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Matthew Dowd @matthewjdowd.bsky.social · 3h

happy bday English writer Blake Morrison, b.1950.

“You can possess a book without really owning it, though. Beyond ownership in a commercial or legal sense, there’s ownership of an emotional or metaphysical kind - when a book speaks so powerfully to us that we feel it’s ours exclusively:...

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Jack Jenkins @jackjenkins.me · 15h

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.

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Timothy Snyder @timothysnyder.bsky.social · 2h

More good work by Greg Sargent

Greg Sargent @gregsargent.bsky.social · 4h

JB Pritzker and Gavin Newsom are doing something new and important: They understand Stephen Miller's theory of fascist power politics, and they've developed a theory on how to combat it. More Dems need to reckon with Miller's understanding of the moment.

New from me:
newrepublic.com/article/2014...

Inside Stephen Miller’s Secret Plan to Normalize Trump’s Dictator Rule

He wants to supercharge searing civil tensions to get low-information voters to embrace their inner authoritarian. Exactly two Democrats appear to fully grasp this.

newrepublic.com

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Greg Sargent @gregsargent.bsky.social · 4h

JB Pritzker and Gavin Newsom are doing something new and important: They understand Stephen Miller's theory of fascist power politics, and they've developed a theory on how to combat it. More Dems need to reckon with Miller's understanding of the moment.

New from me:
newrepublic.com/article/2014...

Inside Stephen Miller’s Secret Plan to Normalize Trump’s Dictator Rule

He wants to supercharge searing civil tensions to get low-information voters to embrace their inner authoritarian. Exactly two Democrats appear to fully grasp this.

newrepublic.com

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southpaw @nycsouthpaw.bsky.social · 2h

This South Side Weekly report on the Chicago building raid is well worth reading. Most striking to me are the indications of collusion between federal authorities and the building owner and management to effect a mass eviction at the blighted property. southsideweekly.com/federal-agen...

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@Above96th @above96th.bsky.social · 2h

I'm happy to report our Central Park Budgie is still hanging around and appears to be doing well! We have yet to have cold weather though... 💚💙💚 #Budgie #CentralPark #birding

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Ken Dilanian @kendilanian-nbc.bsky.social · 1d

EXCLUSIVE: Ex-DoJ officials say Trump is destroying the department. Most sweeping accusations against a president since Nixon

www.msnbc.com/msnbc/news/e...

Ex-Justice officials: 'It's our duty to sound the alarm'

Scores of officials who have resigned or been forced out of the Justice Department this year are speaking out against its "destruction."

www.msnbc.com

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David S. Bernstein @dbernstein.bsky.social · 21h

Josh Hawley, Yale Law School ‘06, Missouri Attorney General 2017-2019, pretending he doesn’t know what tapping a phone means

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Matthew Dowd @matthewjdowd.bsky.social · 3h

The structure and kind of people that enabled Epstein to do what he did while everyone knew what was going on, is exactly the same structure and kind of people around Trump who enable and embolden him to do incredible damage to our country and the world.

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Paul Gundlach @paulsgundlach.bsky.social · 1h

Happy Wednesday! We’re halfway through the week! We have rain today and once again I got to sleep over 10 luxurious hours! Here is the second place coffee shop vote getter from yesterday looking northward before the sun came up. Tap for full size. I hope you have a great day!

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Matthew Dowd @matthewjdowd.bsky.social · 2h

Justice department folks undermining justice. GOP women setting back women. "Christians" corrupting christianity. FBI ruining intelligence/public safety. Defense officials being offensive. Health department destroying our health. Education officials ruining education. This is Trump & the GOP.

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Molly Jong-Fast @mollyjongfast.bsky.social · 1d

Ohh

www.propublica.org/article/elon...

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Claude Taylor @realclaudetaylor.bsky.social · 16h

Even now. We still have Hope.

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Just Jack @just-jack-1.bsky.social · 16h

By all means, indict Jack Smith on bullshit allegations and give him the trial that SCOTUS denied him.

Poke the bear, Donnie. See what happens.

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The Lincoln Project @lincolnproject.us · 19h

🦗🦗🦗

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The Lincoln Project @lincolnproject.us · 19h

History won’t praise Democrats for playing by the rules if it’s the reason we lose our country.

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The Marshall Project @themarshallproject.org · 1d

Shattered teeth. Punctured lungs. Broken bones.
Over a dozen years, New York officials have documented the results of hundreds of prison guards' attacks. ⁠When the state tried to use this evidence to fire guards, it failed 90% of the time, we found.

In New York Prisons, Guards Who Brutalize Prisoners Rarely Get Fired

Records obtained by The Marshall Project reveal a state discipline system that fails to hold many guards accountable.

www.themarshallproject.org

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Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 4h

#WarRavagedPortland

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Jeanne Brennan @jeanneenabottle.bsky.social · 2h

Good morning. You've got 'em all right. Happy Whiskers
Wednesday!🍂😽🍂
Illustration- Ryan Conners

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For the Love of Missy @missybbbobtail.bsky.social · 3h

If you've got 'em, flaunt 'em.

Whiskers Wednesday.

Jinx the bobtail flaunting her whiskers with a side eye view.

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Garrett M. Graff @vermontgmg.bsky.social · 2d

You know what was weird last week? I didn’t see anyone fired for quoting words actually spoken by Jane Goodall.

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Ron Filipkowski @ronfilipkowski.bsky.social · 4h

Mike Johnson only wants Lee Greenwood to perform the halftime show at the Super Bowl because Lawrence Welk is dead and therefore unavailable.

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Ron Filipkowski @ronfilipkowski.bsky.social · 4h

I’m shocked.

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Acyn @acyn.bsky.social · 19h

Soybean Farmer: So now I've got a tariff war that's killing my market. I don't have any money from grain we're sending to other countries for USAID. I mean, I've got a compound problem. I don't know how you plan for next year because we don't know where we're at.

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Fight For A Union @fightforaunion.bsky.social · 19h

🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

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