Laura Bassett
@lebassett.bsky.social
54K followers 890 following 2.2K posts
Writer, editor. Politics and feminist analysis. Former EIC of Jezebel. Brooklyn via South Louisiana 🐊
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Reposted by Laura Bassett
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.
Reposted by Laura Bassett
pbsnews.org
Thirty paintings created by the bushy-haired, soft-spoken Bob Ross will soon be up for auction to defray the costs of programming for small and rural public television stations suffering under cuts in federal funding. https://to.pbs.org/4nEQMrw
Bob Ross paintings to be auctioned to support public TV stations after federal funding cuts
All profits will help public TV stations with licensing fees for popular programs that include "The Best of Joy of Painting" and "America's Test Kitchen."
www.pbs.org
lebassett.bsky.social
She was rude, arrogant and belligerent this entire hearing
josepagliery.bsky.social
Vermont Senator Peter Welch asks why the attorney general of the United States has zero apparent interest in figuring out what happened to the $50,000 undercover FBI agents gave border czar Tom Homan.

She... doesn't take it well.
Reposted by Laura Bassett
publichealthguy1.bsky.social
they just slapped a surgeons general warning on RFK like he’s a pack of cigarettes
lebassett.bsky.social
Trump called Democrats gnats, and Schmitt now says there needs to be a “cleansing,” so that’s where we are now in Nazi Germany 2.0
atrupar.com
Schmitt: "Let's just call it out. We need a cleansing here. Let's just be truthful about what's happening. This left-wing political violence is not a both sides thing. It's not."
lebassett.bsky.social
The Free Press reporter who wrote the piece about how Gazan kids aren’t actually starving that badly because some of them had preexisting conditions was hired directly from Matt Yglesias, fwiw
elivalley.bsky.social
As one of the countless people *actually* cancelled by Bari Weiss, via her vast favor-trading networks of fellow nepotistic gatekeepers in media and publishing, I think both of these asinine dipshits should go fuck themselves.
Matt Yglesias QT'ing Corey Walker

I didn’t rejoice at her cancellation and got cancelled myself at roughly the same time, but I am sincerely jealous that no regime-aligned billionaire has even fit to curry favor with the Trump administration by giving me a huge sum of money.
https://x.com/mattyglesias/status/1975375120123478491
Quote
Corey Walker
@CoreyWriting
·
16h
The vitriol against Bari Weiss is just thinly-veiled jealousy by people who rejoiced at "cancelling" her in 2020 and are furious she managed to get fabulously wealthy in an infamously brutal and low-paying industry.
Reposted by Laura Bassett
donmoyn.bsky.social
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.
atrupar.com
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."
Reposted by Laura Bassett
glennf.com
Hi, folks, a little personal news. In mid-November, I'm getting my aortic valve replaced via open-heart surgery. As scary as that sounds, my prognosis is excellent. This is fairly personal health news, and I'm posting publicly for two reasons.
Reposted by Laura Bassett
theferocity.bsky.social
She’s left us no choice. It’s time for Isaac Chotiner to interview Bari Weiss.
Reposted by Laura Bassett
campuscodi.risky.biz
tl;dr: The US is treating Europe as its main adversary
dwj88.bsky.social
A secret meeting with X. A senior State Dept. advisor just out of college. The VP's speech in Munich. Pressure on European regulators.

What do they share? They're all part of an agenda to turn the transatlantic alliance into a far right international:

www.techpolicy.press/trumps-state...
Trump’s State Department Wants to Use Tech Policy to Remake Europe In Its Image | TechPolicy.Press
Tech policy is a key part of the Trump administration's dramatic project to replace the US's traditional European alliances, Dean Jackson writes.
www.techpolicy.press
Reposted by Laura Bassett
thefritobanditoo.bsky.social
Guys, every person you see on Fox News in a mask is just Robert O'Neill, retired Navy Seal and occasional Fox News contributor. He's the former Antifa, former Gazan, former gang member. His eyes are very unique.
Reposted by Laura Bassett
sbagen.bsky.social
Feel free to attribute the following to a former OMB General Counsel: The supposed "new legal analysis" is, to use a technical legal term, horseshit. What the law actually says is that when Congress enacts a law ending a lapse, furloughed employees get paid at the earliest date possible. Period.
atrupar.com
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 Laura Bassett
elisewang.bsky.social
One of the more incredible stories out of LA this year has been how a taco review blog became the best on-the-ground coverage of ICE raids in the city.

They do a dispatch every day, follow-up on the kidnapped people (which almost no media outlet has done), and fact-check government claims.
motherjones.com
@lataco.bsky.social first began as a blog documenting local Mexican cuisine. Now, it’s an essential reporting powerhouse to the city as Trump’s mass deportation plot unfolds.

Check out the latest from our friends at Reveal: tinyurl.com/4cm2bsdr
lebassett.bsky.social
I have not seen a rabid turtle penis but I will take your word for it
lebassett.bsky.social
There it is
bluegeorgia.bsky.social
Stephen Miller: "Eventually elections don’t carry the day because violence beats votes… When we see a muscular response from the federal government, it’s because we’re not going to let violence beat votes."

Is he implying federal intervention determines political legitimacy, not ballots or courts?
Reposted by Laura Bassett
anthonymkreis.bsky.social
There are nearly a dozen rural Georgia hospitals that are on the verge of closing soon, including Fannin Regional that’s close to her district line. St. Mary’s just ended their L&D in northeast Georgia because of federal funding. Between premiums jumping for many constituents and hospital woes… 🤷‍♂️
sahilkapur.bsky.social
👀 Marjorie Taylor Greene breaks with Republicans on Obamacare funding, saying she’s not a fan of the law but demands action to prevent a premium hike. “I’m absolutely disgusted that health insurance premiums will DOUBLE if the tax credits expire this year.” She says GOP leaders don’t have a plan.
Reposted by Laura Bassett
dieworkwear.bsky.social
this is the jacket's breast pocket lining pulled up to make it look like a pocket square
Stephen Miller in a gray suit, white shirt, and gray tie. A close-up of his breast pocket.