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Merrill

@clovie.bsky.social
531 followers 672 following 10 posts

Retired media studies professor.

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Reposted by Merrill
Greg Sargent @gregsargent.bsky.social · 20h
Something big may be happening: Trump's world-historical misrule may be creating the conditions for the emergence of a coalition similar to the one that ousted Viktor Orban earlier this year: Anti-corruption, anti-authoritarian, pro-democracy. I made this case here: newrepublic.com/article/2161...
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Greg Olear @gregolear.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
We at @thefive8.bsky.social were able to procure the director's cut of Donald Trump's pro-Iran War propaganda ad. We like this one better. If you agree, please share.
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The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
👀 🔥
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Sukie 💙🇺🇸🇺🇦🌊 @froggybottompond.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
''I'd like to go ahead and solve it. The Atlanta Hawks.''
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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.
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Democracy Docket @democracydocket.com · 30/09/2026
🚨BREAKING: In a win for Georgia voters, a federal judge dismissed the DOJ's lawsuit seeking access to the state's unredacted voter registration list. The department is now 0-26 in its sweeping legal hunt for states' private voter data.
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 29/09/2026
Jack Smith: "History teaches that the rule of law is rarely destroyed all at once. It's often weakened by attacks on the institutions and the public servants sworn to uphold it. Since January 2025, we have witnessed precisely such an effort."
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Senator Amy Klobuchar @klobuchar.senate.gov · 29/09/2026
Before calling someone a “dirtbag,” the Senator should have had his facts straight. An apology is in order. Glad one of us knew the difference between the Atlanta Hawks and the Iowa Hawkeyes!
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Cheryl Rofer @cherylrofer.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
I think I see two women in this photo from today's "AI Summit." Tell me that these people are capable of considering the broader public interest.
I count 28 people in this group photo around Donald Trump. A sea of suits and ties.
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Cheryl Rofer @cherylrofer.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
I am really tired of the AI stuff, but it's what we've got now. I think I'll do a thread here on the latest, rather than an LGM post, though. Quicker for me, and less annoyance for them. Ezra Klein interviewed Bill Gates on AI. This alone should be reason to shut them all down.
nytimes.com
Opinion | Bill Gates’s Blunt Warning on A.I. (Gift Article)
As A.I. capabilities accelerate, the technologist is shocked by the “complete lack of engagement” with the question of how to manage its risks.
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Hoodlum 🇺🇸 @nothoodlum.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
The camera cut to Katie Britt right after Eric Schmitt’s attack on Jack Smith turned out to be bogus. Schmitt claimed Jack Smith attended an Atlanta Hawks game in Atlanta. However, the texts were actually about the Iowa Hawkeyes playing Maryland in Maryland.
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 29/09/2026
🤡 Schmitt beclowns himself 🤡 Schmitt concocted an elaborate conspiracy theory that Smith traveled to Atl for a Hawks game and to collude with Fani Willis, & flashed his "evidence" before accusing Smith of perjury. There's just one problem -- his facts were totally wrong. Here's the whole sequence:
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Representative Becca Balint @balint.house.gov · 29/09/2026
It’s almost as if there are more ways to measure the value of work than just the amount of money it makes people.
 A country with fewer social workers and teaching aides, with less study of the arts and history, is a country that’s not investing in its own future.
newrepublic.com
Trump Moves to Cut Off Student Loans for Tons of Degrees
Under a new rule, if your degree doesn’t make enough money, you won’t be able to get a student loan.
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The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
“I’m pissed off about gas & food prices.” “Are you regretting your vote for Trump?” “Yeah. A lot of people are.” “America’s not Great Again?” “No. They’ve run it into the ground.” (H/T @cwebbonline.com )
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 29/09/2026
OAN: "The GOP chair of the GA Peanut Commission backs Ossoff ... Donald Chase said Ossoff has his vote, adding he likes to support people he believes in. Chase said he's still a conservative R, but claims character matters, and he wants someone in the Senate who will take the institution seriously"
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The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
“As young as 2” 😳
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Bobby Kogan @bbkogan.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
I think something to consider here is that Collins voted to confirm Russ Vought as OMB Director despite the fact that he said a billion times that he thought Trump had a constitutional right to illegally impound funds, and now she’s doing shocked Pikachu reactions.
Sen. Susan Collins • fAl
劉
@SenatorCollins
X.com
Without warning or consultation, Congress just received an $810 million package of pocket rescissions from the Administration. This is the most recent attempt by this Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to undermine Congress's Constitutional power of the purse.
This move shows that OMB intentionally withheld these funds for months to execute this unlawful cancellation of appropriations that were approved on a bipartisan basis and signed into law.Not only is the delay itself an impoundment that was not reported to Congress, but also it is a usurpation of Congress's appropriations powers.
OMB is an agency of the executive branch. It does not get to decide which programs are worth funding.
The independent Government Accountability Office has concluded that pocket rescissions are unlawful and not permitted by the Impoundment Control Act. Any effort to rescind appropriated funds without congressional approval is a clear violation of the law.
I will work with my colleagues to address these illegal actions.
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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Effective 2025 federal tax rates paid by these corporations: Alphabet: 8.01% AT&T: 4.6% Meta: 3.57% General Motors: 3.09% Amazon: 1.37% Exxon Mobil: 1.31% Disney: -1.57% CVS Health: -3.88% Income tax rate paid by the typical American: 14.5% This is what a rigged system looks like.
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Murshed Zaheed @murshedz.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
By "destroying" the VRA (the most impt civil right law) and "gutting" the 14th and 15th amendments Roberts MAGA #SCOTUS "has essentially ended the Second Reconstruction" replicating "the worst impulses of the Supreme Court in the 19th century." Read @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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Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani @mayor.nyc.gov · 22/09/2026
America is free only when the media is competitive, independent, and accountable to the people. apnews.com/article/warn...
apnews.com
States settle lawsuit over Paramount-Warner merger, clearing key hurdle for $81 billion deal
Twelve states and Hollywood writers challenging Paramount’s buyout of Warner Bros. Discovery have agreed to settle their lawsuits against the mega merger.
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Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
My entire life I've heard centrists scolding leftist candidates with "oh, but how will we pay for all that? isn't your agenda unreasonable? shouldn't we run on a modest proposal for means-tested tax rebates?" Then Mamdani gets elected and makes it all look pretty easy. No wonder they hate him.
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 23/09/2026
Ossoff: "What did they spend the most political capital trying to do over the last 18 months? Cover up the Epstein files. They worked harder to cover up the Epstein files than they ever did to lower grocery prices."
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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 23/09/2026
i think you can fairly say that the second trump administration is the most racist federal administration since woodrow wilson and honestly i'm not sure that it isn't more racist than wilson's
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Lisa Kadonaga @tapirtrouble.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
This is an excellent taxonomy and I suspect something similar also applies to my current research (on misinformation during disasters)
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Erin Lockwood @erinkaylockwood.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
This is human trafficking on a massive scale.
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Lawyers, Guns and Money @lawgunsmoney.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
The press always had the leverage
lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com
The press always had the leverage - Lawyers, Guns & Money
There was no usable audio of Trump’s latest tacky ribbon cutting because the political press finally showed some solidarity: WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump showed off his new White House helicopter landing pad on Monday, attempting to brush aside a First Amendment firestorm even as major television networks kept their cameras away in protest of CNN being banned from the grounds. […]
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Scott Horton @robertscotthorton.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
NYT has now independently corroborated all the major allegations against Susan Collins in the ProPublica report, including that investigators were prepared to move against her and then Trump intervened to shut it down. This put Trump in a position of exceptional and extortionate leverage over her.
nytimes.com
F.B.I. Shut Down Inquiry Into Top Ally of Senator Susan Collins
The inquiry was closed last year because senior bureau officials questioned the veracity of a campaign donor’s account, according to current and former officials.
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Karl Bode @karlbode.com · 21/09/2026
now that Trump's health and political power are in free fall, major media companies begin to display the faint outline of a backbone
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Greg Sargent @gregsargent.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Trump is a world-historical villain who's putting us all in extreme danger, so put him at the center of this story. Dems can highlight how Trump is actively using DOJ and EPA to help AI data centers steamroll communities, and vow that a Dem majority will stop it. 2/ newrepublic.com/article/2154...
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Greg Sargent @gregsargent.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
With Trump unleashing insane tirades against regulating AI, Obama just urged Dems to adopt a comprehensive position on it, warning that failure to act now will be "dangerous." Trump's malevolence has given Dems a big opening. They should seize on it. 1/ (new piece) newrepublic.com/article/2154...
newrepublic.com
The Real Reason Obama’s Harsh Warning to Dems About AI Is So Unnerving
Most Democrats have more or less the right position on AI. But their arguments are way too narrow to dramatize the real stakes. They should aim higher.
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Maj @lif3asmaj.blacksky.app · 15/09/2026
Vote for Keisha Lance Bottoms. I will. Not only because she'll get things done, but also because her opponent's attack ads are not only filled with lies, but precisely no inkling of a plan on what he'll do to improve things here. Spoiler. It's because he doesn't have a plan aside from looting us.
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Dade County Democrats @dadecountydems.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Greg Bluestein trying to "both sides" this in the @ajc.com ; Bottoms commission approved a small, Georgia Tech campus-based data center, the kind most people have no problem with. Jackson is investor in a massive data center in TX www.ajc.com/politics/202...
ajc.com
Bottoms, Jackson clash over data centers. Both have history with the industry.
Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms and Republican Rick Jackson are drawing a stark contrast over data centers in the Georgia governor's race. Both have a history with the industry.
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blueginger99.bsky.social @blueginger99.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Georgia. I hope Keisha Lance Bottoms beats crooked Rick Jackson.
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bkga.bsky.social @bkga.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
The Republican candidate for Gov of GA was reportedly a no show at the second debate against his Republican opponent. Let’s vote for Keisha Lance Bottoms for Gov of GA. She’ll give more Georgians access to health insurance, a moratorium on grocery taxes, teachers tax break and opportunities. 🗳️💙
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ericdmintz.bsky.social @ericdmintz.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Keisha Lance Bottoms wants a pause on new data centers in Georgia to assess and find a way forward that protects the environment, our communities, and our utility bills. That makes good sense. I'm voting for Keisha! Watch the reel on Instagram: www.instagram.com/reel/DdRhv0Y...
instagram.com
Instagram
Create an account or log in to Instagram - Share what you're into with the people who get you.
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 13/09/2026
Ossoff: "Then there's the ex-staffer posting swastikas and Klan regalia. And the neo-Nazi with a million followers who produces neo-Nazi propaganda at Collins's house ... a man who won't take responsibility for what happens under his own roof can't be trusted with our national affairs."
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Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu · 14/09/2026
Your regular reminder: If the Russians stop fighting, the war ends. If the Ukrainians stop fighting, their land will be occupied, their leaders will be killed, their history and language will be erased, their children will be kidnapped to serve Russia.
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Courtney Milan @courtneymilan.com · 14/09/2026
We are not going to get out of the fascism problem by accepting just enough fascism to turn the heads of the fascism-curious.
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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 13/09/2026
"i will shoot myself in the gut if you do not let me cut off my dick!!!"
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Meta Resistance @metaresistance.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
He is saying what many politicians are too afraid to say out loud. #Mamdani
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Elle Cordova @ellecordova.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
I am the very model of a modern day typographer A font take on the tune “Modern Major General” by Gilbert & Sullivan #typography #fonts #graphicdesign
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 08/09/2026
Trump claims he was basically lifted out of the rubble on 9/11: "Two fireman, big strong guys, they grabbed me under the arms -- 'got to get our of here!' -- and they literally lifted me up, and they started running with me."
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G Elliott Morris @gelliottmorris.com · 05/09/2026
Good article, just out, from the Times. Mentions the public as a thermostat + cyclical nature of party ID. (Stops short of saying the current environment was easy to predict, though that’s true & some of us did!). Covered this on the podcast on Thurs: www.gelliottmorris.com/p/donald-tru...
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David Burbach 🇺🇸 @dburbach.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
An Afghan deported to Central African Republic, a French speaking 80% Christian country with violent christian-muslim conflict, autocratic govt and extreme poverty. Death sentence and deliberately, insultingly cruel.
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Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Samuel Alito is corrupt, accepting gifts from people with business before the court, and holding stocks directly impacted by cases he rules on. Those financial conflicts of interest and refusal to accept basic judicial ethics, on their own, warrant impeachment and removal. If the US had standards.
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Lawrence Hurley @lawrencehurley.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Justice Alito's delayed financial disclosure report for last year his been posted. Confirmation that, as of 2025, he's still holding on to oil & gas stocks ahead of the big climate change case being heard in October.
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Rebecca Solnit @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
New final paragraph: In a grim summer when the violent weather of the climate crisis and the destructiveness of the greedy, cruel, selfish Epstein class in government and tech weighed down on us all, she lifted us up as she left us by making us turn toward who and what she was....
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Austin Kocher, PhD @austinkocher.com · 24/08/2026
Solidarity with all of those who are marching for dignity and for the memory of people who died in detention. I can't believe we had to build the Detention Mortality tool to track and publicize the spike in these cases but we did. Learn more: austinkocher.substack.com/p/launched-t...
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Ana Marie Cox @anamariecox.com · 24/08/2026
This flip in priorities for Texas voters is pretty astonishing.
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 20/08/2026
Mike Collins attacks Jon Ossoff for voting against the Laken Riley Act -- a bill that Ossoff in fact voted for
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