@joshmenke.bsky.social
Gift π link:
"Countries that slide from democracy toward autocracy tend to follow similar patterns. To measure what is happening in the United States, the Times editorial board has compiled a list of 12 markers of democratic erosion, with help from scholars...
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www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Folks, please note this. The top military official overseeing Trump's boat bombings recently resigned with no explanation, and now Republicans in Congress are refusing to press for his testimony even in a classified setting.
Lots of new behind-the-scenes reporting in this piece:
CULTURE TRENDS SNAP beneficiaries threaten to ransack stores over government shutdown One mother claims taxpayers must feed her children as SNAP benefits face cuts By Alba Cuebas-Fantauzzi β’ Fox News Published October 31, 2025 2:16pm EDT
So there were some AI-generated videos that purported to show Black women ranting about SNAP benefits, and... Fox News is reporting on this like these are real people. They're not! They're AI!
This is truly insane. Total unreality. www.foxnews.com/media/snap-b...
the pope says catholic converts are too online
31.10.2025 22:42 β π 689 π 145 π¬ 13 π 3
Oh, boy - here we go. This is a *huge* escalation.
Gift π link.
"State officials promise large-scale involuntary addiction and mental health treatment at Salt Lake Cityβs edge. Critics see 'a prison, or a warehouse.'"
It's definitely involuntary detention.
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www.nytimes.com/2025/10/29/u...
Hereβs a disturbing video from Evanston of a federal agent hitting a man on the ground as people yell that he canβt breathe.
31.10.2025 20:22 β π 5055 π 3341 π¬ 811 π 637
Marco Rubio Vi @marcorublo 3 ... Your "sources" claiming to have "knowledge of the situation" tricked you into writing a fake story Miami Herald β’ @MiamiHerald β’ 9hl U.S. poised to strike military targets in Venezuela in escalation against Maduro regime miamiherald.com/news/nation-wo...
Rubio now denying it. Lots of backpedaling. Theyβve clearly had some pushback.
The Miami Herald wouldnβt have published this if their source wasnβt solid.
βIndividuals on the ground sent a message that reached us Monday morning that 1,200 were dead,β Nathaniel Raymond, the labβs executive director, said. βBy that evening, they said 10,000. By Tuesday, we couldnβt reach them anymore. We assume our ground contacts are dead.β
31.10.2025 20:02 β π 978 π 672 π¬ 31 π 81Coach Kav says nothing to see here.
31.10.2025 19:53 β π 160 π 54 π¬ 2 π 0See this post for video from after the crash
31.10.2025 18:51 β π 576 π 128 π¬ 13 π 6From an Evanston resident filming an arrest at Oakton/Asbury ~an hour ago:
"He was being very violent with her, I said βYou got to stop that,β and he said, βStep back or Iβll fucking shoot you.β I step back, and then I continue to record, at which point he turned around and pointed a gun at me.β
Kevin Roberts' defense of Nick Fuentes is a watershed moment: the right has officially declared open, unabashed Hitlerism to be an acceptable position in their coalition
www.vox.com/politics/466...
Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria. Thousands of Christians are being killed. Radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter. I am hereby making Nigeria a "COUNTRY OF PARTICULAR CONCERN" β But that is the least of it. When Christians, or any such group, is slaughtered like is happening in Nigeria (3,100 versus 4,476 Worldwide), something must be done! I am asking Congressman Riley Moore, together with Chairman Tom Cole and the House Appropriations Committee, to immediately look into this matter, and report back to me. The United States cannot stand by while such atrocities are happening in Nigeria, and numerous other Countries. We stand ready, willing, and able to save our Great Christian population around the World! DONALD J. TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Sounds like Trump plans to invade Nigeria after Venezuela.
The new crusades.
Trump wonβt stop posting about the bathroom!
31.10.2025 17:31 β π 281 π 80 π¬ 106 π 72The Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force has been placed on high alert with all army personnel ordered to report to base within the next few hours, The Trinidad Press reports.
31.10.2025 18:38 β π 136 π 33 π¬ 4 π 2(AP) β Two federal judges ruled nearly simultaneously on Friday that President Donald Trump's administration must to continue to fund SNAP, the nation's biggest food aid program, using contingency funds during the government shutdown.
31.10.2025 18:12 β π 607 π 165 π¬ 14 π 16Judge Talwani says Trump admin MUST partially fund SNAP for November, and MAY fully fund it, and gives DOJ till Monday to tell her which option the admin will choose storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
31.10.2025 18:23 β π 77 π 36 π¬ 4 π 5
NYT breaking news: "Government Ordered to Pay Food Stamp Benefits During Shutdown" β A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to use emergency funds to pay for food stamps during the federal shutdown
Hard to overstate the lifeline this ruling offers in the face of Trump's calculated cruelty.
It will not only keep tens of millionsβhalf of them kidsβfed this month, but will also prevent the evictions and shutoffs that would have resulted from families being forced to pay for food out of pocket.
![UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS
COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS ET AL.,
Plaintiffs,
V.
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE ET AL.,
Defendants.
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Civil Action No. 1:25-cv-13165-IT
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
October 31, 2025
TALWANI, D.J.
Pending before the court is Plaintiffs' Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order [Doc.
No. 3] seeking to enjoin, on an emergency basis, Defendants' November 1, 2025 suspension of benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program ("SNAP"). For the reasons stated
below, Plaintiffs have standing to bring this action and are likely to succeed on their claim that
Defendants' suspension of SNAP benefits is unlawful. Where that suspension of benefits rested
on an erroneous construction of the relevant statutory provisions, the court will allow Defendants
to consider whether they will authorize at least reduced SNAP benefits for November, and report
back to the court no later than Monday, November 3, 2025.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:36eqtmzysqf7wsslczw4uxcd/bafkreiczapq36myqhzcrdp4jfodg5rkso7nuvlta4e5b5r4l5upce7b3le@jpeg)
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS ET AL., Plaintiffs, V. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE ET AL., Defendants. * * * * * * * * * * * Civil Action No. 1:25-cv-13165-IT MEMORANDUM AND ORDER October 31, 2025 TALWANI, D.J. Pending before the court is Plaintiffs' Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order [Doc. No. 3] seeking to enjoin, on an emergency basis, Defendants' November 1, 2025 suspension of benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program ("SNAP"). For the reasons stated below, Plaintiffs have standing to bring this action and are likely to succeed on their claim that Defendants' suspension of SNAP benefits is unlawful. Where that suspension of benefits rested on an erroneous construction of the relevant statutory provisions, the court will allow Defendants to consider whether they will authorize at least reduced SNAP benefits for November, and report back to the court no later than Monday, November 3, 2025.
A. Likelihood of Success on the Merits Plaintiffs have demonstrated a strong likelihood of success on the merits of their claim under the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. Β§ 706(2)(A), (C), that Defendants' suspension of SNAP benefits is contrary to law. At core, Defendants' conclusion that USDA is statutorily prohibited from funding SNAP because Congress has not enacted new appropriations for the current fiscal year is erroneous. To the contrary, Defendants are statutorily mandated to use the previously appropriated SNAP contingency reserve when necessary and also have discretion to use other previously appropriated funds as detailed below.
![As both parties acknowledge, Congress has not yet appropriated any new funds for SNAP
benefits for Fiscal Year 2026, which began on October 1, 2025. Pls.' Mem. 6 [Doc. No. 4];
Defs.' Opp'n 7 [Doc. No. 18]. But Congress took steps to protect against the deprivation of
SNAP assistance. In the 2024 Consolidated Appropriations Act, Pub. L. No. 118-42, Β§ 6, 138
Stat. 25, 93-94, Congress separately appropriated $6 billion to the SNAP program "to remain available through September 30, 2026" and "be placed in reserve for use only in such amounts and at such times as may become necessary to carry out program operations." See also Pub. L.
No. 119-4, Β§ 1101(a), 139 Stat. 9, 10 (2025). As Plaintiffs point out, given the mandatory nature
of SNAP benefits under 7 U.S.C. Β§ 2014(a) and the appropriation of these funds to be available
10
Case 1:25-cv-13165-IT
Document 26 Filed 10/31/25
Page 11 of 15
through this current fiscal year, the government is obligated to use this contingent reserve
account to fund SNAP "as may become necessary to carry out program operations." 138 Stat. at
93-94; Pls.' Mem. 11 [Doc. No. 4].](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:36eqtmzysqf7wsslczw4uxcd/bafkreiac7aa6icx44x5xjkilpwj7il5oriyttttnrslzrhkwvw6b32cbnm@jpeg)
As both parties acknowledge, Congress has not yet appropriated any new funds for SNAP benefits for Fiscal Year 2026, which began on October 1, 2025. Pls.' Mem. 6 [Doc. No. 4]; Defs.' Opp'n 7 [Doc. No. 18]. But Congress took steps to protect against the deprivation of SNAP assistance. In the 2024 Consolidated Appropriations Act, Pub. L. No. 118-42, Β§ 6, 138 Stat. 25, 93-94, Congress separately appropriated $6 billion to the SNAP program "to remain available through September 30, 2026" and "be placed in reserve for use only in such amounts and at such times as may become necessary to carry out program operations." See also Pub. L. No. 119-4, Β§ 1101(a), 139 Stat. 9, 10 (2025). As Plaintiffs point out, given the mandatory nature of SNAP benefits under 7 U.S.C. Β§ 2014(a) and the appropriation of these funds to be available 10 Case 1:25-cv-13165-IT Document 26 Filed 10/31/25 Page 11 of 15 through this current fiscal year, the government is obligated to use this contingent reserve account to fund SNAP "as may become necessary to carry out program operations." 138 Stat. at 93-94; Pls.' Mem. 11 [Doc. No. 4].
Defendants argue out that a "suspension" is permitted under USDA's regulations, and that USDA "has consistently interpreted its authority to allow for the suspension or cancellation of benefits when necessary." Defs. Opp'n 6 [Doc. No. 18). The regulation at issue, 7 C.F.R. $ 271.7(a), sets forth procedures to be followed if monthly SNAP allowances "must be reduced, suspended, or cancelled to comply with section 18 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008" (emphasis added). But that the regulation allows for a suspension when there are no funds does not mean that Defendants may choose a suspension over a reduction while funds do remain. If the regulation did authorize such discretion, it would be inconsistent with the statutory mandate that benefits "shall" be paid unless funding is no longer available.
BREAKING: Federal judge rules that the Trump administration likely illegally suspended SNAP benefits, ruling that at least reduced distribution is required to go forward under law using the $6 billion reserve fund.
Judge gives the Trump admin until Monday to respond as to whether it will act.
Two separate judges have issued rulings agreeing with me since I posted this
31.10.2025 18:18 β π 184 π 37 π¬ 3 π 2All of this is true enough as far as it goes. But even more problematic is the fact that when the U.S. Coast Guard interdicts suspect vessels, boarding and searching for drugs, a quarter of the time they find no contraband.
We're not just murdering drug smugglers.
We are murdering innocent people.
βIt is about Trumpβs personal power. Itβs a claim on one of symbols of the republicβthe peopleβs house. Trump plans to use this monstrous new facility to dazzle donors and fΓͺte strongmen. In clear, bold visual language, the ballroom declares βI am the state.ββ
www.liberalcurrents.com/trump-loeil-...
A truly extraordinary document. Judge Rodriguez throws out the indictment because "the Governmentβs conduct is so shocking to the universal sense of justice that it should be deprived of the opportunity to prosecute the Defendant." Hard to count all the different ways ICE lied throughout this case.
31.10.2025 15:47 β π 342 π 138 π¬ 6 π 2it is interesting to see variations in coverage bsky.app/profile/carl...
31.10.2025 15:44 β π 9 π 7 π¬ 0 π 0
This three-hops theory is especially insane. Even if you assume each person is connected to only 100 other people, there are 1m people within three hops of every suspected drug traffickerβand remember that even *known* drug traffickers arenβt legitimate targets. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/30/u...
31.10.2025 12:07 β π 1638 π 512 π¬ 116 π 161I canβt stress this enough. They want to do inside the US the kind of extrajudicial murders theyβve been doing internationally. This has always been about normalizing the ability of Trump to smite his personal enemies without suffering legal consequences. Trumpβs testing for compliance & resistance.
30.10.2025 18:56 β π 725 π 294 π¬ 25 π 8
The details alleged in the suit get pretty lurid. Per multiple declarations, detainees are forced to sleep on the floor, amid "urine and dirty water" caused by clogged toilets.
The suit also claims there are cameras pointed at the toilets, causing detainees anxiety and concern over sexual abuse.
βThey treated us like animals, or worse than animals, because no one treats their pets like that.β
31.10.2025 14:18 β π 200 π 99 π¬ 1 π 1
Excellence in headline writing from @rvamag.bsky.social
31.10.2025 14:05 β π 5 π 2 π¬ 0 π 0
"Suddenly, nothingβincluding the racism, Holocaust denialism, and antisemitism Fuentes has championedβseems to be too hot for MAGA media to embrace" β@willsommer.bsky.social www.thebulwark.com/p/one-of-the...
31.10.2025 13:29 β π 165 π 52 π¬ 8 π 10
