"One's understanding of truth is inversely proportional to one's certainty of it." Al G Rhythm "A society that cannot structurally limit economic inequality (greed) cannot flourish."
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Here's the video Trump just posted to Truth Social, with the claim that 11 people aboard the boat were killed. There is zero evidence of self-defense here. Looks like a massacre of civilians at sea. Even if they had drugs aboard, that's not a capital offense.
I'm aware that the President likes to go on television and beg me to call him to ask for troops. I find it strange, as Chicago doesn't want troops. I also have experience asking him for assistance – just to have the rug pulled up from underneath me when execution meets reality.
Drug trafficking is not a capital crime; it doesn’t carry a death sentence. I genuinely cannot think of anything under U.S. law that would permit premeditated government assassination of people suspected of drug trafficking.
They wanted to kill some Drug Guys for Fox News and they did. Simple as.
sure does feel like every time I see this man in front of a microphone lately my response is “thank fuck someone besides us is finally saying it”
This is important.
🤔
Trump illegally killing drug dealers, illegally unleashing the national guard and military against citizens, illegally detaining and kidnapping immigrants, threatening to end mail-in voting, and urging gerrymandering. Folks, what would you call these actions if another leader did them?
Personally I think the nation would be a better place if the President didn’t just choose to kill whoever he wants without any due process. Republicans and I are different that way.
Epstein Files and the Economy are Trump's two biggest weaknesses. Dems should be all over it.
RFK Jr. has long been a proven liar. That’s how he got this job.
genuine question - if this is permitted, can texas now send its troops to illinois to arrest, say, legislators who refuse to form a quorum? what about women seeking abortions?
oh i forgot about hochman. that's probably the nazi who wrote this www.liberalcurrents.com/missouri-sen...
supreme irony that the party of lincoln is now the party of taney
oh this is straightforward white nationalist agitprop
There are people with swastika tattoos that are subtler than this
Essayli: “find me one” FOX NEWS: shows someone being interrogated by the military
"He is focused on looting and self-aggrandizement. He has discovered what the presidency is worth: Not millions of dollars, but forking billions. Why would the Trump family let go of this asset?"
Very informative!
Via "One First," my quick stab at the legal authority President Trump will likely claim allows him to deploy un-federalized Texas National Guard troops to Illinois; why such a deployment without Illinois's consent *ought* to be unlawful; and the options Illinois will have for litigating that issue:
The Supreme Court has original jurisdiction for disputes between states (meaning they can actually file the lawsuit there, rather than have it go up on appeal). This would be a good time for Illinois to utilize it.
Democratic governments should start raising independent anti-Trump armies.
Not going to stop thinking about the comment that Trump is sending Confederate armies to occupy Northern cities. How much more is there to say? That’s not a “distraction.” It’s what the white supremacists who tried to secede have wanted for over a century. It’s not a distraction to them at all.
Evergreen
All 39 of them.
Definitely a lost battle under this admin, but if we do eventually return to normalcy, would really appreciate a hard requirement that every announced use of force by the state be accompanied by stating the authority under which it occured
Trump Isn't Dead...He's Just Decomposing, Like His Presidency: Breaking Down The Press Conference Lev Parnas and Allison Gill join me following Trump's "press conference" to separate the facts from the lies and warn America about his authoritarian endgame. open.substack.com/pub/thelefth...
I feel like in the 1980’s/90’s this would be a major plot point in a Tom Clancy novel, and the operation would be carried out as an off-book, illegal black op, with various characters trying to cover it up lest they face congressional hearings. Now the President just announces it.
Also. “Trump can kill anyone he calls traffickers” is additionally outrageous when we have mountains of evidence they lie about who’s a trafficker!
So he… wasn’t armed www.denverpost.com/2025/09/02/a...
Worse, stuff like this is social media content now.
This will register as an apology to most but a middle finger among judges. He said, “I simply did not understand that orders on the emergency docket were precedent." He's right; SCOTUS is wrong for pretending otherwise. I suspect he has a trick up his sleeve which will use this new understanding.
this time, everyone who told him no is gone, but he's incapable of doing the work to consolidate power before playing dictator
I'm still working this through, but in terms of how the admin approaches authoritarianism, I think we see a similar inability to pass the marshmallow test in this admin as we did last time. in trump 1, he folded often because people would tell him no and he wouldn't have the focus to override them.
Trump II never even tried to build the mass consent necessary for authoritarian consolidation, they just assumed it was there because they won the popular vote
“The great underreported story of our time is Russian compromise of the Republican Party…It's like Churchill's party became the pro-Nazi party.” @stuartpstevens.bsky.social talks Russia and the Republican Party with @timmiller.bsky.social on The Bulwark Podcast:
I can't even summon the energy to be mad at these guys anymore, they're just the wrong people for this moment. Any Dem who wants to be a leader has to be for systematically breaking the right wing's power in this country. Tell me you'll nationalize car dealerships so I know you get it
RIP the ham sandwich saw.
America: Judge, jury, executioner
Today would have been the 50 day deadline Trump set back in July, but Putin is still attacking Ukraine and Trump is still too afraid to upset him.
REP. MCGOVERN: “What’s going on is Republicans are terrified — And I think we all know why. The president doesn’t want to release all the files.”
Jesus Christ, man -- this ain't it.
40% of Republicans think the COVID vaccine killed more people than the COVID virus. One in four believe that QAnon is real. No matter how far they radicalize, we are told over and over again that the people being rude to them are the problem.
Can you really negotiate with a White House that calls you a domestic extremist group?
Also, Jeffries is propping up a series of dangerous fictions -- Trump sincerely wants to help Americans, legislation is still how we get things done, Trump will work to us to do that -- that only provide cover for Trump. Trump's clearly pushed Congress aside! So say it! And fucking act like it!
So they re-released most of the same shit they gave the GOP binder crew in February? Color me shocked. Never thought I’d say this, but I’m with Massie. Release the rest of the damn Epstein files, not this cherry-picked bullshit.
strange. fabric doesn't normally fall like that across an arm.
“Top men” energy.
Like this is just not acceptable, sorry
Every single Savvy Political Insider™ who pretends that Trump's illegal power grabs are just another version of partisan maneuvering and not a true threat to democratic institutions and the country as a whole:
Trump tough. Trump kill terrorists.
Too bad that in his demented state Trump is unable to produce any evidence of problems in mail in voting.
Beyond the gross immorality and illegality of this, what a waste of money.
well texas has decided it controls corporate law for the nation so i suppose this is the natural next step
“The materials, MOST OF WHICH ARE ALREADY PUBLICLY AVAILABLE, were produced as a result of a congressional subpoena.” Release the Epstein files.* *In full with redactions as necessary to protect the victims. www.politico.com/news/2025/09...
The state of Illinois is conducting intelligence operations against the federal government
I’m heading to MSNBC studio in DC right now. My Uber driver tells me that he and his pals are getting far fewer rides to DC since Trump deployed National Guard troops.
The US military managed to hit one small boat in open water? Wow. How bad must things be that this is something one of the highest ranking US officials publicly brags about.
This is how you do it folks: gov-pritzker-newsroom.prezly.com/gov-pritzker...
When President Trump used 32 U.S.C. § 502(f)(2) in 2020, that was to have out-of-state National Guard troops sent to D.C.—which has no sovereignty of its own. Sending the un-federalized TX National Guard into IL without the latter’s consent raises *serious* Article IV problems that 2020 … didn’t.
“I refuse to accept this is normal.” - JB Pritzker. Amen, governor. Amen.
Two things can be — and are — true here: Bowser is not the champion DC needs in this moment, and The Washington Post has become a Trump rag. A newspaper that actually cared about the city in its name would not publish such an inflammatory, bullshit headline.
Been saying this for months. Messaging is not a buffet. Every time Dem leadership gets gulled into trotting out happy-clappy bipartisan talk because consultants said it polled well, people very reasonably conclude all that talk about Trump threatening democracy must just be disingenuous rhetoric.
To be a political reporter in 2025, you have to be gullible enough to believe that a convicted felon who launched a violent coup attempt is worried about crime. Or you just have to be willing to pretend you’re that gullible. Either way, we deserve better.
really remarkable how clear eyed Pritzker is about all this
“Trump really has an eye for military spectacle!” I say smartly as the soldier lowers my blindfold
I am gradually getting radicalized against the quotidian use of "POTUS." I used to not care or even find it mildly amusing. But it's become a tool of puffery. It makes someone like Rubio think he sounds tough and in the know when he tweets it, and it tends to conflate the man and the office.
There is only one reason Space Command is being moved from Colorado to Alabama: Donald Trump is a petty tyrant who doesn't care about Americans who didn't vote for him.
She said, “Actually."
That Pritzker press conference was... surreal, and I think marks a significant moment of escalation in the constitutional omni-crisis. This was the governor of a state saying plainly the Union itself is being torn apart and his state is being militarily invaded by an authoritarian regime.
Full show: Substack: www.thebulwark.com/p/stuart-ste... YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=vt-7... Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s... Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/3tH3...
Democrats "have to give up on the idea that they're a governing party. They have to give up on the idea that the Republican party is a traditional political party of which you can have some sort of meeting of the minds." @stuartpstevens.bsky.social joins @timmiller.bsky.social:
Cities in Texas with higher violent crime rates last year than Chicago. Houston Corpus Christi Lubbock Amarillo Dallas San Antonio Pasadena This isn't about crime. It's never been about crime.
Note to media: RFK Jr. i not a skeptic. He’s a radical vaccine opponent.
Wait. They're calling this a ship?
guy who posted hysterically during the Jade Helm conspiracy: “let’s not go overboard now”
“well this is certainly a bold departure from political norms!” as they are marched to the gulag
He’s not getting that peace prize. But if there’s one for the highest body count he’s got a great shot.
Trump isn’t going to be happy until he has his own Tiananmen Square. He gets off on watching other people suffer and bleed.
Lots of Congressional and White House staffers wondering where they’ll get their supply now
Pritzker should also be prepared to block roads and cut off water and electricity from buildings occupied by invading troops.
In the coming days, we expect to see what's playing out in LA and DC happen in Chicago. These efforts are not about fighting crime or making communities safer. This is about Donald Trump testing his power and producing political drama to cover up his own corruption.
Hard to do if one is trying to overcompensate for a small dick.
Bitch shot her dog.
Jesus. Regiments from Illinois fought in Texas in 1865. Regiments from Texas do not belong anywhere in Illinois.
god are they doing Clear and Present Danger in Venezuela but Trump can't shut the fuck up about it?
Sorry if this offends, but uh, I would very much prefer it out of state national guardsmen did NOT come to my city. I don’t want Chicago to be used as a political prop for the dumbest people who deeply, deeply, do not give a shit about any of us.
The University of South Carolina's in the top 10 in the new AP college football rankings
“THe mIliTArY HAs NEVer eNGagEd iN DIrEct lAw enFOrCeMEnt oPeRATiOnS HErE iN LA.”
There will not be. The media will fail to report on any of this because it would hurt Trump and they will only help him.
I feel this way about tenured academics, too.
The law is clear, whether you like it or not: Members of Congress have the right to conduct oversight of ICE facilities. No law gives Trump the power to target his chosen political enemies, like @replamonica.bsky.social, simply for doing their jobs and their duties.
The funniest thing about this is Doocy no doubt thought clearing this up would be a softball and instead Trump just launches a new round of conspiracy theories.
Photograph two: 2.52 pm Same place Your taxes are paying for the National Guard to spend the day doing nothing in particular
Photograph one: 9.20 AM Waterfront metro station, Washington DC
Always the next thing, in two weeks, with him and Donald.
the united states has become less predictable, less reliable on the world stage. a big opportunity for beijing.
"We should act like he's not joking... they're gonna try and manufacture some sort of a crisis." @keithellison.bsky.social, one of the only US politicians to predict a Trump win in 2015, agrees that Trump wants to stay in office beyond 2028, as a "dictator." Full intv: zeteo.com/p/keith-elli...