Harry Balzagna
@vinsane.bsky.social
Everything is bad all the time
Reposted by Harry Balzagna
So here’s one weird thing - US bond market has not recovered. Nasdaq did. But US bonds have not. A fuse has been lit. The final price of clownery is yet to be paid.
January 22, 2026 at 10:44 PM
So here’s one weird thing - US bond market has not recovered. Nasdaq did. But US bonds have not. A fuse has been lit. The final price of clownery is yet to be paid.
Reposted by Harry Balzagna
Seriously, @people.com has been meeting the moment better than 90% of publications with direct reporting and crystal clear headlines.
This is a good way for the low-information voters who are usually detached from the news cycle to get turned around.
This is a good way for the low-information voters who are usually detached from the news cycle to get turned around.
What America will read this weekend while in line at the grocery checkout:
@peoplemag.bsky.social #ICE
people.com/ice-detains-...
@peoplemag.bsky.social #ICE
people.com/ice-detains-...
January 22, 2026 at 9:31 PM
Seriously, @people.com has been meeting the moment better than 90% of publications with direct reporting and crystal clear headlines.
This is a good way for the low-information voters who are usually detached from the news cycle to get turned around.
This is a good way for the low-information voters who are usually detached from the news cycle to get turned around.
Reposted by Harry Balzagna
All but one have AIPAC as their biggest donor. (And it's their second biggest donor.) Israel loves ICE. Massie is one of few congressmen in either party who refuses money from AIPAC.
NEW: DHS appropriations bill funding ICE passes 220-207
7 Democrats voted YES on the bill:
- Jared Golden
- Marie Gluesenkamp Perez
- Henry Cuellar
- Tom Suozzi
- Laura Gillen
- Don Davis
- Vicente Gonzalez
One Republican voted NO: Thomas Massie
7 Democrats voted YES on the bill:
- Jared Golden
- Marie Gluesenkamp Perez
- Henry Cuellar
- Tom Suozzi
- Laura Gillen
- Don Davis
- Vicente Gonzalez
One Republican voted NO: Thomas Massie
January 22, 2026 at 11:37 PM
All but one have AIPAC as their biggest donor. (And it's their second biggest donor.) Israel loves ICE. Massie is one of few congressmen in either party who refuses money from AIPAC.
Reposted by Harry Balzagna
Congress passed the Taft-Hartley Act in 1947 (over Truman's veto) to make general strikes so incredibly difficult to organize that there hasn't been one since.
That there is a general strike happening in a major US city on such short notice is nothing short of a miracle.
That there is a general strike happening in a major US city on such short notice is nothing short of a miracle.
National media should really be covering the fact thay every major school, museum, and arts institution in the Twin Cities, and hundreds of local businesses are closed tomorrow to protest federal occupation.
Nothing like this at this scale has happened anywhere in America anytime in living memory.
Nothing like this at this scale has happened anywhere in America anytime in living memory.
January 22, 2026 at 9:28 PM
Congress passed the Taft-Hartley Act in 1947 (over Truman's veto) to make general strikes so incredibly difficult to organize that there hasn't been one since.
That there is a general strike happening in a major US city on such short notice is nothing short of a miracle.
That there is a general strike happening in a major US city on such short notice is nothing short of a miracle.
Reposted by Harry Balzagna
If every Democrat voted NO on funding ICE, it would not have passed the House. But, 7 House Democrats voted to fund Trump's lawless, masked goons, so it passed.
Hakeem Jeffries refused to whip his members to vote against ICE funding. Genuinely unforgivable.
Hakeem Jeffries refused to whip his members to vote against ICE funding. Genuinely unforgivable.
NEW: DHS appropriations bill funding ICE passes 220-207
7 Democrats voted YES on the bill:
- Jared Golden
- Marie Gluesenkamp Perez
- Henry Cuellar
- Tom Suozzi
- Laura Gillen
- Don Davis
- Vicente Gonzalez
One Republican voted NO: Thomas Massie
7 Democrats voted YES on the bill:
- Jared Golden
- Marie Gluesenkamp Perez
- Henry Cuellar
- Tom Suozzi
- Laura Gillen
- Don Davis
- Vicente Gonzalez
One Republican voted NO: Thomas Massie
January 22, 2026 at 9:50 PM
If every Democrat voted NO on funding ICE, it would not have passed the House. But, 7 House Democrats voted to fund Trump's lawless, masked goons, so it passed.
Hakeem Jeffries refused to whip his members to vote against ICE funding. Genuinely unforgivable.
Hakeem Jeffries refused to whip his members to vote against ICE funding. Genuinely unforgivable.
Reposted by Harry Balzagna
WE DO TOLERATE AND ENCOURAGE ATTACKS ON HOMES, ON MOMS, ON ELDERS, ON WORKERS, ESPECIALLY VIOLENT ATTACKS.
January 22, 2026 at 11:23 PM
WE DO TOLERATE AND ENCOURAGE ATTACKS ON HOMES, ON MOMS, ON ELDERS, ON WORKERS, ESPECIALLY VIOLENT ATTACKS.
Reposted by Harry Balzagna
There is *no* functioning Dem leadership at this point. Jeffries and Schumer need to go NOW if our nation is to have any chance.
January 22, 2026 at 11:40 PM
There is *no* functioning Dem leadership at this point. Jeffries and Schumer need to go NOW if our nation is to have any chance.
Reposted by Harry Balzagna
1. Does this look like a criminal to you? He’s FIVE FUCKING YEARS OLD. His name is LIAM RAMOS. He is here LEGALLY, as is his dad. He lives in Minnesota. He’s been kidnapped and imprisoned in a concentration camp in TEXAS.
I have never had such rage in my heart and I don’t know what to do.
I have never had such rage in my heart and I don’t know what to do.
January 22, 2026 at 9:57 PM
1. Does this look like a criminal to you? He’s FIVE FUCKING YEARS OLD. His name is LIAM RAMOS. He is here LEGALLY, as is his dad. He lives in Minnesota. He’s been kidnapped and imprisoned in a concentration camp in TEXAS.
I have never had such rage in my heart and I don’t know what to do.
I have never had such rage in my heart and I don’t know what to do.
Reposted by Harry Balzagna
This ICE observer had her TSA-Pre-check revoked.
www.courtlistener.com/docket/72047...
"Three days after the interaction, on January 13th, I received an email notice that my Global Entry/TSA-Pre Check privilege for passing through airport security had been revoked."
www.courtlistener.com/docket/72047...
"Three days after the interaction, on January 13th, I received an email notice that my Global Entry/TSA-Pre Check privilege for passing through airport security had been revoked."
January 22, 2026 at 7:45 PM
This ICE observer had her TSA-Pre-check revoked.
www.courtlistener.com/docket/72047...
"Three days after the interaction, on January 13th, I received an email notice that my Global Entry/TSA-Pre Check privilege for passing through airport security had been revoked."
www.courtlistener.com/docket/72047...
"Three days after the interaction, on January 13th, I received an email notice that my Global Entry/TSA-Pre Check privilege for passing through airport security had been revoked."
Reposted by Harry Balzagna
Tomorrow’s front page of the Minnesota Star Tribune: Jan. 23, 2026
January 22, 2026 at 11:19 PM
Tomorrow’s front page of the Minnesota Star Tribune: Jan. 23, 2026
Reposted by Harry Balzagna
Statement from the entire Minneapolis City Council in support of a General Strike and Day of Truth & Freedom on January 23rd.
January 22, 2026 at 11:07 PM
Statement from the entire Minneapolis City Council in support of a General Strike and Day of Truth & Freedom on January 23rd.
Reposted by Harry Balzagna
“She was so anemic and hungry that she resorted to eating clay, digging out the top layer of earth to get to the cleaner soil below, and charcoal. Her chart showed she gained fewer than 10 pounds during her entire pregnancy. Her baby, Nuru, was born at 33 weeks, weighing about 3.5 pounds.”
Expectant mothers were left so hungry after the U.S. cut foreign food aid that one woman ate clay and charcoal.
Her baby struggled to gain weight after being born prematurely.
Her baby struggled to gain weight after being born prematurely.
What I Saw at a Maternity Ward in Kenya After the U.S. Cut Off Food and Foreign Aid
Photographs tell a story of two mothers determined to help their babies gain enough weight to leave the hospital — only to face little to no food again.
www.propublica.org
January 21, 2026 at 4:02 PM
“She was so anemic and hungry that she resorted to eating clay, digging out the top layer of earth to get to the cleaner soil below, and charcoal. Her chart showed she gained fewer than 10 pounds during her entire pregnancy. Her baby, Nuru, was born at 33 weeks, weighing about 3.5 pounds.”
Reposted by Harry Balzagna
What a Dow drop of 800 can do
Trump: "Based upon a very productive meeting I had with Mark Rutte, we have formed the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland and, in fact, the entire Arctic Region. This solution, if consummated, will be a great one... Based upon this understanding, I will not be imposing the Tariffs"
January 21, 2026 at 7:45 PM
What a Dow drop of 800 can do
Reposted by Harry Balzagna
Weird tell on the part of Barrett. There is no legal reason to consider the risk of recession, and they have not accounted for tangible harms to public services when allowing Trump to gut the rest of the administrative state. Does reinforce the concept of an emerging "protect our 401Ks" doctrine.
Barrett: I'm a judge, not an economist. But doesn't the risk of recession factor into our deliberations, since this is And shouldn't we take the "crime" into account at this stage of the case?
January 21, 2026 at 3:35 PM
Weird tell on the part of Barrett. There is no legal reason to consider the risk of recession, and they have not accounted for tangible harms to public services when allowing Trump to gut the rest of the administrative state. Does reinforce the concept of an emerging "protect our 401Ks" doctrine.
Reposted by Harry Balzagna
The Democratic leaders in Congress have repeatedly shown that they have no interest in leading an effective opposition.
They have no appetite for the legislative trench warfare this moment requires. They don't even have the will to speak about it clearly. They just want to be left alone.
They have no appetite for the legislative trench warfare this moment requires. They don't even have the will to speak about it clearly. They just want to be left alone.
We have to get rid of Jeffries and Schumer. We have to. It’s unendurable that these men are the most prominent Democrats of the moment. They are two of the most broadly undistinguished men I could imagine in politics, zero fire, zero fight, zero zeal, machine politicians with sinecures.
January 21, 2026 at 4:00 PM
The Democratic leaders in Congress have repeatedly shown that they have no interest in leading an effective opposition.
They have no appetite for the legislative trench warfare this moment requires. They don't even have the will to speak about it clearly. They just want to be left alone.
They have no appetite for the legislative trench warfare this moment requires. They don't even have the will to speak about it clearly. They just want to be left alone.
Reposted by Harry Balzagna
Your regular reminder that Republicans in Congress approve of what the President is doing.
January 21, 2026 at 2:31 PM
Your regular reminder that Republicans in Congress approve of what the President is doing.
Reposted by Harry Balzagna
His not being impeached by the end of the business day as a result of this threat is as much a problem as the threat itself. It’s not just Trump that the world has to worry about, it’s a GOP that supports him and Democrats who suck their thumbs and refuse to even discuss pushing to remove him
January 21, 2026 at 2:21 PM
His not being impeached by the end of the business day as a result of this threat is as much a problem as the threat itself. It’s not just Trump that the world has to worry about, it’s a GOP that supports him and Democrats who suck their thumbs and refuse to even discuss pushing to remove him
Reposted by Harry Balzagna
So they're going to run their entire exchange business at breakeven, sounds great for returns on capital.
*UNITEDHEALTH CEO HEMSLEY COMMENTS IN TESTIMONY TO CONGRESS
*UNITEDHEALTH INTENDS TO REBATE ACA PROFITS TO CUSTOMERS IN 2026
*UNITEDHEALTH WORKING WITH US GOVERNMENT ON DETAILS: SPOKESMAN
*UNITEDHEALTH CEO HEMSLEY COMMENTS IN TESTIMONY TO CONGRESS
*UNITEDHEALTH INTENDS TO REBATE ACA PROFITS TO CUSTOMERS IN 2026
*UNITEDHEALTH WORKING WITH US GOVERNMENT ON DETAILS: SPOKESMAN
January 21, 2026 at 2:17 PM
So they're going to run their entire exchange business at breakeven, sounds great for returns on capital.
*UNITEDHEALTH CEO HEMSLEY COMMENTS IN TESTIMONY TO CONGRESS
*UNITEDHEALTH INTENDS TO REBATE ACA PROFITS TO CUSTOMERS IN 2026
*UNITEDHEALTH WORKING WITH US GOVERNMENT ON DETAILS: SPOKESMAN
*UNITEDHEALTH CEO HEMSLEY COMMENTS IN TESTIMONY TO CONGRESS
*UNITEDHEALTH INTENDS TO REBATE ACA PROFITS TO CUSTOMERS IN 2026
*UNITEDHEALTH WORKING WITH US GOVERNMENT ON DETAILS: SPOKESMAN
Reposted by Harry Balzagna
I think it's pretty simple. There were never any consequences for mowing down the guardrails. We expected everyone to play nicely and when one guy refused, there was no way to stop him.
KRUGMAN: “.. How did a great, sophisticated nation, one of the world’s longest-standing republics, end up so fragile that it can be undone by one man’s dementia?”
@pkrugman.bsky.social
open.substack.com/pub/paulkrug...
@pkrugman.bsky.social
open.substack.com/pub/paulkrug...
January 21, 2026 at 2:24 PM
I think it's pretty simple. There were never any consequences for mowing down the guardrails. We expected everyone to play nicely and when one guy refused, there was no way to stop him.
Reposted by Harry Balzagna
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson Told You So, Social Security Edition
www.emptywheel.net/2026/01/21/j...
www.emptywheel.net/2026/01/21/j...
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson Told You So, Social Security Edition - emptywheel
DOJ just confirmed that DOGE boys at the Social Security Administration were doing more than they told Judge Ellen Lipton Hollander about in March. But the new disclosures say nothing about the far mo...
www.emptywheel.net
January 21, 2026 at 2:35 PM
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson Told You So, Social Security Edition
www.emptywheel.net/2026/01/21/j...
www.emptywheel.net/2026/01/21/j...
Reposted by Harry Balzagna
The madman speaks. His energy is erratic. The room is silent. The fact that his delusional personally tinged screed comes one day after Carney's lucid, eloquent and grounded messaging must be a much starker comparison to those in the room than it is to me. It's a Holy Shit moment for the world.
January 21, 2026 at 2:04 PM
The madman speaks. His energy is erratic. The room is silent. The fact that his delusional personally tinged screed comes one day after Carney's lucid, eloquent and grounded messaging must be a much starker comparison to those in the room than it is to me. It's a Holy Shit moment for the world.
Reposted by Harry Balzagna
Even after Trump is gone, the world will remember that he threatened to forcibly seize the territory of a peaceful democratic ally, and our institutions failed to immediately remove him. That makes US dangerously unreliable, not just one senile gangster.
His not being impeached by the end of the business day as a result of this threat is as much a problem as the threat itself. It’s not just Trump that the world has to worry about, it’s a GOP that supports him and Democrats who suck their thumbs and refuse to even discuss pushing to remove him
January 21, 2026 at 2:46 PM
Even after Trump is gone, the world will remember that he threatened to forcibly seize the territory of a peaceful democratic ally, and our institutions failed to immediately remove him. That makes US dangerously unreliable, not just one senile gangster.
Reposted by Harry Balzagna
The next party in power governs by
1. Hard and active enforcement of the white collar criminal law. Huge numbers of Trump regime prosecuted.
2. Reform the Supreme Court. Throw their jurisprudence since 2008 directly in the trash. Cit U, Seila Law, Heller, Bruen, Loper Bright, Jarkesy—all voided.
1. Hard and active enforcement of the white collar criminal law. Huge numbers of Trump regime prosecuted.
2. Reform the Supreme Court. Throw their jurisprudence since 2008 directly in the trash. Cit U, Seila Law, Heller, Bruen, Loper Bright, Jarkesy—all voided.
One thing that keeps me up these days: how is the next party in power supposed to govern? The GOP has signaled it will not always be bound by laws or international agreements it disagrees with. It’s not absolute — they blew up part of reconciliation, but not all; ignore some court orders, etc. (1/7)
July 16, 2025 at 4:16 PM
The next party in power governs by
1. Hard and active enforcement of the white collar criminal law. Huge numbers of Trump regime prosecuted.
2. Reform the Supreme Court. Throw their jurisprudence since 2008 directly in the trash. Cit U, Seila Law, Heller, Bruen, Loper Bright, Jarkesy—all voided.
1. Hard and active enforcement of the white collar criminal law. Huge numbers of Trump regime prosecuted.
2. Reform the Supreme Court. Throw their jurisprudence since 2008 directly in the trash. Cit U, Seila Law, Heller, Bruen, Loper Bright, Jarkesy—all voided.
Reposted by Harry Balzagna
really wish we'd opted against having the worst people in the world run my country
Trump: "No nation is in any position to be able to secure Greenland other than the US. We're a great power. Much greater than people even understand. I think they found that out 2 weeks ago in Venezuela. We saw this in World War 2 when Denmark fell to Germany after just 6 hours of fighting."
January 21, 2026 at 2:12 PM
really wish we'd opted against having the worst people in the world run my country