Dale
@dalepoak.bsky.social
Husband, dad, grandpa. Former House Approps Committee & OMB staff. Former Republican. Now retired and cranky. Posting on politics and Maine. https://substack.com/@daleoak?r=9q4gn&utm_medium=ios 🇺🇸🆘 🇺🇦
Pinned
Dale
@dalepoak.bsky.social
· Aug 17
“The accumulation of all powers legislative, executive and judiciary in the same hands, whether of one, a few or many, and whether hereditary, self appointed, or elective, may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny.”
- James Madison, Federalist #47, 1788
- James Madison, Federalist #47, 1788
Happy Constitution Day!
Support the Constitution. It needs all the help it can get these days.
Support the Constitution. It needs all the help it can get these days.
September 17, 2026 at 12:53 PM
Happy Constitution Day!
Support the Constitution. It needs all the help it can get these days.
Support the Constitution. It needs all the help it can get these days.
This was not on my Trump Bingo card.
September 12, 2026 at 10:34 PM
This was not on my Trump Bingo card.
Seven of Nine: Fun Will Now Commence
ALT: Seven of Nine: Fun Will Now Commence
static.klipy.com
September 8, 2026 at 3:07 AM
Reposted by Dale
"He was the very image of a young person engaged in American civic life. But he was systematically denied his dreams by a MAGA movement that didn’t see him as equal."
@adriancarrasquillo.bsky.social on Pierre Damas Bel in the latest edition of Huddled Masses:
@adriancarrasquillo.bsky.social on Pierre Damas Bel in the latest edition of Huddled Masses:
Trump Took His Status. ICE Took His Dignity. He Took His Life.
This promising young Haitian immigrant was humiliated and tormented until he lost hope.
lnk.thebulwark.com
September 4, 2026 at 3:00 PM
"He was the very image of a young person engaged in American civic life. But he was systematically denied his dreams by a MAGA movement that didn’t see him as equal."
@adriancarrasquillo.bsky.social on Pierre Damas Bel in the latest edition of Huddled Masses:
@adriancarrasquillo.bsky.social on Pierre Damas Bel in the latest edition of Huddled Masses:
Trump is a Roy Cohn acolyte, and the republic is paying a steep price as a result.
Donald Trump’s most important political mentor taught him how to attack America’s elite from within, Kim Phillips-Fein writes. She explores a new biography of the ruthless lawyer Roy Cohn:
Roy Cohn Did It First
The debasement of American politics didn’t start with Donald Trump.
bit.ly
August 31, 2026 at 12:09 AM
Trump is a Roy Cohn acolyte, and the republic is paying a steep price as a result.
“The highest calling of any figure in Trump world is to refuse any concessions to reality when Trump commands it, and the surest ticket to oblivion is to speak the truth.”
Karoline Leavitt performed perfectly well the job of press secretary, as defined by an administration in which everybody’s main priority is to lie on television, @jonathanbchait.bsky.social argues.
How Karoline Leavitt Debased Her Job
In an administration where everybody’s job is to lie on television, the role of the press secretary is redundant.
bit.ly
August 29, 2026 at 10:42 PM
“The highest calling of any figure in Trump world is to refuse any concessions to reality when Trump commands it, and the surest ticket to oblivion is to speak the truth.”
Our government is violating basic human and legal rights.
Trump has been banishing people to one of the world's worst dictatorships
Including:
a Phoenix man whose family fled Egypt at 4 yrs old
a woman who came to the U.S. at 5 yr old
They're now imprisoned, & report being handcuffed and assaulted
They've committed no crime
tucson.com/news/local/b...
Including:
a Phoenix man whose family fled Egypt at 4 yrs old
a woman who came to the U.S. at 5 yr old
They're now imprisoned, & report being handcuffed and assaulted
They've committed no crime
tucson.com/news/local/b...
U.S. deportees assaulted, threatened at gunpoint in Equatorial Guinea, three say
Immigrants deported from the U.S. to Equatorial Guinea say they have been threatened at gunpoint and fear for their lives while detained at a former hotel.
tucson.com
August 22, 2026 at 1:55 AM
Our government is violating basic human and legal rights.
I have a rosier view of last week’s thunderstorm now that I’m in the middle of a category 5 hurricane.
Democrats have a rosier view of the state of American democracy during President Trump’s first term today than they did at the time, according to a new report.
Democrats’ view of Trump’s first term improves in retrospect, poll finds
Recent ratings of the state of American democracy in 2020 rose by eight points compared with surveys of Democrats that year.
www.washingtonpost.com
August 21, 2026 at 1:11 AM
I have a rosier view of last week’s thunderstorm now that I’m in the middle of a category 5 hurricane.
“The accumulation of all powers legislative, executive and judiciary in the same hands, whether of one, a few or many, and whether hereditary, self appointed, or elective, may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny.”
- James Madison, Federalist #47, 1788
- James Madison, Federalist #47, 1788
August 17, 2026 at 3:57 PM
“The accumulation of all powers legislative, executive and judiciary in the same hands, whether of one, a few or many, and whether hereditary, self appointed, or elective, may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny.”
- James Madison, Federalist #47, 1788
- James Madison, Federalist #47, 1788
I’m sick and tired of masked government thugs in military uniform threatening and harassing innocent people.
But which government am I referring to?
But which government am I referring to?
August 16, 2026 at 12:21 AM
I’m sick and tired of masked government thugs in military uniform threatening and harassing innocent people.
But which government am I referring to?
But which government am I referring to?
Reposted by Dale
Trump said he would end Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine “in 24 hours.” On day 572 of his presidency, the war continues.
Stand with #Ukraine🇺🇦
Слава Україні!
Stand with #Ukraine🇺🇦
Слава Україні!
Russian attacks kill at least 4, injure 60 across Ukraine over past day
Russian forces attacked Ukraine overnight on Aug. 14 with 133 Shahed-type drones and loitering munitions, the Air Force said.
kyivindependent.com
August 14, 2026 at 1:24 PM
Trump said he would end Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine “in 24 hours.” On day 572 of his presidency, the war continues.
Stand with #Ukraine🇺🇦
Слава Україні!
Stand with #Ukraine🇺🇦
Слава Україні!
Trump said he would end Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine “in 24 hours.” On day 572 of his presidency, the war continues.
Stand with #Ukraine🇺🇦
Слава Україні!
Stand with #Ukraine🇺🇦
Слава Україні!
Russian attacks kill at least 4, injure 60 across Ukraine over past day
Russian forces attacked Ukraine overnight on Aug. 14 with 133 Shahed-type drones and loitering munitions, the Air Force said.
kyivindependent.com
August 14, 2026 at 1:24 PM
Trump said he would end Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine “in 24 hours.” On day 572 of his presidency, the war continues.
Stand with #Ukraine🇺🇦
Слава Україні!
Stand with #Ukraine🇺🇦
Слава Україні!
Reposted by Dale
Is this MAGA math or MAGA logic?
Kevin Hassett on Fox News argues that if you exclude the sectors that lost hundreds of thousands of jobs, "you actually had a number that was about plus 100,000" 🙃
August 7, 2026 at 5:23 PM
Is this MAGA math or MAGA logic?
The only person who should be held in contempt in this matter is Sen. Rand Paul.
Breaking news: A Senate committee voted to hold Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress after he declined to answer questions under his Fifth Amendment right and accused the committee chairman, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky), of trying to wrongly entrap him.
Senate panel votes to hold Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress
The longtime infectious-disease scientist refused to answer questions from committee members at a hearing last week.
www.washingtonpost.com
August 6, 2026 at 1:35 PM
The only person who should be held in contempt in this matter is Sen. Rand Paul.
The pro-Susan Collins ads and attack ads targeting Troy Jackson are already in overdrive here in Maine. I’ve seen very few pro-Troy Jackson ads so far. It’s going to be hard for him to match her advertising budget.
1/3
1/3
August 4, 2026 at 12:13 AM
The pro-Susan Collins ads and attack ads targeting Troy Jackson are already in overdrive here in Maine. I’ve seen very few pro-Troy Jackson ads so far. It’s going to be hard for him to match her advertising budget.
1/3
1/3
I’ve been involved in many CR battles. A CR to Dec 11 is like most other election year CRs.
- By Dec 11 we will know (hopefully) who controls the next Congress. This informs the funding fight that will happen in Dec. It doesn’t necessarily mean GOP gets another bite at the apple.
1/3
- By Dec 11 we will know (hopefully) who controls the next Congress. This informs the funding fight that will happen in Dec. It doesn’t necessarily mean GOP gets another bite at the apple.
1/3
Q's on Senate Dem leadership embrace of CR.
Why now? Why let GOP senators go home for recess taking credit for a bipartisan deal?
Why does it run until Dec. 11? Why give a lame duck GOP Congress a final bite at the apple with ability to pressure Dems with threat of pre-Xmas shut down?
Why now? Why let GOP senators go home for recess taking credit for a bipartisan deal?
Why does it run until Dec. 11? Why give a lame duck GOP Congress a final bite at the apple with ability to pressure Dems with threat of pre-Xmas shut down?
August 2, 2026 at 10:36 PM
I’ve been involved in many CR battles. A CR to Dec 11 is like most other election year CRs.
- By Dec 11 we will know (hopefully) who controls the next Congress. This informs the funding fight that will happen in Dec. It doesn’t necessarily mean GOP gets another bite at the apple.
1/3
- By Dec 11 we will know (hopefully) who controls the next Congress. This informs the funding fight that will happen in Dec. It doesn’t necessarily mean GOP gets another bite at the apple.
1/3
Describe the demise of investigative journalism in five words or less.
I’ll go:
Bari Weiss and Ross Douthat
I’ll go:
Bari Weiss and Ross Douthat
August 2, 2026 at 4:23 PM
Describe the demise of investigative journalism in five words or less.
I’ll go:
Bari Weiss and Ross Douthat
I’ll go:
Bari Weiss and Ross Douthat
Reposted by Dale
Through Dr. Fauci’s private diary, Congress has discovered that he is guilty of the heinous crime of having a big ego. As such, there are 535 members of Congress who should be brought before their colleagues to be yelled at and who also should be investigated.
August 2, 2026 at 4:14 PM
Through Dr. Fauci’s private diary, Congress has discovered that he is guilty of the heinous crime of having a big ego. As such, there are 535 members of Congress who should be brought before their colleagues to be yelled at and who also should be investigated.
My standard response to any question I’m asked this summer:
“I am having issues. Please try again later.”
“I am having issues. Please try again later.”
August 2, 2026 at 4:19 PM
My standard response to any question I’m asked this summer:
“I am having issues. Please try again later.”
“I am having issues. Please try again later.”
“The Washington Post’s journalism strategy is working. Its opinions strategy is either dumb as a rock or deeply malevolent.”
“Like Lucy and the football, Trump keeps getting told that this time the Iranians are finally ready to make a deal — only to be set up for failure yet again,” Marc A. Thiessen writes.
Opinion | Trump’s Iran strategy is working. His vice president’s isn’t.
Lucy, the football and the mullahs.
wapo.st
August 2, 2026 at 1:06 PM
“The Washington Post’s journalism strategy is working. Its opinions strategy is either dumb as a rock or deeply malevolent.”
DOJ: “We indicted innocent people for vandalism that was, in fact, shoddy work, and we made inflammatory, public accusations accusing these innocent people, but you see ackshually it was the Department of the Interior’s fault.”
Reflecting pool damage was the result of botched work, not vandals, DOJ says
Reflecting pool damage was the result of botched work, not vandals, DOJ says
Several people were charged with vandalism after parts of the pool’s “American Flag Blue” lining began floating on its surface.
dlvr.it
August 1, 2026 at 1:18 AM
DOJ: “We indicted innocent people for vandalism that was, in fact, shoddy work, and we made inflammatory, public accusations accusing these innocent people, but you see ackshually it was the Department of the Interior’s fault.”