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Jim Oleske

@jimoleske.bsky.social

6.2K followers 950 following 250 posts

Professor, Lewis & Clark Law School. Teach constitutional law and torts, write on religious liberty and equal protection.

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Jim Oleske @jimoleske.bsky.social · Nov 11

The next four years are certain to bring increased challenges to public accommodations laws, with arguments both new and old.

Here's a recent essay addressing a Lochner-era-inspired argument that has repeatedly been offered to the Court, and is likely to be back: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

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Ryan Haas @ryanjhaas.bsky.social · 51m

All of that being said, the internet has been quite a delight in recent days.

A reddit post that reads: "I guess you could say I'm ANTIFA - Always. Negating. Tyranny. In. Frog. Attire."

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Walter Olson @walterolson.bsky.social · 15h

New from me at Cato: I go through the numerous and massive First Amendment and academic-freedom violations of Trump's proffered "compact" with universities and then talk about the mechanism by which it would be enforced, by way of what I describe as a "retroactive push-button guillotine."

Universities Must Defend Their Independence by Rejecting Trump's "Compact"

The Trump administration has proffered a “compact” to universities that would require them to surrender their independence and academic freedom. How many First Amendment violations can we identify in ...

www.cato.org

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Sheryl Gay Stolberg @sherylnyt.bsky.social · 15h

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:

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Sam Bagenstos @sbagen.bsky.social · 4h

It’s considered impolite to use language like this, but “evil” is the best word for what these folks are doing. It’s bad enough to screw over workers to attack political enemies. But here, doing so will literally kill people and lead to avoidable disease.

open.substack.com/pub/insideme...

BREAKING NEWS: CDC employees terminated in apparent Friday night massacre.

The Trump administration is using the shutdown to further weaken the our national public health infrastructure.

open.substack.com

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Dorit Reiss @doritreiss.bsky.social · 15h

Reminder: the President may be allowing his secretary to undermine access to vaccines for others and promote anti vaccine misinformation, but he himself is fully vaccinated, including this year’s flu and Covid vaccine.

In this, do as the president does, not as his secretary ‘s ACIP minions say.

Letter saying President Trump got his annual flu and Covid vaccine.

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Jim Oleske @jimoleske.bsky.social · 16h

Yes. This is a formalization of the earlier order on the *administrative stay* request.

Likely still an order to come on request for non-admin stay, which was the subject of oral argument, and which the U.S. is hoping will be accompanied by reasoning that leads Immergut to dissolve second TRO.

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Jacob T. Levy @jacobtlevy.bsky.social · 1d

Four cheers for MIT.

orgchart.mit.edu/letters/rega...

Regarding the Compact | MIT Organization Chart

orgchart.mit.edu

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David S. Cohen @dsc250.bsky.social · 1d

I love this development so much.

dr. caitlin m. green @caitlinmoriah.bsky.social · 1d

there are SO many more inflatable costumes tonight. clearly we have settled on a motif

Wide shot of many people in inflatable costumes

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Heidi Kitrosser @heidikitrosser.bsky.social · 1d

From Harvard & UConn researchers on the June 14th No Kings Day protests. (report came out in August)

THIS is why MAGA is so spooked by the upcoming (Oct 18th) peaceful protests.

New data shows No Kings was one of the largest days of protest in US history wagingnonviolence.org/2025/08/new-...

New data shows No Kings was one of the largest days of protest in US history

The historic number of No Kings protesters and their expansive geographic spread are signs of a growing and durable pro-democracy movement.

wagingnonviolence.org

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Eric Goldman @ericgoldman.bsky.social · 1d

"The message is clear: Texas A&M does not permit teaching LGBT topics. Politicians, not professors, decide what is taught in Texas classrooms. Anyone who crosses this line may be fired on flimsy pretext"

www.chronicle.com/article/why-...

Why I Withdrew From My Dream Job

At Texas A&M, politicians, not professors, decide what is taught in classrooms.

www.chronicle.com

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Jon Seidel @jonseidel.bsky.social · 1d

For Judge April Perry, it came down to credibility.

The Trump administration's "perception of events" in Chicago "are simply unreliable," she said. So she blocked Nat Guard deployment in IL, for now.

UPDATED from @chicago.suntimes.com w/ @tinasfon.bsky.social: chicago.suntimes.com/donald-trump...

Federal judge hits Trump administration credibility in siding with city and state against National Guard deployment

Judge's order bars 'federalization and deployment of the National Guard of the United States within Illinois' for at least 14 days.

chicago.suntimes.com

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The Daily Show @thedailyshow.com · 1d

The following is REAL footage from Portland, 2025. Viewer discretion is advised.

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Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 2d

“A more robust and effective damages regime obviously would not prevent unconstitutional conduct by government officers. But it sure would be an easy way to reduce its frequency—and it would also be a remarkably easy statute to write.”

Me in today’s bonus issue of “One First”:

Bonus 182: Damages as a (Missing) Deterrent

It's worth reflecting on how different things might look right now if federal officers—or the federal government itself—faced a meaningful specter of monetary liability for constitutional violations.

www.stevevladeck.com

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Jim Oleske @jimoleske.bsky.social · 2d

Nicely played (but a bit puzzled by the "Last Crusade" watermark).

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Evan Bernick, a finite mode with a smol hooman and a lorg floof @evanbernick.bsky.social · 2d

"The girlfriend of one of the founders of antifa"

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Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 3d

#WarRavagedPortland

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Jim Oleske @jimoleske.bsky.social · 2d

The "& deployment" part of your description above is inaccurate.

The second TRO, prohibiting deployment, remains in place, as explained by the Ninth Circuit:

An administrative stay of the October 4 temporary restraining order will maintain the federalization of Oregon National Guard members, because that order prohibits implementation of the Memorandum. Additionally, the second temporary restraining order has not been challenged or appealed, and it prohibits the deployment of National Guard members in Oregon. Thus, the effect of granting an administrative stay preserves the status quo in which National Guard members have been federalized but not deployed

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Jim Oleske @jimoleske.bsky.social · 2d

Further explanation of the "remain federalized but can't be deployed" line in Julia's post below:

The Ninth Circuit's order makes clear it is *not* a stay of Judge Immergut's second temporary restraining order, just the first.

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Corey Rayburn Yung @coreyryung.bsky.social · 2d

Americans are being far too complacent about masked government agents in unmarked vehicles grabbing people and taking them to unknown destinations.

unraveled @unraveledpress.com · 3d

(shared with permission) ICE/CBP has been active on Chicago's northwest side this morning—and also met with rapid responders.

Agents reportedly abducted one man from this Dunkin at Belmont and Milwaukee around 9:30am before speeding off.

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Jack Jenkins @jackjenkins.me · 2d

Reporter's notebook: I actually began working on this story shortly after footage of the incident showed up last month.

But by the time I finally got ahold of folks, the story grew: 2 *other* faith leaders I spoke with *also* reported being shot w/pepper balls while protesting this ICE facility.

Jack Jenkins @jackjenkins.me · 3d

Gonna be thinking about this lede for a minute.

(RNS) — Last month, the Rev. David Black stood in front of a Chicago-area U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility and spread his arms wide. Adorned in all black and wearing a clerical collar, the pastor looked up at a group of masked, heavily armed ICE agents on the roof and began to pray.

“I invited them to repentance,” Black, a minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA), said in an interview. “I basically offered an altar call. I invited them to come and receive that salvation, and be part of the kingdom that is coming.”

But when Black began to lower his arms a few seconds later, the agents responded to his spiritual plea by firing pepper balls, or chemical agents that cause eye irritation and respiratory distress, video footage shows. One struck Black in the head, exploding into a puff of white pepper smoke and forcing him to his knees. Fellow demonstrators rushed to his aid, and as the pastor rubbed his face in pain, the agents continued to fire.

“We could hear them laughing,” Black said.

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Raffi Melkonian @rmfifthcircuit.bsky.social · 2d

I am never going to be a fan of a politician. That way lies disappointment. But Pritzker right now is the person I think is calibrating it right.

This isn’t negotiating about social security with W. You either get that or you don’t.

Governor JB Pritzker @govpritzker.illinois.gov · 2d

If you come for my people, you come through me.

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Richard Primus @richardprimus.bsky.social · 3d

…the bigger significance of the Oregon decision, it seems to me, was the (Trump-appointed) judge’s willingness to say that the Administration is saying things that are just flatly untrue, such that it loses the case even on a deferential standard.

(2/5)

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Jim Oleske @jimoleske.bsky.social · 3d

Related memories:

President Obama: Pork roll or Taylor Ham?

YouTube video by NJ.com

www.youtube.com

Jim Oleske @jimoleske.bsky.social · 3d

Caveat: The Shore is pretty much all pork roll territory

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Courtney Vaughn @courtneyvaughn.bsky.social · 3d

Streets are still closed off in front of the Portland ICE facility at 8:30pm. Protesters have gathered on a side street. Dance party in progress.

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