Top recent posts by Public Intellectuals and Advocates on Bluesky

Aaaand there it is.

So many layers of corruption.

The church said it's terminating a decades-long partnership with the federal government to help refugees arriving in the U.S., citing moral opposition to resettling white Afrikaners from South Africa.

🤷🏼‍♂️

If South Africa is a sovereign nation, how are we able to send our own planes we paid for to transport white Afrikaners to the U.S., but simultaneously unable to send a plane to return Abrego Garcia et al?

The fact that the attorney general's last job before this one was lobbying for the Qataris is a little on the nose.

We should be ashamed of ourselves for not appreciating him breaking the law. ✈️ 💰 🙏

NEWS: U.S. and China agree to a 90-day pause on new tariffs after shipping to U.S. ports plummeted. Tariffs on Chinese imports will be cut from 145% to 30%. Tariffs on U.S. imports will be cut from 125% to 10%. If tariffs should result in massive job growth and make the U.S. rich, why lower them?

Happy tariff capitulation day to all who celebrate.

The Afrikaner stunt is the kind of thing that has backfired so far -- it creates legal arguments for other refugees about animus. But holy hell he's not hiding the white sheets.

Taking a bribe in a very public way doesn't mean you aren't corrupt, it means your corruption is shameless.

as someone who lives nextdoor to both supportive housing and public housing, i need people to understand that the best locations for both are going to be the central neighborhoods in a metropolitan area, where there is easy and reliable access to services and jobs.

The Constitution disagrees. The Emoluments Clause, part of Article I, Section 9, Clause 8, bans office holders from taking ANY gifts from foreign countries. There is no mention of quid pro quo. That is because the Founding Fathers knew that even the *appearance* of corruption promotes corruption.

From The Archives: You People Made Me Give Up My Peanut Farm Before I Got To Be President theonion.com/you-peo...

The world needs more of this and less of most other things

Art of the Deal

Average Onion subscriber.

Duffy: "By the way, during covid, when people weren't flying, that was a perfect time to fix these problems." (Who wants to tell him ... )

Remember that several people asked Pam Bondi during confirmation SPECIFICALLY what she would do on matters pertaining to Qatar (which she did not disclose) or GEO (pertinent to the Baraka arrest). She said she'd consult top career lawyer at DOJ abt recusal. Then she fired that lawyer.

This is still part of the Constitution, FYI: "[N]o Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust... shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State."

“You can’t make this up.” - Marsha, making it up

"The local police arrived to prevent the community from protecting their neighbor from an unlawful kidnapping. They succeeded, and in the process arrested two of the people who tried to stop it." www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

We strongly advise the public not to do this, it’s unsafe. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. posted photos of himself and his grandkids swimming in Rock Creek, a Washington waterway so contaminated with sewage runoff that swimming has been banned citywide for over 50 years.

Coolest couple in the neighborhood. Photo from my collection, 1937.

Odd that those criticizing @gtconway.bsky.social for endorsing Diane Seltzer because he isn't a member of the DC Bar, ignore the fact that I have as well and I am a member. Vote Diane Seltzer for DC Bar president.

in addition to him repeating insane racist conspiracy theories, it occurs to me that the reason he has time to hold long press conferences everyday is that he doesn’t actually do anything

30% is an enormously high tariff!

I'm not a lawyer, nor do I work for the New York Times, but I'm pretty sure corruption does not require an explicit quid pro quo.

I can't top this one.

Chris Murphy: "Let's be clear what this trip is all about. This is President Trump's corruption tour of the Middle East. He is going to the gulf to collect tribute. What's happening here is an extraordinary level of corruption. We shouldn't pretend this is business as usual."

Accepting a private jumbo-jet from a foreign nation is a clear violation of our Constitution, which plainly prohibits U.S. officials from accepting gifts from foreign governments.

You count on the NPR Network. THANK YOU to our supporters who are showing we can count on you too. If you haven’t given yet, it’s time to join the movement to defend public media. Donate now: n.pr/3EYClNR

Fox Business analyst.

I had literally just signed the paperwork on my dolls/tiny screws factory in the US. 😩

EXCLUSIVE: Rep. Dan Goldman demands AG Pam Bondi come clean on if she is covering up the release of the Epstein Files to protect Donald Trump. In a blistering letter, Goldman demands answers on the unexplained delay.

Jeffries: China punked the administration and the administration backed down. That’s no surprise because we’ve seen that happen over and over and over again.

Paul: They started out at 145% got down to 80% now 30%. It is 30% more than we have on currently. It will be a 30% rise in goods coming from China, and somebody will pay that, it will be the consumer.

Man Can’t Believe He Has To Download Stupid App Just To Bribe President theonion.com/man-can...

In 2024, Biden signed into law a $105 billion measure designed to end a shortfall in air traffic controllers. In 2025, Trump came in and instead began firing hundreds of them. So you can see how *clear* it is that Biden is to blame for the shortage now.

Oh… So that guy from The Real World, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, rescheduled his wife’s flight out of Newark to LaGuardia? If this guy doesn’t have the confidence in the FAA or the airport that’s under his control, then he shouldn’t be employed anymore.

The president who’s taking bribes wants you to know that the people noticing his crime are the “crooked” ones

The Pope on jailed journalists, at his first press conference: "The suffering of these imprisoned journalists challenges the conscience of nations and the international community, calling on all of us to safeguard the precious gift of free speech and of the press" www.nytimes.com/2025/05/12/w...

EXCLUSIVE: We dug up a video of Donald Trump trashing Qatar in 2017 calling them “funders of terrorism.” I’m sure he would hate if this clip changed their mind to give him a $400 million plane - so definitely don’t repost it.

Because of the layoffs at NIOSH, multiple lifesaving programs have been shut down even though they’re required by law.

Library of Congress staff just showed what resistance looks like. After Trump abruptly fired Dr. Carla Hayden, the respected Librarian of Congress, he tried to install Todd Blanche, his former personal lawyer and current Deputy Attorney General, as acting librarian. Staff weren’t having it.

This is getting a fair amount of scorn, and I’d say it deserves it. The hidden premise is that “corruption” requires the specific proof that the Supreme Court has decided (controversially) is required for certain very specific federal criminal statutes. /1

RFK Jr., the foolish kook splashing about in raw sewage, is in charge of protecting our health. These are monumentally stupid times we are living in.

Trump Republicanism at its finest. www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...

Remember when the story broke about a worm eating part of his brain and nobody was that surprised?

because of these chucklefucks it is a miracle that we go a day without a passenger airline crash

June does not speak for The Onion in this instance. As a policy, we are open to extravagant, golden-toiletted sky palaces from all known petrostates.

Pope Leo comes out for press freedom and the release of imprisoned journalists abcnews.go.com/GMA/News/vid...

To be clear - even the city of Nashville has no proof anyone ICE has arrested was a violent criminal or a gang member. (And due process is a thing) All anyone has is ICE’s word, backed up by @GovBillLee & Blackburn. Maybe the media could point that out instead of parroting their talking points?

New in PN: The new pope is latest sign that the world rejects Trumpism "Neither Pope Leo nor Mark Carney nor anyone else can save the US from what its own voters have done to it. But we all live in the same world, and any pushback against Trump is helpful and hopeful."

Literally every New Yorker I’ve talked to about it has said they love it.

By exactly whom John? www.politico.com/news/2025/05...

Trump reaches a “deal” to pause the tariffs he imposed on China. I guess all those manufacturing jobs aren’t coming here now, the tariffs won’t replace income taxes, and all the other amazing things they were supposed to do for us are over. So much for Liberation Day.

Trump's Department of Justice serves three purposes: Declare that whatever Trump wants to do is legal. Dispense favors on Trump's political allies. Investigate and punish Trump's political opponents. It is a dangerous three tiered system of justice that is leading our country down a dark road.

Trump, who is set to accept a $400M floating palace airplane from Qatar, tweeted this about Obama in 2012:

The voting section of the U.S. Department of Justice has only three attorneys left on staff, according to an estimate provided by a group working to support the department’s remaining staff.👀 www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...

The Qatari jet bribe saves NO MONEY, because Trump keeps it after he’s president! Democrats, why arent you making it clear to any nation bribing Trump or hosting American prisoners, that there will be hell to pay when Dems are in charge?! Discourage further corruption!

Trump is taking a bribe from a country that funds Hamas. If you can’t say that, then you shouldn’t be a journalist.

🚨BREAKING: On behalf of the Montana Federation of Public Employees, my law firm has filed a new pro-voting lawsuit challenging two new Montana laws that reduce opportunities for Election Day registration and add more burdensome ID requirements. www.democracydocket.com/cases/montan...

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the health secretary, posted photos on Sunday of himself and his grandchildren swimming in a contaminated Washington creek where swimming is not allowed because it is used for sewer runoff.

What if a South African is mixed race? Can they come too or do you have to be 100% white?

Jordy Meiselas: If you can be a beacon of truth, honesty, and actually bring facts, data, and receipts to an audience that’s so hungry for information, that level of authenticity will shine through.

Be more like Marc Elias. He exemplifies what it means to be a “fighter.” It’s that attitude of acknowledging the fear, flipping the source of it bird, and then walking toward it, 100% invested in victory. There are only a handful of people in politics right now that inspire me. Marc is #1

Q: There are many people who fit the criteria of fleeing persecution. Afghans for example. But they're being denied refugee status. So why such an exception for the Afrikaners? TRUMP ADMIN OFFICIAL: One of the criteria is making sure they can be assimilated easily into our country

The world is more divided than ever, but there’s still something (nearly) everyone agrees on: The US is unloved. Meanwhile, China keeps improving its global standing 👇 www.politico.eu/article/usa-...

So House Republicans are fighting about the Medicaid cuts in the tax bill for the rich - not because it kicks nearly 9 million people off Medicaid - but because it doesn't kick *enough* people off Medicaid. Vote accordingly.

America’s Grifter-in-Chief knows no bounds. https://robertreich.substack.com/p/the-grift-regime

✈️ #SwampForceOne Context:

I just authorized the Minnesota National Guard to help fight the Camp House wildfire in northern Minnesota. I’m grateful to all our first responders who are stepping into harm’s way to keep their neighbors safe.

Trump is literally trying to fly around on a plane from a foreign government while serving as President. That’s a violation of the Constitution. The Emoluments Clause wasn’t a suggestion. It’s the LAW.

"I think it should be controversial to NOT say anything" about Gaza I spoke to YouTube star and children's educator Ms. Rachel about her outspoken support for Palestinian kids in Gaza - and the bad-faith attacks on her in response. Full interview here: zeteo.com/p/exclusive-...

REPORTER: What do you say to people who view that luxury jet as a personal gift to you? TRUMP: You're ABC fake news, right? Let me tell you -- you should be embarrassed asking that question. They're giving us a free jet ... when they give you a putt, you pick it up and you walk to the next hole

Rep. Dan Goldman calls out Pam Bondi for stonewalling the release of the Epstein files: Was this some sort of directive from Trump or an agent of his to the Attorney General to stop this?

"This is naked corruption on a massive scale. But at least the golf stuff is covered by a tiny fig leaf, ostensibly separating the Trump Org and the Oval Office. Now, less than four months into his second term, Trump is ripping the bandaid off and discarding all pretense." -- @lizdye.bsky.social

Fixed it.

by the standard laid out here, famously corrupt fictional character clay davis was not engaged in corruption

www.episcopalchurch.org/publicaffair...

Elon Musk’s regulatory troubles? Vanishing fast. Since Trump returned to the White House, federal agencies that once scrutinized Musk’s empire are being gutted or redirected. At the USDA, Trump fired the official investigating Neuralink.

Sean Duffy be like

Our graduation rates are higher than they’ve ever been. It’s because we made big investments in things like free school meals, teacher training, and technical education. We can’t let federal cuts roll back our progress. www.startribune.com/rash-record-...

He embarrassed himself—and all of us—and got _nothing_ in return. And we’re _still_ going to experience shortages and price increases this summer. To which CNN has now responded by... ...praising this asshole and his whole political team. I would say “unbelievable,” but it’s all too believable.

very clear that official policy of the united states right now is to accept any white person abroad who claims asylum status

So swampy.

From @carriejohnson.bsky.social More than 30,000 people have already voted in the election for the president of the D.C. Bar Association, more than triple the previous record set in 1990.

The Trump admin is fast-tracking a uranium mine in Utah by slashing the permitting process to 14 days, bypassing environmental review and cutting the public out entirely. Projects like this are supposed to go through NEPA, the law that requires environmental impact assessments and public comment.

Trump is shutting down America’s truth-telling platforms while Russian disinformation floods our feeds. This isn’t just a policy shift — it’s a dangerous (and intentional) surrender. adamkinzinger.substack.com/p/silencing-...

Meiselas: It’s an incredible honor to be here… We’re honored to be a small part of that incredible history, and we hope we’re helping to advance things and move them forward in the right direction.

Sounds like Trump did a very bad job

Does this mean they are going arrest our immigration-status-questionable First Lady? gizmodo.com/gop-senator-...

Trump welcomes 49 white Afrikaners today as “refugees” from South Africa… The racism is a feature, not a bug.

It’s pretty fucked up that Trump knows he can lie and take bribes because he knows the press won’t use the words “lie” or “bribes.”

HHS Secretary RFK Jr. posted photos of himself swimming in a sewage-filled creek. A fitting metaphor for his entire approach to public health. www.mediaite.com/politics/rfk...

The NYT and SCOTUS both believe it isn’t “corruption” unless an official is caught accepting a giant bag of cash with literal dollar signs on it *and* saying in front of witnesses “in exchange for this illegal offer of money I will do ____”

Brett Meiselas: We want to deconstruct the 24-hour news cycle. That’s the old way of doing things—we’re doing it the new way: the Webby way, the digital way, the future.