Ralf W
@raflw.bsky.social
The press, 2026: Everything Biden did was imputed to reflect how old and feeble he was. NOTHING Trump does is imputed to reflect his abhorrent personal character.
Peripatetic. Infuriated.
Hanger-on at Balloon Juice.
MSP / CO / WI
Peripatetic. Infuriated.
Hanger-on at Balloon Juice.
MSP / CO / WI
Pinned
Ralf W
@raflw.bsky.social
· 5d
I absolutely hate paragraphs like this. Seems to whom? What facts are being advanced here in the nations leading newspaper? This voiceless opinioning is shoddy, and gives cover to the deeply improper tactic the WH uses frequently.
Stick to reporting, dang it.
Stick to reporting, dang it.
They do this *all the time*. NYT finds whichever mealy-mouthed way they can to distance Trump from the things Trump explicitly does.
Everything Biden did was imputed to reflect how old and feeble he was. NOTHING Trump does is imputed to reflect his abhorrent personal charachter.
Everything Biden did was imputed to reflect how old and feeble he was. NOTHING Trump does is imputed to reflect his abhorrent personal charachter.
Admittedly I'm not in the legal profession, but if lawyers are doing this over and over like these AUSAs, shouldn't Bar Associations be holding emergency revocation processes?
What is the law if faithless people can engage in such hollow behavior?
What is the law if faithless people can engage in such hollow behavior?
Yet asst. U.S. attorneys—AUSA used to be an esteemed title—continue to make this frivolous argument over and over in bald-faced arguments in case after case. They’ve been told no many thousands of times. They admit (remarkably) in their filings that they know their arguments are meritless.
15/
15/
February 11, 2026 at 10:43 PM
Admittedly I'm not in the legal profession, but if lawyers are doing this over and over like these AUSAs, shouldn't Bar Associations be holding emergency revocation processes?
What is the law if faithless people can engage in such hollow behavior?
What is the law if faithless people can engage in such hollow behavior?
Here is what Democratic pollsters and consultants just do not hear.
This dear man is in his early 70s, and retired seven years ago from a long and storied career at Minnesota Public Radio. Where he was moderate, careful, ethical and thorough.
And he's THIS ANGRY.
Get on the clue bus @democrats.org
This dear man is in his early 70s, and retired seven years ago from a long and storied career at Minnesota Public Radio. Where he was moderate, careful, ethical and thorough.
And he's THIS ANGRY.
Get on the clue bus @democrats.org
February 11, 2026 at 10:31 PM
Here is what Democratic pollsters and consultants just do not hear.
This dear man is in his early 70s, and retired seven years ago from a long and storied career at Minnesota Public Radio. Where he was moderate, careful, ethical and thorough.
And he's THIS ANGRY.
Get on the clue bus @democrats.org
This dear man is in his early 70s, and retired seven years ago from a long and storied career at Minnesota Public Radio. Where he was moderate, careful, ethical and thorough.
And he's THIS ANGRY.
Get on the clue bus @democrats.org
Reposted by Ralf W
"Switzerland’s military has terminated its contract with Palantir… following a security audit… concluded that U.S. intelligence agencies could potentially access sensitive Swiss defense data… significant reputational warning for the data analytics firm"
www.newscase.com/palantirs-sw...
#R4Today
www.newscase.com/palantirs-sw...
#R4Today
Palantir's Swiss Exit Highlights Global Data Sovereignty Challenge | NewsCase
Switzerland's military has terminated its contract with Palantir Technologies Inc. following a security audit. The review concluded that U.S. intelligence ag
www.newscase.com
February 11, 2026 at 7:05 AM
"Switzerland’s military has terminated its contract with Palantir… following a security audit… concluded that U.S. intelligence agencies could potentially access sensitive Swiss defense data… significant reputational warning for the data analytics firm"
www.newscase.com/palantirs-sw...
#R4Today
www.newscase.com/palantirs-sw...
#R4Today
Reposted by Ralf W
Historians will say that all these institutions were debased by Trump through threats and intimidation. This will be a fucking lie. They all debased themselves. Trump's threats were always empty paper tiger crap. They capitulated because they were either cowardly idiots or secretly on his side.
February 11, 2026 at 8:17 PM
Historians will say that all these institutions were debased by Trump through threats and intimidation. This will be a fucking lie. They all debased themselves. Trump's threats were always empty paper tiger crap. They capitulated because they were either cowardly idiots or secretly on his side.
When the GOP says "America has the best health care in the world" they look at the quoted skeet *and want to make it worse*.
Love how colon cancer keeps killing people under 50 and yet insurance doesn't cover colonoscopy without cost-sharing until age 45.
I just paid $1,584 out of pocket for mine thanks to my deductible and copays
I just paid $1,584 out of pocket for mine thanks to my deductible and copays
February 11, 2026 at 8:16 PM
When the GOP says "America has the best health care in the world" they look at the quoted skeet *and want to make it worse*.
Call. Phone your senators today!
The script at the link takes less than one minute to say into their voice-mail, or to the always-courteous people paid to take these calls.
It MATTERS. Call.
Thanks.
The script at the link takes less than one minute to say into their voice-mail, or to the always-courteous people paid to take these calls.
It MATTERS. Call.
Thanks.
Congress is scrambling to pass a DHS funding bill by Friday, and we need to make it loud and clear that our senators and representatives must oppose any bill that hands ICE and Border Patrol more funding or fails to include strict safeguards to protect our communities.
Tell Your Members of Congress to rein in ICE NOW
On January 24, federal forces with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) killed Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. This was just over two weeks after the killing of Renee Good. These killings are a direc...
act.indivisible.org
February 11, 2026 at 8:11 PM
Call. Phone your senators today!
The script at the link takes less than one minute to say into their voice-mail, or to the always-courteous people paid to take these calls.
It MATTERS. Call.
Thanks.
The script at the link takes less than one minute to say into their voice-mail, or to the always-courteous people paid to take these calls.
It MATTERS. Call.
Thanks.
Almost had a human-driven Waymo dart out in front of me at 19th & I-94 frontage rd today.
2nd Waymo I've seen in the city in 2 days.
DO. NOT. WANT.
Why are we legalizing this job-killer (esp. when many folks driving for Lyft/Uber are already under intense pressure due to the ICE occupation here)?
2nd Waymo I've seen in the city in 2 days.
DO. NOT. WANT.
Why are we legalizing this job-killer (esp. when many folks driving for Lyft/Uber are already under intense pressure due to the ICE occupation here)?
February 11, 2026 at 6:54 PM
Almost had a human-driven Waymo dart out in front of me at 19th & I-94 frontage rd today.
2nd Waymo I've seen in the city in 2 days.
DO. NOT. WANT.
Why are we legalizing this job-killer (esp. when many folks driving for Lyft/Uber are already under intense pressure due to the ICE occupation here)?
2nd Waymo I've seen in the city in 2 days.
DO. NOT. WANT.
Why are we legalizing this job-killer (esp. when many folks driving for Lyft/Uber are already under intense pressure due to the ICE occupation here)?
Gallup complying with fascism was not on my dance card.
This is VERY BAD.
This is VERY BAD.
Gallup will no longer measure presidential approval after 88 years
Gallup will no longer track presidential approval ratings after more than eight decades doing so, the public opinion polling agency confirmed to The Hill on Wednesday. The company said starting thi…
thehill.com
February 11, 2026 at 6:46 PM
Gallup complying with fascism was not on my dance card.
This is VERY BAD.
This is VERY BAD.
303,000 of the jobs 'created' in 2025 were, you got it, FAKE NEWS.
To be more fair, BLS often has to revise employment data. Gathering info from a nation of 340 million people is admittedly not easy, and revisions are routine.
The key is ~ Trump is presiding over an anemic and bleeding economy.
To be more fair, BLS often has to revise employment data. Gathering info from a nation of 340 million people is admittedly not easy, and revisions are routine.
The key is ~ Trump is presiding over an anemic and bleeding economy.
Solid number January 2026 (+130k). However, the change in total nonfarm employment for 2025 was revised from +584,000 to +181,000 (seasonally adjusted). So much weaker than initially estimated
February 11, 2026 at 2:27 PM
303,000 of the jobs 'created' in 2025 were, you got it, FAKE NEWS.
To be more fair, BLS often has to revise employment data. Gathering info from a nation of 340 million people is admittedly not easy, and revisions are routine.
The key is ~ Trump is presiding over an anemic and bleeding economy.
To be more fair, BLS often has to revise employment data. Gathering info from a nation of 340 million people is admittedly not easy, and revisions are routine.
The key is ~ Trump is presiding over an anemic and bleeding economy.
Trump, RFK Jr. and the rest are chasing innovation out of the U.S.
We'll be runners-up for a generation, at least.
We'll be runners-up for a generation, at least.
We’re this close to something that might resemble a universal flu vaccine someday.
I really don’t know how Moderna doesn’t take this as a signal move to Europe. How do you operate like this for another three years if you have a fiduciary obligation to shareholders?
I really don’t know how Moderna doesn’t take this as a signal move to Europe. How do you operate like this for another three years if you have a fiduciary obligation to shareholders?
February 11, 2026 at 3:36 AM
Trump, RFK Jr. and the rest are chasing innovation out of the U.S.
We'll be runners-up for a generation, at least.
We'll be runners-up for a generation, at least.
Reposted by Ralf W
i think this more than anything is what miller wants. vast detention camps with all of the suffering and death that means.
ICE has now spent over half a BILLION dollars just on purchasing warehouses around the country to convert into detention camps.
If these mega-camps are utilized to the full capacity ICE intends, they'll be the largest prisons in the country, with little real oversight. www.ajc.com/politics/202...
If these mega-camps are utilized to the full capacity ICE intends, they'll be the largest prisons in the country, with little real oversight. www.ajc.com/politics/202...
ICE to begin detaining immigrants inside Social Circle warehouse in April
Homeland Security plans to build warehouse detention facilities in other cities being met with opposition.
www.ajc.com
February 10, 2026 at 3:56 AM
i think this more than anything is what miller wants. vast detention camps with all of the suffering and death that means.
The right in this country has completely, utterly lost their collective minds.
February 11, 2026 at 12:37 AM
The right in this country has completely, utterly lost their collective minds.
Reposted by Ralf W
Friends from Minneapolis reporting to me that things are at the point where folks are being hidden in other people's houses and we are in the "again" part of "never again" which the "never" was supposed to preclude
February 10, 2026 at 10:54 PM
Friends from Minneapolis reporting to me that things are at the point where folks are being hidden in other people's houses and we are in the "again" part of "never again" which the "never" was supposed to preclude
Reposted by Ralf W
After the Trump regime empties out its concentration camps by deporting all the dark-skinned immigrants it rounds up, those camps will still be operational and ready for use against the next groups of people the regime targets as enemies. Such as, perhaps, you.
February 10, 2026 at 11:19 PM
After the Trump regime empties out its concentration camps by deporting all the dark-skinned immigrants it rounds up, those camps will still be operational and ready for use against the next groups of people the regime targets as enemies. Such as, perhaps, you.
Reposted by Ralf W
This is the second time an ICE employee has been arrested in in a Bloomington, MN underage sex trafficking sting www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/ne...
Police in Bloomington, MN just announced that one of the guys they arrested in an underage sex trafficking sting was a **background checker for ICE agents.**
He had a high security clearance in the Trump administration... and he was caught trying to abuse children. Sickening.
He had a high security clearance in the Trump administration... and he was caught trying to abuse children. Sickening.
February 10, 2026 at 9:26 PM
This is the second time an ICE employee has been arrested in in a Bloomington, MN underage sex trafficking sting www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/ne...
Man with a high security clearance is booked by local police as a sex offender.
Epstein is gone, but not the horrible people who traffic and abuse women.
Epstein is gone, but not the horrible people who traffic and abuse women.
Bloomington police announce arrests in sex trafficking bust: "Rashad Johnson out of Maple Grove. This is the most disturbing arrest that we've had here. He is a backgrounder for ICE, Homeland Security, and federal agencies."
February 10, 2026 at 9:19 PM
Man with a high security clearance is booked by local police as a sex offender.
Epstein is gone, but not the horrible people who traffic and abuse women.
Epstein is gone, but not the horrible people who traffic and abuse women.
Resign!!!
Commerce chief Lutnick admits to visiting Epstein Island during Senate grilling
Commerce chief Lutnick admits to visiting Epstein Island during Senate grilling
Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick admitted to senators during testimony on Tuesday that he visited the notorious island owned by convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein despite previously telling…
myfox8.com
February 10, 2026 at 5:12 PM
Resign!!!
Call your Rep. and Senators today!!
"I'm a constituent, I want ICE out of Minnesota and other states that are under assault. Do NOT vote to fund ICE. It cannot be reformed."
(Or whatever you want to say along those lines! Perfection isn't the point. "ICE Out" is what will get tallied)
"I'm a constituent, I want ICE out of Minnesota and other states that are under assault. Do NOT vote to fund ICE. It cannot be reformed."
(Or whatever you want to say along those lines! Perfection isn't the point. "ICE Out" is what will get tallied)
Actually, There IS Something You Can Do About ICE — And It Only Takes 5 Minutes
Political and immigration experts shared what exactly you can do and why it matters so much this week.
www.huffpost.com
February 10, 2026 at 4:14 PM
Call your Rep. and Senators today!!
"I'm a constituent, I want ICE out of Minnesota and other states that are under assault. Do NOT vote to fund ICE. It cannot be reformed."
(Or whatever you want to say along those lines! Perfection isn't the point. "ICE Out" is what will get tallied)
"I'm a constituent, I want ICE out of Minnesota and other states that are under assault. Do NOT vote to fund ICE. It cannot be reformed."
(Or whatever you want to say along those lines! Perfection isn't the point. "ICE Out" is what will get tallied)
Reposted by Ralf W
Howard Lutnick must resign as Commerce Secretary because he lied about his close dealings with Jeffrey Epstein. After Epstein’s sex trafficking conviction, Lutnick went into business with him! Of course there are many other reasons why Lutnick is unfit for public office, as this thread shows. 1/7🧵🧵🧵
Howard Lutnick, Trump's commerce secretary, faces calls to resign over Epstein ties
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, a key member of President Trump's Cabinet, is facing calls to resign over new revelations about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.
abcnews.go.com
February 10, 2026 at 3:09 PM
Howard Lutnick must resign as Commerce Secretary because he lied about his close dealings with Jeffrey Epstein. After Epstein’s sex trafficking conviction, Lutnick went into business with him! Of course there are many other reasons why Lutnick is unfit for public office, as this thread shows. 1/7🧵🧵🧵
Age verification? Our Trimline telephone had the ten foot curly cord so you could talk to people anywhere in the whole kitchen. Convenient!!
Age verification? I cut a cardboard 45 record out of the back of a cereal box and played it on my portable record player. #sugarsugar
Age verification? It was just "arcade" not "video arcade".
February 10, 2026 at 3:11 PM
Age verification? Our Trimline telephone had the ten foot curly cord so you could talk to people anywhere in the whole kitchen. Convenient!!
February 10, 2026 at 2:54 PM
Reposted by Ralf W
Jamie Raskin said he reviewed an email sent from Epstein to co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell that was a forwarded conversation between Epstein’s lawyers and lawyers for Donald Trump.
The DOJ (illegally) redacted Trump's name in the public files.
What else are they hiding?
The DOJ (illegally) redacted Trump's name in the public files.
What else are they hiding?
Rep. Raskin Confirms ‘Troubling’ And ‘Unnecessary’ Epstein File Redactions
www.huffpost.com
February 9, 2026 at 8:31 PM
Jamie Raskin said he reviewed an email sent from Epstein to co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell that was a forwarded conversation between Epstein’s lawyers and lawyers for Donald Trump.
The DOJ (illegally) redacted Trump's name in the public files.
What else are they hiding?
The DOJ (illegally) redacted Trump's name in the public files.
What else are they hiding?
Reposted by Ralf W
It bears repeating that Tom Homan is a fucking psycho and Greg Bovino's exile means functionally nothing when it comes to what's happening on the ground in Minnesota.
In one 30-minute stretch, three legal observers were arrested — as Trump’s Border czar Tom Homan calls on locals to “end the resistance.”
“Uptick In Abductions”: ICE Ramps Up Targeting of Minneapolis Legal Observers
In one 30-minute stretch, three Minneapolis legal observers were arrested as ICE ramped up its targeting of community volunteers.
interc.pt
February 9, 2026 at 6:57 PM
It bears repeating that Tom Homan is a fucking psycho and Greg Bovino's exile means functionally nothing when it comes to what's happening on the ground in Minnesota.
Reposted by Ralf W
The fact that Bad Bunny's halftime show made white bigots angry and feel excluded is A GOOD THING. It's one of the best things about it. It's not a problem to solve. It's a solution to pursue. Bigots *should* feel excluded. We should find *more* ways to celebrate the reality of USian diversity.
February 9, 2026 at 12:07 PM
The fact that Bad Bunny's halftime show made white bigots angry and feel excluded is A GOOD THING. It's one of the best things about it. It's not a problem to solve. It's a solution to pursue. Bigots *should* feel excluded. We should find *more* ways to celebrate the reality of USian diversity.
I'm really not letting go of the notion I picked up via a Bsky follow, that Sheriff's Dept's are the present-day result of white people organizing slave patrols in the 1800s.
February 9, 2026 at 3:32 PM
I'm really not letting go of the notion I picked up via a Bsky follow, that Sheriff's Dept's are the present-day result of white people organizing slave patrols in the 1800s.