@emptywheel.bsky.socialOh. I see that you live in a world where we beat him in 2024. Do you have ANY fucking clue what you're even talking about? Or just don't care?
emptywheel
@emptywheel.bsky.social
Coverage of American authoritarianism with a focus on legal cases. An American-Irish in Limerick, Ireland. Legendary potty mouth!
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@emptywheel.bsky.social@emptywheel.bsky.socialOh. So you say you DON'T need Trump's actual post to understand it?
@emptywheel.bsky.socialNYT has a story on how far right opponents (most notably Megyn Kelly) to Trump are growing their audiences. Benny is outraged that they pointed out that his numbers are DOWN FROM 2024. He's going to demand a correction bc time and space are a bit of a reach for him www.nytimes.com/2026/07/31/u...
@emptywheel.bsky.socialBut ... HE is the one hijacking YOUR amygdala. That's entirely the point. He's the one wielding that force.
@emptywheel.bsky.socialFalse dichotomy again. Is that your safety blanket?
@emptywheel.bsky.socialWhat is it that REQUIRES you to see the post rather than a quote or even a summary? What added value does the post give you? How does reacting to the crazy make you a better organizer or citizen?
@emptywheel.bsky.socialMe, 40 days ago: Should have monetized it on Kalshi. emptywheel.net/2026/06/21/t...
@emptywheel.bsky.socialAs you watch Trump and Doug Burgum wail about having their vandal claim debunked, remember that @normeisen.bsky.social is one of Davey Hearn's attorneys ... bc I imagine he of all people can find a way to make the most out of this.
@emptywheel.bsky.socialYou want lefties to be as irrational as he is?
@emptywheel.bsky.socialNo. I'm suggesting that you're inventing a wildly bogus binary: That the only way to comment on his posts is to willfully disseminate their spectacle. That's the passivity and emotion that he has hijacked.
@emptywheel.bsky.socialSo ... you disseminate his spectacle for free and play your role on the polarization around him as the center of attention?
@emptywheel.bsky.socialNo one is arguing for that. I'm suggesting that the left would do well to retain what the left values: rationality. Kneejerk responses to Trump's posts, AS Trump wants them disseminated, do not do that. They give him more power.
@emptywheel.bsky.socialAlso, Hearn has such a remarkable collection of attorneys. I don't know Steve Levin (at Steptoe), but Mary Dohrmann (from Jan 6 and Jack Smith) and Bromwhich, on TOP of Norm Eisen who can turn around and FOIA all this?
@emptywheel.bsky.socialHere's an example of a post making that same argument using his posts. Each time I use his posts I show how they work, so they are visible as spectacle. emptywheel.net/2026/06/21/t...
emptywheel.netThe Reflecting Pool Arrests Are an Attempt to Cover Up Trump's Corruption - emptywheelTrump is demanding arrests of people who witness the failure of his reflecting pool project. That distracts from the failure, sure, but it also covers up the corruption behind that failure.
@emptywheel.bsky.socialSteve With respect, what you did was disseminate Trump's spectacle, with no filter. Whatever ELSE you said on top of that does nothing but help polarize around that spectacle. It is quite literally his super power. So I beg you to at least consider how you're being an easy mark for fascism.
@emptywheel.bsky.socialI think Pirro's unwillingness to cross Trump on this signature issue could prove particularly interesting--especially given all the ways they clearly knew the case sucked. The AUSAs want to keep their bar licenses. Pirro has less need for it longterm.
@emptywheel.bsky.socialNote Edelman already consolidated 4 cases under him for discovery purposes, so he may already smell a rat.
@emptywheel.bsky.socialOh. You don't want to consider how REPLACING rational discussion with knee jerk reactionary speech fosters fascism? Weird. And no, I did not say I wanted to hurt feelings. You suggested I was doing that. I like to think people are grownups here but maybe not.
@emptywheel.bsky.socialA goodly number of defendants (many in MN) have done the equivalent of that. They keep asking for the backup to Bondi's trophy stunt when she was up there, they keep filing for MTD w/o prejudice, then capitulate to w/ when given the choice. And that's what Broadview 6 was about.
@emptywheel.bsky.socialAnd I promise you, willfully degrading left discourse to his level, willfully reinforcing Trump's super power, is a far bigger problem than hurt feelings on Bluesky.