Fred Biesecker

Opinion | Trump Isn’t the Only One to Blame for the Gerrymander Mess

@davedaley.bsky.social must read. John Roberts, worst chief Justice in history, responsible as much as anybody for the degradation of our representative democracy.

www.nytimes.com/2025/08/14/o...

The FBI came to my house to intimidate me because I’m critical of Trump.

And they wouldn’t let my girlfriend take a picture of their badges.

They had printouts of my posts.

They go fast when they want to go fast and slow when they want to go to slow and the decision is *always* an ideological one.

This is a war on history

Only a tyrant would try to use the American military against American citizens on American soil. Only a fascist would do that. Only a traitor would do that. And if Trump does that, he’s declaring war on the American people. And the American people will have no choice but to fight back against him.

How to Make Good Trouble When we’re loud—and organized—we’re powerful.

“The president destroying the integrity of government economic reports? Welcoming a war criminal to U.S. soil as his guest? Sending the National Guard into another American city and urging on police brutality?

This is fascism. It just is.”

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

Democracy dies with billionaires buying the media so when the fascist President tells a lie so blatant it can't be massaged into truthiness the newspapers say the actual facts merely "paint a contrasting picture."

C’mon man. This is the first step toward martial law in every blue city, and that’s the best you can do?

None of this is about crime. It's about control.

It's a power grab, plain and simple.

This is absurd and a pure dictatorial power grab. There is no state of emergency in DC. We survived the damn 90s without this type of power grab, it certainly doesn't justify one now.

Under the law, even if this is not judicially reviewable, he can only do it for 30 days.

Not great.

Indeed, and Americans are particularly unprepared for a court system that accelerates authoritarianism. Our cultural memory is of a judiciary that protects rights, the history is more a defender of the status quo that is wary of executive power. The present judiciary flips both of those upside down.

The courts are chipping away at the Voting Rights Act: Expert Richard Hasen explains "This is nothing less than a major wrecking ball through the entire premise of voting rights."

contrarian.substack.com/p/the-courts... @rickhasen.bsky.social is brilliant here- and this should scare you … we are on verge of voting rights meltdown

MAGA: Children shouldn’t learn about slavery.

Also MAGA: We’re reinstalling this monument of a confederate general who fought to preserve slavery.

The rebranding of bigotry as 'common sense' continues apace

I tried to address both in this story: www.nbcnews.com/politics/sup...

ICE is hiring! US immigration and Customs Enforcement is looking for highly motivated, morally indifferent individuals to join our team. Open positions include: Senior Goon Racism Enforcement Office Unmarked Van Driver (Part-Time) Experience with children a plus usajobs.gov

From this month's edition of The Onion.

ICYMI!

kennedy is going to kill a lot of people

This is it. Freeze it in amber. Hang it in a museum. The ultimate expression of the NYT and the elite class behind it.

The utter moral failure of ceding power to Trump? Acceptable ... if it is done in a clever, savvy way!

It drives Jonathan Turley crazy when I remind everyone that he is just Mike Lindell with tenure. So, please make sure not to amplify this message.👇

Jonathan Turley is just Mike Lindell with tenure.

Purdue student detained by ICE and taken to troubled Louisiana holding facility Yeonsoo Go, 20, was detained after her immigration hearing in Manhattan and taken away by ICE agents.

These people are monsters

www.wthr.com/article/news...

The Mothership Vortex: An Investigation Into the Firm at the Heart of the Democratic Spam Machine How a single consulting firm extracted $282 million from a network of spam PACs while delivering just $11 million to actual campaigns.

The annoying spam texts destroying the Democratic brand:

$678M raised through those spam tactics

$282M to one consulting firm: Mothership Strategies.

$11M to actual campaigns (1.6%)

The party isn’t just treating donors like marks—it’s being fleeced itself yet continues to back Mothership.

The Supreme Court Just Signaled Something Deeply Disturbing About the Next Term A court fundamentally hostile to the rights of voters places the court increasingly at odds with democracy itself.

My New One at @slate.com on the Supreme Court Potentially Killing the Remaining Pillar of the Voting Rights Act: “The Supreme Court Just Signaled Something Deeply Disturbing About the Next Term” slate.com/news-and-pol...

It's infuriating that the entire political universe understands why this is happening - Donald Trump and Stephen Miller are gutter bigots whose nativist politics are rooted in their all-consuming hatred of nonwhite foreigners - but for some reason we can't say it out loud.

If he builds his golden ballroom, how soon can it be torn down?

Indeed, let’s remember many of these heinous acts can be overturned. None of this despicable demolition of our government and values is unchangeable. But it requires ending his lawless regime & returning power to responsible leaders.

Carlin knew the plan…

He “displays his volatile side” every single day. He doesn’t have a stable, steady side. What the fuck @nytimes?

the voting rights act is, in its entirety, obviously constitutional under the 15th amendment, which gives congress broad and proactive authority to stop racial discrimination in voting. and you know it is obviously constitutional because roberts has had to invent entire new doctrines to gut it.