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Politico @politico.com · 5h

Trump's off-script comments are causing shutdown headaches for GOP leaders.

Trump's off-script comments cause shutdown headaches for GOP

President Donald Trump, Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune are straining to project a united front against Democrats.

www.politico.com

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KatLouise @jesusforgives.bsky.social · 7h

I got a letter saying I owed 28k in back taxes and fees from 2017. After some back and forth, the IRS concluded that they owed me 5K but didn't have to pay because the statute of limitations had expired.
This kind of thing is what breeds discontent with the government- rules for thee but not for me.

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Alt-IRS @alt-irs.altgov.info · 7h

Well this is oddly hateful.

The enforcement division in 2022 was given orders to go after anyone with income over 400K. Trump killed that.

There is not enough staff in either the Exam or the Appeals divisions, to effectively work cases.

Dont vote for a lunatic in the future.

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Forest Walker @keithqq.bsky.social · 6h

Please encourage taxpayers with jobs to file w-4s to stop federal tax withholding, with full payment in April.

That will create a time window for Congress to restore its power of the purse.

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Alt-IRS @alt-irs.altgov.info · 8h

Ok folks. Even though some of us are furloughed, there are still folks taking calls and processing returns. They are not being paid. So, be nice to the IRS when you call.

Remember 3rd Q 941s are due Oct 31.

All income returns with a filed extension are due Oct. 15

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Jan-Werner Mueller @jwmueller-pu.bsky.social · 7h

"I was one of the many commentators who said that the choice of an American as Pope was an impossibility (or at least extreme improbability). I took my cue from the late Cardinal George who said that there would never be an American Pope until our country went into political decline."

Well...

Bishop Robert Barron on X: "I’m still trying to take it all in! The election of Cardinal Robert Prevost as Pope Leo XIV was an extraordinary and delightful surprise. I was one of the many commentators who said that the choice of an American as Pope was an impossibility (or at least extreme improbability)." / X

I’m still trying to take it all in! The election of Cardinal Robert Prevost as Pope Leo XIV was an extraordinary and delightful surprise. I was one of the many commentators who said that the choice of an American as Pope was an impossibility (or at least extreme improbability).

x.com

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Rachel Maddow @maddow.msnbc.com · 7h

I'm late to this -- came out a couple weeks ago -- sorry -- but this podcast episode is really worth listening to (despite the episode title, it's only incidentally about the Kimmel fiasco).

Highly recommended.

You can listen here for free, or on any podcast app:

www.wnyc.org/story/jimmy-...

Jimmy Kimmel and the Power of Public Pressure | The Political Scene | The New Yorker | WNYC

The Washington Roundtable discusses how, in the wake of the reinstatement of Jimmy Kimmel’s show, public resistance has a chance to turn the tide against autocratic impulses in today’...

www.wnyc.org

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Jan-Werner Mueller @jwmueller-pu.bsky.social · 7h

"The future they are building is one in which states cooperate in a global condominium to suppress transnational dissent...one in which a fundamental means of continuing the struggle against dictatorships—fleeing to a more democratic country and advocating from there—is foreclosed."

Important read:

Trump Is Supporting Transnational Repression

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

foreignpolicy.com

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Garrett M. Graff @vermontgmg.bsky.social · 7h

Imagine the sadism necessary to be an armed federal agent, under no threat whatsoever, willing to shoot a priest in the head.

ICE is “a portrait of an authoritarian secret police that seems set to model itself on history’s worst fascist enforcers.” www.doomsdayscenario.co/p/welcome-to...

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Timothy Snyder @timothysnyder.bsky.social · 7h

Please join me in raising funds for medical cargo buses and trucks with electric jamming for brigades of Ukraine's Khartiia Corps. These automobiles make the difference between whether people survive or not. We can do something very specific and meaningful to help.
www.help99.co/patches/timo...

Timothy Snyder: Freedom is Action

Professor Timothy Snyder – a prominent voice of freedom, teams up with NAFO to fundraise for ten trucks and ten cargo buses with anti-drone jamming systems. These will transport and protect those who ...

www.help99.co

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Physicians for a Healthy Democracy @physiciandemocracy.medsky.social · 7h

Protest now while it’s still legal. No Kings 10.18

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Jonathan Ladd @jonmladd.bsky.social · 7h

An amazing scholar who studies things others neglect: local and state-level community organizations, the structure of local chapters of national nonprofits, and churches engaged in antiracism work.

Hahrie Han @hahrie.bsky.social · 8h

Totally, completely flabbergasted. #MacFellow

hub.jhu.edu/2025/10/08/h...

Johns Hopkins political scientist Hahrie Han receives MacArthur genius grant

Han, who studies political organizing and collective action and who has led the university's SNF Agora Institute since 2019, among 22 individuals to receive coveted MacArthur Foundation recognition

hub.jhu.edu

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ACLU @aclu.org · 7h

Confirmation hearings are one of the only ways members of Congress have to hold spy agencies accountable.

Our leaders must get rid of this dangerous and undemocratic provision.

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Rachel Maddow @maddow.msnbc.com · 6h

"At the Vatican Wednesday, Pope Leo urged bishops to 'speak strongly' on behalf of immigrants affected by Trump’s deportation drive.

The pope met privately Tuesday with 100 American Catholics involved in migrant ministry, thanking them for their work..."

www.thedailybeast.com/pope-leo-ram...

Pope Leo Ramps Up His Trump Feud With Order to American Bishops

The Chicago-born pontiff has sharpened his criticism of the Trump administration and reportedly decided to take action.

www.thedailybeast.com

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Rachel Maddow @maddow.msnbc.com · 6h

"El Paso Bishop Mark Seitz, who attended the meeting, said Chicago-born Pope Leo was visibly moved after being handed dozens of letters from immigrants describing their fears of arrest and separation under Trump’s enforcement policies..."

www.thedailybeast.com/pope-leo-ram...

Pope Leo Ramps Up His Trump Feud With Order to American Bishops

The Chicago-born pontiff has sharpened his criticism of the Trump administration and reportedly decided to take action.

www.thedailybeast.com

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Kyle Griffin @kylegriffin1.bsky.social · 6h

New Reuters/Ipsos poll: Around 58% of Americans — including seven in 10 Democrats and half of Republicans — feel that the president should only deploy armed troops to "face external threats."

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Rachel Maddow @maddow.msnbc.com · 6h

"The Federal Protective Service reports — which are prepared each day for law enforcement partners — offered no indication of a dangerous escalation of tensions, or unusual levels of protest activity that would prompt the level of alarm expressed by Trump..."

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/08/u...

Before Trump Ordered In Troops, Federal Officers Called Portland Protests ‘Low Energy’

www.nytimes.com

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ChrisO_wiki @chriso-wiki.bsky.social · 8h

7/ There have been many reports of Russian commanders ordering their men to be shot if they retreated. It has been caught on camera before (see the linked video). It's evident that commanders want their troops to be more afraid of them than of the Ukrainians. /end
x.com/KyleWOrton/s...

Kyle Orton on X: "Horrendous video of #Russian barrier troops shooting Russian soldiers who tried to retreat. This practice was first adopted by the #Soviets in 1918, with units of Cheka (secret police) placed behind the Red Army to prevent troops fleeing in the civil war. https://t.co/4ZuzeKn4c5" / X

Horrendous video of #Russian barrier troops shooting Russian soldiers who tried to retreat. This practice was first adopted by the #Soviets in 1918, with units of Cheka (secret police) placed behind the Red Army to prevent troops fleeing in the civil war. https://t.co/4ZuzeKn4c5

x.com

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ChrisO_wiki @chriso-wiki.bsky.social · 8h

1/ A Russian soldier has described how he was ordered by a drunken colonel to shoot his own comrades for retreating from a battle near Klishchiivka in eastern Ukraine. His account highlights the Russian practice of executing soldiers to encourage them not to retreat. ⬇️

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The Kyiv Independent @kyivindependent.com · 8h

⚡️EU ambassadors approve plan to phase out Russian gas, oil by 2028, Reuters reports.

The plan to phase out Russian oil and gas by January 2028 has received broad backing from most member states, though Hungary and Slovakia continue to oppose it, a source told Reuters.

EU ambassadors approve plan to phase out Russian gas, oil by 2028, Reuters reports

The plan to phase out Russian oil and gas by January 2028 has received broad backing from most member states, though Hungary and Slovakia continue to oppose it, a source told Reuters.

kyivindependent.com

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The Ukrainian Review @theukrainianreview.bsky.social · 8h

🇫🇮🇺🇦 "Ukraine is in a better position now than a year ago. And the reason for this is the strengthening of its military potential," — Stubb.

He said that over the past 1,000 days, Russia has advanced only 1% of territory.

"The events in Sumy region demonstrated Ukraine's offensive capability."

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MAKS 25 👀🇺🇦 @maks23.bsky.social · 8h

Pokrovsk 💔

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Anton Gerashchenko @antongerashchenko.bsky.social · 8h

"Any honest writer,journalist,or historian in Russia must always be ready for prison"

Russian food historian Pavel Syutkin was detained today on charges of allegedly spreading "false information about the army."Moscow's branch of the Investigative Committee said the reason was his posts on Telegram

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MAKS 25 👀🇺🇦 @maks23.bsky.social · 8h

‼️A new Oct 1–2 poll by HarrisX and Harvard, - Ostap Yarysh

✅ 72% of Dems and 73% of Reps support arming Ukraine and sanctioning Russia;

✅ 71% of Dems and 86% of Reps support additional economic sanctions against Russia;

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Kevin Rothrock @kevinrothrock.me · 8h

Here's something you don't see every day: Nationalist Bolshevik protesters chained themselves to the fence of Russia's Central Bank building in Moscow, shouting slogans against high interest rates and inflation (which is actually falling, but not quickly enough for many people). t.me/ostorozhno_n...

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