Matt Ford
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mford.bsky.social
Matt Ford
@mford.bsky.social
49K followers 470 following 1.2K posts
Staff writer, The New Republic. Law, democracy, and the courts. 49ers/Dodgers stuff too.
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mford.bsky.social
Tang dynasty emperors were slow learners.
A Wikipedia list with a bunch of Tang dynasty emperors getting killed by eunuchs.
November 10, 2025 at 6:05 AM
mford.bsky.social
Thinking of Tommy tonight.
Lefebvre. Afterwards, Bevacqua expressed the opinion to local press that "They ought to fine that fat little Italian, too; he ordered it," referring to Lasorda - to which Lasorda responded with the following: “Tell you what I think about it. I think that is very, very bad for that man to make an accusation like that. That is terrible. I have never ever since I've managed ever told a pitcher to throw at anybody, nor will I ever. And if I ever did, I certainly wouldn't make him throw at a fucking .130 hitter like Lefebvre or fucking Bevacqua, who couldn't hit water if he fell out of a fucking boat.”
November 2, 2025 at 1:33 AM
mford.bsky.social
I’m not exaggerating. The BBC updated the statement in the time it took me to post this. He’s just Andrew Mountbatten Windsor now.
His Majesty has today initiated a formal process to remove the Style, Titles and Honours of Prince Andrew. Prince Andrew will now be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor. His lease on Royal Lodge has, to date, provided him with legal protection
October 30, 2025 at 7:24 PM
mford.bsky.social
Wow, Charles is making Andrew a commoner. www.bbc.com/news/live/cn...
We can now bring you the full statement from Buckingham Palace: His Majesty has today initiated a formal process to remove the Style, Titles and Honours of Prince Andrew. His lease on Royal Lodge has, to date, provided him with legal protection to continue in residence. Formal notice has now been served to surrender the lease and he will move to alternative private accommodation. These censures are deemed necessary, notwithstanding the fact that he continues to deny the allegations against him. Their Majesties wish to make clear that their thoughts and utmost sympathies have been, and will remain with, the victims and survivors of any and all forms of abuse.
October 30, 2025 at 7:20 PM
mford.bsky.social
This must be what it’s like to meet Odin when you enter Valhalla. www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/...
The stars were plentiful, and in the aftermath of the lunacy, one of them stood in the Dodgers' clubhouse, still trying to process what happened. Will Klein, the last man out of the Dodgers' bullpen, a reliever who had topped out this year at two innings and 36 pitches, threw four innings of one-hit ball and struck out five on 72 pitches. The last of them, an 86 mph curveball, induced a swing-and-miss from Tyler Heineman and a scream from Klein, who understood what had been asked of him and knew he'd delivered. Games don't become classics without efforts like Klein's -- and he had an admirer who wanted to acknowledge that. Into the Dodgers' clubhouse strode Sandy Koufax, his eminence of Dodgers pitching, who, at 89 years old, looked no worse for the wear at 12:48 a.m. Koufax walked up to Klein, stuck out his hand, looked him in the eyes and said: "Nice going."
October 28, 2025 at 12:04 PM
mford.bsky.social
They’re cooking over on /r/baseball right now
Can a Dodgers hitter just charge the mound to start a brawl and end the game for them? A Dodgers batter charges the mound after the Blue Jays have used all their pinch hitters and pitchers. If they get enough people ejected by starting a brawl the game is over and the Dodgers win.
October 28, 2025 at 6:06 AM
mford.bsky.social
Walter: I believe in baseball as a civic good and that we have a responsibility to field the best team that we can

NYT: lol you rube archive.nytimes.com/dealbook.nyt...
Using insurance money — which is typically supposed to be invested in simple, safe assets — to buy a baseball team, the ultimate toy for the ultrarich, seems like a lawsuit waiting to happen. Mr. Walters has been somewhat open in acknowledging that Guggenheim’s companies will be tapped, but the investor group has not disclosed how much of the purchase price is coming from individuals. The transaction seems even more questionable when considering Mr. Walter’s own words to The New York Times two weeks ago: “I don’t want to realize a return on investment on buying the Dodgers. I want to have a multigenerational relationship that changes my life, Magic’s life, Magic’s grandchildren’s lives and all of our lives.” So let’s get this straight: Mr. Walter, who has a fiduciary duty to the firm’s policyholders, plans to pump their money into a baseball team, even though he says he’s not seeking to realize a return on the investment. And he is seemingly wildly overpaying by some $500 million more than the next highest bidder — he outbid Steven Cohen, the hedge fund manager, among others — so that he can be the league-designated owner of the Dodgers. “Paying $1.5 billion or $1.6 billion — I can get there. But anything after that is pure ego,” said a longtime sports banker who worked for a rival bidder for the Dodgers. “We’ve done the math. At that price, it just doesn’t make any sense unless you want to be the king of Los Angeles.”
October 28, 2025 at 1:14 AM
mford.bsky.social
🙃
In Shanahan Era San Francisco 49ers 2,036 Games Missed Due to Injury Since 2017 Most in NFL
October 26, 2025 at 9:56 PM
mford.bsky.social
Good quote in this NYT article on Trump seeking $230 million in “compensation” from DOJ: www.nytimes.com/2025/10/21/u...
Lawyers said the nature of the claims posed undeniable ethics challenges. “What a travesty,” said Bennett L. Gershman, an ethics professor at Pace University. “The ethical conflict is just so basic and fundamental, you don’t need a law professor to explain it.”
October 21, 2025 at 8:22 PM
mford.bsky.social
October 17, 2025 at 10:38 PM
mford.bsky.social
Good to know, I guess. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/16/o...
Douthat: And we’re in a moment — and we don’t have to make this specific to the Trump White House — when it’s very easy to imagine, from either the left or the right, some present or future president deciding to test the court, Andrew Jackson-style, saying: Interesting ruling, Justice Barrett. Good luck enforcing it. How do you think about that potential challenge, as a member of the court? Barrett: Well, I think that you are absolutely right that just as the court must take account of the consequences on the institutional dynamics, say, between a current president and a future president, the balance of power between the executive branch and the legislative branch, that of course, those same kinds of institutional concerns for the long run are ones that play a part in the court’s separation of powers decisions and always have, because they also are reflected in concerns of the constitutional structure. Douthat: OK, let me try that again: If a president defied the Supreme Court, what would you do? Barrett: Well, as you say, the court lacks the power of the purse. We lack the power of the sword. And so, We interpret the Constitution, we draw on precedents, we have these questions of structure, and we make the most with the tools that we have. Douthat: Justice Barrett, thank you so much for joining me. Barrett: It’s a pleasure to be here. Thank you for having me, Ross.
October 16, 2025 at 6:27 PM
mford.bsky.social
Tommy Lasorda bludgeoning the Phanatic
October 8, 2025 at 2:06 AM
mford.bsky.social
Watching the Chiefs’ downfall
Gandalf watches the fall of Barad-Dûr from the Black Gate of Mordor.
October 7, 2025 at 3:16 AM
mford.bsky.social
Learning about Polish nobility families this morning
Famous members of the Kurnatowski family, including Theo Von
October 4, 2025 at 4:05 PM
mford.bsky.social
Here’s the question presented in Wolford:
Whether the Ninth Circuit erred in holding, in direct conflict with the Second Circuit, that Hawaii may presumptively prohibit the carry of handguns by licensed concealed carry permit holders on private property open to the public unless the property owner affirmatively gives express permission to the handgun carrier?
October 3, 2025 at 1:39 PM
mford.bsky.social
New: SCOTUS added a few cases to its docket after the long conference, including a Second Amendment case from Hawaii.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2025 CERTIORARI GRANTED 24-699 EXXON MOBIL CORP. V. CORPORACIóN CIMEX, ET AL. 24-983 HAVANA DOCKS CORP. V. ROYAL CARIBBEAN CRUISES, ET AL. The petitions for writs of certiorari are granted. 24-1046 WOLFORD, JASON, ET AL. V. LOPEZ, ATT'Y GEN. OF HI The petition for a writ of certiorari is granted limited to Question 1 presented by the petition. 24-1238 MONTGOMERY, SHAWN V. CARIBE TRANSPORT II, LLC, ET AL. 25-95 PUNG, MICHAEL V. ISABELLA COUNTY, MICHIGAN The petitions for writs of certiorari are granted.
October 3, 2025 at 1:37 PM
mford.bsky.social
Stuffed on 4th and 1 *twice* when you could’ve won it all, who’s the little brother now buddy
"Being able to do that, knowing how good of a team they are and knowing the history with the two organizations, it's huge," running back Kyren Williams said, via the Los Angeles Times. "And it shows that we're the big brothers now."
October 3, 2025 at 3:46 AM
mford.bsky.social
Always loved the Drysdale quip after Sandy Koufax sat out Game 1 of the 1965 World Series for Yom Kippur: jewishbaseballmuseum.com/spotlight-st...
In 1965, the Dodgers had a big lead in the National League. It was announced that Oct. 6 would be game 1 of the World Series. Oct. 6 was Yom Kippur. They asked Koufax what he would do. He said, “I’m praying for rain.” He also said he would consult a Rabbi. He never did. Koufax told a Rabbi: ‘I’m Jewish. I’m a role model. I want them to understand they have to have pride.” Thousands of Jews said they saw Koufax at various synagogues in Minneapolis. In fact, he never left his hotel room. Don Drysdale, a Hall of Famer, pitched Game 1. He got bombed, giving up 7 runs. When the manager went out to pull him, he said, “Don’t you wish I was Jewish too?”
October 2, 2025 at 2:31 PM
mford.bsky.social
I’ve also never seen a federal court opinion at any level styled like this before:
Post card dated June 19, 2025 (On file in chambers) “Trump has pardons and tanks…what do you have?” Dear Mr. or Ms. Anonymous, Alone, I have nothing but my sense of duty. Together, We the People of the United States—you and me—have our magnificent Constitution. Here’s how that works out in a specific case…
September 30, 2025 at 5:19 PM
mford.bsky.social
Jimmy Kimmel might’ve been their Pickett’s Charge.
Schefter: Bad Bunny is the Super Bowl LX halftime performer.
September 29, 2025 at 2:00 AM
mford.bsky.social
Toddler barely slept last night but Joe Davis is calling a 9:30 AM football game
Jon Hamm is meditating or something? I never actually saw Mad Men.
September 28, 2025 at 1:36 PM
mford.bsky.social
Kagan on the “asserted harms” to the Trump’s foreign policy, to which the conservative justices deferred in their unsigned order:
The Executive’s argument about irreparable harm and the balance of equities fares no better. The Executive says that to comply with the District Court’s order to obligate the $4 billion, it will have to “enter into negotiations” with “for- eign states or international organizations.” Application 35. And in those discussions, the Executive protests, it will have to “advocate against its own objectives”—“under- min[ing]” its real view that the expenditures are “contrary to U. S. foreign policy.” Id., at 3, 34–35. But that is just the price of living under a Constitution that gives Congress the power to make spending decisions through the enactment of appropriations laws. If those laws require obligation of the money, and if Congress has not by rescission or other action relieved the Executive of that duty, then the Execu- tive must comply. It cannot be heard to complain, as it does here, that the laws clash with the President’s differing view of “American values” and “American interests.” Id., at 34. That inconsistency, in other words, is not a cognizable harm, to be weighed in the equitable balance. It is merely a frustration any President must bear.
September 26, 2025 at 9:24 PM
mford.bsky.social
Supreme Court rules 6-3 that congressional appropriations are optional: www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24p...
On September 3, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia entered a preliminary injunction directing the Executive to obligate roughly $10.5 billion of appropriated aid funding set to expire on September 30. Of that $10.5 billion, $4 billion was proposed to be rescinded in a “special message” transmitted pursuant to the Impoundment Control Act. See 2 U. S. C. §681 et seq. After the District Court and the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit denied stays of that order, the Government filed this application to stay the District Court’s injunction. The application for stay presented to THE CHIEF JUSTICE and by him referred to the Court is granted. The Government, at this early stage, has made a sufficient showing that the Impoundment Control Act precludes respondents’ suit, brought pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act, to enforce the appropriations at issue here. The Government has also made a sufficient showing that mandamus relief is unavailable to respondents. And, on the record before the Court, the asserted harms to the Executive’s conduct of foreign affairs appear to outweigh the potential harm faced by respondents. This order should not be read as a final determination on the merits. The relief granted by the Court today reflects our preliminary view, consistent with the standards for interim relief.
September 26, 2025 at 9:19 PM
mford.bsky.social
Saw my son eating something off of the counter and asked him to show me what it was
A half-gnawed jalepeno and a toddler.
September 23, 2025 at 10:07 PM
mford.bsky.social
SCOTUS says Trump can fire a FTC commissioner without cause for now and will hear oral arguments in December on whether to overrule Humphrey’s Executor. Wow I wonder how they’ll rule? www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24p...
The application for stay presented to THE CHIEF JUSTICE and by him referred to the Court is granted. The July 17, 2025 order of the United States District Court for the Dis- trict of Columbia, No. 25–cv–909, ECF Doc. 52, is stayed. The application is also treated as a petition for a writ of cer- tiorari before judgment, and the petition is granted. The parties are directed to brief and argue the following ques- tions: (1) Whether the statutory removal protections for members of the Federal Trade Commission violate the sep- aration of powers and, if so, whether Humphrey’s Executor v. United States, 295 U. S. 602 (1935), should be overruled. (2) Whether a federal court may prevent a person’s removal from public office, either through relief at equity or at law. The Clerk is directed to establish a briefing schedule that will allow the case to be argued in the December 2025 ar- gument session. The stay shall terminate upon the sending down of the judgment of this Court. JUSTICE KAGAN, with whom JUSTICE SOTOMAYOR and JUSTICE JACKSON join, dissenting from the grant of the ap- plication for stay.
September 22, 2025 at 7:39 PM