@radleybalko.bsky.social
Journalist. Quattrone Center journalism fellow. Author: Rise of the Warrior Cop. Co-author: The Cadaver King and the Country Dentist. New podcast: Collateral Damage Substack: radleybalko.substack.com Signal: radleybalko.52
Scenes from a personalist regime
03.03.2026 13:45 โ ๐ 2101 ๐ 727 ๐ฌ 83 ๐ 122Screenshot of excerpt from opinion that reads: "Despite this, the New York courts refused to stay the trial courtโs order. After that highly questionable injunction was issued, the applicants filed appeals in both the Appellate Division (the Stateโs intermediate appellate court) and the Court of Appeals (its highest court) challenging the trial courtโs order on federal constitutional grounds. At the same time, applicants asked both courts to stay the trial courtโs order. The Appellate Division refused to issue a stay, and by order issued on February 11, the Court of Appeals sent the appeal filed in that court to the Appellate Division and dismissed applicantsโ motions for a stay."
With nowhere else to turn, the applicants asked us to issue a stay, and we have jurisdiction to entertain their application. Title 28 U. S. C. ยง1257(a) gives us jurisdiction to review โ[f]inal judgments or decreesโ that are rendered by a Stateโs highest court and adjudicate federal constitutional claims, and the Court of Appealsโ February 11 order falls within that category.
1/9: In the New York redistricting case, Justice Alito's justification for why #SCOTUS even had *jurisdiction* to issue a stay is based upon a remarkably misleading portrayal of the state court proceedings.
I realize this is technical, but I wanted to write a short thread to explain the shadiness:
This really ought to be terrifying. We literally have people making decisions to drop bombs in the grips of apocalyptic fantasies.
03.03.2026 04:59 โ ๐ 400 ๐ 116 ๐ฌ 14 ๐ 9
This president has called members of the WHCA "scum", "fake news," "enemies of the people," and a female reporter "piggy." Just a year ago, the WHCA was criticizing Trump for undermining "the independence of a free press in the United States."
Now they're "happy" to host him.
It's interesting that filing an amicus brief supporting the interpretation of birthright citizenship that has existed for over a century is a point for partisanship, but setting up a farm system for exclusively conservative judges is not
03.03.2026 13:48 โ ๐ 236 ๐ 46 ๐ฌ 4 ๐ 1Noem refuses to retract statements calling Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti domestic terrorists
03.03.2026 15:08 โ ๐ 183 ๐ 69 ๐ฌ 21 ๐ 13New from 404 Media: CBP tapped into the online advertising ecosystem to track peoples' movements, according to an internal DHS document. Shows for the first time DHS tracked phones via process for putting ads in ordinary appsโvideo games, fitness apps, many more www.404media.co/cbp-tapped-i...
03.03.2026 14:07 โ ๐ 723 ๐ 451 ๐ฌ 18 ๐ 74
Because she was working with a federal task force, she was considered a federal officer, and thus protected by SCOTUS rulings making it all but impossible to sue federal cops, even for egregious abuse.
Now consider what this means for Trump's immigration thugs.
Democrats had two years to fix this.
Jim Jordan: "When people step back and evaluate it, they say, 'This was the right decision. This was consistent with what the president told the American people when we the people elected him. He said he was going to do this.'" (Trump literally campaigned on no war with Iran!)
03.03.2026 13:58 โ ๐ 1639 ๐ 369 ๐ฌ 292 ๐ 68
'UNIMAGINABLE CRUELTY': Judge Gary Brown, a Trump appointeee from NY, thrashes DHS' treatment of a man who came to the US at 9 as an abuse/neglect victim, has no criminal record and became a college grad.
"The laws of decency condemn such villainy." storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
Brave
03.03.2026 14:51 โ ๐ 179 ๐ 22 ๐ฌ 5 ๐ 0
Periodic reminder: Since Trump was re-elected, @forbes.com estimatesโ
๐ฐHis net worth is up $2 billion, to $6.3 billion
๐ฐEricโs has increased tenfold, to $400 million
๐ฐDon Jr.โs has increased sixfold, to $300 million
๐ฐ19-year-old Barron Trump is worth $150 million
The peace president makes the case for forever wars
03.03.2026 13:24 โ ๐ 304 ๐ 69 ๐ฌ 23 ๐ 1They were right. Crime spiked during the pandemic, as did traffic fatalities, substance abuse, mental illness, domestic violence, and blood pressure. A generational crisis that kills a million people will do that. Caving to demagoguery and walking back reform was cowardly and destructive.
03.03.2026 13:19 โ ๐ 3 ๐ 0 ๐ฌ 0 ๐ 0Maybe itโs a bad idea to put people in charge of government who are eager for the rapture.
03.03.2026 12:04 โ ๐ 7068 ๐ 3143 ๐ฌ 672 ๐ 423
Looking at the 2024 crime figures, it's absolutely insane how Trump, tech billionaires, and centrist pundits fooled everyone into thinking Biden had turned the U.S. into some Hobbesian hellscape.
50-year lows for violent crime, armed robbery, property crime. Second-lowest homicide rate.
EXCLUSIVE: At more than 30 installations, U.S. commanders told troops the war on Iran is a Christian war.
The Military Religious Freedom Foundation has been โinundatedโ with more than 110 complaints.
One NCO said they were told the U.S. war is to bring about Armageddon and the return of Jesusโฆ
A disturbing and hypocritical ruling on so many levels. Especially the due process holding.
The court JUST said thereโs no deeply rooted right for women to control their own bodies. But there is a deeply rooted right for parents to know if their kids question their gender at school? Come on.
She's like an old samurai whose great battles are behind her but every once in a while she kills a man with piece of paper just to prove a point
02.03.2026 23:44 โ ๐ 4807 ๐ 818 ๐ฌ 43 ๐ 11Bombing elementary schools I guess.
03.03.2026 02:56 โ ๐ 354 ๐ 57 ๐ฌ 2 ๐ 1
DC journalists have a golden opportunity.
Just say something like "since they will be honoring an avowed enemy of free speech and a free press, I will not be attending the Correspondents' Association dinner this year."
It's telling how many will not, even when handed to them on a silver platter.
Trump/Hegseth operational security: at Joeโs Stone Crab, a restaurant a 2-minute walk from the White House, someone was having a conversation about the attacks on Iran that were going to start in 6 hours. Loud enough for the founder of @TMZ.com to recount it in real time with his podcast cohost.
01.03.2026 02:43 โ ๐ 1604 ๐ 624 ๐ฌ 35 ๐ 54โก๏ธ Witnesses Describe Horror Scene After โDouble-Tapโ Bombing Kills Over 20 at Popular Tehran Square In Iran, the U.S. and Israel are employing tactics used in Israelโs genocide in Gaza, the โWar on Terrorโ and Trumpโs recent attacks on alleged drug boats in the Carribean. Story by @SayahTweets and @MazMHussain for Drop Site News
โก๏ธ Witnesses Describe Horror Scene After โDouble-Tapโ Bombing Kills Over 20 at Popular Tehran Square
In Iran, the US & Israel are employing tactics used in Israelโs genocide in Gaza, the โWar...
Story by Reza Sayah & @mazmhussain.bsky.social for Drop Site News
www.dropsitenews.com/p/tehran-ira...
The inference they seem to have drawn from โcoercive nation building rarely works out wellโ is โtherefore just create a massive power vacuum and cross your fingers.โ
03.03.2026 00:37 โ ๐ 335 ๐ 66 ๐ฌ 5 ๐ 5"Flying shards of a better tomorrow" vibes.
02.03.2026 23:35 โ ๐ 144 ๐ 13 ๐ฌ 10 ๐ 1of course
02.03.2026 23:30 โ ๐ 1095 ๐ 179 ๐ฌ 43 ๐ 1
A womanโs ex boyfriend, who is a cop, threatens to shoot her
Women are at the highest risk for being killed when they try to leave a relationship.
She calls 911 for help & the Police Chief WARNS the boyfriend instead.
Boyfriend opened fire on her car
We arenโt angry enough.
Trump took a break from war planning on Friday to hear about Mar-a-Lago guest James O'Keefe's latest scheme.
02.03.2026 22:55 โ ๐ 154 ๐ 39 ๐ฌ 8 ๐ 0