Sign in

asj626.bsky.social

@asj626.bsky.social
84 followers 246 following 21 posts

If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen, we must live through all time, or die by suicide. Ex Big Law, ex USMC officer, ex Federal Public Defender

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by @asj626.bsky.social
Andrew Weinstein @andrewjweinstein.com · 10/10/2026
If the republic survives this era, history will record the Trump presidency as the most corrupt, reckless, incompetent, and damaging in American history. Every new scandal reveals that the bottom is always lower than we thought.
26462128
Reposted by @asj626.bsky.social
Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
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.
412397833
Reposted by @asj626.bsky.social
The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Devastating 💔 Abolish ice www.instagram.com/reel/DePkMcN...
127186684614
Reposted by @asj626.bsky.social
Warren Terra @warrenterra.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Also, the flawed Athenian democracy literally fell because a bunch of xenophobic dipshits insisted on unrestrained power for their homeland and had contempt for and felt free to abuse allied states. All while facing the challenge of another, even more authoritarian power.
6866117
Reposted by @asj626.bsky.social
Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Anyone who listened to In the Dark is intimately familiar with Flowers’ story. This is so very sad.
544266
Reposted by @asj626.bsky.social
The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
The alarmists have yet to be wrong 😕🇺🇸
30191283842
Reposted by @asj626.bsky.social
Patrick "Inverted Vibe Curve" Blanchfield @patblanchfield.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
new wolfenstein looks like shit
its pete hegseth splaying his arms christlike at a podium with all sorts of americana bunting thats got a distinct fash aesthetic
299125472471
Reposted by @asj626.bsky.social
Pope of Chili Town @popeofchilitown.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
It's so funny that the people who worship him the most are the ones he fucks over the hardest: cops, troops, farmers, etc. Better vote for him 3 more times you stupid motherfuckers.
1233276
Reposted by @asj626.bsky.social
Kevin Elliott @kjephd.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
A perfect pretext for impeachment does not exis—
631731697
Reposted by @asj626.bsky.social
Museum of Twitter @museum-of-twitter.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
@JFriedhoff

me at 13: wow i can't wait til we have immersive computers everywhere like star trek
me at 30: wow i can't wait until we destroy all computers like in dune
47147992818
Reposted by @asj626.bsky.social
Radley Balko @radleybalko.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
“A lawyer for Christa Pike said executioners have administered two syringes of lethal injection drugs to Pike but that she remains alive and breathing.” It’s been over an hour.
44758238
Reposted by @asj626.bsky.social
❀°。Der Siebenschläfer *.゚✿ ⋆ @sababausa.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
This is preposterous as it is monstrous Pike survived the execution procedure and now her lawyers, unable to reach the governor or state AG office, are rushing an emergency motion to the Tennessee Supreme Court in their *car* seeking an order to get her medical care
15598129
Reposted by @asj626.bsky.social
Radley Balko @radleybalko.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
He sure as hell did all he could to keep innocent people in prison, even when the DA offices that won the convictions said they should be released. www.injusticewatch.org/archive/2020...
injusticewatch.org
Missouri Attorney General’s Office pushes to keep innocent people in prison
Its decades-long commitment to upholding convictions—even those marred by police or prosecutorial misconduct—has left Missourians languishing in prison for years.
228789
Reposted by @asj626.bsky.social
Charlie Warzel @cwarzel.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
There is a moment at the very very end of Abdul El-Sayed's podcast with Ezra Klein (book recommendation section) where he talks about the idea of "speaking truth to pain" and this will be staying with me for an extremely long time. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/25/o...
But there’s also something about truth to pain. We talk a lot about truth to power, but I think it’s actually a lot harder to speak truth to pain. I say that as someone who went to medical school, realizing that in a lot of our politics right now, we’ve got to get a lot better at speaking truth to pain if we’re going to get through some of these challenges that we have.

What does “truth to pain” mean?

It’s one thing to look power in the eye and say: You’re wrong about this. But there’s a way in which pain is very difficult to reason with. Because when somebody is in their pain, they’re in their trauma. They see that pain, and they may not see what’s causing it.

I remember just very explicitly being in a trauma ward with a gunshot wound patient and watching this big guy with his hand on his gunshot wound. All the folks are trying to pull his hand off his pain, that point of his gunshot wound, this clear vulnerability.

And this emergency room doctor had the presence of mind to be like: Everyone, stop. And she looks him in the eyes, and she’s like: I get that really hurts, and I’m so sorry that you’re here. You don’t want to be here. We don’t want you to be here. But if you don’t let us fix this, you could die. So I’m going to take your hand, and I’m going to move it off, OK? Because I need to get there so that you can live.

She was speaking truth to pain. He understands he’s at the hospital, he needs care, but he also doesn’t want anybody to touch the wound. Which is a natural thing. And I think it is a really great metaphor for how we think about a lot of these challenges we talked about today.
11571842059
Reposted by @asj626.bsky.social
Jacob T. Levy @jacobtlevy.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
This Eric Schmitt thing is a reminder that even now we can occasionally have nice things.
1363544
Reposted by @asj626.bsky.social
Jen Taub @jentaub.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
“Richard Painter, a former White House ethics lawyer under George W. Bush, said the use of federal funds for the ads could be an ‘abuse of power’ and ‘an impeachable offense.’ He urged Congress to demand a reimbursement for the spending.”
20346122
Reposted by @asj626.bsky.social
Xela Hart @xelahart.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
333214166424
Reposted by @asj626.bsky.social
Kyle Clark @kylec.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
This is it, man. This is the good stuff.
1945468
Reposted by @asj626.bsky.social
Litbowl @litbowl.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Oh this is phenomenal
01810
Reposted by @asj626.bsky.social
At my Wits' End @witsendfr.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Of course Norris has never made a bad mistake. He's just been repeatedly let down by physics, tyres, wind direction, and cosmic alignment. The championship contender with a spotless record—if you ignore the record. 🏎️🙃 #LandoNorris #F1 #GridTalk #SelectiveMemory #Formula1
bbc.com
Azerbaijan Grand Prix: Lando Norris says Franco Colapinto should be banned for causing Baku accident
World champion Lando Norris calls for Alpine's Franco Colapinto to be banned for causing an accident at a restart at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
011
Reposted by @asj626.bsky.social
Bill Kristol @billkristolbulwark.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
I found watching Trump’s UN speech today deeply depressing. It is a matter of national shame and humiliation that he is our president. Every country in the world, friend and foe alike, sees we are governed by a vainglorious fool.
2114151901
Reposted by @asj626.bsky.social
digby @digby56.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
I will never get over how incredibly stupid this is. Do they not know what risk pools are? Do they not know what insurance is???
1271665303
Reposted by @asj626.bsky.social
Jesse Eisinger @jeisinger.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
NEW: In ‘24, the FBI sought to launch a sweeping bribery probe that could ensnare top lawmakers, including Sen. Susan Collins. Then Trump eviscerated the FBI & DOJ public corruption teams. ProPublica unearthed the investigation and you can read it 👇 www.propublica.org/article/fbi-...
8634291342
Reposted by @asj626.bsky.social
Elon Green @elongreen.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Headline is not as strongly worded as the quote.
"There are reasonable grounds to believe that the reported 68 attacks that killed 223 people constituted crimes against humanity of murder under customary international law," Mr. Saul, a professor of international law at Australia's University of Sydney, concluded.
11097298
Reposted by @asj626.bsky.social
Joyce White Vance @joycewhitevance.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
No words, except for Go Vote.
871896867
Reposted by @asj626.bsky.social
Ryan Goodman @rgoodlaw.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
He is not wrong. "There are reasonable grounds to believe that the reported 68 attacks that killed 223 people constituted crimes against humanity of murder under customary international law" - United Nations Special Rapporteur on U.S. Killing “Narco-Terrorists” at Sea www.ohchr.org/sites/defaul...
341127524654
Reposted by @asj626.bsky.social
Lizzieeddy @lizzieeddy.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
“The most important reason not to build the arch, of course, is that it is ugly and un-American. It is fascistic bombast, a militaristic yawp in front of a cemetery that is meant to be a place of respect and rest for the dead and quiet reflection for the living.”
523052
Reposted by @asj626.bsky.social
Rachel Maddow @maddow.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
"Since the federal takeover, he spends four nights a week pedaling his bike up and down the same streets, recording agents as they arrest his neighbors. On the scene, he lists rights for people getting arrested and asks if they’d like him to contact anyone..." www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...
washingtonpost.com
He worked at NASA. Now he tails federal law enforcement on D.C. streets.
A group that has tracked the activity of federal officers since the president’s crackdown has previously been private about the effort.
162101603381
Reposted by @asj626.bsky.social
Governor JB Pritzker @govpritzker.illinois.gov · 19/09/2026
We cannot let history forget what happens when a federal government uses law enforcement to terrorize innocent people.
 And let me say to any agent or administration official who thinks we've forgotten or that their cruelty will go unchecked: Illinois remembers.
572859606
Reposted by @asj626.bsky.social
Ron Filipkowski @ronfilipkowski.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
How can anybody vote for her? I mean, seriously. What a liar and a fraud. This is brutal.
43337411149
Reposted by @asj626.bsky.social
Andy Craig @andycraig.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
This is literally the status quo. We've had exactly this for decades.
32629103
Reposted by @asj626.bsky.social
Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
It...uh...is not meant to be a competition
893730596
Reposted by @asj626.bsky.social
Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Also, I saw a clip yesterday of him saying something to the effect of "I'm keeping it running, so I should get to put my name on it" Right, right, that's why it's the Kennedy-and-Nixon-Ford-Carter-Reagan-Bush-Clinton-Bush-Obama-Biden Center
2161191
Reposted by @asj626.bsky.social
Radley Balko @radleybalko.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Yes, all his businesses failed. But I do wonder how someone this stupid continued to be in a position to have new businesses to drive into the ground. Now he's just selling his power. But who was having conversations with a guy this dumb in the 80s and 90s and then writing him a check?
1261340209
Reposted by @asj626.bsky.social
Ron Filipkowski @ronfilipkowski.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Isn’t it interesting though that Mike Johnson shrugs all this off as just provocative things said just to create a “persona online” from one of his ACTUAL NOMINEES FOR CONGRESS, but Hasan Piker, who isn’t running for anything, supposedly represents the entire Democratic Party.
906114313750
Reposted by @asj626.bsky.social
The Onion @theonion.com · 11/09/2026
Australia Bans AI Music From Charts theonion.com/australia-bans-ai-musi…
“Real AI music fans don’t care about the charts. Or the music. Or anything really.”

Maurice Atkins, Tuber Peeler
5840116
Reposted by @asj626.bsky.social
Steven Beschloss @stevenbeschloss.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Trump’s sweaty desperation was on full display in Dallas. I’ll give you $5k if we win, this criminal conman said. “Cheat like hell,” this enemy of democracy said. What pleasure it will be when this poisonous creature is gone.
53956203
Reposted by @asj626.bsky.social
Diana B. Henriques @dianabhenriques.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Such a good essay! Very much worth your time!
1345
Reposted by @asj626.bsky.social
Asha Rangappa @asharangappa.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
👀👀👀
1741375
Reposted by @asj626.bsky.social
Bill Grueskin @bgrueskin.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Oh wait, someone has thought of this before!
18 U.S. Code § 597 Expenditures to influence voting U.S. Code

Notes

prev next

Whoever makes or offers to make an expenditure to any person, either to vote or withhold his vote, or to vote for or against any candidate; and Whoever solicits, accepts, or receives any such expenditure in consideration of his vote or the withholding of his vote- Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both; and if the violation was willful, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.
922422705
Reposted by @asj626.bsky.social
John Burn-Murdoch @jburnmurdoch.ft.com · 08/09/2026
Two extraordinary charts from today’s PISA test results: 1) School test scores continue to collapse internationally, underscoring how this is no longer a Covid effect but sustained decline. Those falls in reading and maths are equivalent to about two years of lost schooling.
41855344
Reposted by @asj626.bsky.social
John Pfaff @johnpfaff.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Calling the Trump Admin the Second Redemption isn’t a metaphor. It’s literally true (but also still a metaphor too).
0295
Reposted by @asj626.bsky.social
Republicans Against Trumpism @rpsagainsttrump.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
I can’t believe Trump calling the Iran war “small potatoes” after 18 U.S. service members have been killed and hundreds more injured isn’t a MUCH bigger story in the news.
2234576
Reposted by @asj626.bsky.social
Allison Gill @muellershewrote.com · 03/09/2026
Wowww. A federal prosecutor in Minnesota was going to bring charges against ICE agent Castro for shooting Sosa-Celis, but Blanche’s DOJ blocked it. Castro was let out of prison by Gov. Abbott last week in defiance of state prosecutors extradition warrant. www.propublica.org/article/doj-...
propublica.org
Trump’s DOJ Blocked Serious ICE Shooting Charge Over Federal Prosecutor’s “Strongest Possible” Objections
A prosecutor planned to file civil rights charges — similar to those brought against the officers who killed George Floyd — against an ICE agent. In an email we exclusively obtained, he reveals that T...
17528911461
Reposted by @asj626.bsky.social
ProPublica @propublica.org · 03/09/2026
NEW: Over the “strongest possible” objections of a federal prosecutor handling the case, Trump DOJ officials quashed plans to bring civil rights charges against an ICE agent accused of shooting a Venezuelan immigrant and then lying about it.
propublica.org
Trump’s DOJ Blocked Serious ICE Shooting Charge Over Federal Prosecutor’s “Strongest Possible” Objections
A prosecutor planned to file civil rights charges — similar to those brought against the officers who killed George Floyd — against an ICE agent. In an email we exclusively obtained, he reveals that T...
561690931
Reposted by @asj626.bsky.social
Tom Nichols @radiofreetom.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Pete Hegseth has failed in every mission except one: keeping his job. But firing or forcing out everyone else in the Pentagon will not make Pete Hegseth into the secretary of defense America and its men and women in uniform need. Me on Driscoll's resignation: www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
theatlantic.com
Hegseth’s Pentagon Lurches Off the Rails
The resignation of Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is the latest sign of severe dysfunction in the Defense Department.
971207357
Reposted by @asj626.bsky.social
Cav(R), Gentleman Rogue @combatcavscout.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
The mother of a USNA midshipman was detained by ICE AT HER GREEN CARD INTERVIEW and is now being held in a concentration camp and I find it insane that people don’t understand how THAT is a bigger national security threat than any undocumented immigrant.
71039330
Reposted by @asj626.bsky.social
George Conway ⚖️🇺🇸 @gtconway.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Mehdi Hasan to CBS, CBS News and Bari Weiss - "Do you think it's super offensive and disgusting and Islamophobic to do a tweet about the potential first ever Muslim Democratic senator which begins by referencing 9/11?"
47682002039
Reposted by @asj626.bsky.social
The Volatile Mermaid @ohnoshetwitnt.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Personally I don’t think you should be able to speak about universal healthcare when you clearly don’t know what it is or how it works.
1794521659
asj626.bsky.social @asj626.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Yet another example of a Republican politician treating voters like absolute morons.
010