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Reposted by Alan Wessman

Sam Brunson @smbrnsn.bsky.social · 6m

Also, fwiw, the truth about Trump is damning enough. Trump makes stuff up because Portland is, in fact, a lawful place, peaceful other than his fascist goons.

Democrats don’t have to make stuff up about Trump! The truth is right there! 2/2

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Sam Brunson @smbrnsn.bsky.social · 6m

I’m going to gently counterpoint this: Democrats should not, in fact, lie shamelessly. Lying is bad! Especially when done by elected officials!

That Trump lies does not mean democrats should also be bad! 1/

Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 12m

Democrats should go on TV to say they need to impeach Trump because of the cocaine-fueled pedophilia parties that he holds in the East Room of the White House with his friends in MS-13.

I mean, if he gets to lie shamelessly, why not them?

Justin Baragona @justinbaragona.bsky.social · 2h

"Antifa-led hellfire"

www.whitehouse.gov/articles/202...

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Reposted by Alan Wessman

Brian Finucane @bcfinucane.bsky.social · 8m

Is it good when the commander in chief is untethered to reality?

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 38m

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."

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David Rothkopf @djrothkopf.bsky.social · 12m

The Emperor's new war. A complete fantasy presented in a room full of nodding sycophants who don't question a thing he says.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 38m

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."

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CREW @citizensforethics.org · 42m

John Paulson, one of Donald Trump’s earliest supporters on Wall Street, owns a stake in the tiny mining business whose value tripled overnight after the news that the US government invested $35.6 million in the company.

Billionaire Trump Donor Paulson Scores Windfall Thanks To Government’s Investment In Trilogy Metals

One of Donald Trump’s earliest supporters on Wall Street owns a stake in the tiny mining business that tripled overnight on news of the government’s investment.

www.forbes.com

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Reposted by Alan Wessman

David Roberts @volts.wtf · 2h

The historically volatile Texas grid was entirely stable this summer, despite extreme temperatures. Grid operators never once had to ask Texans to conserve energy or shut off their air conditioners.

Why? Solar & batteries. Want a stable grid? Try solar & batteries.

Solar and batteries had a record-setting, grid-stabilizing summer in…

Solar has set 17 power generation records in Texas so far this year, shoring up the grid alongside batteries as some gas plant developers step back.

www.canarymedia.com

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Reposted by Alan Wessman

Dave Byrnes @djbyrnes1.bsky.social · 52m

Ellis finds the plaintiffs have demonstrated a likelihood of success on allegations that feds' "expression of force... is unreasonable and excessive" in response to peaceful protests.

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Alan Wessman @alanwessman.bsky.social · 1h

Rule of thumb: Trump uses other people as proxies for his own emotions. Read his quote as “it agitates and irritates ME” and you can understand the true motives.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1h

Trump: "We took the freedom of speech away because that's been through the courts and the courts said you have freedom of speech, but what has happened is when they burn a flag it agitates and irritates crowds."

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Reposted by Alan Wessman

Dr. Steven Buckley @stevenjcbuckley.bsky.social · 1h

"We took the freedom of speech away" is an utterly deranged thing for the president of America to brag about.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1h

Trump: "We took the freedom of speech away because that's been through the courts and the courts said you have freedom of speech, but what has happened is when they burn a flag it agitates and irritates crowds."

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Reposted by Alan Wessman

John Colton @johncolton.bsky.social · 1h

Absolutely nothing that is going on warrants Trump using the military for law enforcement in the US.

#ImpeachTrump
#NoKings

Catherine Rampell @crampell.bsky.social · 1h

White House officials have held increasingly serious discussions in recent days about President Donald Trump invoking the Insurrection Act, a rarely used 19th century law that gives the president the power to deploy active-duty troops inside the U.S. for law enforcement purposes

Trump administration officials seriously discussing invoking Insurrection Act, sources say

A decision is not expected to be imminent, one source said, but debate within the administration has shifted recently to more deeply exploring how and when the act might be invoked.

www.nbcnews.com

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Alan Wessman @alanwessman.bsky.social · 1h

Thread, with good explanation in it, some of which I understand even as a non-economist.

Bobby Kogan @bbkogan.bsky.social · 1h

CBO fy2025 projections for deficit/spending/etc are out

Some issues make simple comparisons apples-to-oranges, so I'll do apples-to-apples & explain in the thread

Relative to pre-Trump projections:
-Primary deficits ⬆️ $34 bn
-program spending ⬆️ $97 bn
-revenues ⬆️ $63 bn
www.cbo.gov/publication/...

2025 (January estimate, adjusted to fix issues) 2025 CBO estimate (remove student loan one-time revaluation) 2025 (adjusted for student loans) vs. 2025 projection (adjusted to fix issues)
Spending 7061 7166 105
Program spending 6108 6205 97
Interest 953 961 9
Revenue 5163 5226 63
Primary deficit 945 979 34
Total deficit 1898 1940 42

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Reposted by Alan Wessman

Bobby Kogan @bbkogan.bsky.social · 1h

Elon Musk said he was going to cut spending by $2 trillion dollars, but instead spending is higher this year than we thought it would be before Trump took office. Truly incredible stuff.

Bobby Kogan @bbkogan.bsky.social · 1h

CBO fy2025 projections for deficit/spending/etc are out

Some issues make simple comparisons apples-to-oranges, so I'll do apples-to-apples & explain in the thread

Relative to pre-Trump projections:
-Primary deficits ⬆️ $34 bn
-program spending ⬆️ $97 bn
-revenues ⬆️ $63 bn
www.cbo.gov/publication/...

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Reposted by Alan Wessman

Patrick De Klotz @patdeklotz.bsky.social · 1h

They are pouring gasoline all over the place. This is not “last resort“ stuff, this is, “we need to make the pretext better” stuff.

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Reposted by Alan Wessman

Dr Emma L Briant 🇬🇧 in 🇺🇸 @emmalbriant.bsky.social · 2h

With all the talk of 'illegal' and 'migrants on boats' in the UK, much of the discussion also forgets that these are people fleeing persecution - some may be dissidents. Human rights matter but there are other reasons why you don't hand them back, to help evil regimes.

Dr Emma L Briant 🇬🇧 in 🇺🇸 @emmalbriant.bsky.social · 2h

Russian asylum-seekers are being deported en masse to their country of origin, where many are imprisoned upon arrival due to their involvement in opposition and anti-war campaigning foreignpolicy.com/2025/10/08/t...

Trump Is Supporting Transnational Repression

Instead of sheltering pro-democracy dissidents, America is now returning them for arrest.

foreignpolicy.com

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Alan Wessman @alanwessman.bsky.social · 3h

And yet he wasn’t even actually surveilled. Pulling up call metadata after the fact is investigation, not surveillance which is discreet observation in real time.

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Reposted by Alan Wessman

Walter Olson @walterolson.bsky.social · 5h

Even aside from immigration, police "have been known to resort to informal methods of repression, threatening or roughing up persons they see using cameras, or demanding that they delete the footage or hand over their phones or tablets." We need explicit acknowledgement of a right to record. /7

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felinecannonball @felinecannon.bsky.social · 4h

DHS repeatedly lies about incidents of assault, illegal detention, constitutional infringement, negligence.

And they argue that creating or possessing evidence of their crimes and lies is itself illegal. They assault and detain photographers, delete videos, seize phones.

Worth reading:

Walter Olson @walterolson.bsky.social · 10h

New from me at The Dispatch: DHS says it's illegal to videotape ICE agents. That's not what the courts say. @thedispatchmedia.bsky.social

DHS Says Videotaping ICE Agents Is Illegal. Federal Courts Disagree.

Filming law enforcement serves important goals central to a free republic.

thedispatch.com

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Reposted by Alan Wessman

Philip Bump @pbump.com · 3h

I managed to conceive of a reason Jack Smith might want call logs for GOP senators that isn't rooted in Joe Biden "weaponizing" the government.
www.pbump.net/o/dethawing-...

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Logan Mitchell PhD @loganemitchell.bsky.social · 3h

Utah is among the top 5 states where you'll save the most money by driving an EV as compared to a gas car (+ no air pollution)
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/08/u...

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Patrick Chovanec @prchovanec.bsky.social · 3h

Regardless of how one feels, policy-wise, about foreign aid and how it is administered, this was absolutely unnecessary and downright evil. apnews.com/article/myan...

Starving children screaming for food as US aid cuts unleash devastation and death across Myanmar

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has repeatedly said “no one has died" because of his government’s decision to gut its foreign aid program.

apnews.com

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Reposted by Alan Wessman

Brennan Center @brennancenter.org · 3h

The Brennan Center research shows that voting in person, early voting, and mail voting are accurate and secure. It’s paramount to ensure that every eligible citizen has the freedom to vote. bit.ly/4fLDlDa

Mail Voting Accuracy

Election officials use many checks to ensure mail voting is secure against widespread fraud and tampering.

www.brennancenter.org

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Jacqueline Sweet @jsweetli.bsky.social · 6h

NEW: A MAGA X account often shared by Senator Mike Lee and House Republicans like Nancy Mace--that often alleges Democrats encourage voting fraud-- is run by a man who not only has never stepped foot in the US, he also illegally donated to an American campaign.

www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...

The Viral MAGA Accounts Run by a Man Who Has Never Been to America

Two influential MAGA social media accounts are run by Rumen Naumovski, a Macedonian who may have illegally donated to a U.S. election.

www.rollingstone.com

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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 4h

Setting aside the absurdly xenophobic framing, once again, there is ZERO truth to any of this. Everyone qualifies for Emergency Medicaid equally. Hospitals do not receive more for treating undocumented immigrants in an emergency than Americans. Speaker Johnson is flatly wrong.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 6h

Mike Johnson: "If you're a young, pregnant American citizen women who shows up in an ER and you get treated and they pay the hospital less for treating you than some illegal rabble rouser who came in from some South American country to do us harm, that is wrong."

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Kai Ryssdal @kairyssdal.bsky.social · 5h

Also, and not for nothing, he’s lying

Patrick Chovanec @prchovanec.bsky.social · 5h

The Speaker's default argument is to plead ignorance about things it's his job to know.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 6h

Q: Do you agree that the mayor of Chicago and governor of Illinois should be in prison?

MIKE JOHNSON: Should they be in prison? I'm not the attorney general. I'm not following the day to day on that

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Alan Wessman @alanwessman.bsky.social · 4h

Your flight sim recaps were a great series, and your regular GDP report analyses were very informative. You’ve brought a lot of intellectual light to your online communities.