NEW: After over two hours of oral argument in a high-stakes Louisiana redistricting case, the Supreme Court seems ready to scrap fair elections and hand red states the power to freely draw electoral maps that eviscerate the political power of minority voters.

Locking in for oral arguments on the big voting rights case at the Supreme Court.

The next two hours or so will be... incredibly bad.

thank you, john oliver

youtube.com/watch?v=gieT...

There isn’t another side to the argument. Every actor in the system—from defense attorneys to Justices on the Supreme Court—recognizes what is happening. The only question is how the criminal justice system should respond.”

open.substack.com/pub/harrylit...

"We always think about America’s postwar role in Europe as an act of great generosity, the defense of allies from Soviet aggression. But by putting democracy at the center of our international identity, we also helped strengthen our own political system"
www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...

50501movement

Portland being Portland, undefeated

just great. thanks for this remembrance of belts past

The Supreme Court’s 2025 term will decide critical election and voting rights cases that could reshape American democracy. I explain what is on their docket and what cases deserve your attention.

Please watch and share.
youtu.be/0iKo6YdLxhA

We love guns more than kids. I don't see how you can interpret this as anything other than a diseased country in the latter stages of destroying itself.

Today’s “One First” looks at how #SCOTUS and its defenders have responded to criticisms of the Court’s behavior in Trump cases either by knocking down straw men or by attacking the critics—without meaningfully defending what the Court is actually *doing*:

www.stevevladeck.com/p/183-the-mi...

"To be a Republican in 2025 represents a clear public confession that you either don't know the difference between good and evil and you're so morally empty that you can't be bothered to begin to try, or that you do know the difference, and you prefer evil." www.the-reframe.com/the-crime-of...

Pritzker: "You just heard a tidal wave of lies from the VP. It's a bit shocking. And you heard over & over him just making things up. There's a reason why the judge here in federal court said that they admin lacks credibility and why even the Nobel committee chair said the admin lacks integrity."

varietal whines.

Send every ICE employee to the fucking Hague.

Sunday reading:

I wrote about the aggrieved extremist who is currently firing thousands of federal workers and ravaging state capacity based on conspiratorial nonsense - and about mainstream media’s infuriating tendency to sanitize Russell Vought and the regime he serves.

This week’s piece:

Diane Keaton's last Instagram post—she loved using the app—was of her beloved dog Reggie, wishing us all a happy National Pet Day.

May Diane's children, family, friends and Reggie know how many folks are thinking of her today with admiration, respect, and love.
❤️🐶

Never forget this: The forces rigging our economy, undermining our democracy, polluting our planet, and stoking hatred are counting on you to give up. Cynicism is how they win. Stay clear-eyed and ready for the fight ahead.

Last year, our team sat down with Dr. Jane and spoke about the impact she has had.

Was she proud? "I actually feel quite bewildered, surprised."

But she felt that was her task: "After 90 years of living on this planet, that obviously my task was to give people hope when all seems hopeless."

Also: if you work for ICE, even if you’re not one of the ones arresting citizens or tackling 15-year-olds or zip-tying kids together and segregating them by race, you’re part of the mechanism making it happen, and you should suffer long-term social and post-regime-change consequences.

About a month ago, the Trump administration got rid of the de minimis exemption, whereby packages valued under $800 could slide in without import duties. Now there's a backlog as the government can't process all of this paperwork, leading to UPS just destroying packages

terrible news. in the seventies and eighties, she was a defining "new hollywood" actress, one of the few whose films were worth seeking out. not to mention the fascination she held for men of a certain age.
#RIPDianeKeaton
variety.com/2025/film/ne...

You can’t hate fascists and use AI slop generators. They’re the same thing: total destruction of truth at scale.

I too am nostalgic for the days when the distinction between people who knew shit and people who didn’t know shit still mattered.
youtube.com/shorts/AMe0Q...