stevebenen.com - Profile | ThreadSky | a Reddit-style client for Bluesky

Much of the media will hold Democrats accountable for the words of a random liberal online but give Republicans a free pass on the white nationalists and conspiracy theorists they actually meet with in person and follow online.

submitted 13 hours ago • 37 comments

In January, @pkrugman.bsky.social highlighted the “real threat of fake numbers” and the possibility that the public might start thinking twice about the integrity of federal data. Five months later, these questions are suddenly a bit louder. www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...

submitted 7 hours ago • 6 comments

The through-line between partisan attacks on the Congressional Budget Office, the American Bar Association, and medical journals: Too many Republicans see independent sources of inconvenient information as obstacles to be discredited. www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...

submitted 9 hours ago • 3 comments

In a healthy White House, activists like Laura Loomer wouldn’t be let in the door. In this White House, she gets influential access to the president and vice president. Both parties have fringes, but only one party blurs the line between its fringe and its mainstream. www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...

submitted 13 hours ago • 26 comments

Voters last fall might not have realized that a Republican victory in 2024 would mean cuts to cancer research, but here we are. Take the new White House budget plan, for example. www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...

submitted 1 day ago • 6 comments

Navy traditions — and basic decency — make clear that Pete Hegseth shouldn't re-name the USNS Harvey Milk. The beleaguered, scandal-plagued defense secretary is doing it anyway. www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...

submitted 1 day ago • 13 comments

Trump insisted last night, “So many false statements are being made about ‘THE ONE, BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL.’” Oddly enough, I agree. There really are “so many false statements” being made about Republicans’ megabill — though the lies are coming from Trump and his allies. www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...

submitted 1 day ago • 6 comments

It was a problem when Trump’s acting FEMA chief said he didn't know the United States has a hurricane season. It was a bigger problem when he apparently said FEMA wouldn’t come up with a new hurricane-response plan for 2025. www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...

submitted 1 day ago • 8 comments

"The underlying point isn’t to chastise the firms for making the wrong decision; it’s to remind those firms that it’s not too late to reverse course and join the ranks of the firms resisting Trump’s gambit..." www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...

submitted 2 days ago • 96 comments

Why doesn't Trump just go to Congress to get legal authority for his tariffs? In part because he believes checks and balances are all fine and good — until they get in the way of him doing what he wants to do.

submitted 2 days ago • 3 comments

The first time Trump and Republicans targeted the Affordable Care Act, it was a disaster for the party. As Republicans try again, Dems would be wise to let the public know what the inaptly named “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” would do to the ACA. www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...

submitted 2 days ago • 3 comments

Maybe Iowa’s Joni Ernst genuinely doesn’t understand why her “we are all going to die” line was a problem. Or maybe she’s doing an excellent imitation of someone who’s easily confused. www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...

submitted 2 days ago • 13 comments

Guy on the right side of the clip: Let's give pardons to all kinds of criminals, including violent felons. Guy on the left side of the clip:

submitted 5 days ago • 7 comments

I keep thinking about the pre-inaugural transition period, when Biden welcomed Trump to the White House, showing his former opponent nothing but generosity and grace. Biden probably didn’t want to, and he faced criticism from the left, but honor bound, he did it anyway. This is his repayment.

submitted 5 days ago • 13 comments

The list of sycophantic pro-Trump GOP bills now includes: - renaming DC metro trains after him - putting him on $100 and $250 bills - renaming Dulles Airport after him - making his birthday a national holiday - adding him to Mount Rushmore As one historian put it, this is getting “pretty crazy.”

submitted 5 days ago • 18 comments

Republicans have prepared all kinds of talking points for officials to use when asked about the GOP’s brutal Medicaid cuts. I have a hunch “Well, we’re all going to die” — the line Iowa’s Joni Ernst used this morning — wasn’t on the list. www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...

submitted 5 days ago • 29 comments

After the 2024 elections, I lost count of how many influential observers complained about Democrats and their implied “disdain” for parts of their own country. Republicans’ overt contempt for parts of their own country tends to generate less conversation.

submitted 6 days ago • 52 comments

The Law and Order President

submitted 6 days ago • 13 comments

In case this isn’t obvious: In a healthy political system, if officials released a hyped report on health policy, and the document relied on scientific sources that didn’t exist, those officials would be expected to resign — quickly. www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...

submitted 6 days ago • 14 comments

"As Musk slinks away, spending went up, not down, during his tenure, and DOGE made the government less efficient, not more..." "A legacy of shattered institutions, weakened public services, and fired civil servants who did nothing but serve their country well..." www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...

submitted 6 days ago • 452 comments

Thanks to Trump's latest flurry of pardons, he's now pardoned most of the Republican congressmen convicted of felonies in the 21st century. The new total is nine — and counting. www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...

submitted 6 days ago • 68 comments

It seems Trump has become President Bystander, blissfully unaware of events unfolding around him. He’s taken a keen interest in countless trivialities, but on substantive issues, Trump’s offering the public a lot of shrugged shoulders and blank stares. www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...

submitted 7 days ago • 10 comments

When it comes to Trump’s pardons, it’s worth marveling at the brazenness. The pretense of propriety is gone. He’s corrupting the pardon process; he knows that he’s corrupting the pardon process; he knows that we know that he’s corrupting the pardon process; and he’s doing it anyway.

submitted 7 days ago • 38 comments

Of the many of law firms targeted by the White House, only four agreed to fight rather than appease Trump. At least so far, those four firms are undefeated in their cases against Trump’s offensive — including a breakthrough win today. www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...

submitted 8 days ago • 1 comment

As Tommy Tuberville launches a Republican gubernatorial campaign in Alabama, remember: If he wins — as seems likely — it’ll be a classic example of a politician failing up. The coach-turned-senator’s tenure on the Hill can charitably be described as an embarrassment. www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...

submitted 8 days ago • 22 comments

Trump’s message to US businesses: - accept fewer profits - make products where I tell you to - succumb to tariff threats - adopt my preferred employment practices - ignore the stock market unless I say otherwise Remember in 2024 when some saw him the “pro-business” candidate?

submitted 8 days ago • 6 comments

When judges feel the need to worry about their personal safety, it’s a serious problem. When judges feel the need to worry that Trump might order the U.S. Marshals Service not protect their personal safety, it takes the problem to another level. www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...

submitted 8 days ago • 0 comments

In a normal political environment, Trump’s indefensible approach to pardons would be the defining scandal of his presidency. For all the Republican hysterics about a “two-tiered” system, the White House has created the very dynamic the party claimed to be against. www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...

submitted 8 days ago • 11 comments

If it seems like you’ve seen the same headline — “Maybe this time, Trump will follow through on his rhetoric and get tough with Putin” — over and over again, it’s not your imagination. Lucy, Charlie Brown, and the football keep coming to mind. www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...

submitted 8 days ago • 9 comments

This paragraph was published in a @washingtonpost.com ‬article two weeks ago. The White House’s erraticism on tariffs has only gotten worse since.

submitted 10 days ago • 11 comments

My wife’s name isn’t Lisa; she isn’t a lawyer; and we didn’t get married in 2006. An occasional reminder: If you think you can count on AI for accurate information, think again.

submitted 10 days ago • 5 comments

Of the many of law firms targeted by the White House, only four agreed to fight rather than appease Trump. At least so far, those four firms are undefeated in their cases against Trump’s offensive.

submitted 12 days ago • 4 comments

The more RFK Jr. talks about people doing "their own research," the more important it is to explain why this is dangerously misguided advice. www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...

submitted 12 days ago • 39 comments

The political world needs to pause, reassess, and come to terms with the simple fact that there are no actual Republican moderates on Capitol Hill. www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...

submitted 12 days ago • 34 comments

It seems like "there should be an investigation" has effectively become a punctuation mark Trump uses to end sentences about his perceived foes. www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...

submitted 13 days ago • 4 comments

Team Trump blocking Harvard from enrolling international students is ridiculous. It’s also entirely in line with the White House’s war against higher education and foreign students. Remember when JD Vance said foreign students are “bad for national security” and “bad for the American dream”?

submitted 13 days ago • 3 comments

House Freedom Caucus members went from uncontrollable pit bulls to obedient lapdogs with incredible speed. The far-right faction talks a good game, right up until Trump tells them what to do — at which point they roll over. www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...

submitted 13 days ago • 8 comments

As the dust settles, keep in mind that the GOP was presented with plenty of compelling off-ramps. - The CBO said the bill was a disaster. - The bond market said the bill was a disaster. - The public said the bill was a disaster. 215 Republicans voted for it anyway. www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...

submitted 13 days ago • 6 comments

Trump’s decision to accept a superluxury jumbo jet from the royal family of Qatar doesn’t end the controversy. In some ways, it starts the controversy. www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...

submitted 14 days ago • 11 comments

Democratic Sen. Patty Murray wondered aloud whether RFK Jr. is “the one making decisions” at HHS. I have a hunch she won’t be the last one to ask. www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...

submitted 14 days ago • 70 comments

In theory, the new CBO score on the Republicans’ megabill would rattle lawmakers and bury the legislation. In practice, Republicans are too indifferent to the substance of governing to care. www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...

submitted 14 days ago • 4 comments

As a rule, it’s not common for people to make the transition from prison to a U.S. ambassadorial position in Paris, but these are strange days. www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...

submitted 15 days ago • 24 comments

Members of Ashli Babbitt’s family filed a civil suit they were likely to lose. Trump’s Justice Department is apparently planning to pay the Jan. 6 rioter’s relatives $5 million anyway. It’s tough to blame the chief of the U.S. Capitol Police for being disgusted. www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...

submitted 15 days ago • 5 comments

It's tempting to laugh at Kristi Noem’s humiliating ignorance about the meaning of habeas corpus, but this isn’t just some embarrassing gaffe. Given the scope of her powers, her cluelessness matters. (And in a healthier environment, Noem would be forced to resign in embarrassment right about now.)

submitted 15 days ago • 18 comments

Pete Hegseth apparently wants a renewed conversation about his handling — or in his case, mishandling — of classified information. What a good idea. www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...

submitted 15 days ago • 3 comments