Banquosghost
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banquosghost.bsky.social
Banquosghost
@banquosghost.bsky.social
#Writer, Chapel Hill expatriate, #againstfascism, #poetry out via dzanc books & plays guitar/instigator w/ sunfaders (ex- diecast cars & 81 mulberry) (opinions solely mine) https://bnd.link/sunfaders
Reposted by Banquosghost
the fact that we are actually getting "Republicans in disarray" headlines from even conservative media outlets feels like something has shifted
House GOP moderates revolt against Johnson on health care with new discharge petition
Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania introduced a discharge petition to try to bring a bill to the floor that would extend the Affordable Care Act subsidies by two years.
www.cbsnews.com
December 11, 2025 at 3:00 AM
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***IMPORTANT THREAD*****

If you are anywhere near York County, South Carolina, PLEASE show up to their board meeting tomorrow. It is, of course and intentionally, at NOON tomorrow at For Mill Library.

Here's York County Library's background, yes, still ongoing: bookriot.com/whats-happen...
What's Happening in York County Library (SC) Should Be A Wakeup Call
Poor recording keeping, debates over what was or was not said and voted on, and special interests plague more than just this library system.
bookriot.com
December 10, 2025 at 10:10 PM
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the sad irony that Trump has turned the US into a shithole country
December 10, 2025 at 5:46 PM
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***DO NOT TAG JOHN DARNIELLE INTO THIS THREAD***

a propos of nothing, I'm going to post the lists I made of the top 20 Mountain Goats songs and albums of the Aughts

I wrote the lists for no one, but I think the writing is good
The Mountain Goats: A Decade in Review
THE MOUNTAIN GOATS: A DECADE IN REVIEW TWO LISTS by ABRAHAM "ABE" RIESMAN This document was born out of unjustified anger. A few months ago...
thepressurezone.blogspot.com
December 10, 2025 at 11:18 AM
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How many times do we need to point this out?
By appeasing the far right, you do not weaken it. You strengthen it.
While weakening your own position.
There's a vast amount of academic research showing this.
But Labour will not listen.
www.theguardian.com/law/2025/dec...
Starmer urges Europe’s leaders to curb ECHR to halt rise of far right
Exclusive: PM calls for members of European convention on human rights to allow tougher action to protect borders
www.theguardian.com
December 10, 2025 at 10:56 AM
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This is obscene.

That others in politics can’t or won’t say that this is obscene hits at the heart of the problems we face.

We are the 99.999%.

Tax the super rich.

Join.greenparty.org.uk
December 10, 2025 at 10:41 AM
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I guess the president just announced he recently took his latest in a series of cognitive tests, this one in front of a room full of medical personnel observing him?
December 10, 2025 at 5:04 AM
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Yep.
December 10, 2025 at 12:42 PM
A breather: Great Blue Heron early morning on the East Branch of the Rahway River.
December 10, 2025 at 12:31 PM
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Trump admits he took another cognitive test.

They don’t just give those out for funsies.

He also says the NYT reporting on his heath is sedition and perhaps treason.

Whatever news he got must be awful.
December 10, 2025 at 3:44 AM
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"Elon’s entire incoherent free speech framework collapses into a single coherent principle: speech I like is protected, speech I don’t like should be punished.

This is what happens when someone who never understood the actual principles of free speech tries to cosplay as a free speech absolutist."
Three Tweets That Capture The Entire Elon Musk Free Speech Con
We’ve spent years calling out what a hypocrite Elon Musk is on free speech. But sometimes the universe Elon hands you a gift: three tweets in the span of a little over a week that demonstrate…
www.techdirt.com
December 9, 2025 at 9:41 PM
Or here’s an idea: don’t engage in extrajudicial killings and illegal attacks.
NEW: Pentagon lawyers asked State Dept. if US could send survivors of Trump's boat strikes to a notorious prison in El Salvador. Then Pentagon pushed to have survivors sent anywhere but the US — to prevent any US court cases. Gift link to our @nytimes.com story: www.nytimes.com/2025/12/09/u...
Inside the Pentagon’s Scramble to Deal With Boat Strike Survivors
www.nytimes.com
December 10, 2025 at 4:29 AM
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Sure seems like motive to murder survivors of future attacks
NEW: Pentagon lawyers asked State Dept. if US could send survivors of Trump's boat strikes to a notorious prison in El Salvador. Then Pentagon pushed to have survivors sent anywhere but the US — to prevent any US court cases. Gift link to our @nytimes.com story: www.nytimes.com/2025/12/09/u...
Inside the Pentagon’s Scramble to Deal With Boat Strike Survivors
www.nytimes.com
December 10, 2025 at 4:23 AM
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It gets worse. Trump also says straight out that an invasion of Venezuela "on land" is coming and says he'd expand all this to Mexico and Colombia. Incredibly, no one even bothers pointing out anymore that he is claiming authority to do all of this without Congress:

newrepublic.com/article/2041...
December 9, 2025 at 4:55 PM
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“So right now, people are buying their holiday presents, they’re planning for—” Politico’s Dasha Burns began in a cheery tone, before Trump cut her off.

“Look, don’t be dramatic,” Trump said abruptly, as if Burns had insulted him. trib.al/GkdxBEw
December 9, 2025 at 7:45 PM
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I was going to just share an excerpt of this great @donmoyn.bsky.social piece, but there are too many excerpts worth sharing. Just read the whole thing. If you care about governance, democracy, and the rule of law, these issues are crucial. open.substack.com/pub/donmoyni...
At will? Whose will?
Removing independent agency heads is part of a broader assault on a nonpartisan government
open.substack.com
December 9, 2025 at 12:43 PM
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"A freshman woman who was unable to join the group said the exclusion sends a worrisome message to conservative women at Harvard."

Another leopards eating faces party voter.
December 9, 2025 at 6:23 PM
At least that’s what they told me when they dropped off that ten million for the ballroom.
POLITICO: You pardoned the former president of Honduras even though he was convicted in a massive intl drug trafficking scheme. How is that 0 tolerance on drug trafficking?

TRUMP: Well I don't know him and I know very little about him other than people said it was like an Obama-Biden type set up
December 9, 2025 at 6:27 PM
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TPM has spent nearly two months on the front lines of Trump's mass deportation push in New York. We found masked agents, chaos in the courts, and a quietly growing movement that's fighting back.
talkingpointsmemo.com/feature/life...
Life Inside the Undocumented Underground
During President Donald Trump’s second term, dramatic raids staged by the Immigration...
talkingpointsmemo.com
December 9, 2025 at 4:17 PM
Seems like someone has a lack of blood flowing to their brain.
Duffy on what he's doing to improve the airport experience for travelers: "Maybe I want a workout area where people might get some blood flowing doing some pull ups or step ups in the airport."
December 9, 2025 at 6:23 PM
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I'm so glad these people are being exposed for morons.

Please do more interviews, Alex Karp, Sam Altman, Thiel and others.

These billionaires are freaks, folks. They aren't prophets or geniuses who will save humanity. They're more like the pharoah, but dumber.
Jimmy Fallon: "And do you use ChatGPT when raising your baby?"

Sam Altman: "I cannot imagine figuring out how to raise a newborn without ChatGPT."
December 9, 2025 at 6:20 PM
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NEW: Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) calls for an investigation into the Trump administration's "repeated, blatant" abuse of power to achieve partisan redistricting goals, alleging it violates federal law. This renewed demand comes after his first request rendered no updates.
Trump’s 'Repeated, Blatant' Hatch Act Violations Over Gerrymandering Must Be Investigated, Sen. Padilla Demands
Read more here.
www.democracydocket.com
December 9, 2025 at 6:20 PM
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“I’ve been amazed by the groundswell of grassroots, bipartisan opposition to this....everyone is affected by this, the opposition has been across the political spectrum. A lot of people don’t see the benefits coming from AI and feel they will be paying for it"
More than 200 environmental groups demand halt to new US datacenters
Exclusive: Congress urged to act against energy-hungry facilities blamed for increasing bills and worsening climate crisis
www.theguardian.com
December 8, 2025 at 7:45 PM
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The Supreme Court, Presidency, Senate and two party system are all quite anti-democratic institutions as presently constructed.

Our institutions are not only incapable of preventing tyranny—they’re currently enabling it.

When democracy returns, we need to reform our political system.
December 8, 2025 at 4:39 PM