Jonathan Feldman

Public interest lawyer, co-author of textbook Education Law, jazz/blues pianist/vocalist. Jonathan Feldman Trio on Spotify. Follow the Feld and stray no more

[Jo @JoJoFromJerz]

This is amazing!!! 💙💙💙

[Jonathan Feldman @FollowTheFeld]

@rachbarnhart This was personal, as well as political. El Sayed’s treatment of her was arrogant and misogynistic. So I blame him as much as her. And I worry about his political skills.

[Brian @been_awildrover]

@anneapplebaum In #Serbia and #Brazil voters have realised that only corruption comes from any association with #Trump, his family or his cronies, including Musk, and their obvious #Putin allegiance. Excellent news, hopefully the French and Germans will realise the same and vote accordingly.

[Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum]

In one day, two politicians - Bolsonaro in Brazil and Vucic in Serbia - with ties to Trump and his family have lost surprise elections, thanks to high turnout. The rise of the international far-right is not inevitable.

[Mykhailo Rohoza @MykhailoRohoza]

“Why do some British people dislike Donald Trump?”

Nate White, an eloquent and witty English writer, gave this magnificent answer:

Trump lacks certain qualities that the British traditionally value.

He has no nobility, no charm, no composure, no gravitas, no compassion, no wit, no warmth, no wisdom, no subtlety, no sensitivity, no self-awareness, no humility, no honour, and no grace — qualities with which, strangely enough, his predecessor, Mr Obama, was abundantly blessed.

Although Trump may be ridiculous, he has never said anything ironic, amusing, or even remotely funny — not once, ever. I do not mean this rhetorically. I mean it literally: never. To the British, a lack of humour is almost inhuman.

But with Trump, it is a fact. He does not even seem to understand what a joke is. To him, a joke is a crude remark, an illiterate insult, an act of casual cruelty.

Trump is like a troll: he never laughs or enjoys himself; he merely squeals with delight or derision.

And the most frightening thing is that he does not merely utter crude and stupid insults: he actually means them. His mind is nothing more than a robotic algorithm of petty prejudices and instinctive malice.

There is no irony in him, no complexity, no subtlety, no depth. Everything is superficial. What we see is a man without an inner world, without a soul.

In Britain, we traditionally side with David, not Goliath. All our heroes are courageous underdogs: Robin Hood, Dick Whittington, Oliver Twist.

Trump is neither courageous nor an underdog. He is the exact opposite.

He is not even merely a spoiled rich boy or a greedy fat cat. He is more like a giant white slug, a privileged Jabba the Hutt.

And, worse still, he is a bully.

When he finds himself among other bullies, he suddenly becomes a whining lackey.

He punches down — something a gentleman should never, could never, and must never do — and every blow he delivers is below the belt. He particularly enjoys attacking the vulnerable or the voiceless, and he kicks them when they are down.

That is why the fact that a substantial minority — perhaps a third — of Americans watch what he does, listen to what he says, and then think, “Yes, he seems like my kind of guy,” is a source of bewilderment and profound distress to the British.

After all, it is impossible to read a single tweet of his or hear him utter a sentence or two without staring into the abyss. He turns shallowness into an art form. He is the Picasso of pettiness, the Shakespeare of shit. His flaws are fractal: even his flaws have flaws, and so on to infinity.

There have always been stupid people in the world, and villains have never been in short supply either. But rarely has stupidity been so evil, or evil so stupid.

He makes Nixon seem trustworthy and George W. Bush seem intelligent.

If Frankenstein had decided to create a monster composed entirely of human flaws, he would have created Trump, and the remorseful Dr Frankenstein would have cried out in despair, “My God, what have I created?”

If an idiot were a television show, Trump would be the entire set.

[AffirmedAlydar 🇺🇸 🇺🇦 🇨🇦 🇩🇰 @WollastonWntr63]

I was watching again the testimony of Special Counsel Jack Smith.
I'm impressed with his composure, his unflappable nature while under direct personal attack on his honor and integrity by grandstanding Republican members who have less than none.
Jack Smith is a good man who was asked to do something for his country that was difficult and he and his team of dedicated professionals did it with absolutely no bias or prejudice, regardless of what some may want to conveniently think, the intellectually lazy and easily propagandized among us.
We're a stronger country when we have good people like Jack Smith working for our nation as public servants.
We are a weaker nation when good and honorable public servants come under attack and are fired from their jobs because they had been assigned the wrong case, one that threatens the partisan interests of a party that has broken bad, one that actually has become a criminal organization, one that Eisenhower might have described as, "nothing more than a conspiracy to seize power."
That's today's Republican Party and just watching Senators Kennedy, Schmitt, Grassley and Lee make me realize how proud I am that I left 7 1/2 years ago.
They're human scum who are only surpassed by the human abomination they live to protect and serve at 1600 PA Ave.
Again, so impressed with the Honorable Jack Smith.
May he and his family be safe and protected from politically motivated prosecution in the future.
And anyone reading this who would disagree is scum who never really understood what America is all about. America at her best is all about good people like Jack Smith.

[Jonathan Feldman @FollowTheFeld]

@RepMcGovern Please don't forget about his fraudulent charity, that was shut down by the NY AG, Tish James! After he went after Hillary for the Clinton Foundation. Total hypocrisy from Trump, as usual!

[Jonathan Feldman @FollowTheFeld]

Agree 100%! What is the best strategy - which Senators can be persuaded to vote no? This is SO important!

[Maya Wiley @mayawiley]

#ToddBlanche is making us all less safe. Pardons Proud Boys; persecutes @splcenter which works to prevent hate crimes. Protects Epstein files, turns a blind eye to police misconduct & tries to give Trump @ family a pass on future crimes.

The Senate must not confirm him.

[Maya Wiley @mayawiley]

#ToddBlanche is making us all less safe. Pardons Proud Boys; persecutes @splcenter which works to prevent hate crimes. Protects Epstein files, turns a blind eye to police misconduct & tries to give Trump @ family a pass on future crimes.

The Senate must not confirm him.

[Occupy Democrats @OccupyDemocrats]

BREAKING: Federal court to Defense Sec. Hegseth: bigotry is NOT a military strategy!

A federal appeals court just handed Pete Hegseth and Donald Trump a blistering legal defeat, largely blocking the administration from removing transgender service members from the military in a 107-page opinion that doesn't just rule against the policy — it methodically dismantles it and calls out the naked bigotry behind it.

The court's language is extraordinary. Trump, the ruling notes, "declared transgender people as categorically unfit for military service explicitly because of their gender identity. To add insult, the President labeled transgender persons as dishonorable, undisciplined, arrogant, selfish liars."

Those are not the court's characterizations of Trump's policy. Those are the court's characterizations of Trump's own words.

On the Hegseth policy specifically, the court was equally devastating. The Pentagon rule "disqualified all persons with any history of gender dysphoria, regardless of how long ago the person had been stable and symptom-free — even if they were diagnosed as a child." Not currently experiencing symptoms. Not currently in treatment. Diagnosed as a child. Disqualified. Forever.

And then the court delivered the line that will define this ruling: "Unless we are going to fall for the old Groucho Marx line — 'who are you going to believe, me or your lying eyes?' — we have direct evidence in this case that animus motivated the classifications in the Hegseth Policy."

Animus. The legal term for unconstitutional discrimination rooted in hostility rather than legitimate government interest. A federal appeals court just found that Pete Hegseth's military policy was motivated by animus — hatred dressed up as policy.

The court found the plaintiffs — approximately 4,200 transgender service members currently serving in the U.S. military — are likely to succeed on their claim that the policy violates equal protection guarantees under the Constitution. The ruling blocks the administration from removing current transgender service members while allowing the enlistment ban on new recruits to continue while the case proceeds.

"This is a huge relief for these service members and their families," said attorney Shannon Minter.

These are people who volunteered to serve their country. Trump called them liars. A federal appeals court called that what it is.

The case may ultimately reach the Supreme Court. But today at least, the Constitution won.

Please like and share the news of this victory everywhere!

[Maya Wiley @mayawiley]

Trump defense attorney Todd Blanche called out 2x. A fed’l judge investigates his lifetime pass for Trump & kids from any kind of claim! Below, another fed’l judge says Blanche smeared @SPLCenter, then had to admit his false claim. This case should be dismissed!

[Norm Eisen @NormEisen]

BREAKING: we just won our Kennedy Center case!

Both the renaming & the closure of the Kennedy Center are enjoined

Kudos to our wonderful client @RepBeatty
& my colleagues @DDAction_ & Washington Litigation Group

This is a 1-2 punch against Trump's corruption

[Senator Adam Schiff @SenAdamSchiff]

First, Trump weaponized the DOJ to target his political enemies. Now, perversely, he’s targeting E. Jean Carroll, the woman who credibly and successfully sued him for sexual assault.

He’s using the power of the DOJ to go after his own victims.

It’s a vile attack on the rule of law and a disgusting insult to victims everywhere.

[Senator Mazie Hirono @maziehirono]

So he's allowed to vote by mail, but when you do it, it's cheating...

Got it.

What a hypocrite, liar, and a fraud.

[John Cleese @JohnCleese]

Hard to believe this isn't a Monty Python sketch

[Ben Crump @AttorneyCrump]

They removed the word "racism" 109 times from a college textbook in Florida. They erased an entire chapter on Race and Ethnicity. They reduced Shirley Chisholm, a trailblazer who broke barriers for every Black woman who came after her, to a single footnote. You cannot erase racism by removing the word from a textbook. You cannot rewrite history by pretending it did not happen. Our ancestors BLED, marched, & died for the truth to be told. We will not be silenced! ✊🏿https://t.co/d1QYiUfdGT

[Wu Tang is for the Children @WUTangKids]

Meanwhile a French news channel is showing a split screen of Trump doing his stupid dance at his Kentucky rally the other night and the other side of bombings on Iran….our news media should take notes!

[Lee Merritt @LeeMerrittesq]

Jasmine Crockett conceded the race today, but make no mistake — she already changed the game.

She broke barriers. She brought bold, unapologetic energy to this campaign. She inspired millions who saw themselves in her voice, her courage, and her vision.

This isn’t the end of anything. It’s a new chapter.

She is a superstar. And superstars don’t fade — they lead. She will continue to be impactful, continue to fight, and continue to help build the blue wave that wins this nation back.

Onward.

🎥: @JasmineForUS

[Hillary Clinton @HillaryClinton]

You didn’t have to listen to Trump’s rambling speech last night to know that Republicans are trying to make it harder for millions of Americans to vote—especially married women.

They’ve already made it clear.

Time to fight back. https://t.co/JOoynoTdwZ

[Brian Tyler Cohen @briantylercohen]

"By declining the State of the Union visit, the US Women’s Hockey Team refused to capitulate and endorse the party line. They exercised their first amendment right to speak up and speak out against the administration’s horrific human rights violations, embarrassing behavior on the world stage, and complete disregard for freedom and democracy. Their polite 'no thank you' says more than any corporation, or tech billionaire, or media company is willing to say. Amid so much cowardice, it’s those who stood up who will be remembered for meeting the moment. It’s Jimmy Kimmel fighting back. It’s Perkins Coie fighting back. And now, it’s the American women’s gold medal winning hockey team that decided their own dignity was worth more than a fleeting moment of proximity to power."

https://t.co/EBaA1OsthI