Christopher Reader

Not fleeing: New report shows more wealthy residents in Mass., 2 years into 'millionaire's tax' Despite previous concerns, Massachusetts' "millionaire's tax" hasn't seemed to deter high-earners from continuing to live here, according to a new study from the Institute for Policy Studies.

1. The extra marginal tax rate will affect millionaires' daily lives almost not at all, which is why in reality none of them would leave the state.

2. When you have this much money, your accountant/financial folks are already making you as tax efficient as possible.

www.wbur.org/news/2025/04...

Both the Columbia and Brown agreements are filled with statements about how the government reserves the right to sue or bring other action against the schools in the future for a huge range of perceived transgressions. It’s hard to see how they can operate under these conditions.

NEW: A federal judge has demanded NSF explain in court how the UCLA grant suspensions are not in violation of her June order that restored grants to UC scientists

YouTube video by WFAA Flood relief bills stalled one month after deadly Hill Country floods

I think today is a great day to demand that Greg Abbott and Dan Patrick resign.

Why?

Here is a thread. 🧵

Let’s start with redirecting vs the flood.

9 hearings on redistricting vs 2 hearing on the flood a month later.

This is on Abbott and leadership.

…

Sure, on the one hand, this will make people worse off and contribute to climate change, but on the other hand it means higher demand on the energy grid which raises electricity prices for us all! 🥳

If you put in your newscast that President Trump says he will “probably“not run again, and then you don’t follow it by saying he is constitutionally barred from doing so, you are failing.

Americans pay the import taxes.

A lot of the DOGE folk wielded unprecedented power, with no background checks, no Senate confirmations, no meaningful accountability. They will to back to the private sector, complaining about government, while leaving future public servants to clean up their mess.

The reason I support @jocelynbenson.bsky.social for gov is because she has been fighting this from the Michigan Rs and she’s made it clear to people like me what’s at stake if they get their way.

The roof of the briefing room is seen with Trump in his suit standing still on it. A secret service agent is seen behind him and another on the ground below.

NEW: Trump is currently on the roof of the White House briefing room trying to take questions from reporters.

Because he’s, well, quite insane.

(📸 Alayna Treene, CNN)

The public subsidizes the rich in America. Wealthy people need to pay a fair share.

Good. Fight every step.

Good. If Republicans cheat, Democrats have to. This is a zero sum game. The corrupt Republicans on the Supreme Court had a chance to fix this, but they declined because it helped their team, making gerrymandering even worse.

This is tied up in the idea that in the United States there are no poor people, there are just temporarily embarrassed millionaires (to quote Steinbeck). The right in the US has done very well in selling the myth of the American Dream, and mostly to the detriment of those dreaming of it.

On one side of their mouth, this administration says treating people on the basis of race is the height of racism. On the other side of their mouth, they espouse a political worldview based on racial hierarchy and blood & soil nationalism.

"I want you to ask yourself, who is getting rich?"

Fired FTC commissioner @bedoyausa.bsky.social tells @mehdirhasan.bsky.social that Donald Trump’s crackdown on immigration only helps billionaires.

Watch the full discussion here: zeteo.com/p/stop-liste...

Republicans are evil.

"saying that human beings are binary is a failure. It limits us too much when we’re thinking about the full range of variation between human beings"

Trump is a bigot.

Everyone should have health care.

Rich people and extremely profitable companies should not be subsidized by the public - that's where the real theft in America is.

Now would be a great time for candidates to campaign on state-level universal healthcare

Further anecdotal evidence for my form beliefs that 20% of any population in democratic countries are ready for fascism and won’t bat an eyelid when the police goes around arresting people they don’t like. A substantial proportion of them will lend a hand.

Republicans are desperate to deny climate change. We will all suffer the consequences.

White House Orders NASA to Destroy Important Satellite The White House has instructed NASA employees to destroy two major, climate change-focused satellite missions.

The White House has instructed NASA to terminate two major, climate change-focused satellite missions. They've been collecting widely-used data, providing both oil and gas companies and farmers with detailed information about the distribution of carbon dioxide and how it can affect crop health.

Every Scientific Empire Comes to an End America’s run as the premier techno-superpower may be over.

This Atlantic article about the decline of US science broadly reflects my own view
www.theatlantic.com/science/arch...

But Harvard has a more antagonistic relationship with the Trump admiinistration, as the university has sued the administration to stop its retribution campaign against the school That dynamic has fueled worries at Harvard that the White House is seeking a far higher financial penalty as punishment for fighting, not because the schools troubles alone warrant $500 million.

Trump is acting like a mob boss. The administration cannot legally treat Harvard more harshly “as punishment for fighting.” At no point in this article is a legal predicate for these extortionist schemes mentioned.

i have been thinking a lot about how the entire concept of “the deal” is antithetical to transparency, fair play and rule of law, as larry notes. the deal is necessarily nonstandard, ad hoc and dependent on the whims of the dealmaker

Excellent

A “Striking” Trend: After Texas Banned Abortion, More Women Nearly Bled to Death During Miscarriage A new ProPublica data analysis adds to the mounting evidence that abortion bans have made the common experience of first-trimester miscarriage far more dangerous.

More women have nearly bled to death during miscarriage under Texas’ abortion ban.

Experts say the trend paints a troubling picture of the harms of unnecessary delays in care.

“This is striking,” one doctor said. “The trend is very clear.”

For all those rightwingers crying about how “DeMoCrAtS GerRyMaNdEr ToO,” just ask them if they support a nationwide ban on gerrymandering. We do. They don’t. They’re not mad at the concept of gerrymandering, they’re mad that they don’t get to be the only party wielding it anymore.