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Jonah Blank @jonahblank.bsky.social · 3h

Well, maybe the Nobel Peeve Prize.

My latest, for the @indianexpress.com
indianexpress.com/article/opin...

Obama’s Nobel was questionable. Trump getting one would be downright absurd

There is no concept of anything larger than himself. Every policy, every decision, every initiative is always based on feeding Trump's insatiable hunger for self-gratification

indianexpress.com

Jonah Blank @jonahblank.bsky.social · 18h

He's been wanting to go to Albania for years.

But he had to wait until Trump negotiated an end to its long-running war with definitely-not-fictional nation of Aberbain.

Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · 18h

because why wouldn’t eric adams be in albania

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Jonah Blank @jonahblank.bsky.social · 20h

He isn't even trying to hide his hostage-taking.

This isn't:
♦️"Federal workers will eventually get their back-pay, but let's negotiate an end to this shutdown."

It's:
♦️"I'm going to rob all Federal employees of their pay-- the longer you refuse to bow down, the worse I'll make it for them."

NPR @npr.org · 21h

A new draft White House memo suggests a 2019 law signed by President Trump that guarantees federal employees get paid after a shutdown ends would not apply to furloughed workers.

White House floats no back pay for some furloughed federal workers despite 2019 law

A new draft White House memo suggests a 2019 law signed by President Trump that guarantees federal employees get paid after a shutdown ends would not apply to furloughed workers.

n.pr

Jonah Blank @jonahblank.bsky.social · 22h

Correct.

Dems are making surrender to Trump the rational choice for any CEO:
♦️Until 2029 (or whenever he eventually decides to leave office), he'll wreak vengeance on whoever refuses to bow down.
♦️When (or if) the Dems ever return to power, they will bring absolutely no accountability.

Dave Weigel @daveweigel.bsky.social · 22h

So, imagine a 2028 that ends with a normal election and a Democratic president.

Does that president punish CBS? Does he kick it out of the Brady room's front row? Does his FCC go after its licenses? Does his FTC probe the Skydance deal?

No, probably not. No fear of reprisal if power shifts back.

Greg Sargent @gregsargent.bsky.social · 1d

Do CBS News executives understand that MAGA will not be in power forever? I genuinely think this is lost on a lot of people. They've gotten scammed by bad actors into believing Trump's 2024 win represented something seismic and even permanent. I predict they'll look back on this as a serious error.

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Jonah Blank @jonahblank.bsky.social · 22h

Everyone with power caves to him.
The only people standing up are rest of us.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 23h

"You are a transformative president" -- I regret to inform you that Mark Carney is kissing Trump's ass

Jonah Blank @jonahblank.bsky.social · 22h

Back in January, I ended up getting shot almost every day. It was a real bummer.

Now that the strong, tough guys of the National Guard are here, I very rarely get shot. It's unbelieveable!

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 23h

Trump on DC: "When I got here, this place was a raging hellhole where people would come from Canada, other places, and end up getting shot. Nobody is being shot. The National Guard has been unbelievable. They are strong tough guys."

Reposted by Jonah Blank

Dave Weigel @daveweigel.bsky.social · 23h

I'm surprised how many people I meet who cover politics but don't get a reference to "the northern district of Texas." It's simple - there's a district Republicans file in where the judge lets them win everything.

The Law is complicated, political legal battles are pretty simple.

Robert Black @hurricanexyz.bsky.social · 23h

A good heuristic for "is this opinion bullshit?" is "did Roberts, Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, or Barrett write it?"

(Holds quite well for any case that a layperson is likely to have heard of, lol)

Dave Weigel @daveweigel.bsky.social · 23h

The View segment where Whoopi asked how ordinary people could read SCOTUS opinions was revealing.

They're free. They're online. They're much easier to read than legislation. Conquer your imposter's syndrome, you are smart enough to read a decision and know if it's bullshit.

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Jonah Blank @jonahblank.bsky.social · 22h

For most people living in America (ie, most citizens, especially those who look a certain way), life today doesn't really feel like what we imagine life under a dictatorship to feel like.

A bit of history is in order:

Mother Jones @motherjones.com · 23h

Under the Third Reich, most Germans generally lived in the law-bound normative state, while Jews and other disfavored people were victims of the arbitrary and violent prerogative state.

The dual state is characterized by the facade of normalcy obscuring the fact of an authoritarian state.

The “dual state” theory was invented to describe Nazis. The Supreme Court could take us there.

Authoritarianism—but make it look like the rule of law.

www.motherjones.com

Reposted by Jonah Blank

Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett @crockett.house.gov · 23h

Let me be clear: It’s ILLEGAL to deny federal workers back pay after a shutdown.

There’s a 2019 law that guarantees it, but Trump is once again trying to break the law.

You don’t get to punish people for doing their jobs just because you’re failing at yours.

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Jonah Blank @jonahblank.bsky.social · 22h

He's joking about forcibly deporting an American citizen-- a Member of Congress-- to Somalia.

At least, he MIGHT be joking.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 23h

Trump: "The Democrats have no leader. They remind me of Somalia. I met the president of Somalia. I told him, 'you have somebody from Somalia who's telling us how to run our country. Would you like to take her back?' He said, 'No I don't want her!'"

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Reposted by Jonah Blank

Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 1d

Just as a reminder, Bondi’s origin story in Trump world is that she said she was going to investigate Trump University, Trump sent her a $25K check and the investigation disappeared. She later became Trump’s personal defense lawyer. So yeah, don’t challenge her integrity.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1d

Bondi to Blumenthal: "You lied. How dare you? I'm a career prosecutor. Don't you ever challenge my integrity. Do not question my ability to be fair and impartial."

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Reposted by Jonah Blank

Luca @lucagalletti.bsky.social · 1d

With all the gloom going on around us, here’s some joy 😊🎈

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Jonah Blank @jonahblank.bsky.social · 23h

Seems like this should have been an immediate firing.
And referral to justice system for possible prosecution.

The Washington Post @washingtonpost.com · 23h

A D.C. teacher aide has been placed on leave after allegedly putting hot sauce in the mouth of a nonverbal autistic student.

D.C. teacher aide on leave after allegedly putting hot sauce in autistic boy’s mouth

A D.C. teacher aide has been placed on leave after allegedly putting hot sauce in the mouth of a nonverbal autistic student.

www.washingtonpost.com

Jonah Blank @jonahblank.bsky.social · 1d

Sadly, this would be counter-productive:
♦️Almost all Members of Congress are multi-millionaires-- and the wealth is disproportionately tilted towards the GOP champions of the interests of the wealthy.
♦️The Members most likely to serve their constituents are those who rely on their salaries.

David Corn @davidcorn.bsky.social · 1d

How about this: We don't pay members of Congress when they cannot keep the government functioning?

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1d

Johnson: "It's true that in previous shutdowns, many or most furloughed employees have been paid for the time they were furloughed, but there is new legal analysis - I don't know the details, I just saw a headline - but there are some legal analysts saying that might not be appropriate or necessary"

Reposted by Jonah Blank

Dr. Vin Gupta @vinguptamd.bsky.social · 1d

Do we need to split the MMR vaccine into 3 shots?

No.

-No medical reason. Current vax has no safety issues and works very well
-Kids don’t like needles. Why give them 3x the shots?
-Peds office already have limited bandwidth. Who staffs 3x the visits?

Another nonsensical, unserious “policy”

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Jonah Blank @jonahblank.bsky.social · 1d

Also:
♦️ @steveinskeep.bsky.social is the only person you know (at least by voice) who arrives at work each day while the moon is still up...
♦️And manages to be relentlessly upbeat at that ungodly hour...
♦️And finds spare time to write books about 19th century America and modern Karachi.

Steve Inskeep @steveinskeep.bsky.social · 1d

Supermoon, NPR HQ this morning.

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Jonah Blank @jonahblank.bsky.social · 1d

In fairness: This (blatantly lawless) decision had nothing to do with Bondi's (blatantly corrupt) association with Qatar.
♦️She would have let her boss accept a bribe from ANYONE.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1d

Durbin to Bondi: "Although you've been a registered foreign agent for Qatar, you didn't recuse yourself from signing off on Trump's solicitation of a free jet from the royal family, even though this gift was clearly illegal. Connections to Bondi seem to yield more favorable outcomes for defendants."

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Jonah Blank @jonahblank.bsky.social · 1d

Big difference, I'd say: Dylan knew of his award, and decided to be a prick about it by gratuitously offending both the Nobel committee and everyone who had an actual appreciation for literature. If he didn't feel he deserved the award, he shouldn't have accepted it.

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Jonah Blank @jonahblank.bsky.social · 1d

Thank you!
...And of course the Three Little Pigs only beat the Big Bad Wolf when they decided to work together. Will US colleges learn the lesson?

Jonah Blank @jonahblank.bsky.social · 1d

How much are the values of new CBS news boss Bari Weiss dominated by personal financial gain?

She tells us exactly how much:

Olivia Messer @oliviamesser.bsky.social · 1d

I kind of can’t believe this Bari Weiss quote is even real, and yet www.nytimes.com/2025/10/06/b...

“I know that there are some people in this room who don’t believe that my marriage should have been legal … and that’s ok. Because we’re all Americans who want lower taxes.”

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Jonah Blank @jonahblank.bsky.social · 1d

If governors can't agree that the Federal government shouldn't send National Guard troops from one state to invade another...
...What, exactly, is the purpose of a National Governors' Association?

Isaac Dovere @isaacdovere.bsky.social · 1d

Newsom says he’s on the verge of quitting the National Govs Association: “should not be difficult … regardless of partisan affiliation, to agree that politicizing our states’ Natl Guard and deploying… over the objections of the home-state Governor,harms the interests of states”

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Jonah Blank @jonahblank.bsky.social · 1d

"Hello, Nobel Committee? Yes, my name is Fred Ramsdell. You can deliver my fabulous and well-earned prize to me at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Oh, don't bother with the engraving-- I'll take care of that myself."

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Jonah Blank @jonahblank.bsky.social · 1d

Give this guy the Nobel Prize for Living Effin' Right.

The Guardian @theguardian.com · 1d

Nobel committee unable to reach prize winner who is ‘living his best life’ hiking off grid

Fred Ramsdell was among those honoured with a 2025 Nobel Prize in Medicine but might not know because he is somewhere in Idaho and uncontactable The Nobel committee has been unable to reach a winner of this year’s prize for medicine who is “living his best life” on an “off the grid” hiking foray. Fred Ramsdell shared Monday’s prestigious prize with Mary Brunkow of Seattle, Washington and Shimon Sakaguchi of Osaka University in Japan for their discoveries related to the functioning of the immune system. Continue reading...

www.theguardian.com

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Jonah Blank @jonahblank.bsky.social · 1d

Fortunately, ASEAN operates by consensus: If one of the ten nations objects, it won't happen.

Unfortunately, it's pretty likely that all 10 nations will fold.
Because nearly everybody is folding to him.
For no reason.
But they all are.

Phelim Kine @phelimkine.bsky.social · 1d

The White House is conditioning Trump’s attendance at the Oct. 26-28 ASEAN meeting on allowing Trump to preside over a ceremonial signing of a peace deal between Cambodia and Thailand. And ensuring that Chinese officials don't crash that party. www.politico.com/news/2025/10...

Trump seeks peace ceremony spotlight at ASEAN summit

Trump wants to preside over a Thailand-Cambodia peace deal ceremony — and Chinese officials aren’t welcome.

www.politico.com

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Jonah Blank @jonahblank.bsky.social · 1d

Exactly:
-Trump will use all of his presidential power to make her life as cushy as possible at Club Fed. But he won't pardon her until the last possible moment-- why would he take that risk?

Jermonter @jermonter.bsky.social · 1d

Makes sense. Meanwhile she got transferred to a Club Fed in TX that is regarded as one of the best federal prisons to serve time in. It doesn’t even have a fence. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal...
There will be a HUGE number of pardons issued on his last day.

Federal Prison Camp, Bryan - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

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