Paul Blumenthal
@paulblumenthal.bsky.social
HuffPost. Reporter covering politics, courts, history and the crisis of democracy. Tips: Email: paulblumenthal@huffpost.com. Signal: PaulBlumenthal.37 Read me: huffpost.com/paul-blumentha…
The best American rock and roll band is Sly and Family Stone. Second best is Funkadelic.
lil miss big boy@lighter.bsky.social · 5d agoPost your hottest music take. Mine is New Order is better than Joy Division.
NEW from me: A senior Trump official is using his govt social media account to attack sitting federal judges, sparking accusations he's putting their safety at risk as judges already face a spike in violent threats. This “puts a bullseye” on them, one judge told me. www.huffpost.com/entry/james-...
Senior Trump Official Using Government Account To Smear Sitting Federal Judges
This “puts a bullseye” on judges already facing a spike in violent threats, warned U.S. District Judge Esther Salas, whose son was killed by a disgruntled litigant.
huffpost.com
Does anyone have a sense of when the alarm starts blaring here? Like when does this cross the line to pain?
Sky Marchini@sky.skymarchini.net · last wk.one thing i'll note here is that we are running US refineries absolutely flat out - 97.5% utilization at most recent read - and we are holding ~steady in the [very low!] inventories of diesel [distillate] and gasoline. one problem - an accident, malfunction, whatever - and that doesn't hold anymore
The best and brightest minds in the Trump administration have come up with a brilliant policy message for the midterms: Increase drug costs for seniors! Let's see how that goes www.wsj.com/health/healt...
Exclusive | Trump Administration to End Medicare Drug Plan Subsidy
Program that held down premiums won’t be renewed for 2027, resulting in higher costs for some seniors.
wsj.com
Jonathan Chait is right: abolish the Senate. Senate malapportionment has always been bad, and it's slated to get worse. It's a great time to begin thinking about how to fix it (and there are fixes that don't involve full abolition).
Jonathan Chait@jonathanbchait.bsky.social · 2w agoAgree with both the piece and Luigi.
Luigi Ray-Montañez@luigi.land · last wk.I think only Millennials should be allowed to use generative AI. Boomers: Too credulous of everything they read/see online. Gen X: Being in leadership positions across society, AI psychosis too risky. Gen Z: Still need to develop their tastes and sense of quality. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/27/o...
This was the week that everyone was introduced to classisicts
NEW: I talked to Dave Wellstone, who MN state Sen. John Hoffman was referring to when he claimed Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.) sent a surrogate to get his endorsement for Craig while he was in the ICU after an assassination attempt. Totally false, says Wellstone. www.huffpost.com/entry/dave-w...
Angie Craig Ally Disputes Claim He Sought Endorsement From Senator In ICU
“This seems like a mix-up of timing and conflating stuff,” Dave Wellstone told HuffPost about Minnesota state Sen. John Hoffman’s claims.
huffpost.com
Was thinking of this when I saw Emily Wilson level the same critique against The Odyssey as critics leveled against Oppenheimer
The whole Mitch McConnell saga is quite silly. The only people who should care if he never steps foot back in the Senate are Republicans. Many senators have taken extended absences for health reasons.
#ELB: “The Supreme Court’s Voting Rights Decision Will Reach Far Beyond Congress” https://electionlawblog.org/?p=157621
The first thing the Voting Rights Act did was expand representation and the local level -- city councils, school boards, county commissions. Now, thousands of seats could be at risk because of the Supreme Court www.huffpost.com/entry/suprem...
The Supreme Court’s Voting Rights Decision Will Reach Far Beyond Congress
Thousands of seats held by Black, Latino and Native officeholders at the local level could be threatened by the court’s decision in Louisiana v. Callais.
huffpost.com
Look I haven't seen the movie yet but it's a little off to complain about an oral tradition mythology being adapted to reflect the needs for meaning in the present.
“The ceasefire with Iran was supposed to end Trump’s slide, but he has found himself incapable of striking a deal to reopen shipping lanes that his war closed. With the war back on and expanding further, it does not appear that Trump has any way out.” @paulblumenthal.bsky.social
Trump Remains In Deep, Deep Trouble
As the Iran war restarts and expands, Trump and Republicans sink in new polls ahead of the midterm elections.
huffpost.com
The reason conservatives are freaking out about the Odyssey is because they saw it as the cultural moment of the summer that would maximize attention and so they are doing kayfabe to turn that attention onto their annoying ideas.
four months later and this still remains true despite many attempts to do so
Paul Blumenthal@paulblumenthal.bsky.social · 5mo agoI think the only difference here is he can't fake open the straight of hormuz
Once again, McConnell being absent from the Senate without resigning is *better for Democrats* than the alternatives. Again, one way you know this is that Senate Democrats are not up in arms about what's going on here.
Steven Beschloss@stevenbeschloss.bsky.social · 2w agoThe longer Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear fails to find out what’s happening or what happened with Mitch McConnell—and act—the more Beshear looks utterly incompetent and weak.
Serious Q: Given that progs on here constantly write long, detailed, searching threads on Atlantic pieces, w/ links and screen caps, why would its editors spend a second reconsidering their editorial conduct? All criticism is seen as proof that the writer is "provocative" and "gets talked about."
Chris Geidner@chrisgeidner.bsky.social · 2w agoThe Atlantic should be ashamed to have published Jamie Kirchick's "DSA is a 'parasite'" screed. Beyond that, though, no one should credit Kirchick's thoughts on DSA or the Dems. He is a bad-faith operator here, undermining those he has always sought to undermine — because he is a neocon.
An excellent idea, and a better next step than Medicare at 55 or "Medicare for all who want it."
Eric Michael Garcia@ericmgarcia.bsky.social · 2w agoAndy Kim suggests a new health care policy: -Enroll every child in Medicaid until the age of 26 www.notus.org/healthcare/a...
The Muppets, Shakira, Burna Boy and a bunch of kids singing. Idk what everyone's complaining about
If true another impeachable offense
Shoe@shoe.bsky.social · 3w agoIt's all fun and games until we gather at the Capitol
The Donald J Trump and John F Kennedy Memorial Strait of Hormuz
