Paul Bland
@fpbland.bsky.social
Public interest lawyer, music fan, dad/granddad/husband
Pinned
Paul Bland
@fpbland.bsky.social
· Jun 6
The Big Bad bill will cost over 10 million people their health insurance, will significantly accelerate climate change, is a huge suck of money upwards in an already inequitable economy, and will burden future generations
But hey, let's focus on the feelings of the world's richest man
But hey, let's focus on the feelings of the world's richest man
I think there's an implicit asterisk on this ruling. It's a limitation on the ability of courts to scrutinize unconstitutional actions taken by REPUBLICAN legislatures. My guess is it would be a whole lot harder to get this Court to apply this rule to actions by a blue state. I hope I'm wrong
We need to talk about the massive loophole that the Supreme Court just carved into election law over the shadow docket—giving states a free pass to enact patently unconstitutional voting rules within nearly *one year* of an election. A stunning new limit on judicial review. slate.com/news-and-pol...
December 5, 2025 at 7:14 PM
I think there's an implicit asterisk on this ruling. It's a limitation on the ability of courts to scrutinize unconstitutional actions taken by REPUBLICAN legislatures. My guess is it would be a whole lot harder to get this Court to apply this rule to actions by a blue state. I hope I'm wrong
Imagine a world where antitrust policy about whether a merger or acquisition would be allowed is based on the economics and power and whether it's good for consumers, instead of whether the new entity will politically favor the regime.
In other words, imagine any other Administration ever
In other words, imagine any other Administration ever
December 5, 2025 at 2:49 PM
Imagine a world where antitrust policy about whether a merger or acquisition would be allowed is based on the economics and power and whether it's good for consumers, instead of whether the new entity will politically favor the regime.
In other words, imagine any other Administration ever
In other words, imagine any other Administration ever
And after the richest man in the world played God and set in motion cuts that would lead to hundreds of thousands of people dying, he was able to get his hand picked board to give him a trillion dollars. He takes no responsibility for his actions in killing so many desperate people
The impact of the destruction of USAID is so wide-ranging. We got a field report from one of the poorest states in India, where foreign aid funded "TB champions" who educate and assist tuberculosis patients. Without their help, advocates expect a 36% increase in cases & 68% rise in deaths from TB.
Losing India’s Guardian Angels - The American Prospect
USAID funding supported efforts to eradicate tuberculosis in India, one of the country’s deadliest diseases. Now, that money and support is gone.
prospect.org
December 4, 2025 at 1:52 PM
And after the richest man in the world played God and set in motion cuts that would lead to hundreds of thousands of people dying, he was able to get his hand picked board to give him a trillion dollars. He takes no responsibility for his actions in killing so many desperate people
My only Note is that two things can be true at the same time, and this doesn't have to be an "or"
Rand Paul: "Secretary Hegseth said he had no knowledge of this and it did not happen. It was fake news. It didn't happen. And then the next day, from the podium of the WH, they're saying it did happen. So either he was lying to us on Sunday or he's incompetent and didn't know what had happened."
December 3, 2025 at 4:49 PM
My only Note is that two things can be true at the same time, and this doesn't have to be an "or"
I'm really excited to have the chance to participate in this terrific program to discuss the SCOTUS hearing the case about whether Trump can fire members of independent agencies without cause. I hope a lot of people will choose to attend!
app.etapestry.com/onlineforms/...
app.etapestry.com/onlineforms/...
An Independent FTC on Trial: What to Watch for in the Trump v. Slaughter Oral Argument
app.etapestry.com
December 3, 2025 at 2:38 PM
I'm really excited to have the chance to participate in this terrific program to discuss the SCOTUS hearing the case about whether Trump can fire members of independent agencies without cause. I hope a lot of people will choose to attend!
app.etapestry.com/onlineforms/...
app.etapestry.com/onlineforms/...
These guys lie and lie, but sometimes Trump is too out of it or too convinced that whatever he wants and says is true, and he forgets or otherwise fails to lie. Sometimes he just blurts out the truth, and then all his enablers have to try to fix it.
👉 The Pentagon denied the second strike.
👉Hegseth denied it.
👉The White House denied it.
✅ Then Trump himself confirmed it happened.
If they can’t keep their story straight, maybe it’s because the story is indefensible.
www.dailykos.com/stories/2025...
👉Hegseth denied it.
👉The White House denied it.
✅ Then Trump himself confirmed it happened.
If they can’t keep their story straight, maybe it’s because the story is indefensible.
www.dailykos.com/stories/2025...
Hegseth blames scapegoat for apparent war crimes he bragged about
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday blamed a military commander for the apparent war crime the U.S. military committed in September in the Caribbean Sea, saying that it was Admiral Mitch Bradley,
www.dailykos.com
December 2, 2025 at 4:13 PM
These guys lie and lie, but sometimes Trump is too out of it or too convinced that whatever he wants and says is true, and he forgets or otherwise fails to lie. Sometimes he just blurts out the truth, and then all his enablers have to try to fix it.
Some of us are old enough that we remember the idea that the US Constitution provides for a strong legislative branch that passes laws, and the executive administers and enforces those laws but can't just ignore them
Let's hope five members of SCOTUS will choose to honor this idea
Let's hope five members of SCOTUS will choose to honor this idea
December 1, 2025 at 8:12 PM
Some of us are old enough that we remember the idea that the US Constitution provides for a strong legislative branch that passes laws, and the executive administers and enforces those laws but can't just ignore them
Let's hope five members of SCOTUS will choose to honor this idea
Let's hope five members of SCOTUS will choose to honor this idea
Oh, he's decreased drug prices by 700 %? So the next time I go to CVS they will pay me a huge sum to receive the drugs?
It shows how badly afraid of him his staff are, that no one has the courage to say to him, "boss, that's not how the math works."
What a bunch of lies
It shows how badly afraid of him his staff are, that no one has the courage to say to him, "boss, that's not how the math works."
What a bunch of lies
Trump says the GOP should win the midterms because he is “the affordability president”
November 29, 2025 at 9:50 PM
Oh, he's decreased drug prices by 700 %? So the next time I go to CVS they will pay me a huge sum to receive the drugs?
It shows how badly afraid of him his staff are, that no one has the courage to say to him, "boss, that's not how the math works."
What a bunch of lies
It shows how badly afraid of him his staff are, that no one has the courage to say to him, "boss, that's not how the math works."
What a bunch of lies
Noem knows that being Trumpy advances her career these days, and what could be more Trumpy than using her government position to enrich herself?
“This is what corruption looks like,” Rep. Jasmine Crockett said about a firm with ties to Kristi Noem secretly working on a DHS ad campaign. “They’re stealing money from the American people’s pockets and depositing it into their bank accounts.”
Lawmakers Call for Probe of How Firm Tied to Kristi Noem Got Piece of $220 Million DHS Ad Contracts
The demands for an investigation come after a ProPublica story revealed that the Noem-connected Strategy Group was secretly a subcontractor on the ad campaign.
www.propublica.org
November 27, 2025 at 8:03 PM
Noem knows that being Trumpy advances her career these days, and what could be more Trumpy than using her government position to enrich herself?
When I read things like "Democrats need to talk less about climate change," I feel like I've wandered onto the set of Don't Look Up.
New York’s data centers use more energy than a million homes — and they need more. Gov. Hochul just approved a billion dollar gas pipeline that activists warn could keep the state dependent on fossil fuels for decades. [email protected] and James Baratta: trib.al/tFSyNBe
Big Tech’s Big New York Gas Pipeline - The American Prospect
Gov. Kathy Hochul justified a $1 billion natural gas project by appealing to affordability. But the main reason the state needs the energy is because data centers are hogging it.
trib.al
November 26, 2025 at 9:21 PM
When I read things like "Democrats need to talk less about climate change," I feel like I've wandered onto the set of Don't Look Up.
Some functions are uniquely appropriate for the government. No private entity should be punishing people & people in prisons shouldn't be controlled by corporations with incentives to save money on their medical care and food and security. Future Dem candidates should call for ending private prisons
Private prison profits are booming under Trump 2.0. The CEO of America’s largest private prison operator said their mission “is perfectly aligned with the demands of this moment.” From @matthewcook5 with the Center for Media and Democracy: trib.al/7P1WGmU
State and Local Contracts Prop Up For-Profit Prisons - The American Prospect
CoreCivic and GEO Group profit from Trump’s immigration policies while also receiving lucrative contracts from state and local governments, including areas controlled by Democrats.
trib.al
November 26, 2025 at 6:44 PM
Some functions are uniquely appropriate for the government. No private entity should be punishing people & people in prisons shouldn't be controlled by corporations with incentives to save money on their medical care and food and security. Future Dem candidates should call for ending private prisons
Next your going to suggest that our foreign policy shouldn't be based on the whims and impulses of a "very stable genius," where everyone around him just suddenly leaps to whatever words happen to come from his mouth.
Really looks like the United States is about to launch a regime change war against Venezuela with:
-No casus belli
-No authorization from Congress
-No allies or international support
-No plan for a post-Maduro Venezuela
-No preparation for any sort of stabilization or containment of the fallout
-No casus belli
-No authorization from Congress
-No allies or international support
-No plan for a post-Maduro Venezuela
-No preparation for any sort of stabilization or containment of the fallout
November 24, 2025 at 4:42 PM
Next your going to suggest that our foreign policy shouldn't be based on the whims and impulses of a "very stable genius," where everyone around him just suddenly leaps to whatever words happen to come from his mouth.
When Trump tried to kill the Affordable Care Act in his first term, my sense is that the media did a nice job of cataloging a lot of cases of people who would be harmed by this -- denied needed chemo and so forth.
Now, hardly any other media are covering this.
Thank goodness for you guys.
Now, hardly any other media are covering this.
Thank goodness for you guys.
The personal stories of health insurance out-of-pocket premium costs soaring aren't going away no matter how much the GOP tries to hide from the problem. @whitneycwimbish.bsky.social talks to some of the recipients of sticker shock:
prospect.org/2025/11/21/a...
prospect.org/2025/11/21/a...
Panic Tears Through U.S. as Health Insurance Costs Spike - The American Prospect
The end of expanded subsidies for the Affordable Care Act exchanges means more people will go without health insurance.
prospect.org
November 21, 2025 at 2:48 PM
When Trump tried to kill the Affordable Care Act in his first term, my sense is that the media did a nice job of cataloging a lot of cases of people who would be harmed by this -- denied needed chemo and so forth.
Now, hardly any other media are covering this.
Thank goodness for you guys.
Now, hardly any other media are covering this.
Thank goodness for you guys.
State media making stuff up to fluff Trump.
It's like when FOX breathlessly reported that Trump had given us the weekend, or that he was working in D.C. when he was in Palm Beach. They just say whatever they think will help him.
It's like when FOX breathlessly reported that Trump had given us the weekend, or that he was working in D.C. when he was in Palm Beach. They just say whatever they think will help him.
Fox News credulously reports that "the Saudis now say their investment pledge in the US will be increased to $1 trillion." THE ENTIRE GDP OF SAUDI ARABIA IS $1.1 TRILLION, so this is total nonsense.
November 19, 2025 at 4:31 PM
State media making stuff up to fluff Trump.
It's like when FOX breathlessly reported that Trump had given us the weekend, or that he was working in D.C. when he was in Palm Beach. They just say whatever they think will help him.
It's like when FOX breathlessly reported that Trump had given us the weekend, or that he was working in D.C. when he was in Palm Beach. They just say whatever they think will help him.
This kind of thing is why FOX has to closely edit his videos or instead of showing him talking, they have some "expert" say things they think will sound good to their viewers
I can usually translate him, but either I’m losing my mind, or he is.
November 18, 2025 at 3:59 PM
This kind of thing is why FOX has to closely edit his videos or instead of showing him talking, they have some "expert" say things they think will sound good to their viewers
Reposted by Paul Bland
Trump's relationship with Vance is very similar to Logan's relationship with one of his kids in Succession. Polls show Vance looks like his successor, so Trump does what Logan did to Shiv in season two -- humiliate him so no one can be a strong successor
Trump really shivved JD Vance when he endorsed Tucker's interview w/Nick Fuentes, who had been mocking Vance and making racist comments about his wife. Trump basically dumped the Fuentes mess on him.
@zackbeauchamp.bsky.social nails the dynamics in this exchange:
newrepublic.com/article/2033...
@zackbeauchamp.bsky.social nails the dynamics in this exchange:
newrepublic.com/article/2033...
November 18, 2025 at 2:33 PM
Trump's relationship with Vance is very similar to Logan's relationship with one of his kids in Succession. Polls show Vance looks like his successor, so Trump does what Logan did to Shiv in season two -- humiliate him so no one can be a strong successor
Reposted by Paul Bland
tom looked it up so you don’t have to - but by all means, use this fact in your reporting on gas prices & trump claims…
Trump relentlessly boasts he’s brought gasoline prices way down. The truth is they’re still slightly higher year on year and have spent almost all of 2025 solidly higher.
Somehow no one in media ever corrects him.
Somehow no one in media ever corrects him.
November 15, 2025 at 12:48 PM
tom looked it up so you don’t have to - but by all means, use this fact in your reporting on gas prices & trump claims…
So grateful that these fantastic organizations chose us to help represent them in the US Supreme Court in this incredibly important case. I'm very proud to have been part of the team on this powerful brief.
Berger Montague joined 40 consumer protection, data privacy, and competition groups from 10 states and DC in submitting an amicus brief in Slaughter v. Trump, a case challenging the President’s attempted firing of Federal Trade Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter. bergermontague.com/news/berger-...
Berger Montague Joins 40 Consumer Protection and Privacy Groups in Amicus Brief Challenging Trump’s Attempted Firing of FTC Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter
Today, Berger Montague, a leading national plaintiffs’ law firm, and 40 consumer protection, data privacy, and competition groups from 10 states and the District of Columbia submitted an amicus brief ...
bergermontague.com
November 13, 2025 at 9:12 PM
So grateful that these fantastic organizations chose us to help represent them in the US Supreme Court in this incredibly important case. I'm very proud to have been part of the team on this powerful brief.
Reposted by Paul Bland
“When I win, I will immediately bring prices down, starting on Day One"
November 12, 2025 at 12:55 PM
“When I win, I will immediately bring prices down, starting on Day One"
FOX had to do a ton of dishonest broadcasting to support the regime's narrative that Portland is this hotbed of revolutionary violence
NEW: ProPublica examined months of Fox News’ coverage and reviewed over 700 videos posted on social media.
The network used five-year-old footage, mislabeled other dates and implied footage from elsewhere was in Portland.
The network used five-year-old footage, mislabeled other dates and implied footage from elsewhere was in Portland.
“Riots Raging”: The Misleading Story Fox News Told About Portland Before Trump Sent Troops
After reviewing coverage from the network and hours of social media videos that preceded Trump’s decision, ProPublica found that Fox’s portrayal of “Portland rioters” routinely instigating violence was misleading.
www.propublica.org
November 12, 2025 at 2:27 PM
FOX had to do a ton of dishonest broadcasting to support the regime's narrative that Portland is this hotbed of revolutionary violence
Ideally, the justices on the U.S. Supreme Court would react something like "you can't pressure us, we're going to do what the law requires." I guess we will see if for this case, this is the Court we have, or if he can stampede and threaten them and get his way
“I spent the money that I stole, and cannot give it back. It’s gone.”
November 11, 2025 at 5:11 PM
Ideally, the justices on the U.S. Supreme Court would react something like "you can't pressure us, we're going to do what the law requires." I guess we will see if for this case, this is the Court we have, or if he can stampede and threaten them and get his way
Schumer is so terrible at communications. He thinks it's all being clever with cutting legislative deals, and doesn't have any sense at all of how to reach people.
This caving in has to end. The Democrats desperately need new leadership. Schumer should go
This caving in has to end. The Democrats desperately need new leadership. Schumer should go
Great job, @schumer.senate.gov. You've changed the story from "GOP hurting millions of Americans to please unpopular, failing, delusional despot who's destroying his party" to "Dems are too weak and divided in the face of Trump's strength to take a stand and protect Americans"
November 10, 2025 at 2:19 PM
Schumer is so terrible at communications. He thinks it's all being clever with cutting legislative deals, and doesn't have any sense at all of how to reach people.
This caving in has to end. The Democrats desperately need new leadership. Schumer should go
This caving in has to end. The Democrats desperately need new leadership. Schumer should go
Reposted by Paul Bland
I feel like much has been said about this already, but brace yourselves for more CEOs to try to hold boards & investors hostage with threats to walk away & not try to focus on the business unless they get exceedingly large pay plans & other incentives.
November 8, 2025 at 10:51 PM
I feel like much has been said about this already, but brace yourselves for more CEOs to try to hold boards & investors hostage with threats to walk away & not try to focus on the business unless they get exceedingly large pay plans & other incentives.
In his first term, Congressional Rs acted as a check on his cashing in. When he wanted to move a big event from one resort to one of his, several Congressional Rs objected and he backed down. Now, they're so afraid of him that none of them made a peep when he said he was going to give himself $230 m
To be fair, he’s correct. It was dumb, nobody is gonna stop him so why wouldn’t you shove free money in your pockets
November 7, 2025 at 7:52 PM
In his first term, Congressional Rs acted as a check on his cashing in. When he wanted to move a big event from one resort to one of his, several Congressional Rs objected and he backed down. Now, they're so afraid of him that none of them made a peep when he said he was going to give himself $230 m