R D Thorsett
@rdthorsett.bsky.social
Reposted by R D Thorsett
I’m mostly baffled why anyone on the White House staff let him do this.
Trump: We track Santa. We want to make sure that Santa is being good. We want to make sure that he's not infiltrated, that we're not infiltrating into our country a bad Santa. Santa loves Oklahoma like I do. You know, Oklahoma was very good to me in the election
December 25, 2025 at 12:24 AM
I’m mostly baffled why anyone on the White House staff let him do this.
Reposted by R D Thorsett
I’m nobody special and I’ve had right wing extremists try to ruin every aspect of my personal and professional life, including showing up in person and leaving written death threats at my work and home. This “problem” is an inherent part of right wing extremism; it’s a feature not a bug.
“I’m 84 years old. Threats against my life expectancy are kind of hollow. I don’t have much time anyway. I’m more concerned that our democracy is at risk because of the trends against the rule of law.” www.nbcnews.com/politics/pol...
Judges who ruled against Trump say harassment and threats have changed their lives
More than 100 pizzas were delivered to the homes of judges and their families this year, some with signs of foreign involvement. Judges say the message is clear: We know where you live.
www.nbcnews.com
December 24, 2025 at 4:43 PM
I’m nobody special and I’ve had right wing extremists try to ruin every aspect of my personal and professional life, including showing up in person and leaving written death threats at my work and home. This “problem” is an inherent part of right wing extremism; it’s a feature not a bug.
Reposted by R D Thorsett
Pancreatic cancer is still one of the deadliest cancers. However, there are promising strategies currently under investigation that have been delayed or harmed because of the Trump administration and Elon Musk's DOGE.
CDMRP cuts left no money for many forms of cancer research including pancreatic.
CDMRP cuts left no money for many forms of cancer research including pancreatic.
Former Nebraska U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse on Tuesday said he was diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer. https://to.pbs.org/49cDtIV
Former Nebraska U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse says he has stage-four pancreatic cancer
Sasse expressed determination to fight the disease, highlighting advancements in immunotherapy and other treatments as part of his hope.
www.pbs.org
December 23, 2025 at 9:45 PM
Pancreatic cancer is still one of the deadliest cancers. However, there are promising strategies currently under investigation that have been delayed or harmed because of the Trump administration and Elon Musk's DOGE.
CDMRP cuts left no money for many forms of cancer research including pancreatic.
CDMRP cuts left no money for many forms of cancer research including pancreatic.
Reposted by R D Thorsett
the fact that there is free parking at all in manhattan is wild to me
“Pairing free buses with paid parking says we value people in motion more than cars at rest,” writes Nicolas Rohatyn.
Opinion | The Way to Pay for Free Buses Is to End Free Parking
Free buses would be transformative not only for riders, but for the ecosystem of the city as a whole.
nyti.ms
December 24, 2025 at 1:38 PM
the fact that there is free parking at all in manhattan is wild to me
Reposted by R D Thorsett
I remember students complaining about hand cramps when I was proctoring finals as a TA thirty years ago.
And uh, you’re not supposed to “like” the final exam.
And uh, you’re not supposed to “like” the final exam.
Does anyone else bristle at this framing? WSJ says blue books are “torturing” students with hand cramps, and “nobody likes them.”
Listen, students have been outsourcing everything to AI and cheating their way through college. Blue books should be celebrated as a return to authentic human learning.
Listen, students have been outsourcing everything to AI and cheating their way through college. Blue books should be celebrated as a return to authentic human learning.
They Were Every Student’s Worst Nightmare. Now Blue Books Are Back.
Cheating with ChatGPT has become a huge problem for colleges. The solution is painfully old-school.
www.wsj.com
December 24, 2025 at 4:35 PM
I remember students complaining about hand cramps when I was proctoring finals as a TA thirty years ago.
And uh, you’re not supposed to “like” the final exam.
And uh, you’re not supposed to “like” the final exam.
Reposted by R D Thorsett
Via @liamjscott.bsky.social at the other site here’s the full email from 60 Minutes correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi. She’s putting her career on the line by fighting here. And she’s fighting for all of us.
December 22, 2025 at 3:28 AM
Via @liamjscott.bsky.social at the other site here’s the full email from 60 Minutes correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi. She’s putting her career on the line by fighting here. And she’s fighting for all of us.
Reposted by R D Thorsett
The New York Times investigated 346 people who donated at least $250,000 to Trump and found that more than half of them (197) have received pardons, jobs, government contracts, special treatment, or favors.
Hundreds of Big Post-Election Donors Have Benefited From Trump’s Return to Office
Well into his second term, the president and his allies have continued aggressively raising money. Many donors have interests before his administration, The Times found.
www.nytimes.com
December 22, 2025 at 3:41 PM
The New York Times investigated 346 people who donated at least $250,000 to Trump and found that more than half of them (197) have received pardons, jobs, government contracts, special treatment, or favors.
Reposted by R D Thorsett
Censoring a story about the outsourced regime gulag is not consistent with freedom of speech. But it is consistent with the belief that “free speech” is when conservatives can say what they want and when you can say what they want.
December 22, 2025 at 3:08 AM
Censoring a story about the outsourced regime gulag is not consistent with freedom of speech. But it is consistent with the belief that “free speech” is when conservatives can say what they want and when you can say what they want.
Reposted by R D Thorsett
A reminder: Bari Weiss signed the Harper's Letter.
Where those Harper’s Letter folks at
December 22, 2025 at 5:22 AM
A reminder: Bari Weiss signed the Harper's Letter.
Reposted by R D Thorsett
This is straight-up, unvarnished Klan language from the Vice President of the United States.
We've had a lot of racist vice presidents and this one might be in the running for top of the list.
We've had a lot of racist vice presidents and this one might be in the running for top of the list.
JD Vance: "In the United States of America you don't have to apologize for being white anymore"
December 21, 2025 at 9:55 PM
This is straight-up, unvarnished Klan language from the Vice President of the United States.
We've had a lot of racist vice presidents and this one might be in the running for top of the list.
We've had a lot of racist vice presidents and this one might be in the running for top of the list.
Reposted by R D Thorsett
Impressive student journalism by Harvard Crimson reporters about some of their absolutely vile classmates.
These assholes will be clerks for Neil Gorsuch in a few years, most likely.
Racial Slurs and Nazi Symbols: Inside the Complaint That Shut Down The Harvard Salient | News | The Harvard Crimson
Screenshots and message logs obtained by The Crimson appear to show Salient leaders casually using racial slurs, defending extremist rhetoric, and dismissing internal concerns — conversations that lat...
www.thecrimson.com
December 21, 2025 at 4:13 AM
Impressive student journalism by Harvard Crimson reporters about some of their absolutely vile classmates.
Reposted by R D Thorsett
Why decline all these chances to defend feminism? Because to participate would be accepting the premise that our rights and humanity are up for debate in the first place.
Once you’ve conceded that it’s reasonable to ask whether women’s equality was a mistake, you’ve already lost.
Once you’ve conceded that it’s reasonable to ask whether women’s equality was a mistake, you’ve already lost.
December 20, 2025 at 11:00 PM
Why decline all these chances to defend feminism? Because to participate would be accepting the premise that our rights and humanity are up for debate in the first place.
Once you’ve conceded that it’s reasonable to ask whether women’s equality was a mistake, you’ve already lost.
Once you’ve conceded that it’s reasonable to ask whether women’s equality was a mistake, you’ve already lost.
Reposted by R D Thorsett
I get it, but I do sometimes wish people spent as much time linking to articles they’ve enjoyed reading, than articles they want to expose as trash.
December 21, 2025 at 12:42 AM
I get it, but I do sometimes wish people spent as much time linking to articles they’ve enjoyed reading, than articles they want to expose as trash.
Reposted by R D Thorsett
this is the greatest feeling, when the cord box proves its utility to a family member
December 20, 2025 at 6:35 AM
this is the greatest feeling, when the cord box proves its utility to a family member
Reposted by R D Thorsett
The women in this 1964 photo of Beatles fans (yes, that's what they used) could not get a credit card at Bank of America without their husband or father cosigning. So, no. The answer, CBS and Bank of America, is no.
"Has feminism failed women brought to you by bank of america" is my MKULTRA sleeper agent activation phrase
December 20, 2025 at 3:56 AM
The women in this 1964 photo of Beatles fans (yes, that's what they used) could not get a credit card at Bank of America without their husband or father cosigning. So, no. The answer, CBS and Bank of America, is no.
Reposted by R D Thorsett
Forcing the AG to publicly defend every redaction, line-by-line, would be a fun exercise.
Schiff: "I think we ought to bring Pam Bondi before the Senate Judiciary Committee demand answers as to why the DOJ has violated the law."
December 20, 2025 at 4:46 AM
Forcing the AG to publicly defend every redaction, line-by-line, would be a fun exercise.
Reposted by R D Thorsett
Every so often it really gets to me: the thought that my government, with my money and in my name, perpetrates such cruelty for no reason at all.
How a ‘Habeas Machine’ Reunited One Family That Was Pulled Apart by ICE
The agents were on the hunt, but as they staked out the...
talkingpointsmemo.com
December 20, 2025 at 3:08 AM
Every so often it really gets to me: the thought that my government, with my money and in my name, perpetrates such cruelty for no reason at all.
Reposted by R D Thorsett
He didn't even match the existing font!
December 19, 2025 at 8:44 PM
He didn't even match the existing font!
Reposted by R D Thorsett
If you want to take one thing away from the art of the New Deal it is - in my humble opinion - that throwing money at *NORMAL* artists to decorate public buildings makes the world a much nicer place, particularly if you charge them with making the decorations evoke the history of where they are.
December 19, 2025 at 5:08 AM
If you want to take one thing away from the art of the New Deal it is - in my humble opinion - that throwing money at *NORMAL* artists to decorate public buildings makes the world a much nicer place, particularly if you charge them with making the decorations evoke the history of where they are.
Reposted by R D Thorsett
Trump’s Pick For Ambassador To South Africa Actively Opposed Fight To End Apartheid talkingpointsmemo.com/news/trumps-...
Trump’s Pick For Ambassador To South Africa Actively Opposed Fight To End Apartheid
As Black activists in South Africa fought against their country’s racist apartheid...
talkingpointsmemo.com
December 19, 2025 at 4:16 AM
Trump’s Pick For Ambassador To South Africa Actively Opposed Fight To End Apartheid talkingpointsmemo.com/news/trumps-...
Reposted by R D Thorsett
Specifically, lawyers who look at the plain meaning of laws and constitution as something to be gamed if they are clever enough, like looking for the loophole to help their rich client beat the murder charge.
Dershowitz would sell out the constitution for a dozen pierogis.
Dershowitz would sell out the constitution for a dozen pierogis.
There is a history book to be written about the role of Harvard Law and Yale Law in the creation of this authoritarian moment in America.
www.wsj.com/politics/ele...
www.wsj.com/politics/ele...
Exclusive | Trump Told by Alan Dershowitz Constitutionality of Third Term Is Unclear
Trump’s former lawyer presented him with his forthcoming book that concludes the Constitution is ambiguous on the question.
www.wsj.com
December 18, 2025 at 2:09 AM
Specifically, lawyers who look at the plain meaning of laws and constitution as something to be gamed if they are clever enough, like looking for the loophole to help their rich client beat the murder charge.
Dershowitz would sell out the constitution for a dozen pierogis.
Dershowitz would sell out the constitution for a dozen pierogis.
Reposted by R D Thorsett
Feels to me like the last quote here is more devastating and incriminating than even the birthday book and the photos and the rest.
These are the people who are willing to go on the record.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/18/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/18/u...
December 18, 2025 at 8:20 PM
Feels to me like the last quote here is more devastating and incriminating than even the birthday book and the photos and the rest.
Reposted by R D Thorsett
It's still very bad the extent to which we've normalized this idea that the president can spend money because he feels like it
In a nationwide address that major US TV networks are carrying live, President Trump announces 1,450,000 military members will receive a "warrior dividend" of $1776 before Christmas.
December 18, 2025 at 2:29 AM
It's still very bad the extent to which we've normalized this idea that the president can spend money because he feels like it
Reposted by R D Thorsett
the occasional reminder that if you are watching and live-posting about a presidential address, the way you engage with politics is notably atypical from that of, say, the average persuadable or low-propensity voter
December 18, 2025 at 2:24 AM
the occasional reminder that if you are watching and live-posting about a presidential address, the way you engage with politics is notably atypical from that of, say, the average persuadable or low-propensity voter
Reposted by R D Thorsett
Notice that the parts of Trump's economic program that help working and middle class Americans — DOGE checks, tariff rebates, and warrior dividends — are popular, progressive, and non-existent. Tax cuts for the rich are unpopular, regressive and very very real.
December 18, 2025 at 3:39 AM
Notice that the parts of Trump's economic program that help working and middle class Americans — DOGE checks, tariff rebates, and warrior dividends — are popular, progressive, and non-existent. Tax cuts for the rich are unpopular, regressive and very very real.