Sign in

august.thoughtify.space

@august.thoughtify.space
964 followers 167 following 2K posts

Formerly @augustf on Twitter - Now Contra the Kooks - Tweet Archive @ augustf.contra-kooks.net

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by @august.thoughtify.space
Julian Sanchez @normative.bsky.social · 8h
So basically Trump has only been slightly less disastrous for international tourism than COVID.
161892469
Reposted by @august.thoughtify.space
Jay Willis @jaywillis.net · 5h
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."
833134839
Reposted by @august.thoughtify.space
Radley Balko @radleybalko.bsky.social · 5h
“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.
41652220
august.thoughtify.space @august.thoughtify.space · 6h
Trolling is his one notable ability.
000
Reposted by @august.thoughtify.space
MeidasTouch @meidastouch.com · 7h
JUST IN: A federal judge just forced Trump’s DOJ to fast-track records involving Trump and the Epstein files, citing “possible questions about the government’s integrity that affect public confidence.” The records being sought are significant.
meidasnews.com
Judge Forces DOJ’s Hand in Explosive Trump-Epstein Records Fight
A federal judge ordered the Justice Department to fast-track records involving Trump and the administration’s handling of the Epstein files, finding the fight raises “possible questions about the gove...
11730411054
Reposted by @august.thoughtify.space
Patrick Chovanec @prchovanec.bsky.social · 6h
I hate how every crime or accusation has become a litmus test for "where you stand on the cultural issues of the day" to which the facts/evidence are a secondary (and often inconvenient) consideration at best. We've been trending this way for a long time and podcast culture has only made it worse.
39510
Reposted by @august.thoughtify.space
Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 8h
"For decades, we've provided election coverage that's based on in-depth political reporting by an experienced team of journalists backed by commentary from political leaders. But now we're throwing that aside so we can tell you what some of the most irredeemable uninformed gamblers are guessing."
451115250
Reposted by @august.thoughtify.space
ProPublica @propublica.org · 8h
Tennessee’s highest-security youth prisons are operated by a single private company. Former staff say they felt pressure to hide abuse and other serious incidents from the state and to handle medical emergencies without calling 911. with @wpln.bsky.social
propublica.org
He Suffered Abuse in a Private Youth Jail. The Company Never Reported It.
Tennessee’s highest-security youth prisons are operated by a single private company. Former staff say they felt pressure to hide abuse and other serious incidents from the state and to handle medical ...
7474226
Reposted by @august.thoughtify.space
Gabriel Malor @gabrielmalor.bsky.social · 7h
5th Cir., joining the 7th Cir., holds that an auto-repair business that only franchises to Christians—including ethnic Jews who are professing Christians—does not commit racial discrimination in violation of § 1981, which does not reach religious discrimination. www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub...
Domanic makes no serious effort on appeal to show any error in the district court’s ruling. That is unsurprising. As discussed, the evidence proved without contradiction that Christian Brothers has a longstanding and consistent policy of franchising only to professing Christians. And no evidence suggested that this policy was a pretext for racial discrimination against persons of Jewish ancestry (or any other ancestry). To the contrary, the undisputed evidence showed that Christian Brothers has franchised to two ethnic Jews who are professing Christians.  Domanic does make the novel argument that, as far as § 1981 is concerned, there can be no distinction between discrimination based on Jewish ancestry and discrimination based on Jewish faith. Section 1981, he contends, “protect[s] Jews . . . regardless of whether they are religious or ethnic Jews.” The district court correctly rejected this argument.
55216
Reposted by @august.thoughtify.space
Kyle Griffin @kylegriffin1.bsky.social · 8h
Chuck Grassley also did not share the texts with Democratic senators before the hearing, breaking protocol.
1742887885
Reposted by @august.thoughtify.space
Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 11h
Every single member of this administration sees themselves, first and foremost, as a Content Creator™ It's like they staffed an administration with homeschooled aliens who learned about humanity through mainlining TikTok accounts. Just unbelievable levels of sweaty dorkiness.
421058184
Reposted by @august.thoughtify.space
T. Greg Doucette @gregdoucette.bsky.social · 9h
Cops are great
09814
Reposted by @august.thoughtify.space
Zoomer Antimillenarian @surcomplicated.bsky.social · 15h
This isn't a court at all. They're literally not even reading the fucking briefs before making "decisions".
12909209
Reposted by @august.thoughtify.space
Patrick Chovanec @prchovanec.bsky.social · 11h
Harsh blow to Prager University, to be left out like this.
68215
Reposted by @august.thoughtify.space
Matthew Gertz @mattgertz.bsky.social · 11h
The common thread in Pete Hegseth's rant to the troops, JD Vance suggesting Talarico is a pedophile, Brendan Carr calling the Trump ads aired with tax dollars "normal force PSAs," and Eric Schmitt fabricating a Jack Smith conspiracy is the whole GOP is incentivized to be performatively evil.
351312307
Reposted by @august.thoughtify.space
Patrick Chovanec @prchovanec.bsky.social · 11h
If you understand what the operational commands do, this makes no sense. You want integration of this capability, not segregation/siloing. It is neither a region nor a capability that can easily be "lent" to a theater.
810820
Reposted by @august.thoughtify.space
Patrick Chovanec @prchovanec.bsky.social · 11h
Excuse me, what?
47614
Reposted by @august.thoughtify.space
Mark Copelovitch @mcopelov.bsky.social · 11h
The kids these days will hardly believe it, but a mere two years ago, the mental & physical (lack of) acuity of Elderly Presidents was the Great Issue of Our Time. Someone should tell Jake Tapper & Alex Thompson, so they can write a book on it.
512333
Reposted by @august.thoughtify.space
Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 11h
this Pete Hegseth speech is indistinguishable from parody. words fail to describe the absurdity. here he's talking about governors coming to the Pentagon to grovel to him and Trump so they can be rewarded with a new military base
3342306549
Reposted by @august.thoughtify.space
Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 11h
Might signal a pivot point in terms of the Silicon Valley capture of DOD spending away from vendors like Lockheed Martin. And that part of SV has been very pro-Trump and outspoken in their ideological goals. Will be hard for future Dem Presidents to dislodge them open.substack.com/pub/donmoyni...
open.substack.com
Procurement, Capacity and Soverignity
When your contractors are also your enemy
714236
Reposted by @august.thoughtify.space
Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 11h
Oh, this might be important.
5249269
Reposted by @august.thoughtify.space
geri katz @gerikatz.bsky.social · 11h
Might as well light the Constitution on fire at this point.
811808434
Reposted by @august.thoughtify.space
P. Andrew Torrez @andrewtorrez.bsky.social · 11h
The senior Senator from Tennessee could not find a single lawyer admitted to practice law in the entire state of Tennessee willing to represent her in this lawsuit. (Tenn. S.Ct. R. 7, § 10.07 allows out-of-state lawyers who move to Tennessee to practice for a year while they move for admission.)
23510
Reposted by @august.thoughtify.space
Rob Tracinski @tracinski.bsky.social · 12h
"The post office is socialism" is a dumb talking point that needs to die.
9275
Reposted by @august.thoughtify.space
Garrett M. Graff @vermontgmg.bsky.social · 12h
We don’t spend enough time talking about just how WEIRD all these people are. This is just an incredibly weird and insecure thing to say. Imagine any other SecDef ever being this weird and insecure?!
2634037849
Reposted by @august.thoughtify.space
Roger Parloff @rparloff.bsky.social · 13h
The 1st time, I'd missed this part. It's where DOJ's Harmeet Dhillon slimes a magistrate judge in an interview with Megyn Kelly. Criticism of the magistrate by Trump-aligned outlets triggered violent threats, forcing magistrate & family to seek refuge in a secure location. 2/2
"I don't even want to say judge,'" Harmeet K. Dhillon, a senior department official, said in an interview that day with the journalist Megyn Kelly. Judge Micko, she said, "exhibited bias."
The condemnation of Judge Micko by Trump-aligned media outlets was followed by a series of violent threats, which have not been previously reported. In the interview, Judge Schiltz revealed that Judge Micko and his family had to be moved to a secure location, where they remained for several days. Judge Schiltz said that the administration's statements were part of what had put Judge Micko in danger.
35720
Reposted by @august.thoughtify.space
Roger Parloff @rparloff.bsky.social · 13h
If you want to read the NYT article that prompted today's judicial misconduct complaint by DOJ (cf "Streisand Effect"), here's a gift copy. ... 1/2 www.nytimes.com/2026/09/17/u...
nytimes.com
Trump’s Minnesota Surge Threatened Democracy, Judge Warns (Gift Article)
In a rare interview, Patrick Schiltz, who served as the federal court’s chief judge last winter, called the administration’s actions “a grave threat to the rule of law.”
59247
Reposted by @august.thoughtify.space
Gabriel Malor @gabrielmalor.bsky.social · 13h
Of note: DOJ did not actually move Judges Schiltz and Tunheim to recuse in any of the cases it complains about, including Avila, a Tunheim case now pending at SCOTUS.
1276
Reposted by @august.thoughtify.space
Justin Baragona @justinbaragona.bsky.social · 13h
Setting aside the fact that Trump has now singlehandedly mired the United States in a separate quagmire in Iran, it was Joe Biden that struck this withdrawal agreement with Iraq in 2024 and Trump was forced to meet the September 30 deadline. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/30/w...
1626291
Reposted by @august.thoughtify.space
Ron Filipkowski @ronfilipkowski.bsky.social · 14h
Mentions on Fox shows of the very newsworthy confrontation between Schmitt and Jack Smith: Ingraham (7-8pm): 0 Watters (8-9): 0 Hannity (9-10): 0 Gutfeld (10-11): 0 Fox & Friends this AM: 0
42962261812
Reposted by @august.thoughtify.space
Adam Klasfeld @klasfeldreports.com · 13h
A federal judge ORDERED the Trump admin to privately show him the memo purporting to justify boat strikes that have killed 234 people in the Caribbean and Pacific. Judge Engelmayer rejected several rationales for withholding the memo from the public and will determine whether to release it.
The Court directs defendants to file the declaration(s), and to arrange for the Memo to be available for in camera review, within two weeks of this decision. See ACLU II, 2016 WL 889739, at *6 (ordering Government, within five days, to produce document at issue and “advise the court who has received [it] (including persons who received it from its original recipients) and for what purpose”); Elec. Frontier Found. v. U.S. Dep’t of Just., 826 F. Supp. 2d 157, 172 (D.D.C. 2011) (directing agency to “provide further explanation regarding whether it shared with non-Executive Branch entities the responsive documents that it withheld from the plaintiff”). Defendants are authorized to make appropriate redactions in the declaration as publicly filed, while filing the unredacted declaration under seal. Upon review of these materials, the Court will determine whether to commission supplemental briefing.
15605211
Reposted by @august.thoughtify.space
Adam Klasfeld @klasfeldreports.com · 13h
The ACLU's Jeffrey Stein called the ruling a "huge step in the right direction." “The public deserves to know how our government is justifying the cold-blooded murder of hundreds of civilians." 🔽
15886314
Reposted by @august.thoughtify.space
Gabriel Malor @gabrielmalor.bsky.social · 13h
The major bombshell in here though is that DOJ says Judges Schiltz and Tunheim should be "ordered to recuse from any matters involving DHS" and that they should be investigated because they "covet publicity."
3256
Reposted by @august.thoughtify.space
Gabriel Malor @gabrielmalor.bsky.social · 13h
This is a poorly-written complaint because it lists specific statements that it claims violate the ethics rules, but then it never bothers to explain for each statement which particular rule is violated. Instead it just dumps the whole mess with a vague "standards of review" paragraph.
1437
Reposted by @august.thoughtify.space
Gabriel Malor @gabrielmalor.bsky.social · 13h
"Judge Schiltz 'hoped the portrait of how the bench had handled the crisis would help Americans better understand how the United States' system of government depends on the rule of law.'" Real threat to judicial integrity, DOJ says.
1404
Reposted by @august.thoughtify.space
Gabriel Malor @gabrielmalor.bsky.social · 14h
The canons cited have to do with maintaining judicial integrity or "promoting public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary." Hard to view a statement that the judge had to check his phone frequently to prevent unlawful removals detracts from judicial integrity!
1608
Reposted by @august.thoughtify.space
Gabriel Malor @gabrielmalor.bsky.social · 14h
In particular, DOJ complains that the judges' statements were "overtly political" and commented on "pending legal issues." Oddly, although DOJ says the judges have "flagrantly violated the Code of Judicial Conduct," they don't connect these statements to particular canons beyond a generalized nod.
3699
Reposted by @august.thoughtify.space
Gabriel Malor @gabrielmalor.bsky.social · 14h
DOJ's complaint about at least seven fed. judges in Minnesota for talking to the NYTimes about the Trump administration's mismanagement of immigration enforcement complains of these ten truthful statements on the ground that some immigration cases are pending appeal. www.justice.gov/sites/defaul...
A list of ten statements the judges made in this NYTimes article: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/17/us/politics/minnesota-judge-trump-immigration.html
618469
Reposted by @august.thoughtify.space
Charles Louis Richter @richterscale.bsky.social · 14h
"If Warren G. Harding had kept his hands off Teapot Dome, gas would be under two dollars a gallon."
391157156
Reposted by @august.thoughtify.space
Matthew Gertz @mattgertz.bsky.social · 14h
Which two SCOTUS judges do folks think are paid subscribers to Erick Erickson's newsletter?
You are not alone.

Right now, staff in the White House, at least one cabinet secretary two cabinet secretaries, multiple senators and congressmen, two former Speakers of the House, at least one two Supreme Court Justices, a dozen Circuit and District Court Judges, six governors that I know of, a bunch of state legislators, Supreme and appellate court Justices and judges in multiple states, some really famous theologians, journalists, and public policy makers, and at least one Academy Award winner are all reading the Show Notes that went out at noon.
3227049
Reposted by @august.thoughtify.space
The Editorial Board @editorialboard.bsky.social · 14h
There is a case to be made that the next Dem administration not prosecute Donald Trump Jr, Eric Trump and the rest of the Trump Organization, but instead take all their money and dissolve all their businesses, one by one, and make it impossible for them to create new businesses.
14476
Reposted by @august.thoughtify.space
Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project @occrp.org · 14h
Egyptian Security Services Arrest Entire Newsroom within 24 Hours www.occrp.org/en/news/egyp...
occrp.org
Egyptian Security Services Arrest Entire Newsroom within 24 Hours
Related Articles
063
Reposted by @august.thoughtify.space
Jess Piper @piperformissouri.bsky.social · 18h
If you’re not from Missouri, you may not know that Eric Schmitt got his start in MAGA politics by suing public schools for mask mandates while their teachers died during a pandemic. The really strange thing? He never sued his own kids’ school for their mask mandate. He’s a piece of Schitt.
772825853
Reposted by @august.thoughtify.space
Andy Craig @andycraig.bsky.social · 17h
(Franklin was right because he basically explained germ theory to him whereas Adams still thought cold air caused colds)
1581
Reposted by @august.thoughtify.space
Dave Weigel @daveweigel.bsky.social · 17h
My take is that Hunter is a failson and overall bad person but that he clearly was lawfare'd to hurt his dad.
930410
Reposted by @august.thoughtify.space
Dave Weigel @daveweigel.bsky.social · 17h
I think a lot about Biden/Garland keeping David Weiss on as US Attorney, because they didn't want to meddle with the Hunter probe. And then Garland elevating Weiss to special counsel so he could convict Hunter. And this having ZERO IMPACT on the GOP certainty that Biden was rigging the DOJ
22882119
Reposted by @august.thoughtify.space
Matt Novak @paleofuture.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
The White House accord on AI that was signed by all the big tech oligarchs today misspells United States as “Unites States.”
Document signed by Trump, Sundar Pichai
Google
Dario Amodei
Anthropic
Mark Zuckerberg
Meta

Greg Brockman
OpenAl

Elon Musk
XAI

Jensen Huang
nvidia “Unites States”
43566561818
Reposted by @august.thoughtify.space
Cethan Leahy @cethanleahy.com · 20h
I think we underrate that JCO came up in 20th century New York literary circles where everyone said five most devastating insults before breakfast and as one of the last one standing, her competition is guys who get sad if their chatbot isn't sufficiently nice to them.
202598468
Reposted by @august.thoughtify.space
Andy Craig @andycraig.bsky.social · 17h
Fun fact: In his diary for Sep 9, 1776, John Adams spent only a single sentence, with no particular enthusiasm, noting Congress had officially adopted the name "United States." He then spent a thousand words recounting his argument with Ben Franklin about whether to close the bedroom window at night
512616
Reposted by @august.thoughtify.space
Mark Jacob @markjacob.bsky.social · 19h
Instant reference desk on the Dred Scott case: "Among constitutional scholars, Scott v. Sandford is widely considered the worst decision ever rendered by the Supreme Court."
britannica.com
Dred Scott decision | Definition, History, Summary, Significance, & Facts | Britannica
Dred Scott decision, legal case (1857) in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled (7–2) that a slave who had resided in a free state and territory was not thereby entitled to his freedom, that African Amer...
1011933