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President Johnson spoke about discrimination at the signing of the Civil Rights Act in 1964: “Our Constitution, the foundation of our republic, forbids it. The principles of our freedom forbid it. Morality forbids it. And the law I will sign tonight forbids it.” youtu.be/sQsVVYpY6pI

youtu.be

President Johnson's Remarks on the Signing of the Civil Rights Bill, 7/2/64

YouTube video by TheLBJLibrary

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Steve Potts @otispott.bsky.social · 14h

Fascists hate the humanities, which makes sense because they hate humans generally.

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Larry Glickman @larryglickman.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

In what world is it the purview of the President/Executive branch “to force conservative cultural changes on academia‘? And why end the paragraph without noting that there is no legal justification whatsoever for Trump and his minions to “force cultural change” on institutions of higher education.

Inside the White House, some of Mr. Trump’s top lieutenants have expressed frustration about a perceive slowdown in the adminstration’s attempts to force conservative cultural changes on academia.

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Steve Potts @otispott.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Happy Dolly Parton Day to all who celebrate.🎉

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Ari Berman @ariberman.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Thanks to SCOTUS GOP-appointed majority (same ones who attended Trump's state dinner last night), Trump admin will use faulty & inaccurate data to wrongly label eligible voters non-citizens & pressure states to remove them from rolls. Sets a chilling precedent www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

motherjones.com

Supreme Court allows Trump to use flawed database to vet voter citizenship

While the impact on the midterms might be minimal, Justice Jackson warns some eligible voters could be disenfranchised.

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Steve Potts @otispott.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

I watched it 3 times and nearly certain I've been brainwashed.🤖

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Steve Potts @otispott.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

TOO MUCH WINNING PLEASE NO MORE WINNING

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Steve Potts @otispott.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Because, as everyone knows, the only way to improve the United States is to endlessly gush false praise over it and never ever offer critique.

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Jameel Jaffer @jameeljaffer.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Trump’s resort to “national security” isn't going to save his actions from unconstitutionality. What he's imposed is a prior restraint, and prior restraints are unconstitutional even in the national security context. See Pentagon Papers (1971). www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

washingtonpost.com

Trump tells judge media ban is necessary to protect national security

Ahead of a court hearing, the administration cited reports about the White House ballroom and the Iran war to defend its ban against CNN, MS NOW and Politico.

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Steve Potts @otispott.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

If a malignant narcissist runs his mouth incessantly but nobody hears him did he even make a sound?

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Ruth Ben-Ghiat @ruthbenghiat.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

In my latest essay, I write about the deeply dangerous threats being made against U.S. Judges — and how, despite this, U.S. judges are displaying the courage to stand up to authoritarian threats and attacks on Democratic notions of the law. More at my Substack at Lucid.Substack.com.

lucid.substack.com

Lucid | Ruth Ben-Ghiat | Substack

A newsletter for big-picture thinking about autocracy and threats to democracy around the world. Click to read Lucid, by Ruth Ben-Ghiat, a Substack publication with hundreds of thousands of subscriber...

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Steve Potts @otispott.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

If AI is “a separate species, a highly autonomous, potentially superintelligent entity” does that mean we have to be nice to it? Would it be immoral to pull the plug? shoot it in the face? throw it off a cliff?

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Massimo (mirror) @rainmaker1973-m.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Dog’s reaction when he realizes his sister was adopted into the same home. Original post

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Steve Potts @otispott.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Me: *laughing screaming laughing screaming*

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Phil Williams @philinvestigates.com · 08/08/2026

Bravo! Be sure to check out this new Bloomberg podcast, “Our Town,” that focuses on the Christian nationalists who moved into Jackson County, Tennessee! podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/b...

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Alexandra Petri @petridishes.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

The message of the midterm convention? If only Donald Trump were president! www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/...

theatlantic.com

A Recap of a Surreal Midterm Convention

It isn’t over until the president’s tenor sings.

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Steve Potts @otispott.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

But notice how the announcement succeeded in changing the media and public focus away from inflation, his attacks on democracy, his unconstitutional failed war, the Epstein files, his dementia, and his general corruption and incompetence, which was likely the whole goal so yeah mission accomplished.

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Craig Harrington @craigipedia.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Oh my gosh, the best political video on YouTube just got updated after a decade and a half and it's still just perfect! It visualizes something that I've talked about a lot since the first video came out: The real problem is the billionaire class. www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Gxl...

youtube.com

Wealth Inequality in America (Updated 2026)

YouTube video by politizane

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McSweeney's @mcsweeneys.net · 09/09/2026

7 a.m. I wake up and get stabbed. 8 a.m. I go to my corner bodega for a Bacon, Egg, and Cheese. On the way, I get mugged. 9 a.m. I get on the subway and immediately get murdered. buff.ly/puREmHa

mcsweeneys.net

A Day in the Life of a New Yorker, According to My Fox News-Watching Florida Family Members

7 a.m. I wake up and get stabbed.

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Steve Potts @otispott.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

September 9, 2026: Trump blindly stumbles into proposing universal basic income (UBI).

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Steve Potts @otispott.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Confabulation is a sign of brain damage and/or dementia.

confabulate
verb
con·fab·u·late kən-ˈfa-byə-ˌlāt
confabulated; confabulating
Synonyms of confabulate
intransitive verb

1
: to talk informally : chat
2
: to hold a discussion : confer
3
: to fill in gaps in memory by fabrication
A major characteristic of brain-damaged patients is the tendency to confabulate—to hide and dissemble about their damage.
—Peter R. Breggin

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Steve Potts @otispott.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

This monstrosity should be re-branded as Trump's FAILURE ARCH in view of the dismal result of his illegal war against Iran.

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Thomas Zimmer @thomaszimmer.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

There is no common ground to be had with conspiratorial extremists, even if they happen to hate certain things you also dislike. These are not good faith actors. Focus on their actual political project – not on some isolated snippets that make them sound sincere and reasonable.

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Leah McElrath @leahmcelrath.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Children in Gaza watch the Lion King

Rows of children sit in a cleared area among the rubble in a scene of black and gray devastation facing a screen on which the colorful animation of the Lion King is projected

Photo by Omar Ashtawy

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Chris Geidner @chrisgeidner.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

UPDATE: Justice Jackson, acting as the circuit justice for the First Circuit, requested a response from the plaintiffs by 10 a.m. Tuesday — suggesting, at least for now, that she is not granting the immediate administrative stay the Trump administration is seeking. www.lawdork.com/p/doj-rushes...

[Update, 8:25 p.m.: Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the circuit justice for the U.S.
Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, requested a response from the plaintiffs to be filed by 10 a.m. Tuesday, September 8. The request was issued to the plaintiffs before
5:00 p.m. Thursday, shortly after DOJ's application was docketed with the Supreme
Court.
The request suggests, for now at least, that Jackson will not be granting an immediate administrative stay to the Trump administration.]

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Walter Olson @walterolson.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

An undercover agent attended an anti-ICE meeting at the Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in suburban Minneapolis, recorded the license plates of attendees and then matched the plates to their owners, creating dossiers that included photos, addresses, and info about their families and employment.

reason.com

This federal case against Minnesota protesters is worth watching if you care about your civil liberties

A discovery motion could reveal how far DHS went in surveilling Minnesota activists and other administration critics.

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Steve Potts @otispott.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

bUt THe sTOcK MarkET is aT An alL time HiGh sO tHE econOMY is gREat!

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Steve Potts @otispott.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

🫨It's just like when Captain Kirk and Spock killed Landru. Who will guide us now?! Whatever will we do!

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Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

The Trump administration has filed 36 emergency applications since last February, which have generated 31 conclusive rulings. In those 31 rulings, the Court has voted *for* Trump in whole or in part 27 times (87.1%), and against him four times (12.9%). Here's a chart covering all of these rulings:

A (messy) Excel spreadsheet tracking all of the Trump administration's emergency applications, when they were filed, when they were decided, what kind of ruling they produced, and how each justice voted.

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Steve Potts @otispott.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

RFK Jr is not what you'd call 'up on the science.'

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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

I appreciate @hcrichardson.bsky.social for highlighting this issue, but this figure & history is not quite right. After the earthquake in 2010, the Obama admin granted TPS, then as the recovery stumbled amid cholera outbreaks, granted it again in 2011. Roughly 50,000 people got TPS then. 1/

Yesterday the Department of Homeland Security under Trump served up straight racism and cruelty to its wavering base in a post about Haitians. About 350,000 Haitians came to the United States after a catastrophic earthquake hit their country in 2010, destabilizing both the economy and the government. As the country became overrun with violent gangs, the U.S. granted Haitians Temporary Protected Status, allowing them to stay in the U.S. because it was too dangerous to go home.

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Steve Potts @otispott.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

When the genocide comes to America it will be legal.

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Erin Reed @erininthemorning.com · 26/08/2026

In Tabor, Iowa, a school board erupted for what would otherwise be a routine vote to hire a slate of new teachers. Why? Because a teacher was trans. The school board decided after hearing comments not to hire him, even though he already set up his classroom. Subscribe to support our journalism.

erininthemorning.com

After Anti-Trans Uproar At School Board Meeting, Iowa School District Rejects Trans Band Teacher

An Iowa school district chose to start the school year without the new band teacher instead of allowing a trans educator to take on the role he was offered, following protests from parents.

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ACLU @aclu.org · 25/08/2026

The drag show must go on.

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Chris Geidner @chrisgeidner.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

NEW: What Monday’s Supreme Court election order ruling is and is not. The Republican majority gave Trump a temporary win. It could be short-lived — or it could “foment chaos,” as Justice Jackson wrote, calling out the majority in unusually direct terms. Tonight, at Law Dork:

lawdork.com

What Monday’s Supreme Court election order ruling is and is not

The Republican majority gave Trump a temporary win. It could be short-lived — or it could “foment chaos,” as Justice Jackson wrote, calling out the majority in unusually direct terms.

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Bruce Wilson @brucewilson.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Here, have a Carsie Blanton song on the ultimately redeeming trait of not being a fascist: www.youtube.com/watch?v=eanN...

youtube.com

Fascists Are Good

YouTube video by Carsie Blanton - Topic

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Norm Eisen @normeisen.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Trump & his cronies on the Kennedy Center board are defying a court judgment and trying to put his name back on the Center We filed to seek an emergency stay—& the judge just ordered a hearing My column @contrariannews.org explains how we are fighting back👇- TN

contrariannews.org

From the Kennedy Center to the Paramount-Warner Merger, You Are Winning in Court, Contrarians

Publisher’s Roundup 81

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