Heather Cox Richardson (TDPR)
@hcrichardson.bsky.social
730K followers 7.6K following 1.8K posts
Historian. Author. Professor. Budding Curmudgeon. I study the contrast between image and reality in America, especially in politics.
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Reposted by Heather Cox Richardson (TDPR)
jamellebouie.net
a key thing about vought — and all of these guys — is that they have a totally top down and hierarchical vision of the world. they believe that the cultural changes they hate can be turned off by destroying the federal government because they can’t imagine that they emerged bottom-up in society
thomaszimmer.bsky.social
What he’s railing against is a profound shift in culture, status… He’s obsessed with the idea that America is controlled by a leftist “ruling elite” - but “elite” isn’t defined socio-economically or by political power, it means something like: Getting to define “real America” and who gets to belong.
Reposted by Heather Cox Richardson (TDPR)
adamkinzinger.substack.com
Just a reminder, the layoffs in govt were just done out of spite, not necessity
Reposted by Heather Cox Richardson (TDPR)
50501movement.bsky.social
This is how you’re supposed to treat fascists and their lies.

Media pay attention.
atrupar.com
STEPHANOPOULOS: I didn't insinuate anything. I asked you whether Tom Homan accepted $50k as was heard on an audio tape recorded by the FBI in September 2024. You did not answer the question. Thank you for your time.

VANCE: No, George, I sai--

STEPHANOPOULOS: We'll be right back
Reposted by Heather Cox Richardson (TDPR)
donmoyn.bsky.social
Writing something about ICE and sweet Jesus it is so incredibly dark what they are doing to these cities. We have all seen the videos, but when you wade into the details of their actions, it is extraordinarily bleak.
Reposted by Heather Cox Richardson (TDPR)
ronfilipkowski.bsky.social
Tariff money is not a Trump Regime slush fund. It is tax money deposited into the US treasury and Congress has sole authority over the appropriation of tax dollars.
Reposted by Heather Cox Richardson (TDPR)
mack2114.bsky.social
There can be real repercussions for shifting funding during a government shutdown. Under the Antideficiency Act, enacted to prevent federal agencies from spending money Congress hasn’t appropriated, officials who buck those restrictions face up to two years in prison and up to $5,000 in fines.
Pentagon will pay military troops, Trump says, shifting $8B
The president said Saturday that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has funds available to pay troops on Wednesday.
www.politico.com
Reposted by Heather Cox Richardson (TDPR)
apoorvanyt.bsky.social
The Trump administration on Saturday scrambled to rescind layoffs of hundreds of CDC scientists who were mistakenly fired on Friday night in what appeared to be a substantial procedural lapse.

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/11/h...
Trump Administration Is Bringing Back Scores of C.D.C. Experts Fired in Error
www.nytimes.com
Reposted by Heather Cox Richardson (TDPR)
fernmonkey.bsky.social
My friend Sascha is a professional musician and he's lost a viola bow on the way to Heathrow. Please signal boost to help him get it back.
Lost viola bow on the way from Honor Oak Station to Heathrow Terminal 2. The bow slid from its bow case somewhere along the way, possibly on the train. TFL contacted already.
It weighs 68.2 grams and has got a stamped DODD next to the frog. If any info on this, please pm me.
Reposted by Heather Cox Richardson (TDPR)
anthonylfisher.bsky.social
Politico is recommending a column by a guy who literally blogged for Richard Spencer's original alt-right site--but who has since been rehabilitated as a very serious political commentator--on why we need to bring back "internet gatekeepers."
Reposted by Heather Cox Richardson (TDPR)
gregdelawie.bsky.social
Unpaid soldiers at a food bank is on-brand for the Republicans, who thinks our vets are "suckers and losers" in Trump's words.
Reposted by Heather Cox Richardson (TDPR)
timothysnyder.bsky.social
Please join me in a new campaign to help protect Ukrainians in a very special way. My Ukrainian friends chose to call this campaign Freedom is Action. They are making an important point. One way to find our own courage is to act in support those who are showing it
snyder.substack.com/p/freedom-is...
Freedom is Action: A Campaign for Ukraine
A fundraiser for life-saving drone-jamming cars and trucks
snyder.substack.com
Reposted by Heather Cox Richardson (TDPR)
taniel.bsky.social
4️⃣ OK, I'll do a fourth because why not: There's a ballot measure in Olympia, Washington, to enshrine a worker's "bill of rights" into local law — including increasing the minimum wage and setting up new labor protections.
Reposted by Heather Cox Richardson (TDPR)
taniel.bsky.social
3⃣ There's a ballot measure in New York City to change the timing of future mayoral elections — to even-years. That could also change the timing *of the mayoral term being elected next month,* which is to say Mamdani's if he wins. I explained here: boltsmag.org/new-york-cit...
Reposted by Heather Cox Richardson (TDPR)
taniel.bsky.social
2️⃣ Every seat is up in VA & NJ's lower chambers, but there's also a 3rd chamber with majority at play, at least on paper: Minnesota's Senate is now 34-33 Dem with 2 vacancies to be filled in November. Democrats favored to defend a blue-leaning seat and keep chamber, but still worth watching.
Reposted by Heather Cox Richardson (TDPR)
taniel.bsky.social
1️⃣ We don't talk much about COUNTY EXECUTIVE races, but a bunch of swing counties in Pennsylvania are holding theirs.

In 2021, the GOP flipped the executive’s office in Erie County for the first time in decades; Dems now competing to flip it back. Meanwhile Dems defending Lehigh & Northampton.
Reposted by Heather Cox Richardson (TDPR)
taniel.bsky.social
need Sunday reading? explore what's on the ballot next month!

I put together the 180+ key races you should know about, across 32 states.

so explore, & find the ones that interest you the most, here: boltsmag.org/whats-on-the...

and let me highlight three under-radar races, in 🧵 below. ⬇️
Reposted by Heather Cox Richardson (TDPR)
ronfilipkowski.bsky.social
That is different from what the admin said. They claimed it was coming out of DOD R&D funds. Tariff money cannot be touched by the Trump Regime without congressional approval.
Reposted by Heather Cox Richardson (TDPR)
markjacob.bsky.social
JD Vance blames Chuck Schumer for the fact that the White House mistakenly laid off key public health officials, including those dealing with measles and ebola.
The Trump regime's message is: We demand total power, but we're not responsible for anything.
atrupar.com
BRENNAN: CBS confirmed the Trump administration rescinded the layoffs of CDC scientists. Some were involved with the federal measles response. How does a mistake like this happen?

VANCE: The govt shutdown inevitably leads to some chaos. It happened because of Schumer

B: But this was a WH decision
Reposted by Heather Cox Richardson (TDPR)
leahlitman.bsky.social
The "plaintiffs" seeking to dismantle the Voting Rights Act (in a case this week at SCOTUS) include:

-a member of the "Trumpettes," a group of women who ardently support for the president
-a retiree who said he didn’t remember signing up to be involved in a lawsuit.

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/12/u...
One woman made national news when she protested the Covid-19 vaccine at her local City Council. Another is a member of the Trumpettes, a group of women united in their ardent support for the president. A third is a retired grocery salesman who said he didn’t remember signing up to be involved in a lawsuit.

The three are among the 12 Louisiana voters at the center of a case set to be heard by the Supreme Court on Wednesday that could gut what remains of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the landmark civil-rights-era legislation.

In January 2024, the group filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Louisiana’s congressional district map, arguing state lawmakers had discriminated against them as white voters by impermissibly taking race into account when they drafted the map after the 2020 census.

Since then, they’ve been referred to in court filings merely as the “non-African-American” voters.
hcrichardson.bsky.social
Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?
Reposted by Heather Cox Richardson (TDPR)
luckytran.com
So now the Administration are saying that the mass firing of CDC scientists, including many responsible for preventing outbreaks, was an “error” and many will be brought back.

Whether by intention or incompetence, dismantling public health will kill people.
Reposted by Heather Cox Richardson (TDPR)
brendannyhan.bsky.social
"Look at the picture... One of these is a member of a private militia that supports the President and was involved in a violent effort to overturn the election, the other is an agent of the state. Can you tell the difference?" donmoynihan.substack.com/p/purge-merg...
Reposted by Heather Cox Richardson (TDPR)
50501movement.bsky.social
“CDC is over. It was killed. This administration only knows how to break things. They have made America at risk for outbreaks and attacks by nefarious players. People should be scared,” said Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, former director of the CDC’s National Center on Immunization and Respiratory Diseases
"CDC is over": RFK Jr. lays off over 1,000 employees in Friday night massacre
Amid the ongoing shutdown, the HHS secretary wiped out entire offices that investigate disease outbreaks, manage infectious disease responses and collect data.
www.msnbc.com
Reposted by Heather Cox Richardson (TDPR)
ronfilipkowski.bsky.social
The people who want violent protests to happen are Trump, Stephen Miller, Kristi Noem, Pete Hegseth, Tom Homan, and other senior appointees in his admin. They are doing everything they possibly can to provoke people to violence and it is obvious that is what they hope for daily.