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A Public Defender

@pubdef.bsky.social
407 followers 463 following 410 posts

A California public defender.

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A Public Defender @pubdef.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
The “way of life” Talarico threatens:
Headline on msn.com: “Social media erupts after Ken Paxton office cuts Adam Hoffman jail time in child abuse case”

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/social-media-erupts-after-ken-paxton-office-cuts-adam-hoffman-jail-time-in-child-abuse-case/ar-AA244PKC
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A Public Defender @pubdef.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
This — and all the antics if the VP and Trump‘s cabinet really— make me think of the comment in the Life of Pi about the Omega Lion…
“It is interesting to note that the lion that is the most amenable to the circus trainer’s tricks is the one with the lowest social standing in the pride, the omega animal. It has the most to gain from a close relationship with the super-alpha trainer. It is not only a matter of extra treats. A close relationship will also mean protection from the other members of the pride. It is this compliant animal, to the public no different from the others in size and apparent ferocity, that will be the star of the show, while the trainer leaves the beta and gamma lions, more cantankerous subordinates, sitting on their colourful barrels on the edge of the ring.”
Yann Martel, Life of Pi
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A Public Defender @pubdef.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
House’s new SAVE Act would *require* State officials to submit to DHS the names of ALL registered voters incl US citizens & would allow States to request “batched information” from *any* federal dept (IRS, SSA, HHS) regarding anyone including Americans. This bill is about empowering the Police State
The 2026 House Amendment would add to Section 8 of the National Voter Registration Act section 8(j)(4):
(4) STATE REQUIREMENTS.— Not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this subsection:
(A)	 Each State shall take affirmative steps, on an ongoing basis, to ensure that only United States citizens are registered to vote under the provisions of this Act, and such affirmative steps shall include the establishment of a program described in subparagraphs (B) and (C). 
(B) 	Each State shall submit each individual in the official list of eligible voters for Federal office in the State to the Department of Homeland Security through the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (‘SAVE’) system for the purposes of identifying individuals who are not citizens of the United States and taking the necessary steps to remove such individuals who are not citizens from the official list, after notice is given to such individuals and such individuals are given the opportunity to provide documentary proof of United States citizenship, but a State with a memorandum of agreement for such purposes with the Department of Homeland Security on the date of the enactment of this subsection may comply with this subparagraph by carrying out such purposes under the memorandum. [Emphases added.]

https://rules.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/rules.house.gov/files/documents/rcp_s1383_xml_0.pdf(5) AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—At the request of a State election official (including a request related to a process established by a State under paragraph (3)(A) or (3)(B)), any head of a Federal department or agency possessing information relevant to determining the eligibility of an individual to vote in elections for Federal office shall, not later than 24 hours after receipt of such request, provide the official with such information as may be necessary to enable the official to verify that an applicant for voter registration in elections for Federal office held in the State or a registrant on the official list of eligible voters in elections for Federal office held in the State is a citizen of the United States, which shall include providing the official with such batched information as may be requested by the official. [Emphases added.]
***
(C) SHARING OF INFORMATION.—The heads of Federal departments and agencies shall share information with each other with respect to an individual who is the subject of a request received under paragraph (A) in order to enable them to respond to the request.
***
(See 2026 House Amendment adding to Section 8 of the National Voter Registration Act section 8(j)(5).) 

https://rules.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/rules.house.gov/files/documents/rcp_s1383_xml_0.pdf
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A Public Defender @pubdef.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
House’s new SAVE Act would *require* State officials to submit to DHS the names of ALL registered voters incl US citizens & would allow States to request “batched information” from *any* federal dept (IRS, SSA, HHS) regarding anyone including Americans. This bill is about empowering the Police State
The 2026 House Amendment would add to Section 8 of the National Voter Registration Act section 8(j)(4):
(4) STATE REQUIREMENTS.— Not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this subsection:
(A)	 Each State shall take affirmative steps, on an ongoing basis, to ensure that only United States citizens are registered to vote under the provisions of this Act, and such affirmative steps shall include the establishment of a program described in subparagraphs (B) and (C). 
(B) 	Each State shall submit each individual in the official list of eligible voters for Federal office in the State to the Department of Homeland Security through the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (‘SAVE’) system for the purposes of identifying individuals who are not citizens of the United States and taking the necessary steps to remove such individuals who are not citizens from the official list, after notice is given to such individuals and such individuals are given the opportunity to provide documentary proof of United States citizenship, but a State with a memorandum of agreement for such purposes with the Department of Homeland Security on the date of the enactment of this subsection may comply with this subparagraph by carrying out such purposes under the memorandum. [Emphases added.]
(5) AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—At the request of a State election official (including a request related to a process established by a State under paragraph (3)(A) or (3)(B)), any head of a Federal department or agency possessing information relevant to determining the eligibility of an individual to vote in elections for Federal office shall, not later than 24 hours after receipt of such request, provide the official with such information as may be necessary to enable the official to verify that an applicant for voter registration in elections for Federal office held in the State or a registrant on the official list of eligible voters in elections for Federal office held in the State is a citizen of the United States, which shall include providing the official with such batched information as may be requested by the official. [Emphases added.]
***
(C) SHARING OF INFORMATION.—The heads of Federal departments and agencies shall share information with each other with respect to an individual who is the subject of a request received under paragraph (A) in order to enable them to respond to the request.
***
(See 2026 House Amendment adding to Section 8 of the National Voter Registration Act section 8(j)(5).)
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A Public Defender @pubdef.bsky.social · 04/12/2025
Palantir CEO [chuckling]: “War crimes are legal now because it is good for business.”
Screenshot of Goldfinger scene where Bond is strapped to a board with a laser pointing at him and asks villain Goldfinger, “Do you expect me to talk?” Goldfinger responds, “No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to die.”
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A Public Defender @pubdef.bsky.social · 04/12/2025
No surprise that HRC thinks youth today are OK with the mass destruction & civilian slaughter perpetrated by Israel when there wasnt much outrage when her husband’s Sec of State said that the death of 500k Iraqi children bc of US war etc was “worth it.” #LowMorals www.youtube.com/shorts/1T5JR...
Screenshot of B. Clinton Secretary of State Madeleine Albright saying, in 1997, that the death of 500,000 Iraqi children from US sanctions and mass destruction was “worth it” from YouTube clip posted by Middle East Eye: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/1T5JRVR53Eo
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A Public Defender @pubdef.bsky.social · 18/09/2025
Frankly, Congress (if it still exists) should call him to the carpet and ask him what he meant when he wrote about the role of the FCC in promoting “freedom of speech,” innovation and competition from a “wide range of actors,” and ”good governance” in the Heritage Foundation Manifesto.
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A Public Defender @pubdef.bsky.social · 18/09/2025
Brendan Carr in the Heritage Project Manifesto, 2023:
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A Public Defender @pubdef.bsky.social · 30/08/2025
I think this is something the actors are contractually obligated to say every 15 years or so to get people to watch it again to boost their royalties.
Screenshot from article in LA Times, dated Nov. 12, 2011: OPINION
In Theory: Could ‘Life of Brian’ be made today?

Monty Python star Terry Jones, who directed and played four roles in the controversial 1979 movie “Life of Brian,” has said the film probably couldn’t be made today because of a resurgence in religious belief.

https://www.latimes.com/socal/glendale-news-press/opinion/tn-gnp-xpm-2011-11-12-tn-pas-1113-in-theory-monty-python-story.html
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A Public Defender @pubdef.bsky.social · 01/04/2025
The Govt argues The Deported are in Salvadoran custody, and the courts cannot bring back the erroneously deported. www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...
Screenshot from the other site from user YAppelbaum: “NEW: In a court filing this evening, the Trump Admin said that it had mistakenly deported a Maryland father to a notorious Salvadoran prison due to ‘administrative  error.’” Screenshot within the screenshot reads: “But in Monday’s court filing, attorneys for the govt admitted that the Salvadoran man, Kilmer Abrego Garcia, was deported accidentally. ‘Although ICE was aware of his protection from removal to El Salvador, Abrego Garcia was removed to El Salvador because of an administrative error,’ the government told the court. Trump lawyers said the court **has no ability to bring him back now** that Abrego Garcia is in Salvadoran custody.”
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A Public Defender @pubdef.bsky.social · 28/02/2025
Shot: Chaser:
The Blaze reporters on The Other Site at Feb. 27 2025 at 8:37pm saying, “FBI whistleblower: ‘People inside the FBI have been working night and day to destroy files.’”Current FBI Director Kash Patel posted on The Other Site four hours later that “[t]he FBI is entering a new era—one that will be defined by integrity, accountability, and the unwavering pursuit of justice. There will be no cover-ups, no missing documents, and no stone left unturned — and anyone from the prior or current Bureau who undermines this will be swiftly pursued. If there are gaps, we will find them. If records have been hidden, we will uncover them. And we will bring everything we find to the DOJ to be fully assessed and transparently disseminated to the American people as it should be. The oath we take is to the Constitution, and under my leadership, that promise will be upheld without compromise.”
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A Public Defender @pubdef.bsky.social · 24/02/2025
This article says that Representative Johnson who drafted the Immigration Act of 1924 was a “declared member” of the KKK. 😬 lareviewofbooks.org/article/whit...
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A Public Defender @pubdef.bsky.social · 24/02/2025
A picture of Morpheus from the Matrix with text stating, “What if I told you that a member of the KKK created the basis for our current immigration scheme.”
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A Public Defender @pubdef.bsky.social · 22/02/2025
I happened to go to the financial aid page of the University of Wyoming for reasons: They felt that the initial withholding of federal funds included Work Study, Pell Grants, Direct Loans… It will be devastating for higher education. From: www.uwyo.edu/sfa/index.html
Screenshot from the University of Wyoming financial aid website which says FINANCIAL AID NEWS
Breaking News!
UPDATE January 29, 2025 - The White House budget office rescinded the order to temporarily pause all activities related to obligations or disbursement of federal financial assistance. The Office of Scholarships & Financial Aid plans to disburse authorized financial aid, including Pell Grants, SEOG Grants, and Direct Loans, beginning January 31 as originally planned. Work-Study awards are earned and then paid through the Payroll Office. If you have any questions about the status of your federal aid, please contact our office.

January 27, 2025 - The U.S. Department of Education is currently reviewing the full impact of the memo issued by the Office of Management and Budget on January 27, 2025, to temporarily pause federal financial assistance programs. Per the memo, the pause does not impact "assistance received directly by individuals." This includes Title IV, HEA funds (Pell Grants, SEOG Grants, Federal Work Study awards, and Direct Loans), which are provided to individual students.

The Office of Scholarships & Financial Aid will provide additional updates as they become available.
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A Public Defender @pubdef.bsky.social · 13/02/2025
So you didn’t fast track nominations so that you or other Dems can go to Munich? BC this (below) is what you should have used this trip as leverage and bc anyone who caved to Repubs to get an American-public-paid trip to Munich should be defunded and primaried.
Excerpt of article on Axios saying Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R SD) is making good on his threat to keep the Senate working after hours, vowing to go straight through the weekend if Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D NY) doesn’t cut a deal to speed things up.
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A Public Defender @pubdef.bsky.social · 07/02/2025
I wonder if there is any connection.
Map of the Pacific Ocean showing the great garbage patch floating somewhere between Baja California and Hawaii. From: https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/great-pacific-garbage-patch/
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A Public Defender @pubdef.bsky.social · 22/01/2025
Photo of Denali, what Alaskans called this mountain in 1975 when the State of Alaska asked to change its official name.Photo of Denali, what the Alaskans called this mountain in 2015 when Obama changed its name officially.Photo of Denali, what Alaskans will call this mountain in 2015 despite Trump’s  Executive Order
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A Public Defender @pubdef.bsky.social · 22/01/2025
Ohhh, a DEI hire, eh? That is not what the Senate Commerce Republicans led by Ted Cruz said in 2022. DEI is just code for any woman, person of color, or any other non cis white male to lose their federal job.
Senate Commerce Republicans tweeted on April 5, 2022, that POTUS has finally nominated an outstanding leader for USGC. If confirmed, Linda L. Afghan would be the first female Commandant of the USCG. It is important for the commerce committee to proceed efficiently so the Coast Guard is not left without a leader.Twitter page for the Senate Commerce Republicans which provides “official news and updates for the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation lead by Chairman Ted Cruz.”
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A Public Defender @pubdef.bsky.social · 21/01/2025
WTF? Also what are we doing here? Although the USSR liberated the concentration camps in Poland (months before they occupied Berlin), the American troops liberated Dachau camp outside of Munich April 29, 1945. Before the liberation of Berlin. encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/t... #TheMoreYouKnow
US and allies were on the ground in mainland Europe from at least Sept 9, 1943, when they invaded Italy.The US and its allies also invaded the north coast of France on June 6, 1944.The USSR did not occupy Berlin until May 2, 1945, almost one year after the Allies invaded France.
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A Public Defender @pubdef.bsky.social · 19/01/2025
Cute cute or chic cute? For fun cute, I recommend Legami, an Italian brand. For more unique stationary options (and if you can take a vacation), I suggest Scriba Venice, a stationary store in Italy. maps.app.goo.gl/xVCaK6VuaGjf...
Some pens and highlighters from the Italian brand, Legami. The pens have caps in the shape of cute bears and corgis.
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A Public Defender @pubdef.bsky.social · 29/11/2024
Anita Garibaldi on horseback riding side-saddle shooting a gun with one hand and holding a baby in the other arm.
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