Nick Harper, he/him
@nharper.bsky.social
2.1K followers 720 following 6.4K posts
Nonprofit political law & policy attorney. Proceduralist & anxious, jealous guardian of democracy. Tweets are mine, not my employer's. Minneapolis. Idealist w/ weltschmerz. I’m on Signal. https://www.linkedin.com/in/nharpermn/
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nharper.bsky.social
Timeline cleanse: a Coping & Morale Kit that I built for myself that others are welcome to use.

Everything on the list is free or extremely low cost. No “go to the cabin” or “get a massage” advice here. docs.google.com/document/d/1...
Coping & Morale Kit
Coping & Morale Kit Do quick meditation using an app like Insight Timer or a YouTube video. Do a muscle/mindful body scan check-in and then use MuscleWiki stretches for tense areas. Use aromatherap...
docs.google.com
nharper.bsky.social
So do we think SCOTUS is going to sprint the Callais opinion out as fast as possible, so that GOP can do more mid-decade redistricting to undo minority-majority districts before 2026 midterms, to ensure GOP win an effectively permanent House majority?

I mean, yes, definitely, right?
nharper.bsky.social
👀
geauxgabrielle.bsky.social
Someone asked what happened to the casual Nazi at the end of WWII. The people who supported the Party

The answer? Suicides and murders. If they weren’t beaten to death or shot in the streets, they killed themselves

There’s a book called Promise Me You’ll Shoot Yourself by Florian Huber about it.
The mass suicides by ordinary citizens in the last days of Nazi Germany
Historian Florian Huber's book examines how civilians took their own lives in greater numbers than military and government officials as the Third Reich collapsed
Soviet Army officers observe the bodies of women who committed
suicide in a Vienna park at the end of World War II.
CORDON PRESS / YEVGENY KHALDEINULL
Reposted by Nick Harper, he/him
nharper.bsky.social
Idk why it took so long but. Better late than never I guess
faineg.bsky.social
judging from what I’m seeing right now, a large-scale Twitter Exodus Event is 100% what’s happening

good!
Reposted by Nick Harper, he/him
paleofuture.bsky.social
One commenter replied, “based song choice,” which was liked by the Border Patrol account. Another commenter wrote, “if you know you know.”
Border Patrol Posts Instagram Propaganda Video Featuring Antisemitic Slurs
The video was pinned to Border Patrol's Instagram Reels.
gizmodo.com
Reposted by Nick Harper, he/him
paleofuture.bsky.social
I just checked and this is real. It's on Border Patrol's official Instagram (I don't see it on Facebook) and is being celebrated by Nazis on Twitter, as you can see in the screenshot.

The clip is just 13 seconds long too, so it's a very intentional thing. We've got a Nazi government.
Twitter account: Uncensored @HmanQuotes1945: Official border patrol Facebook page is posting with the banned lyrics of Michael Jackson's song.
"Jew me sue me... Kick me k*ke me."
Epic
nharper.bsky.social
And the Democratic leadership sat back and let them do it without a single fucking consequence!

I do not and cannot believe that Dem leadership actually wanted to nuke the filibuster to pass things like the Freedom to Vote Act if they didn’t bother putting real pressure on either Senator.
Reposted by Nick Harper, he/him
cristianfarias.com
Louisiana v. Callais, in one sentence:

The only way to stop discrimination against Black voters is to stop discriminating against white voters in remedying the initial violation.

This case is about appeasing white voters, and nothing else.
Reposted by Nick Harper, he/him
Reposted by Nick Harper, he/him
blakeprof.bsky.social
Court reform is the only way out of this authoritarian trap. Expand, restructure jurisdiction, channel, new courts—the works.
nharper.bsky.social
Because John Roberts & Co. says fuck you, that’s why

(only half joking)
adamweinstein.bsky.social
It's been a fact of my entire working life, but I can't for the life of me understand why open, explicitly partisan gerrymandering is legal in the first place
Reposted by Nick Harper, he/him
Reposted by Nick Harper, he/him
kevintmorris.bsky.social
This was among the more frustrating aspects of the argument this morning. The justices are smart people. They understand that partisan identity is, especially in the South, downstream of racial identity. That went almost entirely unacknowledged.
mcpli.bsky.social
And, of course, the other thing about the politics of the South - where most Section 2 cases continue to be brought - is that realignment of the parties in the region is itself heavily driven by race.

Really weird to hear the justices talk about it as if it were just Coke vs. Pepsi.
Reposted by Nick Harper, he/him
justinlevitt.bsky.social
Another way to put this is that you have to throw a lot of spaghetti at the wall to find a rationale to say that a part of the constitution is unconstitutional.

bsky.app/profile/mcpl...
mcpli.bsky.social
I want to review the transcript and listen to key parts again, but what a messy argument, with both the conservative justices and arguing counsel on the side of Lousiana coming at the “problem” from all kinds of angles.
Reposted by Nick Harper, he/him
jamellebouie.net
“the constitution forbids race conscious remedies” would be news to the people who wrote the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments
mcpli.bsky.social
Griem goes there, arguing in response to Justice Jackson that there can be no race-conscious remedy absent a finding of intentional discrimination.
Reposted by Nick Harper, he/him
izzos.us
Does Susan Collins know she's Chair of the Appropriatons Committee?
sahilkapur.bsky.social
Sen. Susan Collins says the White House should try to get their proposed spending cuts into appropriations bills.

“This end run is not helpful,” she says.

Collins adds that it “would be helpful” to reopening the govt if WH and OMB’s Russ Vought stop the rescissions.
Reposted by Nick Harper, he/him
cristianfarias.com
This comes from Brett Kavanaugh’s concurrence in the Harvard affirmative action case. A complete fabrication he wants to transpose to other civil rights measures.
jamalgreene.bsky.social
Justice Kavanaugh in the Callais oral argument keeps alluding to some longstanding requirement of strict scrutiny that use of race have a time limit. This is invented.
Reposted by Nick Harper, he/him
jaywillis.net
Everything about John Roberts's approach to the Voting Rights Act makes sense when you remember that John Roberts has has always been hostile to the Voting Rights Act, never believed it was appropriate, and has spent most of his 45-year legal career working to hollow it out.
One of the Biggest Cases of the Supreme Court’s Term Is John Roberts’ Decadeslong Pet Project
If there’s one thing the Roberts court has been consistent on, it’s this.
slate.com
nharper.bsky.social
Presented on this case this morning to a group of organizers, and I said “Brett kavanaugh’s inevitably stupid opinion” and this is exactly the type of thing I was referring to
audrelawdamercy.bsky.social
Kavanaugh: "I want to note some common ground bc I think it's important in disputes like this one to identify common ground. Justice Jackson said the goal is equal opportunity for all Americans & I think we all agree on that, completely"

man shut your bitchass up with this conscience assuaging bs
Reposted by Nick Harper, he/him
audrelawdamercy.bsky.social
Kavanaugh: "I want to note some common ground bc I think it's important in disputes like this one to identify common ground. Justice Jackson said the goal is equal opportunity for all Americans & I think we all agree on that, completely"

man shut your bitchass up with this conscience assuaging bs
Reposted by Nick Harper, he/him
audrelawdamercy.bsky.social
‼️ this was a striking moment, to me

Louisiana was basically like 'here come these Black people always asking for more' and Justice Jackson was like, 'that's not what the fuck they're asking for, they're saying: stop discriminating against us'
elienyc.bsky.social
Louisiana: "The plaintiffs came in and said 'we want a second majority-minority district."
KBJ: "NO THEY DID NOT. They said our votes are being dilluted."
Louisiana: "That's the same thing."
KBJ: "No it's not. ... trust me on this."
:)
Reposted by Nick Harper, he/him
sifill.bsky.social
This entire argument by Louisiana and the conservatives questions are premised on an erasure of Congress’ enforcement power under the 14th & 15th Amendments.

Literally swinging for the fences to wipe out the premise for the legitimacy of Congress’ power to enact civil rights statutes.
Reposted by Nick Harper, he/him
stephenwolf.bsky.social
I also expect this. The Republican justices will likely rule in a way that lets many GOP state & local governments re-gerrymander their maps—at least for 2026 while stonewalling litigation—without formally appearing to end the VRA.

Dead in all but name like VRA §5 preclearance after Shelby v Holder