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thinkupstream.bsky.social
News analyst and political tea leaf reader. I have strong opinions loosely held.
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A coalition of democratic governors is condemning President Donald Trump’s deployment of the California National Guard in Los Angeles to quell anti-ICE protests “an alarming abuse of power.”

NEW: The tactic has been used by autocrats the world over — including in Turkey, Hungary and El Salvador — to erode perceptions of the courts’ legitimacy and weaken the rule of law. www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...

Trump will make Kent State look like a cocktail party. I’m all for LA folks resisting & defending their neighbors, but I’m sad about how perfectly this plays into Trump’s hands. The west coast is going to be under martial law by this time next week (before 6/14 rallies), just the way Trump planned.

Prescient.

Kevin Heatley, former Crater Lake leader, joined OPB’s “Think Out Loud” to explain why he started working there, how Trump directives affected the park, and why he decided to leave: "I cannot, in good conscience, manage an operation that I know is moving in the wrong direction."

DELETED: Trump administration deleted a webpage summarizing evidence that “undocumented immigrants are arrested at less than half the rate of native-born U.S. citizens for violent and drug crimes and a quarter the rate of native-born citizens for property crimes.” 1/2

I can’t believe Kevin Costner just said “willa-MET” in the Oregon Trail episode of the History Channel’s big new documentary series, The West.

Welcome to the Resistance, today’s Wordle.

Folks at Princeton have put together an aggregator to highlight example of how federally funded research has directly impacted people's lives. They are looking for more studies to highlight, so send along suggestions and help make the benefits of science more visible! publicusaresearchbenefits.com

@mudwoodgnomes.com This morning I broke my only Daily Bird cup (large size) that I've loved since I bought it some 15+ yrs ago. I'm gonna miss that little bird! I'm wondering if you have any old inventory from Mr. Huffman that predates the LaughinGnome brand? Or could make some?

We elected some good folks to local school boards, but I'm most excited about the Siuslaw School Board (Florence, Oregon), where voters flipped the 4-3 majority that voted for a book ban two months ago to a 4-3 majority that opposes book banning. Well done, western Lane County! @maddow.msnbc.com

1/ This sure sounds like the international human rights law definition of a disappearance: "Assistant U.S. Attorney Jimmy Rodriguez said he has 'no reason to doubt' the claim that Agelviz Sanguino was in El Salvador, but that he did not have information as to his whereabouts."

When you know that a few years from now you won’t remember where you saved your graphics files, AND you know that a note to self labeled “Read Me” won’t be enough to get your attention.

The new GOP tax bill gives the richest Americans (making over $4.3 million) an average tax cut of over $389k—while working families earning $17k-$51k will lose $700 a year on average. It’s a slap in the face to hardworking families who need tax relief the most.

Cato has published my comprehensive review of the ~240 Venezuelans the US government renditioned 2 months ago to Salvador’s notorious prison. We identified FIFTY who came legally, never violated any immigration law, but are imprisoned at the US government’s request and at US taxpayer expense.

The number of assaults on law enforcement in ONE DAY on January 6th is higher than the number of assaults on ICE officers over a decade.

We're all on Medicaid

A National Weather Service office in Kentucky was scrambling to cover the overnight forecast on Friday as severe storms moved through much of the eastern U.S. The office is one of several left without an overnight forecaster as a result of cuts ordered by the Department of Government Efficiency.

This is a HUGE scandal. Elon Musk, JD Vance, and Trump are lying about Social Security fraud. Internal documents show DOGE found "no significant fraud"—but did slow retirement claim processing by 25%. Nothing efficient about making it harder for people to get their benefits.

The Nazis learned the same lesson in the early days of the Third Reich when the German Supreme Court acquitted the communists they tried to blame the Reichstag Fire on w/o evidence. They built an external justice system and of course they named it: The People’s Court

New from me: Everything feels overwhelming. But here is a tangible thing you can do: write a comment to oppose Trump's plan to convert 50,000 career civil servants into political appointees. Deadline is May 23. Please share! donmoynihan.substack.com/p/here-is-a-...

New cross stitch is done!

Good news! Jefferson Griffin (R) finally conceded the NC Supreme Court race to Justice Allison Riggs (D) after trying for 6 months to get over 65,000 legal votes thrown out. Yesterday a federal judge ordered the elections board to certify the race for Riggs. #BabyAnimalsHaveGoodNews

Orlando City Commissioner Tony Ortiz just switched from Republican to Democratic. “The Republican Party is not the party I signed up with... The marginalization of Latinos and immigrants—many of whom have helped build this country—is not leadership. It’s fear-based politics.”

The clear misogyny of Trump saying only little girls will be punished by the tariffs is a moment to see why he's so effective at rallying his base. It's something Democrats can do, too! www.thefarce.org/trump-aims-c...

It’s Star Wars Day, but also Quintuple Time, a thing I just made up for celebrating songs with a 5/4 time signature. Today I offer you “Rock n Roll” by The Little Stevies. Please enjoy, and please add other 5/4 songs in the comments. open.spotify.com/track/6vGRNb...

@maddow.msnbc.com May Day protest signs from Eugene, Oregon!

Yay for Eugene marathoners! @maddow.msnbc.com runningmagazine.ca/the-scene/tr...

My statement on the Antisemitism Awareness Act ahead of tomorrow's Senate markup: