Sign in

alisonsk.bsky.social

@alisonsk.bsky.social
401 followers 853 following 355 posts

LA to L.A., with stops up & down the East Coast in-between. Auntie, pet-lover, reader, walker, gardener, voter. Fiercely pro-Democratic USA, anti-orange bastard.

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by @alisonsk.bsky.social
emptywheel @emptywheel.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Not going to data mule Trump's TS post attacking Somalis in MN, but remember that one of the lawsuits Renee Good's family filed likens Trump's attacks on Somalis to the Klan. emptywheel.net/2026/10/04/c...
emptywheel.net
Christopher Rufo Whines about Being Named as the Propagandist Who Rationalized Alleged Klan Act Violence - emptywheel
The lawsuit by Renee Good's family likens the mask Jonathan Ross wore the day he killed Renee Good to hooded Klan terrorism prohibited by the Klan Act.
6388126
Reposted by @alisonsk.bsky.social
Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News @froomkin.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
He is explicitly calling for pogroms. (I ask again: at what point will our major news organizations finally acknowledge that he is either mentally ill or a vile racist or both?)
23377122
Reposted by @alisonsk.bsky.social
David Froomkin @dfroomkin.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
"Democracy, Anti-Democracy, and the Canon" by @rickpildes.bsky.social is essential reading on the violent overthrow of the Reconstruction constitutions—and the Supreme Court's acquiescence. Equally important, Rick makes a powerful case for the value of majority rule for bringing about inclusion.
scholarship.law.umn.edu
0228
Reposted by @alisonsk.bsky.social
Heather Cox Richardson (TDPR) @hcrichardson.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
October 6, 2026
heathercoxrichardson.substack.com
October 6, 2026
Judging from his social media posts, Trump is panicking.
42855298
Reposted by @alisonsk.bsky.social
ProPublica @propublica.org · 06/10/2026
The government *still* isn’t tracking how often immigration agents detain U.S. citizens. We are. 500+ Americans have been handcuffed, held at gunpoint or held against their will in Trump’s second term. Our tally is almost certainly an undercount. THREAD (content warning: violence) ⬇️
9660103439
Reposted by @alisonsk.bsky.social
Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News @froomkin.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
This is essential. But has everyone in DC forgotten that Trump has a veto for the next two years? That word does not appear here once. The next two years have to be about getting everything lined up for 2029. And not overpromising deliverables in the meantime. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
washingtonpost.com
Trump’s opponents are planning efforts to reverse his changes to presidency
As the midterms approach, some of the president’s foes are working to ensure his aggressive approach to executive power doesn’t outlast him.
2028383
Reposted by @alisonsk.bsky.social
Heather Cox Richardson (TDPR) @hcrichardson.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
October 3, 2026
heathercoxrichardson.substack.com
October 3, 2026
On Saturday, October 3, the Power to the People festival, organized by Rock & Roll Hall of Fame guitarist Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave, took over the stage at the Merriweathe...
481194394
alisonsk.bsky.social @alisonsk.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
How out of the loop am I??? I didn't even know about this concert
000
Reposted by @alisonsk.bsky.social
emptywheel @emptywheel.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
This breathtaking NYT story about Trump's Russian entanglements includes three people who've been part of the operation to cultivate Trump since 2015: Bryan Lanza, Sheikh Tahoon, and Kirill Dmitriev. This is literally the culmination of the original plan. www.nytimes.com/2026/10/03/u...
nytimes.com
U.S.-Russia Talks on Ukraine Now Involve an Oil Deal Tied to Trump Allies
President Vladimir V. Putin brought up a sale of Russian energy assets with President Trump’s envoys, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, pushing a deal that raises new questions about conflicts of inter...
601611818
Reposted by @alisonsk.bsky.social
Kate Starbird @katestarbird.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
It's Oct 3. The midterms are a month away, but early voting has already begun in some states. Mail-in ballots will start circulating soon. Some of the usual suspects are already pushing the same "rigged election" rumors we've all heard before. This year, you can play along at home. bingo.cip.uw.edu
bingo.cip.uw.edu
"Rigged Election" Bingo
Spot the tropes before they spread. Recognize the common story elements behind election rumors — can you get BINGO?
817486
Reposted by @alisonsk.bsky.social
emptywheel @emptywheel.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Under Marco Rubio, the State Department is being by pro-Russian Nazis using State to foster fascism worldwide. edition.cnn.com/2026/10/02/p...
edition.cnn.com
Trump administration shifts funds from human rights to supporting far-right causes | CNN Politics
The US State Department directed millions of dollars originally earmarked to promote human rights to promote far-right causes including Afrikaner rights in South Africa, safeguarding “Western civiliza...
16220126
Reposted by @alisonsk.bsky.social
Heather Cox Richardson (TDPR) @hcrichardson.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Thread.
19661245
Reposted by @alisonsk.bsky.social
David Froomkin @dfroomkin.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
We need to stop reaffirming that we don't expect Trump administration figures to face legal accountability for their misdeeds. Expectations produce reality. We need to start creating the expectation that they in fact will—indeed, must—face legal accountability.
25115
Reposted by @alisonsk.bsky.social
Nayna Gupta @naynagupta.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
I am here in Congress as Democratic Senators prepare to hear live testimony from those hit hardest by the Trump admin’s delegalization campaign—the largest effort in US history to strip protections and status from immigrants, many who have lived here for years.   Over 1 million are already impacted.
218346
Reposted by @alisonsk.bsky.social
Nicole Bedera @nbedera.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
The main reason you haven’t heard about campus sexual violence in a few years is because Trump and SCOTUS have made it much, much harder for survivors to come forward. You might vaguely remember that Title IX was a big battleground in his first term. And that we lost.
31878638
Reposted by @alisonsk.bsky.social
Sherrod Brown @sherrodbrownoh.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
NEW AD: Listen to this sh*t.
38591562864
Reposted by @alisonsk.bsky.social
Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 29/09/2026
Klobuchar has Schmitt dead to rights: "The game in fact was in Maryland. For a senator to have false information & imply, based on confusion about name of a team, that you were in another city & somehow involved that day in what was happening in Georgia & call you a 'dirtbag' deserves an apology"
20671391513
alisonsk.bsky.social @alisonsk.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
And he wants to do it again!
000
Reposted by @alisonsk.bsky.social
Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News @froomkin.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
We desperately need a truth and reconciliation commission. It’s not simply about accountability, which may be stymied by Trump pardons. It’s about fully understanding and processing how far we fell as a nation, accepting that we put our faith in the wrong people, and knowing to never do it again.
512947
Reposted by @alisonsk.bsky.social
David Froomkin @dfroomkin.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
"Beyond Neoliberal Administration," my forthcoming chapter in Building Democratic Capacity (Cambridge University Press, edited by @blakeprof.bsky.social, @joshuamacey.bsky.social, @ksabeelrahman.bsky.social, and Bijal Shah, forthcoming 2027), is now posted to SSRN. papers.ssrn.com/abstract=752...
Abstract: Recent developments in administrative law limit Congress’s ability to confer regulatory discretion on its administrative agents. Commentators have tended to view these developments as undermining progressive social policy, which has operated throughout the twenty-first century primarily through the administrative state. But Congress can respond by avoiding reliance on regulatory discretion in the first place. The new judicial doctrine does not constrain the use or acquisition of public resources. Thus, Congress has incentives to rely on a different set of tools: Pigouvian instruments (taxes and subsidies), redistribution, public infrastructure, and social control of investment. Despite recent progressive coding of regulatory bureaucracy, this alternative toolkit might well result in more egalitarian consequences. In many ways, the regulatory state was the instrument of a neoliberal mode of governance that offloaded ownership and control of resources onto private parties. The ultimate victim of the Roberts Court’s war on the regulatory state might be neoliberalism.
32615
Reposted by @alisonsk.bsky.social
David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
This serves as advertisement for Alex Gibney’s documentary, Musk, opening October 9. Pass it on.
hollywoodreporter.com
The Major Social Media Platforms Are All Rejecting Paid Ads for Alex Gibney’s ‘Musk’ (Exclusive)
YouTube, TikTok and Meta have all turned down the trailer for the Oct. 9 doc, citing “political” content. X won't even take Bleecker Street's calls. The distributor is appealing.
3024161513
Reposted by @alisonsk.bsky.social
The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
WATCH: “They’re trying to put a Christian mask on these ideas.” As J.D. Vance’s pimp Peter Thiel brings his secretive Antichrist lectures to NASHVILLE, here’s Gil Duran telling @chrislhayes the tech oligarchs are really “computer-worshipping satanists who don’t believe in God” using Christianity
29535210
Reposted by @alisonsk.bsky.social
emptywheel @emptywheel.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
In honor of Don Jr's new Russian benefactor, @lolgop.bsky.social and I are bringing back our Ball of Threads. emptywheel.net/2026/09/21/i...
emptywheel.net
"If It's What You Say I Love It," Especially If You Bring Ball of Thread Back - emptywheel
In honor of Don Jr's new Russian benefactor, LOLGOP and I are re-releasing our Ball of Threads series.
524476
Reposted by @alisonsk.bsky.social
Amanda Weiss @amandaweiss.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
🚨 New Working Paper! 🚨 Do voters *like* local prisons? Are prisons that good for the economy? After years of data collection (+ using a novel estimator?!), @nottone & I find new prisons: • Reduce Republican incumbent vote shares 1-3pp • Decrease per cap. incomes >$2,500 osf.io/dnwke 🧵👇
Abstract for the paper "The Electoral Effects of U.S. Prison Construction" by Ottone & Weiss: From 1980 to 2000, the United States opened over 400 prisons, a rapid expansion of carceral capacity mirroring the punitive turn in public policy and public opinion. Yet few studies have examined the impact of prison construction on nearby residents and their political behavior. We develop a theoretical model tracing how prison openings affect economic, attitudinal, and electoral outcomes in surrounding communities. Us- ing modern difference-in-difference methods and a novel county-level dataset covering forty years of prison openings, we find that prison construction decreases county-level vote share for Republican candidates, especially if Republicans represented the county during prison construction. Drawing on analyses of economic outcomes and prison bond measure support, we argue that voters sanction issue-owning Republican candi- dates for negative economic externalities and turn against funding for prisons. These findings challenge conventional wisdom about the political economy of prisons and have implications for how we understand contemporary expansions of carceral capacity.
23015
Reposted by @alisonsk.bsky.social
Will Bunch @willbunch.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
A billionaire dictator who'll lose everything if the opposition replaces him on Jan. 20, 2029 is stockpiling killer drones and high-powered rifles on towering monuments and ballroom roofs I'm sure it's nothing to worry about
1193079905
Reposted by @alisonsk.bsky.social
🎃 Imani Gandy Corn 🎃 @angryblacklady.blacksky.app · 20/09/2026
I just honestly can't get over that Save Women Sports, an anti-trans group could only find five trans athletes competing K through 12. Five. The NCAA president testified a year and a half ago or so that there were less than 10 college level trans athletes. What the fuck are we doing, people
16886282302
Reposted by @alisonsk.bsky.social
The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
NYT: “Two men deported to Equatorial Guinea by the Trump administration were hooded, bound, beaten with guns and shoved down a flight of stairs recently by police officers at a remote hotel where immigrants are being held indefinitely.” www.nytimes.com/2026/09/18/w...
28504286
Reposted by @alisonsk.bsky.social
emptywheel @emptywheel.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Interesting thread about FAKE Natalie Harp photo.
920359
Reposted by @alisonsk.bsky.social
Timnit Gebru @timnitgebru.blacksky.app · 17/09/2026
So while you're thinking about a super human, super "intelligent" alien being killing you, here's what's really happening. www.abc.net.au/news/2026-08...
abc.net.au
Doctor forced to apologise after AI makes 'scary' error about illegal drugs
Artificial Intelligence is listening to many people's medical appointments, but it is not always hearing things correctly.
10414186
Reposted by @alisonsk.bsky.social
The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
THE RETURN OF RUSSIAGATE: “There’s an expression known by everyone in Russia - ‘the only thing that’s free is the cheese in the mousetrap’… why is it always Russia?” (TLDR: Russia was never a hoax.) www.bylinesupplement.com/p/the-return...
912576903
Reposted by @alisonsk.bsky.social
Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News @froomkin.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
One item in my Heads Up News newsletter is about a Washington Post article that contained alarming news but was written like a fluffy feature. www.headsupnews.org/i/216040109/...
In Washington, Federal Agents Are Arresting Black Men for Minor Offenses

The Washington Post profiled Robert Meyers, a member of a watch group in Washington, D.C., that goes around town monitoring what federal agents taking part in Trump’s “D.C. Safe & Beautiful Task Force” are really up to.

It’s a feature article, with a soft-focus headline – “He worked at NASA. Now he tails federal law enforcement on D.C. streets” – but the story Meyers tells makes for disturbing news.

What his group has seen is that the initial flood of ICE and CBP agents last year has made way for FBI and DEA officers, among others. And most of the people the group sees arrested these days are Black men.

Indeed, the Post analyzed arrests during the first year of the federal takeover and found that more than 90 percent were of Black people.

“Meyers and other rapid responders say that the vast majority of those they have witnessed are for low-level misdemeanors, such as driving with expired tags, improperly turning right at a red light or smoking a joint in public,” the Post reported.

“HSI is supposed to be doing child sex trafficking cases, right?” one group member asked the reporters. If they are arresting people for open containers, she said, “the priorities are not straight.”

Another interesting aspect of this is that unlike the National Guard members who have been deployed onto Washington streets, federal agents can make arrests. The media has almost exclusively been paying attention to the National Guard, which does basically nothing. It’s these guys who are on the hunt.

Some news organization has a solid follow-up or two in their future.
45322
Reposted by @alisonsk.bsky.social
andykimnj.bsky.social @andykimnj.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Stop calling this a DC makeover. This is an illegal desecration of our capital and a huge waste of American families’ money. DC is sacred ground, and we shouldn’t minimize the real damage being done.
292119504
Reposted by @alisonsk.bsky.social
Kate Starbird @katestarbird.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
The SCOTUS ruling today prevents the USPS from not delivering ballots based on directives from the Trump admin. BUT, the late postmarks issue remains. To make sure your ballot gets counted, return it early and, even better if you can, drop it off in an official ballot dropbox to ensure it’s on time.
6257133
Reposted by @alisonsk.bsky.social
David Froomkin @dfroomkin.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
I'm still not sure I would advise voters to cast mail ballots if they have an alternative. The Court may have done the right thing today, but we don't know whether the executive branch will follow the law.
6368
Reposted by @alisonsk.bsky.social
Dean Baker @deanbaker13.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
The NYT lies for Trump, again www.nytimes.com/video/us/pol... Contrary to the NYT headline, Trump didn't pledge his followers to vote for him; he pledged his followers to cheat for him (literally).
nytimes.com
Video: Trump Has Crowd Pledge Their Allegiance to Him and to Vote
President Trump closed the Republican convention by having the crowd pledge an oath to him. Vice President JD Vance cast Democrats as the “party of hatred.”
24342137
Reposted by @alisonsk.bsky.social
Chuck the Vampire Slayer 🧛🏻 @sazeracla.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Amazing thread. 🧵
0144
Reposted by @alisonsk.bsky.social
Chuck the Vampire Slayer 🧛🏻 @sazeracla.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Boosting again, because this is a wonderful thread. 🧵
093
Reposted by @alisonsk.bsky.social
David Froomkin @dfroomkin.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
This is why Democrats should be banging on every day about Nuremberg Trials. The more that loyalists anticipate consequences for their compliance, the more likely they are to defect like this.
0189
Reposted by @alisonsk.bsky.social
Yashar Ali 🐘 @yasharali.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Former OpenAI and Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon, who publicly resigned from Anthropic yesterday with a stark warning about AI safety, was interviewed by Anderson Cooper on his show this evening.
2727594
Reposted by @alisonsk.bsky.social
Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News @froomkin.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
The next No Kings event will be a big push for early voting. Given all the chaos Trump is creating, the more people vote early the better. www.headsupnews.org/p/the-next-n... NEW on Heads Up News
headsupnews.org
The next No Kings event will be a big push for early voting
Given all the chaos Trump is creating, the more people vote early the better
04822
Reposted by @alisonsk.bsky.social
emptywheel @emptywheel.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
I think everyone agrees that we should make a concerted effort to force the media to ask Republicans about Elon Musk. I've been asking people (like Katie Miller) on Xitter but agree you're all better off avoiding the Nazi bar. If you're GOP MoC is getting Elon $ you should ask them, pref publicly
13481141
Reposted by @alisonsk.bsky.social
Schooley @schooley.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Are they going to just do this until the election? Has any Republican been asked to react to Elon Musk's long record of outrages now that he's inserted himself in this election in a way Hasan Piker could only dream of?
703244569
Reposted by @alisonsk.bsky.social
A.R. Moxon @juliusgoat.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Right-size Scotus and declare their rulings void. Enforce the constitutional edict against insurrectionists holding office. Overturn all their work. Demolish their buildings. Money out of politics. Nazis out of government. Cancel all Musk contracts; seize his property for a global restitution fund.
15507129
Reposted by @alisonsk.bsky.social
Allison Gill @muellershewrote.com · 03/09/2026
Did you know if we add four seats to SCOTUS in 2029, we could bring back the charges against Trump for January 6? They could overturn the immunity ruling and consider tolling the statute of limitations for the duration of Trump’s presidency. We could also resurrect the classified documents case.
44373642031
alisonsk.bsky.social @alisonsk.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Stay till the end for the discussion about Boris Epshteyn, responsible for many horrors of the tRump reign, as toxic to democracy as Stephen Miller
000
Reposted by @alisonsk.bsky.social
Nicole Sandler @nicolesandler.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
The correct url for Emptywheel Friday - with @emptywheel.bsky.social LIVE NOW- is youtu.be/TmBfNda0zws or nicolesandler.com also later at emptywheel.net, nicolesandler.substack.com
youtu.be
It's Another Emptyweel Friday with Marcy Wheeler on the Nicole Sandler Show 9-4-26
YouTube video by Nicole Sandler
14011
Reposted by @alisonsk.bsky.social
Hansi Lo Wang (he/him) @hansilowang.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
BREAKING: A federal judge in Boston has again blocked key parts of the U.S. Postal Service plan for President Trump’s attempt to limit mail voting for the midterms. The judge says her new ruling dissolves her earlier ruling, which the Trump administration just asked Supreme Court to review
courtlistener.com
Memorandum & ORDER – #285 in League of Women Voters of Massachusetts v. Trump (D. Mass., 1:26-cv-11549) – CourtListener.com
Judge Indira Talwani: MEMORANDUM AND ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFFS' MOTIONS FOR A PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION Associated Cases: 1:26-cv-11549-IT, 1:26-cv-13917-IT (MAP) (Entered: 09/04/2026)
5322103
Reposted by @alisonsk.bsky.social
emptywheel @emptywheel.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
Note the more immediate thing folks are missing abt these stories is that Elon was declared to have broken GA mail-in ballot law, he was referred for bribery prosecution (but not charged), and is being sued under two different theories, one stiffing workers, another fraud.
19672278
Reposted by @alisonsk.bsky.social
The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
DELAWARE GOV. MATT MEYER: “Haitians, immigrants on Temporary Protected Status are here LEGALLY— history will view (ending TPS) how we look at things like Japanese internment camps.” Families came fleeing harm, many worked in ag for a decade… sent to countries they know little about.
21908309
alisonsk.bsky.social @alisonsk.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
Dr. Marcy Wheeler @emptywheel.bsky.social is very good at keeping up with DOJ/ICE shenanigans
000