Paul Bland
@fpbland.bsky.social
7.2K followers 6.9K following 770 posts
Public interest lawyer, music fan, dad/granddad/husband
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fpbland.bsky.social
The Big Bad bill will cost over 10 million people their health insurance, will significantly accelerate climate change, is a huge suck of money upwards in an already inequitable economy, and will burden future generations

But hey, let's focus on the feelings of the world's richest man
fpbland.bsky.social
Gee, if only someone could have predicted this.... Oh wait, all serious economists did
Reposted by Paul Bland
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 Paul Bland
grizzlydad.bsky.social
Trump knows fuck all about fuck all
atrupar.com
Trump: "AI is based on information. I hope they're right about information. I don't know. You've gotta make a lot of money to-- there's gotta be a lot of information out there, but that seems to be pretty hot. We're leading the world on information on AI."
fpbland.bsky.social
Susan Collins consistently takes actions to let Trump do absolutely everything he wants to do, and then later explains that she opposed all the parts that are unpopular with her voters. I wish her actions occasionally met her words
fpbland.bsky.social
Stephen Miller is the most powerful White House aid in memory because Trump is the weakest and most befuddled President we've seen
gregsargent.bsky.social
Key thing here is the idea that Stephen Miller and others are absolutely thrilled that Trump has lost a step, since it makes him easier to manipulate:
atrupar.com
Pritzker to @gregsargent.bsky.social: "Trump says a lot of crazy things. I genuinely think there's something wrong with him. I wish his family would intervene... I don’t think anybody around is going to do it bc they’re benefiting from his dementia"

Full interview: newrepublic.com/article/2016...
fpbland.bsky.social
Incredibly important thread here
nacdl.org
Post 1/5
Nation's Defense Bar Condemns Apparent Politicization of Justice in the Letitia James Indictment.

NACDL "unequivocally condemns the federal indictment of New York Attorney General Letitia James," calling it an "untenable breach of institutional independence."
Reposted by Paul Bland
jayshams.bsky.social
I've been wondering why Dominion Voting Systems suddenly reached settlements with Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, and One America News.

Turns out, it's been purchased by a Republican-owned election tech firm that insisted on it, per Axios.

www.axios.com/2025/10/09/d...
fpbland.bsky.social
Agreed.

"Don't Look Up" comes to Portland
fpbland.bsky.social
Trump's literally having a conversation with a guy who thinks the people who opposed Hitler were the problem, and it's just airing on US TV like this is normal
davidcorn.bsky.social
Remember, Posobiec co-wrote a book that declared progressives were "unhumans" and that praised Franco and Pinochet for their murderous war on leftists. That is, the guy who promoted Pizzagate essentially endorsed political violence. I wrote about that here:

www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
fpbland.bsky.social
My theory is that when Bezos watched Succession, he said to himself "I want to be more like Logan Roy," and he's acting on it
davejorgenson.bsky.social
The Post laid off seemingly the remaining of their liberal-leaning staff members on Opinion last Thursday, when some of them were observing Yom Kippur.

from @oliverdarcy.bsky.social for Status
status.news/p/washington-post-opinion-cuts-adam-oneal
Reposted by Paul Bland
gtconway.bsky.social
Love this. Superbly done. Please send this far and wide. @donwinslow.bsky.social
fpbland.bsky.social
So SCOTUS is leaning towards recognizing the First Amendment right to drive children to harm themselves? In the post-expertise world, we're just going to ignore the vast weight of professional medical opinion?
Reposted by Paul Bland
yodamonkey2.bsky.social
You're in here Paul. Remember to repost so everyone makes new friends. Linda💞🧑‍🦼💞 go.bsky.app/2oCvZ7y
fpbland.bsky.social
A principal difference between lying on FOX News and lying to a court of law is that the court looks to the lawyers to produce actual admissible evidence. Trump making up a fictional Portland doesn't pass muster in court
gregsargent.bsky.social
Trump's tweet that Portland is "war ravaged" just backfired. A Trump-picked judge cited it in blocking National Guard deployment to Portland, declaring him "untethered from facts."

On the pod, Oregon AG Dan Rayfield illuminatingly explains the ruling and what's next:
newrepublic.com/article/2014...
Trump’s Own Tweet on Portland Backfires as Judge Deals Him Harsh Loss
As a judge’s blunt ruling blocks Trump from deploying troops in Portland, Oregon’s Attorney General tells us in an interview that Trump’s lawless threats are working against him—and discusses what com...
newrepublic.com
fpbland.bsky.social
It's remarkable how he's just blatantly lying, imagining a Portland that has no relationship to reality, and his people all just nod as if the emperor had clothes.
fpbland.bsky.social
While Trump whines about how the left is the only side engaged in political violence, it appears that his folks just engaged in terrorism against a sitting judge. Imagine if FOX gave this 10% of the coverage it gave to Kirk.
sifill.bsky.social
davidgilbert.bsky.social
Over the weekend, Trump's deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller repeatedly attacked judges, calling them part of an "organized terrorist attack" on the US government....

On Saturday, the home of a judge who ruled against Trump, went up in flames

time.com/7323442/sout...
fpbland.bsky.social
I just watched the film Children of Men with my daughter. An incredible film, a top five of all time for me.

I think Steven Miller may have seen this and thought the fictional England in the movie had a desirable approach towards immigration.
fpbland.bsky.social
I strongly suspect Johnson knows absolutely everything Trump says, but he's trying to maintain some deniability, so that he's not held responsible for this stuff down the road. He knows Trump says a ton of things that aren't acceptable, but he can't say so
fpbland.bsky.social
I really wish that FOX News would report this. You can sure see why State TV wouldn't.
fpbland.bsky.social
So many people do not understand what's happening with the shutdown. Molly does a characteristically fantastic job of explaining it. I wish 100 million people would watch this.
mollyjongfast.bsky.social
The awesome video team at the New York Times helped me make this video about the shutdown and Obamacare premiums.
fpbland.bsky.social
Another win for the exception to the Unitary Executive Theory for things that would upset the bond markets.
fpbland.bsky.social
In NBA game these days, a huge number of people are on their phones doing things related to their gambling on the game. And some people go crazy if someone makes or misses a shot, not in connection with the flow of the game, but because some bet did or didn't hit. Crypto ads are ubiquitous
Reposted by Paul Bland
davidcorn.bsky.social
Under Trump, the federal government is now a concierge service for those who pay tribute to him.
propublica.org
“I’ve not heard of anything this egregious — a donor calling up and saying I need help and getting it,” one disaster relief expert said, “while others may be getting denied assistance or otherwise waiting in line for help that may or may not come.”
Kristi Noem Fast-Tracked Millions in Disaster Aid to Florida Tourist Attraction After Campaign Donor Intervened
The DHS chief has been widely criticized for slowing down FEMA’s response after natural disasters. Texts and emails obtained by ProPublica point to an effective way to get help faster: have one of Noe...
www.propublica.org