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bmaz.bsky.social
bmaz
@bmaz.bsky.social
Criminal defense, civil rights, and occasionally civil, trial lawyer. Former Emptywheel legal writer, husband, father and generally cranky observateur. Lifetime F1 fan.
People need to quit calling Fetterman a Democrat. He is not.
February 8, 2026 at 7:05 PM
Reposted by bmaz
Europeans are pushing to hold Jeffrey Epstein's creepy pals, including billionaires like Elon Musk, accountable. The U.S.? Not so much.
Europe is holding its Epstein creeps accountable. Why can’t we? | Will Bunch
www.inquirer.com
February 8, 2026 at 6:18 PM
Reposted by bmaz
really interesting, politically astute & convincing argument here for advancing public health by shifting the goal from “life expectancy,” which lacks policymaker traction, to a barometer of “basic needs met” — by my brother the doctor:

jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
To Improve US Life Expectancy, a New North Star Is Needed
This Viewpoint discusses a new approach to life expectancy by focusing on basic needs met.
jamanetwork.com
February 8, 2026 at 5:18 PM
Reposted by bmaz
As a totally anecdotal measure of how normies are fed up: I’m on a peloton Super Bowl ride right now where 80 people are riding with #AbolishICE as their leaderboard tag
February 8, 2026 at 3:19 PM
Reposted by bmaz
As @benjaminwittes.lawfaremedia.org points out, @lawfaremedia.org now employs more journalists in Kyiv than the Washington Post.

It's a remarkable observation, and a sad one for the Post and its readers.

But with your support, Lawfare will continue to cover Ukraine, from Ukraine... (1/4)
February 7, 2026 at 5:37 PM
@petetoemmes.bsky.social @jimwhitegnv.bsky.social Robot cleaning near Coke machine.
February 7, 2026 at 6:03 PM
Wow, Francesca Lolabridgida.
February 7, 2026 at 4:17 PM
Reposted by bmaz
🤔

Day One was a year ago. Trump's always blamed Biden, said none of this would have happened with him in charge. How's it going?
Ukrainian Nobel Laureate Oleksandra Matviichuk has a couple of questions for MAGA Land:

"Why has Trump's year of negotiations been the deadliest for civilians in Ukraine since the full-scale invasion? ... Why did Putin not allow himself such brutal strikes on civilian infrastructure under Biden?"
February 7, 2026 at 2:54 PM
Reposted by bmaz
Concentration camps lead to disease and death.
February 7, 2026 at 3:14 PM
Reposted by bmaz
And don't think I can ignore the dynamic that nearly all of the feds present (so far) are white... and every county employee and cop is black.

The entire episode feels invasive. Pins and needles, and that's just 12 minutes in.
February 6, 2026 at 3:49 PM
Reposted by bmaz
Reviewing video from Fulton County elections raid.

Taken aback by the dismissive & sneering attitude from FBI agents toward the cop politely asking to see the warrant.

Looked him up: He's an immigrant w/ a doctorate in philosophy. His thesis? "Force by police officers toward African Americans."
February 6, 2026 at 3:41 PM
Reposted by bmaz
I have been musing about the hypothesis that the ultimate consequence of SCOTUS's opinion in Trump v. U.S. will be the destruction of the rule of law in the U.S. This gift article helps to explain why, in part by emphasizing the evisceration of the Dept. of Justice.

www.nytimes.com/2026/02/07/u...
Prosecutors Began Investigating Renee Good’s Killing. Washington Told Them to Stop.
www.nytimes.com
February 7, 2026 at 12:44 PM
Reposted by bmaz
Meet Sen. Marsha Blackburn, Tennessee Republican, longtime Washington fixture, and now self-appointed Supreme Court Event Police because apparently attending an award show is now “an ethical crisis.” 
GOP Senator Loses It After Ketanji Brown Jackson Attends 'Far-Left' Grammy Awards
The newest member of the Supreme Court was nominated in the spoken word category for the audio version of her memoir, "Lovely One."
www.huffpost.com
February 7, 2026 at 12:48 PM
Reposted by bmaz
The demise of the CIA World Factbook is “part of a broad war on information being waged by the Trump administration,” @dgraham.bsky.social argues in The Atlantic Daily.
The Trump Administration’s War on Data
A series of recent steps have erased the shared facts that help uphold democracy.
bit.ly
February 7, 2026 at 12:15 PM
Reposted by bmaz
That's pretty cool.
Some more information about the Magdalen 1964 Ball, from the College archives.
It looks like the Rolling Stones played three sets! No wonder they were annoyed.
And it looks like the Star Attraction might have been John Lee Hooker. Wow.
February 7, 2026 at 11:28 AM
Reposted by bmaz
They have so so much hate for a 5-year old in a bunny hat! Unbelievable!
February 7, 2026 at 5:38 AM
Reposted by bmaz
I mean, they're submitting them in all the cases — www.macarthurjustice.org/case/mass-no... — they're right, and it's well explained for people who want to understand. I didn't present it as being persuasive authority to Kyle Duncan and Edith Jones.
February 7, 2026 at 3:56 AM
"MacArthur Justice Center at the Fifth Circuit".

Eh, okay.....?
In an amicus brief submitted by the MacArthur Justice Center at the Fifth Circuit, immigration law scholars explained quite plainly what was going on here: www.macarthurjustice.org/wp-content/u...
February 7, 2026 at 3:53 AM
Hillary Clinton went to the Winter Olympics and never caused anything like this.
American star Alysa Liu overcame a delay en route to the Milano Skating Arena caused by Vice President JD Vance’s motorcade and finished second in the women’s short program at the Olympics team event.

“We almost didn’t make it,” her coach said.
Nothing could stop the U.S. figure skating team. Not even JD Vance’s motorcade.
Alysa Liu and world champion dance team of Madison Chock and Evan Bates have the Americans leading the team event after day one.
www.washingtonpost.com
February 7, 2026 at 2:31 AM
"In a year in which she was nominated for one".

But @maxkennerly.bsky.social is totally right when he notes that Blackburn is really stupid.
Amid the flagrant ethics violations among SCOTUS justices, a U.S. senator is demanding Justice Jackson be investigated for attending the Grammies. In a year in which she was nominated for one.

To be fair, Blackburn is really dumb. And hyper partisan. And rarely acts in good faith.
Marsha Blackburn Demands Probe Of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson For Crime Of 'Attended Grammys'
It's getting harder for any one GOP loon to stand out in a sea of weirdness.
www.wonkette.com
February 7, 2026 at 2:30 AM
Reposted by bmaz
Okay but you have overlooked Justice Jackson's most jarring ethical violation, a galling breach of propriety shared by other totally fair and reasonable Republican targets such as Lisa Cook, Gwynne Wilcox, Carla Hayden, and Ilhan Omar:

She is a Black woman.
Amid the flagrant ethics violations among SCOTUS justices, a U.S. senator is demanding Justice Jackson be investigated for attending the Grammies. In a year in which she was nominated for one.

To be fair, Blackburn is really dumb. And hyper partisan. And rarely acts in good faith.
Marsha Blackburn Demands Probe Of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson For Crime Of 'Attended Grammys'
It's getting harder for any one GOP loon to stand out in a sea of weirdness.
www.wonkette.com
February 7, 2026 at 2:26 AM
Reposted by bmaz
I mean, it is, but you also have people insisting that "abolish ICE" means literally "the entity known as ICE ceases to exist and no one does any part of what it currently does (also CBP)", so I think there unfortunately already is a defund the police danger here
February 7, 2026 at 2:17 AM
Reposted by bmaz
JD Vance is literally that f-ing guy.
JD Vance is a worthless piece of shit. What a jackass. Why is he even there?
American star Alysa Liu overcame a delay en route to the Milano Skating Arena caused by Vice President JD Vance’s motorcade and finished second in the women’s short program at the Olympics team event.

“We almost didn’t make it,” her coach said.
February 7, 2026 at 2:09 AM
Reposted by bmaz
This is at least the third time Vance has inconvenienced large numbers of innocent people on a trip outside the US. I guess it makes sense for an administration that doesn't care about the country's reputation as long as we're feared.
February 7, 2026 at 1:59 AM