Frank D. Russo
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Frank D. Russo
@fdrtoday.bsky.social
Attorney, active in politics & public policy half a century starting with JFK & civil rights movement, Ex Publisher California Progress Report & Legal Counsel to Speaker of CA Assembly. Trying to enjoy life in difficult times with music, photography travel
Pinned
I’m a mediator & seek agreement on facts hence my banner at top with another FDR. I also work as an arbitrator where I decide truth amongst “alternative facts.”

With all the news & opinion maybe I should focus more on WHAT SHOULD BE DONE about this “fine mess” we’re in.
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Extra Scrutiny of FEMA Aid to States Has Created a $17 Billion Bottleneck
NYT Gift Article

Layers of review ordered by homeland security secretary Noem have stymied assistance to disaster-struck communities

They falsely accused Biden of delaying aid and now do this

Cover up also
bit.ly/4qcm49M
Extra Scrutiny of FEMA Aid to States Has Created a $17 Billion Bottleneck
www.nytimes.com
February 1, 2026 at 7:40 PM
A not-‘toned down’ Trump regime prepares for ethnic cleansing in Ohio
by Will Bunch
Philadelphia Inquirer

Plan for immigration raids this week on thousands of Haitians in Springfield, Ohio shows nothing has changed

350,000 Haitian refugees slated to lose temporary protected status
bit.ly/4qUos6g
A not-‘toned down’ Trump regime prepares for ethnic cleansing in Ohio
A plan for immigration raids this week on thousands of Haitians in Springfield, Ohio shows that nothing has changed.
bit.ly
February 1, 2026 at 7:27 PM
The White House is the Crisis
Trump Has Overwhelmed Himself
Ezra Klein NYT Gift Article

"This White House and president have treated freneticism as a virtue and discipline as a vice"

A straight line from that change in culture to the tragic killings on the streets of Minneapolis

bit.ly/4rl9upC
Opinion | Trump Has Overwhelmed Himself
www.nytimes.com
February 1, 2026 at 7:20 PM
DOJ misconduct complaint against D.C. federal judge dismissed
WAPO Gift Article

The unusual complaint against Chief Judge James Boasberg, tossed out for lack of evidence, illustrated how Trump officials have ramped up attacks against federal judges

Baseless allegations with no proof
bit.ly/46dufve
DOJ misconduct complaint against D.C. federal judge dismissed
Chief U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg of D.C. was accused of bias by the Justice Department, which then failed to provide evidence against him.
bit.ly
February 1, 2026 at 6:48 PM
The Rot Goes Deeper Than ICE
by Ben Rhodes
NYT Gift Article

A thoughtful piece which goes higher up on the chain of control of ICE and other agencies and inception of problems from 9/11

He doesn't mince words about ICE and lays out the unwinding of policies and structures from 2001

bit.ly/3Mbij6m
Opinion | The Rot Goes Deeper Than ICE
www.nytimes.com
February 1, 2026 at 6:37 PM
Vendetta is the Best Word for What They're Doing
by Emily Bazelon and Rachel Poser
NYT Magazine Gift Article

Kash Patel 's FBI is making America less safe

Blockbuster article based on interviews of multiple current and former employees of the FBI

It's much worse than Hoover

bit.ly/3NzfFI9
Inside Kash Patel’s F.B.I.: Meltdowns, Chaos, Vendettas (Gift Article)
Forty-five current and former employees on the changes they say are undermining the agency and making America less safe.
bit.ly
February 1, 2026 at 4:29 PM
Democrats hit historic high in Fox News Poll as GOP loses ground on key issues
by G. Elliott Morris

A new Fox poll is out with a lot of meat on the bone for analysis. Read this

Trump approval among independents falls to a record low

Issue landscape shifts ahead of 2026 midterms
bit.ly/3ZfUkGe
Democrats hit historic high in Fox News Poll as GOP loses ground on key issues
Plus: Trump's approval among independents falls to a record low, and the issue landscape shifts ahead of 2026. Your weekly political data roundup for February 1, 2026.
bit.ly
February 1, 2026 at 4:06 PM
How Alex Pretti’s Death Became a National Tipping Point
NYT Gift article

Pretti’s reached further into conservative circles that had defended the crackdown, and among independents, who had been willing to look away

Analysis compares this to the killing of George Floyd

Worth a read
bit.ly/4qavUZC
How Alex Pretti’s Death Became a National Tipping Point
www.nytimes.com
February 1, 2026 at 3:59 PM
Rise of the Trump Loyalist
The destruction of the civil service can destroy democracy, too
by Anne Applebaum
Atlantic Gift Article

Anne Applebaum who has lived abroad has seen this before in other failing democracies

bit.ly/3NTfBTG
Rise of the Trump Loyalist
The destruction of the civil service can destroy democracy, too.
bit.ly
February 1, 2026 at 3:45 PM
Trump’s Profiteering Hits $4 Billion
by David D. Kirkpatrick
The New Yorker

Read about the blitz of foreign mega-deals with conflicts of interest, cryptocurrency enterprises.

Ethics watchdogs: No other President has ever so nakedly exploited his position, and on such a scale

bit.ly/45K26Mh
Trump’s Profiteering Hits $4 Billion
In August, I reported that the President and his family had made $3.4 billion by leveraging his position. After his first year back in office, the number has ballooned.
bit.ly
February 1, 2026 at 3:36 PM
Immigration takes center stage in New Jersey special election

Thursday's primary for NJ-11 occurs amid rising tensions over ICE tactics across the country.
Politico

Broad disapproval for ICE’ is emerging as wedge issue in first congressional Dem primary election of the 2026 midterms
bit.ly/3M6iakO
Immigration takes center stage in New Jersey special election
Thursday's primary for NJ-11 occurs amid rising tensions over Immigration and Customs Enforcement's tactics across the country.
www.politico.com
February 1, 2026 at 3:08 PM
What a swing House district in Colorado shows about Republicans’ immigration fallout in the midterms
AP

Deaths of Good and Pretti have resonated across the farms, oil and gas rigs, and shopping centers of Colorado’s 8th Congressional District

Republican won in 2024 by 2449 votes
bit.ly/4kekmDl
What a swing House district in Colorado shows about Republicans' immigration fallout in the midterms
President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown in Minnesota is rattling voters in a highly competitive swing district in northern Colorado.
bit.ly
February 1, 2026 at 2:58 PM
Blue wave watch: Democrat flips Trump +17 Texas Senate seat in 32-point swing
A nerdy look at precinct-level data from the TX SD-9 special election
by G. Elliott Morris

Pollster says Democrats are flipping seats across the country

See the chart

bit.ly/4qh6lq3
February 1, 2026 at 2:48 PM
Democrat Taylor Rehmet wins a reliably Republican Texas state Senate seat, stunning GOP
NPR

Flipping a reliably Republican district in the special election that Trump won by 17 points in 2024

With almost all votes counted he had a comfortable lead of more than 14%

Swing of 34%!

bit.ly/4c2tnNF
Democrat Taylor Rehmet wins a reliably Republican Texas state Senate seat, stunning GOP
Democrat Taylor Rehmet won a special election for the Texas state Senate on Saturday, flipping a reliably Republican district that President Donald Trump won by 17 points in 2024.
bit.ly
February 1, 2026 at 2:23 PM
Houston Democrat Christian Menefee wins special election to complete Sylvester Turner’s term in Congress
The Texas Tribune

Republicans’ have a slim 218-214 margin--they will only be able to afford 1 defection on party-line votes

District went 11 months without representation

bit.ly/4qVxdNs
Menefee defeats Edwards in special election for Congress
The former Harris County attorney defeated Amanda Edwards in Texas’ 18th Congressional District. The two will face off again in the March 3 primary for a redrawn version of the district.
bit.ly
February 1, 2026 at 2:15 PM
The U.S. will likely lose its measles elimination status. Here's what that means
NPR

South Carolina has confirmed 847 cases since first case was reported in October making the outbreak bigger than the one in Texas which started just over a year ago

RFK, where are you?

bit.ly/4abKevf
The U.S. will likely lose its measles elimination status. Here's what that means
The South Carolina measles outbreak is now bigger than last year's Texas outbreak and is happening as the U.S. is poised to lose its measles elimination status.
bit.ly
January 31, 2026 at 8:16 PM
Bovino Is Said to Have Mocked Prosecutor’s Jewish Faith on Call With Lawyers
NYT Gift Article

Gregory Bovino the Border Patrol field leader made disparaging remarks in reference to the U.S. attorney of Minnesota, an Orthodox Jew

Why is a bigot like this not fired by Trump Regime
bit.ly/4rgO78M
Bovino Is Said to Have Mocked Prosecutor’s Jewish Faith on Call With Lawyers
www.nytimes.com
January 31, 2026 at 6:44 PM
Thousands of new Americans opt for 'ultimate act of inclusion' despite obstacles
NPR

Heart warming stories from naturalization ceremonies that took place against the backdrop of unexpected hurdles and changes

Read and share with others

About many of our parents grandparents
bit.ly/4rnLYbB
Thousands of new Americans opt for 'ultimate act of inclusion' despite obstacles
Three citizenship ceremonies NPR attended in the Washington, D.C. area in January were largely celebratory experiences, despite a year of hurdles and changes to the naturalization process.
bit.ly
January 31, 2026 at 5:44 PM
The US is Facing the First-Ever Population Decline Due to Trump's Immigration crackdown
Bloomberg

Effects of population decline on US economy will be corrosive rather than immediate

IMPORTANT ISSUE THAT IS BEING MISSED IN OUR DEBATE OVER IMMIGRATION

Immigrants are our strength

bit.ly/4qRpoZ5
Population Decline Was Decades Away. Now It’s At America’s Door
The US faces a shrinking population, China’s Middle East moment is stalling out, and everyone on LinkedIn is an AI detective now.
bit.ly
January 31, 2026 at 5:27 PM
Judge blocks proof of citizenship provisions to vote in latest setback to Trump's election executive order
AP

U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly ruling today based on the Constitution's separation of powers giving states and Congress authority over setting election rules
abc7.ws/4bv7uXo
Judge blocks additional citizenship provisions in latest setback to Trump's election executive order
A judge permanently blocked two provisions of the executive order that sought to impose proof-of-citizenship rules.
abc7.ws
January 31, 2026 at 5:03 PM
Hope Rises As Massive Crowds Protest Trump’s Abuse Of Power, AOC Calls For Pam Bondi’s Impeachment, Trump's Epstein Cover-Up Continues and Arrested Journalists Remain Defiant Against The Regime
by Scott Dworkin

That says it all

Onward!

Are you doing something about this?
bit.ly/4qLEM9j
Hope Rises As Massive Crowds Protest Trump’s Abuse Of Power, AOC Calls For Pam Bondi’s Impeachment, and Arrested Journalists Remain Defiant Against The Regime
Onward!
bit.ly
January 31, 2026 at 4:49 PM
I was a war games analyst. Here’s how Trump can use Minnesota to steal the November election
by Brett Wagner, SF Chron

War games help identify potential vulnerabilities and how they might be exploited. Democrats need to do that with the November elections

Important article
bit.ly/4abqh7D
I was a war games analyst. Here’s how Trump can use Minnesota to steal the November election
OPINION: War games exist to help identify potential vulnerabilities and how they might be exploited. Democrats need to do exactly that with the November elections, Brett Wagner writes.
bit.ly
January 31, 2026 at 4:42 PM
California Dems enacting laws to confront ICE
CalMatters

Bill passes Senate to make it easier to sue federal agents over civil rights violations

In the works: Ban on law enforcement moonlighting with DHS, keep immigration agents from courthouses and tax immigrant detention centers
bit.ly/4r1kLM3
California Democrats have new ideas for confronting ICE: Taxes, lawsuits and location bans
The California Senate passed a bill that would make it easier to sue federal officers over civil rights violations. Recent shootings of civilians by immigration agents in Minnesota lent urgency to the measure, one of several targeting ICE.
bit.ly
January 31, 2026 at 4:35 PM
California Supreme Court Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero steps up monitoring of immigration arrests at courthouses
CalMatters

“The type of immigration enforcement action instills fear in witnesses, litigants that creates problems for them being able to access the courts”

Bravo!
bit.ly/4apRxR2
California chief justice steps up monitoring of immigration arrests at courthouses
Seventeen California courts reported immigration enforcement activity since President Trump took office, a practice that the state's chief justice says "instills fear" in witnesses.
bit.ly
January 31, 2026 at 4:15 PM
How America First Risks Becoming America Alone

U.S. allies are growing increasingly disenchanted by the country’s aggressive foreign policy strategy

Even the Wall Street Journal gets it!

Read this inspiring piece. Send to your friends who are Trump supporters, if you have any
bit.ly/4a7LdfI
Essay | How America First Risks Becoming America Alone
U.S. allies are growing increasingly disenchanted and insulted by the country’s aggressive foreign policy strategy.
bit.ly
January 31, 2026 at 3:44 PM