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M. Tullius Cicero 🇺🇦

@tulliuscicero43.bsky.social

1.8K followers 1.2K following 3.8K posts

O tempora! O mores! Pro-democracy, anti-extremism. Former Midwesterner in New Mexico. Pro-Oxford comma, objective case, subjunctive mood.

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M. Tullius Cicero 🇺🇦 @tulliuscicero43.bsky.social · Mar 21

Important advice. 👇

Denys Beecher @dbeecher.bsky.social · Mar 21

In the, apparently increasingly likely, event that someone doesn't receive their Social Security benefit I would recommend that your first stop not be trying to call SSA directly. Report it to your local Congressperson or Senator's office, using their website constituent services form if possible
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Old White Nepo Hat @kenwhite.bsky.social · Mar 21

The most obvious thing about this is it is evil and sociopathic. But there’s another element: speaking as someone who has both prosecuted fraudsters and defended people very wrongfully accused of being fraudsters, it’s absolute bullshit.

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Governor JB Pritzker @govpritzker.illinois.gov · 4h

Greg Bovino, Kristi Noem, and DHS need to answer for their unchecked attacks on Chicago residents.

ICE is an out-of-control danger to our peaceful communities.

The images from the Sun-Times today speak for themselves.

An ICE agent throws a tear gas canister at protesters at East 105th Street and South Avenue N in East Side.

Photo Credit: Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

Federal immigration enforcement agents detain a protester during a skirmish at East 105th Street and South Avenue N in East Side.

Photo Credit: Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent points a crowd control weapon at a protester Tuesday at East 105th Street and South Avenue N in the East Side neighborhood.

Photo Credit: Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

A Chicago Police Department officer washes his face after being exposed to tear gas during a protest at East 105th Street and South Avenue N in East Side.

Photo Credit: Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

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Jenn Burrill @jennburrill.bsky.social · 4h

DOJ pressed Facebook to remove a group where users alerted members to the presence of ICE agents in Chicago...

Facebook’s submission to Trump comes after Zuckerberg pledged the platform would not “compromise” its content standards under “pressure from any administration in either direction”

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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 4h

This is a great factcheck on the DHS sizzle videos of them rounding up immigrants: they are leaving a lot of context out.

Jacob Soboroff @jacobsoboroff.bsky.social · 4h

here’s more context to the videos DHS is putting out from Chicago.

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Steve Sawyer @stevesawyer12.bsky.social · 4h

Yes! I’ve been hoping that these state & local jurisdictions would decide that criminality by *anyone* is unacceptable and will *not* be tolerated. As Mr. Ballot says, it may fail but dammit, let’s throw a few punches, shall we?

Radley Balko @radleybalko.bsky.social · 7h

Good. Even if this doesn’t work, it’s time to go on offense.

www.newsweek.com/jb-pritzker-...

JB Pritzker looking at prosecuting ICE agents in Chicago

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker has suggested that state prosecutors might examine the conduct of ICE agents.

www.newsweek.com

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Richard M. Carpiano, PhD, MPH @rmcarpiano.medsky.social · 4h

Ugh... This study has existed for decades, providing valuable health data for all sorts of topics and publications. This is just more awful news. 🛟😷 Sociology medsky

CDC team running top survey on health and nutrition is laid off

NHANES has collected data on eating patterns, diabetes, and other common diseases for decades. The CDC team that runs it has been fired.

www.statnews.com

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Ron Filipkowski @ronfilipkowski.bsky.social · 1d

It’s a start. Keep making phone calls to keep partisan politics out of airport safety PSAs.

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50501: The People’s Movement ❌👑 @50501movement.bsky.social · 1d

The Portland Frog army has now infiltrated Tulsa, OK and they’ve made an unlikely alliance with the T-Rex infantry and Sharks on Hoverboards mercenary forces.

This is truly terrifying.

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Scott MacFarlane @macfarlanenews.bsky.social · 15h

NEW: Early-round setback for Justice Dept in its criminal case against James Comey

Judge rejects US Attorney Lindsey Halligan's request to limit Comey's access to "protected material" in the case

storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

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Democrats @democrats.org · 13h

Trump cut a program that gave free black lung screenings to coal miners.

FactPost @factpostnews.bsky.social · 14h

Coal miner's wife on Trump's deregulation of black lung protections:

“They’re mining a lot more now, the coal trucks are running, but there’s no benefits for the coal miners coming in... The coal miners have supplied this country with electricity, and now they’re just cast aside to die”

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Patrick Chovanec @prchovanec.bsky.social · 13h

Listen up, Chicagoans. He thinks this is ok.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 14h

Q: We've seen images out of Chicago of federal agents shooting faith leaders with pepper balls and arresting journalists. Where's the limit for you on what's acceptable conduct by federal agents?

MIKE JOHNSON: I've not seen them cross the line yet.

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Senator Sheldon Whitehouse @whitehouse.senate.gov · 12h

Let’s be clear: the Republican shutdown continues because the Republican Speaker dares not bring back the House to face an Epstein vote they would lose and a divided caucus with vulnerables who want to extend Affordable Care credits and MAGAloons who won’t.

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Mark Jacob @markjacob.bsky.social · 11h

If we write off all news media, we’re playing into Trump’s hands. Some outlets are doing well while others stink.
In this installment of my free Stop the Presses newsletter, I give letter grades to major media outlets. See if you agree.

I’m handing out pro-democracy grades to the media

The Guardian gets an A, the NY Times gets a C, CBS gets an F

www.stopthepresses.news

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Sue Clancy @artistclancy.bsky.social · 11h

So @hcrichardson.bsky.social has encouraged us to record or write what it means to us to live in a democracy. So today I spent some writing things I want from a democratic government.
We had these things as recently as last year, 2024. And that gives me hope that we can/will have these again.

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Senator Sheldon Whitehouse @whitehouse.senate.gov · 11h

In ordinary times, Americans go about their daily lives without much worry about who is running the Office of Management and Budget, a powerful, low-profile agency tasked with executing the federal budget.

These are not ordinary times. @contrariannews.org
contrarian.substack.com/p/russell-vo...

Russell Vought is the tool of a dangerous elite

He wields his budget hammer not in service to the people or the Constitution, but for the billionaire class.

contrarian.substack.com

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Catherine Rampell @crampell.bsky.social · 10h

Report examining the employment history data of more than 3m finance & tech workers at companies that rolled out office mandates found that turnover among women is almost three times as high as that of their male co-workers, and that women are more likely to take a lower position if they leave

Women are taking pay cuts as companies mandate return to office

Researchers are identifying several key factors behind why gender pay gap – which had narrowed steadily over the years – has suddenly widened.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Greg Sargent @gregsargent.bsky.social · 11h

Trump is no longer even pretending to have any kind of argument that his murdering of people in the Caribbean Sea has any kind of statutory validity. Just straight up declaring that he has quasi-unlimited power to execute people based on (nominal) suspicion.

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Mark Copelovitch @mcopelov.bsky.social · 10h

Unprecedentedly illegal & unconstitutional crimes - things that make Nixon's presidency-ending crimes look like harmless high school pranks - now happening daily:

Greg Sargent @gregsargent.bsky.social · 11h

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Zach Binney @binneyz.bsky.social · 11h

Is this a good time to remind everyone (as the article covers at length) that there is effectively no regulation by the FDA or any other government body of any supplement? And that the definition of "supplement" is very, very wide?

paris martineau @paris.nyc · 12h

my latest investigation for @consumerreports.org is based on months of reporting and 60+ lab tests of leading protein supplements

we found that most protein powders and shakes have more lead in one serving than our experts say is safe to have in a day (🧵)

www.consumerreports.org/lead/protein...

Protein Powders and Shakes Contain High Levels of Lead - Consumer Reports

CR tests of 23 popular protein powders and shakes found that most contain high levels of lead.

www.consumerreports.org

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Katherine Clark @whipkclark.bsky.social · 10h

Don't sell yourself so short, Mike.

You have a strategy: take health care away from millions of people and give tax cuts to billionaires.

That's why the GOP won't return to DC after shutting down the government.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 14h

Mike Johnson: "I don't have any strategy"

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Joanne Freeman @jbf1755.bsky.social · 10h

1. Using humor & mockery to punch holes in fear-based authoritarian power grabs is a tried & true method

2. 1 point of such display is inspiring folks to see they're not alone in anger at this regime; that most folks agree w/them; & to fuel action

3. It's not aimed at DJT

It's building a movement

burlygiant.bsky.social @burlygiant.bsky.social · 17h

If only the Germans had dressed in animal costumes in the 1920's and 30's, Hitler would have been stopped in his tracks. I'm all for humour and satire but it's going to take more than some funny costumes.

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Josh Marshall @joshtpm.bsky.social · 10h

Top on the list of "Democrat programs" Trump/Vought just ended is the office which runs special education programs in the United States. www.k12dive.com/news/special...

RIFs rip through federal Office of Special Education Programs

With OSEP reportedly decimated, one special education expert asks: How can IDEA "possibly function"?

www.k12dive.com

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Hannah Levintova @h-lev.bsky.social · 10h

New from me: In March, FHFA director Bill Pulte made himself chairman of the board of Fannie Mae. But after, he did not file a required disclosure form tied to the role with the SEC—the same kind of paperwork error he has used to attack Trump's political foes. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

The attack dog targeting Trump opponents over their paperwork hasn’t even filed his own

As chairman of the board of Fannie Mae, Bill Pulte was required to file a disclosure form with the SEC. He didn’t.

www.motherjones.com

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Melissa Jo Peltier @melissjpeltier.bsky.social · 10h

Really important read.
Support @democracydocket.com

Marc Elias @marcelias.bsky.social · 12h

If you read one story ahead of tomorrow's Supreme Court argument, make it this one. The fate of the VRA and the 2026 elections potentially hang in the balance. www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...

Fair Elections — and Perhaps Control of Congress — at Stake as SCOTUS Hears Challenge to VRA