Sarah McLaughlin
@sarahemclaugh.bsky.social
Global Expression, FIRE. Book: Authoritarians in the Academy, @hopkinspress.bsky.social (August 2025). https://www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/53835/authoritarians-academy
Signal: sarahemclaugh.01. Go birds.
Signal: sarahemclaugh.01. Go birds.
Pinned
Pub day! My new book, Authoritarians in the Academy at @hopkinspress.bsky.social, is now officially out and available for purchase. www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/...
Reposted by Sarah McLaughlin
November 25, 2025 at 6:03 PM
Just by putting up a sign calling for a repeal of the law banning insults to the monarchy you are violating the law banning insults to the monarchy.
Bangkok vendors face royal defamation charge
Complainant went to police after seeing photo of their sign on Facebook
www.bangkokpost.com
November 25, 2025 at 4:35 PM
Just by putting up a sign calling for a repeal of the law banning insults to the monarchy you are violating the law banning insults to the monarchy.
Reposted by Sarah McLaughlin
Hegseth is now threatening to recall Sen. Mark Kelly to active duty in order to court martial him.
November 24, 2025 at 5:05 PM
Hegseth is now threatening to recall Sen. Mark Kelly to active duty in order to court martial him.
Reposted by Sarah McLaughlin
Watching Philadelphia sports the last seven calendar days
October 10, 2025 at 2:52 AM
Watching Philadelphia sports the last seven calendar days
from suffering eagles fans began, and to suffering we shall return
November 24, 2025 at 12:56 AM
from suffering eagles fans began, and to suffering we shall return
is that the actual first period flyers score or did a bag of hammers fall on my head and i am severely concussed
November 23, 2025 at 12:39 AM
is that the actual first period flyers score or did a bag of hammers fall on my head and i am severely concussed
every day i thank the lord for making me a philadelphian
Philadelphia Area School Prepares for Dallas Week by Turning Cowboys Into Literal Punching Bags
‘Abbott Elementary’ is a documentary.
si.com
November 22, 2025 at 11:10 PM
every day i thank the lord for making me a philadelphian
Reposted by Sarah McLaughlin
China underground church pastors arrested, face up to 3 years in jail, NGO head says reut.rs/486ybOM
China underground church pastors arrested, face up to 3 years in jail, NGO head says
Eighteen leaders of a major Chinese underground church were formally arrested on Tuesday, a Christian NGO advocate told Reuters, meaning they will eventually face trial and a potential prison sentence of up to three years.
reut.rs
November 19, 2025 at 3:10 PM
China underground church pastors arrested, face up to 3 years in jail, NGO head says reut.rs/486ybOM
Reposted by Sarah McLaughlin
New: Reuters has tallied job losses, suspensions and investigations stemming from the reaction to Charlie Kirk's Sept. 10 assassination. Its findings: More than 600 Americans have been punished, and the figure is likely to be an under-count.
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
November 19, 2025 at 11:35 AM
New: Reuters has tallied job losses, suspensions and investigations stemming from the reaction to Charlie Kirk's Sept. 10 assassination. Its findings: More than 600 Americans have been punished, and the figure is likely to be an under-count.
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
"things happen" = burning risotto, breaking a vase, forgetting a friend's birthday
"things happen" ≠ violently murdering and dismembering a journalist in a consulate
"things happen" ≠ violently murdering and dismembering a journalist in a consulate
Trump suggests Khashoggi had it coming: "You're mentioning someone that was extremely controversial. A lot of people didn't like that gentleman that you're talking about. Whether you like him or didn't like him, things happen. But he knew nothing about it. You don't have to embarrass our guest."
November 18, 2025 at 6:04 PM
"things happen" = burning risotto, breaking a vase, forgetting a friend's birthday
"things happen" ≠ violently murdering and dismembering a journalist in a consulate
"things happen" ≠ violently murdering and dismembering a journalist in a consulate
Reposted by Sarah McLaughlin
Trump suggests Khashoggi had it coming: "You're mentioning someone that was extremely controversial. A lot of people didn't like that gentleman that you're talking about. Whether you like him or didn't like him, things happen. But he knew nothing about it. You don't have to embarrass our guest."
November 18, 2025 at 5:46 PM
Trump suggests Khashoggi had it coming: "You're mentioning someone that was extremely controversial. A lot of people didn't like that gentleman that you're talking about. Whether you like him or didn't like him, things happen. But he knew nothing about it. You don't have to embarrass our guest."
Reposted by Sarah McLaughlin
Eleventh Circuit affirms dismissal of Trump defamation lawsuit against CNN for calling his election denialism the "Big Lie"
Opinion: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
Opinion: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
![Trump’s argument is unpersuasive. First, although he concedes that CNN’s use of the term “Big Lie” is, to some extent, ambiguous, he assumes that it is unambiguous enough to constitute a
statement of fact. This assumption is untenable. Although we haven’t squarely addressed the point, case law from other circuits is
persuasive. In Buckley v. Littell, 539 F.2d 882 (2d Cir. 1976), cert.
denied, 429 U.S. 1062 (1977), the Second Circuit held that, by using
the terms “fascist,” “fellow traveler,” and “radical right” to describe
William F. Buckley, Jr., the defendant was not publishing “statements of fact.” Buckley, 539 F.2d at 893. Rather, the court ruled,
the terms were “so debatable, loose and varying[] that they [we]re
insusceptible to proof of truth or falsity.” Id. at 894. Similarly, in
Ollman v. Evans, 750 F.2d 970 (D.C. Cir. 1984) (en banc), cert. denied,
471 U.S. 1127 (1985), the D.C. Circuit held that when the defendant
called the plaintiff “an outspoken proponent of political Marxism,”
his statement was “obviously unverifiable.” Ollman, 750 F.2d at
987. Trump argues that the term “Big Lie” is less ambiguous than
the terms “fascist,” “fellow traveler,” “radical right,” and “outspoken proponent of political Marxism.” But he does not explain
this assertion. If “fascist”—a term that is, by definition, political—](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:7r477jd7q7p2mzmyqfm7jmp7/bafkreifzrcycynll6e4vval5gho3ixmpdo4odqha5cgw4zjydntc5yhtxm@jpeg)
![is ambiguous, then it follows that “Big Lie”—a term that is facially
apolitical—is at least as ambiguous.
Second, Trump’s argument hinges on the fact that his own
interpretation of his conduct—i.e., that he was exercising a constitutional right to identify his concerns with the integrity of elections—is true and that CNN’s interpretation—i.e., that Trump was
peddling his “Big Lie”—is false. However, his conduct is susceptible to multiple subjective interpretations, including CNN’s. As we
held in Turner, one person’s “subjective assessment” is not rendered false by another person’s “different conclusion.” 879 F.3d at
1264. In Turner, the defendants stated that, on at least one occasion,
the plaintiff, James Turner, offensive line coach of the Miami Dolphins, participated in the “homophobic taunting” of one of his players. Id. Turner argued that this statement was false because his
conduct was a “harmless ‘joke,’ as opposed to homophobic taunting.” Id. We rejected his argument, concluding that the statement
“[wa]s the [d]efendants’ subjective assessment of Turner’s conduct
and [wa]s not readily capable of being proven true or false.” Id.
Just as the Turner defendants described Turner’s conduct as “homophobic taunting,” CNN described Trump’s conduct as his “Big
Lie.” Just as Turner viewed his own conduct as a “harmless ‘joke,’”
Trump viewed his own conduct as the exercise of a constitutional
right. As in Turner, so too here. CNN’s subjective assessment of
Trump’s conduct is not readily capable of being proven true or
false.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:7r477jd7q7p2mzmyqfm7jmp7/bafkreib6bvzynagsmnxqtdezowccqs6d3mzl3ceyoodhxwkbaizqo2j3ma@jpeg)
November 18, 2025 at 3:29 PM
Eleventh Circuit affirms dismissal of Trump defamation lawsuit against CNN for calling his election denialism the "Big Lie"
Opinion: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
Opinion: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
might start texting my gym friends with injury updates like I’m a professional athlete
SOURCE: SARAH TO MISS ONE TO TWO WEEKS WITH SORE HIP
SOURCE: SARAH TO MISS ONE TO TWO WEEKS WITH SORE HIP
November 17, 2025 at 10:07 PM
might start texting my gym friends with injury updates like I’m a professional athlete
SOURCE: SARAH TO MISS ONE TO TWO WEEKS WITH SORE HIP
SOURCE: SARAH TO MISS ONE TO TWO WEEKS WITH SORE HIP
vic fangio to star in jared goff’s nightmares this week
November 17, 2025 at 4:32 AM
vic fangio to star in jared goff’s nightmares this week
cris collinsworth could tell me he was giving me a million dollars and I would still be annoyed listening to him say it
November 17, 2025 at 1:36 AM
cris collinsworth could tell me he was giving me a million dollars and I would still be annoyed listening to him say it
heard screaming outside and I thought some guys were going to fight but they were just gearing up for an EAGLES chant lmao
November 16, 2025 at 4:20 AM
heard screaming outside and I thought some guys were going to fight but they were just gearing up for an EAGLES chant lmao
Reposted by Sarah McLaughlin
FCC Chair Brendan Carr just shared a Truth Social post from Trump calling for Seth Meyers to be fired
November 16, 2025 at 3:10 AM
FCC Chair Brendan Carr just shared a Truth Social post from Trump calling for Seth Meyers to be fired
Reposted by Sarah McLaughlin
I know people have a lot on their plates right now, but the opposition candidate who Erdogan most wants to avoid running against is being threatened with a jail sentence of over 2000 years.
apnews.com/article/turk...
apnews.com/article/turk...
Prosecutor seeks 2,352-year jail term for Istanbul's jailed mayor over alleged corruption
Istanbul’s chief public prosecutor has filed a sweeping indictment against the city's jailed mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu.
apnews.com
November 12, 2025 at 7:37 PM
I know people have a lot on their plates right now, but the opposition candidate who Erdogan most wants to avoid running against is being threatened with a jail sentence of over 2000 years.
apnews.com/article/turk...
apnews.com/article/turk...
Reposted by Sarah McLaughlin
IT GOT BETTER
📍Central MN
📍Central MN
November 12, 2025 at 3:05 AM
IT GOT BETTER
📍Central MN
📍Central MN
Reposted by Sarah McLaughlin
These new details from last summer's confrontation between Rob Manfred and Bryce Harper are absolutely insane.
MLB officials threatening players will "end up in a ditch" for disrespecting Manfred is outrageous behavior.
www.newsweek.com/sports/mlb/p...
MLB officials threatening players will "end up in a ditch" for disrespecting Manfred is outrageous behavior.
www.newsweek.com/sports/mlb/p...
November 8, 2025 at 6:36 PM
These new details from last summer's confrontation between Rob Manfred and Bryce Harper are absolutely insane.
MLB officials threatening players will "end up in a ditch" for disrespecting Manfred is outrageous behavior.
www.newsweek.com/sports/mlb/p...
MLB officials threatening players will "end up in a ditch" for disrespecting Manfred is outrageous behavior.
www.newsweek.com/sports/mlb/p...
"Chiang Seeta, a Chinese artist and activist, reported that nearly all participating directors in China faced intimidation. Even directors abroad, including those who are not Chinese nationals, reported that their relatives and friends in China were receiving threatening calls from police."
November 7, 2025 at 3:00 PM
"Chiang Seeta, a Chinese artist and activist, reported that nearly all participating directors in China faced intimidation. Even directors abroad, including those who are not Chinese nationals, reported that their relatives and friends in China were receiving threatening calls from police."
The organizer of the inaugural IndieChina Film Festival in New York said he was forced to cancel after facing a "relentless" pressure campaign, and that he may be unable to travel back to China.
"I did think it might be better here....It turns out I was wrong."
"I did think it might be better here....It turns out I was wrong."
Indie Chinese film festival in US canceled after pressure campaign
Organizer's reports of harassment echo other allegations of transnational repression
asia.nikkei.com
November 7, 2025 at 3:28 AM
The organizer of the inaugural IndieChina Film Festival in New York said he was forced to cancel after facing a "relentless" pressure campaign, and that he may be unable to travel back to China.
"I did think it might be better here....It turns out I was wrong."
"I did think it might be better here....It turns out I was wrong."
Reposted by Sarah McLaughlin
VICTORY: Federal court dismisses class action lawsuit against pollster J. Ann Selzer, filed by the “Center for American Rights”
www.thefire.org/news/victory...
www.thefire.org/news/victory...
VICTORY! Federal district court dismisses class-action suit against pollster J. Ann Selzer
Federal district court tosses ‘fake news’ lawsuit against pollster J. Ann Selzer, affirming First Amendment protections for election commentary.
www.thefire.org
November 6, 2025 at 8:44 PM
VICTORY: Federal court dismisses class action lawsuit against pollster J. Ann Selzer, filed by the “Center for American Rights”
www.thefire.org/news/victory...
www.thefire.org/news/victory...