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The Massachusetts Spy

@themassspy.bsky.social

1.1K followers 1K following 5K posts

Since 1770, more or less, the Commonwealth's leading journal of politics and culture. Available at realmassachusettsspy.blogspot.com

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The Massachusetts Spy @themassspy.bsky.social · Mar 31

“Resistance may or may not be futile. Acquiescence definitely is.”

- @yabraham.bsky.social

www.bostonglobe.com/2025/03/29/m...

Democracy dies in silence – Rümeysa Öztürk’s arrest is a warning - The Boston Globe

Democracy isn’t something we are. It’s something we do. And too few people in this country are doing it right now.

www.bostonglobe.com

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The Massachusetts Spy @themassspy.bsky.social · 2h

Good reminder that the Republican madness didn't begin in 2017, regardless of what our new allies are telling you now.

open.substack.com/pub/ballsand...

William Rehnquist Was the Original Trump Judge

Two decades after Rehnquist’s death, a new generation of conservative activists is scoring life-tenured federal judgeships by following in his unabashedly bigoted footsteps.

open.substack.com

The Massachusetts Spy @themassspy.bsky.social · 2h

Sentence one: agree.

Sentence two: disagree.

Dean Baker @deanbaker13.bsky.social · 2h

It's Trump's dementia talking. You almost feel sorry for Republican politicians, they have to pretend this dufus is making sense.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 5h

Trump: "I don't know what could be worse than Portland. You don't even have stores anymore. They don't even put glass up. They put plywood on their windows."

The Massachusetts Spy @themassspy.bsky.social · 2h

Are the same people who tell me I must love, honor, and cherish Republican allies like Billy Kristol going to say the same thing about Threeway Greene?

Hoodlum 🇺🇸 @nothoodlum.bsky.social · 3h

Seriously, is this a trick? It’s everyday now.

The Massachusetts Spy @themassspy.bsky.social · 3h

But someone once heckled someone at Berkeley so both sides have flawed records on free speech.

(h/t #Bretbug , National Review Dave, Weird Ross, St. David, etc. etc. )

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 6h

Trump: "We took the freedom of speech away because that's been through the courts and the courts said you have freedom of speech, but what has happened is when they burn a flag it agitates and irritates crowds."

The Massachusetts Spy @themassspy.bsky.social · 4h

TAPPER: Let's turn to Joe Biden's obvious unfitness for office....

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 4h

JOHNSON: That is a Dec. 31 policy issue

TAPPER: But doesn't open enrollment start Nov. 1?

JOHNSON: Some insurance companies will send out notices in November, that's right, and that's why the Democrats are so wrong to close this govt and burn up the time in October

The Massachusetts Spy @themassspy.bsky.social · 4h

Coming up in @nytopinion.nytimes.com :

See what happens when liberals don't reach out to mainstream Republicans like Jim Banks!

By St. David Brooks

Parker Molloy @parkermolloy.com · 4h

What www.politico.com/news/2025/10...

POLITICO
"They killed Charlie Kirk — the least that we can do is go through a legal process and redistrict Indiana into a nine to zero map," Sen. Jim Banks, the Republican of Indiana, told POLITICO last month.

The Massachusetts Spy @themassspy.bsky.social · 9h

I think someone should dress up as Tom Homan's bag of cash.

Courtney Vaughn @courtneyvaughn.bsky.social · 22h

Streets are still closed off in front of the Portland ICE facility at 8:30pm. Protesters have gathered on a side street. Dance party in progress.

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The Massachusetts Spy @themassspy.bsky.social · 9h

"wrote the Defector’s Patrick Redford[:] “By installing Weiss, the richest people in the world have taken another step toward ushering in the toothless, acquiescent future of mainstream media they’ve always wanted.”"

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Bari Weiss is a weird and worrisome choice as top editor for CBS News | Margaret Sullivan

When Weiss was named editor-in-chief, it was the latest turn in the network’s confounding departure from its roots

www.theguardian.com

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The Massachusetts Spy @themassspy.bsky.social · 11h

Coming up next: Jake Tapper smells his next book deal!

Oliver Willis @owillis.bsky.social · 12h

Weird. It’s almost like making accusations generates friction which generates news which rallies your supporters.

2 Key Democrats Come Out And Say It: Trump Has 'Some Kind Of Dementia'

Reposted by The Massachusetts Spy

Matt Ghoul @mattgill.me · 12h

Wait, you can make news instead of passively reacting to it? Big if true

2 1 19

Reposted by The Massachusetts Spy

Jack Charnista @jackcharnista.bsky.social · 12h

By today’s standards he’s got a point…

a man stands at a podium with the words " i 'm not a crook " on the screen

Alt: Nixon: I’m not a crook.

media.tenor.com

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The Massachusetts Spy @themassspy.bsky.social · 12h

Number of elected Republicans expressing the view that political opponents should not be imprisoned on the whim of the Mad King: 0.0.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 13h

Trump calls for Brandon Johnson and JB Pritzker to be imprisoned

Chicago Mayor should be in jail for failing to protect Ice Officers! Governor Pritzker also!

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The Massachusetts Spy @themassspy.bsky.social · 12h

Number of Republican Senators demanding the AG answer questions about criminal and other illegal Executive actions: 0.0. (Unlike 1973 btw)

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1d

COONS: How did you conclude that these strikes on boats in the open ocean are legal?

BONDI: I'm not going to discuss any legal advice that my department may or may not have issued

1 1 3

The Massachusetts Spy @themassspy.bsky.social · 13h

Just a reminder that this humanitarian catastrophe was brought to you by the votes (and the continuing silence) of white people who describe themselves as Christians.

Anthea Butler @antheabutler.bsky.social · 16h

I'm not a quoter of scripture, but this seemed appropriate for the horror that has been unleashed because of the gutting of USAID.

“Whatever you do to the least of these, you do to me.” -Jesus

Starving children screaming for food as US aid cuts unleash devastation and death across Myanmar

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has repeatedly said “no one has died" because of his government’s decision to gut its foreign aid program.

apnews.com

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The Massachusetts Spy @themassspy.bsky.social · 1d

And her answer was “yes.”

Democrats @democrats.org · 1d

These are simple questions, AG Bondi.

Three-panel graphic featuring Senator Whitehouse questioning Attorney General Pam Bondi.

First panel: Sen. Whitehouse, 'Did the FBI find photos of Trump with half-naked young women in their search of Jeffrey Epstein’s premises?'

Second panel: Sen. Whitehouse, 'You don’t know anything about that?'

Third panel: Pam Bondi, [refuses to answer]

The Massachusetts Spy @themassspy.bsky.social · 1d

Wait until you hear what the @nytimes.com said about the 2024 election.

Rebecca Baird-Remba @thecitywanderer.bsky.social · 2d

How did the Times not include the right answer in the options and repeat this mistake in the answer? Did no one Google to check what MTA stands for or did our editors drop the ball

The Massachusetts Spy @themassspy.bsky.social · 1d

Don't shoot, we are your parents

(Apologies to J.A. Lukas)

Lynda Lopez @lyndab08.bsky.social · 1d

Another incident of federal agents pointing guns at Chicago area residents.

Tweet from @laura_n_rod

Text: A federal agent points a weapon at a woman who was recording them.

Jess, a U.S. citizen and member of a neighborhood patrol team that documents and shares ICE activity across the city, was filming when the incident occurred earlier today in the Berwyn area.

Photo: shows a federal agent in a truck pointing a gun

The Massachusetts Spy @themassspy.bsky.social · 1d

Dementia, ex. 461

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1d

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."

The Massachusetts Spy @themassspy.bsky.social · 1d

"Now that I've murdered fishermen, no one goes fishing anymore," is not the flex that Pres VD Amin thinks it is.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1d

Trump: "We call them the water drugs. The drugs that come in through water. They're not coming. There are no boats anymore. Frankly, there are no fishing boats. There are no boats out there period, if you want to know the truth. Does anybody go fishing anymore?"

Reposted by The Massachusetts Spy

Sam Bagenstos @sbagen.bsky.social · 1d

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.

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"

140 1.1K 3.4K

The Massachusetts Spy @themassspy.bsky.social · 1d

🎯🧵

And you probably won't hear about it Sunday on 60 Minutes' new Counterpoint segment with Candace Owens and David Brooks.

Judd Legum @juddlegum.bsky.social · 1d

1. CBS, once one of America's most trusted sources for news, has hired anti-woke crusader Bari Weiss as its Editor-in-Chief

With Weiss, CBS is embracing someone who talks a lot about honesty but has a history of distorting the truth to conform to her right-wing ideological agenda.

Let's review.

The devolution of CBS News

A network once revered for fact-based reporting is embracing right-wing pseudo-journalism

popular.info

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The Massachusetts Spy @themassspy.bsky.social · 1d

The same was true in 2016, when this guy voted for the corrupt depraved Russian-owned traitor.

The Bulwark @thebulwark.com · 1d

"Part of what frustrates me is how much people just didn't listen to the things that he said he was going to do."

"He was telling us he would do these things....he's a sick man."

ICYMI, @gtconway.bsky.social and @sarahlongwell25.bsky.social in the latest episode of George Conway Explains It All:

The Massachusetts Spy @themassspy.bsky.social · 1d

So they were just kidnapped by ol’ Go-go Boots DeSantis?

Lee West @whodat35.bsky.social · 1d

DOJ contradicts DeSantis: Some detainees at ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ likely never in removal proceedings.

apnews.com/article/flor...

DOJ contradicts DeSantis: Some detainees at 'Alligator Alcatraz' likely never in removal proceedings

U.S. government lawyers say detainees at the Florida Everglades immigration detention center, known as "Alligator Alcatraz," likely include people who have never been in removal proceedings.

apnews.com

The Massachusetts Spy @themassspy.bsky.social · 1d

And when you consider she’s competing against Republican titans like John Mitchell, Ed Meese, Fredo Gonzales, and Bill Barr, that’s quite the achievement

Politico @politico.com · 1d

Our legal columnist Ankush Khardori watched all of Pam Bondi’s public appearances this year.

His conclusion: "Bondi has emerged as perhaps the most openly political and partisan attorney general in modern American history."

Read his full column: ow.ly/kxpY50X7I9U

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The Massachusetts Spy @themassspy.bsky.social · 1d

And your state’s board of bar discipline will have a few things to say if you don’t.

Blue Freedom Quest 💙🌊💙🌊 @bluefreedomquest.bsky.social · 1d