@jblumenthal.bsky.social
But to return, and view the cheerful skies…
-Virgil
So it goes.
-Vonnegut
-Virgil
So it goes.
-Vonnegut
Reposted
Trump's new autopen scandal. Every accusation is a confession.
Justice Department quietly replaced 'identical' Trump signatures on recent pardons
President Donald Trump is facing new scrutiny over the use of a replicated signature on several recent pardons.
apnews.com
November 16, 2025 at 12:33 AM
Trump's new autopen scandal. Every accusation is a confession.
Reposted
Even Republicans aren't into the "Department of War" rebranding. Only 42% approve, which is low in such a polarized environment.
Plus Democrats and Independents are solidly opposed.
Americans want a professional, not unhinged military.
Graph and data from here: goodauthority.org/news/most-am...
Plus Democrats and Independents are solidly opposed.
Americans want a professional, not unhinged military.
Graph and data from here: goodauthority.org/news/most-am...
November 15, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Even Republicans aren't into the "Department of War" rebranding. Only 42% approve, which is low in such a polarized environment.
Plus Democrats and Independents are solidly opposed.
Americans want a professional, not unhinged military.
Graph and data from here: goodauthority.org/news/most-am...
Plus Democrats and Independents are solidly opposed.
Americans want a professional, not unhinged military.
Graph and data from here: goodauthority.org/news/most-am...
Reposted
Re. the Epstein stuff and Trump. It’s worth remembering that the only thing Americans love more than avidly following the careers of celebrities they admire, is watching those same celebrities crash and burn.
November 15, 2025 at 3:48 PM
Re. the Epstein stuff and Trump. It’s worth remembering that the only thing Americans love more than avidly following the careers of celebrities they admire, is watching those same celebrities crash and burn.
Reposted
Keep in mind the national map is slightly biased towards Republicans, so moving the map towards the Democrats means a national map that is less biased overall, not more of a Democratic gerrymander
November 15, 2025 at 3:49 PM
Keep in mind the national map is slightly biased towards Republicans, so moving the map towards the Democrats means a national map that is less biased overall, not more of a Democratic gerrymander
Reposted
Meanwhile, Maryland is moving ahead. With California and Virginia negating Texas and North Carolina, and a possible Missouri referendum putting their re-redistricting on hold (there is also a lawsuit), the national map may wind up moving the median district in the Democrats' direction
November 15, 2025 at 3:47 PM
Meanwhile, Maryland is moving ahead. With California and Virginia negating Texas and North Carolina, and a possible Missouri referendum putting their re-redistricting on hold (there is also a lawsuit), the national map may wind up moving the median district in the Democrats' direction
Reposted
We saw Indiana Republicans decline to hold a re-redistricting session in the wake of last week's elections. Part of their calculation may be that they are unwilling to try to expand their map in an electoral environment favorable to Democrats
November 15, 2025 at 3:42 PM
We saw Indiana Republicans decline to hold a re-redistricting session in the wake of last week's elections. Part of their calculation may be that they are unwilling to try to expand their map in an electoral environment favorable to Democrats
Reposted
This matters to Republican gerrymandering here in Florida. Rep. Moskowitz's district is believed to be the most vulnerable to re-redistricting, but it is located in South Florida where Republicans might need to shore up their districts, not try to reach for more
November 15, 2025 at 3:39 PM
This matters to Republican gerrymandering here in Florida. Rep. Moskowitz's district is believed to be the most vulnerable to re-redistricting, but it is located in South Florida where Republicans might need to shore up their districts, not try to reach for more
Reposted
The overall effect on the 2026 midterm election is perhaps obvious, but what is not so obvious is that we may expect Hispanic areas to swing more to Democrats. Part of the Texas partisan gerrymander is predicated on heavily Hispanic districts remaining at Republican support levels similar to 2024
November 15, 2025 at 3:37 PM
The overall effect on the 2026 midterm election is perhaps obvious, but what is not so obvious is that we may expect Hispanic areas to swing more to Democrats. Part of the Texas partisan gerrymander is predicated on heavily Hispanic districts remaining at Republican support levels similar to 2024
Reposted
We also have exit poll data in multiple states, and national polling, generally. So multiple pieces of information pointing that 2024 was an aberration, not a trend, among Hispanic voters
November 15, 2025 at 3:32 PM
We also have exit poll data in multiple states, and national polling, generally. So multiple pieces of information pointing that 2024 was an aberration, not a trend, among Hispanic voters
Reposted
The New Jersey governor’s race is the first significant sign that Trump’s success with Hispanic voters in 2024 may have been a temporary shift.
Via @christinezhang.bsky.social and @shanegoldmacher.bsky.social
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/15/u...
Via @christinezhang.bsky.social and @shanegoldmacher.bsky.social
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/15/u...
Maps Show How Latinos Who Shifted Right in 2024 Snapped Back Left in 2025
www.nytimes.com
November 15, 2025 at 3:10 PM
The New Jersey governor’s race is the first significant sign that Trump’s success with Hispanic voters in 2024 may have been a temporary shift.
Via @christinezhang.bsky.social and @shanegoldmacher.bsky.social
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/15/u...
Via @christinezhang.bsky.social and @shanegoldmacher.bsky.social
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/15/u...
Reposted
Dems should say this right now, loudly and clearly: Anyone who is trusting Donald Trump, of all people, when he says what he’s directing you to do is lawful and that you’ll be protected later may be putting themselves in a very precarious position. 6/
newrepublic.com/article/2032...
newrepublic.com/article/2032...
November 15, 2025 at 12:46 PM
Dems should say this right now, loudly and clearly: Anyone who is trusting Donald Trump, of all people, when he says what he’s directing you to do is lawful and that you’ll be protected later may be putting themselves in a very precarious position. 6/
newrepublic.com/article/2032...
newrepublic.com/article/2032...
Reposted
This memo is almost an admission of legal *vulnerability* for those carrying out bombings.
“It signals fear that what they’re doing is illegal and that they could possibly be subject to criminal action under US law and international law,” Rep Adam Smith tells me. 4/
newrepublic.com/article/2032...
“It signals fear that what they’re doing is illegal and that they could possibly be subject to criminal action under US law and international law,” Rep Adam Smith tells me. 4/
newrepublic.com/article/2032...
November 15, 2025 at 12:29 PM
This memo is almost an admission of legal *vulnerability* for those carrying out bombings.
“It signals fear that what they’re doing is illegal and that they could possibly be subject to criminal action under US law and international law,” Rep Adam Smith tells me. 4/
newrepublic.com/article/2032...
“It signals fear that what they’re doing is illegal and that they could possibly be subject to criminal action under US law and international law,” Rep Adam Smith tells me. 4/
newrepublic.com/article/2032...
Reposted
On this day in 1830, North Carolina passed laws that criminalized teaching enslaved Black people to read and that made the repeated dissemination of anti-slavery pamphlets punishable by death.
Nov. 15, 1830 | NC Mandates Death Sentence for Dissemination of Anti-Slavery Pamphlet
Learn more about our history of racial injustice.
calendar.eji.org
November 15, 2025 at 2:00 PM
On this day in 1830, North Carolina passed laws that criminalized teaching enslaved Black people to read and that made the repeated dissemination of anti-slavery pamphlets punishable by death.
Reposted
A foreign country bribed the president with a bar of gold.
Where are my Originalists at?
Where are my Originalists at?
"It was tough to beat Apple, but the Swiss did it." said one administration official.
How the Swiss convinced Trump to drop tariffs with gifts of a Rolex desk clock and a 1 kg gold bar.
www.axios.com/2025/11/14/t...
How the Swiss convinced Trump to drop tariffs with gifts of a Rolex desk clock and a 1 kg gold bar.
www.axios.com/2025/11/14/t...
How to lobby Trump with Swiss precision: gifts, gold and gab
How the Swiss broke a diplomatic logjam on tariffs by arriving with tributes fit for a king.
www.axios.com
November 15, 2025 at 3:53 PM
A foreign country bribed the president with a bar of gold.
Where are my Originalists at?
Where are my Originalists at?
Reposted
Some news: tomorrow at 9am, Ted Koppel + CBS Sunday Morning will air a two-part story on the devastating surge of full-time workers being pushed into homelessness.
I'll be interviewed along with two families from There Is No Place for Us. It would mean a lot if you'd watch and help spread the word.
I'll be interviewed along with two families from There Is No Place for Us. It would mean a lot if you'd watch and help spread the word.
November 15, 2025 at 2:28 PM
Some news: tomorrow at 9am, Ted Koppel + CBS Sunday Morning will air a two-part story on the devastating surge of full-time workers being pushed into homelessness.
I'll be interviewed along with two families from There Is No Place for Us. It would mean a lot if you'd watch and help spread the word.
I'll be interviewed along with two families from There Is No Place for Us. It would mean a lot if you'd watch and help spread the word.
Reposted
"It was tough to beat Apple, but the Swiss did it." said one administration official.
How the Swiss convinced Trump to drop tariffs with gifts of a Rolex desk clock and a 1 kg gold bar.
www.axios.com/2025/11/14/t...
How the Swiss convinced Trump to drop tariffs with gifts of a Rolex desk clock and a 1 kg gold bar.
www.axios.com/2025/11/14/t...
How to lobby Trump with Swiss precision: gifts, gold and gab
How the Swiss broke a diplomatic logjam on tariffs by arriving with tributes fit for a king.
www.axios.com
November 15, 2025 at 2:05 PM
"It was tough to beat Apple, but the Swiss did it." said one administration official.
How the Swiss convinced Trump to drop tariffs with gifts of a Rolex desk clock and a 1 kg gold bar.
www.axios.com/2025/11/14/t...
How the Swiss convinced Trump to drop tariffs with gifts of a Rolex desk clock and a 1 kg gold bar.
www.axios.com/2025/11/14/t...
Reposted
Exactly. Dems should say: Are you really sure you want to stake your future liberty on this serial criminal's promises to protect you?
Combo of Trump’s lawlessness and the pardon power complicate the psychology. Deterrence requires more than warning of future prosecution. The people committing these murders need to ask:
Can I depend on a faithless man like Trump to pardon me?
What other forms of accountability might I face?
Can I depend on a faithless man like Trump to pardon me?
What other forms of accountability might I face?
Trump Boat Bombings Take Dark, Unnerving Turn with Leaked Memo Stunner
A new Trump administration memo argues that those carrying out the boat attacks can’t be prosecuted. Why? Because the administration says so!
newrepublic.com
November 15, 2025 at 4:15 PM
Exactly. Dems should say: Are you really sure you want to stake your future liberty on this serial criminal's promises to protect you?
Reposted
Alan Dershowitz is one of those claiming Epstein was not a pedophile because he pleaded guilty to one count of having sex for money with a 17-year-and-10-month-old person. "That’s not a pedophile." See this important response from Julia Brown, the brave reporter who broke the news on this
November 15, 2025 at 1:52 PM
Alan Dershowitz is one of those claiming Epstein was not a pedophile because he pleaded guilty to one count of having sex for money with a 17-year-and-10-month-old person. "That’s not a pedophile." See this important response from Julia Brown, the brave reporter who broke the news on this
Reposted
A “presidential” beer pong set. What are we doing here, folks?
New: A site licensing Trump's name is selling merch with the presidential seal — including a $20 beer-pong set with “Presidential themed balls.”
Federal law says you can’t manufacture or sell likenesses of the seal without authorization.
me, for @forbes.com
1/
Federal law says you can’t manufacture or sell likenesses of the seal without authorization.
me, for @forbes.com
1/
Trump-Licensed Presidential Seal Beer Pong Set Could Violate Federal Law
A site affiliated with Lee Greenwood sells merchandise with the seal—such as a $20 beer pong set with “Presidential themed balls”—and pays licensing fees to a Trump LLC.
www.forbes.com
November 15, 2025 at 4:21 PM
A “presidential” beer pong set. What are we doing here, folks?
Reposted
Preservationists concerned by President Trump’s public musings about painting the 137-year-old Eisenhower Executive Office Building completely white sued him to halt the work.
Preservationists sue Trump over plans to paint Eisenhower building
The complaint alleges Trump’s plan would ‘permanently alter one of the most architecturally significant and historic structures in the Nation’s Capital’
www.washingtonpost.com
November 15, 2025 at 3:30 PM
Preservationists concerned by President Trump’s public musings about painting the 137-year-old Eisenhower Executive Office Building completely white sued him to halt the work.
Reposted
When you literally underperform Fartcoin. 💩
November 15, 2025 at 3:00 PM
When you literally underperform Fartcoin. 💩
Reposted
Complicated, complicated, procedural decision that mostly gets the case back to Judge Boasberg so he can begin contempt proceedings again.
The judge who oversaw the initial challenge to Trump’s attempt to use the Alien Enemies Act to quickly remove people from the country will soon have the authority to continue any contempt proceedings over whether the admin violated his first orders in the case on March 15.
I explain:
I explain:
D.C. Circuit won't review Trump admin contempt appeal further, sending matter back to Boasberg
The latest order over the Trump administration's actions sending flights to El Salvador on March 15.
www.lawdork.com
November 15, 2025 at 3:27 AM
Complicated, complicated, procedural decision that mostly gets the case back to Judge Boasberg so he can begin contempt proceedings again.
Reposted
The Trump admin is planning to say that being from Cuba (or any other travel ban country) is a "significant negative factor" that could lead to a denial of any of several discretionary immigration benefits (like green cards).
Seriously; national origin discrimination as official government policy.
Seriously; national origin discrimination as official government policy.
November 14, 2025 at 8:07 PM
The Trump admin is planning to say that being from Cuba (or any other travel ban country) is a "significant negative factor" that could lead to a denial of any of several discretionary immigration benefits (like green cards).
Seriously; national origin discrimination as official government policy.
Seriously; national origin discrimination as official government policy.
Reposted
Big news: Indiana Republicans signal they still do not have the votes to re-gerrymander the state, and that the Senate won't convene the Senate after all in December.
Getting 1-2 seats out of Indiana was central to the GOP's redistricting-war math.
www.politico.com/news/2025/11...
Getting 1-2 seats out of Indiana was central to the GOP's redistricting-war math.
www.politico.com/news/2025/11...
Indiana redistricting push likely dead despite White House pressure
It’s a massive blow to the White House’s efforts to shore up a Republican House majority next year.
www.politico.com
November 14, 2025 at 9:01 PM
Big news: Indiana Republicans signal they still do not have the votes to re-gerrymander the state, and that the Senate won't convene the Senate after all in December.
Getting 1-2 seats out of Indiana was central to the GOP's redistricting-war math.
www.politico.com/news/2025/11...
Getting 1-2 seats out of Indiana was central to the GOP's redistricting-war math.
www.politico.com/news/2025/11...
Reposted
Wild graphic on front page of WSJ.
November 14, 2025 at 7:47 PM
Wild graphic on front page of WSJ.