gelbach
gelbach.bsky.social
gelbach
@gelbach.bsky.social
Expert provider of lay opinions.

Day job: Herman F. Selvin Professor of Law at UC Berkeley Law. Opinions my own, not intended to represent UC's.
Wow
Florida Republicans, including Governor Ron DeSantis, said they oppose a Trump administration plan that could allow new oil and gas drilling in waters off the state's Gulf Coast.
Florida Republicans oppose Trump offshore oil leasing plan
Florida Republicans, including Governor Ron DeSantis, said they oppose a Trump administration plan that could allow new oil and gas drilling in waters off the state's Gulf Coast.
reut.rs
November 21, 2025 at 8:12 PM
Reposted by gelbach
November 21, 2025 at 8:07 PM
Reposted by gelbach
Wow
November 21, 2025 at 7:15 PM
Seems potentially unscientific
Breaking News: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he personally instructed the CDC to abandon its position that vaccines do not cause autism. The move underscores his determination to challenge scientific orthodoxy — in this case, that vaccines save lives — and bend the health department to his will.
RFK Jr. Says He Instructed CDC to Change Vaccines and Autism Language on Website
In an interview, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. cited gaps in vaccine safety research. His critics say he is ignoring a larger point: Vaccines save lives.
nyti.ms
November 21, 2025 at 7:13 PM
Reposted by gelbach
This is part of an old and perfidious maligning of parents (especially mothers) by blaming them for their children’s disabilities. It is horrible attempt to absolve broader society for its responsibility to help care for the vulnerable.
Breaking News: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he personally instructed the CDC to abandon its position that vaccines do not cause autism. The move underscores his determination to challenge scientific orthodoxy — in this case, that vaccines save lives — and bend the health department to his will.
RFK Jr. Says He Instructed CDC to Change Vaccines and Autism Language on Website
In an interview, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. cited gaps in vaccine safety research. His critics say he is ignoring a larger point: Vaccines save lives.
nyti.ms
November 21, 2025 at 7:09 PM
I assume a resolution to condemn fascism would fail, but...

PROVE ME WRONG
BREAKING: The House of Representatives voted 285–98 in favor of a resolution condemning socialism.

Eighty-six Democrats joined Republicans in supporting the measure, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
November 21, 2025 at 6:40 PM
Reposted by gelbach
No October CPI for you (ever), but nice hole in the ground where the East Wing used to be -- thinking about "essential" during a shutdown. Hope you don't have any TIPS #EconSky
econbrowser.com/archives/202...
November 21, 2025 at 6:36 PM
Reposted by gelbach
The party that promised "free speech on campus" has made sure there can be no free speech on campuses.
This week, I withdrew from a speaking engagement at a public university because they sent me a list of prohibited “words & concepts.” I will not humor this censorship. It does a disservice to the stories I’m discussing & the audience, who deserve unfettered access to information & conversation.
November 21, 2025 at 4:25 AM
“Enthusiastic on Crime”
A New Jersey fraudster who was pardoned by President Trump in 2021 was sentenced to 37 years in prison this month for running a $44 million Ponzi scheme, one of a growing number of people granted clemency by Trump only to be charged with new crimes.
A Fraudster Pardoned by Trump Gets 37 Years for Running Ponzi Scheme
A New Jersey man convicted of defrauding investors of roughly a quarter-billion dollars is among a growing number of people granted clemency only to to be charged with new crimes.
nyti.ms
November 21, 2025 at 4:09 PM
Reposted by gelbach
NEW: ICE has finally released post-shutdown detention data. The latest data reveals that a full 40%(!) of people arrested in the interior and held in ICE detention have no criminal record; no criminal charges or prior convictions. That is up from just 4% when Trump took office.
November 21, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Reposted by gelbach
Hey, #EconSky!

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics is here @usbls.bsky.social!
bsky.app/profile/usbl...
November 21, 2025 at 2:51 PM
Reposted by gelbach
I've had a missile blow up next to my airplane, been shot at dozens of times by anti-aircraft fire, and launched into orbit — all for my country. I never thought I'd see a President call for my execution.

Trump doesn’t understand the Constitution, and we're all less safe for it.
November 20, 2025 at 8:40 PM
…and that is why colleagues in the House of Representatives should _____
I've had a missile blow up next to my airplane, been shot at dozens of times by anti-aircraft fire, and launched into orbit — all for my country. I never thought I'd see a President call for my execution.

Trump doesn’t understand the Constitution, and we're all less safe for it.
November 21, 2025 at 1:32 PM
Worth reading
“History shows us that the right to literacy came at a heavy cost…those oppressed recognized that literacy is liberation. To my students & to anyone who might listen, I say: Don’t surrender to AI your ability to read, write & think when others once risked their lives & died for the freedom to do so”
I Set A Trap To Catch My Students Cheating With AI. The Results Were Shocking.
"Students are not just undermining their ability to learn, but to someday lead."
www.huffpost.com
November 21, 2025 at 1:31 PM
Reposted by gelbach
Zohran Mamdani doesn’t make me, an American Jew, feel unsafe.

Having the Coast Guard, which falls under the Department of Homeland Security, decide that a swastika isn’t really a symbol of hate? That makes me, an American Jew, feel pretty damn unsafe.
November 21, 2025 at 12:59 AM
Toad was deposing Greg Bovino, for whatever that’s worth
“What happened then?” asked Toad.
November 21, 2025 at 11:43 AM
Reposted by gelbach
Absolutely incredible; after shooting Marimar Martinez 5 times and arresting her on claims that she rammed them and pulled a gun, prosecutors have now moved to dismiss ALL criminal charges against her and her codefendant.
New: the govt has moved to dismiss its assault case against Marimar Martinez and Anthony Ian Santos Ruiz, two people accused of "box[ing] in" a Border Patrol vehicle in Chicago on Oct. 4.

One agent shot Martinez, with evidence presented to the court that he later bragged about in text messages.
November 20, 2025 at 5:50 PM
Reposted by gelbach
My god.

After 4 days in ICE custody, they found the man in a shower stall hog-tied, with a sheet around his neck.

The medical examiner claimed there were other instances of this.

Which means this is not an isolated case.

Trump's Lynching America
Man detained by ICE found dead, hanging with hands and feet tied—attorney
The Chinese national died in Pennsylvania in August, but his family's requests for answers from DHS have gone unmet.
www.newsweek.com
November 21, 2025 at 12:04 AM
We are all unUnfettered
"The Barnes and Noble in York—where Fetterman was born and raised—had sold zero copies. The Barnes and Noble in Philadelphia had sold two copies. An independent store in Pittsburgh and an independent store in Philadelphia each told me they weren’t stocking Unfettered" defector.com/john-fetterm...
John Fetterman's Memoir Is As Low-Effort As His Senate Tenure | Defector
John Fetterman’s just-released memoir, Unfettered, argues that he’s turned a corner and has everything under control. Fetterman was a “stubborn asshole” (his words), he was clinically depressed, he wa...
defector.com
November 21, 2025 at 1:27 AM
Reposted by gelbach
Gotta lean heavily into this, which i think they will. Trumps weak and getting weaker. He’s supporting criminal conduct. Time is against him. rollcall.com/2025/11/20/d...
Democratic hawks defiant after Trump accuses them of 'seditious' act - Roll Call
Democrats stood by their call for troops to disobey unlawful orders after Trump suggested they could be executed for "seditious behavior."
rollcall.com
November 20, 2025 at 10:52 PM
Reposted by gelbach
THREAD: Judge Ellis is the first federal judge to review extensive body cam video of DHS's actions in Chicago. She finds that DHS *repeatedly* misled the public and made claims that were disproven by agents' own videos.

I'll go through some of the most egregious ones here.
November 20, 2025 at 11:04 PM
Reposted by gelbach
Between a random Portland barista saying he wants to hurt Charlie Kirk and the President of the United States calling for the execution of Democrats, both sides clearly have a violence problem
Trump posts again about Democrats, saying their behavior is “punishable by DEATH!”
November 20, 2025 at 4:30 PM
Reposted by gelbach
Earlier this morning, President Trump threatened me and a group of service and veteran Members of Congress with arrest, trial, and death by hanging.

Here’s my response:
November 20, 2025 at 6:19 PM
Reposted by gelbach
👇🎯
It's not a sophisticated reaction, but my response to both "quiet, piggy" and the Coast Guard okaying swastikas and nooses is a deep sadness that the compassion we're working so hard to foster in our children will not just be challenged by schoolyard bullies but by the highest levels of society.
November 20, 2025 at 9:07 PM
Reposted by gelbach
So great to see BLS back to work measuring and informing us about our large and dynamic economy.

It’s a great institution full of dedicated civil servants deeply committed their mission. They have had a tough year, and everyone is covering for someone who left. I thank them all for their service.
November 20, 2025 at 4:48 PM