Justin

WATCH: “The answer has to be a more progressive tax system. Give people the necessities of life for free — childcare, healthcare… the rich keep getting richer…” Lloyd Blankfein, Senior Chair of Goldman Sachs, out here sounding like @aoc.bsky.social & Bernie 👀 🎯 (From @bluegeorgia.bsky.social )

Quick note for evangelicals: war in the Middle East doesn't trigger the second coming. Jesus isn’t Beetlejuice.

And it is entirely the fault of one hare-brained douchebag.

😕

MAJOR UPSET ALERT: Democrat Taylor Rehmet has just been projected the winner of the Texas SD9 special election — flipping a district that went Trump +17 and hasn’t elected a Democrat since 1991. Trump personally endorsed Leigh Wambsganss and spent days hyping this race… and still lost.

A huge political earthquake in Texas tonight as Democrats flipped a State Senate seat from red to blue in a district Trump won by 17 points. Trump personally waded in — endorsing the Republican and personally urging base turnout — and was dealt a massive loss.

johnpavlovitz.substack.com/p/a-pastors-...

nypost.com/2026/01/25/u...

www.nytimes.com/2026/01/24/u...

A CNN analysis of video appears to show a federal immigration officer removing a gun from Alex Pretti just prior to officers fatally shooting him. https://cnn.it/49HMH1u

they went to an emergency room seeking help for their 7 year old child. ICE arrested the 7 year old and her parents. the family is here legally. www.oregonlive.com/portland/202...

Insanity: Sources close to the White House told the Washington Post Trump lost interest in backing Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado to lead the country because she accepted her Nobel Peace Prize rather than demanding it be given to Trump, which was viewed as an “ultimate sin.”

Venezuela is mentioned in Project 2025 18 times...

James Talarico: The Bible doesn't mention abortion or gay marriage, but it goes on and on about forgiving debt, liberating the poor, and healing the sick. The closest thing we have to the kingdom of heaven is a multiracial, multicultural democracy where power is truly shared among all people

The Supreme Court, Presidency, Senate and two party system are all quite anti-democratic institutions as presently constructed. Our institutions are not only incapable of preventing tyranny—they’re currently enabling it. When democracy returns, we need to reform our political system.

"I'm hopeful that our democracy, like a muscle, is being tested and it's gonna grow back stronger." @profgalloway.com and @karaswisher.bsky.social discuss how the Trump presidency is testing America and how we come back. #PivotTour

Let’s hear more of the dangers of democratic socialism under Mamdani

President Donald Trump's allies in the IRS killed a popular tax filing program this week, which had been piloted under former President Joe Biden's administration, according to a new report.

Guillermo del Toro on wealth: "a wealthy man is a man who has enough, not a man that needs more. If you have enough to invite someone for a beer? You're rich. If you have a yacht, planes, islands, and you still need more? You're not rich."

Trump: "I don't think we're necessarily going to ask for a declaration of war, I think we're just gonna kill people that are bringing drugs into our country. We're going to kill them. They're going to be, like dead."

Why Do So Many Of Us Shout “No Kings?” Because We LOVE America: Republicans keep calling it a “hate America” rally. Bullshit. They say that because they’re partisan. They say that because they’re scared of this No Kings movement. To reaffirm that founding American principle that we are not ruled by…

She called it. Kamala Harris laid out Trump’s vengeance agenda before it even happened. One line that stuck with me most from 107 Days was when she wrote that during the debate, Trump was “unburdened by the truth.” He’s also unburdened by threat of accountability, thanks to the Supreme Court.

Spot on.

When we say “No Kings” this should include the nasty billionaires who use their money to control all media and the government.

CARTOON OF THE DAY

Next step is No Kings 10/18. Do NOT be intimidated. No FEAR either. There are over 2000 rallies planned. Let’s go for 10 million people plus. SHOW UP!!!

I hope when Democrats are back in power they pad laws to prevent this forevermore. Horrible misuse of the government

In an extraordinary effort to inject politics into millions of Americans’ travel experiences, the Trump administration plans to roll out a video at airports across the United States that will blame Democrats for lapses in TSA workers’ pay because of the government shutdown.

You have got to be joking hahaha

Pritzker: "It's unconscionable. This has never happened before. They're calling out troops onto the streets of a state that doesn't want them and they're not even telling us where they're gonna go, what they're gonna do. This hasn't happened I don't think since the Civil War."

I feel like this photo of masked, armed men pepper spraying a pastor protecting his community is going to be a defining picture of this moment in America for a long, long time.

The government is shut down because Trump and the Republicans are hellbent on taking health care away from you. And they won’t even come to the table to talk to us about it. This is not about politics. It's about people. Let’s break it down:

That's disgusting.

Today in Politics, Bulletin 223. This was an especially crazy day with heavy stuff coming from all directions. Here is everything that happened. open.substack.com/pub/meidasto...

Trump's tweet that Portland is "war ravaged" just backfired. A Trump-picked judge cited it in blocking National Guard deployment to Portland, declaring him "untethered from facts." On the pod, Oregon AG Dan Rayfield illuminatingly explains the ruling and what's next: newrepublic.com/article/2014...

Final: Yankees 7 BlueJays 13

Doocy: "So the Democratic position is that illegal immigrants should not have any access to taxpayer-funded health insurance?" Sen. Mark Kelly: "Federal law is that undocumented individuals do not have access to medicare, medicaid, food stamps, or the ACA. That's the law."

The thing that makes me the sickest is that these folks don’t even have a shred of compassion. It’s one thing to enforce laws and rules. It’s another to do it gleefully and celebrate the suffering of someone born into poverty and desperation

Can Miller really believe this? If so, he is delusional. If not, then he’s a reprehensible demagogue.

Kamala Harris warned us that Trump would turn the military against civilians. She warned us that he would pursue Project 2025. The media mocked her, but she was dead right about both.

Next year, a lot of folks are going to see their premiums go up $1,000 or more per month because of a Republican policy. If you start having to pay $1,000 extra every month, what will you stop being able to afford? This is what Democrats are fighting to stop.

“I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.” Happy Birthday #MahatmaGandhi

Sen. Coons: “You can only benefit from the Affordable Care Act, Medicare, and Medicaid if you have legal status in this country. We are not fighting for health care for people here illegally. That’s not true. We are fighting for health care for Americans.”

Talarico: if you read the new testament, Jesus doesn't spend most of his time preaching or teaching or even praying. He spends most of his time healing the sick. Right now, we have politicians in congress with Christ follower in their Twitter bio, but they are kicking the sick off their health care

Most of the power authoritarians have is freely given. We should not comply with them in advance. Trump is far weaker than he looks. So is the GOP. We should draw them out, drain them at every opportunity, and fight for people’s wellbeing at every turn. We have been sent here to fight for people.