Steve Potts
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otispott.bsky.social
Steve Potts
@otispott.bsky.social
610 followers 720 following 760 posts
Lawyer. Believer in democracy and the rule of law.
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otispott.bsky.social
Steve Potts @otispott.bsky.social · Jan 14
"It wasn't really me."
I got the idea at a cocktail party I attended on Cape Cod. I met a spymaster, the guy had been a spymaster during the second world war and he was complaining about spy films that they made no sense. He said, “Anytime you have an agent inside an enemy country this is a very sick person you are dealing with. It’s quite possible the person is schizophrenic. It is so terrifying and it’s unbelievably risky only a nut would do it. Also you’ve got to understand that your agent is going to help the enemy as much as he helps you. And all you can hope for is that from him you get information you wouldn’t get otherwise.” And so I said, alright let’s have an American who grew up in Germany because his father worked for the General Electric Company and was over there representing GE in Berlin, became fluent in German, became a playwright in German, married a German actress. And about 1938 he’s sitting on a park bench and a guy sits down next to him, an American, and starts chatting. This guy’s from the War Department and says “If war comes we’d like you to stay.” … He also says to him “We can’t acknowledge you, probably ever.” And the character stays because he’s in love with this actress he’s married to, he says they’re a nation of two and they don’t care anything about politics. In order to survive he out-Nazis the Nazis and becomes a broadcaster like Lord Haw Haw — the British actually had a treacherous British citizen who broadcast for the Nazis, Lord Haw Haw — and he was hanged by the British after war for treason. I said suppose an American does this and so the character does it and does survive, but what he’s done to survive is absolutely hateful. He’s delivered antisemitic speeches, those are actually Joseph Goebbel’s speeches. …. He ends these speeches, ‘This is Howard W. Campbell Jr., the last free American broadcasting from Berlin.’ The character, in order to survive, has done a hell of a lot of harm and realizes it and eventually turns himself in to the Israelis for …
otispott.bsky.social
It would seem the idea of mounting a *rescue* never entered anyone's mind.
rgoodlaw.bsky.social Ryan Goodman @rgoodlaw.bsky.social · 9h
🚨🚨🚨This collapses the one 'argument' Hegseth had against it being a war crime:

"The two men killed as they floated holding onto their capsized boat .. DID NOT APPEAR TO HAVE RADIO OR OTHER COMMUNICATIONS DEVICES, the top military official overseeing the strike told lawmakers."

1/
Exclusive: Survivors clinging to capsized boat didn’t radio for backup, admiral overseeing double-tap strike tells lawmakers | CNN Politics
The two men killed as they floated holding onto their capsized boat in a secondary strike against a suspected drug vessel in early September did not appear to have radio or other communications device...
www.cnn.com
December 5, 2025 at 3:05 AM
Reposted by Steve Potts
noupside.bsky.social
“Censorship” is a thought-terminating cliché. These people want you to believe that:

- labeling is censorship
- fact-checking is censorship
- transparency is censorship
- research is censorship

What they’re doing is redefining anything that might inconvenience a hard-right populist as censorship.
davidakaye.bsky.social David Kaye @davidakaye.bsky.social · 11h
american reporters, you've got to call bullshit on this. vance, purveyor of hate/propaganda, wants the public to believe rules on, for instance, transparency in advertising and forms of deception on X are censorship.

don't fall for it.
JD Vance post: "Rumors swirling that the EU commission will fine X hundreds of millions of dollars for not engaging in censorship. The EU should be supporting free speech not attacking American companies over garbage."
December 5, 2025 at 12:31 AM
Reposted by Steve Potts
reichlinmelnick.bsky.social
As Justice Kagan begins her dissent by pointing out, what is even the point of trial, of fact-finding, of clear error, of standards of review, when the Supreme Court simply ignores every single part of that and decides everything purely on the papers without any real consideration of the facts?
USTICE KAGAN, with whom J USTICE SOTOMAYOR and J USTICE J ACKSON join, dissenting from the grant of the ap- plication for stay. Over the course of three months, a three-judge District Court in Texas undertook to resolve the factual dispute at issue in this application: In enacting an electoral map slanted toward Republicans, did Texas predominantly use race to draw its new district lines? Or said otherwise, did Texas accomplish its partisan objectives by means of a ra- cial gerrymander? The District Court conducted a nine-day hearing, involving the testimony of nearly two dozen wit- nesses and the introduction of thousands of exhibits. It sifted through the resulting factual record, spanning some 3,000 pages. It assessed the credibility of each of the wit- nesses it had seen and heard in the courtroom. And after considering all the evidence, it held that the answer was clear. Texas largely divided its citizens along racial lines to create its new pro-Republican House map, in violation of the Constitution’s Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments. The court issued a 160-page opinion recounting in detail its factual findings. Yet this Court reverses that judgment based on its pe- rusal, over a holiday weekend, of a cold paper record. We are a higher court than the District Court, but we are not a better one when it comes to making such a fact-based deci- sion. That is why we are supposed to use a clear-error standard of review—why we are supposed to uphold the District Court’s decision that race-based line-drawing oc- curred (even if we would have ruled differently) so long as it is plausible. Without so much as a word about that stand- ard, this Court today announces that Texas may run next year’s elections with a map the District Court found to have violated all our oft-repeated strictures about the use of race in districting. Today’s order disrespects the work of a Dis- trict Court that did everything one could ask to carry out its charge—that put aside every consideration except get- ting the issue before it right. And today’s order disserves the millions of Texans whom the District Court found were assigned to their new districts based on their race. Because this Court’s precedents and our Constitution demand bet- ter, I respectfully dissent.
December 4, 2025 at 11:08 PM
Reposted by Steve Potts
reichlinmelnick.bsky.social
They're not even trying to appear nonpartisan anymore.
stevevladeck.bsky.social Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 11h
#BREAKING: Over dissents from the three democratic appointees, #SCOTUS puts Texas's new House maps back into effect for (and, presumably, through) the 2026 midterms.

The three Democratic appointees, in an opinion by Justice Kagan, dissent.

I'll post the ruling shortly.
December 4, 2025 at 11:05 PM
Reposted by Steve Potts
milleridriss.bsky.social
Ms. Magazine captured so much of what I want to say w/ Man Up in the title of this essay, which is an adapted excerpt from the book & part of a pair of pieces out this week- stay tuned for #2 tomorrow, which is a q&a interview with me & the inimitable Jackson Katz

msmagazine.com/2025/12/04/m...
Making the Invisible Visible: How Misogyny Is Driving Rising Political Violence
excerpt from Cynthia Miller-Idriss' Man Up: The New Misogyny and the Rise of Violent Extremism, published in September, on men and mass shootings
msmagazine.com
December 4, 2025 at 2:34 PM
Reposted by Steve Potts
defector.com
The conservative grievance business is always hiring: defector.com/the-conserva...
The Conservative Grievance Business Is Always Hiring | Defector
Given his age when he first came to the world’s attention and assuming continued good health in the intervening decade and change, Marine Todd would be in his late 30s today. That would be if he was…
defector.com
December 2, 2025 at 2:50 PM
otispott.bsky.social
my squirrel can beat up your dog
hefty gray squirrel sitting on a fencerail
December 4, 2025 at 2:45 AM
Reposted by Steve Potts
ldobsonhughes.bsky.social
Sure, Galloway is better than Peterson

But he still believes the natural order of things requires men to be supreme. Men must protect, provide and procreate. It's dressed in progressive language, but it's fundamentally a patriarchal box to trap men in

www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
Scott Galloway on the masculinity crisis: ‘I worry we are evolving a new breed of asexual, asocial males’
When his book Notes on Being a Man was released last month, it raced to the top of the bestseller lists. The US author, tech entrepreneur and podcaster explains his theories on dating, crying – and th...
www.theguardian.com
December 3, 2025 at 5:18 PM
otispott.bsky.social
24 seconds of Rubio speaking to a potted plant
atrupar.com Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 2d
Trump dozes while Marco Rubio speaks to him directly next to him. Just insane optics.
December 3, 2025 at 1:44 AM
Reposted by Steve Potts
govpressoffice.gov.ca.gov
December 2, 2025 at 11:04 PM
otispott.bsky.social
If you're just checking in sh*t is still upside down.
pbump.com Philip Bump @pbump.com · 4d
Good front-paging.
November 30, 2025 at 2:09 PM
Reposted by Steve Potts
jeffsharlet.bsky.social
It’s tiresome and repetitive but I think it may be imperative every time fascism tells this fundamentally antisemitic lie that every Jew who knows even a bit of what’s what—I know a bit—says explicitly “this isn’t for me. It’s against me & everyone human.”
mattheweadie.bsky.social Matthew Eadie @mattheweadie.bsky.social · 6d
Statement from U.S. AG Pam Bondi:

“Today’s settlement marks another victory in the Trump Administration’s fight to ensure that American educational institutions protect Jewish students and put merit first…
November 29, 2025 at 12:50 PM
Reposted by Steve Potts
markjacob.bsky.social
Trump is taking us into a war so he can steal Venezuela's oil. The U.S. doesn't have a presidency. It has a Mafia-style criminal gang occupying the White House.
Donald Trump says airspace above and around Venezuela is closed
President made declaration in a social media post, after FAA last week warned airlines of ‘worsening security situation’
www.theguardian.com
November 29, 2025 at 2:08 PM
otispott.bsky.social
It would be helpful if DHS cut to the chase and posted a list of who counts as a real American.
gregsargent.bsky.social Greg Sargent @gregsargent.bsky.social · 5d
They're not even bothering to disguise their real aims any longer.
November 29, 2025 at 5:25 PM
otispott.bsky.social
Where exactly does one unload half a ton of snail meat?
November 28, 2025 at 2:35 PM
Reposted by Steve Potts
paulisci.bsky.social
If this can be a salad, you can be anything.
Prune and Cream Cheese Donut Salad 1/4 pound cream cheese 4 prunes 4 doughnuts 4 lettuce leaves Quarter donut. Spread cut ends with cream cheese and put donut back together. Place on lettuce leaf. On each side of donut place a prune that has been stuffed with cream cheese. Serves four.
November 10, 2024 at 8:37 PM
otispott.bsky.social
Wishing everyone a cozy Thanksgiving
Our cat Scooby curled up in a blankie
November 27, 2025 at 6:29 PM
Reposted by Steve Potts
darrigomelanie.bsky.social
63% of Americans support Medicare for All:

✅ everyone is covered
✅ families save money
✅ no premiums, deductibles or copays
✅ prescriptions covered
✅ you pick your doctors
✅ cuts spending by $650B per year
✅ covers dental, vision, hearing and long term care

It’s time.
November 27, 2025 at 12:17 AM
otispott.bsky.social
"I can distinguish a tiger from a duck which proves I'm totally fine."
specimen of Montreal cognitive test
November 26, 2025 at 2:14 PM
otispott.bsky.social
Rose Mary Woods' title wrt the watergate tapes was director of special redaction projects
jasonleopold.bsky.social Jason Leopold @jasonleopold.bsky.social · 9d
The emails reveal the special training given to FBI personnel working on what it called the “Epstein Transparency Project.” In some instances they referred to it as the “Special Redaction Project.” The training entailed PowerPoint slide presentations and video instruction on how to review the files.
November 25, 2025 at 11:48 PM
Reposted by Steve Potts
simonwdc.bsky.social
Great new conversation w/@ruthbenghiat.bsky.social about her powerhouse article, "Both Sane and Insane": Autocratic Visions of Governance, Chaos as a Strategy. Find her insights really helpful in understanding Trump and our current moment. Watch 👇and share!
www.hopiumchronicles.com/p/both-sane-...
Both Sane and Insane - My Conversation With Dr. Ruth Ben-Ghiat About Understanding Trump And Other Autocrats
Enjoy this lively, informative conversation with one of my most important teachers.....
www.hopiumchronicles.com
November 24, 2025 at 11:26 PM
otispott.bsky.social
"an orgiastic celebration of death"

true but also — yikes!
This was an orgiastic celebration of death — not just the literal state murders of Khashoggi, al-Jasser and other journalists and dissidents hacked to death so that the Saudis can keep their fossil fuels flowing, but also the death of press freedom, the death of the make-believe era of “woke corporations,” the death of democracy, and — worst of all — the death of a planet.
November 24, 2025 at 4:28 PM
Reposted by Steve Potts
kurenaiju.bsky.social
What Does It Mean To Be A Person ? An easy question to ask but a very complicated one to answer.

A very good video of @miamulder.bsky.social which may make you think a lot about it, especially its veru good conclusion

www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4cR...
What Does It Mean To "Be" A Person | Mia Mulder
YouTube video by Mia Mulder
www.youtube.com
November 23, 2025 at 12:06 PM
otispott.bsky.social
What's the point of paying for advertising if your audience is in actuality an army of foreign based computers?
bendobrown.bsky.social Benjamin Strick @bendobrown.bsky.social · 11d
X rolled out a new feature overnight showing where accounts are based. This network of “Trump-supporting independent women” that claimed to be “real Americans” are based in Thailand.

The photos were stolen from European models & posts pushed pro-Trump lines while targeting Islam and LGBTQ people.
November 23, 2025 at 8:48 PM
Reposted by Steve Potts
anneapplebaum.bsky.social
The Polish prime minister reacts
November 23, 2025 at 10:48 AM