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Paul Avey

@paulcavey.bsky.social
1.5K followers 2K following 455 posts

Associate professor of political science at Virginia Tech. IR, foreign policy, nuclear politics. Views are my own & reposts ≠ endorsements.

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Reposted by Paul Avey
Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 23m
Trump on how ranked choice voting works: "You've got some guy behind a table I guess just picking a winner"
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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 6h
This fraud was then perpetuated by Elon Musk himself, who was running DOGE at the time, and who retweeted a post about the incident while declaring it a "criminal act." The government now "concedes ... that Mr. Musk and officials at FEMA and DHS knew this information was false."
vi. February 11, 2025, Statement by Elon Musk On February 11, 2025, Elon Musk, a Special Government Employee and head of DOGE, retweeted on X a photo of Ms. Comans along with the statement, “FEMA CFO Mary Comans was just fired for funneling $58M to illegal migrant hotels in Manhattan” and he called it a “criminal action.” The Government concedes and the Court finds that other than the fact that Ms. Comans had been fired, the post by Mr. Musk was entirely false. The Government further concedes and the Court further finds that Mr. Musk and officials at FEMA and DHS knew this information was false at the time it was posted. Based on the unchallenged facts and the fact that Mr. Musk was the head of DOGE, he knew or should have known that any payments made to state or local governments through a FEMA grant in February 2025 were approved by his subordinates. Finally, the fact that Mr. Musk posted a picture of Ms. Comans to his millions of followers while falsely characterizing her government service as a “criminal action” was clearly intended to make her afraid. Posting Ms. Comans’ picture served no legitimate governmental interest and was little more than state sanctioned intimidation.
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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 6h
Finally, Kristi Noem and Corey Lewandowski sent a statement to Laura Loomer, telling her Ms. Comans was "fired for illegally funding" migrant shelters "in violation of President Trump's Executive Order." Both Lewandowski and Noem, the government now admits, knew this was false.
vii. February 11, 2025, Statement by DHS Secretary Noem and Corey Lewandowski to Blogger Laura Loomer. On or about February 11, 2025, Laura Loomer, a blogger with a large following, posted on X that “FEMA’s Chief Financial Officer Mary Comans was just fired for illegally funding over $59 MILLION for illegal Aliens to stay in luxury hotels in NYC last week in violation of President Trump’s Executive Order.” Ms. Loomer was given this information by then DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and DHS Special Government Employee Corey Lewandowski. Ms. Noem and Mr. Lewandowski provided this information to Ms. Loomer with the expectation that she would further disseminate it to her on-line followers. The Government concedes and the Court finds that other than the fact that Ms. Comans had been fired, the information provided to Ms. Loomer was entirely false. The Government further concedes and the Court further finds that Ms. Noem, Mr. Lewandowski, and officials at FEMA and DHS knew this information was false at the time it was provided to Ms. Loomer
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 31m
OSSOFF: You didn't answer earlier. Answer now. Did Donald Trump win the 2020 election? MIKE COLLINS: You know, the 2020 election. Everybody has seen my views on that OSSOFF: What are they? COLLINS: There was a lot of doubt in that election OSSOFF: I didn't hear an answer
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 3h
Tapper: "How worried are Republicans about Paxton losing? Well, we've apparently reached a brand new campaign stage where the VP is insinuating that the Texas Democratic Senate nominee, James Talarico, is gay ... not exactly the sign of a party convinced they can win on their record or ideas"
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Abu Aardvark @abuaardvark.bsky.social · 2h
My voicemail spam folder full of predatory loan offers is racing neck to neck with my text spam folder full of Democratic fundraising texts. I feel a matchmaker moment coming on.
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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 6h
WOW. Kristi Noem and Elon Musk, among others, "chose to turn the power of the federal government against a singular employee with an impeccable record of public service. ... The attacks against Ms. Comans were based entirely on false information" and many officials "knew [they] were untrue."
In conducting this hearing, the Court is not called upon to resolve factual disputes between
the parties. The facts set forth in this Memorandum Opinion and Order were proposed by the
Plaintiff, unobjected to by the Government, and then deemed admitted by the Court. Dkts. 74, 75,
77.2 These facts establish that high-ranking government officials, including then Secretary of DHS
Kristi Noem and Elon Musk, engaged in a coordinated public relations campaign to impugn the
personal and professional integrity of Ms. Comans. For reasons unfathomable to this Court,
officials chose to turn the power of the federal government against a singular employee with an
impeccable record of public service. In short, Ms. Comans was professionally targeted and
personally attacked by government officials for no legitimate reason. The attacks against Ms.
Comans were based entirely on false information, and many government officials knew the
accusations were untrue at the time they were made. With no regard for the truth and with no
consideration for the personal and professional effect on Ms. Comans, government officials
exploited their access to mass media outlets to broadcast false information. These false
statements reached hundreds of millions of people. The purpose of this Order is, to the best of
this Court’s ability, to correct the public record and establish as a matter of law that the
statements made by these officials about Ms. Comans were objectively and demonstrably false.
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Minnesota Star Tribune @startribune.com · 10h
Amy Klobuchar holds a significant lead over Republican Lisa Demuth in the Minnesota governor’s race, according to a new Star Tribune/KARE 11 Minnesota Poll.
startribune.com
Minnesota Poll: Klobuchar has a commanding lead over Demuth in governor’s race
Slightly more voters trust Amy Klobuchar, the Democrat, to tackle the state’s fraud crisis than Republican Lisa Demuth.
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Owen Winter @owenwntr.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
Voters who live near data centres are swinging hard towards the Democrats, in our polling with YouGov www.economist.com/graphic-deta...
Line chart showing the Democratic two-party vote share among Americans living within 2km of a data centre compared with those living further away, from June 2025 to October 2026. Both groups start at around 52%. The Democratic share among those living within 2km rises sharply to 61% by October 2026, compared with a gradual increase to 55% among those living further away. Shaded areas show 95% confidence intervals, which are considerably wider for those living near data centres.
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 12h
Hassett: "People are right to be frustrated by the runaway inflation that Joe Biden gave us" (Inflation is up under Trump!)
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Jon Passantino @passantino.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
“Zacharia repeatedly made baseless accusations of pedophilia against prominent Democrats and shared conspiracy-related content, including claims that echoed the debunked ‘Pizzagate’ theory and that Hollywood elites were pedophilic cannibals,” via @kfile.bsky.social www.cnn.com/2026/10/12/p...
cnn.com
New White House press secretary has a history of conspiracy-laced social media posts | CNN Politics
President Donald Trump’s incoming White House press secretary, Katie Zacharia, repeatedly made baseless accusations of pedophilia against prominent Democrats and shared conspiracy-related content, inc...
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Mike Tanier @miketanier.bsky.social · 13h
Maybe you should have paid attention to that part of the roster instead of adding 8th-string tight ends and your Quarterback of the year 2265?
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Jon B. Wolfsthal @jonatomic.bsky.social · 12h
I led a National Security Council meeting in 2016 about industry and scientific concern over armed robots. At the end of the meeting, one of my colleagues came up and asked if any of these people had ever seen a science fiction movie in their whole lives.
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Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 14h
“.. AI models could find vulnerable devices, copy themselves into those devices, ​and continue spreading without human help.” @reuters.com www.reuters.com/business/ai-...
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The Wall Street Journal @wsj.com · 23h
More damaging revelations about Ken Paxton: A previously unreported New Year’s Eve 2024 celebration where Paxton partied in Dubai with two fugitives from U.S. justice and a woman who wasn’t his wife on.wsj.com/4yKLe4d
on.wsj.com
More damaging revelations about Ken Paxton: A previously unreported New Year’s Eve 2024 celebration where Paxton partied in Dubai with two fugitives from U.S. justice and a woman who wasn’t his wife
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CNN @cnn.com · 14h
President Trump on Monday kicked off a week of red-state campaigning with a raucous rally in Ohio, where large sections of seating in the arena were also empty. Republicans are fighting to hold onto a Senate seat that could be key to their majority. CNN's Betsy Klein reports. cnn.it/4etsC0u
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Foreign Policy @foreignpolicy.com · 12/10/2026
Iran has every incentive to reconstitute its missile and drone arsenal, learn from this war, and continue its bid for regional dominance, write Stacie Pettyjohn and Philip Sheers. foreignpolicy.com/2026/10/06/i...
foreignpolicy.com
How to Avoid Disaster in the Next Iran War
Recent war games highlight how Washington can improve its air defenses so the next round of fighting isn’t worse.
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Daniel Drezner @dandrezner.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
Wow. Bob Hall finally won his Nobel. www.axios.com/2026/10/12/n...
axios.com
Two U.S. professors win Nobel prize in economics
Their work helped shape how central banks set interest rates and communicate policy.
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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
Was just on Threads and this was my "For you" algorithm when I posted a comment debunking the story. Say what you will about BlueSky being a bubble, but its not designed to enrage and deceive its users
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Andy Craig @andycraig.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
It's already illegal. Congress banned it near-unanimously in 2022. That law allows the ban to be lifted only if Russia withdraws from Ukraine. He's simply breaking the law that's already on the books.
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Marc Morehouse @marcmorehouse.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
Sort of shocked by Minnesota right meow.
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Timothy McBride @mcbridetd.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
Silicon Valley’s Dream City Has Crashed Into Small-Town Politics www.wsj.com/us-news/sili...
wsj.com
Silicon Valley’s Dream City Has Crashed Into Small-Town Politics
A bitter standoff between tech-backed developers and local county leaders helped doom a $3-billion project at the edge of the Bay Area.
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Kofie @kofie.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
THEY CALL IT THE GAME
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Timothy McBride @mcbridetd.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
Some Republicans Reject Trump’s Move to Import Diesel Fuel From Russia www.nytimes.com/2026/10/10/u...
nytimes.com
Some Republicans Reject Trump’s Move to Import Diesel Fuel From Russia
High diesel costs have posed a problem for Republicans in the midterms, but President Trump’s decision did not satisfy some candidates in key Senate races.
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Sickos Committee @sickoscommittee.org · 11/10/2026
A week after taking down Top 5 Illinois State, Northern Iowa takes down Top 5 North Dakota!
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Rock Island Connected @riconnected.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
'Something to prove': Kamari Moulton runs for career-best 208 yards and 2 TDs as the Hawkeyes win out west
ourquadcities.com
‘Something to prove’: Kamari Moulton runs for career-best 208 yards and 2 TDs as the Hawkeyes win out west
Kamari Moulton ran for a career-high 208 yards on 26 carries and the Iowa defense held Washington to minus-3 yards rushing as the 20th-ranked Hawkeyes rolled to a 41-24 victory Friday night. Jeremy…
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Matt Lombardo @mattlombardo.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
Settle in with your Morning coffee, and what I’m hearing from league sources on the biggest storylines across the NFL! ☕️
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Carol Rosenberg @carolrosenbergfeed.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
The mission has cost more than $100 million, the study said. A recent visit found nearly 450 government employees and zero detainees. “This comes at a significant cost to taxpayers and undermines military readiness,” the report said. www.nytimes.com/2026/10/09/u...
nytimes.com
Senate Fact Finders Decry Costs of Immigrant Detention at Guantánamo
The setup has cost more than $100 million, the study said. A recent inspection found nearly 450 government employees and zero detainees.
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Elizabeth N. Saunders @profsaunders.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Recap: Putin launches full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Ukraine defends itself valiantly with US support, West adapts a little to energy shock with more on the way, Trump returns to office, cuts aid to Ukraine & renewables, launches a war of choice causing new energy shock, imports fuel from Russia.
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Alex Dukalskis @alexdukalskis.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
The flag is not “largely banned from flying internationally”
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Michael McDonald @electproject.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
#earlyvote morning update 10/10: at least 3 million people have voted in the 2026 general election 🥳🎉 election.lab.ufl.edu/early-vote/2...
election.lab.ufl.edu
UF Election Lab: 2026 General Election Early Vote Statistics
Live national and state-by-state early voting statistics for the 2026 general election.
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Quad City Times @qctimes.com · 10/10/2026
Instant Reaction to Iowa’s beatdown of Washington: Hecklinski may have reopened QB battle
qctimes.com
Instant Reaction to Iowa’s beatdown of Washington: Hecklinski may have reopened QB battle
Iowa needed a response after its loss to Ohio State. The Hawkeyes delivered with a 41-8 rout of Washington. Here are five takeaways.
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Clark Addison @clarkaddison.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
Lots of scribes on here. I did a short dive today but didn’t get much in terms of answers…. How many times have the Hawkeyes and Cyclones both played on a Friday night?
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Hawkeyes Mic @hawkeyesmic.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
The #20/18 #Hawkeyes improve to 5-1, 2-1 - and were 2-1 in "The Gauntlet" (which is pretty damn good). Tonight UI racked up 263 rush YDs to go along with 202 YDs passing. Iowa has a bye week before heading to Minneapolis in the annual battle for Floyd (Time & TV TBA). Washington drops to 3-3, 0-3.
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Teren Kowatsch @teren-kowatsch.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
SEATTLE -- The Washington Huskies were outclassed on both sides of the ball in a 41-24 loss to the No. 20 Iowa Hawkeyes on Friday at Husky Stadium. #Huskies #PurpleReign
roundtable.io
Washington Huskies Embarrassed in Blowout Loss to No. 20 Iowa Hawkeyes
The Huskies had a season-worst performance in a 41-24 defeat at the hands of the ranked Hawkeyes
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Sam Paxton @sampaxton.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
Hawkeyes far and wide invaded Seattle on Friday night ... and they aren't leaving disappointed. Friday's late start means it's time to visit thegazette.com/sports, as well as digitaledition.thegazette.com, for game stories and photos.
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Quad City Times @qctimes.com · 10/10/2026
Inside the plays that turned momentum in Iowa’s 41-24 win over Washington
qctimes.com
Inside the plays that turned momentum in Iowa’s 41-24 win over Washington
Iowa built a 27-0 lead, then held off Washington's second-half rally. Here are four plays that shaped the Hawkeyes' 41-24 victory.
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Ulrike Franke @rikefranke.eu · 10/10/2026
What a lede 😂 🎁🔗 - this really is a great Saturday morning read giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/... ‘The whole operation was a bloody shambles’ — Jay Rayner reviews RH London, Mayfair
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Bloomberg News @bloomberg.com · 10/10/2026
US automakers like Chevrolet abandoned cheap compacts in favor of pickups and SUVs, leaving them exposed as gas prices rise
bloom.bg
The Options for an Affordable American Car Are Lacking
Detroit’s love of SUVs puts automakers in a tough spot as gasoline prices are rising.
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KCCI 8 News @kcci.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
A blowout win in Washington. The Hawkeyes were in control all night Friday: www.kcci.com/article/iowa-football-… 
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Ryan M. Jaster, Hawkologist @ryanmjaster.hawkeyehq.com · 10/10/2026
FINAL: #Hawkeyes 41, Washington 24. Kamari Moulton with 208 yards rushing and 2 touchdowns.
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Marc Morehouse @marcmorehouse.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
And polka.
static.klipy.com
John Candy's Polka Polka in Home Alone
ALT: John Candy's Polka Polka in Home Alone
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Marc Morehouse @marcmorehouse.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
I’m sure one of the diligent best writers is all over QB performance in first starts. Hecklinski is 14 of 19 for 203, 3 TDs and a 215.1 rating. Lester schemed the shit out of UW, which looked uncoached on defense. Still, impressive and now what with Bocephus?
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Marc Morehouse @marcmorehouse.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
Rest of the schedule is a Big Ten West reunion tour. Love that shit. Seriously, regional fun time jamboree.
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Irrational Hawkeye @irrationalhawkeye.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
It’s about to get VERY B1G West for the next 6 games.
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Marc Morehouse @marcmorehouse.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
Nine different receivers caught passes tonight for Iowa. Looks like Moulton is going to finish with 208.
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Matt Novak @paleofuture.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
“Even though transit through the Strait of Hormuz has increased, the cost of hiring a tanker rose to about $1.2 million a day, compared with less than $50,000 a day before the war.”
bloomberg.com
Iran Protects Capacity to Build Missiles as Trump Pauses Strikes
Iran has managed to preserve its missile and drone factories despite months of US and Israeli bombing, officials familiar with the matter said, allowing it to replenish its arsenals while President Do...
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CJ Fogler @cjzero.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
Broadcast absolutely loved it
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Sickos Committee @sickoscommittee.org · 10/10/2026
That’s a hell of a hard count.
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Lynne B @linnibell.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
You guys….i know we’re all enjoying Hawkeye football, but the LV Aces are going dooowwwnnn right now.
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