, also saying doing so promotes a “culture of death.” religionnews.com/2026/10/09/h...
Jack Jenkins@jackjenkins.me · 3d agoNEW: The head of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has issued a statement firmly condemning plans to livestream the execution of Nidal Malik Hasan. Archbishop Paul Coakley calls the decision “a barbaric promotion of a culture of death and must be reconsidered.” www.usccb.org/news/2026/us...
just getting lazy now. "the ai is uh. going to do something bad soon"
Unusual Whales@unusualwhales.bsky.social · 2d agoBREAKING: AI companies are privately predicting a catastrophic AI-driven event is highly possible within the next 6 to 12 months, per YF
Trump: "In 1900 we had really strong laws. Today you can do almost anything. Nothing happens."
Only 21st century example I can think of is the Islamic State’s beheadings.
Matt Novak@paleofuture.bsky.social · 3d agoIran sometimes does public executions but I can't find evidence they've ever televised one. It seems like North Korea, China, and Saudi Arabia have also never televised or livestreamed any executions. Looks like the U.S. will be in a club of one if Pete Hegseth goes through with this.
the funny thing about this of course is that "athenian democracy" was a cautionary tale to the framers, who saw it as unstable and prone to demagogues and tyrants like the one rubio works for
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 4d agothis Rubio speech feels a lot like a 2028 soft launch
Margaret Hamilton, who led the 100-person team that wrote the onboard software for the Apollo missions, has died.
Margaret Hamilton, Whose Software Guided the Apollo Missions, Has Died
Margaret Hamilton, the first female programmer hired to work on the space project at M.I.T., was 90.
nyti.ms
Robert E. Lee after Chancellorsville:
David A. Graham@dgraham.bsky.social · 5d agoFrustrating for whom
My take on the Court's actions last week and the necessity of jurisdiction-stripping in response:
Balls & Strikes@ballsandstrikes.org · 5d ago"If the Court will not treat capital cases with the care they deserve, the American people should ensure that it can no longer stop other courts from doing so."
The Russian pneumonia case underscores “that at a time when we need strong systems capable of detecting biological threats around the world, the United States is weakening parts of its own public health and scientific infrastructure.” www.statnews.com/2026/10/06/r... via @statnews.com
Infectious disease expert: The mysterious pneumonia in Russia deserves attention, not panic
Chill out about reports about plague in Siberia, writes infectious disease doctor Krutika Kuppalli.
statnews.com
Surely there must be one sports desk left in America that can afford to send a reporter to a Trappist monastery for their thoughts on the Padres/Brewers series.
This post is much less funny now than it was eight minutes ago.
Boo!-per Lund@cooperlund.online · 5d agoDave Roberts should listen to his intrusive thoughts and put Edwin Diaz in for the save
The federal prison union is asking a judge to hold the BOP in contempt bc they say the agency ignored the court order to reinstate the union contract - and some of the things they're alleging in this motion are WILD
Russiagate was a theory in the same way that gravity is a theory.
Amid Midterm Crunch, Trump Advisers Took Time to Help Russia-Aligned Government
James Blair and Chris LaCivita, who are leading the president’s congressional campaign operation, traveled to Republika Srpska to provide election advice.
nytimes.com
In a release to media, Christa Pike’s attorneys say she is now “conscious and speaking” almost a week after the state of Tennessee failed to execute her by lethal injection.
Justice Alito devotes an entire chapter of his new book to the emergency docket—and to responding to people like me (“the most prolific academic critic of the emergency docket”). As I explain over at “One First,” it … didn’t go well: www.stevevladeck.com/p/256-so-une...
Trump and Hegseth plan to carry out the first military execution in six decades:
Trump approves firing-squad execution of Fort Hood shooter, Pentagon says
Nidal Hasan sentenced to death by military jury in 2013 for carrying out deadly shooting attack at army base in Texas
theguardian.com