I was predisposed to support Phil - he was my law school dean & a good man. This racist bullshit is how you get me to max out my contribution for the first time in my life.

Kyle Clark@kylec.bsky.social · yesterday

“There was no reference to Jewish people, no religious message, no dog whistle, and no hidden meaning,” Pond said in a written statement. “Phil Weiser does not receive immunity from political satire because of a personal fact I did not even know.”

Growing up, OKC was actually a city that largely worked, & city gov’t was dominated by normie chamber of commerce GOP. It alas is located in the failed state of Oklahoma. Also, for bar trivia: guess what county embraces Oklahoma City, Oklahoma?

Voltaireon - 5 caustic French philosophers in a trenchcoat@shaidorsai.bsky.social · 2d ago

Looks like Oklahoma City, with a population of 681k. It went Trump by 1% And the article I sourced it from said that out of the top 100 largest cities, Trump won 10. medium.com/politically-...

Occupational hazard: I’ve watched a lot of police interviews & done several cross-examinations of this archetypical guy. Arrogance & being completely accustomed to being taken at your word can collide hard with a competent prosecutor & objective reality under oath, & I want that for this creep.

The Bulwark@thebulwark.com · 3d ago

Rep. Max Miller: "My former wife has claimed that during a custody exchange at my home that day, I assaulted her…If I had assaulted her, would she have offered to cook me dinner six days later?"

I was interested to see how the DOJ’s new “no experience or skill needed, just blind loyalty and complete lack of ethics” hiring policy would work out, and I think we’re now seeing some of the downside to it

Sure, we’re doing extrajudicial killings that should shame all those involved for generations, but at least it also totally fails to achieve the stated objectives.

Deadly U.S. boat strikes have failed to curb cocaine supply, Pentagon and DEA officials say

The president says Operation Southern Spear has virtually ended drug trafficking by sea. Pentagon and DEA analysts have concluded otherwise.

wapo.st

Matt Eminem@legalleadtheway.bsky.social · 4w ago

The knock-on effects of Joint Task Force Sea Murder will include generational eye-rolling at any U.S. pronouncements on LOAC. Both a crime spree & a colossal own-goal.

The circuit split some right-wing gun nuts have been waiting for.

The Trace@thetrace.org · 2w ago

The Philadelphia-based 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals recently struck down New Jersey’s state assault weapon ban. Similar bans have been upheld by other appeals courts that have heard lawsuits challenging them, including in neighboring Maryland and most recently in Illinois.

The thing where Netflix has gamed search engine optimization to present at the top of “[movie title] streaming” results EVEN FOR MOVIES NOT ON THEIR PLATFORM is extremely annoying. Really hammers home the “nothing worth watching” mental frame I’ve developed for their husk of an app.

It is shocking how many putative litigators struggle to lay basic foundation to admit evidence, even for fairly straightforward exhibits. The air gets even thinner when you get into esoteric exceptions & chain of custody.

Ennie@anyuse.bsky.social · 2w ago

Also a lot of lawyers struggle with actually properly authenticating and admitting exhibits. It’s an awkward ritual.

Heading into the third season and I cannot convince myself one way or another: is “Billions” a good show, or not?

Ceaser is also the only one to have done actual genocide, and I’m not talking about the effects of crazy bread on your lipids.

Comics in the Golden Age@comicsinthega.bsky.social · 2w ago

Not enough people are picking Little Caesar, who is obviously a psychopath and the only one with a weapon.

Somewhere in the Pentagon some poor schmuck JAG lawyer is trying mightily to squint at this & glaze it into a legitimate exercise of “belligerent reprisal.” That’s assuming they haven’t replaced Chairman’s Legal with 22 year old Liberty Law grads at White House Counsel, or Grok or some shit.

Matt Novak@paleofuture.bsky.social · 2w ago

Trump says that for every ship targeted by Iran in the Strait of Hormuz the U.S. “will bomb and destroy ONE BRIDGE OR POWER PLANT, including those located next to, or in, the Capital City of Tehran.”

This inadvertently reveals a level of ultra-rich people anxiety that is so divorced from the lived experience of most human beings it is staggering.

Armored Cars, Now on the American Road (Gift Article)

Drivers are paying for amenities once reserved for banks, law enforcement and the military.

nytimes.com

The season I spent cutting line & dropping junipers as part of BLM 3267 was absolutely formative. Wildland firefighting & fuels reduction is hard, critical work & hats off to the folks on the fireline this summer.

Shepherd@neolithicsheep.bsky.social · 2w ago

The report is 5% contained so they're getting a foothold on this thing. Wildland firefighters out there as always reminding us nobody ever wrote a song called "Fuck The Fire Department"

I wonder if Bezos & all the advertisers on Prime Video thought this through - having the archival death camp footage from Judgment at Nuremberg interrupted by Benson Boone trying to sell me headphones is discordant to say the least.

This is true on the state responsibility level - punishment for war crimes is generally aspirational/reciprocity does a lot of the heavy lifting for compliance - but *individual* accountability for war crimes has & must remain a real, available sanction either via domestic law or ad hoc tribunals.

Vibecession Forever@ghazelleberner.bsky.social · 3w ago

The laws of armed conflict aren’t like normal laws. The cops don’t come and arrest you. They’ve really never been like that. The point has always been largely about theory. The reason not to commit war crimes isn’t because you’ll go to jail; it’s so people don’t commit war crimes against you.

Millennial Grey, a color palate dictated by the fact that millennials were unable to purchase housing and landlords enforced a neutral colour pallet. Enjoyed by nobody, the name was another attempt to blame Millennials for things older generations did.

2 thoughts: 1. Dan’s estimate of “100s or 1000s of named defendants” probably overestimates size of strike cell/kill chain for Joint Task Force Sea Murders. 2. Ample precedent for conducting war crimes trials of “100s or 1000s of named defendants.”

Just Security@justsecurity.org · 3w ago

A retired judge advocate explains how a future administration could decide who to prosecute for the illegal strikes on alleged drug-trafficking boats.

The number of people who totally miss the point by internalizing this parable as being “King Solomon was a hard man, willing to cut just baby to pieces to prove a point” is probably a plurality.

Sara Straw@oneoneder.bsky.social · 3w ago

isn't the moral of that story supposed to be that you're not supposed to split babies, and don't deserve the baby if you're willing to

The knock-on effects of Joint Task Force Sea Murder will include generational eye-rolling at any U.S. pronouncements on LOAC. Both a crime spree & a colossal own-goal.

B. A. Friedman@bafriedman.bsky.social · 4w ago

By using lethal means to stop narco vessels in SOUTHCOM, the U.S. has completely ruined its ability to hold the high ground when Iran does the same in Hormuz. We view these artificial theaters as separate when they’re not. There’s no plan, let alone a strategy.

Even if you think Law of War should furnish the ceiling & not just the floor for U.S. conduct (yikes!), the civilian harm mitigation edifice provides commanders with more info to make better decisions - it feeds military advantage, not solely humanity.

ProPublica@propublica.org · last mo.

NEW: Ten members of Congress have warned the secretary of defense that the Trump administration’s gutting of a program focused on shielding noncombatants puts service members in peril, erodes the military’s moral standing and may violate federal law.

Patrol officer patiently explaining why calling 911 repeatedly when your neighbors are shooting fireworks instead of just asking them to tone it down is bad form.

Every West Wing Frame In Order@twwbot.bsky.social · last mo.

The West Wing - 1x13 - Take Out the Trash Day - Frame 2478 of 2613

Ad Rock: you can disagree with the current All: POPE MCA: but if you push his buttons then you’re a All: DOPE Mike D: ordain yourself a bishop and you’re All: SCHISMATIC Ad Rock: excommunication is All: AUTOMATIC

The “groundwork” has been laid for years & this is action officer/service level preparation, but the new EXORD strongly suggests to me that we’re going to see a move to rip through military death row as soon as Blanche/Trump remember it exists.

Army lays groundwork for death row executions if Trump gives approval

The Army is preparing to carry out the executions of the military's four death-row inmates if ordered to do so by the president, according to an internal document

abcnews.com

Matt Eminem@legalleadtheway.bsky.social · 3mo ago

AI slop merchants seem to have stumbled onto military death row. Either they’re mixing up their Afro-American inmates or they don’t know that a Sergeant isn’t an Officer - pictures are Akbar & description is closest to facts in Akbar, but Hasan is only Officer on death row.

inspired: get the government to pay you a salary for running the heist of Fort Knox for yourself

Micah@rincewind.run · 2mo ago

tired: plan a heist of Fort Knox wired: get the government to run the heist of Fort Knox for you

As someone living in Hawaii without a Hawaii birth certificate, happy to leave the “gotta be born here to belong here” discourse to the New Yorkers.

Oh hey it is June 6 so it is officially Queensland Day Happy Queensland Day to all who celebrate and keep it holy

My heart is warmed by the sound of the laughing kookaburras, but my blood runs cold at the sight of the feathered velociraptor.

@cm1277.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Dangers of running in Far North Queensland. A big cassowary. They will try to murder you given the chance. #running #farnorthqueensland

New job has a “do not post about work” policy, so my quest to grow a personality outside of my job is becoming really critical.

“A lot of people I’ve spoken to just in the last few months have said that they would look down on a person if they had a federal job on their résumé that they started during this administration … they would see a person willing to go to work at this D.O.J. as somebody they couldn’t trust.”

Trump Administration Sees Striking Exodus of Legal Talent

nytimes.com

Matt Eminem@legalleadtheway.bsky.social · 5mo ago

If they’re lowering the standards for a prestige opportunity to serve the public, ask yourself why they’re doing that.