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Rick Stengel @rickstengel.bsky.social · 16h

In Article II of the Constitution it says the president's duty is to "take care that the laws be faithfully executed." This president is taking care that his adversaries be faithfully prosecuted.

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Rick Stengel @rickstengel.bsky.social · 2d

Three cheers for the ceasefire and kudos to the Trump admin for its role in bringing it about. Welcome to the hostages. But the loss in Gaza has been devastating—there should be an immediate surge of aid & humanitarian assistance. Let's hope the agreement holds & is a pathway to an enduring peace.

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Rick Stengel @rickstengel.bsky.social · 4d

Of the approximately 400 Nobel prizes in medicine, chemistry, & physics that American scientists have won since 1901, 36% of the winners have been immigrants. Of the 100+ Nobels the US has won in those categories since 2000, 40% have been immigrants.

Trump’s H-1B Visa Fee Could Strain Universities and Schools

www.nytimes.com

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Rick Stengel @rickstengel.bsky.social · 6d

American servicemen and women take an oath to support and defend the Constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic. Who would have thought they had to defend the Constitution against the commander-in-chief?

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Rick Stengel @rickstengel.bsky.social · 9d

Leslie Stahl, quoting Trump: “And he said: ‘You know why I do it? I do it to discredit you all and demean you all so that when you write negative stories about me no one will believe you.’”

Trust in Media at New Low of 28% in U.S.

Americans' trust in newspapers, television and radio to report the news fully, accurately and fairly is at a new low of 28%.

news.gallup.com

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Rick Stengel @rickstengel.bsky.social · 9d

A government that rewards the speech it likes can also punish the speech it doesn't like. The animating idea of authoritarian rule is to control all aspects of society. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/u...

Trump Offered Universities an Invitation for a Deal. Some See a Trap.

www.nytimes.com

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Rick Stengel @rickstengel.bsky.social · 10d

More and more, I think the model for Trump is Nixon, if Nixon had no scruples at all, no knowledge of American history or law, and a compliant Republican congress.

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Rick Stengel @rickstengel.bsky.social · 11d

When one party controls the executive, the Senate, and the House, it's objectively the case that they are responsible for a government shutdown.

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Rick Stengel @rickstengel.bsky.social · 12d

Last week I was honored to be the speaker for Christ Church's 500th anniversary celebration in New York. Yes, 500! (Christ Church was my Oxford college.) I spoke about the decline of democracy around the world and here at home. This piece is adapted from that talk. time.com/7321529/demo...

The Arc of History is Bending Backward

Democracy isn’t over, yet. Here how to counter the democratic recession.

time.com

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Rick Stengel @rickstengel.bsky.social · 12d

The sad and dangerous irony here is that the future of war is happening in Ukraine, and it's drone warfare, which has nothing to do with dusty boots, or beards, or how many push-ups you can do. That's what we need to be preparing for. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/30/u...

A Novice Defense Secretary Lectures the Brass on What It Takes to Win

www.nytimes.com

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Rick Stengel @rickstengel.bsky.social · 12d

The idea of using American cities as a "training ground" for the military directly violates the "posse comitatus act" and the idea that no civilized democratic society uses its military against its own citizens. This is precisely what the Framers feared about a standing army.

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Rick Stengel @rickstengel.bsky.social · 13d

Putin's success in quashing free speech and independent reporting in Russia was not just by closing down outlets, it was by getting oligarchs and cronies to take over the businesses. That's the model.

Is Trump’s Attack on the Media Following Putin’s Playbook?

What it was like to live through the takeover of one of Russia’s most influential television stations—and what the experience suggests about the state of free expression in the U.S. today.

www.newyorker.com

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Rick Stengel @rickstengel.bsky.social · 15d

There’s something deeply wrong when you are fired for following the Constitution.

Trump Fired a U.S. Attorney Who Insisted on Following a Court Order

www.nytimes.com

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Rick Stengel @rickstengel.bsky.social · 16d

Just as we are making it more difficult for the best and brightest to come to America, China is making it easier for them to go there. We were once a magnet for such people, and now we are pushing them away. An own goal. Advantage: China.

As Trump Tightens Visas, China Woos World’s Science Graduates

www.nytimes.com

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Rick Stengel @rickstengel.bsky.social · 16d

Comey and Kimmel are part of an unconstitutional campaign of retribution that is not rooted in law but a weak man's need for vengeance.

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Rick Stengel @rickstengel.bsky.social · 17d

Nothing says banana republic quite like trying to throw a comedian off the air, prosecuting a former head of the FBI, and refusing to show a portrait of your predecessor.

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Reposted by Rick Stengel

Mark Jacob @markjacob.bsky.social · 17d

The Trump regime orders federal prosecutors to target George Soros' foundation. This isn't the kind of thing that happens in a free country. This is Trump and his fascist hacks trying to crush dissent and build their dictatorship.

Justice Dept. Official Pushes Prosecutors to Investigate George Soros’s Foundation

www.nytimes.com

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Rick Stengel @rickstengel.bsky.social · 18d

The 3 most important things Kimmel said last night were (1) thanking those who don’t support him, likeTed Cruz, for supporting free speech; (2) praising the grace of Erika Kirk for forgiving the killer; (3) saying his show is not imp, what’s imp is living in a country where a show like his can air.

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Rick Stengel @rickstengel.bsky.social · 19d

At the UN, the president praises the men and women who crossed oceans and mountains to found the country after saying moments before that the men and women who cross mountains and oceans today are destroying every country.

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Rick Stengel @rickstengel.bsky.social · 24d

This is precisely what the 1st Amendment was designed to prevent: the abridgment of free speech about government by government.

ABC Pulls Jimmy Kimmel Off Air for Charlie Kirk Comments After F.C.C. Pressure

www.nytimes.com

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Rick Stengel @rickstengel.bsky.social · 24d

With lawsuits against the NYT, the WSJ, CBS, ABC; with the FCC commissioner voicing opinions about what’s acceptable speech; there’s never been an admin more opposed to the First Amendment’s restriction on govt abridging free speech and a free press. McCarthyism was small potatoes compared to this.

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Rick Stengel @rickstengel.bsky.social · 25d

“If there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it is that no official…can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion.” —Justice Robert Jackson, WV Board of Ed v Barnette (1943), striking down mandatory flag salutes for students.

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Rick Stengel @rickstengel.bsky.social · 26d

Kind of astonishing that the AG does not understand the 1st Amendment. Hate speech, like it or not, is protected speech. When progressives have suggested we should emulate the Europeans where hate speech is not protected, conservatives cried you are anti-1st Amendment/anti-free speech.

The Bulwark @thebulwark.com · 27d

Attorney General Pam Bondi: "There's free speech and then there's hate speech, and there is no place, especially now, especially after what happened to Charlie, in our society...We will absolutely target you, go after you, if you are targeting anyone with hate speech."

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Rick Stengel @rickstengel.bsky.social · 26d

When you have been pursuing the Gray Lady your whole life and you finally decide your affection is unrequited.

Trump Says He’s Bringing $15 Billion Lawsuit Against New York Times

President Donald Trump filed a $15 billion defamation lawsuit against The New York Times, accusing the paper of serving as a “mouthpiece” for the Democrats and pitting himself against one of the world...

www.bloomberg.com

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Rick Stengel @rickstengel.bsky.social · 28d

Why are the most adamant defenders of free speech on the right always seeking to punish the speech that they don't like?

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