Steve Potts
@otispott.bsky.social
Lawyer. Believer in democracy and the rule of law.
Pinned
Rose Mary Woods' title wrt the watergate tapes was director of special redaction projects
The emails reveal the special training given to FBI personnel working on what it called the “Epstein Transparency Project.” In some instances they referred to it as the “Special Redaction Project.” The training entailed PowerPoint slide presentations and video instruction on how to review the files.
November 25, 2025 at 11:48 PM
Rose Mary Woods' title wrt the watergate tapes was director of special redaction projects
Reposted by Steve Potts
Great new conversation w/@ruthbenghiat.bsky.social about her powerhouse article, "Both Sane and Insane": Autocratic Visions of Governance, Chaos as a Strategy. Find her insights really helpful in understanding Trump and our current moment. Watch 👇and share!
www.hopiumchronicles.com/p/both-sane-...
www.hopiumchronicles.com/p/both-sane-...
Both Sane and Insane - My Conversation With Dr. Ruth Ben-Ghiat About Understanding Trump And Other Autocrats
Enjoy this lively, informative conversation with one of my most important teachers.....
www.hopiumchronicles.com
November 24, 2025 at 11:26 PM
Great new conversation w/@ruthbenghiat.bsky.social about her powerhouse article, "Both Sane and Insane": Autocratic Visions of Governance, Chaos as a Strategy. Find her insights really helpful in understanding Trump and our current moment. Watch 👇and share!
www.hopiumchronicles.com/p/both-sane-...
www.hopiumchronicles.com/p/both-sane-...
"an orgiastic celebration of death"
true but also — yikes!
true but also — yikes!
November 24, 2025 at 4:28 PM
"an orgiastic celebration of death"
true but also — yikes!
true but also — yikes!
Reposted by Steve Potts
What Does It Mean To Be A Person ? An easy question to ask but a very complicated one to answer.
A very good video of @miamulder.bsky.social which may make you think a lot about it, especially its veru good conclusion
www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4cR...
A very good video of @miamulder.bsky.social which may make you think a lot about it, especially its veru good conclusion
www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4cR...
What Does It Mean To "Be" A Person | Mia Mulder
YouTube video by Mia Mulder
www.youtube.com
November 23, 2025 at 12:06 PM
What Does It Mean To Be A Person ? An easy question to ask but a very complicated one to answer.
A very good video of @miamulder.bsky.social which may make you think a lot about it, especially its veru good conclusion
www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4cR...
A very good video of @miamulder.bsky.social which may make you think a lot about it, especially its veru good conclusion
www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4cR...
What's the point of paying for advertising if your audience is in actuality an army of foreign based computers?
X rolled out a new feature overnight showing where accounts are based. This network of “Trump-supporting independent women” that claimed to be “real Americans” are based in Thailand.
The photos were stolen from European models & posts pushed pro-Trump lines while targeting Islam and LGBTQ people.
The photos were stolen from European models & posts pushed pro-Trump lines while targeting Islam and LGBTQ people.
November 23, 2025 at 8:48 PM
What's the point of paying for advertising if your audience is in actuality an army of foreign based computers?
Reposted by Steve Potts
The Polish prime minister reacts
November 23, 2025 at 10:48 AM
The Polish prime minister reacts
'The judge said there was a chance of Bolsonaro fleeing to the U.S. Embassy in Brasilia.
"He is located about 13 kilometers (8 miles) away from where the United States of America embassy lies, in a distance that can be covered in a 15-minute drive"'
www.npr.org/2025/11/22/n...
"He is located about 13 kilometers (8 miles) away from where the United States of America embassy lies, in a distance that can be covered in a 15-minute drive"'
www.npr.org/2025/11/22/n...
Brazil's Bolsonaro arrested for allegedly plotting escape ahead of prison term
Brazil's Supreme Court ordered the arrest of Jair Bolsonaro, with a judge claiming the former president was intent on escaping as he was set to begin his prison sentence for leading a coup attempt.
www.npr.org
November 22, 2025 at 10:05 PM
'The judge said there was a chance of Bolsonaro fleeing to the U.S. Embassy in Brasilia.
"He is located about 13 kilometers (8 miles) away from where the United States of America embassy lies, in a distance that can be covered in a 15-minute drive"'
www.npr.org/2025/11/22/n...
"He is located about 13 kilometers (8 miles) away from where the United States of America embassy lies, in a distance that can be covered in a 15-minute drive"'
www.npr.org/2025/11/22/n...
"federal agents are seen in videos behaving aggressively, with Donahue pointing his service weapon at unarmed bystanders and Parsons punching a handcuffed man on the ground. Agents reportedly also pepper sprayed onlookers and detained three people before releasing them without charges."
NEW: Evanston has released video + reports surrounding a 10/31 incident where a CBP agent threatened to shoot people + another beat a handcuffed man.
We found some disturbing X posts from one of the feds, also seen in other viral videos. His name is Timothy Donahue, and it's now public record:
We found some disturbing X posts from one of the feds, also seen in other viral videos. His name is Timothy Donahue, and it's now public record:
Identified: federal agents who pointed gun, punched detainee in Evanston
Unraveled has verified a hate speech-laden X account belonging to U.S. Border Patrol agent Timothy Donahue, who was seen in numerous viral videos during Operation Midway Blitz. He and another agent, T...
unraveledpress.com
November 22, 2025 at 3:06 PM
"federal agents are seen in videos behaving aggressively, with Donahue pointing his service weapon at unarmed bystanders and Parsons punching a handcuffed man on the ground. Agents reportedly also pepper sprayed onlookers and detained three people before releasing them without charges."
Reposted by Steve Potts
New members of Congress understand tech in ways their predecessors often don't, and now they’re driving new bills on online safety, privacy, AI, and more. But without a centralized tech committee, needed regulations can through the cracks. bit.ly/3K76Pjr
The Time Is Right for Congress to Take on Tech
History teaches that new blood, economic upheaval, and executive overreach are the recipe for overcoming congressional paralysis.
www.brennancenter.org
November 22, 2025 at 2:38 PM
New members of Congress understand tech in ways their predecessors often don't, and now they’re driving new bills on online safety, privacy, AI, and more. But without a centralized tech committee, needed regulations can through the cracks. bit.ly/3K76Pjr
This is fabulous and good advice!😂
youtube.com/shorts/3ThGN...
youtube.com/shorts/3ThGN...
Make the Revolution Irresistible
YouTube video by NowThis Impact
youtube.com
November 22, 2025 at 2:21 AM
This is fabulous and good advice!😂
youtube.com/shorts/3ThGN...
youtube.com/shorts/3ThGN...
Reposted by Steve Potts
Fascists share a worldview and it is shaped by fear, brittleness, and insecurity. This is why project their self-hatred on the world and seek control.
The disease of fascism cannot stop on its own. There’s no amount of control or “safety” that sates their fear. That’s why the violence grows.
The disease of fascism cannot stop on its own. There’s no amount of control or “safety” that sates their fear. That’s why the violence grows.
November 21, 2025 at 5:30 PM
Fascists share a worldview and it is shaped by fear, brittleness, and insecurity. This is why project their self-hatred on the world and seek control.
The disease of fascism cannot stop on its own. There’s no amount of control or “safety” that sates their fear. That’s why the violence grows.
The disease of fascism cannot stop on its own. There’s no amount of control or “safety” that sates their fear. That’s why the violence grows.
Reposted by Steve Potts
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.
I'll go through some of the most egregious ones here.
![II. Credibility
The Court next addresses the credibility of the parties’ evidence and witnesses. After reviewing all the evidence submitted to the Court and listening to the testimony elicited at the preliminary injunction hearing, during depositions, and in other court proceedings, the Court finds Defendants’ evidence simply not credible. [FN 6]
Plaintiffs submitted a mountain of evidence, providing the Court with over eighty declarations, numerous videos and articles, and other evidence. Defendants did not rebut anything that Plaintiffs set forth in their declarations or testimony, even with BWC footage.
[FN 6] In another case considering some of the same evidence presented to this Court, another court in this district also found that the perceptions of certain of Defendants’ declarants, such as Hott and Parra, were not reliable. See Illinois v. Trump, No. 25-cv-12174, 2025 WL 2886645, at *5 (N.D. Ill. Oct. 10, 2025) (noting a “troubling trend of Defendants’ declarants equating protests with riots and a lack of appreciation for the wide spectrum that exists between citizens who are observing, questioning, and criticizing their government, and those who are obstructing, assaulting, or doing violence”), motion to stay denied in part, 155 F.4th 929 (7th Cir. 2025).](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:2vtbmhmrwzbqcfv4we4uxzzt/bafkreifpyry2il5toxbr3iejgrsxs6kmnwve75qwnhebfp44ieyjrfpsdu@jpeg)
November 20, 2025 at 11:04 PM
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.
I'll go through some of the most egregious ones here.
Reposted by Steve Potts
Judge Ellis derides Greg Bovino as a serial fabulist who brazenly lied on the stand and seemingly considered it funny to perjure himself. cst.brightspotcdn.com/49/34/daecfb...
November 20, 2025 at 8:16 PM
Judge Ellis derides Greg Bovino as a serial fabulist who brazenly lied on the stand and seemingly considered it funny to perjure himself. cst.brightspotcdn.com/49/34/daecfb...
"Broadly speaking, [Gen Z women] are responsible, industrious, independent women — and it seems clear that those qualities make some men irrationally angry, perhaps because those women don’t need men for financial security."
Abuse is always about control.
Abuse is always about control.
Finally here! I've been working on this article for a few months now.
Whatever podcast clips are ubiquitous, spreading truly vile misogyny everywhere online. But almost nothing is known about the show.
Well, I aim to change that. My investigation.
www.salon.com/2025/11/21/t...
Whatever podcast clips are ubiquitous, spreading truly vile misogyny everywhere online. But almost nothing is known about the show.
Well, I aim to change that. My investigation.
www.salon.com/2025/11/21/t...
The online clip factory that's radicalizing teen boys - Salon.com
How a wildly popular YouTube “dating” show heaps mockery on women to create "so many more incels”
www.salon.com
November 21, 2025 at 2:27 PM
"Broadly speaking, [Gen Z women] are responsible, industrious, independent women — and it seems clear that those qualities make some men irrationally angry, perhaps because those women don’t need men for financial security."
Abuse is always about control.
Abuse is always about control.
Reposted by Steve Potts
BREAKING: Federal prosecutors have dismissed all charges against two Chicagoans, including a woman shot by federal agents, who were accused of ramming a vehicle driven by Border Patrol agents on Oct. 4, court records show.
Background, for @wttw.bsky.social: news.wttw.com/2025/10/05/2...
Background, for @wttw.bsky.social: news.wttw.com/2025/10/05/2...
2 Chicagoans, Including Woman Shot by Federal Agents, Charged with Ramming Border Patrol Vehicle
Marimar Martinez, 30, and Anthony Ian Santos Ruiz, 21, are facing felony charges of “forcibly assaulting, impeding, and interfering with a federal law enforcement officer,” federal prosecutors announc...
news.wttw.com
November 20, 2025 at 3:52 PM
BREAKING: Federal prosecutors have dismissed all charges against two Chicagoans, including a woman shot by federal agents, who were accused of ramming a vehicle driven by Border Patrol agents on Oct. 4, court records show.
Background, for @wttw.bsky.social: news.wttw.com/2025/10/05/2...
Background, for @wttw.bsky.social: news.wttw.com/2025/10/05/2...
Reposted by Steve Potts
OTD, 1863: Lincoln Calls to Us. It's Our Time. open.substack.com/pub/jennifer...
Lincoln Calls to Us. It's Our Time.
The greatest Memorial Day speech is only 271 words long. And it wasn't delivered on Memorial Day.
open.substack.com
November 19, 2025 at 12:18 PM
OTD, 1863: Lincoln Calls to Us. It's Our Time. open.substack.com/pub/jennifer...
"Mike Johnson is full of shit."
🌲🌲🌲
🌲🌲🌲
Rep. Crockett: Mike Johnson is full of shit. We know that he didn't even bring the House back in because he was trying to avoid us dealing with Epstein. He would not even swear in a duly elected member of Congress to avoid this. So miss me on pretending that this is about the victims.
November 20, 2025 at 12:19 AM
"Mike Johnson is full of shit."
🌲🌲🌲
🌲🌲🌲
Reposted by Steve Potts
Of all the terrible things Roberts has done, this was the most shocking stat: "the right-wing majority has used the shadow docket to uphold Trump’s actions roughly 90 percent of the time, repeatedly bailing him out of any obligation to follow the law"
There’s one person squarely to blame for Trump’s corruption, authoritarianism & assault on democracy: John Roberts. He’s enabled so much of Trump’s lawlessness while somehow escaping accountability for it
New cover story from @pemalevy.bsky.social & me
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
New cover story from @pemalevy.bsky.social & me
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
This is all John Roberts’ fault
Trump owes his corrupt and abusive reign to one man.
www.motherjones.com
November 19, 2025 at 7:35 PM
Of all the terrible things Roberts has done, this was the most shocking stat: "the right-wing majority has used the shadow docket to uphold Trump’s actions roughly 90 percent of the time, repeatedly bailing him out of any obligation to follow the law"
Insanity.
Long thread alert! The 20 craziest books currently unavailable to students in New Braunfels ISD in Central Texas due to the efforts of Texas book banners.
(Not in order, just going through the list)
1. A Streetcar Named Desire, Tennessee Williams (1947)
(Not in order, just going through the list)
1. A Streetcar Named Desire, Tennessee Williams (1947)
November 18, 2025 at 11:36 PM
Insanity.
Reposted by Steve Potts
Gift link to NYT article about the corruption of DOJ. One former insider says “I wouldn’t even call it the Justice Department anymore. It’s become Trump’s personal law firm. … [T]he American people should be enraged.”
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
60 Attorneys on the Year of Chaos Inside Trump’s Justice Department (Gift Article)
Sixty former staffers describe an environment of suspicion and intimidation within the nation’s most powerful law enforcement agency.
www.nytimes.com
November 17, 2025 at 12:54 PM
Gift link to NYT article about the corruption of DOJ. One former insider says “I wouldn’t even call it the Justice Department anymore. It’s become Trump’s personal law firm. … [T]he American people should be enraged.”
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Reposted by Steve Potts
Always ask yourself:
“What evidence would convince me that I’m wrong?”
If the answer is, “nothing,” then you are not adhering to the rules of science or logic.
thelogicofscience.com/2019/03/05/h...
“What evidence would convince me that I’m wrong?”
If the answer is, “nothing,” then you are not adhering to the rules of science or logic.
thelogicofscience.com/2019/03/05/h...
How not to science: Lessons from flat earthers and climate change deniers
Science is an amazingly powerful tool for disentangling fact and fiction. When done correctly, it is a systematic, objective, unbiased, and self-correcting method for understanding our universe. Un…
thelogicofscience.com
November 17, 2025 at 12:58 PM
Always ask yourself:
“What evidence would convince me that I’m wrong?”
If the answer is, “nothing,” then you are not adhering to the rules of science or logic.
thelogicofscience.com/2019/03/05/h...
“What evidence would convince me that I’m wrong?”
If the answer is, “nothing,” then you are not adhering to the rules of science or logic.
thelogicofscience.com/2019/03/05/h...
Reposted by Steve Potts
November 16, 2025
November 16, 2025
On Thursday, November 13, Michael Schmidt reported in the New York Times the story of the 17-year-old girl the House Ethics Committee found former representative Matt Gaetz (R-FL) likely paid to have ...
heathercoxrichardson.substack.com
November 17, 2025 at 5:45 AM
November 16, 2025
Yes and democracy is fundamentally a belief that human beings will act in their collective self-interest.
Empathy is the foundation of civilization.
"my least woke opinion is---"
That's enough. We've had enough people indulging in the "thrill of a little conservatism", as a treat. Of considering reactionary thought to be a salacious and taboo in a world descending into reactionary mania.
Give me your MOST woke opinions. We're bringing it back.
That's enough. We've had enough people indulging in the "thrill of a little conservatism", as a treat. Of considering reactionary thought to be a salacious and taboo in a world descending into reactionary mania.
Give me your MOST woke opinions. We're bringing it back.
November 15, 2025 at 5:17 PM
Yes and democracy is fundamentally a belief that human beings will act in their collective self-interest.
A and B have decided to settle their differences by taking C's livelihood and splitting it.
Big content is taking on AI – but it’s far from the David v Goliath tale they’d have you believe | Alexander Avila
Big content is taking on AI – but it’s far from the David v Goliath tale they’d have you believe | Alexander Avila
Deals between media conglomerates and tech companies serve both sets of interests, while leaving artists by the wayside, says video essayist, writer and researcher Alexander Avila
www.theguardian.com
November 15, 2025 at 2:59 PM
A and B have decided to settle their differences by taking C's livelihood and splitting it.
Reposted by Steve Potts
The intro to Judge Rita Lin's 76-page opinion holding that the Trump admin's pressure campaign against the University of California system is coercive and retaliatory in violation of the First Amendment. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
November 15, 2025 at 1:12 AM
The intro to Judge Rita Lin's 76-page opinion holding that the Trump admin's pressure campaign against the University of California system is coercive and retaliatory in violation of the First Amendment. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...