brian pillion
@anaphoristand.bsky.social
900 followers 1.4K following 2K posts
writer | antiantiantifa | (mostly philly) sports fan | he/him
Posts Media Videos Starter Packs
anaphoristand.bsky.social
As batshit as she is, I've always felt she came by it genuinely. And for as many performative assholes as there are in the GOP congressional caucus, the genuine assholes (who sometimes actually believe in real shit) can be a breath of fresh air.
Reposted by brian pillion
allinwithchris.bsky.social
WATCH: @chrislhayes.bsky.social explains precisely why Mike Johnson is stalling the new Dem rep's swear-in over the Epstein vote: "Right now, Johnson can pressure the four Republican signers to change their minds. He has time to do it—as long as he keeps Adelita Grijalva out of Congress."
anaphoristand.bsky.social
I appreciate @hakeem-jeffries.bsky.social 's taunting of Mike Lawler, but the appropriate putdown is not to call Donald Trump his "boss" but his (Eric Jr?) "daddy." Lean into their willful subjugation of the Article I branch, and make them own it (inasmuch as they've already sold themselves).
anaphoristand.bsky.social
Hassle "please don't come" back
Reposted by brian pillion
annabower.bsky.social
You’ve gotta be kidding me.

This WaPo editorial presents a misleading revisionist history of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s criminal cases against Trump.

Then it has the gall to compare that to Trump’s overt targeting of his perceived enemies.

Really embarrassing stuff.
But the mere fact that a legal tool might be available does not mean it should be used. The
current rage over Grassley's revelation shows why. Smith showed little restraint in his pursuit of a former president. He charged Trump for official acts he took as president. He sought a gag order to limit Trump's ability to criticize the prosecution. He tried to accelerate the case to try a leading presidential candidate before the 2024 election.
Reposted by brian pillion
dieworkwear.bsky.social
“A second inflatable frog has now been spotted wiggling through Portland.”
Marco Rubio whispers into Donald Trump's ear.
Reposted by brian pillion
letsgomathias.bsky.social
Jack collaborated with neo-Nazi twins to make a documentary. He was a fan of white supremacist Richard Spencer. He has tweeted 1488, the alphanumeric code for Heil Hitler. He wrote an unreadable anti-antifa book. Last year he wrote a book abt the left called “Unhumans.” That he’s now speaking here…
premthakker.bsky.social
From Donald Trump's Roundtable on Antifa just now —
"Antifa has been around in various iterations for almost 100 years in some instances, going back to the Weimar Republic in Germany."
— special guest Jack Posobiec
Reposted by brian pillion
rparloff.bsky.social
As I read it, the 9th Circuit's administrative stay of the 1st TRO in Portland allows federalization of the Oregon National Guard troops for now *but still bars deployment of any NG troops in Portland.* That's because 2d TRO was not appealed & barred deployments of any federalized NG troops.
Reposted by brian pillion
zanath.bsky.social
"We took freedom of speech away" should be in every campaign ad moving forward.
atrupar.com
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."
Reposted by brian pillion
jimmykimmellive.bsky.social
Did Trump write the infamous Epstein birthday letter? You decide.
anaphoristand.bsky.social
At bare minimum, it's not, "critics have said," but, "Trump appointed judges have ruled..."
Reposted by brian pillion
bbkogan.bsky.social
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.
bbkogan.bsky.social
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
anaphoristand.bsky.social
Just wait 'til Glenn Greenwald hears about this!
web.archive.org/web/20190803...
Greenwald 'The Professor' Dom MascHry31 -- After a long photo shoot, Butchel promised a substantial amount to RZ since in his and his partner's opinion, the boy would have a meteoric, fabulous career and with gains that were unimaginable until then for the young man. Before the legal part of the thing, a contract of about 80 pages on image use and other topics that practically exempted Greenwald and Buchtel from any strictness of the law, there would be the final proof, his sexual and artistic performance would have to be examined. Herr DomMascHry31, as he DEMANDED to be called, brought in other actors from the production company. RZ saw Greenwald dressed as an SS general, the Nazi paramilitaries. The sessions of Sadomasochism, Blasphemy and other horrors lasted five hours uninterrupted.
Reposted by brian pillion
jsweetli.bsky.social
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
Reposted by brian pillion
adamkeiper.com
"The folks at the White House were very disappointed that the entrance into L.A. in June didn't provoke more violence....What they didn't have was the thing that they wanted, like they saw in Portland in 2020, which were protests that did grow unruly and out of control."
adamkeiper.com
NEW: In this important new piece, our @adriancarrasquillo.bsky.social looks inside the new Trump propaganda machine—which uses embedded MAGA influencers to create viral videos of ICE agents and actions, videos the government then packages and promotes.
www.thebulwark.com/p/ice-propag...
The ICE Propaganda Campaign Goes Into Overdrive
MAGA commentators are stepping up as soldiers in Trump’s culture war to provoke confrontations against “Antifa” with the backing of DHS.
www.thebulwark.com
Reposted by brian pillion
anaphoristand.bsky.social
A joint climate change/migration encyclical (in furtherance of Francis) tackling the two as an interrelated challenge, with attendant universal moral responsibilities, would be a pretty huge way for him to meet the moment.
Reposted by brian pillion
wyrdsofpower.bsky.social
I’ve seen the pictures of Trump with Epstein’s girls. Here’s what’s in them - @michaelwolffnyc.bsky.social
Reposted by brian pillion
jackjenkins.me
Reporter's notebook: I actually began working on this story shortly after footage of the incident showed up last month.

But by the time I finally got ahold of folks, the story grew: 2 *other* faith leaders I spoke with *also* reported being shot w/pepper balls while protesting this ICE facility.
jackjenkins.me
Gonna be thinking about this lede for a minute.
(RNS) — Last month, the Rev. David Black stood in front of a Chicago-area U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility and spread his arms wide. Adorned in all black and wearing a clerical collar, the pastor looked up at a group of masked, heavily armed ICE agents on the roof and began to pray.

“I invited them to repentance,” Black, a minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA), said in an interview. “I basically offered an altar call. I invited them to come and receive that salvation, and be part of the kingdom that is coming.”

But when Black began to lower his arms a few seconds later, the agents responded to his spiritual plea by firing pepper balls, or chemical agents that cause eye irritation and respiratory distress, video footage shows. One struck Black in the head, exploding into a puff of white pepper smoke and forcing him to his knees. Fellow demonstrators rushed to his aid, and as the pastor rubbed his face in pain, the agents continued to fire.

“We could hear them laughing,” Black said.
anaphoristand.bsky.social
I still don't think the "database" aspect of this (and its likely connection to both DOGE and Palantir) is getting near enough attention.
Reposted by brian pillion
olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social
We know more about the massive military-style raid on a Chicago housing complex thanks to the reporting of @southsideweekly.bsky.social, @blockclubchi.bsky.social, and neighborhood resident Eboni Watson who chronicled the event. Among the emerging questions: what's real estate's role in this?
section of text from South Side Weekly's coverage, which says: "The building was purchased by Wisconsin-based investor Trinity Flood in January 2020, according to Cook County records. On October 1, the day after the raid, a judge reviewed an emergency motion from Wells Fargo seeking to appoint Matthew Tarshis of Frontline Real Estate Partners as the property’s receiver. 

Flood purchased three multifamily properties in South Shore in 2020. The neighborhood, which had the highest number of eviction filings in Chicago from 2015-2019 according to the Law Center for Better Housing, has seen a rise in outside real estate investors since the 2017 announcement of the Obama Presidential Center’s construction in the neighboring Jackson Park.

Wells Fargo Bank foreclosed on the building in mid-2024, bringing a $27 million lawsuit against Flood for missed loan payments. In late 2024, the City began closing its largest migrant shelters and, through state funding assistance distributed via Catholic Charities and moving support from New Life Church, relocated many families to buildings such as this one."