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Reposted by James Myall

James Medlock @jdcmedlock.bsky.social · 13h

“I’ll declare war on you if you don’t give me the peace prize” is an incredible bit

James Myall @jamesxmyall.bsky.social · 10h

In my own corner of Government Shutdown Problems, the Census Bureau website shows this message, and half the time it never redirects you.

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Reposted by James Myall

Catherine Rampell @crampell.bsky.social · 15h

Republicans have had 15 years to come up with an Obamacare replacement plan. They still haven’t

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 22h

Thune: "The president would like to overhaul Obamacare and give people health insurance that is higher quality and more affordable."

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James Myall @jamesxmyall.bsky.social · 1d

If a senator won’t even exercise her most basic constitutional authority, what’s the point of re-electing her?

Maine Morning Star @mainemorningstar.com · 1d

Maine Sen. Susan Collins joined most other Republicans in rejecting resolution that would have blocked Trump from engaging in hostilities abroad without congressional approval. mainemorningstar.com/2025/10/08/r...

US Senate rejects restriction of military strikes on vessels in the Caribbean • Maine Morning Star

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate failed to advance Wednesday night a resolution designed to curb the president’s power regarding military actions abroad after the Trump administration ordered four…

mainemorningstar.com

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James Myall @jamesxmyall.bsky.social · 1d

Demographic stat of the day - In 1973, Androscoggin and Aroostook Counties had the same population (95,000). Since then, their paths have diverged considerably. Today, Androscoggin's population is 70% larger than Aroostook's.

fred.stlouisfed.org/graph/?g=1MRpe

FRED Graph

fred.stlouisfed.org

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James Myall @jamesxmyall.bsky.social · 1d

Good reading in the context of Governor Mills celebrating the opening of an Amazon delivery center in northern Maine - Amazon's "independent contractor" drivers earn less, have fewer protections, and are more likely to report being unable to meet basic needs.

Raj Nayak @rdnayak.bsky.social · 1d

Fantastic report by the SHIFT Project team + @profsheenalives.bsky.social and @juliesulabor.bsky.social

Amazon Drives Low Wages: The Unraveling of Workplace Protections for Delivery Drivers - The Shift Project

Read the Full Article Amazon has revolutionized shopping and challenged traditional brick-and-mortar retail. But at the heart of this logistics […]

shift.hks.harvard.edu

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James Myall @jamesxmyall.bsky.social · 2d

Charles I also tried to abuse his authority to collect an existing tax (ship money) by declaring a fake emergency.

"Online Rent-a-Sage" Bret Devereaux @bretdevereaux.bsky.social · 2d

So Trump is now going to try to rule like an early modern king - just avoid calling the estates general or parliament or the diet and so rule by fiat.

Maybe someone in the GOP should turn the page in book and see what happened next...oh, oh dear...oh no...oh dear ohnonono....

George Pearkes @peark.es · 2d

Well that's not how appropriations work at all

*WHITE HOUSE TO TRANSFER TARIFF REVENUE TO FUND WIC: LEAVITT

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James Myall @jamesxmyall.bsky.social · 2d

AG isn't a statewide elected race in Maine. It's chosen by the legislature. But she has won statewide elections twice.

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James Myall @jamesxmyall.bsky.social · 2d

Even George III knew you couldn’t do this.

"Online Rent-a-Sage" Bret Devereaux @bretdevereaux.bsky.social · 2d

So Trump is now going to try to rule like an early modern king - just avoid calling the estates general or parliament or the diet and so rule by fiat.

Maybe someone in the GOP should turn the page in book and see what happened next...oh, oh dear...oh no...oh dear ohnonono....

George Pearkes @peark.es · 2d

Well that's not how appropriations work at all

*WHITE HOUSE TO TRANSFER TARIFF REVENUE TO FUND WIC: LEAVITT

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James Myall @jamesxmyall.bsky.social · 2d

Not only is Johnson the Speaker, but he voted for the 2019 law that guarantees back pay for furloughed employees!

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 2d

Johnson: "It's true that in previous shutdowns, many or most furloughed employees have been paid for the time they were furloughed, but there is new legal analysis - I don't know the details, I just saw a headline - but there are some legal analysts saying that might not be appropriate or necessary"

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James Myall @jamesxmyall.bsky.social · 2d

Here’s the appropriations committee website with the quote.

www.appropriations.senate.gov/about/jurisd...

Committee Jurisdiction | United States Senate Committee on Appropriations

United States Senate Committee on Appropriations

www.appropriations.senate.gov

James Myall @jamesxmyall.bsky.social · 2d

“The [Appropriations] Committee, chaired by Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), writes the legislation that allocates federal funds to the numerous government agencies, departments, and organizations on an annual basis.” - Senate website #mepolitics

www.pressherald.com/2025/10/06/s...

Sen. Susan Collins criticizes Democrats for shutdown, Trump for layoff threats

Maine's Republican senator said Monday that she has asked the Office of Management and Budget not to pursue mass layoffs of federal workers, something the White House has threatened.

www.pressherald.com

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Reposted by James Myall

Michael Derby @michaelsderby.bsky.social · 2d

Another item caught in Trump's tariff war? Library books. via 404 Media

Libraries Can’t Get Their Loaned Books Back Because of Trump’s Tariffs

Libraries have shared their collections internationally for decades. Trump’s tariffs are throwing that system into chaos and can ‘hinder academic progress.’

www.404media.co

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James Myall @jamesxmyall.bsky.social · 3d

I get why Yglesias thinks it would be better for Democrats to take moderate positions. I get why elected Dems would like to be able to get group endorsements while compromising on values for the sake of electability. But I don’t see why LCV should be selling themselves out for electability

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James Myall @jamesxmyall.bsky.social · 3d

This piece captures a lot of what’s annoying with complaints about “The Groups.” Yglesias seems to start with the assumption that the job of groups is to help Dems win, so they should compromise or build coalitions. But that simply isn’t the job of an advocacy org

www.slowboring.com/p/the-groups...

The groups have learned nothing

We got the League of Conservation Voters’ endorsement questionnaire and it’s bad.

www.slowboring.com

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James Myall @jamesxmyall.bsky.social · 4d

I just came back from (the other) Portland. It had karaoke, comedy shows, good food, and caring neighbors dedicated to helping their immigrant friends.

Nothing there justifies Trump’s authoritarian deployment of troops to a US city.

Acyn @acyn.bsky.social · 4d

Trump: Portland is burning to the ground—insurrectionists all over the place. The politicians are afraid for their lives. That’s the only reason they say there’s nothing happening.

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James Myall @jamesxmyall.bsky.social · 4d

Good piece from @josephpolitano.bsky.social - giant tech corporations get tariff exemptions to build AI data centers while you pay more for coffee and bananas.

www.apricitas.io/p/the-tariff...

The Tariff Exemption Behind the AI Boom

Data Centers get Tariff-Free Imports. Why Shouldn't we All?

www.apricitas.io

James Myall @jamesxmyall.bsky.social · 5d

It’s very important to have an armed citizenry to stop tyranny.

Unless you try to stop the government grabbing people off the street. Then they get to shoot you.

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 5d

WHOA: DHS says that their officers were “rammed and blocked in” in Chicago and got out of their cars and shot an U.S. citizen who reportedly also had a gun and who had been tracking ICE raids. They are blaming the shooting on her, and say they were already tracking her socials. More details to come.

Tricia McLaughlin • @TriciaOhio
X.com
This morning, during routine patrolling in Broadview, in the same area of Chicago that law enforcement were assaulted yesterday, our brave law enforcement officers were rammed by vehicles and boxed in by 10 cars.
Agents were unable to move their vehicles and exited the car. One of the drivers who rammed the law enforcement vehicle was armed with a semi-automatic weapon. Law enforcement was forced to deploy their weapons and fire defensive shots at an armed US citizen who drove herself to the hospital to get care for wounds.
The armed woman was named in a @CBP intelligence bulletin last week for doxing agents and posting online 'Hey to all my gang let's fuck those mother fuckers up, don't let them take anyone.'

Thankfully, no law enforcement officers were seriously injured in this attack.
Pritzker's Chicago Police Department is leaving the shooting scene and refuses to assist us in securing the area. There is a growing crowd and we are deploying special operations to control the scene.
This is an evolving situation and we will give more information as soon as it becomes available.
1:19 PM • 10/4/25 • 52K Views

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James Myall @jamesxmyall.bsky.social · 5d

ICE says they targeted him because he had a 12 year old arrest for traffic issues including driving without a license. Presumably he wasn’t deported at the time because it’s not a high priority. But they had a record of his name and status.

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Reposted by James Myall

Amy Fried @asfried.bsky.social · 6d

Political science research clearly shows that Question 1 would make voting harder. Why would we want to do that? (gift link) #mepolitics www.pressherald.com?p=7506109&uu...

Research shows Question 1 would harm Maine voters | Opinion

There's a lot more to the Nov. 4 referendum question than simply presenting identification to vote.

www.pressherald.com

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James Myall @jamesxmyall.bsky.social · 5d

Relatedly, there is at least one proposal, from Rep @looknerfurther.bsky.social, for a bill to unmask law enforcement officers. It will need support from legislative leadership to get a hearing and vote next year.

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James Myall @jamesxmyall.bsky.social · 5d

Plus $2 billion is a tiny portion of the overall Medicaid and ACA cuts Republicans pushed through

James Myall @jamesxmyall.bsky.social · 5d

My initial impression is that this chart is conflating non citizen with “illegal alien” a lot. Apart from the emergency Medicaid (which is only a change to whether state or federal taxpayer pay for it anyway), the other provisions are about immigrants with a documented status.

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James Myall @jamesxmyall.bsky.social · 6d

To extend the analogy, if you’re one of the relatively well-off diners in the non-smoking section you can mitigate the worst effects of the smoke. But if you’re the server earning less than minimum wage you bear the brunt of it.

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James Myall @jamesxmyall.bsky.social · 6d

Full NBC article is worth reading

www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcn...

Bodycam videos show ICE agents’ initial reactions to fatal Chicago shooting

Video from local police who first responded to the scene provides crucial context, since the immigration agents weren't wearing body cameras.

www.nbcnews.com

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