Emily Horne
@emilyhorne.bsky.social
Author of Spinclass.Substack.com. Recovering bureaucrat with a junior year abroad in Big Tech. Boy mom/forever stepping on small trucks.
Blanche’s “assurances” have all the legal heft of Brett Kavanaugh pinky-swearing with Susan Collins that Roe was settled law
Matthew Gertz@mattgertz.bsky.social · 2d agoYou’d have to be a fool and/or desperate to get to yes to accept this, so it’ll probably be enough to get him confirmed. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/03/u...
FYI for anyone who doesn't know about "The Midwesterner" | Spin Class Case Study: I Caught POLITICO and the New York Times Laundering Pink Slime "News" by @emilyhorne.bsky.social spinclass.substack.com/p/spin-class...
I Caught POLITICO and the New York Times Laundering Pink Slime "News"
How the sexist backlash to AOC and Gretchen Whitmer at the Munich Security Conference led me to a scammy "local news" outlet pushing a coordinated right-wing narrative
spinclass.substack.com
#StupidSuez@diplomatofnight.com · 5d agoWow, you got us! Arabs say Inshallah!
“Trump is trapped between accepting utter failure in Iran and an escalation that he knows he can’t win. Those are his two options, and they both end in humiliating defeat. His constant message shifting is him casting about for a third option that doesn’t actually exist.”
How Do You Cover a President Who Doesn't Have A Strategy?
Another day of free-associating about potential war crimes in Iran
open.substack.com
"If Trump followed through on threats to attack Iranian power plants, you'd likely see a mass humanitarian crisis that would affect tens of millions of people." On the pod, @emilyhorne.bsky.social and I on why media shouldn't treat his sociopathic threats as bluster: newrepublic.com/article/2136...
Trump’s Rage at Iran Takes Truly Scary Turn, and Even MAGA Is Unnerved
As Trump’s threats of escalation in Iran worsen, a former State Department official explains why the deeper dynamics surrounding the trap ensnaring Trump are so alarming.
newrepublic.com
Cutting money that provides food and health care but spending $300 million to permanently deploy the military to the streets of the capital in times of peace is tinpot dictator stuff
Erin Fogg says Free Link@criminalerin.bsky.social · last wk.What could up to 2k illegally deployed troop apartments cost, Michael? $148,000? Each?
DoorDash trying to end home rule for 700,000 people over a TWENTY CENT FEE
Martin Austermuhle@maustermuhle.bsky.social · 2w agoIn a statement, DoorDash tells me that the council passed the "arbitrary" new fee without holding any hearings. "We have always supported home rule for D.C.," says the company. "But will continue to defend D.C.'s small businesses, local economy, and underserved residents."
“The president’s role at a dignified transfer should be to honor the fallen by facing the costs of his orders. But instead, Trump is using a dignified transfer ceremony as a warm-up act for a MAGA campaign rally, where he’ll surely continue to lie about the true costs of his Iran war.”
Trump’s split screen: War and campaigning
The president began his day observing the final return of four American soldiers and spent the afternoon rallying his base.
politico.com
The usage of “says” is just so messed up. He's not claiming it happened, the police confirmed it. Do better NYT
“Isn’t this supposed to be a party? Where’s the fun? Where’s the community? No one is even laughing, much less singing or dancing with strangers. There was more joy in the DMV when I last renewed my car registration.”
MAGA Can't Buy Good Vibes
Why the Knicks and World Cup are winning the Joy Wars and the Trump UFC weekend spectacularly failed
open.substack.com
One of the weirdest parts of this moment is how the military insists on portraying truly dishonorable missions, ones that would have been resisted by better civilian leadership, as honorable deployments worthy of celebration:
Free DC@freedcproject.bsky.social · 2mo agoMembers of the Arkansas National Guard deployed to DC took a Free DC flag like a war trophy. This image was taken from a video released by the Arkansas National Guard. We do not know where they got the flag pictured here but it is a symbol of opposition to everything this deployment is about 🧵
Members of the Arkansas National Guard deployed to DC took a Free DC flag like a war trophy. This image was taken from a video released by the Arkansas National Guard. We do not know where they got the flag pictured here but it is a symbol of opposition to everything this deployment is about 🧵
Absolutely crucial piece of research on misinformation in local news on Facebook, X and Nextdoor by @smfthinktank.bsky.social Full report is here (www.smf.co.uk/publications...) but these are some key findings:
Pathetic. Trump is privately demanding his advisers find a way to reach a deal with Iran that TV commentators will compare favorably to Obama's 2015 deal, per the Atlantic. On the pod, @emilyhorne.bsky.social is good on how this perfectly captures why we're stuck: newrepublic.com/article/2114...
Trump Rages over Iran Setbacks as Leaks Reveal His Seething Obama Envy
As fresh leaks make Trump look even more incompetent on Iran, a former national security official explains why the specter of Obama’s nuclear deal is haunting him—and why that screws the rest of us.
newrepublic.com
An experienced, well-connected investigative reporter with a great reputation, personal loyalty, and nothing but time is a formidable enemy to assign yourself.
Justin Baragona@justinbaragona.bsky.social · 2mo agoIn a statement to @benmullin.bsky.social, Scott Pelley disputes what Bari Weiss said in this morning's editorial meeting, claiming he was never offered "a way back" as she claimed. "These executives cannot gain the trust of the staff with lies. This is antithetical to everything we stand for..."
1. This is very, very, very bad and dangerous. 2. Lemonade: yet again, the second Trump admin reminds us that no woman should ever feel imposter syndrome again. Ever.
Axios@axios.com · 2mo agoJUST IN: Trump names housing regulator attack dog Bill Pulte acting intelligence chief
My take on the DNC 2024 autopsy report is that Trump created a slush fund for January 6ers that’s bigger than the 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund
2 big reasons Castro is being indicted today that have nada to do with what’s *actually* happening in Cuba: 1) the USS Ford came home a few days ago after a year+ deployment (including VZ) 2) May 20 is what US-based Cuban conservatives consider to be Cuba’s independence day (most Cubans don’t)
MeidasTouch@meidastouch.com · 3mo agoNEWS: Former Cuban President Raúl Castro has been indicted in the United States, per Reuters. The move marks a dramatic escalation in Donald Trump’s pressure campaign against Cuba’s government and comes as Trump has openly pushed for regime change on the island.
Shredding Trump family crime permission slips should be a Day One action for every 2028 Dem. Who is the rural diner voter whose big kitchen table issue is “Eric and Don Jr. should never get audited?”
Financial Times@financialtimes.com · 3mo agoTrump and sons to be ‘forever’ exempt from tax audits ft.trib.al/ePJ9DiF
Weaponization was not a Biden thing. It's a Trump thing. presswatchers.org/2026/05/news...
News headlines adopted Trump’s deceptive framing of his new $1.8 billion taxpayer-funded slush fund | Press Watch
Weaponization was not a Biden thing. It's a Trump thing.
presswatchers.org
We have reached peak 'Iran was about to nuke the US so please ignore those high prices making it harder to feed your family.' Most Americans aren't buying it but the GOP has run out of other excuses so here we are:
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 3mo agoRick Scott: "President Trump is busting his butt. Does he want us killed by a nuclear weapon? Absolutely not. So he's doing the right thing by making sure we all don't get killed by a nuclear weapon. I think has to happen is Trump is gonna have to go in and bomb the living daylights out of Iran."
it's fascinating that in the midst of a historically unpopular presidency driven almost entirely by voluntary choices made by a rapidly declining president with an adversarial relationship with the press, we see a complete dearth of "gop needs to change course" thinkpieces and coverage
AI in academia conversation is completely warped by how only professors platformed to write about it are tenured at elite schools. What works in a 12-person Princeton classroom has basically no relationship to your average college's 40 person online class taught by an underpaid adjunct...
