Mark Painter

Young boy reading book in a ruined bookshop in London devastated by an air raid - 1940

Does the Yakima County Prosecutor have the guts to prosecute masked men who rob an man in broad daylight on camera? If not, he needs to resign.

newrepublic.com/post/204750/...

Something for @markspainter.bsky.social History of the Twentieth Century podcast fans

He was definitely hired *because* he's this kind of person, not in spite of it.

Sharp new response from Zohran Mamdani, hitting back at Trump's threats:

"His statements...attempt to send a message to every New Yorker who refuses to hide in the shadows: if you speak up, they will come for you. We will not accept this intimidation."

brilliant

You're right. A number of people have noted that European-style fascism at least promises some material benefits to members of the favored ethno-national community. American fascism promises only hairshirts and self-flagellation all around.

What's the deal with literary agents asking me, "Why are you the right person to write this book?"

BECAUSE IT'S MY IDEA, THAT'S WHY!

IF SOMEONE ELSE WROTE MY IDEA, THEY CALL THAT PLAGIARISM!

Is this so complicated?

How much do you want to bet that in this video, Donald Trump is not thinking, "Why aren't they goosestepping?"

It strikes me that one of the big advantages of the OBBBA, from a Republican standpoint, is that it compensates people for what they will lose because of the tariffs.

And when I say "people," I mean of course, "the people who matter."

American-style fascism clearly holds to certain firm beliefs.

The inherent genetic inferiority of people of African ancestry and the inherent genetic superiority of rich people (regardless of how they got that way) being two obvious ones.

This right here gives away the whole game.

trying to imagine the reaction to two planes falling off an aircraft carrier with kamala harris as president

THE SECRETARY OF EDUCATION WASHINGTON, DC 20202 May 5, 2025 Dr. Alan Garber Office of the President Harvard University Massachusetts Hall Cambridge, MA 02138 Dr. Garber, The Federal Government has a sacred responsibility to be a wise and important steward of American taxpayer dollars. Harvard University, despite amassing a largely tax-free $53.2 billion dollar endowment (larger than the GDP of 100 countries), receives billions of dollars of taxpayer largess each year. Receiving such taxpayer funds is a privilege, not a right. Yet instead of using these funds to advance the education of its students, Harvard is engaging in a systemic pattern of violating federal law. Where do many of these "students" come from, who are they, how do they get into Harvard, or even into our country—and why is there so much HATE? These are questions that must be answered, among many more, but the biggest question of all is, why will Harvard not give straightforward answers to the American public? Harvard University has made a mockery of this country's higher education system. It has invited foreign students, who engage in violent behavior and show contempt for the United States of America, to its campus. In every way, Harvard has failed to abide by its legal obligations, its ethical and fiduciary duties, its transparency responsibilities, and any semblance of academic rigor. It had scrapped standardized testing requirements and a normalized grading system. This year Harvard was forced to adopt an embarrassing "remedial math" program for undergraduates. Why is it, we ask, that Harvard has to teach simple and basic mathematics, when it is supposedly so hard to get into this "acclaimed university"? Who is getting in under such a low standard when others, with fabulous grades and a great understanding of the highest levels of mathematics, are being rejected? Harvard has even been embroiled in humiliating plagiarism scandals, exposed clearly and plainly in the media, with respect to your then…

running the institution in a totally chaotic way. Harvard alumnus and highly successful hedge fund manager Bill Ackman noted that, under her leadership, Harvard has become "a political advocacy organization for one party." Ackman has called for the resignation of Pritzker, concluding that the "[t)he mismanagement here is Penny Pritzker" and noting that any serious corporation would have removed her after a litany of recent failings and the fact that, incredibly, "Harvard is not in a good financial position." According to Ackman, one of the world's foremost finance experts, Harvard's so-called S53 billion endowment is "massively overstated as far as what it's really worth," and Harvard has irresponsibly taken out $8 billion in debt. If this is true, it is concerning evidence of Harvard's disastrous mismanagement, indicating an urgent need for massive reform-not continued taxpayer investment. If Harvard prefers not to change, then Harvard should have no problem using its overflowing endowment to fund its bloated bureaucracy. At its best, a university should fulfill the highest ideals of our Nation, and enlighten the thousands of hopeful students who walk through its magnificent gates. But Harvard has betrayed this ideal. Perhaps most alarmingly, Harvard has failed to abide by the United States Supreme Court's ruling demanding that it end its racial preferencing, and continues to engage in ugly racism in its undergraduate and graduate schools, and even within the Harvard Law Review itself. Our universities should be bastions of merit that reward and celebrate excellence and achievement. They should not be incubators of discrimination that encourage resentment and instill grievance and racism into our wonderful young Americans. The above concerns are only a fraction of the long list of Harvard's consistent violations of its own legal duties. Given these and other concerning allegations, this letter is to inform you that Harvard should no longer seek GRANTS from the fede…

Federal Agencies. The Administration's priorities have not changed and today's letter marks the end of new grants for the University. These requests will advance the best interests of Harvard University, so it can reclaim its status as a respected educational institution for the future leaders of America. Thank you for your attention to this matter! Sincerely, Linda E. McMahon Secretary of Education

🚨🚨 Deranged letter from Education Secretary Linda McMahon to Harvard’s president, cutting off federal funding for any new grants.

Worth reading in full. It is NUTS.

It’s only getting much play in the trade/transport niche press. But pretty real product shortages beginning in mid-May or so are already locked in. They’re maybe a thousand miles out in the Pacific Ocean. Modern trade takes place in gargantuan container ships. There are very detailed records …

Neil Gorsuch's homophobic alternate fiction - Lawyers, Guns & Money Given the opportunity to combine homophobic hysteria with one of his favorite pastimes — completely inventing “facts” in a religious freedom case — Neil Gorsuch really delivered this week: Among the m...

I am not surprised to learn that some members of the Supreme Court are unable to read and correctly interpret a book written for five-year-olds. It explains a lot, actually.

www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2025/04/neil...

John Fetterman is dead to me.

Happy Easter, EVERYONE!! 👇

Seemed. Appropriate. Today. 😎✨

Angel of the Lord: He is not here, He is risen, just as He said.
Come and see the place where He lay. And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead.

Alito: Okay, first of all, this violates ALL sorts of rules

Thomas: This was a LAWFUL execution, who is God to interfere

Inside the Mind of an ICE Agent Is this what she signed up for?

Where does the “Abolish ICE” movement go to get its apology?

open.substack.com/pub/thebulwa...

Gavin Newsom is dead to me.

The US government is attempting to strip #MahmoudKhalil of his permanent residency and deport him because he is a “terrorist,” i.e., he holds political views the government disapproves of.

If they can do this to him, they can do it to me. They can do it to you. Make no mistake about this.

The US government is led by people who have openly declared themselves enemies of liberty and disgraced our country. It is sickening to watch.

Trump officials start dismantling civil rights offices, as part of DOGE’s secret plan Legal experts said that unwinding a civil rights-era bulwark designed to safeguard employees’ rights removes a crucial check on institutional power.

worth saying again that this was a bait and switch. if trump had openly announced he was running on allowing companies to discriminate against women and minorities he would not have won wapo.st/43aVQg1