BalineseCats

Father, husband, lawyer, writer, Ironman finisher. Passionate about the dangers of authoritarianism.

[Ruth Ben-Ghiat @ruthbenghiat]

This is not politics as usual.

We’ve never had an openly authoritarian leader in office. Nor have we had a party totally subservient to their leader.

We must resist as such during these not normal times.

[Chris Murphy 🟧 @ChrisMurphyCT]

Trump nominated a legit white nationalist to a top post at the State Department. I asked him some basic questions about his belief in the “erasure of white culture”. Watch this embarrassing, fumbling answer. Like he has never before been asked to explain his views.

[Ruth Ben-Ghiat @ruthbenghiat]

He was appointed because he is a (pardoned) criminal and as such perfectly represents the current American government.

[ArchaeoHistories @histories_arch]

Robert Todd Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln’s eldest son, was present at 3 of the 4 presidential assassinations and was the only one of Lincoln’s 4 children to survive past 18 and outlive both parents...

The trauma of his father’s murder in 1865 shaped him deeply but his proximity to presidential death did not end at Ford’s Theatre. In 1881 he was standing just feet away from President James Garfield when Garfield was shot inside a Washington DC railway station. And in 1901 he was in Buffalo when President William McKinley was assassinated at the Pan-American Exposition. After that third event he famously refused future presidential invites saying in effect that tragedy seemed to follow him.

And there is another surreal twist. Years before Lincoln was murdered Robert Todd nearly fell between a moving train and the platform. A stranger reached out and pulled him to safety. That man was Edwin Booth. The brother of John Wilkes Booth.

© Colorized History

#archaeohistories

[Adam Klasfeld @KlasfeldReports]

“I’m the one that makes the decision and that decision would have to go across my desk and it’s awfully strange to make a decision where I’m paying myself.”

— Trump, the last time he pulled this kind of taxpayer-funded stunt https://t.co/vxJ0aTuzzV

[Ron Filipkowski @RonFilipkowski]

Trump wants US taxpayers to pay him $10 billion. I’m sure Scott Bessent and Pam Bondi will fight hard to defend this lawsuit for us.

[BalineseCats @BalineseCats]

Or maybe depriving Bessent and Trump of toys when they were kids is part of why we’re in this mess

[Aaron Rupar @atrupar]

Scott Bessent on Trump Accounts: "Rather than giving a toy for a birthday or holiday, they can contribute to these accounts"

[BalineseCats @BalineseCats]

@RpsAgainstTrump Was the “horse” named Doug Burgum?

[Jamie Dupree @jamiedupree]

What did officials inside the Trump Justice Department think of the 2020 Italian satellites election fraud conspiracy theory pushed by a guy working with Rudy Giuliani? "Pure insanity."

[Aaron Blake @AaronBlake]

I just had the really depressing thought that people are still going to be posting stuff like this in, like, 2031.

[BalineseCats @BalineseCats]

@TruthFairness @HarmeetKDhillon @EdWhelanEPPC So that was the material fact, as opposed to Whelan’s initial point about judicial ethics? Got it.

It’s literally why he referred to her first response as a non sequitur: she attempted to distract from the material fact.

[BalineseCats @BalineseCats]

@anneapplebaum That’s also what Putin says when he looks at the photo.

[BalineseCats @BalineseCats]

@donwinslow @iOotzi That’s obviously terrible. I’m sorry.

[Miles Taylor @MilesTaylorUSA]

Another reminder to the Trump henchmen aiding & abetting his effort to seize 2020 election ballots:

He can’t pardon you for state crimes.

[BalineseCats @BalineseCats]

@ruthbenghiat Unfortunately, Spracklen clarified he meant that Trump is not fascist enough for his tastes.

[Ruth Ben-Ghiat @ruthbenghiat]

Under authoritarian regimes, public spheres — streets, parks, neighborhood — become testing grounds for authoritarian rituals of humiliation and domination.

[Jake Tapper 🦅 @jaketapper]

Good morning! In the 9 pm ET hour then recommencing in the 5 am ET, the president posted or reposted more than 60 times, attacking President Obama, PM Carney, Gov Newsom, Gov Walz, Rep Omar, Alex Pretti, and sharing a bunch of untethered nonsense about the 2020 election.

[BalineseCats @BalineseCats]

@harryjsisson Spracklen clarified in the comments to this tweet that his issue with Trump is (literally) that Trump is “not quite fascist enough.”

It’s sickening.

[Aaron Rupar @atrupar]

Trump: "People that own their homes -- we're gonna keep them wealthy. We're gonna keep those prices up. We're not gonna destroy the value of their homes so that somebody who didn't work very hard can buy a home."

[Ron Filipkowski @RonFilipkowski]

Trump to young people hoping to afford a home in the near future: Tough shit.