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bettys2nd.bsky.social

@bettys2nd.bsky.social
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Kyle Griffin @kylegriffin1.bsky.social · 15h
Senate Judiciary Democrats are asking Chair Chuck Grassley to apologize to Jack Smith on the behalf of his GOP committee members — especially for Republican Eric Schmitt. The letter also demands Grassley turn over the underlying records Schmitt used during the hearing.
politico.com
Democrats call on Chuck Grassley to apologize to Jack Smith for basketball gaffe
The top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee said Republicans violated Senate rules.
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Rachel Maddow @maddow.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
www.bostonglobe.com/2026/10/06/m...
bostonglobe.com
Protesters barricade road to Vermont ICE facility with ‘community gardens’ - The Boston Globe
About 40 protesters built flower boxes in the middle of a road to block access to ICE facilities in Williston on Tuesday.
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Watch Duty @watchduty.org · 07/10/2026
2026 was one of the largest wildfire seasons in over a decade. Oregon broke its all-time record for acres burned, and Utah had its worst fire year since 2007. And Washington saw more than double the number of acres burned from last year.
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Kyle Griffin @kylegriffin1.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
BREAKING: ICE over the past year investigated hundreds of nonprofits across the U.S. that help people register to vote. The internal documents, obtained by the Democracy Forward, showed that ICE's investigative arm also contemplated sending undercover agents to investigate the organizations.
democracydocket.com
ICE  probed hundreds of voter registration groups across the U.S.
The agency also contemplated deploying undercover agents to "initiate prosecutions" against the groups and "dismantle" them.
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Ali Velshi @velshi.com · 07/10/2026
With the $11 billion merger of Paramount-Skydance with Warner Bros. Discovery, just five corporations now control 90% of the U.S. media landscape. Ali Velshi explains why mega media mergers pose a threat to democracy.
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Chris Murphy @chrismurphyct.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
How do I know Hegseth’s order to deny access to bases to members of Congress is about a cover up, not about safety? Because I asked for a military briefing at the embassy as a substitute and was told the policy prohibited military leaders in the region from even talking to me.
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Andrea Lathrop @cabernet.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
"But what we see is, it's really, they've strip-mined the entirety of human accomplishment for their models, which is our proprietary information, and created systems that we're not allowed to see into, because it's their proprietary information." —Jon Stewart www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnLD...
youtube.com
Jacob Coxon On Witnessing the Existential Threat of AI from the Inside | The Daily Show
YouTube video by The Daily Show
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NBC News @nbcnews.com · 06/10/2026
NEW: Paramount Skydance completes its $110 billion takeover of Warner Bros Discovery creating a Hollywood heavyweight called Skydance and handing CEO David Ellison control of one of the world’s largest entertainment companies.
nbcnews.to
Paramount completes $110B Warner Bros. merger to form Skydance
The deal puts CEO David ‌Ellison in control of one of the world’s largest entertainment companies.
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Norm Eisen @normeisen.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Trump ran $10M+ in TV ads promoting himself, paid for w/ your tax dollars Facing backlash, he now says his super PAC will cover it Small problem: presidents can't direct super PAC spending either I'll get into it w/ @ms.now at 11AM ET👇 -TN
nytimes.com
Facing Backlash, Trump Says His Super PAC Will Pay for Taxpayer-Funded Ads
The president said that his PAC, MAGA, Inc., would pay for TV ads promoting him that had been paid for with taxpayer money.
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Kyle Griffin @kylegriffin1.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
In the last hours of Kristi Noem's tenure as Homeland Security secretary, her agency delivered a windfall to one of her political donors by buying five airplanes from the man's firm at a substantial markup, documents show.
nytimes.com
Kristi Noem’s Agency Gave Her Donor a Lucrative Contract Just Before She Left
The Homeland Security Department signed a multi-million dollar agreement to buy five aircraft from a company owned by a political contributor of the secretary on her last day, documents show.
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New York Attorney General Letitia James @newyorkstateag.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and the CDC have stopped recommending seven vaccines for children, including vaccines that protect against hepatitis B, RSV, and meningitis. These vaccines have kept millions of children out of the hospital and saved countless lives. I'm suing.
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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Who's really paying the price for those killer Amazon Prime Day deals?
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LateNighter @latenightercom.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Jon Stewart is set to sit down tonight with former Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon, whose recent resignation from the company—and stark warnings about the potential dangers of AI—drew national attention.
dlvr.it
Jon Stewart to Interview Anthropic Whistleblower on The Daily Show
Jon Stewart is set to sit down tonight with former Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon, whose recent resignation from the company—and stark warnings about the potential dangers of AI—drew national attention.
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Aaron Parnas @aaronparnas.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Big news: Donald Trump has spent the past 18 months misappropriating taxpayer dollars for personal gain. I'm not just a journalist. I am also a lawyer. I map out exactly all the ways Trump misused taxpayer funds, and how a future prosecutor, or a future Congress could investigate him. Subscribe:
aaronparnas.substack.com
Major Deep Dive: Trump Is Defying Congress' Power of the Purse. Here’s a Roadmap for Investigating His Misuse of Taxpayer Funds
He was once forced to pay $2 million for misusing his own charity's money for politics. Now it's the federal Treasury. Here's the roadmap Congress needs.
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Rachel Maddow @maddow.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
"Among the first to appear before the judge was Angel, a 13-year-old. He had no attorney. “Would you like to request voluntary departure, or should I issue a removal order?” the judge asked “I don’t know,” Angel said, bursting into tears: “I have no one. I have nothing.” www.cnn.com/2026/09/28/p...
cnn.com
Inside the Texas courtroom where toddlers face immigration judges | CNN Politics
Migrant children as young as 2 are showing up at immigration courts nationwide, many without attorneys, to try make their case to stay in the US and avoid deportation.
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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
McDonald's is now reportedly pressuring franchisees to use AI to price food. Its CEO raked in $20.6M last year, over 1,000x the median McDonald's worker pay of $19,020. And they remain one of the largest employers of Medicaid and SNAP recipients. I'm not lovin' it.
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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Trump is planning to host a third gala for the top investors of his $TRUMP crypto coin. He and his family have raked in $2.2 billion from their crypto ventures, while their investors have lost almost the same amount. They’ll fleece anyone they can — even their own supporters.
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Elizabeth Warren @warren.senate.gov · 02/10/2026
TODAY: New SNAP cuts are kicking in because of Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill." 5 million people have already lost food assistance, including 1.5 million+ kids since the bill was enacted. No kid deserves to go hungry so Trump can give his billionaire buddies another tax handout.
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Rep. Melanie Stansbury (NM-01) @repstansbury.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Didn’t they learn the first time Elon Musk got involved in American politics? -Dismantled life saving agencies -Fired thousands of Americans -Stole our data -Gave himself millions in federal contracts They want him to advise the Pentagon on the future of war?!?!
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Senator Ruben Gallego @gallego.senate.gov · 30/09/2026
There is no kill switch. No failsafe protections. I asked AI safety experts what happens if things go really bad, really fast. Their answer should terrify us all.
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Joyce White Vance @joycewhitevance.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
What emerges when you take a deep breath is a picture of what we all know by now to be true. This is not a president who is committed to governing, to public service. This is a smash and grab, and we are the victims. joycevance.substack.com/p/flooding-t...
joycevance.substack.com
Flooding the Zone
Jack Smith kicked off his testimony on the Hill today like this: “I stand by my decisions as special counsel, including my decision to bring charges against President Trump.” He told senators that his...
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Kyle Griffin @kylegriffin1.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
WSJ Exclusive: The Trump admin used federal funds from the Department of Homeland Security to finance those controversial pro-Trump ads that started airing on TV. The taxpayer money used to fund the ads came from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
wsj.com
Exclusive | Homeland Security Money Financed Pro-Trump Television Ads
White House calls the spots public-service ads, but critics argue using taxpayer money for campaign-like messaging may violate federal law.
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Leah Greenberg ❌👑 @leahgreenberg.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Wilber Rafael Garcés Pérez is the SECOND DoorDash driver shot by ICE, and the silence from DoorDash is deafening. Delete DoorDash until they speak up against ICE violence and push for Wilber’s release. Learn how to delete it so it counts at deletedoordash.com.
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Governor JB Pritzker @govpritzker.illinois.gov · 29/09/2026
Reminder: Donald Trump and his family have grifted more than $4 billion while Americans struggle to get by.
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Kyle Griffin @kylegriffin1.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
The Trump White House official app is fraught with trackers. The White House app covertly collects excessive user data and shares it with third-party trackers while sidestepping federal security rules. For example, the app includes scripts to monitor a user's location several times per minute.
washingtonsun.com
White House Drove Users to Official App Fraught With Trackers
The White House app became the App Store’s most downloaded news app after the president barred three news outlets.
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Sahil Kapur @sahilkapur.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Dario Amodei of Anthropic just had a meeting in John Thune’s office. Made no comments and wouldn’t answer questions afterward. He left the Capitol.
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Congresswoman Gwen Moore @repgwenmoore.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans ripped away SNAP protections for some of our most vulnerable communities, including youth aging out of the foster care system.
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Sherrilyn Ifill @sifill.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
I gasped! The Mighty Sparrow has left us. One of the most important and popular Calypsonians to ever do it! Songs filled political fire, irreverence, humor, naughty (very, very naughty) banter, and beats that make you wind your waist! Rest in Power, Sparrow. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/27/a...
nytimes.com
The Mighty Sparrow, Trinidadian Titan of Calypso, Is Dead at 91
He was sometimes described as the last of the true calypso singers. But in fact he simultaneously preserved calypso tradition and invented it anew.
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Mehdi Hasan @mehdirhasan.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
"Fascism Doesn’t Always Arrive by Force. Sometimes It Comes as Law" A visit to the National Holocaust Museum in Amsterdam showed me how changes in the law were used by the Nazis to push their agenda. It’s a warning from history we must heed before it's too late. @kimwehle.bsky.social for Zeteo:
zeteo.com
Fascism Doesn’t Always Arrive by Force. Sometimes It Comes as Law
A visit to the National Holocaust Museum in Amsterdam showed me how changes in the law were used by the Nazis to push their agenda. It’s a warning from history we must heed before it’s too late.
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Rachel Maddow @maddow.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
“‘Ethnic cleansing via the mass deportation or promoted voluntary return of non-white immigrants'... This is, of course, beyond alarming...” www.washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
washingtonpost.com
How Trump turned a refugee bureau into a $410 million deportation operation
Inside the secret deals powering the president’s push to deport migrants to countries not their own.
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Kyle Griffin @kylegriffin1.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
The Pentagon's public tally of troops wounded during the Iran war was quietly increased this week without explanation from Trump's Defense Department. The total number of troops now wounded during the war is 861, according to DCAS.
washingtonpost.com
Pentagon quietly adds dozens to tally of troops wounded amid Iran war
With the addition of 29 U.S. sailors and eight Marines, the total number of personnel wounded since the start of hostilities has risen to 861, a Pentagon database shows.
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Joyce White Vance @joycewhitevance.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Tonight, pictures of chickens. It’s been a long week. We deserve some down time. joycevance.substack.com/p/some-chick...
joycevance.substack.com
Some Chickens
It’s very good to be a chicken.
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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
On this day in 1994, the Clinton administration's heathcare reform plan was declared "dead" by Congress. Over 30 years later, the US is still the only industrialized country without universal healthcare. This should be a national outrage.
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Kyle Griffin @kylegriffin1.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
GOP support grows for subpoenaing Donald Trump Jr. over the wedding party controversy: Five Senate Republicans (and counting) are taking the burgeoning scandal seriously, which is five more than usual.
ms.now
GOP support grows for subpoenaing Donald Trump Jr. over wedding party controversy
Five Senate Republicans (and counting) are taking the burgeoning scandal seriously, which is five more than usual.
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Rachel Maddow @maddow.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
"At least six babies in Pennsylvania have been born infected with measles, with two so sick they had to be admitted to intensive care. Congenital measles is a disease that’s rarely, if ever, seen in the U.S..." www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
nbcnews.com
America had wiped out measles. Now babies are infected at birth.
Congenital measles has rarely been seen in the U.S. That’s changing as vaccination declines and more pregnant women become infected.
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Jaime Harrison @jaimeharrison.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
@dougjones.bsky: Alabama isn't a red state, it's a non-voting state. No early voting, no mail-in, and an absentee process that's hard to navigate. He says people have stopped believing their vote counts, and he wants to change that. Our conversation: www.youtube.com/watch?v=6j_67aEpyxw
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Rachel Maddow @maddow.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
“'You don’t live here,' the crowd shouted like they were in a basketball arena...” kansasreflector.com/2026/09/18/u...
kansasreflector.com
US Sen. Roger Marshall leaves paper trail in Florida while calling Kansas home • Kansas Reflector
U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall established deeper roots than previously disclosed in Sarasota, Florida, where he had a vacation home that he traveled to on official business and said he used for visiting fa...
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Norm Eisen @normeisen.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
CA Supreme Court unanimously ruled Sheriff Chad Bianco’s ballot seizure was illegal Ballots MUST stay w/ election officials—blocking 2026 seizures We @democracydefendersfund.org filed amicus on behalf of LULAC Full breakdown in my weekly column @ContrarianNews.org 👇 -TN
contrariannews.org
It Was the Best of Fridays, It Was the Worst of Fridays (Well, Kinda)
Publisher’s Roundup 86
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Kyle Griffin @kylegriffin1.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
BREAKING WaPo: The White House has blocked CNN from traveling with Trump on Air Force One for a Saturday trip to Knoxville, according to two people familiar with the decision, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to share sensitive details.
washingtonpost.com
White House blocks CNN from trip on Air Force One
The White House’s decision puts the state of the rotational TV pool, which resumed on Friday, in jeopardy once more.
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Kyle Griffin @kylegriffin1.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Reuters: US SUPREME COURT BLOCKS MISSOURI FOR THIRD TIME FROM USING REPUBLICAN-DRAWN CONGRESSIONAL MAP IN NOVEMBER MIDTERM ELECTIONS
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Rachel Maddow @maddow.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
“I simply do not want to see innocent children being detained. Prisons are not a place for innocent children...” “We need to go to these board meetings... to all our other meetings, our city council. We need to be in all these spaces and insist upon being heard.” veritenews.org/2026/09/22/o...
veritenews.org
Opponents of Alexandria ICE detention facility hold community forum - Verite News New Orleans
The England Authority Board of Commissioners is slated to discuss the planned ICE detention facility at a meeting on Thursday.
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Mother Jones @motherjones.com · 25/09/2026
By destroying the Voting Rights Act and gutting the 14th and 15th Amendments, the Roberts Court is recycling legal arguments once advanced by Confederates and white supremacists to destroy Reconstruction, write @ariberman.bsky.social & @pemalevy.bsky.social.
motherjones.com
Jim Crow was on the ash heap of history. Then came the Roberts court.
The disaster the justices have unleashed has its roots in one of the darkest periods of our past.
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Kyle Griffin @kylegriffin1.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
BREAKING NYT: The California Supreme Court just ordered a county sheriff to return about 650,000 ballots he seized from election officials as part of an investigation into voter fraud that state officials said had no basis in fact.
nytimes.com
Republican Sheriff Illegally Seized California Ballots, Court Rules
The California Supreme Court ordered Sheriff Chad Bianco of Riverside County to return ballots to election officials after he confiscated them for an investigation.
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bettys2nd.bsky.social @bettys2nd.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
What could go wrong?
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Norm Eisen @normeisen.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
BREAKING: ballot seizures ruled illegal by CA Supreme Court! A key precedent as we prepare to defend the 2026 election Proud that our @democracydefendersfund.org brief helped secure this win
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U.S. Representative Al Green @algreen.house.gov · 24/09/2026
I am painfully saddened to learn of the passing of my friend Garnet Coleman, a state representative for 31 years, a humanitarian, a champion for health care, civil rights, and marginalized communities. He leaves behind a fighter’s legacy. My deepest condolences to his loved ones.
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Kyle Griffin @kylegriffin1.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
MS NOW: A new letter from the acting secretary of the U.S. Navy has revealed troubling details about conditions on the USS Abraham Lincoln — including that there were eight reported suicide attempts from service members of the carrier strike group tied to the USS Lincoln.
ms.now
Navy discloses 8 suicide attempts tied to USS Lincoln’s strike group
In a letter, the acting secretary of the Navy disclosed new details about the conditions onboard during the ship’s record deployment in the Iran war, insisting the “Lincoln’s crew is resilient.”
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Judd Legum @juddlegum.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
1. California Attorney General Rob Bonta and 11 other Democratic AGs had Paramount and the Ellisons over a barrel. They had secured a restraining order against the merger with Paramount and their negotiating position was about to get even stronger. Then, Bonta threw in the towel.
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David Corn @davidcorn.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Brazen hypocrisy is not a bug, it's a feature. A really big feature.
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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
In 9 months, Zohran Mamdani has: -Secured millions in worker restitution from DoorDash and UberEats -Launched the first stage of his universal childcare program -Cracked down on bad landlords -Balanced NYC's budget without cutting major social services This is what leadership looks like.
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