Joseph Britt
Wisconsin and the world. Opinions my own. Once a Republican.
- Thread. Nuclear Information Project Director @nukestrat.bsky.social on the expiration of the New START nuclear arms limitation treaty. Trump put the United States on a path away from nuclear arms reduction in his first term, a path that has reached its end where US-Russia agreements are concerned.
- Reposted by Joseph BrittThe Washington Post has laid off least 14 climate journalists, newsroom sources told @sammyroth.bsky.social, effectively decimating one of the most important reporting teams in American climate journalism. A sad, terrifying, enraging day for the planet.
- Thread. A comic tragedy via @melissa-sanchez.bsky.social at @propublica.org: federal immigration agencies apparently got duped into launching a dramatic, military-style raid by an apartment building owner to evict squatters who had in turn been duped into paying “rent” to a third party.
- 1/ Federal records show how a dramatic raid in Chicago was facilitated by a landlord who was apparently concerned about immigrants squatting in the building. The government claimed a Venezuelan gang had taken over the apt complex, but that’s not what docs say. 🧵 www.propublica.org/article/chic...
- This thread by @joshtpm.bsky.social is as good an analysis of Jeff Bezos’ thinking as I’ve seen. Marshall is one of the rare people who knows firsthand both the news & business side of journalism. Bezos bought The Washington Post knowing neither, and is decimating his paper having learned little.
- I was a Washington Post subscriber because of the paper’s reporters, not its owner. Once the reporters are gone, there isn’t much left for people like me. Incidentally, closing the Ukraine bureau while Kiev is under Russian bombardment is Musk-like behavior, performative petty.
- Thread. @bellingcat.com investigations are always illuminating. This one breaks down some of the American weapons used by Israel in its war, nominally against Hamas, in Gaza. Via @eliothiggins.bsky.social
- New Bellingcat investigation: Made in the USA: How American-Built Weapons Have Wrought Destruction in Gaza. The article examines how US-made weapons have been used in Israeli strikes and the civilian harm linked to their use. www.bellingcat.com/news/2026/01...
- Reposted by Joseph BrittI think one thing people outside Minnesota don't understand is that after Good and Pretti were killed by feds while observing, the most normal people you could imagine have made peace with the fact that they could be next, and they are still out there because they say it's the right thing to do.
- “If I am killed doing this, throw my body at the White House, martyr the shit out of me & raise hell. Do not be sad. Do not think I would do anything differently. I would do it over & over again — this is too important to sit down & shut up and not do anything.” www.mprnews.org/story/2026/0...
- This story by @sahanjournal.bsky.social shows two of the Trump administration’s most destructive policies — hostility toward immigrants and benign neglect of disease — coming together. Via @bzosiad.bsky.social
- Elizabeth is a Columbia Heights fourth-grader who loves volleyball, learning English and giggling in the halls with her friends. She's been held in the Dilley Immigration Processing Center for nearly a month, and she and her mom have both fallen ill. sahanjournal.com/education/co...
- Thread. This is a public forum held by Congressional Democrats, not a hearing. For it to have been a hearing, Congressional Republicans would have had to care about American citizens being gunned down by federal agents in broad daylight. By @tylermcbrien.com
- 🧵 At 3pm ET today, I'll be live-posting highlights from the public forum for @lawfaremedia.org. This will some witnesses' very first public appearance and the only one for Brent and Luke Ganger, who do not plan to do any additional interviews. Follow this thread for updates as they happen 🧵👇
- Reposted by Joseph BrittAccording to the New Yorker, Donald Trump and his family profited off the presidency by an estimated $4 billion in 2025 — mostly through shady crypto deals. That amounts to $456,621 per hour. But how are you doing?
- Reposted by Joseph Britt[Not loaded yet]
- While the British and French governments investigate companies owned by the world’s richest man for allegedly spreading child pornogralhy, the American government uses administrative subpoenas to intimidate citizens who object to its immigration policy. Via @dlknowles.bsky.social
- This story is terrifying: www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...
- “…part of an investigation into suspected offences including unlawful data extraction and complicity in the possession of child pornography.” From BBC via @jozefimrich.bsky.social
- Thread. @brendanvduke.bsky.social is a federal budget analyst at @centeronbudget.bsky.social. Fawning toadies that they are, House Republicans gave the reconciliation bill last year a name Trump suggested. It was the one legislative accomplishment of the GOP majority. This is what it does.
- New 25-page @centeronbudget.bsky.social paper from me summarizing the distributional, fiscal, and economic effects of One Big Beautiful Bill's tax cuts and cuts to health care, food assistance, student loans, and climate investments. 🧵 www.cbpp.org/research/fed...
- Reportedly, the precipitating factor I the latest exodus of attorneys from the Minneapolis office is refusal to prosecute Alex Pretti’s killers. But federal attorney ms in that office gave many legitimate grievances.
- Trump’s DHS has reportedly been preparing to assault Springfield, OH — home to a large population of displaced Haitians about whom Trump lied shamelessly during the 2024 campaign — as it has Minneapolis this year. Judge Ana Reyes’s opinion is worth reading in full. Via @froomkin.bsky.social
- Haiti’s TPS continues for now!!!!! And zowie: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.…
- Jeffrey Epstein and the Kremlin: was there a connection? @telegraph.co.uk’s Ukraine: The Latest podcast has been searching just-released files, finding abundant references but no clear link. Also, links to Epstein have brought consequences to men — in Europe. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/u...
- From Iowa reporter @laurarbelin.bsky.social: we should not ignore the obvious here. Sen. Grassley is well into his 90s. He did indeed make a record of advocacy for whistleblowers earlier in his career, but appears now confused as to what a whistleblower is. One must ask if staff is running him.
- New, by me: A must-read NYT Magazine report showed how Senator Chuck Grassley's oversight work as Judiciary Committee chair led to career FBI agents or supervisors being forced out, in some cases with no investigation supporting their alleged wrongdoing. www.bleedingheartland.com/2026/02/02/n...
- Reposted by Joseph BrittDOJ is apparently taking all this time & violating the Transparency Act deadline in order to protect criminals, not the victims.
- Chief Justice John Roberts is a clever man who thinks he is a wise one. He sought to magnify the Court’s role in government, while placing its weight on the electoral scales to advantage Republican candidates. (Via @jaywillis.net)
- For a long time John Roberts was supposed to be the Supreme Court's savviest *politcian*, in terms of preserving its image while pushing his conservative agenda. But "I helped Trump win and now I'm locking this place down" is pretty good evidence he lost the thread www.nytimes.com/2026/02/02/u...
