The Supreme Court’s opinion yesterday on Texas’ racial gerrymandering is almost impressive in how it twists the record and the law to get this almost completely wrong. A breakdown follows (thread) At the outset, I always encourage reading the text of an opinion. In particular, the brilliant Justice Kagan eviscerates the majority’s results-driven opinion in her dissent. Think of the rest of my thread as the CliffsNotes version of what she wrote.

supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf…

At the most recent school board meeting here, the board members remained unmoved by a big outpouring of students, staff, and community members railing against their anti-book expansion of the new “Parents’ Bill of Rights” law in Ohio. I know many who spoke feel defeated. (Thread) It’s one example of something that plays out over and over, with recalcitrant boards and other politicians today who are entrenched in a MAGA mindset. It’s frustrating for those trying to push back, in part because it feels like everything is falling apart and we can’t stop it.

Tonight’s #FridayLimericks go to J.D. Vance, who says he’s prepared to vacation as President.
Now it seems that Vice President Vance
Thinks he’s got a promotional chance.
Now, as couch-fuckers go…
Nah, he’d still kind of blow—
But just look at that eyeliner dance! He believes he’s been trained for the job
Just by watching the Putin pup knob.
J.D.’s watched how Don’s acted;
If Trump were redacted,
He thinks he could now lead the mob.

usatoday.com/story/news/pol…

In 2021, after the last terrible Trump regime, democrats held the House, Senate, and White House. They believed this was a correction to a historical blip, and set about trying to go back to normal. If they regain power, they cannot repeat that mistake. (Thread) Make no mistake: we passed important legislation during those two years. It mattered, even if Trump and the GOP are now trying to undo the progress. The work done mattered. But given the powers the current Supreme Court has unleashed, there is no more politics as usual.

Tonight’s #FridayLimericks watch Putin’s puppet dance.
Vladdy Putin thinks life is a breeze,
As our president drops to his knees.
Russia’s favorite clown
Takes it all lying down,
Leaving Vlad to decide what to seize.

theguardian.com/commentisfree/… As a backdrop, it’s fair to recall
That for Trump, Russia’s always stood tall.
They long fought for this dude
Deferential, if crude;
Now Don’s helping the dominoes fall.

pbs.org/newshour/polit…

Most people get much more upset over betrayal than over attacks coming from where they expect it. Trump knows democrats will come after him over his history of pedophilia, rape, and participation in Epstein’s sex trafficking. This is different. (Thread)

reuters.com/legal/litigati… After all, the Pedo-in-Chief has built his entire politics on driving division and hate. He’s broken everything into factions, and for most of the way, Murdoch’s Fox News machine has been spinning lies, conspiracies, and performative outrage that help him.

The MAGA reaction to Pope Leo XIV is over the top anger, because that’s their one move. They are upset, apparently, that the worldwide leader of the Catholic Church isn’t an America First fuck the poor isolationist. (Thread)
#ResistanceRoots

independent.co.uk/news/world/ame… It’s particularly interesting to me in that, in the campaign that led to the first Catholic president in this country, one of the biggest hurdles JFK had to overcome was a concern that his interests would be too tied to the church.

history.com/articles/jfk-c…

The post of Trump as pope is a good reminder that the First Amendment recognizes two forms religion can take, regardless of the name, text, or belief structure of that religion. Understanding the difference matters, even as the political right seeks to muddle the two. (Thread) 1. Personal practice and belief. The Free Exercise clause protects citizens’ right to practice beliefs (or non-beliefs) in any way that doesn’t harm others. You’ll recognize this when people gather to worship, or open a religious text to read it and follow the teachings therein.

I suspect part of why the implementation of Project 2025 has caught some off guard—despite its clearly being in play in the last election cycle—was disbelief that the nerds in the Heritage basement could push their dark D&D fantasy into reality. (Thread) So now, we once again have a goblin president, and those who wish to restore democracy need to both push back and plan ahead. This isn’t a single battle for that democracy; it’s a multi-front war to stop the worst; restore and protect our strengths; and build toward more.

Democrats in the congressional minority have some power: delaying or stopping bad legislation, speaking out, etc. But if you’re angry that Congress isn’t doing anything to respond to unconstitutional Executive actions, anger at democrats is misplaced. (Thread)
#ResistanceUnited The Republican Party has enabled Trump for well over a decade. McCain and Romney—two decent men—failed to beat Obama in part because GOP ideas can’t carry the nation. The GOP chose to respond by leaning into racism and lies, tactics that fit Trump all too well.

We currently have the least respected president in the history of our country: not just by the opposing party, but by the rest of the world and, it seems clear, his own party. (Thread)
#ResistanceUnited It’s bad enough that other world leaders mock his buffoonery, their fear only a result of his maniacal, demented, unhinged nature. They know they can’t trust his word, and as such can’t trust the United States to stand by an agreement.

Don’t take too much joy from the OMB memo being rescinded. We’re looking essentially at four non-exclusive possibilities for what is going on, in ascending order of likelihood and importance. (Thread)
#ResistanceUnited 1. It’s possible this is mere incompetence, a desire to do a thing with no sense of its ham-fistedness or its illegality. While the alignment of stupid and cruel practically defines the current president, I don’t think dumbfuckery is the (sole) issue here.

However you feel about TikTok and whether it represents a security threat, the way all of this has occurred should serve as a warning for what lies ahead. (Thread)
#ResistanceUnited Congress passed a law, signed by the president and affirmed by the Supreme Court as a non-violation of the First Amendment. This was based on an identified threat to national security. For what it’s worth, Trump had long pushed for this very thing.

Tonight’s #FridayLimericks go to Megyn Kelly and her grotesque opportunism. #LimerickRhyme
Megyn Kelly is at her most proud
When belligerent, nasty, and loud.
So she’s stirred up a spate
Of misogynist hate
From her known to be horrible crowd. We remember the Santa Clause mess—
But forget the resulting distress.
There’s a writer she threw
To the right’s outrage crew.
Meg’s brand grew, so she couldn’t care less.
slate.com/culture/2023/0…

Over the next four years, we can—I would argue must—work for a better America. To do so, we need to avoid not only apathy, but impatience. Because this is going to be a grind. (Thread)
#ResistanceUnited Trump has always been good at sucking in attention. When you’re a wealthy, unintelligent, amoral fool who is all flash and no substance, it comes easily. And chasing every stupid thing he says may be exciting, but it won’t be productive.

I believe in an intentional approach to politics—putting my support behind people and ideas. This, not the identity or label of the party, is why I’m a Democrat today. (Thread)
#ResistanceRoots There was a time, not long before my lifetime, that the Republican idea of conservatism included helping those who needed it most, expanding the social safety net, and promoting equality. I would have been a Republican then.

presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/repu…

In a civil lawsuit, courts should protect the rights of, and redress wrongs against, plaintiffs. But three Supreme Court justices wanted to treat standing as a nuisance technicality rather than the gateway issue it’s meant to be. (Thread)
#ResistanceUnited
cnn.com/2024/12/09/pol… The common argument from the right on gender identity is that parents have a right to know what’s going on with their kids. But this undermines the whole argument—because it isn’t about their kids. That’s what standing is: a demonstration that what you’re suing about impacts you.

Tonight’s #FridayLimericks look at Trump’s Dumbasses Of Giant Ego. #LimerickRhyme
When a couple of non-confirmed jerks
Don’t at all understand how this works,
They will tinker with spreadsheets,
Then piss in their bedsheets
While sporting their ill-informed smirks. This department’s built mostly on gall;
Like its namesake, it’s nothing at all.
So as dumbasses strut
And give spending a tut,
Their ideas will never stand tall.
finance.yahoo.com/news/not-real-…

Tonight’s #FridayLimericks look at nominations made to fulfill obligations. #LimerickRhyme
If a fellow with skin orange and thin
Wants to weaken our gov from within,
Then the step he’ll take first
Is promoting the worst—
To repay Putin’s team for his win. First distract with a showing of force—
So he’ll scapegoat the brown folks, of course!
So he names Tom the lout
To kick all of them out,
Reaching back to his race-baiting source.
politifact.com/article/2024/n…

I get the outrage on wildly unqualified people being nominated to destroy the credibility of agencies from within. But outrage is only going to get us so far, and there are some ways to limit the damage. (Thread)
#ResistanceUnited
#DemVoice1 1. Put pressure on your Senators. Calls, emails, letters to the editor in local papers, and public outreach. This won’t shame the shameless, but it can at least remind fellow voters how their votes or non-votes have impacted the leaders we have.

Yesterday, the nation saluted our veterans, and rightly so. Those who choose to serve something greater than themselves, and those selected who answered the call without inventing health conditions to evade service, deserve our respect. (Thread)
#ResistanceUnited
#DemVoice1 With this in mind, it’s important to consider the position in which we are putting our current service men and women over the next four years. Because they are going to be serving under a Commander-in-Chief who does not respect them.

thehill.com/opinion/483570…