Sign in

Bob Heffernan

@rvh55vt.bsky.social
2.5K followers 962 following 358 posts

Vermonter. Former U.S. Senate staffer, business owner, & association exec director. Gay. 🏳️‍🌈Author of 2 books. American Univ. BA journalism. Steered legislation 1977-1979 creating US Dept of Education. NIH & Yale medical research cured my stage 4 cancer.

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Bob Heffernan
Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 14h
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."
634253688783
Reposted by Bob Heffernan
Ron Filipkowski @ronfilipkowski.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
If you put Republicans in charge of the presidency, they blame Congress for their failures. If they also control Congress, they blame the courts. If they control the courts, they blame their state. If they control their state, they blame a secret shadowy deep state, NGOs & media.
881858460
Reposted by Bob Heffernan
Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
“.. Very good one sentence summary of the economy.” - Kyra Scanlon
842337756
Bob Heffernan @rvh55vt.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Part of me wants the worst for a reason: it might be better in the long run if the Democrats don’t retake Congress. If Trump and the Republicans continued to wreck the nation for 2 more years, the 2028 election would be a blue wave like FDR got in 1932. Dems ruled for over a decade with huge changes
000
Reposted by Bob Heffernan
Marlene Robertson🍁🇨🇦 @marlenerobertson.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Almost every country in the world walked out of the UN hall when Netanyahu took the stage. The world is against genocide.
1110732
Reposted by Bob Heffernan
Rachel Maddow @maddow.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
🤔 "Even as Trump seeks to decry Democrats as communists ahead of November’s midterm elections, he is rolling out the red carpet this week for Chinese President Xi Jinping, the leader of the world’s most powerful communist country..." apnews.com/article/trum...
apnews.com
Trump decries Democrats as 'communists,' even as he looks to impress China's communist leader
President Donald Trump says that communism is the greatest threat the U.S. has ever faced. But he's hosting the leader of the world's most powerful communist country this week — Chinese President Xi J...
931087392
Bob Heffernan @rvh55vt.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
010
Bob Heffernan @rvh55vt.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
043
Bob Heffernan @rvh55vt.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
“The only free cheese is in a mousetrap” —Russian proverb (pertains to Trump Jr’s wedding paid by Russian oligarch)
020
Bob Heffernan @rvh55vt.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
000
Bob Heffernan @rvh55vt.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
000
Reposted by Bob Heffernan
Rachel Maddow @maddow.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
"US foreign policy now hardly exists. It’s been replaced by random whims blurted out by an ignorant, easily confused amateur, who hasn’t done his homework, hasn’t thought through the implications of his declarations, and might very well change his mind without warning..." www.ms.now/news/trump-i...
ms.now
Trump stumbles into an international incident of his own making in Ireland
The underlying issue is best approached with a nuanced understanding of history, culture, diplomacy and regional politics. Trump skipped all that.
1132186779
Bob Heffernan @rvh55vt.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
They claim the huge data centers create jobs. Bullshit. Look closely at this August pic of an Amazon data center in Virginia. Few cars! Not even 20 parking spaces.
010
Bob Heffernan @rvh55vt.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
010
Bob Heffernan @rvh55vt.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
If I offered $5,000 to voters if the Democrats win, Trump’s Justice Department would prosecute me for bribery.
000
Bob Heffernan @rvh55vt.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
000
Bob Heffernan @rvh55vt.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
010
Reposted by Bob Heffernan
Ron Filipkowski @ronfilipkowski.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Never forget that on March 12, Trump was CELEBRATING oil prices going up because he said his cronies and donors in the oil companies would make more money. He WANTED prices to go up. And Republicans running in the midterms supported it, even though they want to hide from it now.
1292157790
Bob Heffernan @rvh55vt.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Dolly Inspired Their Wigs and Makeup, and Had Their Back, Too www.nytimes.com/2026/08/29/u...
nytimes.com
Dolly Inspired Their Wigs and Makeup, and Had Their Back, Too (Gift Article)
Dolly Parton was an advocate for her L.G.B.T.Q. fans. She also understood them, a meaningful bond in places where such recognition was hard to find.
010
Reposted by Bob Heffernan
jkavanagh.bsky.social @jkavanagh.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
“In 2016, Trump found a constituency already primed for grievance, and taught it to want more. His supporters have kept themselves in a state of frenzy ever since. They need to be perpetually outraged, aggrieved, and insulted. Inflicting pain on their enemies really good, and it feels just.”
theatlantic.com
The Wrath of MAGA
The ferocity of the response to Jon Ossoff reveals something deeper about the world of Trump supporters.
0123
Bob Heffernan @rvh55vt.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
For almost 12 years, we’ve had to put up with two old senile men as our nation’s leaders. WTF America? You, the American people, are responsible for this. Fix it in November.
000
Reposted by Bob Heffernan
Garrett M. Graff @vermontgmg.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Settlements are pure business decisions. If Meta was willing to pay $18 billion, imagine how guilty they must’ve been, how big they feared the real damages would be, and how insanely profitable it was to do this wrong in the first place.
933895
Bob Heffernan @rvh55vt.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
000
Bob Heffernan @rvh55vt.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Here’s why the Trumpers hate Lafayette. And why they hate history. A Wonderful tribute to one of my ancestors (my grandmother was a Lafayette). Men Wept. Women Fainted. What Lafayette’s Tour of America Tells Us About Ourselves. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/25/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | Men Wept. Women Fainted. What Lafayette’s Tour of America Tells Us About Ourselves. (Gift Article)
The Marquis de Lafayette returned to the United States in 1824. His tour carries key lessons for a country still fighting over how to remember its past.
000
Bob Heffernan @rvh55vt.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
"Whenever a Democrat occupies the White House, Republicans holler about federal debt..... But when the debt hit $40T, a new record, Republicans were suspiciously silent. It seems the “crisis” is not a crisis unless the president is a Democrat." —Jennifer Rubin
000
Bob Heffernan @rvh55vt.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
The American people support Canada in its trade war against the American government
000
Bob Heffernan @rvh55vt.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
000
Bob Heffernan @rvh55vt.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
000
Bob Heffernan @rvh55vt.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
All nations of the world should tell Trump: “Go fuck yourself”.
000
Bob Heffernan @rvh55vt.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
000
Bob Heffernan @rvh55vt.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
open.substack.com/pub/aaronrup...
open.substack.com
“Travel with Natalie”
How three words from Jon Ossoff prompted an epic MAGA crashout.
000
Reposted by Bob Heffernan
Garrett M. Graff @vermontgmg.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Wondering why data centers are as unpopular as nuclear waste? It's not the data centers. The problem is both more obvious and more fundamental: The daily lived experience of the AI boom sucks. www.doomsdayscenario.co/p/ai-is-maki...
doomsdayscenario.co
AI is making everything worse
The political problem isn't the data centers — it's that AI is a turd mountain looming over daily life.
40794271
Bob Heffernan @rvh55vt.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
010
Bob Heffernan @rvh55vt.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Prediction markets should allow insider betting. If you’re stupid enough to waste your money betting with the likes of Kalshi or Polymarket, you deserve to be ripped off by insiders.
010
Bob Heffernan @rvh55vt.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Today, small countries can be more powerful than superpowers. The New Physics of Power www.nytimes.com/2026/08/18/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | The New Physics of Power (Gift Article)
It doesn’t take much for small powers to gain a big advantage over the powerful.
100
Bob Heffernan @rvh55vt.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
The so-called prediction markets should be outlawed. Companies such that let people place bets and gamble on almost anything should be illegal and shut down.
101
Bob Heffernan @rvh55vt.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
000
Bob Heffernan @rvh55vt.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Love love love Pete Buttigieg! One caution about Pete's pitch that we cannot put things back the way they were after Trump destroyed them. I helped create the U.S. Department of Education, steering the legislation while on the US Senate staff. That took 3 YEARS (1977-1979)! (more)
110
Bob Heffernan @rvh55vt.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
010
Bob Heffernan @rvh55vt.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
messaging-custom-newsletters.nytimes.com/dynamic/rend...
messaging-custom-newsletters.nytimes.com
Buttigieg and El-Sayed are teaching Democrats to speak Republican
000
Reposted by Bob Heffernan
Dean Obeidallah @deanobeidallah.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
We need Democratic Attorneys General to hold a joint press conference making it clear if Trump, Elon Musk or any person violates state election laws trying to help the GOP win, they will be swiftly charged, prosecuted and imprisoned. Trump can't pardon for state crimes. Make them hear this now!
14388152
Bob Heffernan @rvh55vt.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
Are local & state law enforcement officers loyal to the Constitution of the United States and the Vermont State Constitution, or are they loyal to Trump? Same question for all the other states. vtdigger.org/2026/08/13/l...
vtdigger.org
Local police aid in Border Patrol’s deportation efforts raises questions on statewide compliance to policies on immigration enforcement - VTDigger
“Vermont’s existing framework for keeping local police out of the deportation business clearly needs to be stronger, and there must be accountability when local officials violate that policy,” ACLU to...
000
Bob Heffernan @rvh55vt.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
000
Bob Heffernan @rvh55vt.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
010
Bob Heffernan @rvh55vt.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
010
Bob Heffernan @rvh55vt.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
010
Bob Heffernan @rvh55vt.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
011
Bob Heffernan @rvh55vt.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
The real danger of Flock cameras everywhere: Trump's secret police could use them to come after you.
000
Bob Heffernan @rvh55vt.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
010
Bob Heffernan @rvh55vt.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
000