fred
@fdtate.bsky.social
990 followers 690 following 1.8K posts
Just a below average Joe interested in news/politics, sports, music and whatnot. Life's too short to spend it arguing with randos on the Internet.
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Reposted by fred
gregsargent.bsky.social
The conventions of political reporting today are not well equipped to handle this concerted use of pretexts for instrumental purposes and the bottomless bad faith they employ. Grasping the industrial-scale deception at the core of MAGA politics is essential. 6/

newrepublic.com/article/2016...
Reposted by fred
gregsargent.bsky.social
There's a huge gap between what MAGA media is depicting in Portland and what local journos are reporting. The term "provocateurs" is a euphemism. It implies they're doing plucky political theater designed to needle and provoke as opposed to manipulate and deceive. 4/

newrepublic.com/article/2016...
Reposted by fred
gregsargent.bsky.social
This week, MAGA figures claimed Kristi Noem "stared down" violent antifa protesters in Portland. Turns out they were talking mostly about a guy in a chicken suit.

This episode opens a window into how MAGA propaganda works and MSM failure to handle it. 1/

(new piece)
newrepublic.com/article/2016...
MAGA Implodes over Kristi Noem’s “Stare Down” with Man in Chicken Suit
A good New York Times piece on Portland nevertheless demonstrates how the conventions of objective reporting fail to accurately capture the bad faith driving pro-Trump propaganda.
newrepublic.com
Reposted by fred
Reposted by fred
marcelias.bsky.social
🚨NEW: A panel of three federal judges will soon decide whether to block Texas from using its new congressional map in the 2026 election, after a contentious nine-day hearing concluded Friday. www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...
‘We Could Not Have Clearer Facts’: Minority Advocates Say Racial Motive Is Evident As Texas Redistricting Hearing Wraps Up
Read more here.
www.democracydocket.com
Reposted by fred
leahlitman.bsky.social
More judges speak to the press (the NYT) about what a disaster the Supreme Court (specifically the shadow docket) has been - “incredibly demoralizing & troubling”; a “judicial crisis”; a “slap in the face to district courts.” www.nytimes.com/2025/10/11/u...
Excerpts Excerpts
Reposted by fred
Reposted by fred
sherylnyt.bsky.social
BREAKING: Friday night massacre underway at CDC. Doznes of "disease detectives," high-level scientists, entire Washington staff and editors of the MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report) have all been RIFed and received the following notice:
Reposted by fred
carlquintanilla.bsky.social
“.. Inside the White House, top advisers joke that they are ruling Congress with an “iron fist,” according to people who have heard the comments. Steve Bannon, the influential Trump ally, likened Congress to the Duma, the Russian assembly that is largely ceremonial.”

www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
Reposted by fred
wutangforchildren.bsky.social
JB Pritzker put on his bulletproof vest to give Jimmy Kimmel a report from the war torn streets of Chicago
Reposted by fred
reichlinmelnick.bsky.social
My first thought was “wow I hope this guy didn’t give out his name because he could absolutely be charged” and yup, he is correct to stay anonymous.

This man’s account is shocking. His neighbors’ situation is shocking. The entire Chicago raid is shocking.
On the other side was a mom and her 7-year-old daughter, pleading for his help.
"I wasn't planning on letting her stay, but I didn't know what the hell was going on," the man said of his Venezuelan migrant neighbors. But he quickly relented. The little girl was inconsolable and hid under his bed.
"I didn't want them to take her," said the man, who didn't want to be named because he fears he'll be targeted by federal authorities for his actions.
"I gave her my bedroom, and I just told her,
'Just stay there. Don't open, don't, shh, just stay quiet," he recalled telling the mom and daughter as he choked back tears.
Reposted by fred
ashtonpittman.bsky.social
ICE left David, a 17-year-old boy, stranded on the side of Interstate 20 after pulling over his immigrant father, Hector, in Mississippi.

David began running in the scorching sun after the car and watched as it disappeared from sight—soon headed to a Louisiana ICE prison.

Here's their story.
ICE Stranded a 17-Year-Old on I-20 After Arresting His Father. The Mississippi Dad Now Faces Deportation.
A 17-year-old watched as ICE arrested his immigrant father, Hector, on I-20 in June. The family faces mounting legal fees and the risk of deportation.
www.mississippifreepress.org
Reposted by fred
karlykingsley.bsky.social
In a court filing, the White House says it may fire more than 4,000 federal employees amid the government shutdown. That’s thousands of Americans on the unemployment line, just because.
Court filing that states how many people will be fired from which agency
Reposted by fred
cnn.com
CNN @cnn.com · 18h
Authorities said 19 people are dead or missing after a massive blast obliterated a building at a Tennessee explosives facility on Friday. The early morning explosion was felt as far as 15 miles away.

Read more: https://cnn.it/43fSR50
Reposted by fred
gregsargent.bsky.social
Great point from @mjtoma.bsky.social: Millions of us absolutely do see what's happening to the USA.

"We are horrified, shocked, enraged, and ashamed. We are acting, in a thousand ways, to oppose it. This cannot, and will not, be how the United States ends."

newrepublic.com/post/201625/...
Memo to Future Historians: This Is Fascism, and Millions of Us See It
From Chicago to Portland, James Comey to Letitia James, and so much else—this is no longer America.
newrepublic.com
Reposted by fred
thetnholler.bsky.social
😳 800 citations in two years for ignoring the laws in Nevada and @GovBillLee invited this wrecking crew to dig through the capital city www.newschannel5.com/news/elon-mu...
Reposted by fred
premthakker.bsky.social
Huh: TikTok took down my 8-second video featuring this image of Debbie Brockman — the news producer just detained by Trump’s CBP agents — saying it violates the “joy of TikTok”