John Robinson
@jrobin.bsky.social
Former editor of the News & Record in Greensboro, NC; former UNC journalism professor. He's strolled all alone through a fallout zone & came out with his soul untouched.
The one moment of the year when the senator honors MLK Jr. before going back to opposing everything the reverend doctor stood for.
January 19, 2026 at 1:31 PM
The one moment of the year when the senator honors MLK Jr. before going back to opposing everything the reverend doctor stood for.
“About 106,000 North Carolina children in elementary school — or one in six — attend schools where the risk for measles outbreaks runs high.”
Putting children at risk is the anti-vaxxer way.
www.newsobserver.com/news/state/n...
Putting children at risk is the anti-vaxxer way.
www.newsobserver.com/news/state/n...
Measles is spreading: Is your child’s North Carolina school vulnerable?
When the number of vaccinated children drop too low in a school, the risk of infection increases there and in the wider community, experts say.
www.newsobserver.com
January 19, 2026 at 12:34 PM
“About 106,000 North Carolina children in elementary school — or one in six — attend schools where the risk for measles outbreaks runs high.”
Putting children at risk is the anti-vaxxer way.
www.newsobserver.com/news/state/n...
Putting children at risk is the anti-vaxxer way.
www.newsobserver.com/news/state/n...
The great @sulliview.bsky.social on the news media:
“It’s as if a five-alarm fire is consuming a city and the mainstream outlets are saying they might smell something burning — but perhaps it’s just a bonfire on the beach. Some people in a bar think so.”
open.substack.com/pub/margaret...
“It’s as if a five-alarm fire is consuming a city and the mainstream outlets are saying they might smell something burning — but perhaps it’s just a bonfire on the beach. Some people in a bar think so.”
open.substack.com/pub/margaret...
With democracy in free fall, the media must (finally) wake up
Plus: a piece of heartening news amid the barrage of horrors
open.substack.com
January 19, 2026 at 11:27 AM
The great @sulliview.bsky.social on the news media:
“It’s as if a five-alarm fire is consuming a city and the mainstream outlets are saying they might smell something burning — but perhaps it’s just a bonfire on the beach. Some people in a bar think so.”
open.substack.com/pub/margaret...
“It’s as if a five-alarm fire is consuming a city and the mainstream outlets are saying they might smell something burning — but perhaps it’s just a bonfire on the beach. Some people in a bar think so.”
open.substack.com/pub/margaret...
One good thing Trump has done: Renewed interest in the writings of George Orwell, Hannah Arent, Plato and Timothy Snyder.
a statue of a man with a beard and a cross on his forehead
ALT: a statue of a man with a beard and a cross on his forehead
media.tenor.com
January 19, 2026 at 11:13 AM
One good thing Trump has done: Renewed interest in the writings of George Orwell, Hannah Arent, Plato and Timothy Snyder.
OK, who are the 37% of Americans who say that Trump puts the good of the country above his personal gain?
You’re either a billionaire, a bigot or a Fox News viewer.
You’re either a billionaire, a bigot or a Fox News viewer.
January 19, 2026 at 10:38 AM
OK, who are the 37% of Americans who say that Trump puts the good of the country above his personal gain?
You’re either a billionaire, a bigot or a Fox News viewer.
You’re either a billionaire, a bigot or a Fox News viewer.
Ignore the politicians’ & their one-trick-pony, once a year Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. quote. Read @hcrichardson.bsky.social instead for inspiration.
January 19, 2026 at 10:19 AM
Ignore the politicians’ & their one-trick-pony, once a year Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. quote. Read @hcrichardson.bsky.social instead for inspiration.
Reposted by John Robinson
Given the open racism and rampant racial profiling by ICE, maybe this will be the first MLK Day in recent history where Republicans do *not* trot out the Only MLK Quote They Know
January 18, 2026 at 9:37 PM
Given the open racism and rampant racial profiling by ICE, maybe this will be the first MLK Day in recent history where Republicans do *not* trot out the Only MLK Quote They Know
After watching Bessent and now Noem I realize the purpose of Sunday morning news shows is to give a national platform to government officials to lie and embarrass themselves on national TV.
BRENNAN: What percentage of those you have in custody have committed crimes?
NOEM: 70% of them
B: It's not 70%
N: Yes it is. You guys pick and choose numbers
B: Your agency says 47% have criminal convictions
N: Wrong again. We'll get you the correct numbers
B: Well, that's from your agency
NOEM: 70% of them
B: It's not 70%
N: Yes it is. You guys pick and choose numbers
B: Your agency says 47% have criminal convictions
N: Wrong again. We'll get you the correct numbers
B: Well, that's from your agency
January 18, 2026 at 6:44 PM
After watching Bessent and now Noem I realize the purpose of Sunday morning news shows is to give a national platform to government officials to lie and embarrass themselves on national TV.
Maybe then Cassidy will find the courage to do what he knows is right rather than sucking up to Trump.
Loyalty runs one way in Trumplandia.
Trump throws a dagger into the Louisiana Senate race, pushing Rep. Julia Letlow to challenge Sen. Bill Cassidy, who has worked hard to stay on Trump’s good side.
Trump: “Should she decide to enter this Race, Julia Letlow has my Complete and Total Endorsement. RUN, JULIA, RUN!!!”
Trump: “Should she decide to enter this Race, Julia Letlow has my Complete and Total Endorsement. RUN, JULIA, RUN!!!”
January 18, 2026 at 10:54 AM
Maybe then Cassidy will find the courage to do what he knows is right rather than sucking up to Trump.
A big test for Margaret Brennan. Will CBS let her lay bare Noem’s lies and double talk?
January 17, 2026 at 7:20 PM
A big test for Margaret Brennan. Will CBS let her lay bare Noem’s lies and double talk?
Sen. Tillis takes the right stance on Greenland but he just can’t bring himself to criticize Trump.
January 17, 2026 at 5:57 PM
Sen. Tillis takes the right stance on Greenland but he just can’t bring himself to criticize Trump.
Everyone of these people have more courage than any Republican in Congress.
January 17, 2026 at 1:46 PM
Everyone of these people have more courage than any Republican in Congress.
I want to hear the first woman say, "I'm pregnant with a Trump baby!"
Donald: "What? I don't even know her!"
Donald: "What? I don't even know her!"
Dr Oz: "One of the areas we use most favored nation drug prices is fertility drugs. That's why we're going to have so many Trump babies."
January 17, 2026 at 1:36 PM
I want to hear the first woman say, "I'm pregnant with a Trump baby!"
Donald: "What? I don't even know her!"
Donald: "What? I don't even know her!"
Who’s going to tell MAGA McDowell that Trump routinely pardons drug dealers?
January 17, 2026 at 12:22 PM
Who’s going to tell MAGA McDowell that Trump routinely pardons drug dealers?
I wish every reporter would ask everyone in this administration and Congress that question.
You kind of want Wolf to pause after that for a very long moment, then ask her, "Tricia, are you ever afraid for your eternal soul?"
McLAUGHLIN: Racial animus has no place in DHS and of course is not use
CNN: *plays clip of ICE agents asking Minneapolis woman where she was born*
McLAUGHLIN: I haven't seen this clip before. She might've been assaulting law enforcement prior to this.
CNN: *plays clip of ICE agents asking Minneapolis woman where she was born*
McLAUGHLIN: I haven't seen this clip before. She might've been assaulting law enforcement prior to this.
January 17, 2026 at 10:42 AM
I wish every reporter would ask everyone in this administration and Congress that question.
Further evidence that Trump is in deep s—t in the Epstein files.
NEWS: The U.S. Department of Justice has formally moved to block the appointment of an independent monitor or special master to oversee the release of Epstein-related records
DOJ Moves to Block Independent Monitor in Maxwell Case, Says Courts Cannot Force Epstein File Disclosures
DOJ Tells Court It Cannot Be Forced to Release Epstein Files
meidasnews.com
January 17, 2026 at 10:18 AM
Further evidence that Trump is in deep s—t in the Epstein files.
“Ownership is very important,” Trump says about Greenland.
But really, that’s the way he feels about people and institutions. And like a mobster, when you give in, he owns you.
But really, that’s the way he feels about people and institutions. And like a mobster, when you give in, he owns you.
January 17, 2026 at 10:12 AM
“Ownership is very important,” Trump says about Greenland.
But really, that’s the way he feels about people and institutions. And like a mobster, when you give in, he owns you.
But really, that’s the way he feels about people and institutions. And like a mobster, when you give in, he owns you.
Are there any Republican Congress members with courage to say enough?
Breaking news: The Justice Department has issued subpoenas for Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey as part of an investigation alleging that they are impeding federal law enforcement officers’ abilities to do their jobs in the state.
Justice Dept. launches criminal investigation of Minnesota governor
The Justice Department has issued subpoenas for Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey as part of an investigation into impeding law enforcement.
www.washingtonpost.com
January 17, 2026 at 2:05 AM
Are there any Republican Congress members with courage to say enough?
I live in a political news desert. There are newspapers & TV stations, but they don’t actively pursue or question our DC politicians, who are all Republicans.
So, unless you TRY to be informed, you have no idea what these guys are doing - not not doing - on your behalf.
So, unless you TRY to be informed, you have no idea what these guys are doing - not not doing - on your behalf.
January 16, 2026 at 8:46 PM
I live in a political news desert. There are newspapers & TV stations, but they don’t actively pursue or question our DC politicians, who are all Republicans.
So, unless you TRY to be informed, you have no idea what these guys are doing - not not doing - on your behalf.
So, unless you TRY to be informed, you have no idea what these guys are doing - not not doing - on your behalf.
"This is what it means to practice journalism under an authoritarian regime. Reporters' homes are searched and their devices are seized by the state. The owners of media companies are co-opted, their journalists forced out or pressured into silence.”
Cameron Barr via @brianstelter.bsky.social
Cameron Barr via @brianstelter.bsky.social
Happy Friday. Here's the latest on "The Daily," Elon Musk, Stars & Stripes, CBS News, Mother Jones, Ted Sarandos, Lucasfilm, and much more...
view.newsletters.cnn.com
January 16, 2026 at 3:49 PM
"This is what it means to practice journalism under an authoritarian regime. Reporters' homes are searched and their devices are seized by the state. The owners of media companies are co-opted, their journalists forced out or pressured into silence.”
Cameron Barr via @brianstelter.bsky.social
Cameron Barr via @brianstelter.bsky.social
Hey MacArthur Fellowship, I deserve a genius grant.
FOX & FRIENDS: In spite of the Nobel Prize Committee saying you couldn't transfer your Nobel Prize to anyone, especially to President Trump, you did. Why did you do that?
MARIA CORINA MACHADO: Because he deserves it. It was a very emotional moment.
MARIA CORINA MACHADO: Because he deserves it. It was a very emotional moment.
January 16, 2026 at 2:41 PM
Hey MacArthur Fellowship, I deserve a genius grant.
The problem for America: Republican officials care more about what Trump wants than what Americans want.
Whew, this new CNN poll is brutal....
58% say first year was a failure. Net approval on key issues:
- Venezuela: -16
- Immigration: -16 (was +3 in Mar)
- Economy: -21
- Foreign affairs: -21
- Job approval: -22 (39-61)
- Tariffs: -25 (new low)
- Healthcare: -27 (new low)
www.cnn.com/2026/01/16/p...
58% say first year was a failure. Net approval on key issues:
- Venezuela: -16
- Immigration: -16 (was +3 in Mar)
- Economy: -21
- Foreign affairs: -21
- Job approval: -22 (39-61)
- Tariffs: -25 (new low)
- Healthcare: -27 (new low)
www.cnn.com/2026/01/16/p...
January 16, 2026 at 1:47 PM
The problem for America: Republican officials care more about what Trump wants than what Americans want.
NC Republicans’ war on students.
“I don’t think we should be voting on Sunday,” NCSBE Chairman Francis De Luca told reporters after the hearing. “I know lots of people who do nothing on Sunday because that’s the Lord’s day.”
us11.campaign-archive.com?e=6e2f435c96...
“I don’t think we should be voting on Sunday,” NCSBE Chairman Francis De Luca told reporters after the hearing. “I know lots of people who do nothing on Sunday because that’s the Lord’s day.”
us11.campaign-archive.com?e=6e2f435c96...
The Caucus: Locations, Locations, Locations
us11.campaign-archive.com
January 16, 2026 at 1:40 PM
NC Republicans’ war on students.
“I don’t think we should be voting on Sunday,” NCSBE Chairman Francis De Luca told reporters after the hearing. “I know lots of people who do nothing on Sunday because that’s the Lord’s day.”
us11.campaign-archive.com?e=6e2f435c96...
“I don’t think we should be voting on Sunday,” NCSBE Chairman Francis De Luca told reporters after the hearing. “I know lots of people who do nothing on Sunday because that’s the Lord’s day.”
us11.campaign-archive.com?e=6e2f435c96...
“I find it breathtaking that I have been compelled on the evidence to find the conduct of such high-level officers of our government — cabinet secretaries — conspired to infringe the First Amendment rights of people with such rights here in the United States.”
www.politico.com/news/2026/01...
www.politico.com/news/2026/01...
‘Unconstitutional conspiracy’: Judge slams Trump administration over targeted deportations
A Reagan appointee pointedly rebuked decisions by Trump, Rubio and Noem.
www.politico.com
January 16, 2026 at 12:14 PM
“I find it breathtaking that I have been compelled on the evidence to find the conduct of such high-level officers of our government — cabinet secretaries — conspired to infringe the First Amendment rights of people with such rights here in the United States.”
www.politico.com/news/2026/01...
www.politico.com/news/2026/01...
Absolutely no evidence this is true. www.axios.com/2026/01/16/t...
Trump's immigration erosion worries his team
Some Trump advisers quietly are talking about "recalibrating" the White House's approach — though it's unclear what changes Trump would embrace, if any.
www.axios.com
January 16, 2026 at 11:06 AM
Absolutely no evidence this is true. www.axios.com/2026/01/16/t...