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James Downie @jamescdownie.bsky.social · 1h

Mike Johnson: It's Obama's fault that we can't repeal Obamacare.

Jake Sherman: "JOHNSON this AM: 'Can we completely repeal and replace Obamacare? Many of us are skeptical about that now, because the roots are so deep, it was really sinister, the way it was created. I believe Obamacare was created to implode upon itself, to collapse upon itself.'”

James Downie @jamescdownie.bsky.social · 1h

"On Tuesday dozens of miners and their families will be...protesting the Trump administration outside the Labor Department building, arguing it has failed to protect them from black lung disease, an incurable illness caused by inhaling coal and silica dust." www.nytimes.com/2025/10/13/c...

Coal Miners With Black Lung Say They Are ‘Cast Aside to Die’ Under Trump

www.nytimes.com

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CM Janeese Lewis George @cmlewisgeorgew4.bsky.social · 2d

Every sign in DC marks the loss of someone’s neighbor, someone’s loved one, someone’s friend.

Every sign marks yet another step in the march toward authoritarianism.

Signs popping up around D.C. note: ‘ICE kidnapping happened here’

The signs range in style and mark numerous locations where people have been taken by federal agents.

www.washingtonpost.com

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James Downie @jamescdownie.bsky.social · 1h

With Javier Milei visiting the White House as Trump and Bessent try to bail him out, Dems should note that not only has corruption killed Milei's polling, but it was a(n alleged) rug-pulling scam specifically that played a big role in his recent dip: apnews.com/article/arge...

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JLRay @jlray.bsky.social · 1d

Yep, we're seeing the same thing. Young men actually really hate what Trump has done to the crypto market but think the Dem message is basically "shame on you for wanting to get rich." A clear area for us to be the party of strong regulation, laws, and prosperity.

open.substack.com/pub/youngmen...

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Eric Michael Garcia @ericmgarcia.bsky.social · 3h

Special education isn't a "nice thing to have." It isn't "charity" or doing something to make us feel better. It is a right. The right to a Free Appropriate Public Education is codified in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, signed by a Republican president.

Catherine Rampell @crampell.bsky.social · 9h

U.S. Department of Education fired nearly everyone in the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services in a wave of new layoffs that began Friday, according to the union representing the agency's employees. www.usatoday.com/story/news/e...

Education Department wipes out special ed office in shutdown layoffs, union says

The Education Department laid off nearly everyone at the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.

www.usatoday.com

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James Downie @jamescdownie.bsky.social · 1h

Kent Hughes is a hockey wizard.

Eric Engels @ericengels.bsky.social · 3h

Lane Hutson signs 8 x $8.85M…

James Downie @jamescdownie.bsky.social · 3h

We don't know where Trump sees images of "bombed-out" Portland. Even Fox and far-right influencers don't make those claims.

Which leaves a disturbing question: "If Trump can be fooled by a fake video with his own face and voice, what else is fooling him?"

My latest: www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnb...

Opinion | We don't know why Trump thinks Portland 'on fire.' That's frightening.

If Trump can be fooled by a fake video with his own face and voice, what else is fooling him?

www.msnbc.com

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James Downie @jamescdownie.bsky.social · 1d

If MLS itself doesn't think its product is worth paying a freelancer to cover, why should the league expect anyone else to cover it?

Jeff Rueter @jeffrueter.bsky.social · 1d

As someone whose time freelancing for MLSsoccer was a vital step in my career progression, and someone who generally gleans insight from the observations of others:

This sucks so hard.

MLS is using generative AI to write match recaps. Writers used to get paid freelance rates to do that. Hssssss.

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Joey Politano🏳️‍🌈 @josephpolitano.bsky.social · 2d

A meme saying “EMERGENCY ALERT SYSTEM: TARIFF GRANDPA HAS AWOKEN, TARIFFS TO 10000%”

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Catherine Rampell @crampell.bsky.social · 2d

Trump proposing 100% tariffs on China

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Philip Bump @pbump.com · 2d

Oh, does it benefit the US to provide aid to foreign countries? That would have been good to know back in January and February.

Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 3d

“Stabilizing Argentina is ‘America First’.”

🇦🇷 🇺🇸

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makena kelly @makenakelly.bsky.social · 3d

NEW: Trump Wants to Take Over Cities. Influencers Are Giving Him the Fuel to Do It

Wrote a bit about the content mill for consensus the Trump administration has created to justify its law-and-order immigration agenda.

More here:
www.wired.com/story/trump-...

Trump Wants to Take Over Cities. Influencers Are Giving Him the Fuel to Do It

The Trump administration has built its own content mill to justify its law-and-order immigration agenda.

www.wired.com

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Ben Casselman @bencasselman.bsky.social · 3d

UPDATE: The September CPI report will be released Oct. 24. BLS says the data is needed to calculate the annual cost-of-living adjustment for Social Security benefits.
"No other releases will be rescheduled or produced until the resumption of regular government services."
www.bls.gov/bls/092025-c...

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James Downie @jamescdownie.bsky.social · 3d

This post is a distraction from the...oh, I see.

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Kevin Carson 🇵🇸 🇺🇦 🇹🇯 @kevincarson1.bsky.social · 3d

The idea that you have to be "your authentic self" -- as opposed to "virtue signaling" -- is bullshit. Your authentic self is created by the choices you make. And choosing to act like a better person is what makes you an authentically better person.

Denny Carter @dennycarter.bsky.social · 3d

I think social media has warped this dynamic and mainstreamed the idea that it's a human right to be as nasty and mean spirited as you want to be. Compare Elon Musk today to Musk 10 or 15 years ago and you see this dynamic.

Mindy Funaiole @evilqueenmindy.bsky.social · 3d

Its so sad that a piece like this has to exist. "You don't have to say everything that pops into your head, especially if it will hurt someone" should not be controversial. And yet here we are

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James Downie @jamescdownie.bsky.social · 3d

MIT tells Trump to take a long walk off a short pier. wapo.st/4niC09b

MIT’s president turned down the Trump administration’s offer of priority access for federal funding Friday, publicly releasing a letter that emphasized the elite university’s values including free expression and “the core belief that scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone.”

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James Downie @jamescdownie.bsky.social · 3d

Let's check in on what the 2019 laureate is up to! www.theguardian.com/world/articl...

From Nobel peace prize to civil war: how Ethiopia’s leader beguiled the world

The long read: When Abiy Ahmed took power in Ethiopia, he was feted at home and abroad as a great unifier and reformer. Two years later, terrible violence was raging. How did people get him so wrong?

www.theguardian.com

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James Downie @jamescdownie.bsky.social · 3d

It's always the people you most suspect.

Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 3d

"30-year-old conservative lawyer and activist who is Trump’s nominee to lead the Office of Special Counsel, which deals with federal employee whistleblower complaints and discrimination" cancelled his colleague's hotel room so she would be forced to stay with him.
www.politico.com/news/2025/10...

In late July, Paul Ingrassia, the White House liaison for the Department of Homeland Security, arrived at a Ritz-Carlton in Orlando with a lower-ranking female colleague and others from their department. When the group reached the front desk, the woman learned she didn’t have a hotel room.

Ingrassia then informed her that she would be staying with him, according to five administration officials familiar with the episode. Eventually the woman discovered that Ingrassia had arranged ahead of time to have her hotel room canceled so she would have to stay with him, three of those officials said.

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Radley Balko @radleybalko.bsky.social · 5d

The first episode of Collateral Damage, my reported podcast with The Intercept, went up today.

Hope you’ll check it out and, if you enjoy it, give it a favorable rating or review.

Eternal thanks to my producers @lauraflynn.bsky.social and Andrew Stelzer for making it happen.

Ep. 1 Dirty Business: The Atlanta Narcotics Unit’s Deadly Raid on 92-year-old Kathryn Johnston.

Podcast Episode · Collateral Damage from The Intercept · 10/08/2025 · 55m

podcasts.apple.com

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Greg Sargent @gregsargent.bsky.social · 3d

This is good, from Hakeem Jeffries. More of this please, in every conceivable forum:

"Sycophants who aid and abet the President’s vengeful schemes will not be able to hide from the serious legal consequences of their behavior. They will be held accountable."

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Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 3d

“.. That so few outside of First Brands had a full view of the red flags around the auto-parts supplier before it imploded last month is a stark example of the growing risks of money flooding into the opaque world of private financing.”

@bloomberg.com $JEF
www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...

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James Downie @jamescdownie.bsky.social · 3d

Damn if only there was some reason to think a pope named Leo would be political!

The Washington Post @washingtonpost.com · 4d

As Pope Leo begins to reveal some of his views on divisive issues, some conservative critics of his predecessor are rejecting the possible rise of another “liberal pope.”

As Pope Leo riles conservatives, some say ‘just focus on the church’

Conservatives who hoped that Leo, the first U.S.-born pope, would be more of a traditionalist instead hear echoes of his predecessor, Francis, in his public statements.

www.washingtonpost.com

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emptywheel @emptywheel.bsky.social · 3d

Stephen Miller is murdering Venezuelans and Colombians in cold blood bc he believes it helps his propaganda campaign to paint Latinos as dangerous.

www.theatlantic.com/national-sec...

Stephen Miller views the air strikes as an opportunity to paint immigrants as a dangerous menace, according to one of the White House officials.

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James Downie @jamescdownie.bsky.social · 3d

Common Charley Crockett W.

Chron.com @chron.com · 3d

🎸 Texas country singer Charley Crockett just took a stand against President Trump’s renaming of the Gulf of Mexico, and Texans are divided: bit.ly/3IN7W7j

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