Mike Bruner

New evidence shows immigration helps keep elderly Americans alive by strengthening the caregiving workforce.

Jonathan Cohn explains what deportation crackdowns could cost us. lnk.thebulwark.com/4bIQpJv?utm_...

On the execution in Minnesota: Obviously, the individuals involved should be held accountable. But responsibility goes to the top of ICE and CBP, and DHS. Their appropriations come up next week in the senate. Not a cent for DHS without pulling ICE and CBP off the streets, in MN and everywhere else.

Worse than Kent State, really than any episode I can think of probably dating back to Reconstruc & earlier b/c

1. continuing, not 1 off.
2. organized, not individual ofcrs losing it
3. literally at hand of federal government, which is
4. immediately lying & circling the wagons to prevent inves.

I wish Democrats would start just speaking the truth:

“ICE is killing American citizens in public for exercising their freedom of speech because Donald Trump wants to be a king.

This isn’t about immigration—Trump wants to make it illegal to oppose him, and to stay in power until he dies.”

I just checked—it turns out that Art. II, Sec. 1 of the Constitution of the United States does *not* say "The executive Power shall be vested in a bunch of sociopaths who think they can do whatever the fuck they want and make shit up as they go along."

Also, killing two White people was too much even for a chunk of MAGA.

A Declaration of Independence From The Mad King It's time.

www.againstallenemies.net/p/a-declarat...

If a Democratic president had done something like this, Fox and the GOP would have turned Adriana Camberos into a household name à la Willie Horton or, yes, Hunter Biden.

www.nytimes.com/2026/01/16/u...

We should trust ourselves and those we address to be able hold two thoughts at the same time: That we must forcefully condemn political violence - but also acknowledge that it festers and thrives in a deeply unhealthy political culture that Kirk himself helped create.

What a bizarre spectacle it is to watch Democratic politicians and prominent opinionists on the center/center-left attempt to valorize Charlie Kirk.
 
It is not just utterly detached from the reality of who Kirk was/what he did – it also misunderstands why political violence is bad.

Autocracy, Inc Sneak peek at the new preface

open.substack.com/pub/anneappl...

Trump’s Efforts to Control Information Echo an Authoritarian Playbook

Trump's war on facts has reached a new level and the message is clear: Government officials who deal in data now fear they have to toe the line and adopt his version of reality no matter how false or risk losing their jobs. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/03/u...

A Gilded Presidency and A Gelded Senate My conversation with Tom Nichols

open.substack.com/pub/charlies...

McGovern: "A family making less than $50,000 a year? They get less than $1 a day in tax cuts. You can't buy a damn cup of coffee with that. But those making a million dollars or more? They'll get more than $250 a day in tax breaks ... that's how rigged this bill is to benefit the wealthy."

RFK Jr. removes all 17 members of vaccine committee for CDC HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. removed all 17 members of the panel that makes vaccine recommendations to the CDC.

BREAKING: RFK Jr. removes all 17 members of vaccine committee for CDC

YouTube video by Hawaii News Now Military wife detained, deported at Honolulu airport

Nicolle Saroukos, a U.S. military wife, was jailed, strip-searched and deported when she simply tried to visit her husband in Hawaii. Saroukos, an Australian, had a valid visa.

This is how the Trump regime treats military families:

youtu.be/0cYsSl-twEg?...

The thing is: I really wish we didn’t have to talk about all this legal stuff. We’re not lawyers. In a stable democracy, most people should not have to worry about any of this. It is itself a sign of crisis that we have to constantly keep up with what the rightwingers on the Supreme Court are up to.

Trump’s meme coin soars after he asks top 220 holders to dinner Invitations to private reception with US president fuel $TRUMP’s 50% price rise and add to conflict of interest fears

Trump’s meme coin soars after he asks top 220 holders to dinner

Anne Applebaum on Substack talking, again, with Tim Miller https://www.thebulwark.com/p/anne-applebaum-everything-is-a-game?r=177tk&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false

substack.com/@anneappleba...

“State capacity” is a pretty abstract thing, and in a functioning system, people shouldn't have to worry about what it actually means.

But as state capacity is ravaged and sabotaged, we are about to get a painful reminder that, at a fundamental level, it means: keeping people safe and healthy.

Trump’s pick for counterterrorism called for arresting BLM leaders as terrorists "We need to treat antifa and BLM like terrorist organizations," said Joe Kent. "We need to use the tools of the federal government, the FBI, the US Marshals—go after them like organized criminals and ...

As we predicted: Joe Kent is planning to use the law enforcement apparatus to imprison Black activists and antifascists as “terrorists,” essentially unleashing the far-right terrorists of the Proud Boys by looking the other way as they get the green light.

www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

Rightwing populists will keep winning until we grasp this truth about human nature | George Monbiot Economic inequality breeds resentment and a desire to get even. That’s what fuels support for even incompetent regimes, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot

Rightwing populists will keep winning until we grasp this truth about human nature | George Monbiot

Israel killed 15 Palestinian paramedics and rescue workers one by one, says UN Workers on a mission to help colleagues were buried in mass grave in southern Gaza, says humanitarian office

“the body of one of the dead had been found with his hands tied”

MAGA Pundit Who Hosted Kash Patel, Other Top Republicans on Show Calls For ‘A Final Solution’ to Deport All Jews Right-wing pundit Stew Peters is no stranger to offensive commentary, but on a recent episode of his eponymous podcast, he openly called for the deportation of all Jews from the United States -- even ...

Stew Peters, a white nationalist who hosted Kash Patel - Trump’s FBI Director - eight times on his podcast, has called for a “final solution” to deport Jews.

Again, the current FBI Director was a guest on this guy’s show 8 times.

Not a one-off mistake.

8x.

www.mediaite.com/media/maga-p...

What Authoritarianism Means Even critical observers underestimated the speed and scope of the Trumpist assault, they overestimated democratic resilience. What is America now, and what comes next?

What Authoritarianism Means
 
Even critical observers underestimated the speed and scope of the Trumpist assault, they overestimated democratic resilience. What is America now, and what comes next?
 
New piece:

Opinion | What America could look like a decade from now Political scientists and historians weigh in on authoritarianism’s impact on the United States.

What does the U.S. look like in five or ten years?
 
I was asked to reflect on this question, alongside other scholars. In a stable democracy, the range of plausible outcomes should be narrow. But for America, it now includes complete democratic breakdown and full-blown authoritarian rule.

Opinion | For God’s Sake, Fellow Lawyers, Stand Up to Trump (Gift Article) The time has come to defend the oath we took when we became officers of the court.

Senior partners at Keker, Van Nest & Peters, a firm of 115 lawyers, write: "partners at big firms — who often earn millions a year — must be willing to take financial risks when the fate of our nation, the future of our profession & the rule of law itself is at stake. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/30/o...

The escalating self-gleichschaltung of those in charge of America’s elite institutions is pathetic, sad, and incredibly dangerous.