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Reposted by Jonah Blank

Jonah Blank @jonahblank.bsky.social · 11h

Tomorrow, the Nobel committee will announce its Peace Prize.

If there is any justice whatsoever left in the world, it will not be given to Donald Trump. Not tomorrow, not next year, not ever.

My latest, in @indianexpress.com:
indianexpress.com/article/opin...

Obama’s Nobel was questionable. Trump getting one would be downright absurd

There is no concept of anything larger than himself. Every policy, every decision, every initiative is always based on feeding Trump's insatiable hunger for self-gratification

indianexpress.com

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Jonah Blank @jonahblank.bsky.social · 5h

A two-minute standing ovation.

Not at a State of the Union, or other big public event. Just at a small meeting, with no cameras, for maybe a dozen (maximum two dozen) people.

Two. Minutes. Set a timer, and imagine a dozen people clapping that long.

For a boss who isn't Kim Jong Un.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 8h

Rollins: "We had an amazing cabinet meeting. President Trump walked in before the cameras were there. We all stood up & gave him a two minute standing ovation. There's so much love in that room & respect & just appreciation for him. No one could do what that man is doing today. So I was so grateful"

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Jonah Blank @jonahblank.bsky.social · 11h

It would be wonderful if Greta Thunberg were awarded the #NobelPeacePrize:
1. She deserves it for her activism on #ClimateChange.
2. She deserves it for her activism on #Gaza.
3. It would, on so many levels, piss the HECK out of Trump.

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Jonah Blank @jonahblank.bsky.social · 11h

Tomorrow, the Nobel committee will announce its Peace Prize.

If there is any justice whatsoever left in the world, it will not be given to Donald Trump. Not tomorrow, not next year, not ever.

My latest, in @indianexpress.com:
indianexpress.com/article/opin...

Obama’s Nobel was questionable. Trump getting one would be downright absurd

There is no concept of anything larger than himself. Every policy, every decision, every initiative is always based on feeding Trump's insatiable hunger for self-gratification

indianexpress.com

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Jonah Blank @jonahblank.bsky.social · 12h

Question for some reporter to ask, and keep asking:
♦️Which SPECIFIC parts of the US Government are "Democrat programs"?

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 12h

Trump: "We'll be making cuts that will be permanent. And we're only going to cut Democrat programs. I hate to tell you."

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Jonah Blank @jonahblank.bsky.social · 12h

Yes, if two things happen:
1. We build enough EV infrastructure to make electric vehicles the norm rather than the exception.
2. We permit cost-effective importation of far superior Chinese-built EV, because US manufacturers will never commit to the transition.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 12h

Trump: "I think gasoline is gonna be below $2 at some point in the pretty near future."

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Reposted by Jonah Blank

NY Times Pitchbot @nytpitchbot.bsky.social · 14h

Whether it’s Joe Biden attending weekly mass or Donald Trump’s ICE agents shooting a priest in the face with a pepper ball, presidents of both sides have directly engaged with the Catholic faith.

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Jonah Blank @jonahblank.bsky.social · 13h

Next interview, probably:
Q: Are you planning to suspend habeas corpus?
A: Hab Who?
Q: Habeas corpus.
A: Never heard of him. But if he's some kind of woke Deep State antifa communist, I'll do far more than suspend him-- he's fired!

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1d

Q: Have you given any more thought to possibly suspending habeas corpus?

TRUMP: Suspending who?

Q: Habeas corpus

TRUMP: I don't know. I'd rather leave that to Kristi.

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Jonah Blank @jonahblank.bsky.social · 1d

This is kind of peripheral, but:
♦️He doesn't even know why shopkeepers cover their windows with plywood if they're expecting trouble.

He thinks plywood is their normal, everyday storefront.
Rather than something they put up OVER their glass windows, if (say) ICE are trying to provoke a riot.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1d

Trump: "I don't know what could be worse than Portland. You don't even have stores anymore. They don't even put glass up. They put plywood on their windows."

Jonah Blank @jonahblank.bsky.social · 1d

So, the January 6th crew were "heroes" and "patriots"-- and were secretly "antifa"?

Which means antifa are heroes and patriots?
And also the greatest threat America has ever faced?

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1d

Q: There's compelling proof that antifa did infiltrate on January 6 dressed up like Trump supporters and incited violence. Is that something you'd like the new J6 committee to look at?

TRUMP: Well I've heard that. Yeah. We will be acting on some of that.

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Jonah Blank @jonahblank.bsky.social · 1d

Well, maybe the Nobel Peeve Prize.

My latest, for the @indianexpress.com
indianexpress.com/article/opin...

Obama’s Nobel was questionable. Trump getting one would be downright absurd

There is no concept of anything larger than himself. Every policy, every decision, every initiative is always based on feeding Trump's insatiable hunger for self-gratification

indianexpress.com

1

Jonah Blank @jonahblank.bsky.social · 2d

He's been wanting to go to Albania for years.

But he had to wait until Trump negotiated an end to its long-running war with definitely-not-fictional nation of Aberbain.

Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · 2d

because why wouldn’t eric adams be in albania

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Jonah Blank @jonahblank.bsky.social · 2d

He isn't even trying to hide his hostage-taking.

This isn't:
♦️"Federal workers will eventually get their back-pay, but let's negotiate an end to this shutdown."

It's:
♦️"I'm going to rob all Federal employees of their pay-- the longer you refuse to bow down, the worse I'll make it for them."

NPR @npr.org · 2d

A new draft White House memo suggests a 2019 law signed by President Trump that guarantees federal employees get paid after a shutdown ends would not apply to furloughed workers.

White House floats no back pay for some furloughed federal workers despite 2019 law

A new draft White House memo suggests a 2019 law signed by President Trump that guarantees federal employees get paid after a shutdown ends would not apply to furloughed workers.

n.pr

Jonah Blank @jonahblank.bsky.social · 2d

Correct.

Dems are making surrender to Trump the rational choice for any CEO:
♦️Until 2029 (or whenever he eventually decides to leave office), he'll wreak vengeance on whoever refuses to bow down.
♦️When (or if) the Dems ever return to power, they will bring absolutely no accountability.

Dave Weigel @daveweigel.bsky.social · 2d

So, imagine a 2028 that ends with a normal election and a Democratic president.

Does that president punish CBS? Does he kick it out of the Brady room's front row? Does his FCC go after its licenses? Does his FTC probe the Skydance deal?

No, probably not. No fear of reprisal if power shifts back.

Greg Sargent @gregsargent.bsky.social · 2d

Do CBS News executives understand that MAGA will not be in power forever? I genuinely think this is lost on a lot of people. They've gotten scammed by bad actors into believing Trump's 2024 win represented something seismic and even permanent. I predict they'll look back on this as a serious error.

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Jonah Blank @jonahblank.bsky.social · 2d

Everyone with power caves to him.
The only people standing up are rest of us.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 2d

"You are a transformative president" -- I regret to inform you that Mark Carney is kissing Trump's ass

Jonah Blank @jonahblank.bsky.social · 2d

Back in January, I ended up getting shot almost every day. It was a real bummer.

Now that the strong, tough guys of the National Guard are here, I very rarely get shot. It's unbelieveable!

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 2d

Trump on DC: "When I got here, this place was a raging hellhole where people would come from Canada, other places, and end up getting shot. Nobody is being shot. The National Guard has been unbelievable. They are strong tough guys."

Reposted by Jonah Blank

Dave Weigel @daveweigel.bsky.social · 2d

I'm surprised how many people I meet who cover politics but don't get a reference to "the northern district of Texas." It's simple - there's a district Republicans file in where the judge lets them win everything.

The Law is complicated, political legal battles are pretty simple.

Robert Black @hurricanexyz.bsky.social · 2d

A good heuristic for "is this opinion bullshit?" is "did Roberts, Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, or Barrett write it?"

(Holds quite well for any case that a layperson is likely to have heard of, lol)

Dave Weigel @daveweigel.bsky.social · 2d

The View segment where Whoopi asked how ordinary people could read SCOTUS opinions was revealing.

They're free. They're online. They're much easier to read than legislation. Conquer your imposter's syndrome, you are smart enough to read a decision and know if it's bullshit.

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Jonah Blank @jonahblank.bsky.social · 2d

For most people living in America (ie, most citizens, especially those who look a certain way), life today doesn't really feel like what we imagine life under a dictatorship to feel like.

A bit of history is in order:

Mother Jones @motherjones.com · 2d

Under the Third Reich, most Germans generally lived in the law-bound normative state, while Jews and other disfavored people were victims of the arbitrary and violent prerogative state.

The dual state is characterized by the facade of normalcy obscuring the fact of an authoritarian state.

The “dual state” theory was invented to describe Nazis. The Supreme Court could take us there.

Authoritarianism—but make it look like the rule of law.

www.motherjones.com

Reposted by Jonah Blank

Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett @crockett.house.gov · 2d

Let me be clear: It’s ILLEGAL to deny federal workers back pay after a shutdown.

There’s a 2019 law that guarantees it, but Trump is once again trying to break the law.

You don’t get to punish people for doing their jobs just because you’re failing at yours.

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Jonah Blank @jonahblank.bsky.social · 2d

He's joking about forcibly deporting an American citizen-- a Member of Congress-- to Somalia.

At least, he MIGHT be joking.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 2d

Trump: "The Democrats have no leader. They remind me of Somalia. I met the president of Somalia. I told him, 'you have somebody from Somalia who's telling us how to run our country. Would you like to take her back?' He said, 'No I don't want her!'"

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Reposted by Jonah Blank

Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 2d

Just as a reminder, Bondi’s origin story in Trump world is that she said she was going to investigate Trump University, Trump sent her a $25K check and the investigation disappeared. She later became Trump’s personal defense lawyer. So yeah, don’t challenge her integrity.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 2d

Bondi to Blumenthal: "You lied. How dare you? I'm a career prosecutor. Don't you ever challenge my integrity. Do not question my ability to be fair and impartial."

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Reposted by Jonah Blank

Luca @lucagalletti.bsky.social · 2d

With all the gloom going on around us, here’s some joy 😊🎈

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Jonah Blank @jonahblank.bsky.social · 2d

Seems like this should have been an immediate firing.
And referral to justice system for possible prosecution.

The Washington Post @washingtonpost.com · 2d

A D.C. teacher aide has been placed on leave after allegedly putting hot sauce in the mouth of a nonverbal autistic student.

D.C. teacher aide on leave after allegedly putting hot sauce in autistic boy’s mouth

A D.C. teacher aide has been placed on leave after allegedly putting hot sauce in the mouth of a nonverbal autistic student.

www.washingtonpost.com

Jonah Blank @jonahblank.bsky.social · 2d

Sadly, this would be counter-productive:
♦️Almost all Members of Congress are multi-millionaires-- and the wealth is disproportionately tilted towards the GOP champions of the interests of the wealthy.
♦️The Members most likely to serve their constituents are those who rely on their salaries.

David Corn @davidcorn.bsky.social · 2d

How about this: We don't pay members of Congress when they cannot keep the government functioning?

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"

Reposted by Jonah Blank

Dr. Vin Gupta @vinguptamd.bsky.social · 2d

Do we need to split the MMR vaccine into 3 shots?

No.

-No medical reason. Current vax has no safety issues and works very well
-Kids don’t like needles. Why give them 3x the shots?
-Peds office already have limited bandwidth. Who staffs 3x the visits?

Another nonsensical, unserious “policy”

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