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Rachel Maddow @maddow.msnbc.com · 14h

"In unison."

Amen.

www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

Reporters leave Pentagon en masse after refusing to sign on to new rules

After turning in their press credentials, journalists covering the Defense Department walked out rather than comply with its restrictive new policies.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Dan Davis @bindlestiff.bsky.social · 11h

Reuters reporting this blatant crime as if it’s a lunch date is a prime example of the kind of careless, aloof normalization in journalism that has greased the skids of this catastrophic authoritarian power grab.

Reuters @reuters.com · 18h

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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City Nolan @ndhapple.bsky.social · 11h

Putting teeth in the Hatch Act should be high on the to-do list for whenever Congress remembers it’s Article 1.

“Legal experts say Kristi Noem's airport video breaks the law. Penalties are unlikely” — www.npr.org/2025/10/14/n...

Legal experts say Kristi Noem's airport video breaks the law. Penalties are unlikely

In a Department of Homeland Security video, Kristi Noem blames Democrats for the government shutdown. Law and ethics experts say it violates the Hatch Act, but there are rarely serious consequences.

www.npr.org

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Kyle Griffin @kylegriffin1.bsky.social · 10h

A Florida judge has temporarily blocked the planned transfer of prime downtown Miami land for Trump's future presidential library.

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Faine Greenwood @faineg.bsky.social · 11h

On the record, I think sneering at these people that they’re somehow *bad* because they stayed on Twitter for this long is incredibly counterproductive

it’s great that more people have escaped the Mussolini Piss Hole and come to Bluesky actually, their numbers shall strengthen us

Faine Greenwood @faineg.bsky.social · 11h

judging from what I’m seeing right now, a large-scale Twitter Exodus Event is 100% what’s happening

good!

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Ari Berman @ariberman.bsky.social · 14h

SCOTUS decision killing what’s left of Voting Rights Act could cost Dems 19 House seats, eliminate every majority-minority district in South, eviscerate 14th/15th Amendments & fulfill John Roberts 40-year crusade against country’s most important civil rights law www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

Republican justices appear poised to destroy what’s left of the Voting Rights Act

The results will be "catastrophic."

www.motherjones.com

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Asha Rangappa @asharangappa.bsky.social · 14h

🧵 This reporting confirms my suspicion on why, based on reporting last week, the CIA's Deputy Director, Michael Ellis, installed himself as the agency's general counsel. 1/ www.nytimes.com/2025/10/15/u...

Trump Administration Authorizes Covert C.I.A. Action in Venezuela

www.nytimes.com

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David Bier @davidjbier.bsky.social · 19h

You have to understand that there is NO accountability for ICE even in theory. You can't sue an ICE agent. They won't be criminally prosecuted for violating your rights. They won't be fired. THE ONLY WAY TO PROTECT YOURSELF FROM ICE IS TO RUN FROM ICE.

David Bier @davidjbier.bsky.social · 20h

Here's another Kavanaugh stop in action. Agent says: "Why are you running?" Admitting that he had no cause to stop and tackle this boy.

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Max Kennerly @maxkennerly.bsky.social · 12h

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 · 18h

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.

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Omri Marian @omrimarian.bsky.social · 10h

Every authoritarian uses the tax administrations to bankrupt political enemies. Putin did it. Erdugan did it. Orban did it. Now Trump is doing it.
I'm writing about it.

Justin Hendrix @justinhendrix.bsky.social · 10h

"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."

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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Betcy Jose @betcy.bsky.social · 14h

"The dearth of military pushback... begs the question of how effectively Trump & Hegseth have cleaned house, rooting out those who might disagree with them. It is unclear if there are senior officers still objecting behind closed doors, or if everyone is keeping silent in order to save their jobs."

The Dilemma of Duty Under Trump

What his assault on the U.S. military means for America.

www.foreignaffairs.com

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PoliticalGamer @politicalgamer.bsky.social · 8h

I had a friend who once visited France. The best advice I heard is that if you speak even a little of the native language, people will open up and act much more warmly to you.

Jay Allen @gaiaslastlaugh.bsky.social · 9h

Tourists to Japan are always like "I'll just use my phone to translate and talk with people" and so far every person I've talked to in Japanese service industry/nightlife has said they find this the most annoying thing ever

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Bill Kristol @billkristolbulwark.bsky.social · 10h

Shorter Mike Johnson:

Beating up a woman isn’t “really serious.”

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 21h

Q: This has been reported for a while. Cory Mills was accused of beating a girlfriend in his DC apt. Are you concerned about these allegations?

JOHNSON: You have to ask Rep. Mills about that. He's been a faithful colleague. I don't know the details. Let's talk about things that are really serious

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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 9h

Again, it is a full-blown federal felony crime for anyone in the White House or Executive Office of the President to order tax investigations into anyone.

And it's not just a crime to DO it, it's even a federal crime for an employee not to REPORT such an order to the Treasury Inspector General.

26 U.S. Code § 7217 - Prohibition on executive branch influence over taxpayer audits and other investigations
U.S. Code
Notes
prev | next
(a)Prohibition
It shall be unlawful for any applicable person to request, directly or indirectly, any officer or employee of the Internal Revenue Service to conduct or terminate an audit or other investigation of any particular taxpayer with respect to the tax liability of such taxpayer.

(b)Reporting requirement
Any officer or employee of the Internal Revenue Service receiving any request prohibited by subsection (a) shall report the receipt of such request to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.

(c)Exceptions
Subsection (a) shall not apply to any written request made—
(1)to an applicable person by or on behalf of the taxpayer and forwarded by such applicable person to the Internal Revenue Service;
(2)by an applicable person for disclosure of return or return information under section 6103 if such request is made in accordance with the requirements of such section; or
(3)by the Secretary of the Treasury as a consequence of the implementation of a change in tax policy.
(d)Penalty
Any person who willfully violates subsection (a) or fails to report under subsection (b) shall be punished upon conviction by a fine in any amount not exceeding $5,000, or imprisonment of not more than 5 years, or both, together with the costs of prosecution.

(e)Applicable person
For purposes of this section, the term “applicable person” means—
(1)the President, the Vice President, any employee of the executive office of the President, and any employee of the executive office of the Vice President; and
(2)any individual (other than the Attorney General of the United States) serving in a position specified in section 5312 of title 5, United States Code.

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Acyn @acyn.bsky.social · 10h

AOC: And they are able to radicalize a generation of young boys in particular, away from healthy masculinity and into an insecure masculinity that requires the domination of others who are poorer, browner, darker, or a different gender than them.

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Molly Reynolds @mollyereynolds.bsky.social · 12h

The executive branch not spending the money that Congress has told them to spend is bad. The executive branch spending money on things for which Congress has not given them money is also bad (and, arguably, worse).

The New York Times @nytimes.com · 12h

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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Greg Greene (he/him/his) @greene.haus · 13h

Kash says he can still pay salaries at the FBI, the head of OMB plans to close an agency, Trump is levying taxes —_ahem, donations_ — to expand the White House: when does the idea that we've entered a post-constitutional period enter the mainstream conversation?

Reuters @reuters.com · 18h

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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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 13h

would love to know where vought got the authority to shutdown a government agency established by statute

Reuters @reuters.com · 18h

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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Shannon Strucci @strucci.bsky.social · 13h

Seems unwise to participate in this type of thing. I know a lot of people are thinking MAGA will be in power forever but I wouldn't bank on it lol and bank on no repercussions for bribery etc

The Wall Street Journal @wsj.com · 15h

Exclusive: More than three dozen organizations and individuals are expected to attend a dinner with Trump on Wednesday after opening their checkbooks to support a $250 million White House ballroom.

Trump Invites Ballroom Donors to Glitzy White House Dinner

The dinner is set to include representatives from Lockheed Martin, Microsoft, Meta Platforms, Alphabet’s Google, Amazon and Palantir Technologies.

on.wsj.com

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Mark Joseph Stern @mjsdc.bsky.social · 12h

Judge Illston’s temporary restraining order against the shutdown layoffs is scathing.

“It is also far from normal for an administration to fire line-level civilian employees during a government shutdown as a way to punish the opposing political party …” storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

Those who have received RIF notices cannot prepare for their upcoming terminations because the
human resources staff who would typically assist them are also furloughed. One union president
representing workers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention described how human
resources staff were brought back into the office last weekend to work on issuing RIF notices, and
then, once they had completed this work, were told “to issue RIF notices to themselves.”2 Dkt. No.
47-3 (“Jacobs Decl.”) ¶¶ 2, 7. Unions are hearing from members who have serious health conditions
or are in the late stages of pregnancy, and who worry that their health insurance will be impacted by
the RIFs, but there is no one in the office who can answer their questions during the shutdown. Id.
¶¶ 9, 14; Gittleman Decl. ¶ 16; Robinson Decl. ¶¶ 6, 12.
It is also far from normal for an administration to fire line-level civilian employees during a
government shutdown as a way to punish the opposing political party. But this is precisely what
President Trump has announced he is doing, by taking to social media on the second day of the
shutdown to post: “I have a meeting today with Russ Vought,[3] he of PROJECT 2025 Fame, to
determine which of the many Democrat Agencies, most of which are a political SCAM, he
recommends to be cut, and whether or not those cuts will be temporary or permanent. I can’t believe
the Radical Left Democrats gave me this unprecedented opportunity.” Dkt. No. 15 (“Am. Compl.”)
¶ 176; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump), Truth Social (Oct. 2, 2025, at 4:59 a.m.),
https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115304455138824245 (last visited Oct. 15,
2025). The memorandum from the Office of Management and Budget that appears to have initiated
the shutdown RIFs says the same. See Dkt. No. 15-1, Am. Compl., Ex. A (“OMB Lapse Mem.”)
(directing agencies to “use this opportunity” of the shutdown to consider RIF notices, including in
those areas that are “not consistent with the Pr…

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Distinguished Herbert West Fellow, Miskatonic Institute Gigan @gigansprogress.bsky.social · 14h

How much more illegal can we get? lets find out together!
www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-f...

FBI agents will get paid despite government shutdown, Patel says

The Trump administration will continue paying FBI agents despite the ongoing government shutdown that has frozen paychecks for nearly all federal workers, FBI Director Kash Patel announced.

www.cbsnews.com

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David Dayen @ddayen.bsky.social · 13h

They've been arguing in court repeatedly that there are no plans for a shutdown and that they will honor all statutory obligations.
Not sure what a legal system does with a government that simply isn't credible.

Reuters @reuters.com · 18h

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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Perry Bacon @perrybaconjr.bsky.social · 15h

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.

Ezra Levin ❌👑 @ezralevin.bsky.social · 15h

Is this a joke. www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...

America Needs a Mass Movement—Now

Without one, America may sink into autocracy for decades.

www.theatlantic.com

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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 12h

There are so many obvious constitutional violations in this story. It is enraging.
There is no war, there is no foreign invasion, there is nothing that justify it. This is a choice to create a military presence that will brutalize residents of cities that do not support the President.

Lynda Lopez @lyndab08.bsky.social · 12h

"The boy, who is Hispanic and African American, was held in a garage for five hours “without informing his family, stating any charges, or allowing him to call an attorney,” the statement said. He is a U.S. citizen, as is his entire immediate family, the release said."

Feds ram SUV after chase down residential street in Chicago, then tear-gas crowd

The crash happened late Tuesday morning near 105th Street and Avenue N in the East Side neighborhood. Two men being pursued were arrested as were two bystanders. The crash drew dozens of neighbors who...

chicago.suntimes.com

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Phil Lewis @phillewis.bsky.social · 14h

“The Defense Department has confiscated the badges of the Pentagon reporters from virtually every major media organization in America,” the Pentagon Press Association said

Oct. 15, 2025
PENTAGON PRESS ASSOCIATION
STATEMENT
Today, the Defense Department confiscated the badges of the Pentagon reporters from virtually every major media organization in America. It did this because reporters would not sign onto a new media policy over its implicit threat of criminalizing national security reporting and exposing those who sign it to potential prosecution.
The Pentagon Press Association's members are still committed to reporting on the U.S. military. But make no mistake, today, Oct. 15, 2025 is a dark day for press freedom that raises concerns about a weakening U.S. commitment to transparency in governance, to public accountability at the Pentagon and to free speech for all.
PPA

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