My latest at @flux.community: The Justice Department's withdrawal of laughable charges against a former Olympic athlete shouldn't obscure the basic, staggering fact of the president's abuse of power against an innocent man. 1/x plus.flux.community/p/trumps-ref...

Trump’s Reflecting Pool vendetta became too ridiculous for Jeanine Pirro

The Justice Department's dismissal of laughable charges against a former Olympic athlete shouldn't obscure the basic fact of the president's abuse of power against an innocent man

plus.flux.community

Trump’s Reflecting Pool vendetta became too ridiculous for Jeanine Pirro Despite the dismissal of the charges, this was still an outrageous abuse of power, @jtccarroll.flux.community writes:

Trump’s Reflecting Pool vendetta became too ridiculous for Jeanine Pirro

The Justice Department's dismissal of laughable charges against a former Olympic athlete shouldn't obscure the basic fact of the president's abuse of power against an innocent man

plus.flux.community

My latest at @flux.community: ICE is a broken agency in need of major reforms or abolition, but Dems must pair opposition to ICE lawlessness with unsparing attacks on the GOP's dehumanizing anti-immigrant hatred and propaganda that underlies major abuses. 1/x plus.flux.community/p/renewed-ic...

Renewed ICE killings are inevitable result of mass deportations rooted in incendiary claims of immigrant invasion

Democrats must pair opposition to ICE lawlessness with unsparing attacks on the GOP's dehumanizing anti-immigrant hatred and propaganda

plus.flux.community

More ICE killings are the inevitable result of mass deportations rooted in incendiary claims of immigrant invasion @jtccarroll.flux.community on why Democrats mustn't shy away from letting the public know about Trump's dehumanization of immigrants

Renewed ICE killings are inevitable result of mass deportations rooted in incendiary claims of immigrant invasion

Democrats must pair opposition to ICE lawlessness with unsparing attacks on the GOP's dehumanizing anti-immigrant hatred and propaganda

plus.flux.community

My latest at @flux.community: The president's plan to spruce up a tourist attraction has mutated into self-serving claims of anti-American vandalism in the heart of D.C. and over-the-top charges against a sacrificial citizen. 1/x plus.flux.community/p/trumps-ine...

Trump's inept attempts to ‘fix’ Reflecting Pool only highlight his authoritarian fixations

The president's plan to spruce up a tourist attraction has mutated into self-serving claims of anti-American vandalism in the heart of D.C. and over-the-top charges against a sacrificial citizen

plus.flux.community

Trump's plan to spruce up a tourist attraction has mutated into self-serving claims of anti-American vandalism in the heart of D.C. and over-the-top charges against a sacrificial citizen. Via @jtccarroll.flux.community:

Trump's inept attempts to ‘fix’ Reflecting Pool only highlight his authoritarian fixations

The president's plan to spruce up a tourist attraction has mutated into self-serving claims of anti-American vandalism in the heart of D.C. and over-the-top charges against a sacrificial citizen

plus.flux.community

My latest at @flux.community: The Trump administration plans to provide bespoke gift bags to Afrikaners immigrating to the US, including materials that encourage an embrace of white supremacy as the ideal way to assimilate into American society. 1/ plus.flux.community/p/welcome-ba...

Welcome swag for white South African ‘refugees’ reveals blatant racism of Trump’s asylum policy

The Trump administration plans to provide bespoke gift bags to Afrikaners, including materials that encourage an embrace of white supremacy as the ideal way to assimilate into American society

plus.flux.community

Welcome swag for white South African ‘refugees’ reveals blatant racism of Trump’s asylum policy Via @jtccarroll.flux.community:

Welcome swag for white South African ‘refugees’ shines light on blatant racism of Trump’s asylum policy

The Trump administration plans to provide bespoke gift bags to Afrikaners, including materials that encourage an embrace of white supremacy as the ideal way to assimilate into American society

plus.flux.community

The policy is even more radical than the headline says. The Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program is being canceled to redirect the funds towards Republican groups. news.bloomberglaw.com/health-law-a...

RFK Jr.'s HHS to Divert Funds From Teen Pregnancy Grant Program

The Department of Health and Human Services is canceling millions of dollars in teen pregnancy prevention grants as it restructures priorities for the reproductive health program.

news.bloomberglaw.com

The OR GOP's "end vote by mail" petition drive was part of a coordinated, national GOP effort to destroy the nation's democratic electoral system with a barrage of disinformation about "election fraud." That is sooo much more consequential than the fringy IP28. bsky.app/profile/seth...

Seth Cotlar@sethcotlar.bsky.social · last yr.

This is crucially important. Edtl is not just a local actor. He is coordinating with the Trump Administration to try to use federal power to dismantle Oregon's vote by mail system. This is based on no actual evidence of fraud. It's based on self-serving vibes, like most of Edtl's political positions

This totally reminds me of that whole Harry Truman "The buck stops not here" concept. Also, amazingly framed by NBC as "Trump quipped." Right, right, just a joke, Trump would never actually duck responsibility on a matter of grave importance. www.cnbc.com/2026/06/17/t...

Trump says he likes idea of blaming Vance if Iran deal doesn't work out

President Trump at the G7 summit said the memorandum of understanding reached with Iran "might not be the kind of document that I should be signing."

cnbc.com

My latest at @flux.community: The race for a Senate seat in Texas highlights how MAGA's authoritarian governance is deeply intertwined with its celebration of a predatory, backwards maculinity. 1/x plus.flux.community/p/in-texas-s...

In Texas senate showdown, Ken Paxton’s rhetoric about masculinity could backfire

The race between Ken Paxton and James Talarico suggests that taking on MAGA requires Democrats to fully engage in fights over values as well as policy proposals

plus.flux.community

In Texas senate showdown, Ken Paxton’s rhetoric about masculinity could backfire for Ken Paxton, @jtccarroll.flux.community writes:

In Texas senate showdown, Ken Paxton’s rhetoric about masculinity could backfire

The race between Ken Paxton and James Talarico suggests that taking on MAGA requires Democrats to fully engage in fights over values as well as policy proposals

plus.flux.community

ICYMI @flux.community: With gerrymandering set to nullify key gains of the civil rights movement, Democrats need to find a way to rally a majority against the dire threat of GOP racism and its threat to modern America. 1/x plus.flux.community/p/with-calla...

With Callais decision, the right-wing Supreme Court majority has unveiled the inescapable reality of Republican white supremacism

With gerrymandering set to nullify key gains of the civil rights movement, Democrats need to find a way to rally a majority against the dire threat of GOP racism and its threat to modern America

plus.flux.community

With Callais decision, the right-wing Supreme Court majority has unveiled the inescapable reality of Republican white supremacism Democrats need to find a way to rally a majority against the dire threat of GOP racism and its threat to modern America Via @jtccarroll.flux.community:

With Callais decision, the right-wing Supreme Court majority has unveiled the inescapable reality of Republican white supremacism

With gerrymandering set to nullify key gains of the civil rights movement, Democrats need to find a way to rally a majority against the dire threat of GOP racism and its threat to modern America

plus.flux.community

This is probably the best story I have read on Oregon's public defense crisis. People don't realize how much the laggard bureaucracy around this grinds up the people actually caught in the system.

Sam Levin@samtlevin.bsky.social · 4mo ago

NEW: Corshelle Jenkins was falsely charged with a crime + a warrant issued for her arrest. It was clear mistaken identity but a judge said there were no available lawyers for her. The charge would stay + she had no way to fight it She's 1 of 1000s in Oregon trapped in criminal cases without lawyers

New at @flux.community: President Trump's deranged attack on Pope Leo XIV will have dire consequences for the president and GOP that outlast the ill-begotten war on Iran. 1/x plus.flux.community/p/donald-tru...

Donald Trump’s belligerent attacks on the Pope backfire badly

Picking a fight with a peace-mongering pontiff may well pay massive future dividends — for opponents of the president and MAGA.

plus.flux.community

Donald Trump’s belligerent attacks on the Pope are backfiring badly Picking a fight with a peace-mongering pontiff may well pay massive future dividends — for opponents of the president and MAGA. Via @jtccarroll.flux.community:

Donald Trump’s belligerent attacks on the Pope backfire badly

Picking a fight with a peace-mongering pontiff may well pay massive future dividends — for opponents of the president and MAGA.

plus.flux.community

SCOOP: The Pentagon is preparing for weeks of ground operations in Iran, U.S. officials said, as thousands of American soldiers and Marines arrive in the Middle East for what could become a dangerous new phase of the war should President Trump escalate. www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

Pentagon prepares for weeks of ground operations in Iran

If President Trump approves the plans, such an effort would mark a new phase of the war that could be significantly more dangerous to U.S. troops than the first four weeks.

washingtonpost.com

ProPublica has found multiple cases of women with underlying health conditions who died when they couldn’t access abortions. Tierra Walker, a 37-year-old mother, was told by doctors there was no emergency before preeclampsia killed her. (Published Nov. 2025)

“Ticking Time Bomb”: A Pregnant Mother Kept Getting Sicker. She Died After She Couldn’t Get an Abortion in Texas.

Walker is one of several women ProPublica found with underlying health conditions who died when they couldn’t access abortions.

propublica.org

ICYMI at @flux.community: As Trump's conduct of his illegal Iran war spirals downwards, the case for Democrats opposing budgetary support for more mayhem in the Middle East (and very possibly beyond) is overwhelming. 1/ plus.flux.community/p/as-trumps-...

As Trump's illegal attack on Iran goes sideways, Democrats must fight further war funding

The case for Democrats opposing budgetary support for more mayhem in the Middle East (and very possibly beyond) is overwhelming

plus.flux.community

on the jim crow travesty that is the SAVE act (gift link)

Opinion | The Last Thing Trump Wants to Do Is Save America

nytimes.com

It would be particularly fitting if Trump’s war—coming after years of promises to the contrary from Trump and MAGA chief ideologist Vance—ends up playing its own critical role in causing the Trump/Maga coalition to come undone. 7/7 newrepublic.com/article/2076...

How Trump’s War on Iran Is Hastening the Coming MAGA Crack-Up

Another Middle East war is exactly what the young voters and voters of color who flocked to Trump in 2024 did not sign up for.

newrepublic.com

A great point in @lkatfield.bsky.social's book on MAGA right is how all this grandiose playacting reflects a hyper-masculine ethic that’s deeply solipsistic and juvenile—so much so that it's actually “unmanly.” WH and DHS twitter feeds traffic in this constantly. 6/ newrepublic.com/article/2076...

A big reason that the war will continue dividing the Trump coalition is that MAGA's weird "Western civilizational emergency" rhetoric is like white noise to most ordinary people. You see this on both the Iran war and immigration. 5/ (Commenting on Douthat's latest) newrepublic.com/article/2076...

Trump and Vance's promise of "no new wars" was ubiquitous. It clearly helped drive young people to Trump. But now, youth pollster John Della Volpe tells me that his interviews with young men reveal a deep sense of betrayal. Fascinating stuff from him here. 4/ newrepublic.com/article/2076...

The "realignment" thesis was always overstated. Trump made inroads among young and nonwhite working class voters, but they were clearly temporary. The evidence of this is now overwhelming. Trump's war is further proving the point. /3 (h/t @gelliottmorris.com) newrepublic.com/article/2076...

Trump's invasion is the most unpopular war in modern US history. That matters. It shows the public is not reflexively pro war even at moments of intense propaganda bombardment. It's really tanking with groups Trump made inroads among. Look at the numbers below! 2/ newrepublic.com/article/2076...

Trump's Iran war is breaking up the MAGA coalition. Among young and nonwhite working class, only *one in five* approve, per new data I've obtained. That's extraordinary and heartening to see. It's also delivering another blow to Trump's "realignment." 1/ (new piece) newrepublic.com/article/2076...

How Trump’s War on Iran Is Hastening the Coming MAGA Crack-Up

Another Middle East war is exactly what the young voters and voters of color who flocked to Trump in 2024 did not sign up for.

newrepublic.com

My latest @flux.community: Democrats who are considering funding the illegal attack on Iran risk tossing the opposition into a moral abyss, while betraying the American people in favor of the president. 1/ plus.flux.community/p/assenting-...

Assenting to Trump's insane Iran war would mean accepting a broken and malevolent vision of America

Democrats who are considering funding the illegal attack on Iran risk tossing the opposition into a moral abyss, while betraying the American people in favor of the president

plus.flux.community