The Education of Ezra Klein

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emptywheel
Any response to the upcoming funding deadline needs two things Ezra Klein's celebrated column lacks: A theory on how to fight fascism, and an awareness of how Republican support for Trump's rescissions has abdicated their own duty under the Constitution.

Keeping the Courts Open in March Sustained Habeas Corpus

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emptywheel
The way in which the JGG immigration case and related Alien Enemies Act cases have proceeded since Senate Democrats permitted Republicans to keep government open in March is a testament to the value that courts have provided that might become unavailable in a government shutdown.

Mike Johnson Snitch-Tags Donald Trump

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emptywheel
Mike Johnson is already inventing silly claims to try to disclaim helping Trump to cover up sex trafficking. Those efforts will likely get still more challenging in days ahead.

Existentialism and Ethics

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Ed Walker
De Beauvoir thinks we're all part of the the same collective. The Trump Cult admits only a few people into their collective.

Fridays with Nicole Sandler

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emptywheel
We spoke about how the Epstein scandal and RFK Jr's corruption might recruit defectors.
a fake tornado over fake sunflowers

What We Talk About When We Talk About AI (Part Four)

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Quinn Norton
LLMs are Lead Part 4- Delusion, Psychosis, and Child Murder (Go to Part Three) This installment deals with self harm quite a lot. If you're not in a good place right now, please skip this. If you or someone you know is suicidal, the suicide…

Scott Bessent Fact Checks Donald Trump's Lies about Tariffs

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emptywheel
In a declaration to SCOTUS, Scott Bessent confesses that what Trump has claimed were trade "deals" are really just "frameworks" that are not yet binding, and the investments and purchases cited in them are a fraction of the $15 trillion dollars in investment he has claimed they include.

Pete Hegseth Committed A(nother) Crime But We Can't Throw Him in Prison

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emptywheel
While Charles Breyer's opinion finding that DOD, on Pete Hegseth's personal orders, violated the Posse Comitatus Act in its invasion of Los Angeles, the opinion will have more lasting import for the ways it shows that the existing approach to Executive Power makes it impossible to enforce such laws.

A Tale of Two Governors: Confronting versus Dick-Wagging

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emptywheel
Far too many late adherents to Gavin Newsom's trolling believe it works solely because he confronts Trump. How he's confronting Trump matters. Newsom is eschewing mere recital of facts and instead presenting them in a way that baits others to contend with them.

Kristi Noem's Non-Stop Slander Invites Congress to Ask Melania about Her Close Ties to Jeffrey Epstein

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emptywheel
Kristi Noem has responded to a fourth request from Kilmar Abrego for an order gagging her unsubstantiated claims about him by creating a false censorship attack on CBS.

In Batshit Rant Trump Seems to Beg John Roberts to Rule before Full Brunt of His Tariffs Hits

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emptywheel
A month ago, Scott Bessent was counting on delay at SCOTUS to get them to agree to uphold Trump's illegal tariffs. Now, Trump is declaring that "TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE," perhaps because Congress might soon realize the tariffs are killing the economy.

Trump's Attempt to Repackage His Capitulation in Ukraine

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emptywheel
As it becomes increasingly clear that Steve Witkoff will never negotiate peace in Ukraine, Trump's White House is preparing to blame Europe for Witkoff's incompetence.
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RFK Jr. DNR'd the US Healthcare System

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Rayne
I'm recovering from a bout of COVID. Sick as I was, the bug bothered me much less than RFK Jr.s' attack on the CDC.
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It's Time to Call Out the National Gourd

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Peterr
Trump's stunt with the National Guard in DC has been opposed by lawsuits, but this isn't enough. It's time to call out the National Gourd.

Fridays with Nicole Sandler

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emptywheel
We talked a lot about the invasion of DC.
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Happy Flying This Weekend - Who Needs All Those Meteorologists?

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Peterr
The GAO reports that the US regional air traffic control centers are dangerously short of meteorologists. What could possibly go wrong?
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CDC Shooting 2.0 - It's Coming from Inside the House

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Peterr
Forget the 2004 horror film set in AG John Ashcroft's ICU room. RFK Jr. is no Dick Cheney and Donald Trump is no George W Bush. In today's horror story at the CDC, as the movie lingo puts it, the shooting is coming from inside the house.

Kash Patel and John Ratcliffe Predicate ANOTHER Investigation on Emails Stolen from Foreign Spies

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emptywheel
In a piece trying to normalize Kash Patel's promised investigation of John Bolton, the NYT fails to mention that the investigation was reopened based on the same fact pattern that Patel and John Ratcliffe used to frame Hillary Clinton, emails obtained from foreign spies.

Blackmail and Brownstones: Todd Blanche Locked Ghislaine Maxwell into Her Obvious Lies

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emptywheel
Shortly after Ghislaine Maxwell claimed that Jeffrey Epstein's brownstone wasn't wired to take video, a mysteriously sourced NYT story proved that is false.

Devlin Barrett and Mike Schmidt Mistake the Fox in the Henhouse for a Guard Puppy

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emptywheel
If Kash Patel really believed he found evidence that someone tried to bury evidence, Jack Eckenrode should be among the top suspects. Instead, Kash has made Eckenrode the lead investigator.
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