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mike61.bsky.social

@mike61.bsky.social
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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
Excellent piece
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Louth For Ever 🦋 @louthforever.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
A 27 year parade ban just collapsed, a First Minister is under PSNI investigation for blocking the march, and most people assumed this fight was dead. It wasn't. It was only quiet, because the state stopped indulging it. New piece on where that indulgence came from, and why it's back.
forlouth.medium.com
The Promised Road: Garvaghy, Portadown
The Bridge at Scarva • No. 10
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The Bulwark @thebulwark.com · 12/10/2026
What President Trump has seen as an American–Iranian war is becoming connected with the Yemeni civil war, the Horn of Africa, the Nile dispute, and the security of the Red Sea. Wars grow. ICYMI @markhertling.bsky.social:
lnk.thebulwark.com
If You Think You Know How the Iran War Ends, Think Again
Military commanders and planners have a way of preparing for the unexpected.
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Mark Chadbourn @chadbourn.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
Burnham started his much-needed assault on Brexit yesterday by confirming Russian interference in the vote. Now this: “In a statement to MPs, Andy Burnham will argue it is time to "face up to the reality that Brexit has done more harm than good" and "the status quo is not good enough for Britain."”
bbc.co.uk
Rejecting closer EU ties would be dereliction of duty, PM to say
Addressing the Commons, Burnham is expected to say that a new deal with the EU could help tackle illegal immigration and boost economic growth.
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Mark Chadbourn @chadbourn.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
Zelenskyy: “We all forget about grain. Believe me, in two to three months, everybody will be talking about a crisis in agriculture. “There will be food shortages for countries on the African continent, for some countries in Asia and the Middle East.”
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Mark Chadbourn @chadbourn.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
Zelenskyy: “Why doesn't America conclude a diesel deal with Ukraine? “We're influencing whether these ships are moving. We define whether the refineries are working.”
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Mark Chadbourn @chadbourn.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
Zelenskyy at the Warsaw Security Forum: “This winter, if Russia does not agree to an energy ceasefire, we will respond.”
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Mark Chadbourn @chadbourn.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
Tusk: “Ukraine will not be broken and will not be intimidated. Poland will not be broken and will not be intimidated. “Europe, NATO and the entire free world will not be broken. They will not be intimidated. “This message must come today from every capital, from Warsaw to Washington.”
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Mark Chadbourn @chadbourn.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
Polish PM Donald Tusk to the Warsaw Security Forum: “Nobody wants escalation and war. We are all dreaming of peace. “The road to peace is not through weakness. It is through stopping the aggressor by all means available.”
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Tom Bonier @tbonier.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
That’s not a misprint - more Latino voters have cast a ballot already than did at the same point in the 2024 presidential election.
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Phillips OBrien @phillipspobrien.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Trump’s love for Putin is the only pure thing in his life.
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Ben Collins @bencollins.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Six months ago:
theonion.com
DOJ To Bring Back Firing Squad As Means Of Entertainment
WASHINGTON—In an effort to provide some joy to the nation and boost overall well-being, Justice Department officials announced plans Monday to bring back firing squads as a means of entertainment. “Fo...
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Greg Sargent @gregsargent.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
So much wisdom from forecaster Kyle Kondik on today's pod. He notes: *if Dems have a good night, there may be zero GOP-held districts left that Kamala Harris won *big difference from 2018: this time Trump underwater in red states with contested Senate races It's a good episode, check it out:
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Tom Nichols @radiofreetom.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Posting this with a lack of awareness that using the word irresponsibly for 50 years helped get us here
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Coach Finstock @coachfinstock.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
So @jacobgeller.com sexually assaulted someone and UNC let him back on campus after a semester. If you're wondering whether or not that Cornell story is much more common than you think the answer is yes and the reason is because universities don't care if women get raped. So they don't report it
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Emine Yücel @emineirmakyucel.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
My latest: Following Wednesday's failed bid by Senate Dems to block Trump's pocket rescission, Trump WH, once again, trampled over Congress’ power of the purse. Several experts point out their use of the “pocket rescissions” loophole is more an admission of guilt than a clever trick.
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Grudgie the Wail @grudgie.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Hey maybe it should be a big deal that a psychopath is threatening civilizations destruction and has the weapons to do it!
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Oliver Willis @owillis.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
the ratings on fox news actually dropped during trump's convention www.dailykos.com/stories/2026...
dailykos.com
Trump’s midterm convention was a ratings dud, even on Fox
The ratings stand in stark contrast with the president’s claims about viewership.
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MeidasTouch @meidastouch.com · 01/10/2026
South Korea says Trump is lying
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Tom Nichols @radiofreetom.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
And on it went, with Hegseth spinning one bad idea after another, and managing to insult any number of Americans in the process. A bad idea hamster www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/...
theatlantic.com
Pete Hegseth, Idea Guy
His State of the Force address was a partisan disgrace—with a few good ideas buried in it.
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Mark Chadbourn @chadbourn.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Let’s see if this one sticks.
theguardian.com
UK-Iran national arrested under Terrorism Act over RAF Fairford incident
Counter-terrorism police arrest 27-year-old in Westminster, while second man questioned under caution
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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Roberts is not a figure embarked on a principled project of expanding executive power who can be excused for being unable to predict how those principles later abused. The abuse is occurring in real time. Many of the requests for expanded power are coming from the abuser.
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Shoshana Bee @shohanabee76.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
“What a democracy cannot—and should not—tolerate is a secretary of defense who trucks in propaganda and wants the people who serve in America’s military to be the armed instrument of his own resentments and biases.” @radiofreetom.bsky.social www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/...
theatlantic.com
Pete Hegseth, Idea Guy
His State of the Force address was a partisan disgrace—with a few good ideas buried in it.
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Aidan O’Brien @aidanobrien.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Viktor Orban travelled to Belfast yesterday, appearing alongside the Northern Irish anti-abortion group Precious Life, "celebrating" preventing Belfast City Hall from joining"International Safe Abortion Day" Precious Life's former director, Jim Dowson, is a far-right extremist with ties to Hungary.
Catholic Arena
@CatholicArena
Viktor Orban was in Belfast last night at City Hall

Precious Life and other prolife groups were celebrating after successfully preventing City Hall from being lit up to celebrate 'International Safe Abortion Day' 

📸 Precious LifeAnti-abortionist resigns from job
Anti-abortion poster The anti-abortion campaign has come in for criticism

The leader of the controversial anti-abortion group Precious Life is reported to have quit his job because of his views.

Jim Dowson, 33, who has admitted previous involvement with hard-line loyalist groups in the west of Scotland, was told he should curb his activities or face dismissal. Notorious far-right extremist returns to Scotland to fund growing anti-immigration protests
Jim Dowson has spent the last 20 years fundraising for the far-right in ­Scotland, Northern Ireland, Hungary and the US.
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Grudgie the Wail @grudgie.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
He may have never successfully altered vote counts but Trump has cheated in all 3 of his elections
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Katie Phang @katiephang.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
NEW: Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten says his office is reopening the investigation into the 2024 gang rape of a student at a Cornell University fraternity abcnews.com/US/district-...
abcnews.com
District attorney reopens case of alleged Cornell University 'gang rape'
Prosecutors in central New York say they are reopening the case of alleged gang rape at a Cornell University fraternity.
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Rodger Sherman @rodger.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
Shrey spelling 32 words in 90 seconds to win the Spelling Bee is the new greatest athletic accomplishment of 2026. I don’t even know how he said the letters that fast. Got a “Holy Mackerel” out of @minakimes.bsky.social
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Seth Cotlar @sethcotlar.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
Man, that sounds terrible. Killed with impunity by agents of the state for just being on the street and protesting? Hard to see how regimes like that can continue to claim a popular mandate.
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Grudgie the Wail @grudgie.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
Jesus they just don’t think there’s any law that constrains them
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Tom Nichols @radiofreetom.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
Hill gets it. Stop saying "kompromat," it's simpler than that.
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Tom Nichols @radiofreetom.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
This is an excellent (if self-congratulatory) point. Normal people think: "I would never do this. If Trump is doing it, it must be under duress." But people like Trump do bad stuff because they like doing bad stuff, not because someone is forcing them to contravene their own principles.
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Grudgie the Wail @grudgie.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
This isn’t just some admiration thing (though it is that too). This is a tangible transactional relationship
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Grudgie the Wail @grudgie.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
Trump is indebted to Putin. Has been for a long time. Been neck deep in Russian money for decades.
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Greg Sargent @gregsargent.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
Yes, and another reason to talk now about reform and accountability is to signal to the people that their votes matter, someone has their back, and we won't be trapped in this hell forever -->
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Jay Willis @jaywillis.net · 05/05/2026
What's notable to me about the Alito-Jackson spat on Monday is how little Alito's opinion bothers with anything resembling legal analysis. He doesn't respond to Jackson, in any meaningful sense. It's just an angry blog post about how she really ought to be more respectful to him.
ballsandstrikes.org
Samuel Alito Had No Answers For Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Latest Dissent
The more transparently political the Court’s work becomes, the more fiercely the conservative justices insist that there is nothing political about the Court’s work.
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The Bulwark @thebulwark.com · 23/04/2026
If you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a country anymore.
lnk.thebulwark.com
It Is Time for Ruthless Aggression
The national battle over gerrymandering should be just the first step. Next up: expanding SCOTUS.
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Grudgie the Wail @grudgie.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
Trump is claiming all of the above: 1) we have been at war with Iran for 47 years 2) this isn’t a war 3) he should get credit that the war hasn’t been going on as long as the Vietnam War
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Ilhan Omar @ilhanmn.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
You can’t make this stuff up. The most corrupt first family of all time.
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Max Boot @maxboot.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
"There is no Delcy Rodríguez in Cuba or Iran," Boot said. "I think his success in Venezuela led him astray, thinking that this was a template that could be replicated elsewhere…. And, in fact, it turns out to be a unique set of circumstances." www.pbs.org/newshour/amp...
pbs.org
Trump likes a naval blockade. But Iran presents major differences from Venezuela and Cuba
Unlike Cuba or Venezuela, Iran choked off a crucial trade route for energy shipments, meaning the longer the standoff persists, the more the global economy will suffer.
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Moot Question @mootquestion.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
This is cracking below what I thought was a hard floor. When that starts to slip…
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Grudgie the Wail @grudgie.bsky.social · 06/04/2026
AN OPENAI BOARD MEMBER
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Grudgie the Wail @grudgie.bsky.social · 05/04/2026
First up at the tribunals
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 05/04/2026
"Open the Fuckin’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell" -- Jake Tapper reads Trump's Truth Social post on air
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Max Boot @maxboot.bsky.social · 04/04/2026
I wrote a Substack examining John Bolton's NYT suggestions for winning the Iran war. Bolton is one of the smartest hawks, but none of his suggestions are very credible. There is simply no easy exit from the quagmire that Trump created by recklessly attacking Iran. open.substack.com/pub/maxboot/...
open.substack.com
No exit from the Iran quagmire
John Bolton offers suggestions to "finish the job." But they're unlikely to work.
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 05/04/2026
Khanna on Hasan Piker: "What should the standard of the Democrats be? Should we not go on Joe Rogan? Should we just have purity tests of canceling folks? The lesson of the last election is we've gotta be out there. We've gotta engage. It's a complex, messy, multiracial democracy."
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Matt Negrin still host of Hardball on MSNBC @mattnegrin.bsky.social · 05/04/2026
The NYT literally rewrote Trump saying “open the fuckin’ strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in hell” as: “Mr. Trump issued a new ultimatum to Iran to end its chokehold over the Strait of Hormuz”
NYT: President Trump on Sunday escalated his threats to bomb Iranian power plants within the next two days and taunted the country’s leaders in an expletive-laden social media post.

Mr. Trump, seemingly emboldened by the successful U.S. rescue of an American airman in Iran over the weekend, issued a new ultimatum to Iran to end its chokehold over the Strait of Hormuz, a major Persian Gulf waterway for the transport of oil and gas, by Apr. 6.

If Iran’s government did not, he said, U.S. forces would target the country’s energy infrastructure, which supplies power for millions of civilians.

“Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!!” Mr. Trump wrote on social media. The president has previously postponed his deadline to attack twice and the Omani foreign ministry said on Sunday that officials had discussed how to reopen the Strait of Hormuz with Iranian counterparts without reaching a definitive agreement.

“Praise be to Allah,” Mr. Trump added, before signing off in all caps.
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 05/04/2026
textbook sanewashing
Seung Min Kim
@seungminkim
WASHINGTON (AP) — Trump promises strikes on Iran’s power plants and bridges on Tuesday if the Strait of Hormuz isn't reopened.
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Word&Way @wordandway.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
Hegseth’s prayers suggest God approves of as much killing as possible. @briankaylor.bsky.social “told @gregsargent.bsky.social that the secretary gets to this conclusion by cherry-picking various bloody passages from scripture, using them in a ‘kind of a Mad Libs mash-up of biblical violence.’”
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Secretary of Defense Rock @sodrock.bsky.social · 01/03/2026
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Wedge LIVE!™ @wedge.live · 01/03/2026
Promise me you'll start asking the DFL electeds who are attached at the hip with Sheriff Dawanna Witt what they think of the job she's doing.
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