Peter M. Shane

They should have gone with PWMCTV, in honor of, "Person. Woman. Man. Camera. TV!"

‘Hallmarks of authoritarianism’: Trump banks on loyalists as he wages war on truth Former officials say firing of BLS commissioner emblematic of president’s battle against established facts and history

One of my quotes in today's @theguardian.com: “Sabotaging independent sources of knowledge, flooding communications media with disinformation, and rewriting history’s narrative to conform to ideology rather than fact are hallmarks of authoritarianism.” www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Trump Says He Wants to Get Rid of Mail-In Ballots

www.nytimes.com/2025/08/18/u... At the corner of Pernicious and Insane stands a president taking cues from Russia (!!!!) on the logistics of electoral democracy.

Can you make a second one from the fur #1 sheds?

Cutting off this research is more than misguided. It’s evil. There is promising research under way regarding mRNA and pancreatic cancer, one of the most deadly. One friend fighting it said, “Kennedy is literally trying to kill me.”

Opinion | America Is Abandoning One of the Greatest Medical Breakthroughs

Rick Bright is exactly right about the devastating harm that we’ll all experience thanks to Trump and RFK’s decision to throttle mRNA vaccines.

www.nytimes.com/2025/08/18/o...

Make a band a food:

Bread (They did it for me.)
Red Hot Chili Peppers (Ditto.)

I am confident my corgi would exercise no such self-control.

Just before that, Putin said to his translator, in Russian: “Pretend to translate what I am saying as something this idiot wants to hear, just like we rehearsed.”

A useful reminder that empathy without compassion may mean only a talent for manipulation. (Gotta love the fact that the interviewee coined the phrase, “tactical empathy” because he knew throwing in “tactical” would make empathy acceptably macho for male agents. That’s empathy for ‘ya.)

Putin’s opening line was probably, “If you need help releasing the Epstein files, I can always give out my copy.”

Upside: Hillary can take Nobel nomination off her to-do list.

Opinion | America’s New Segregation

“New” segregation? Took a cross-country trip to open Brooks’s eyes to class segregation?? And he wants us to emulate the education reforms of MS, AL, LA, and TN — a/k/a, ## 47, 48, 45, and 35, as the needed strategy? I am missing something. America’s New Segregation www.nytimes.com/2025/08/14/o...

Flattery, Lobbyists and a Business Deal: Crypto’s Richest Man Campaigns for a Pardon

Flattery, Lobbyists and a Business Deal: Crypto’s Richest Man Campaigns for a Pardon www.nytimes.com/2025/08/09/u...
Shouldn’t it say, “Corruptly Campaigns?”

Can't wait until AI does originalism.

The Beatles did rooftop better.

Much appreciated!

Trump contorting justice department into his ‘personal weapon’, experts warn Critics say DoJ has been ‘politicized like never before’ and the main job requirement is now ‘loyalty to Donald Trump’

Privileged to be quoted in an excellent @theguardian.com story on the debasement of the Justice Department under Trump. As a DOJ lawyer from a distant decade, it's hard not to feel it personally. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

The show he’s living in is Fantasy Island

Just wait until the rigorously nonpartisan House Government Oversight Committee gets ahold of Trump’s wantonly malicious and arbitrary firing of an experienced government official just doing her job. . . oh, wait . . .

This Is the Presidency John Roberts Has Built The country is witnessing the creation of an all-powerful institution, and one man is responsible.

www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

Common-Good Constitutionalism Is an Idea as Dangerous as They Come It’s an argument for authoritarian extremism.

If you are looking for a compelling essay on one possible right-wing future, this superb essay by Garrett Epps covering the work of Adrian Vermeule is invaluable. It was generous of Garrett not to mention the intellectual influence of part-time Nazi Carl Schmitt. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

He can’t stand pier-ogi review.

YouTube video by Legal AF Chief Justice Roberts RUNS SCARED from the MONSTER he CREATED

Really enjoyed talking to @mspopok.bsky.social on @legalafmtn.bsky.social about how John Roberts’s version of “unitary executive theory” enabled a despotic wannabe like Trump. FWIW, i don’t write the titles/captions. 😉 youtu.be/ViC72wp3f0w?...

It seems a bit cringe to solicit followers, so I'll just point out I have 9900, which does come close to what would be a gratifyingly round number. Just sayin'.

Albright Trump CBAs

ICYMI: 8 agencies tried to get a Trump-appointed judge in the W.D. Tex. to declare in advance of agency action that their compliance with a Trump EO telling them to terminate collective bargaining agreements would be lawful. To his credit, the judge didn't bite. www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...

On The Supreme Court’s Constitutional Vandalism In Service Of Inherited Wealth Peter Shane’s devastating analysis in The Atlantic has performed the invaluable service of documenting what many suspected but few could prove: that Chief Justice John Rob…

Grateful to @brockm.bsky.social for his insightful blog post at @techdirt.com following up my @theatlantic.com essay on John Roberts's and the Supreme Court's enablement of what has become all-too-dictatorial presidency. www.techdirt.com/2025/07/23/o...

Intriguing factoid: The recent Monstrous Immoral Bill Act provides $170 billion for immigration enforcement and deportations. The Stockholm Int'l Peace Research Institute estimates Russia's 2025 total spending on defense at $146 billion.

Reminder: Federal officials other than the President don't enjoy Nixon v. Fitzgerald absolute immunity from civil liability for constitutional torts. Recklessly defaming Obama because of his opposition to Trump violates the First Amendment. Even a suit for nominal $1 damages would be worth it.

With her Obama committed treason BS, I think the response to Gabbard now called for should go from “I will not dignify” to “see you in court.” Presidential damages immunity does not extend to underlings.