Strings and Sealing Wax (and other fancy stuff)
@strings.bsky.social
640 followers 280 following 6.4K posts
Left boundary layer separation enthusiast, chisel sharpener, clamp guy, he/him
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DEMOCRATS NEED TO TONE DOWN THE RHETORIC
Leavitt: "The Democrat Party's main constituency is made up of Hamas terrorists, illegal aliens, and violent criminals."
Through gritted teeth and streaming tears: “welcome to the resistance, Mmmm— Mmmmmmmm!! Marjorrrrrie I can’t, I can’t do it”
If you just factually describe GOP policies people will accuse you of being unfairly partisan and I think about that a lot
Mike Johnson: "Let me predict what Sen. Kelly is gonna say on the show. He's gonna give you a long, impassioned speech about healthcare and how the subsidies are so important to make sure people don't die and all of this. Let me tell you something. This is not a healthcare fight."
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Dems need to get better at stuff like this in general.
Is there a physical reason Adelita Grijalva can’t show up at Mike Johnson’s daily press conferences to challenge him? Even if there is, video of security blocking her would be compelling video.
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Sorry, Europeans and Canadians, but
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If you're the Dems and you were scared of immigration as a topic before, I might try making it an issue now that masked goons are beating the shit out of innocent people in the streets on a daily basis. A lot of people are probably not down with this whatever their views on immigration are
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💯 The goal is threefold:

1) Tie the GOP to corruption + crime, thus reclaiming "law + order."

2) Perhaps deter some violations now.

3) Build popular support for an anti-corruption crusade when Dems regain office, a master frame that Dems can use to legitimize transformative institutional change.
Instead of "This is inappropriate!" Democrats - especially those who might run for president - should say right now "Anyone who participates in this should know: You are committing a crime, and in the next administration you will be prosecuted."

That will change the frame of the story.
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.
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Instead of "This is inappropriate!" Democrats - especially those who might run for president - should say right now "Anyone who participates in this should know: You are committing a crime, and in the next administration you will be prosecuted."

That will change the frame of the story.
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
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(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.
Yeah but Cincy is almost comically bad (though it is a division game and those have a weird tendency to get weird)
Think it depends on what you mean by “works” or “gives a shit”. I think there are a LOT of people who are essentially perpetually looking for the jangly keys and flashing lights in evangelical Christianity and I think this stuff absolutely engages those receptors
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“i was married, but i’m not married anymore. women don’t like the vehicle.”
Disney's Robin Hood hot wheels car
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"i was married, but i'm not married anymore. women don't like the vehicle."
A photo of the OceanGate Titan submersible in relatively shallow water, which is where it should have stayed if they didn't want it to implode
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We wanted to know what it was like to own a Cybertruck. So @zoeschiffer.bsky.social went to the desert got this absolutely amazing quotes (and Michelle Groskopf took the pictures!) www.wired.com/story/owning...
quotes from cybertruck owners
Ousting a guy who routinely undermines the party isn’t tearing it apart what the fuck are you talking about?
Axios @axios.com · 10h
SCOOP: Top Democrats in Pennsylvania are maneuvering to run against Sen. John Fetterman in a 2028 primary, threatening to tear the party apart in the biggest battleground state in the nation.
Scoop: Dems plot Fetterman ouster
He's still popular with Pennsylvania voters, even as Democrats turn on him.
www.axios.com
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Also the second charges in the impeachment articles drafted against Nixon listed five abuses of power, the first of which was literally this
The second article, offered in amended form by Representative William L, Hungate, Democrat of Missouri, accused Mr. Nixon of conduct, dating back to the first year of his Administration, that allegedly violated. the rights of citizens to privacy, interfered with the proper administration of justice and used various agencies of the Government, The omnibus charge focused' specifically on the following) allegations against the government: 

Attempts to use the Internal Revenue Service to initiate tax audits or obtain confidential tax data for political purposes.
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If you were “prematurely anti fascist” about this you were a hysterical lib, if you were wrong about it you’re a respectable intellectual with lots of billionaire connections bsky.app/profile/gtco...
It turns out Charlie was right about the existence of hell
No no, it’s him, his hand is just covering it up
Signs of a functioning society
15 US states and territories have formed a new Public Health Alliance, which will counter the absence of federal leadership by tracking outbreaks, issuing guidance, buying vaccines and more.

Members of the new alliance include CA, CO, CT, DE, GU, HI, IL, MD, MA, NJ, NY, NC, OR, RI, WA.
Map: Governors Public Health Alliance
* Guam is also a member of the alliance
Updated October 15, 2025
Map: @luckytran • Created with Datawrapper
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roberts’s constitution allows for racial discrimination as long as you don’t say you’re racially discriminating, because in a classic bit of racecraft, roberts’s constitution forbids acknowledging race but has no particular issue with racism.
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roberts thinks it is an affront that a community of upstanding citizens can not do as it chooses when it comes to voting. if that means that they might discriminate against a racial minority, he has no problem with that either as long as it is facially neutral.
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