Virginia Scharff
@vscharff.bsky.social
Historian, novelist, gardener, cook
Reposted by Virginia Scharff
They’re simultaneously arguing that soldiers have to follow all orders from the president, legal or not, but they get to ignore orders from a federal judge if they feel they’re not legal.
KARL: Did you know about the judge's order when you issued your order for the planes to continue?
KRISTI NOEM: This is an activist judge. We comply with all federal orders that are lawful and binding.
KRISTI NOEM: This is an activist judge. We comply with all federal orders that are lawful and binding.
November 30, 2025 at 5:43 PM
They’re simultaneously arguing that soldiers have to follow all orders from the president, legal or not, but they get to ignore orders from a federal judge if they feel they’re not legal.
Reposted by Virginia Scharff
Note two things about GOP Rep. Mike Turner's solid remarks on Hegseth's reported order:
1) Turner: "I agree that that would be an illegal act."
2) Implicitly confirms the Washington Post's reporting that this information has been kept from Congress
1) Turner: "I agree that that would be an illegal act."
2) Implicitly confirms the Washington Post's reporting that this information has been kept from Congress
Rep. Mike Turner on the double strike to comply with Hegseth's orders: "If that occurred, that would be very serious and I agree that would be an illegal act…This is completely outside of anything that has been discussed with Congress and there is an ongoing investigation."
November 30, 2025 at 8:11 PM
Note two things about GOP Rep. Mike Turner's solid remarks on Hegseth's reported order:
1) Turner: "I agree that that would be an illegal act."
2) Implicitly confirms the Washington Post's reporting that this information has been kept from Congress
1) Turner: "I agree that that would be an illegal act."
2) Implicitly confirms the Washington Post's reporting that this information has been kept from Congress
Reposted by Virginia Scharff
An official government account using the word “remigration” is not normal. It’s an imported term from European far-right movements that refers to mass expulsion. Democracies do not use population-purification language. #holdfast #SteadyState
November 30, 2025 at 2:45 PM
An official government account using the word “remigration” is not normal. It’s an imported term from European far-right movements that refers to mass expulsion. Democracies do not use population-purification language. #holdfast #SteadyState
I’d add that not only is @captmarkkelly.bsky.social profile elevated, but his message is sharper, clearer and more important by the minute.
It’s so funny that the main impact so far of Trump throwing a fit about “treacherous” senators has been to drive coverage of his war crimes and to hugely elevate the profile of the popular astronaut senator from a key swing state who visibly loathes him
Mark Kelly: "This president, when he says things like 'third world countries,' what is he really saying? I think what he's saying is he doesn't want brown people in our country. And that's disturbing. It's un-American."
December 1, 2025 at 12:50 AM
I’d add that not only is @captmarkkelly.bsky.social profile elevated, but his message is sharper, clearer and more important by the minute.
In our name.
December 1, 2025 at 12:31 AM
In our name.
Reposted by Virginia Scharff
JFC Oklahoma you fuckin cowards. Now every Jesus-freak right-wing student who can't get a passing grade for a bunch of bible quotes masquerading as an essay is going to file a 1st amendment complaint. You gonna suspend the whole Biology department for teaching about evolution? (Don't answer that)
OU has put the professor here on administrative leave:
November 30, 2025 at 9:37 PM
JFC Oklahoma you fuckin cowards. Now every Jesus-freak right-wing student who can't get a passing grade for a bunch of bible quotes masquerading as an essay is going to file a 1st amendment complaint. You gonna suspend the whole Biology department for teaching about evolution? (Don't answer that)
Reposted by Virginia Scharff
“Home and abroad.”
A notable sentiment given that the administration has labeled not just the people it is killing on these boats as “terrorists” but also domestic political opponents.
A notable sentiment given that the administration has labeled not just the people it is killing on these boats as “terrorists” but also domestic political opponents.
Markwayne Mullin: "The president and the secretary of war have been very clear. They're gonna use lethality against our enemies -- home and abroad."
November 30, 2025 at 2:48 PM
“Home and abroad.”
A notable sentiment given that the administration has labeled not just the people it is killing on these boats as “terrorists” but also domestic political opponents.
A notable sentiment given that the administration has labeled not just the people it is killing on these boats as “terrorists” but also domestic political opponents.
Reposted by Virginia Scharff
He scammed over 1,000 people, most of whom were not wealthy - veterans, farmers, teachers, nurses, small businesses owners. Some lost everything. But he’s a rich Republican, so Trump let him get away with it. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/29/u...
Trump Frees Fraudster Just Days Into Seven-Year Prison Sentence
www.nytimes.com
November 30, 2025 at 12:22 PM
He scammed over 1,000 people, most of whom were not wealthy - veterans, farmers, teachers, nurses, small businesses owners. Some lost everything. But he’s a rich Republican, so Trump let him get away with it. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/29/u...
Aren’t there, like, laws against this?
We just published a deep look into David Sacks, the White House's AI and Crypto czar. The story examines how he has been able keep hundreds of stakes in AI-related and crypto companies as he influences gov policy in those very industries.
Here's what we found:
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/30/t...
Here's what we found:
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/30/t...
Silicon Valley’s Man in the White House Is Benefiting Himself and His Friends
www.nytimes.com
November 30, 2025 at 10:08 PM
Aren’t there, like, laws against this?
Reposted by Virginia Scharff
The president is a political cartoon of corruption come to life, a gaudy grifter who is selling off pardons and lining his pockets, building a golden ballroom and protecting his fellow sex predator elites, all the while regular Americans are suffering and struggling to make ends meet.
Run on *that*
Run on *that*
November 30, 2025 at 5:02 PM
The president is a political cartoon of corruption come to life, a gaudy grifter who is selling off pardons and lining his pockets, building a golden ballroom and protecting his fellow sex predator elites, all the while regular Americans are suffering and struggling to make ends meet.
Run on *that*
Run on *that*
The Sunday shows need more @captmarkkelly.bsky.social @vanhollen.senate.gov @govpritzker.illinois.gov @raskin.house.gov and other straight talking Democrats.
Mark Kelly: "This president, when he says things like 'third world countries,' what is he really saying? I think what he's saying is he doesn't want brown people in our country. And that's disturbing. It's un-American."
November 30, 2025 at 5:51 PM
The Sunday shows need more @captmarkkelly.bsky.social @vanhollen.senate.gov @govpritzker.illinois.gov @raskin.house.gov and other straight talking Democrats.
Straight up
Bash: "Do you believe if there was a second strike to eliminate any survivors that it constitutes a war crime?"
Mark Kelly: "It seems to."
Bash: "If you received that order, would you have carried it out?"
Mark Kelly: "No…Going after survivors in the water is unlawful."
Mark Kelly: "It seems to."
Bash: "If you received that order, would you have carried it out?"
Mark Kelly: "No…Going after survivors in the water is unlawful."
November 30, 2025 at 5:24 PM
Straight up
Reposted by Virginia Scharff
A human-rights group has used publicly available aviation data to track the U.S. government’s flights, tallying more than 1,700 deportation flights in the first nine months of the second Trump Administration. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/12/01/disappeared-to-a-foreign-prison
Disappeared to a Foreign Prison
The Trump Administration is deporting people to countries they have no ties to, where many are being detained indefinitely or forcibly returned to the places they fled. Sarah Stillman reports.
www.newyorker.com
November 30, 2025 at 5:01 PM
A human-rights group has used publicly available aviation data to track the U.S. government’s flights, tallying more than 1,700 deportation flights in the first nine months of the second Trump Administration. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/12/01/disappeared-to-a-foreign-prison
Reposted by Virginia Scharff
How did this guy and a drug kingpin buy their pardons from Trump? This is our-in-the-open corruption, and Republicans are accepting it.
President Trump has set free a private equity executive who had served less than two weeks of a seven-year sentence for his role in what prosecutors described as a $1.6 billion scheme that defrauded thousands of victims.
Trump Frees Fraudster Just Days Into Seven-Year Prison Sentence
David Gentile had been found guilty for his role in what prosecutors described as a $1.6 billion scheme that defrauded thousands of investors.
nyti.ms
November 30, 2025 at 4:52 PM
How did this guy and a drug kingpin buy their pardons from Trump? This is our-in-the-open corruption, and Republicans are accepting it.
Reposted by Virginia Scharff
I'm really glad to see someone like Kelly finally saying this. bsky.app/profile/atru...
Mark Kelly: "This president, when he says things like 'third world countries,' what is he really saying? I think what he's saying is he doesn't want brown people in our country. And that's disturbing. It's un-American."
November 30, 2025 at 4:29 PM
I'm really glad to see someone like Kelly finally saying this. bsky.app/profile/atru...
Reposted by Virginia Scharff
Reposted by Virginia Scharff
🧵This 58-year-old nurse from Maryland is seen being violently dragged along the ground by officials in Ghana.
Trump deported her there.
This abhorrent & disgusting abuse of a woman who saved American lives and cared for injured and ill Americans for 30 years.
All the details below are worse.
Trump deported her there.
This abhorrent & disgusting abuse of a woman who saved American lives and cared for injured and ill Americans for 30 years.
All the details below are worse.
Woman deported from Maryland shown on video being dragged in Ghana
Rabbiatu Kuyateh was detained this summer at her annual ICE check-in, her son said. She moved to the D.C. area 30 years ago as she fled civil war in Sierra Leone.
www.nbcnews.com
November 30, 2025 at 4:30 AM
🧵This 58-year-old nurse from Maryland is seen being violently dragged along the ground by officials in Ghana.
Trump deported her there.
This abhorrent & disgusting abuse of a woman who saved American lives and cared for injured and ill Americans for 30 years.
All the details below are worse.
Trump deported her there.
This abhorrent & disgusting abuse of a woman who saved American lives and cared for injured and ill Americans for 30 years.
All the details below are worse.
Reposted by Virginia Scharff
Cmon now
Gary Payton II with a little extra after the whistle 💫
November 30, 2025 at 4:43 AM
Cmon now
Reposted by Virginia Scharff
The house and senate have both expressed interest in investigating the strike on survivors of the first boat strike.
Both Hegseth and adm Bradley will need to answer some questions.
This is why a reminder to not follow illegal orders is important
Both Hegseth and adm Bradley will need to answer some questions.
This is why a reminder to not follow illegal orders is important
November 30, 2025 at 3:57 AM
The house and senate have both expressed interest in investigating the strike on survivors of the first boat strike.
Both Hegseth and adm Bradley will need to answer some questions.
This is why a reminder to not follow illegal orders is important
Both Hegseth and adm Bradley will need to answer some questions.
This is why a reminder to not follow illegal orders is important
Reposted by Virginia Scharff
Under Trump, the government isn't just withholding data it doesn't like; it's killing its own capacity to produce reliable data.
Trump’s One Weird Trick for Eliminating Bad News: Delete It
The disappearance of inconvenient facts and the remaking of reality.
lnk.thebulwark.com
November 30, 2025 at 4:00 AM
Under Trump, the government isn't just withholding data it doesn't like; it's killing its own capacity to produce reliable data.
Reposted by Virginia Scharff
Pat Bagley, Salt Lake Tribune
November 29, 2025 at 8:09 PM
Pat Bagley, Salt Lake Tribune
Turkey and wild rice soup
November 30, 2025 at 1:48 AM
Turkey and wild rice soup
Abomination
NEW: The New York Times got a State Dept. cable telling diplomats to destroy visas that had been approved and printed to give to Afghans. And diplomats are told to do scheduled interviews but not grant visas. US shuts all legal entry routes for Afghans. Our story: www.nytimes.com/2025/11/28/u...
Trump Pauses All Asylum Applications and Halts Visas for Afghans
www.nytimes.com
November 30, 2025 at 1:34 AM
Abomination