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Walter Olson

@walterolson.bsky.social

Writer on law etc.; Cato Institute. Election law, Maryland civic stuff, cooking. Blogged at Overlawyered back when. No kings, no tyrants.

7878 Posts28507 Follower1322 Folgt
Brian Stelter@brianstelter.bsky.social · 13h ago

"The Pentagon has named one of its own public affairs officials to run the publication Stars & Stripes, and he will keep his Pentagon job while doing it. This places a single official inside both the office that shapes the military's message, and the newsroom charged with covering it independently"

Pentagon PR Official Takes Over Stars and Stripes Months After Editor, Publisher Kicked Out

Christian Devine, an executive director and principal adviser in the Pentagon's public affairs office, was appointed weeks after terminations.

military.com

FairVote@fairvote.bsky.social · last wk.

In November, Alaska will again use ranked choice voting in all federal & state elections. That includes a tight U.S. Senate race that could determine control of Congress. Here's what to expect from Alaska's 2026 elections ⬇️

What to expect in Alaska’s 2026 ranked choice voting elections - FairVote

In 2026, Alaska will once again use ranked choice voting for all federal and state elections. RCV will ensure winners have majority support.

fairvote.org

Walter Olson@walterolson.bsky.social · 17h ago

Juries, most recently in San Antonio, are skeptical of the uses police make of automatic license plate recognition (ALPR) surveillance systems. More of this please [@foxmike90.bsky.social, @cato.org]

Seventy-Six Minutes and a Dog That Creates Probable Cause: Jurors Take Aim at the “Flockers”

The San Antonio verdict is an indictment of the modern mass surveillance dragnet, but it also highlights the profound importance jurors—drawn from the local community—play in adjudicating disputes bet...

cato.org

Josh Kovensky@joshkovensky.bsky.social · 22h ago

A White House ballroom donor who organized meetings for Don Jr. and 1789 Capital in Europe has had a good year: he's been named as chair of a $201 million government-backed enterprise fund, received a waiver on sanctions, and more. Meet Konstantin Sokolov talkingpointsmemo.com/news/a-ballr...

A Ballroom Donor, a Sanctions Waiver, $201 Million in Public Money: The Mystery of Konstantin Sokolov

Ever since he contributed to the White House ballroom project last year,...

talkingpointsmemo.com

Kate Starbird@katestarbird.bsky.social · 21h ago

Y’all, I hate to rain on the dead bot parade, but the Yandex data center destruction doesn’t seem to have significantly impacted social media bots. I made temporal graphs of X posts about AfD around the time of the attack and there’s no sign of a sudden dip or residual impact on that conversation.

Catherine Rampell@crampell.bsky.social · yesterday

A U.S. Air Force member jailed since August for publicly calling for President Donald Trump's impeachment is being held in solitary confinement 24 hours a day, according to his attorney. www.military.com/air-force-ma...

Air Force Maj. Jason Watson is in Solitary 24 Hours Daily After Publicly Calling For Trump’s Impeachment

Maj. Jason Watson has been jailed since August after publicly opining on the president and his administration, drawing a big legal battle.

military.com

Peter Baker@peterbakernyt.bsky.social · 3d ago

Over the past two years, at least 44 governors, 70 US senators and 185 members of the House and their staffs and families have been subject to threats of violence, according to @nytimes.com investigation. @nytnickc.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2026/10/11/u...

Threats of Political Violence Have America’s Elected Officials Living in Fear

A Times investigation has found that violent threats have become a new normal among public officials, reshaped private lives, cost millions in security and pushed people out of office.

nytimes.com

Josh Chafetz@joshchafetz.bsky.social · 2d ago

1/ The Speech or Debate Clause probably doesn't apply to the Omar search. BUT, whenever I talk about Speech or Debate immunity and argue that it should be interpreted capaciously, the pushback I always get is that we don't want to turn members of Congress into "super-citizens".

tomwellborn3rd@wellborn.net · 2d ago

MAGA influencers claimed Talarico was in an Ohio mental health facility while he was at Austin City Limits and a Kacey Musgraves concert. Musk pushed it three times. Smearing a candidate's mental health for clicks and getting buried by concert photos is hard to out-dumb.

MAGA’s Talarico Mental Breakdown Conspiracy Implodes—Instantly

The holes in this one were evident pretty quickly. Now the big question is will there be lawsuits in response?

thebulwark.com

John Pfaff@johnpfaff.bsky.social · 3d ago

Remember: ICE lied so often about people posing threats to them, to justify their violence in Chicago, that a Chicago federal judge wrote it was "difficult, if not impossible, to believe almost anything" ICE said. Do you know what it takes to get a Fed district judge to WRITE THAT in a ruling?

Eric Umansky@ericumansky.bsky.social · 3d ago

This is exactly what ICE said: "Parra-Hernandez ran in front of an ICE vehicle and was struck." Now watch the video. They're no other word for it: They're lying.