Keith Laughlin
@spike2069.bsky.social
Retired after 40 years of policy advocacy in Washington, DC. Interests include politics, US roots music between 1920 & 1969 and the Detroit Tigers.
Zelenskyy might be saving our democracy. The mad genius is bombing Russian data centers linked to FAKE NEWS bot farms. Without them, Putin’s midterm influence will accidentally fall from a 30th floor window. I 💙 Ukraine 🇺🇦
The major platforms—Facebook, YouTube, and X—are all refusing to show the trailer for the upcoming documentary that eviscerates the ridiculous pest Elon Musk. So I guess we have to do our part to make sure it is seen. www.youtube.com/watch?v=eY_8...
Musk | Official Trailer | Bleecker Street
YouTube video by Musk
youtube.com
This serves as advertisement for Alex Gibney’s documentary, Musk, opening October 9. Pass it on.
The Major Social Media Platforms Are All Rejecting Paid Ads for Alex Gibney’s ‘Musk’ (Exclusive)
YouTube, TikTok and Meta have all turned down the trailer for the Oct. 9 doc, citing “political” content. X won't even take Bleecker Street's calls. The distributor is appealing.
hollywoodreporter.com
🇨🇦🍁 BREAKING: During his speech today, Donald Trump recounted helping save Titanic victims: “I saved more people than anybody, many people, the best people. I said, ‘Turn left, Captain. Very simple. Very easy.’ He didn’t listen. I know icebergs. Nobody knows icebergs better than me.”
Oh, honey . . . You place your children in the custody of priests, pastors, and youth pastors, a demographic proven most likely to molest children. You are *not* protecting and nurturing your children—you're endangering them. And shamelessly lying about Islam and feminism isn't going to change that.
Just got a text from Ken Paxton: "One of my least favorite things is asking for money, but I'm desperate. Talarico is flooding TV. We must do this."
The vandalism and desecration of the White House isn't just vanity and it's not trivial. It's caesarism, as in literally what Julius Caesar did to the symbolic architecture of civic republicanism. Our national iconography matters and allowing the disfiguring of it to persist is a substantive harm.
Normally I just appreciatively read @jamellebouie.net 's columns-sharable video content just isn't my bag. But this is a very, very, very trenchant piece of commentary that captures a lot of how I increasingly understand the disjunction between the commentary environment and on-the-ground politics.
The pundits have completely lost the plot
YouTube video by Takes™ by Jamelle Bouie
youtube.com
If Jared Kushner paid €110m to buy an island in Albania that has no fresh water from a guy who did not own it, it would help explain why his negotiations with Iran on behalf of the US have not been entirely successful
Shibley Telhami@stelhami.bsky.social · 4mo agoBusinessman who sold land for Kushner resort in Albania suspected of faking the deeds www.reuters.com/world/europe...
Musk and Zuck and Thiel and Altman and the rest are some of the unhappiest people to ever live, and they all seem willing to destroy the world in their search for just a moment of contentment. Not great for the rest of us.
Patrick Meighan@patsweetpat.bsky.social · 6mo ago"They think they can achieve happiness if they just leave the earth or leave society or find an immortality potion." Not to get all spiritual, but this is an excellent description of hell. They're in literal hell.
The massive Orban defeat should prompt Dems to align themselves more firmly with anti-fascist and pro-democracy forces abroad. There's a powerful link to be drawn between the celebrations in Budapest and the confrontations with ICE in Minneapolis. 1/ (new piece) newrepublic.com/article/2090...
Trump’s Humiliation in Orbán Defeat Stunner Is Only Just Beginning
For Viktor Orbán’s epic loss in Hungary to have real meaning in America, Democrats and liberals need to proclaim themselves part of the global anti-authoritarian movement.
newrepublic.com
Regardless of the cost, Trump's ballroom must be torn down as soon as a Democrat is sworn in as president. If we can spend $1 billion+ per day to bomb iran, we can find the money to repair his vandelism. In fact, the entire White House must be restored to its state before his second inauguration.
Just as a thought experiment, would the Republican Party prefer to have the votes of those who benefit from high gas prices or those who are forced to pay the higher price at the pump?
The part of this story that no one is talking about yet is that Trump has done everything in his power to increase U.S. dependence on petroleum. We should be trying to insulate our economy from disruptions in the Middle East.
Turns out lawlessness is not a winning strategy. See you at Nuremberg 2.0
Kyle Griffin@kylegriffin1.bsky.social · 8mo agoBREAKING: KRISTI NOEM IS OUT AT DHS. TRUMP SAYS HE'S REPLACING HER WITH SEN. MARKWAYNE MULLIN.
Trump illegally imposed billions in tariffs (taxes) on U.S. corporations. Much of those costs were passed onto consumers. The corporations might get their money back. You never will.
As much as possible Democrats need to make it clear that they will challenge every corrupt deal, try to abrogate every contract that furthers blatantly unjust & illegal policies, & cancel every vanity project & expansion of authoritarianism, so that businesses will not facilitate Trumpist governance
Dana Houle@danahoule.bsky.social · 8mo agoJuniors’ Trump, Lutnick, Ellison, & probably several others all need to be made so poor that the only clothing they can afford is a bankruptcy barrel.
BREAKING: DOJ to investigate Supreme Court for mortgage fraud.
Josh Marshall: Corporations moved decisively in 2025 to get on the MAGA bandwagon. But there's a major public backlash brewing against Trump, and those companies will have to bear some consequences.
CEOs Joined Trump’s Corruption. It Will Soon Be Time for Consequences.
I mentioned the other day that the insider D.C. sheets are helpful...
talkingpointsmemo.com
It’s hard to believe a president would time an illegal military attack to distract the public’s attention, but today is the statutory deadline for DOJ to release its report on the Epstein file production. Maybe it is just a coincidence.
Might have been better to say nothing rather than do a Susan Collins imitation.
Eric Michael Garcia@ericmgarcia.bsky.social · 10mo agoPress call with Chuck Schumer says he has been talking with his caucus "I've been talking to so many members of my caucus today. Everybody is very, very just totally, totally, totally troubled."