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Frank D. Russo

@fdrtoday.bsky.social

840 followers 540 following 3.9K posts

Attorney, active in politics & public policy half a century starting with JFK & civil rights movement, Ex Publisher California Progress Report & Legal Counsel to Speaker of CA Assembly. Trying to enjoy life in difficult times with music, photography travel

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Frank D. Russo @fdrtoday.bsky.social · Dec 11

I’m a mediator & seek agreement on facts hence my banner at top with another FDR. I also work as an arbitrator where I decide truth amongst “alternative facts.”

With all the news & opinion maybe I should focus more on WHAT SHOULD BE DONE about this “fine mess” we’re in.
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Frank D. Russo @fdrtoday.bsky.social · 9h

Trump diverts anti-terror funds from Democratic strongholds to Republican states
Reuters

Say it's not politically motivated

Tell me how this makes sense while at the same time sending in the National Guard

Are they afraid right wing terrorists will be discovered and prosecuted?
bit.ly/3KYQlK9

Frank D. Russo @fdrtoday.bsky.social · 9h

Barabak: Adelita Grijalva is locked out of the House
Santa Rosa Press Democrat

Seat vacant since her father died in March

Locked out of office on Capitol Hill that has her name on plaque outside

What about constituents needing help & other members getting paid while vacationing?
bit.ly/42LXMKZ

Barabak: This Democrat is locked out of the House

Adelita Grijalva was elected to the House , but the speaker is keeping her in limbo.

Frank D. Russo @fdrtoday.bsky.social · 10h

Gov. JB Pritzker won $1.4 million in Vegas playing blackjack
NBC News

Illinois governor who is on 2028 presidential short list reported earnings in his latest tax filings after playing blackjack at Las Vegas casino

Don't let Trump say he "has no cards"!

Not like paper bag Homan?
bit.ly/42JmlYY

Gov. JB Pritzker won $1.4 million in Vegas playing blackjack

The billionaire Illinois governor, who is on the 2028 presidential short list, reported the earnings in his latest tax filings after playing blackjack at a Las Vegas casino.

Frank D. Russo @fdrtoday.bsky.social · 10h

Photo Shows Trump With Republicans In Racist Texts Scandal
The Huff Post

Trump thumbs-up with Peter Giunta who said “I love Hitler” and Anne KayKaty who wanted “to watch people burn”

Giunta originally shared the photo on his Facebook page but it’s no longer publicly available
bit.ly/497v1w6

Frank D. Russo @fdrtoday.bsky.social · 10h

Federal immigration officers in Chicago area are required to wear body cameras judge says
AP

U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis ruled today after seeing tear gas and other aggressive steps used against protesters

“I live in Chicago if folks haven’t noticed. And I’m not blind, right?"
bit.ly/3LfycYA

Federal immigration officers in Chicago area will be required to wear body cameras, judge says

A judge says federal immigration officers in the Chicago area will be required to wear body cameras after the use of tear gas and other aggressive steps against protesters.

Frank D. Russo @fdrtoday.bsky.social · 10h

We Found That More Than 170 U.S. Citizens Have Been Held by Immigration Agents. They’ve Been Kicked, Dragged and Detained for Days
ProPublica

Held Incommunicado without being able to call loved ones or lawyer

Government doesn't track this so ProPublica did its investigation

Read it
bit.ly/46VTxiv

More Than 170 U.S. Citizens Have Been Held by Immigration Agents. They’ve Been Kicked, Dragged and Detained for Days.

The government does not track how often immigration agents grab citizens. So ProPublica did. Our tally — almost certainly incomplete — includes people who were held for days without a lawyer. And near...

Frank D. Russo @fdrtoday.bsky.social · 10h

Top Cook County judge bars civil arrests at courthouses citing chilling effect
Chicago Sun Times

Applies to any “party, witness, or potential witness” while going to or returning from court proceedings inside courthouse and larger property such as parking lots, sidewalks or entryways
bit.ly/48uo7AQ

Top Cook County judge bars civil arrests at courthouses, citing chilling effect

The Cook County public defender’s office and legal aid organizations had sought the move, saying they had clients who were avoiding court out of fear of being detained by federal immigration authoriti...

Frank D. Russo @fdrtoday.bsky.social · 11h

How Many Crazy Things Do You Have To Believe To Be A Trumper This Week?
Wonkette

(Antifa is a real terrorist organization because only George Soros can use Kinkos)

Stupid talking points the admin pushes — not simply about No Kings, but about all protests against Trump

Read on
bit.ly/4nZ5xWo

How Many Crazy Things Do You Have To Believe To Be A Trumper This Week?

Antifa is a real terrorist organization because only George Soros can use Kinkos.

Frank D. Russo @fdrtoday.bsky.social · 11h

This Is the Culture Trump and JD Vance Built:
None of this is random. It’s learned behavior
by Mike Nellis

Politico dropped 2,900 pages of leaked messages from national Republican operatives who called Black people “monkeys” and “the watermelon people”--and worse

Read the details

bit.ly/3J9o8je

This Is the Culture Donald Trump and JD Vance Built

None of this is random. It’s learned behavior.

Frank D. Russo @fdrtoday.bsky.social · 11h

San Francisco's top cop won't hesitate to bring excessive force or other charges against troops deployed by President Trump "If I believe, and have conviction, that we can meet our burden and charges are appropriate."
California Playbook

The gauntlet has been thrown down

bit.ly/47coaik

Frank D. Russo @fdrtoday.bsky.social · 12h

The Lesson of 1929
by Andrew Ross Sorkin, Atlantic gift article

Debt is the almost singular through line behind every major financial crisis

The remarkable parallels between that era and today’s political and economic climate: The heady 1920s massive bifurcation of American society

bit.ly/47cDRpR

The Lesson of 1929

Debt is the almost singular through line behind every major financial crisis.

Frank D. Russo @fdrtoday.bsky.social · 1d

Trump says San Francisco or NorCal could be next for a visit by National Guard
California Playbook

“We have great support in San Francisco," What? You got 15% of the vote. That's a big lie.

Not fun having our turn in the barrel. We didn't ask for this.

bit.ly/43obWlB

Frank D. Russo @fdrtoday.bsky.social · 1d

Arizona threatens to sue after House GOP refuses to seat Democrat
The Downballot

Adelita Grijalva won a special election weeks ago in a 70-30 landslide

Speaker has steadfastly refused to seat her, despite her 70-30 landslide and has kept House out of session since Sept. 19
bit.ly/4qdshDq

Morning Digest: Arizona threatens to sue after House GOP refuses to seat Democrat

Adelita Grijalva won a special election weeks ago but still hasn't been sworn in

Frank D. Russo @fdrtoday.bsky.social · 1d

Bad apples, big consequences: How a few high-volume mills are putting the whole civil justice system at risk
Cal Daily Journal

Not like most plaintiff attorneys

If the State Bar won’t enforce oversight, the legal community must act to rein in hedge-fund backed “case mills”

I agree
bit.ly/47s0vf6

Frank D. Russo @fdrtoday.bsky.social · 1d

JD Vance Freaks Out After Defense of Tom Homan Bribe Is Cut Off on ABC
TNR

Trump admin is flailing to protect border czar

Bondi deflected direct questions

Vance didn’t have a better approach. Zigged and zagged until the network cut him off for refusing to answer the question
bit.ly/46Tkjb7

JD Vance Freaks Out After Defense of Tom Homan Bribe Is Cut Off on Air

Vance was cut off on live television while trying to fend off allegations that Tom Homan accepted a $50,000 cash bribe.

Frank D. Russo @fdrtoday.bsky.social · 1d

Trump Erupts at ABC Over Vance On-Air Fiasco as Presser Goes Off Rails
TNR

As Trump’s exchanges with reporters appear more power-crazed than usual a sharp observer of our slide into authoritarianism explains why the Resistance must find a new kind of response before it’s too late

bit.ly/47eeGmZ

Trump Erupts at ABC Over Vance On-Air Fiasco as Presser Goes Off Rails

As Trump’s exchanges with reporters appear more power-crazed than usual, a sharp observer of our slide into authoritarianism explains why the Resistance must find a new kind of response before it’s to...

Frank D. Russo @fdrtoday.bsky.social · 1d

The Big List of Protest Signs for #NoKings 10/18
by Antonia Scatton

Focus on winning the hearts and minds of the unaware and undecided--tell people what we stand for

We want people to see us at in images and think, “I believe what they believe. These people are just like me”
bit.ly/3W9B4bX

The Big List of Protest Signs for #NoKings 10/18

Instead of talking to MAGA or each other, focus on winning the hearts and minds of the unaware and undecided.

Frank D. Russo @fdrtoday.bsky.social · 1d

Judge blocks Trump admin from laying off federal workers during government shutdown
Politico

BREAKING
U.S. District Judge Susan Illston ruled that the administration isn’t following legal requirements for conducting reductions in force
bit.ly/3J7Ieuc

Judge blocks Trump admin from laying off federal workers during government shutdown

U.S. District Judge Susan Illston ruled that the administration isn’t following legal requirements for conducting reductions in force.

Frank D. Russo @fdrtoday.bsky.social · 1d

Trump Considers Overhaul of Refugee System That Would Favor White People
NYT Gift Article

He's not considering it but is doing it!

Transforming program to help most vulnerable people in world into one that gives preference to mostly white people who say they are being persecuted
bit.ly/3KPJ3Zj

Reposted by Frank D. Russo

Craig Cheslog @craigcheslog.com · 1d

As a Cubs fan, I respect this.

Razzball @razzball.bsky.social · 1d

Someone in the crowd: “Go Cubs!”

Pope Leo XIV: “Han perdido! They lost!”

Frank D. Russo @fdrtoday.bsky.social · 1d

This reminds me of Murray Edelman's books I read in college as a political science major

Especially The Symbolic Uses of Politics published a few years later

As a lawyer I try to use logic, but that's not enough!

bit.ly/46TWP5R

Frank D. Russo @fdrtoday.bsky.social · 1d

Winning with misinformation: New research identifies link between endorsing easily disproven claims and prioritizing symbolic strength
The Conversaton

Wow! Published in the Journal of Social Psychology suggests that some people consider it a “win” to lean in to known falsehoods

bit.ly/4974Vt3

Winning with misinformation: New research identifies link between endorsing easily disproven claims and prioritizing symbolic strength

Conversations around misinformation that assume everyone cares about literal truth may be missing the point.

Frank D. Russo @fdrtoday.bsky.social · 1d

Conservative justices seem poised to weaken Voting Rights Act

Several of court’s conservatives appeared hostile to the traditional understanding of the civil rights law
Politico

We won't know until the decision comes out but it will probably have a MAJOR impact

Excellent analysis
bit.ly/4oho6ol

Conservative justices seem poised to weaken Voting Rights Act

Several of the court’s conservatives appeared hostile to the traditional understanding of the civil rights law.

Frank D. Russo @fdrtoday.bsky.social · 1d

Maine’s Platner now has the support of 3 labor unions

The endorsements inject more energy into his underdog Senate primary bid to unseat Collins
Politico

He's the rugged oyster man

Spirited primary will get best Dem candidate
bit.ly/4nU7NhG

Maine’s Platner now has the support of 3 labor unions

The endorsements inject more energy into his underdog Maine Senate primary bid.

Frank D. Russo @fdrtoday.bsky.social · 1d

The Justice Department’s Dangerously Weak Case Against Letitia James
Lawfare

Lindsey Halligan didn't have a strong case against Letitia James. She indicted her anyway

Meet the New Case (Worse than the Old Case?) The indictment is even weaker than what she sought
bit.ly/3WFpB40