Sign in

Thomas Paine

@americancrisis1776.bsky.social
681 followers 369 following 550 posts

“These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.”

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Thomas Paine
VoteHub @votehub.com · 15h
On Supreme Court term limits: Sen. Susan Collins: “Absolutely not. I’m sure that Troy wants to pack the court.” Troy Jackson: “I wouldn’t have to pack it if you didn’t put in Kavanaugh."
443855530
Reposted by Thomas Paine
The Bulwark @thebulwark.com · 15h
Troy Jackson on whether Congress should have authority over the tariffs a president can impose: "That is the job of Congress. I really don't know why anyone, Republican or Democrat, would want to be in Congress and give all their authority to a president that is a narcissist."
837864
Reposted by Thomas Paine
Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 16h
This thing has made me go do a lot of reading tonight, and the Wikipedia page about the last public execution in the United States is well-written. It was Rainey Bethea, a Black man hanged in front of a crowd of 20,000 in 1936, a spectacle which embarrassed Kentucky enough that they ended hangings.
Hanna placed the noose around Bethea's neck, adjusted it, and then signaled to Hash to pull the trigger. Instead, Hash, who was drunk, did nothing. Hanna shouted at Hash, "Do it!" A deputy then leaned onto the trigger, which sprang the trap door. citation needed! Bethea fell 8 feet (2.4 m), and his neck was instantly broken.
Afterward, two doctors confirmed he was dead.
His body was taken to Andrew & Wheatley
Funeral Home. Icitation needed! He wanted his body to be sent to his sister in South Carolina so that she could arrange for him to be interred next to his father, but against these wishes, he was buried in a pauper's grave at Owensboro Cemetery (also known as City Cemetery and
"Potter's Field") in Owensboro. 14]It was estimated that a crowd of about 20,000 people gathered to watch the execution.!9! One man, 36-year-old Leonard A. Peters, was killed in a car accident while driving to Owensboro to witness the hanging. Three others, including his wife, were injured. 15. Afterwards, Hanna complained that Hash should not have been allowed to perform the execution in his drunken
condition. Hanna further said it was the worst display he experienced in the 70 hangings he had supervised. citation needed]
The spot where the scaffold stood
(approximately 37.775248° -87.116462°) is now part of a drop-off/pick-up lane in front of the Owensboro Convention Center. citation needed]へ
End of public executions in
Kentucky
As the Kentucky General Assembly had been meeting in its biennial sessions at the time, the media circus surrounding the Bethea execution embarrassed members of the Kentucky
legislature. In spite of the humiliation, they could not amend laws regarding executions until the next session in 1938. However, the trial judges in two separate Kentucky rape cases ordered that the hangings of John "Pete" Montjoy and Harold Van Venison be conducted privately. Montjoy, age 23, was privately hanged in Covington on December 17, 1937.On January 17, 1938, William R. Attkisson of the Kentucky State Senate's 38th District (representing Louisville), introduced Senate Bill 69, repealing the requirement in Section 1137 that executions for convicted rapists be conducted by hanging in the county seat where they raped their victims. The bill was promoted in the Kentucky House of Representatives by Representative Charles W. Anderson Jr., one of the attorneys who assisted Bethea in his post-conviction relief motions.
After both houses approved the bill, Governor Chandler signed it into law on March 12, 1938; it became effective on May 30 of that year.
Chandler later expressed regret at having approved the repeal, claiming, "Our streets are no longer safe." The last person ever legally hanged in Kentucky was Harold Van Venison, a
33-year-old African-American singer, who was privately executed in Covington on June 3, 1938.
382231756
Reposted by Thomas Paine
Scott Horton @robertscotthorton.bsky.social · 17h
John Roberts' main question: how is this going to affect my investment portfolio, placed heavily in oil and gas stocks?
28541
Reposted by Thomas Paine
Mother Jones @motherjones.com · 08/10/2026
Here's some history the US Supreme Court doesn't want you to think about. In April 2026, SCOTUS effectively ended the Voting Rights Act. The decision has startling parallels with Plessy v. Ferguson, the decision that established “separate but equal" and cemented Jim Crow.
5338199
Reposted by Thomas Paine
Ray Pride @raypride.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Monstrosity without end.
02715
Reposted by Thomas Paine
Scott Horton @robertscotthorton.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
03916
Reposted by Thomas Paine
Anthony Michael Kreis @anthonymkreis.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
I fear that I am cooking with fire today.
68515
Reposted by Thomas Paine
ryan cooper @ryanlcooper.com · 07/10/2026
a “banana republic” is precisely when the political system is dominated by overweening corporate interests
351574262
Reposted by Thomas Paine
Kevin Elliott @kjephd.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
As American democracy backslides, fundamental principles of constitutional government give way. Here, we see a dictatorial administration freezing out congressional oversight *of the military*, which represents a major step in an autocratic revolution of US-style civilian-military relations.
39940
Reposted by Thomas Paine
Scott Horton @robertscotthorton.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Clay Bennett, Chattanooga Times Free Press
16025
Reposted by Thomas Paine
The Bulwark @thebulwark.com · 07/10/2026
Rob Sand to Zach Lahn: "You literally voted in Kansas in 2018, and in '20, and in '22. You registered to vote in Iowa less than two years ago—it'll be coming up next month. This is not about why you're in Kansas, this is about the fact that you're not in Iowa."
639384
Reposted by Thomas Paine
Coach Finstock @coachfinstock.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
People forget that J6 was successful. Everyone who participated was let out of jail and the guy who perpetrated it is President again. There were no consequences. They have plenty of incentive to do a much bigger and worse version.
6542201009
Reposted by Thomas Paine
Jonathan Ladd @jonathanmladd.com · 06/10/2026
This is the type of unaccountable behavior from armed government forces that helped spark the American Revolution. It's what the founding generation wrote the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights to oppose. 🇺🇲
58024
Reposted by Thomas Paine
Jane Coaston @janecoaston.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
this is the precise vibe of Karoline Leavitt
211013
Reposted by Thomas Paine
PBS News @pbsnews.org · 05/10/2026
The first case to go before the Supreme Court this term deals with whether state and local governments can sue energy companies over their role in climate change. to.pbs.org/4j2FrlQ
to.pbs.org
Supreme Court ready to tackle climate, immigration and gun rights. Here are 5 cases to watch
When the U.S. Supreme Court returns Monday, the justices will kick off a new term featuring cases on climate change, gun rights, immigration and religious liberty.
34827
Reposted by Thomas Paine
Thom Hartmann @hartmannreport.com · 05/10/2026
For ninety years Americans fought to keep the government from building one master file on each of us. This week Trump and Scott Bessent started one for every child in the country... hartmannreport.com/p/is-trump-b...
hartmannreport.com
Is Trump Building the Infrastructure of a Police State One Child at a Time?
For ninety years Americans fought to keep the government from building one master file on each of us. This week Trump and Scott Bessent started one for every child in the country...
21239179
Reposted by Thomas Paine
Will Bunch @willbunch.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
The same things American kids need
010721
Reposted by Thomas Paine
Ann Telnaes @anntelnaes.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
If you're in the NYC area, join @brodner.bsky.social , @adamzyglis.bsky.social, @pxmolina.bsky.social, and me talking about satire and free speech. Society of Illustrators @soi128.bsky.social on Thursday, October 8th at 6pm. societyillustrators.org/event/republ...
societyillustrators.org
Cartoonists Celebrate America 250 and the Republic of Satire - Society of Illustrators
As Americans go to the polls for the midterm elections in America's 250th year, join us for a high-energy evening with political cartoonists and scholars to hon
117654
Reposted by Thomas Paine
Patrick Chovanec @prchovanec.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
I often think about how the rise of the neo-fascist right corresponds to the declining numbers of WW2 vets around to slug them right in the face.
1026451
Reposted by Thomas Paine
Walker Bragman @walkerbragman.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
A confirmed lab leak that we’re all hearing about. As opposed to the secret COVID conspiracy that there’s no evidence for but every major media outlet nonetheless gave credence to under pressure from the right and hallucinating op-ed columnists.
422162
Reposted by Thomas Paine
Miaganga @miaganga.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
204132993043
Reposted by Thomas Paine
Anthony Michael Kreis @anthonymkreis.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Holy shit.
98859186
Reposted by Thomas Paine
Scott Horton @robertscotthorton.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
The "Do Nothing Congress" that Harry S Truman ran against in 1948 was roughly twice as active as the Congress over which Mike Johnson presided from 2025-26. bsky.app/profile/sahi...
08340
Reposted by Thomas Paine
Chris Geidner @chrisgeidner.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Judge Sara Hill, N.D. Oklahoma, issued this decision on Thursday —>
4867229
Reposted by Thomas Paine
Bill Kristol @billkristolbulwark.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
In which I explain (away) the incriminating photo of me with...President Nixon.
314824
Reposted by Thomas Paine
ian bremmer @ianbremmer.com · 02/10/2026
americans’ trust in supreme court at record lows (following rulings on third-country deportation, voter id, ballroom construction, etc)
138919
Reposted by Thomas Paine
Jay Willis @jaywillis.net · 01/10/2026
Man, imagine you're minding your own business, getting kind of drunk with your friends at a picturesque brewery in Maine, when suddenly John Roberts walks by and you get to start heckling him. Must have felt incredible. That's the dream. www.nytimes.com/2026/10/01/u...
The chief justice used to preside over a Supreme Court whose members were afforded more privacy and freedom than many other public officials. Once, years ago, Mr. Lipson and the chief justice found themselves up the peninsula from Port Clyde without a car, Mr. Lipson recalled in an interview. So he stuck out his thumb by the side of the road and a pickup truck pulled over. He and the nation’s top jurist hopped in the back and hitchhiked back to town.

Now, Mr. Lipson said, he is cautious about introducing his friend to strangers. This year, on an outing to nearby Monhegan Island, people recognized the chief justice as he walked by a brewery and started to chant: You should be ashamed.
1505367810
Reposted by Thomas Paine
jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 01/10/2026
yes there is a very useful book about this. www.press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=p0...
press.uillinois.edu
Presidential Campaigns and Presidential Accountability
351441
Reposted by Thomas Paine
Jonathan Ladd @jonathanmladd.com · 01/10/2026
Don't miss this amazing analysis from the Wall Street Journal a couple of weeks ago. AI is the biggest infrastructure capital investment in American history. www.wsj.com/economy/the-...
47929
Reposted by Thomas Paine
Scott Horton @robertscotthorton.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
An easily anticipated ruling
14616
Reposted by Thomas Paine
Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 01/10/2026
I recommend people read this to get a sense of the president's grave cognitive impairment. Trump is either unwilling or unable (or maybe both) to answer the questions he's actually asked, so he just rants and raves while the interviewers do their best to provide structure to his random brain firings
time.com
Read TIME’s ‘What Trump Has Built’ Interview Transcript
The U.S. President discussed the war in Iran, press freedom, AI, and more ahead of the midterm elections.
66366282561
Reposted by Thomas Paine
mtsw @mtsw.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
I believe the death penalty is cruel and unusual punishment in all circumstances but the absurd joke of "lethal injection" is even more cruel and unusual than the others. A violent fiction to fool bystanders into thinking that they are witnessing a humane execution. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/30/u...
nytimes.com
Tennessee Death Row Inmate Christa Pike Still Alive After Attempts to Execute Her, Lawyers Say (Gift Article)
Christa Pike, who was convicted of murdering a classmate in 1995, was set to be executed by lethal injection. Officials had gone ahead with the execution after a temporary court-ordered pause.
1159499
Reposted by Thomas Paine
Bill Grueskin @bgrueskin.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Nashville Banner reporter Steven Hale, describing how prison officials kept drawing the curtain to hide how badly they were botching this: “A lot of this execution — or attempted execution, whatever it was — happened when we could not see what was going on.”
691719607
Reposted by Thomas Paine
Jay Willis @jaywillis.net · 01/10/2026
The death penalty is a moral abomination. State-sanctioned barbarism pushed by incompetent morons and sanctioned by the Supreme Court. Absolute ghoul shit. www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...
The lone woman on Tennessee's death row was still alive after she was administered two lethal injections, her lawyer said in a motion seeking to halt her execution Wednesday night, a stunning development after the Supreme Court had stepped in to allow the state to put her to death.
At 8:26 p.m. local time, witnesses said
"executioners had injected both syringes of lethal injection chemicals and Pike is still alive and snoring," her lawyers said in a federal court filing.
They said Pike "has not lost consciousness and still has a heartbeat," and that curtains to the death chamber "have gone down twice."
11646911166
Thomas Paine @americancrisis1776.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Head jerk is to familiar if you ever had an 8 am Friday history lecture in college.
020
Reposted by Thomas Paine
Rob Tracinski @tracinski.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
This would come across a lot better if he hadn’t just lost a war.
771132168
Reposted by Thomas Paine
Marc Elias @marcelias.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
🚨BREAKING: The bill failed to clear the 60-vote threshold to end debate in the Senate, 53-47. Every Democratic and independent senator voted against the measure. www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...
democracydocket.com
GOP voter ID bill falls short in Senate
The floor stunt attempted to give Republicans facing tough reelection fights something to campaign on as voters sour on the GOP’s willingness to acquiesce to Trump on artificial intelligence, the war ...
602252724
Reposted by Thomas Paine
Princeton University Press @princetonupress.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
In their new book, An American Problem, @michaelgmiller.bsky.social & @kevintmorris.bsky.social offer a sweeping history of the Voting Rights Act & the attacks it has suffered. Available October 6 (1 December UK pub). Learn more: buff.ly/Y1UGOMl #PoliSci #History #USHistory
An American Problem: How the Country Built—and the Supreme Court Broke—the Voting Rights Act by Michael G. Miller and Kevin T. Morris. The rise and fall of the Voting Rights Act, from the triumph of its passage in 1965 to its evisceration by the Supreme Court in their 2013 decision in Shelby County v. Holder.
02811
Reposted by Thomas Paine
The Atlantic @theatlantic.com · 30/09/2026
Donald Trump thinks it should be illegal for Americans to criticize the Supreme Court—except for him, @adamserwer.bsky.social argues.
bit.ly
Only Trump Gets to Criticize the Supreme Court
“These are not the people I interviewed to serve.”
34426
Reposted by Thomas Paine
Sukie 💙🇺🇸🇺🇦🌊 @froggybottompond.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
''I'd like to go ahead and solve it. The Atlanta Hawks.''
198142313089
Reposted by Thomas Paine
Ron Filipkowski @ronfilipkowski.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Apparently Justice just came to this conclusion after taking the opposite position for over a decade.
1171910409
Reposted by Thomas Paine
Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 30/09/2026
Eric Schmitt is what happens when a state becomes so red that you don’t need to be a talented politician to become a US Senator. And to be fair, there are examples of this in blue states too. Iron sharpens iron.
44698901446
Reposted by Thomas Paine
Peter Baker @peterbakernyt.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
It took 16 months to get Evan Gershkovich out of a Russian prison. It took many more months to get the Russian prison out of Evan Gershkovich. Now for the first time since the swap that freed him, he is talking about his ordeal -- and that of the Russians. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/29/u...
nytimes.com
The Russian Prison That Evan Gershkovich Carried Home
In an interview, Mr. Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter who was imprisoned in Russia for 16 months, described his ordeal and the moment that nearly broke him.
213333
Reposted by Thomas Paine
Jill Lawrence @jilldlawrence.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
The 2028 election may create "an historic opportunity for Democrats to establish a 'New New Deal,'" writes @davidrlurie.com. The challenge: building "a broad and resilient" coalition to lead us out of our political and economic crises. Yes please. No infighting. 🙂 www.publicnotice.co/p/democratic...
publicnotice.co
Will Democrats offer Americans a New New Deal?
A new social pact will be needed in the wake of Trump’s trail of ruin.
2536797
Reposted by Thomas Paine
Amanda Carpenter @amandacarpenter.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
It’s like they are all running w pre-determined talking points that no one bothered to independently verify. But then again, who would have considered that Smith was watching a women’s team! Protecting women’s sports doesn’t mean attending games, or knowing the names of their teams.
78719
Reposted by Thomas Paine
Gosh Shammgosh @goshshammgosh.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
I think it's important to note Schmitt has staff he relies on from both his personal office as well as the well-staffed Committee's majority office. This *big-Hawks-game-plan* had to have gone through a dozen people first and no one caught it as being, well, the dumbest god damn thing of all time.
3087058
Reposted by Thomas Paine
Sahil Kapur @sahilkapur.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Klobuchar: “For a US senator to have false information and imply, based on a confusion about the name of a team … and imply that you were in another city, that you were somehow involved that day in what was happening in Georgia, and then call you a dirtbag, is something that deserves an apology.”
833891677
Reposted by Thomas Paine
jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 29/09/2026
if the GOP runs a vance/schmitt ticket then they should just give up the pretense and make the party’s slogan the fourteen words www.axios.com/2026/09/29/e...
axios.com
Sen. Eric Schmitt is drawing buzz as a possible Vance VP in 2028
Vance views the Missouri senator as trustworthy.
1332382345
Reposted by Thomas Paine
Joe Walsh @walshfreedom.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
It should be inconceivable to everyone.
15459111