mecpitt.bsky.social
@mecpitt.bsky.social
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We are watching one of the wildest things a nation-state has ever done: A superpower is committing suicide because the GOP Congress is too cowardly to stand up to the Mad King.

This is one of the wildest moments in all of geopolitics ever.
Footage shows Danish troops arriving in Greenland as part of a new military deployment. Among the personnel who landed on the island is Major General Peter H. Boysen, Chief of the Danish Army Command. #Greenland
January 19, 2026 at 10:59 PM
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This is actually the really simple story of the collapse of American democracy. You can explain America’s constitutional collapse in a single coherent sentence:
The Founders assumed that Members of Congress would jealously and zealously guard the powers and prerogatives of their branch of government against the grasping of an overweening Executive, and instead we got this supine GOP majority that yearns to lick the boot.
I would like to think the Mad King proclaiming “I will continue to illegally raise taxes on the American people until the NATO alliance collapses” would be the type of statement to cause Congress to act, but I’m not sure there’s any red line the GOP Congress has anymore.
January 17, 2026 at 7:39 PM
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Investigating elected officials for speech is not law enforcement but intimidation. If governors and mayors can be investigated for criticizing federal actions, neither elected officials nor anyone else is truly free to speak. #holdfast
January 17, 2026 at 2:53 PM
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BREAKING: Judge enters TRO blocking feds from interfering with or arresting peaceful protesters in Minnesota. Judge Kate Menendez, Biden appointee. Order: www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...
January 17, 2026 at 1:02 AM
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New video analysis by @nytimes.com team breaks down the killing of Renee Good frame by frame from multiple angles and challenges official accounts of what happened. www.nytimes.com/video/us/100...
Video: Video Analysis of ICE Shooting Sheds Light on Contested Moments
Newly available videos and existing footage synchronized and assessed by The Times provides a frame-by-frame look at how an ICE officer ended up shooting and killing a motorist in Minneapolis.
www.nytimes.com
January 16, 2026 at 5:56 PM
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This is a transparent attempt to create a pretext for invoking the Insurrection Act.

One provision applies when a group of people "opposes or obstructs the execution of the laws of the United States or impedes the course of justice under those laws." And when it's (allegedly) the state itself...
Trump escalates his attack on Minnesota Democrats as Justice Department launches a criminal investigation into Gov Walz and Mayor Frey apparently on the theory that their objections to ICE amount to illegal interference, sources tell @perrystein.bsky.social www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
Justice Dept. launches criminal investigation of Minnesota governor
The Justice Department has issued subpoenas for Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey as part of an investigation into impeding law enforcement.
www.washingtonpost.com
January 16, 2026 at 11:33 PM
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This is not a sane use of US federal law enforcement resources.
The Star Tribune had an insane graphic about the presence of immigration enforcement in Minneapolis. There are more immigration officers in the metro right now than local police officers.
January 15, 2026 at 12:25 PM
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It is, unfortunately, time to re-up my April 2025 post on the Insurrection Act and the broader history of domestic uses of the military for law enforcement purposes:

www.stevevladeck.com/p/142-five-q...
142. Five Questions About Domestic Use of the Military
The federal government's authorities to use the military for domestic law enforcement are old, broad, and vague. They may soon become far more relevant than they've been for quite a long time.
www.stevevladeck.com
January 15, 2026 at 4:52 PM
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Walz: "What's happening in MN defies belief. News reports simply don't do justice to the level of chaos & disruption & trauma the federal govt is raining down... This long ago stopped being a matter of immigration enforcement. Instead, it's a campaign of organized brutality against the people of MN"
January 15, 2026 at 2:17 AM
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309-14 against.

That's the scorecard of federal judges ruling on the Trump administration's attempt to treat *any* non-citizen who was never lawfully admitted as having been stopped at the border for purposes of detention w/o bail.

Here's my earlier explainer:

www.stevevladeck.com/p/195-the-im...
January 5, 2026 at 2:53 PM
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"If we hadn’t already, we’ve unquestionably joined the league of ordinary nations—a league in which we’re acting as little more than a bully, and in circumstances in which no obvious principle of self-defense, human rights, or even humantarianism writ large justifies our bellicosity."

Me on Maduro:
200. Five Questions About the Maduro Arrest Operation
Friday night's U.S. military operation in Venezuela was a textbook violation of international law. It's also entirely unauthorized by U.S. law, which ought to (but probably won't) matter.
www.stevevladeck.com
January 3, 2026 at 9:32 PM
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My quick take on the legality of the Venezuela invasion.

open.substack.com/pub/executiv...
On the Legality of the Venezuela Invasion
Executive branch precedents can be garnered to support the action—which does not, of course, mean that it is lawful.
open.substack.com
January 3, 2026 at 6:57 PM
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Russia and China already know that the president of the United States is helping to clear the way for their adventures—and they should keep their faux-outrage to themselves.

www.theatlantic.com/internationa...
Maybe Russia and China Should Sit This One Out
Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping are just shocked—shocked!—by the American attack on Venezuela.
www.theatlantic.com
January 3, 2026 at 7:41 PM
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I’ve argued since August we need a serious conversation about Trump’s health. One thing lacking so far: The excuse to turn this “news story” into a “news event.” This WSJ story — and Trump’s opening — should be the chance to do just that.

www.doomsdayscenario.co/p/it-s-time-...
January 1, 2026 at 3:18 PM
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“I can’t recall any other example of a federal policy that provoked quite so much litigation in such a short period of time—or in which so many judges from across the geographical and ideological spectrum so overwhelmingly rejected the executive branch’s new interpretation of the relevant statutes.”
195. The Immigration Detention Flood
The Trump administration's attempt to quietly—but massively—expand who can be detained pending their removal has been met with overwhelming pushback from a remarkably large number of district courts.
www.stevevladeck.com
December 1, 2025 at 12:35 PM
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A Dishonorable Strike
Indulging all assumptions in favor of the administration’s boat strikes, killing helpless men is murder

www.execfunctions.org/p/a-dishonor...
A Dishonorable Strike
Indulging all assumptions in favor of the administration’s boat strikes, killing helpless men is murder
www.execfunctions.org
November 29, 2025 at 4:26 AM
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The military has released 21 video clips of U.S. attacks on vessels it says are trafficking drugs. But they tell only part of the story.
What the Pentagon’s Attack Videos Reveal About the Boat Strikes at Sea
The military has released 21 video clips of U.S. attacks on vessels it says are trafficking drugs. But they tell only part of the story.
nyti.ms
November 26, 2025 at 1:39 PM
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After years of delays, the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art announced its 2026 opening date. Take a first look inside the $1 billion, 300,000-square-foot museum.
Lucas Museum sets opening date: Take an exclusive first look inside
After nearly four years of delays, the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art has announced its opening date.
www.latimes.com
November 12, 2025 at 5:56 PM
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If you’re trying to catch up on what went down with #SNAP late last night at #SCOTUS, here’s my attempt to read the breadcrumbs on the “administrative stay” issued by Justice Jackson—and why a justice so critical of the Court’s grants of emergency relief to Trump still granted temporary relief here:
190. SNAP WTF?
A very quick explainer on why Justice Jackson issued an "administrative stay" in the SNAP case late on Friday night, and on what's likely to happen next
www.stevevladeck.com
November 8, 2025 at 12:18 PM
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photos of Trump sleeping through yesterday's Oval Office event via Andrew Harnik of Getty
November 7, 2025 at 4:38 PM
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I just want to remind everyone that this is a statewide mandate, unencumbered by maps.
November 5, 2025 at 5:05 AM
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2,500 pantries supported across the state
$80M in state funds fast-tracked for distribution
390 @calvolunteers.bsky.social — with hundreds more waiting in the wings
And National Guard men and women deployed, proud to be the good guys

We will not just let Californians in need go hungry.
October 28, 2025 at 10:24 PM
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a live look this morning at the demolished East Wing of the White House
October 23, 2025 at 1:38 PM
No Kings Larchmont, Los Angeles! So many drivers honking! #turnrevolutionintolove @gtconway.bsky.social

www.redbubble.com/i/t-shirt/rE...
October 18, 2025 at 11:09 PM