Paul Harvey

Spread these stories. This is our government “just enforcing the law“ in the eyes of many of our fellow citizens. What a travesty!

Kimberly Guilfoyle was preparing for her congressional hearing to become U.S. ambassador to Greece when she reached out to a Trump donor with an urgent request: She needed $100,000 that she said she owed American Express—in a way that wouldn't leave a paper trail.

It's hard to imagine a serious effort to fix the federal government that doesn't include court reform. This is not a generic point about bad faith judges. Successful political reform will require the root-and-branch elimination of interlocking con law doctrines that choke off legislative innovation

Mike Johnson, reacting to Trump’s pledge of $5,000 to adult citizens if the Republicans retain Congress, said Trump was just “brain storming.” Johnson has found a new way to call “BS.”

I’d never heard this version before. God, the emotion she puts into it. youtu.be/CEPUxpR64YE?...

There's no sugar-coating Slaughter. It's an enormously important ruling (far more important than the other three decisions #SCOTUS handed down today). It's a huge win for Trump/the executive. And it's going to have massive ramifications for the functioning of the government long after Trump is gone.

John Roberts' Constitution forbids any attempt to proactively ameliorate racial discrimination and racial inequality, but permits open racial discrimination as long as there is a facially neutral explanation available, even if it isn't remotely plausible. This, my friends, is "Colorblindness."

Yes it’s been happening in plain sight. But this piece powerfully synthesizes various prior reporting and supplements it with painful personal details. It’s a gift link btw. The story is genuinely a must read. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/19/u...

“The dismantling of USAID, according to models from Boston University epidemiologist Brooke Nichols, “has already caused the deaths of six hundred thousand people, two-thirds of them children,” Gawande wrote.” hsph.harvard.edu/news/usaid-s...

I've just posted a new (fairly short!) paper on unitary executive theory's impoverished theory of democratic accountability. Give it a read -- I'd love to hear any thoughts! papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

Just so we’re clear, Trump decided to give himself and his family tax-cheat immunity. Congress didn’t do it. The courts didn’t do it. Trump is stealing tens of millions of dollars from taxpayers because the Republicans in charge of our government refuse to stop him. it’s outright theft.

Presidential emoluments, presidential emoluments, unconstitutional presidential emoluments.

Likewise, every Republican running for Congress must be put on the record regarding this “settlement” theft.

Given that the IRS leaked every taxpayer’s confidential information to DOGE in January, 2025, shouldn’t the settlement funds be returned to the Treasury because we were all victimized by this government?

The last of their concerns -

The way our nation turned its back on those who helped us at great risk to themselves and their families is an unforgivable national shame. We owed Mohammad Nazeer Paktyawal. Instead, ICE arrested him in front of his children and he died in their custody. We failed him and his family.

“Describe Hegseth’s war effort in Iran in three words or less”

If the Supreme Court decides to attend the State of the Union speech (something I’ve been against), there may be more than one Justice mouthing words at the president, and those words won’t be as mild as “Not true.”

So SCOTUS, with its fabricated-out-of-thin-air immunity doctrine, has actually made American presidents less accountable than LITERAL royalty.

I don’t really know what I expect in posting this, but maybe some people see it and can learn from it. I’ll call it “lessons from an unwilling immigration attorney.” 1/

"Recent events have brought Trump’s governing style into sharper focus," Jonathan Rauch argues. "'Fascist' best describes it, and reluctance to use the term has now become perverse." theatln.tc/wVq7MFaa

Fantastic piece from @stevevladeck.bsky.social & @barryfriedman1.bsky.social on how to hold federal law enforcement accountable. As they note, an even better solution would be for Congress to codify Bivens.

On Jan. 7, an ICE agent shot and killed Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis. @cshaplaw.bsky.social explores under what circumstances state and local officials could prosecute the agent for violating state law and identifies some obstacles Minnesota prosecutors will have to contend with.

i think powell's response here is a demonstration of the folly of the idea that democratic accountability requires presidential control. what if the president is not acting in the public interest? you want independent agencies to be able to push back and pursue their *congressional mandate*

It seems that a lot of pro-ICE commenters about the Twin Cities are the same folks that thought having to choose between health insurance or a penalty was tyranny.

MAGA is treating the Minnesota fraud story with all of the dishonesty, hypocrisy and immigrant-bashing you've come to expect Also... a lot of money was stolen, and anybody who cares about good government should be determined to find out why www.thebulwark.com/p/the-real-s...

Sober, precise read of relevant law from Seth Stoughton (who I don't think is on here), a former colleague and the best police lawyer I know: verdict.justia.com/2026/01/09/t...

So a CBS Evening News reporter actually did a pretty solid breakdown of the ICE murder video, talking to a former agent who details all the ways Ross messed up. And yet: It didn’t air on the actual show tonight. CBS did post it to YouTube—and it has nearly 800k views already youtu.be/6ywLEESFDu0?...

I'm seriously starting to question the credibility of the FIFA Peace Prize.

Read this morning about the USPS not postmarking on the day a letter is mailed unless you request it at the post office. I’d like to see serious analysis of how this will affect absentee voting. My guess is that it will disenfranchise many.

A post script to all the posts about great Christmas movies: this gem from 1951, the original NBC broadcast of Menotti’s “Amahl and the Night Visitors,” with an introduction by the composer. archive.org/details/Amah...

The CBS investigation portrays a modern concentration camp, similar to the Soviet GULAG (like CECOT, an acronym): sadistic guards, 24 hour lighting, isolation cells. Americans once opposed this inhumane system. The Trump administration sent innocent people there to suffer.

Article I is inoperative, haven’t you heard? The Supreme Court has replaced it with some Hamilton quotes about an energetic executive, and Congressional Republicans are afraid of primaries.

1/ A few thoughts about @williambaude.bsky.social’s comment in yesterday’s NYT chat that, “It’s amazing how many of our problems today could be solved by a Congress that was willing and able to legislate in response to national problems.” www.nytimes.com/2025/12/09/o...

Granted I’m a neophyte at this con law stuff, but why do the more conservative justices worry so much about presidential power while they seemingly care so little about Congressional power exercised with presidential blessing? And why is separation of powers formalism valued above flexibility?

remember, please. the noise of evil in the world is always there. it is noise. sometimes it is louder. sometimes less so. but your job is to do good. be aware of the bad. but your job never, ever, changes. do good.

The idea that the two shipwrecked Venezuelans were capable of “returning to the fight” would be an exception that swallows the rule, since all people in like circumstances could conceivably be rescued, recover from their injuries, and rejoin the “war.”

Graham: “and tell that guy you follow he’d better get on the right side of history, too.”

$1.6bln: The amount of his fraud scheme 7: Years of his sentence 10,000: Victims of his fraud 1,000: Letters from victims to the court 13: Days he served 1: Pardon from Trump www.nytimes.com/2025/11/29/u...

Megan Kelly said Epstein was interested in the “barely legal” 15-year old girls. Wouldn’t it be closer to the truth to say he was interested in the barely illegal ones?

Trump’s innovations in consumer lending: the new no-equity mortgage and the forever upside-down auto loan.

Everyone needs to watch this interview the orange baby was referring to. youtu.be/DR79GW6SvxE?...