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Greg Sargent @gregsargent.bsky.social · 28m

As @lutzfernandez.bsky.social writes here, the MAGA obsession with the Epstein files was never about justice for his victims, it was only about their revenge fantasies about liberal elites, and now that's been laid bare:

Anne Lutz Fernandez @lutzfernandez.bsky.social · 36m

In my latest piece for The Unpopulist, I wrote about the convolutions of the Epstein story and how the throughline is MAGA using children to achieve their political ends.

For MAGA, what's supposed to be about the children is never about the children.

MAGA’s Epstein Fixation Isn’t About Justice, It’s About Revenge

House Republicans care less about delivering justice to this sexual predator's underage victims and more about punishing their political enemies

www.theunpopulist.net

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Kendra "Gloom is My Beat" Pierre-Louis @kendrawrites.com · 34m

It's not just a lifelong prejudice. It's that the media has a documented bias against left wing protest for at least half a century. When they can't frame them as violent or inconvenient they frame them as infective

Anne Lutz Fernandez @lutzfernandez.bsky.social · 11h

For one thing, these protests have been happening in every state from small towns to suburbs to big cities.

Pundudes like Brooks can't let go of their lifelong prejudices even when they see it's an emergency. He'd turn down a lifeboat in a flood if it was piloted by someone registered Democratic.

Perry Bacon @perrybaconjr.bsky.social · 14h

I read the piece. You shouldn't. He dismisses the "No Kings" protests as liberals in blue cities. He invokes Rosa Parks, as if rural white people in the 60s loved everything that the movement then was doing. "We need a movement but not this one" is a core centrist tact these days.

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Max Kennerly @maxkennerly.bsky.social · 11h

Feels quaint, almost cliché, to say this about a Trump action, but just for the record:

This is all illegal, the President can't simply disregard the laws passed and agencies created by Congress, and both Vought & Trump would be impeached if the Constitution or the rule of law mattered to the GOP.

Reuters @reuters.com · 16h

White House budget director Vought plans to shut down CFPB within months, says it's no longer protecting consumers reut.rs/4qjMIyT

White House budget director Vought plans to shut down CFPB within months, says it's no longer protecting consumers

White House budget director Russell Vought said he wants to close the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and expects to do so within the next two to three months.

reut.rs

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Bobby Kogan @bbkogan.bsky.social · 15h

The mechanism through which Trump is paying the troops is the most blatant large Antideficiency Act (ADA) violation in US history. It's also clearly willful. No one has been charged under the ADA before, but violations carry a two-year jail term. The statute of limitations is five years.

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Radley Balko @radleybalko.bsky.social · 13h

That’s $5 billion more than the entire annual USAID budget. All to one country. To rescue one friend of the president’s.

Ilhan Omar @ilhanmn.bsky.social · 13h

Trump found another $20 BILLION to give to Argentina, totaling their bailout to $40 BILLION.

Yet we can’t afford to prevent millions of Americans from losing their healthcare.

Shame.

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Reconstructionist @unavaleable.bsky.social · 5h

Dawg what

MeidasTouch @meidastouch.com · 7h

LA Times now confirming our earlier reporting: www.latimes.com/california/s...

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Dave Jorgenson @davejorgenson.bsky.social · 6h

Republicans: “Stop calling us Nazis just because you disagree with us.”

*Elon Musk Nazi salutes*

Young Republican group: “I love Hitler.”

This Congressman’s office:

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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 13h

very funny that JD Vance has so little to do with his time that he goes on podcasts to defend 30-year-old men for saying how much they love Hitler

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 17h

JD Vance dismisses Young Republicans who in a group chat said "I love Hitler" and joked about slavery and rape as "a bunch of kids" who "told stupid jokes" and adds that "most of the stupid things I did when I was a teenager and young adult, they're not on the internet."

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Barred and Boujee aka Madiba Dennie @audrelawdamercy.bsky.social · 8h

‼️ this is one of the reasons why the Musk shutdown of USAID broke me, like

Congress said 'we're allocating these funds to save lives'

a random asshole with too much money and unresolved bitterness about the end of Apartheid said 'no you're not'

so the funding disappeared??

and people are dying??

Hunter @hunterub.bsky.social · 11h

There's literally no reason for Congress to exist if any random freak in the presidential orbit can nullify laws and seize federal funds. All of this is plainly illegal, but Mike Johnson leads the most corrupt Congress in US history (and by a wide margin.)

Reuters @reuters.com · 16h

White House budget director Vought plans to shut down CFPB within months, says it's no longer protecting consumers reut.rs/4qjMIyT

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David Corn @davidcorn.bsky.social · 8h

It's going up to $40 billion.

USAID's budget last year was $28 billion.

Joe Walsh @walshfreedom.bsky.social · 9h

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Robby Kalland @rkalland.bsky.social · 7h

This suggests the existence of a Putthead

"fart" @jonhendren.com · 8h

peavis

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All In with Chris Hayes @allinwithchris.bsky.social · 7h

“This stuff doesn't just permeate the culture of conservatism at this moment. It is the culture, by and large. These are ‘JD Vance Republicans,’” says Chris Hayes on the leaked GOP text messages praising Hitler—and the vice president downplaying it.

'Kids telling edgy jokes’? Hayes SHREDS Vance’s defense of racist GOP group chat

YouTube video by MSNBC

www.youtube.com

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Matt Novak @paleofuture.bsky.social · 7h

Shit's getting bad, man. Real bad.

Exclusive | Trump Team Plans IRS Overhaul to Enable Pursuit of Left-Leaning Groups

The effort would install a Trump ally at the IRS’s criminal unit who has drawn up a list of investigative targets.

www.wsj.com

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James Fallows @jfallows.bsky.social · 9h

Sorry to harp on this, but another almost-unbelievably terrible unsigned editorial from WaPo. This one has a crucial "tell" that Murdoch's Fleet Street team is in full control.

The tell: Would any US writer refer to Trump as "the American," the way the WaPo does in passage below?

A Washington Post editorial which refers to Trump as "the American."

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Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 10h

A dark batch of headlines tonight.

@wsj.com @nytimes.com @axios.com @politico.com

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Benjamin Rose @benjaminrose.bsky.social · 9h

Shitty

1

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Peter Chen @ptrchn1.bsky.social · 9h

New euphemism for blatantly violating the law just dropped

The New York Times @nytimes.com · 11h

President Trump on Wednesday signed a memorandum expanding his administration’s authority to repurpose unspent federal funds to pay members of the military during the government shutdown, escalating his challenge to the authority of Congress on spending matters.

Trump Signs Memo Expanding His Authority to Spend Federal Money

The president gave Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wide authority to repurpose funds to pay members of the military without approval from Congress, which has the sole constitutional authority to decide federal spending.

nyti.ms

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Benjamin Rose @benjaminrose.bsky.social · 9h

Petry, tighten tf up bro. Stop giving the puck away ffs.

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Tyler King @tyleraking.com · 9h

The primary directive of the administration has been a whole-of-government focus on fostering racism and bigotry while dismantling every bulwark against it.

The New Republic @newrepublic.com · 10h

This, it seems, is an early preview of Trump’s lasting political legacy: Republicans are no longer apologizing, nor are they pushing out racist, bigoted allies when they inevitably find themselves embroiled in controversy. trib.al/bESbWqb

JD Vance Just Gave Us a Preview of Trumpism Without Trump

The vice president doesn’t see why full-grown Republican men should have to apologize for being racist Hitler lovers.

trib.al

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“Boo!” Saysceej @saysceej.bsky.social · 9h

I know that this is stupid to expect at this point…but it’s illegal. And not like in a “it doesn’t say a dog can’t play” way, but in an explicit “under no circumstances may a dog play and this isn’t just a rule in this league this is fundamental to the actual game” way.

The New York Times @nytimes.com · 11h

President Trump on Wednesday signed a memorandum expanding his administration’s authority to repurpose unspent federal funds to pay members of the military during the government shutdown, escalating his challenge to the authority of Congress on spending matters.

Trump Signs Memo Expanding His Authority to Spend Federal Money

The president gave Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wide authority to repurpose funds to pay members of the military without approval from Congress, which has the sole constitutional authority to decide federal spending.

nyti.ms

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Hey, nobody *made* them vote for the host of Wrestlemania 4 @legalminimum.bsky.social · 9h

I’m old enough to remember when their biggest fucking grievance was a made-up complaint that Obama did this.

Yashar Ali 🐘 @yasharali.bsky.social · 10h

BREAKING via WSJ

The Trump administration is planning sweeping changes in criminal division at the IRS.

Full Story: on.wsj.com/3LbVFtK

The Trump administration is preparing sweeping changes at the Internal Revenue Service that would allow the agency to pursue criminal inquiries of left-leaning groups more easily, according to people familiar with the matter.
A senior IRS official involved in the effort has drawn up a list of potential targets that includes major Democratic donors, some of the people said.
The undertaking aims to install allies of President Trump at the IRS criminal-investigative division, or IRS-CI, to exert firmer control over the unit and weaken the involvement of IRS lawyers in criminal investigations, officials said. The proposed changes could open the door to politically motivated probes and are being driven by Gary Shapley, an adviser to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

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Benjamin Rose @benjaminrose.bsky.social · 9h

Score a goal pls

Benjamin Rose @benjaminrose.bsky.social · 9h

Been a pretty sharp PP, unfortunately can’t get the goal

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Julian Sanchez @normative.bsky.social · 11h

Remember, brown 13-year-olds are hardened menaces to society, but 30-something Republican Hitler afficionados in positions of power are just li’l guys.

Clara Jeffery @clarajeffery.bsky.social · 12h

These. Were. Men. In. Their. 30s.

www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

No one in the GOP Hitler chat was a "kid"

We checked. Sorry, JD Vance.

www.motherjones.com

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Bill Grueskin @bgrueskin.bsky.social · 10h

What a lede

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