“Abolishing the filibuster is a good-but-controversial idea. Expanding the Supreme Court is a good-but-controversial idea. Adding states to the union is a good-but-controversial idea. They all need to be normalized rather than triangulated against.” @brianbeutler.bsky.social

Reclaiming "Normalization"

It’s way past time we start normalizing the kinds of things that will be necessary for American renewal in the post-Trump era.

open.substack.com

It’s right there, if only people would stop, look, think. Something everyone it taught in driving school and promptly forgets how to do when it comes to traffic lights & traffic signs. And politics.

Mrs. Betty Bowers@mrsbettybowers.bsky.social · 3w ago

Whenever you read a hot take from Politico that casts Dems in an unflattering light, remind yourself that the owner asked the executives to pray for Donald Trump’s reelection. It’s propaganda.

@murray.senate.gov, @wadems.org, @waprogressives.bsky.social Senator Murray, you’re up for reelection in 2028. You are not behaving as though our democracy is at risk. Be a warrior for democracy. Be Bolder.

Murshed Zaheed@murshedz.bsky.social · 3w ago

Good Lord. Murray is actually promoting this “deal” with Susan Collins even though her own press release states Republicans rejected Democratic proposal to “protect Congress’ power of the purse and prevent Russ Vought from impounding funding and attempting another “pocket rescission.”” 🤡🤡🤡

It was bound to happen at that curve eventually. Fortunately, no passengers. But it will happen again.

Cortana@cortanav.bsky.social · 3w ago

Nobody freak out but the Seattle light rail just derailed across the track at the Chinatown International District station.

As someone who grew up in a rural, agriculture-dependent environment I fully endorse this perspective, because it’s 💯% accurate.

Sarah Taber@sarahtaber.bsky.social · 3w ago

A very serious Rural Politico once told me "Dems have to go to farmer meetings! We gotta be where the people are!" I was in fact in a farmer meeting at that very moment! So I live-texted him the meeting. They were complaining that they want indentured workers that they don't have to pay or feed.

The other question is When did they sell? That won’t tell us anything new about their insider trading practices, but it could tell us something about how stupid they are.

Robert Reich@rbreich.bsky.social · 3w ago

Six congressmen bought between $83,000 to $245,000 in SpaceX stock just before its IPO: -Jared Moskowitz -Gil Cisneros -Dan Meuser -John McGuire -William Timmons -John James Five serve on committees whose work impacts SpaceX's business. We must ban members of Congress from trading stock.

Pretty sure he hasn’t had any friends since Jeffrey Epstein left this mortal coil. He’d probably secretly laugh at the idea of Linds actually being a friend of his.

Middle Age Riot@middleageriot.bsky.social · 4w ago

Stop posting insane bullshit at 2 a.m. and maybe you'll be able to stay awake during a friend's funeral, you greasy fuck.

Proudly on the following eejit lists (“broken brain” might be my fave) helping to keep my timeline detritus-free. Since I can’t thank them for their help IRL here’s a virtual bouquet 💐 Funny how they’re all clumped together. Suggests a niche, incestuous group

Politico Playbook, Meet the Press and a Nazi yukking it up, as they do

Keith Edwards@keithedwards.bsky.social · 4w ago

NBC's kristen welker was caught laughing it up with Stephen Miller. Stephen Miller who architected the family separation policy. Stephen Miller who pushed the Muslim travel ban. Stephen Miller who oversaw the killing of Americans by ICE agents. This is why independent media is crucial.

Dressed up Seattle's waterfront:

Watch this if you want to understand the cowardice of Jim Jordan. tv.apple.com/us/movie/sur...

Surviving Ohio State - Apple TV

Bravely told by the student-athletes and others who concealed their trauma for years, this film tells the story of the male victims of Dr. Richard Str…

tv.apple.com

C’mon España, do that thing you do. You know the one. That thing where you score more than the other team scores.

If your position is that Jews control everything, congratulations, you have the same view the Nazis had.

My man looks like the glowing upright pillar in Tuck’s man balls tanner.

Kevin M. Kruse@kevinmkruse.bsky.social · last mo.

I try not to overdo this bit but ... my man is begging for it. Let's go.

This, it would seem, is an explanation for why Zelenskyy agreed with Syrskyi on axing Fedorov. The politics of popularity. Unfortunate, really. Zelenskyy has been remarkable. He’ll eventually get the Nobel Peace Prize, if only he doesn’t fear being Churchilled.

UNITED24 Media@united24media.com · last mo.

⚡️ Protests continue across Ukraine for a second day following the abrupt firing of Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov.

Yet another Kalshi offering that serves no legitimate economic purpose. It's not possible to make a rational bet on this without material non-public information. It's a market solely for fraud by both regulators and corporate insiders, and everyone connected to it in any way should go to prison.

Kalshi Will Offer Sports-Style Betting on Drug Trial Results

Kalshi Inc. is expanding in biotechnology by offering wagers on the outcomes of clinical trials and regulatory decisions, giving traders a more direct way to bet on key industry catalysts.

bloomberg.com

Dear god, can you just imagine it: tech execs fearing for their lives: being killed in their cars; pursued & kidnapped. Tortured and abused in concentration camps. Sent to hell hole prisons in foreign countries. Oh wait. That’s not Tech execs, that what ICE is doing to citizens & legal immigrants.

The Wall Street Journal@wsj.com · last mo.

Mounting opposition to AI has given rise to a surge of violent rhetoric, threats against people and property. The phenomenon has tech companies increasing security budgets, hiring armed guards and advising employees to hide corporate logos.

The Dept of Commerce has placed a rule on the regulatory agenda to amend its Section 504 regulations so they “conform with the strict causation standard… and remove ambiguous provisions animated by a theory of disparate-impact liability.” The Coming Assault on Disability Rights

The coming assault on disability rights

Admininstration is building a house of cards to justify its attack on disability rights. Blog describes the legal fictions supporting it

convergeaccessibility.com

“…during his presidential term…” Proof that Trump is planning to run again,

WarTranslated (Dmitri)@wartranslated.bsky.social · last mo.

Trump stated that Putin is ready to reach a deal in the near future. He also claimed that the war between Russia and Ukraine could end during his presidential term.

✈️🇺🇦🇫🇷 Two Mirage 2000 fighter jets with Ukrainian pilots trained in France flew over Paris during the parade.

Dear Maine: Susan Collins voted for this.

Reuters@reuters.com · last mo.

Security camera footage obtained from local businesses showed individuals who are believed to be U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers surrounding a car and pulling the driver onto the street, in events connected to the fatal shooting of a man in a coastal town in Maine on July 13.

Meanwhile, US mainstream corporate media are ignoring the fact that Trump is 99.9% “gone”.

Shipwreck@shipwreck75.bsky.social · last mo.

“Khamenei is gone, the son is 90% gone,” Trump added. iranintl.com/en/202607132514

This is the stupidest conspiracy theory going. Nobody knows the ruZZians like the Ukrainians, and if Putin could pull this off in UKR, Zelenskyy would have been dead three years ago. ruZZia assassinates people in Europe, the US, lots of places, but not in UKR.

Phillips OBrien@phillipspobrien.bsky.social · last mo.

People spreading completely unfounded rumours about the Russians poisoning/assassinating Sen Graham in Ukraine are doing the Ukrainians a big disservice, as it means that the Ukrainians could not protect a US Senator on an official trip.

Indeed. We are not forcing upon Graham the memory of him being a villain, a coward, and a malignant presence in the country; that was the legacy he chose again and again. He earned our contempt, as has everyone else on his path.

Nicholas Grossman@nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · last mo.

Lindsey Graham spent the last decade of his life in public service as a US Senator, trying hard to be remembered as an enemy of the Constitution who worked to destroy American democracy and exhibited occasional signs that he knew why that was bad but kept doing it anyway. I will honor his choice.

With Kegsbreath steadily cashiering competent military brass, Ceaușescu’s fate seems an increasingly unlikely analogy for trump’s fate. But we can remind ourselves that plenty of trump’s judicial appointments are defying him, so maybe….

David Waldman@kagrox.bsky.social · last mo.

I mean, they *probably* won’t Ceaușescu him. Right? Probably. cbs4local.com/news/nation-...

This is how it should be done. For law breakers w/massive financial resources to get piddling civil fines is insulting. They almost always get fines that are little more than rounding errors or petty cash. The small price of doing business. A risk of fines that could impoverish them is justice.

Hoodlum 🇺🇸@nothoodlum.bsky.social · last mo.

BANKRUPT HIM!

A long-term, persistent problem that @sound-transit.bsky.social has been incapable of solving. Thousands in the middle of Seattle’s morning commute. Bus lines were changed to purposely funnel commuter from north & south onto the 1 Line, so finding a bus into downtown from burbs is…a mess.

The compromise I'm willing to make here is calling them Strasserites: but that requires understanding that this is a disease specific *to* the left: hating liberals more than fascists, obsessed with defeating liberalism, while believing an alliance with "working-class" fascist fans is possible.

Sean T. Collins@seantcollins.com · 2mo ago

I don't know what to call the specific political tendency represented by Ryan Grim, Ken Klippenstein, Matt Stoller, Michael Tracey, Glenn Greenwald, Matt Taibbi, and Zaid Jilani, mostly because words sort of fail, but it isn't "the Left."

The big Western defence corps are going to be unhappy if this transpires. Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, Mitsubishi, MBDA are going to be exposed for their overburdened & thus highly profitable production lines if UKR demonstrates how much more rapidly, efficiently & cost-effectively they can be built

Giorgi Revishvili@revishvili.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Trump to Zelenskyy: “We are gonna give you a license to make Patriots. This way he can't complain that we are not giving him enough. Make them yourself.” 1/

And regrettably, even best possible Democratic hat trick coming out of 2028 and holding power for a generation is unlikely to solve this most fundamental of problems.

Rachel Bitecofer@rachelbitecofer.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Remember kids, We’re collapsing into a lawless, fascist autocracy because Americans are raised to be legitimately stupid about civics.