If Dem ads write themselves: turn power over to people who *will* rein in the president

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 3d ago

Cornyn: "There's nothing we could do to rein in the president"

Again and again the GOP is clear: Women and girls are disposable and interchangeable (So violence against them doesn’t really matter)

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 3d ago

NN: The abuse allegations against Rep. Max Miller -- Moreno says he should resign, but President Trump disagrees. Do you think Miller should step down? REP. JIMMY PATRONIS: No. I agree with the president. This is a family fight. Unfortunately, divorces are messy. There are two sides to every story.

Historian of abolition here 💯Garrison always called it the slaveholders rebellion, that’s the correct term. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/02/o...

Opinion | The ‘Civil War’ Is a Lie. Let’s Call It the ‘Slaveholders’ Rebellion’ Again. (Gift Article)

To face our own history, we must be honest about it.

nytimes.com

Let’s be clear: the concessions they’re looking for are just for Blanche to put in writing that the president, his family, and their businesses won’t have an eternal freedom to cheat on their taxes. That’s all (and apparently that’s too much).

Phil Lewis@phillewis.bsky.social · last wk.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Trump says he may pull Blanche's nomination for attorney general, looking to avoid concessions to holdout Republicans.

Being a union organizer (more like 90 years ago but close enough)

Revan@revan.eurosky.social · last wk.

Enough “what would you do on the commune questions” If you got sent back 100 years and were given your grandparent’s job, what are you doing?

I've been seeing a lot of people responding to this with "there ought to be a law," but importantly, we haven't needed a law for this sort of thing because no prior president wanted to be known as a leader who would literally kill people in their hour of need for not voting for him

Seth Masket@smotus.bsky.social · last wk.

This is honestly one of the most shocking images coming out of this administration and that’s saying something

Todd Blanche‘s confirmation vote may be off for this morning, but he still has an obligation to produce documents from the Epstein files today.

Joyce White Vance@joycewhitevance.bsky.social · 2w ago

Judge Sullivan has given acting AG Todd Blanche 5 days to produce unredacted versions of some Epstein Files documents & proof that the reasons given for making the redactions were true. Here’s what’s significant about that: joycevance.substack.com/p/an-importa...

The only people who think AI can replace historians are people who have no idea what history actually is

Salon.com@salon.com · last wk.

Trump and Musk are both suddenly very concerned with historical accuracy — one with Smithsonian signage, the other with a new version of the Odyssey. @sonjadrimmer.bsky.social traces the connections to AI behind both moves, and why the technology can't actually get the past right.

“The fundamental weakness of Western civilization is empathy” — Elon Musk to Joe Rogan, 28 February 2025

Esther Schindler@estherschindler.bsky.social · 2w ago

"Evil, I think, is the absence of empathy." --Captain G. M. Gilbert, army psychologist assigned to watching defendants at the Nuremberg trials

Help! As I learn to live with my health constraints, I’m interested in exploring speech-to-text software for (at least some of) my writing. Any experience, suggestions, tips, recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

Help! As I learn to live with my health constraints, I’m interested in exploring speech-to-text software for (at least some of) my writing. Any experience, suggestions, tips, recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

“Most transparent administration ever”

Freedom of the Press Foundation@freedom.press · 2w ago

The Pentagon wants to block FOIA access to all “controlled unclassified information.” If successful, hundreds of millions of documents could be hidden from journalists and the public — potentially forever. Read more in our secrecy newsletter, The Classifieds.

one of the best defenses of history and what it means to people that I have heard in a long time, probably ever.

KEW@kidadaewilliams.com · 2w ago

'If you erase it, we will replace it,' Rep. Mfume says of Black history at Smithsonian museums www.pbs.org/newshour/pol... "We will not allow that to happen," Mfume said. "Unless you find a way to kill all of us and walk over our bodies to change history."

‘“Let’s try this again,” Jiang quipped, welcoming the crowd. The White House press corps, she noted, “always have a follow-up.”’ If only that were true, especially when their questions are answered with blatant lies that are left unchallenged. What an embarrassing farce of an event.

Trump returns to correspondents' dinner for a rambling, insult-filled speech 3 months after shooting

President Donald Trump has returned to the stage of the rescheduled White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.

apnews.com

Given the wildfires in Europe and Canada, I just want to repeat one of the best pieces of advice I’ve ever seen about quick (but not instant) evacuations: Grab your laundry hamper. Those are the clothes you actually wear.

Thomas Lecaque@tlecaque.bsky.social · 2w ago

The forest fires in France are horrifying. It's everywhere in the news, you can smell it, it's closing big chunks of the country. It's everywhere.

He’s not president, as the phrase goes, of “these United States” - just those specific ones.

Eric Rauchway@rauchway.bsky.social · 2w ago

sure would like to revive the concept that elected and appointed officials are "public servants"

Even in July 2026, I’m stunned this is being treated so far as just another story of more of the same. Not to mention that it includes specific information about a cabinet secretary perjuring himself before Congress. Many people should be impeached/fired/forced to resign. Many people.

Jennifer N. Victor@jenvictor.bsky.social · 2w ago

Today, in violations of the rule of law that would be sufficient for impeachment in any other American presidency but aren't in this one because pathological partisan loyalty has rotted the constitutional order:

Today, in violations of the rule of law that would be sufficient for impeachment in any other American presidency but aren't in this one because pathological partisan loyalty has rotted the constitutional order:

tony romm@tonyromm.bsky.social · 2w ago

NEW: In a stunning admission, the Trump administration admitted in court documents that it canceled billions in energy grants to states "based solely" on politics -- and whether that state was represented by Democrats and backed Harris in 2024. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/24/b...

Nuremberg, PA seems the apt location for the huge war crimes tribunal we’re going to need

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 2w ago

Rep. Michael McCaul urges Trump to completely destroy Iran and then "negotiate from the rubble"

Ossoff: "The culture of this administration is that arrogance and deceit are virtues"

A reminder that you absolutely do not have to watch any video that comes across your feed (and that if you have autoplay enabled, this is a good opportunity to turn it off - it’s pretty easy to hit play for any video you actually want to see)

Sami Schalk@drsamischalk.bsky.social · 2w ago

Police murdered a Black man in the street in Madison WI today. Shot point blank in the head while on the ground, tased, and surrounded by four cops. It looks like an execution. Multiple videos circulating online. Things are about to get very bad here.

So earlier I suggested his illiteracy might confirm the allegation that he didn’t take the SATs himself. Further support comes from his innumeracy (he seems to believe 4+12=40). (To be clear: I don’t really care about anyone’s SAT scores, but I do care about dishonesty and cheating.)

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 2w ago

Trump: "The Democrats are gonna terminate the filibuster as soon as they have a chance and then they're gonna approve DC and Puerto Rico as states. They get 4 more senators, 12 more congressmen, like 40 electoral votes ... you don't want to see me cry."

I believe that Mary Trump alleged that her aunt took the SATs for her uncle. Given his quite limited vocabulary and the emphasis the test used to place on what were literally often referred to as “SAT words,” this is potentially persuasive evidence for her claim.

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 2w ago

Trump: "It was a word made up by the Democrats -- 'affordability'"

The Boston Red Sox have won 15 consecutive games.

Remember when NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya said there were no banned words and NIH Program Officers were making them up? Here’s the proof he lied: apnews.com/article/cali... I know, Jay Bhattacharya lying is not news. But it’s still really validating to have the admission.

White House admits it used keywords to kill billions worth of California research grants

Federal agencies that terminated more than a thousand research grants at the University of California last year admitted that they used keywords related to diversity, gender, vaccine hesitancy and COV...

apnews.com

He doesn’t know the difference between “golden ” and “gilded”

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 2w ago

Trump: "Truly, it's the golden age of America"

He doesn’t know the difference between “golden ” and “gilded”

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 2w ago

Trump: "Truly, it's the golden age of America"

Meta is pure evil, in case this somehow hasn’t occurred to you yet

Scott Horton@robertscotthorton.bsky.social · 2w ago

Mark Zuckerberg's assistant at Meta, Josh Felker, who was responsible for Meta's "digital experiences for kids," was arrested after admitting he tried to sext a 13-year-old during an undercover sting. nypost.com/2026/07/20/u...

Hungarian President Sulyok has signed the 17th Amendment to the constitution therefore removing himself from office. It’s been amazing to watch. Orban's Fidesz has been falling apart before our eyes. 🧵

What a pathetic, miserable distortion of what education is supposed to be about.

NPR@npr.org · 3w ago

If an undergraduate program's graduates don't earn more than workers who never went to college, that program could be cut off from federal student loans. But is a degree just about making more money?