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Tree Mendous

@treemendous.bsky.social
248 followers 72 following 1K posts

Deciduous. Or evergreen. Depends on the day.

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Reposted by Tree Mendous
e.w. niedermeyer @niedermeyer.online · 3h
Elon didn't run from California's restrictive regulatory environment, he ran towards the ability to buy people like Ken Paxton wholesale
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Anu @nofirstorder.bsky.social · 3h
“I almost stopped a disaster once, but then someone else didn’t” is the ultimate Susan Collins legacy.
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Tree Mendous @treemendous.bsky.social · 14/10/2026
“When you’re a star they just let you do it”
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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
Excerpts from Michael Lewis on DOGE (Guardian article). 1. Gavin Kliger, white nationalist, refused to shake hands with the Black IRS staffer who briefed him on privacy issues. Or pay attention. Kliger now has a defense start-up valued at 1.4B thanks to DOGE. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
Phyllis, who loved working for Kathleen and saw falling on hand grenades as part of her job, never told her how this one had felt. She knew Gavin had expressed enthusiasm for white nationalists, and he likely knew that she knew. She tried to break the ice by walking in with her hand extended; Gavin stared at it and declined to shake it, though he had shaken the hands of the white men who had offered them. “He was kind of cool towards me,” said Phyllis. Before she could even start the briefing, he said, You know, I’ve heard these rules before at other agencies. Yes, she said, but these rules are different, because no other agency is governed by this privacy law, and this law can get you thrown in jail very quickly. As she walked him through the basics – how you can’t use your personal phone for business, how if you happen to so much as glimpse a form 1040 with someone’s name on it you must avert your eyes – Gavin played on his phone. “He’s multitasking right in front of me, typing and texting,” said Phyllis. “It was, here’s a routine that I must endure.”
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The Wall Street Journal @wsj.com · 13/10/2026
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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Bill Grueskin @bgrueskin.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
Judge Reyes: “I said, the Government won't lie. And now they did.” Via @innercitypress.bsky.social
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The Questionable Authority @questauthority.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
This is attempted murder.
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Eric Columbus @ericcolumbus.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
The thing to know about Tom Emmer is he wants to lead the House GOP and probably would be Speaker now had Trump not “killed him” in 2023. www.politico.com/news/2023/10... And he’ll sell out everyone he used to support — Ukraine, Somali-Americans, whoever — to get there.
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David Simon @audacityofdespair.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
We used to make shit, build shit in this country. Now we put our hand in the next guy's pocket. Or so I was once told. This shit is going to make the mortgage-backed securities scandal look like a time of modulated economic growth and sober investment opportunity.
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National Security Counselors 🕵 @nationalsecuritylaw.org · 08/10/2026
And you can bet good money that if the Democrats win, Trump and the Republicans will try their absolute damnedest to completely torch the economy in the shortest time possible so they can say in 2028 SEE WE TOLD YOU THE DEMOCRATS WOULD RUIN IT YOU SHOULD VOTE US BACK INTO POWER
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Kyle Griffin @kylegriffin1.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Kimberly Guilfoyle was preparing for her congressional hearing to become U.S. ambassador to Greece when she reached out to a Trump donor with an urgent request: She needed $100,000 that she said she owed American Express—in a way that wouldn't leave a paper trail.
wsj.com
Exclusive | ‘Honey Please’: Kimberly Guilfoyle Pushed Donor to Wire $100,000 to Her Amex Account
Text messages with a MAGA ally show Guilfoyle seeking funds and offering access to top administration officials before becoming ambassador to Greece.
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Raffi Melkonian @rmfifthcircuit.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
The number of just cartoon level crimes that are eventually going to emerge when we can finally investigate is going to be incredible.
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Tree Mendous @treemendous.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
The knee bend at the 0:13 mark gets me every time i watch this.
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 07/10/2026
Troy Jackson after Collins takes credit for rural healthcare cuts in big beautiful bill not being as bad as they could've been even though she voted to advance the bill: "Sen. Collins is like an arsonist who helped set the fire, and then she wants credit for bringing a cup of water to put it out"
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 07/10/2026
Troy Jackson: "As late as 2024, the FBI was circling around Sen. Collins ... then when President Trump came back, his administration dismantled the investigation. Now she votes with Donald Trump 96% of the time. Look, I don't owe Donald Trump nothing."
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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
We live in a police state now
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National Security Counselors 🕵 @nationalsecuritylaw.org · 05/10/2026
I've written about this before. This is the "Superman will save us" mentality. It allows people to rationalize not trying because they will be saved by someone else who does try. It's this weird little quirk where game theory meets psychology.
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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
A 10K contribution and a $900 million return. The scale of the graft in Homeland Security is a) off the charts and b) possible because no-one believes they will face any accountability
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Mr. Dan Zak @mrdanzak.com · 04/10/2026
A Haitian man legally immigrated to Ohio, then was given an ankle monitor bc Trump withdrew his status. He threw himself in front of truck. The trucker, who voted for Trump, is haunted. “Pierre was doing what he was supposed to do. We did not do right by him.” www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...
theatlantic.com
A Reckoning in Springfield
A truck driver out on his route confronts what the country has become.
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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
The unitary executive types never get too hung up on the "shall execute the law faithfully" bit of Article II
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Matthew Gertz @mattgertz.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
I don't think it's a good idea to let the wildly unqualified former host of Fox & Friends' weekend edition cull the military's leadership and insert cronies. bsky.app/profile/wash...
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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Stephen Miller's wife got threatening phone calls, leading to the FBI opening an investigation. When the Miller family were not happy with the pace of the progress the lead agents were kicked off the case and reassigned. news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...
news.bloomberglaw.com
FBI Ousts Officials Probing Threats to Stephen Miller’s Wife (2)
FBI leadership removed two counterterrorism leaders due to dissatisfaction with their investigation of allegedly threatening phone calls made to senior White House aide Stephen Miller’s wife, said thr...
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Max Kennerly @maxkennerly.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
My favorite part is how people will immediately recognize the reasons for "$50" vs "$3,596.49." The first is the co-pay the patient believed; the second is because the doctor lied about insurance coverage while making them sign a giant legalese form that waived it and consented to the billing.
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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Am I saying META retaliated against a critic by falsely suggesting he masturbated on a plane in a news story? No...
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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Diesel at record high prices and why no trucker convoy in DC?
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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Again, propaganda paid for by taxpayers while this dope is sitting on hundreds of millions in campaign donations.
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Maciek Hamela @maciekhamela.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
With the Strait of Hormuz closed, Iraq has resorted to moving its oil across the desert to Syria in hundreds of tanker trucks, in true Mad Max style. From there, it will be shipped to worldwide markets.
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 24/09/2026
MURRAY: The Trump admin falsely labeled birth control as abortion. Do you agree that an IUD is an abortifacient? OVERTON: If confirmed, I'll be fully briefed M: That's not an answer. The prospect of an FDA commissioner who doesn't know that birth control isn't an abortion is deeply alarming O: 😊
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Tom Nichols @radiofreetom.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
By tradition, American presidents don’t make the 12-mile trip to the base to greet a foreign leader. Now Trump waits at the bottom of a set of airline steps for the Chinese president. From @jonlemire.bsky.social www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...
theatlantic.com
The Deferential President
Not long ago, President Trump could claim that he ran the world. Now he’s waiting at the bottom of a set of airline steps for the Chinese president.
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Ray Steele @raysteelenews.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
BREAKING: @politico.com says the Secret Service denied its reporter access to the White House and confiscated their media pass in defiance of a federal judge's order to restore White House access to reporters from POLITICO, CNN and MS NOW. www.politico.com/news/2026/09...
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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Democracy in America: "This Monday, House Republicans held a hearing focused on creating a closed-door commission to cut Social Security and Medicare. The hearing was for an audience of one: billionaire donor Harlan Crow."
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Liz Dye @lizdye.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
The president can exclude reporters, even for viewpoint discriminatory reasons EvEn fOr vIeWpoiNt DisCriMinAtoRy rEaSoNs EVEN FOR VIEWPOINT DISCRIMINATORY REASONS storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
House is a privilege—not a right. The President has set out his factual findings and provided
Plaintiffs an opportunity to contest this decision by 5:00 PM Friday, September 25, 2026.
Plaintiffs ask this Court to enjoin the President to provide them with immediate, continued
access to the White House complex, contrary to his personal judgment, on three purported grounds.
All fail. First, the President’s actions are lawful under the First Amendment. While the D.C. Circuit
has held that some areas of the White House grounds constitute a nonpublic forum, Sherrill v.
Knight, 569 F.2d 124 (D.C. Cir. 1977), that decision is wrong and should be overruled. But even
under Sherrill, the President’s actions must be sustained because the President has “compelling
interest[s]” in enforcing minimum standards for bona fide journalists and safeguarding national
security information. At the very least, the Government may control reporters’ access to restricted
presidential areas, such as the Oval Office, even for viewpoint-discriminatory reasons. Associated
Press v. Budowich, No. 25-5109, 2025 WL 1649265 (D.C. Cir. June 6, 2025) (“AP”). Second, the
President’s actions were not retaliatory because the Government would have taken the same action
anyway, notwithstanding Plaintiffs’ speech criticizing the President—indeed, the President has not
revoked access to other outlets that have equally criticized the President. Third, Plaintiffs are
unlikely to prevail on their due process claims because, even if they have a constitutional right to
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ProPublica @propublica.org · 22/09/2026
Sen. Susan Collins helped steer millions in federal defense contracts to Navatek, whose CEO illegally funneled thousands of dollars to her campaign. The FBI sought to launch a probe and was eyeing Collins and other lawmakers. Then Trump gutted the unit in charge. THREAD 🧵
Martin Kao, CEO of defense contractor Navatek, poses next to Sen. Susan Collins for a photo. Collins is holding a model of a boat in her hands. Behind them is a large sign with the Navatek logo.
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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
This seems like a pretty big deal: donors made illegal contributions to Susan Collins and then were awarded lucrative contracts after her office intervened with the Navy. An FBI investigation was dropped under Trump. www.propublica.org/article/fbi-...
To skirt campaign finance laws and conceal the source of the funds, Navatek planned to funnel the donation through a shell company. The CEO wanted assurance that Collins would know where
the money came from. Reed confirmed that she would, the executive said - and that Navatek would get its government contracts.
After the Corner Bakery meeting, Navatek's CEO, Martin Kao, sent an initial $150,000 to the Collins super PAC using the shell company. Two months later, he told Navatek executives that Collins committed to getting the company $32 million in naval contracts, according to an internal company email reviewed by ProPublica.
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Marie Le Conte @youngvulgarian.marieleconte.com · 18/09/2026
woman currently using the cafe's toilet as a cubicle to take a work call from (??) is an exciting new frontier in the "have people forgotten how to behave in the world" discourse we've been having here lately
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Sean Casten @seancasten.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
This from a man who has asked his son to monitor his on-line porn consumption.
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Tree Mendous @treemendous.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
I really hope that someone is hard at work on a book about the QAnon presidency
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DrHello @drhellodarkness.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
When asked who he believed, Trump famously stated: "My people said they think it's Russia. I have President Putin; he just said it's not Russia. I don't see any reason why it would be." 🤦‍♀️ Our president is helping to kill our own servicemembers in a war he started.😡 7/7
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DrHello @drhellodarkness.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Yeah, that classified document was the plan to attack Iran, and he was recorded, out of his presidency, spilling the beans and sharing it with Susie Wiles. 2/
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David Roberts @volts.wtf · 16/09/2026
This almost always consists of conservatives saying "people no longer trust your institution" after spending decades doing everything they can to destroy trust in the institution. True of the press, true of academia, true of public health.
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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
The Republican candidate dodged a debate on *Fox* because of an alleged media bias against him. On Fox. FFS
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Kyle Griffin @kylegriffin1.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Federal employees were paid $9.5 billion not to work in 2025 under DOGE. As part of the Trump-Musk DOGE program to shrink the federal work force, paid administrative leave costs rose by 435%.
nytimes.com
Federal Employees Were Paid $9.5 Billion Not to Work in 2025 Under DOGE Effort
As part of the Department of Government Efficiency’s program to shrink the federal work force, paid administrative leave costs rose by 435 percent.
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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 15/09/2026
the truly crazy making part of all of this is that voter fraud EFFECTIVELY DOES NOT EXIST. you have a better chance of finding an actual leprechaun at the end of the rainbow than of finding evidence of voter fraud that influences an election
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Kendyl Hanks @kendylhanks.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
GOP is doing everything they can to suppress votes because they know huge turnout means Dem gains. If you are sitting out bc a Dem is not a perfect candidate you are lifting for GOP. This isn’t a primary, it’s a critical midterm election.
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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Our political system is that a guy who is publicly shamed for being a terrible person - at the state fair! - will probably get re-elected to the Senate
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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Thanks to @joanalker1.bsky.social & @edwincpark.bsky.social for rebutting the editorial. A conservative think tank said lots of people on Medicaid are not working. The Post just went with that without sourcing the claim or methods or noting it contradicts multiple credible nonpartisan studies. Awful
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Laura Bassett @lebassett.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
“It’s not that I wouldn’t cheat” is an incredible thing for a president to say
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Barbara Kaskosz @kaskosz.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Tom Nichols: “What Donald Trump did is what he’s done with so many other things. He has just firehosed the American people with so much of this corruption that people’ve gotten used to it. They kind of shrug and they say: ‘Well, what are you gonna do?’” @radiofreetom.bsky.social
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an appliance is making a weird noise that isn't on youtube @jesseltaylor.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
FYI, this isn't the pedophile campaign staffer whose brother tried to attack the Dem gubernatorial candidate, this is a different one
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Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Two of the 18 US service members killed in the Iran war were Iowans: Sgt. Declan Coady and Maj. Jeffrey O'Brien. Iowans among the injured as well. And Iowa of all places feels the rises of fertilizer and diesel prices due to the war. Plus, you know, there's caring about the country and the world.
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