John M. Baker
@jmbmn.bsky.social
Minneapolis attorney, advocate for planners, lover of old movies, refugee from Musk's mayhem, who rescues from obscurity fascinating people.
Which judge on the D.C. Circuit backburnered the ruling in Associated Press v. Budowich, argued last year and awaiting decision, after Trump nominees J. Rao and J. Katsas stayed most of the injunction against Trump's viewpoint-based effort to make the WH press subservient?
Trump says CNN, Politico and MS NOW are banned from the White House because he doesn’t like their reporting.
This is absurd and illegal.
This is absurd and illegal.
Trump says he is banning media outlets CNN, MS NOW, Politico from White House
US President Donald Trump said on Friday he is banning three major news outlets – CNN, MS NOW and Politico – from the White House in his latest move to crack down on the independent press.
www.reuters.com
September 18, 2026 at 9:47 PM
Which judge on the D.C. Circuit backburnered the ruling in Associated Press v. Budowich, argued last year and awaiting decision, after Trump nominees J. Rao and J. Katsas stayed most of the injunction against Trump's viewpoint-based effort to make the WH press subservient?
Reposted by John M. Baker
Back in Trump 1, my EP and I used to spitball every now and then on the first question I'd ask Trump. We settled on "how do tariffs work?"
Just once, just absolutely once, I would like someone to ask Trump on camera how he thinks international trade works. Like, maybe, do an experiment with monopoly money and toy cars. "Ok, Donald, let's pretend I'm Canada and you're the US."
Trump: “If we stopped Trading with every country that we have a Deficit with, which is most of them, we would make, at least, 1.5 Trillion Dollars a year. The word ‘Deficit’ is nothing more than a fancy word for LOSS.”
September 16, 2026 at 9:37 PM
Back in Trump 1, my EP and I used to spitball every now and then on the first question I'd ask Trump. We settled on "how do tariffs work?"
I've always thought of #TheGraduate as a film that reflects a very specific and brief moment of American pop culture post-JFK, mid-Folk Movement, pre-Summer of Love, that was over within months, but is worth revisiting through this lens. #TCMParty
September 17, 2026 at 12:20 AM
I've always thought of #TheGraduate as a film that reflects a very specific and brief moment of American pop culture post-JFK, mid-Folk Movement, pre-Summer of Love, that was over within months, but is worth revisiting through this lens. #TCMParty
Reposted by John M. Baker
Something weirdly not noted in a lot of the coverage of the extortionate threats to murder the Kennedy Center unless it’s reimagined as a shrine to Trump: There was no dire fiscal crisis until Trump’s goombahs started mucking with it. Its finances were fine. projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/o...
John F Kennedy Center For The Performing Arts - Nonprofit Explorer - ProPublica
Since 2013, the IRS has released data culled from millions of nonprofit tax filings. Use this database to find organizations and see details like their executive compensation, revenue and expenses, as...
projects.propublica.org
September 15, 2026 at 6:41 AM
Something weirdly not noted in a lot of the coverage of the extortionate threats to murder the Kennedy Center unless it’s reimagined as a shrine to Trump: There was no dire fiscal crisis until Trump’s goombahs started mucking with it. Its finances were fine. projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/o...
Is this the first #NoirAlley movie where the two top-billed stars are nonagenarians (that are still with us)? #TheYellowCanary #TCMParty
September 6, 2026 at 3:10 PM
Is this the first #NoirAlley movie where the two top-billed stars are nonagenarians (that are still with us)? #TheYellowCanary #TCMParty
Pat Boone circa '63 in #TheYellowCanary bears a physical resemblance to Michael Hitchcock circa 2000, known for his portrayal of the husband of Parker Posey, rageaholic yuppie co-owners of messed-up weimaraner Beatrice, in "Best of Show." #TCMParty #BusyBee
September 6, 2026 at 2:18 PM
Pat Boone circa '63 in #TheYellowCanary bears a physical resemblance to Michael Hitchcock circa 2000, known for his portrayal of the husband of Parker Posey, rageaholic yuppie co-owners of messed-up weimaraner Beatrice, in "Best of Show." #TCMParty #BusyBee
Reposted by John M. Baker
Reposted by John M. Baker
Laughed out loud at the section of the Supreme Court opinion upholding Trump's ballroom that's like, "And would you doubt the veracity of these SWORN DECLARATIONS that the ballroom is ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY from a BUNCH OF PEOPLE WHO ARE IN TRUMP'S CABINET???" www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25p...
![marks omitted)).
Nor is that all. The government has also presented dec-
larations from the Director of National Intelligence, the Di-
rector of the Central Intelligence Agency, the Director of the
Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Director of the United
States Secret Service, and the Secretary of State, the Sec-
retary of Homeland Security, and the Secretary of the
Army, among others, attesting to national security and
other harms that would likely arise from enjoining a “sin-
gle, coherent” project that cannot be readily cleaved into
distinct below- and above-ground pieces. See, e.g., App. to
Application 229a, 246a–247a, 397a–398a, 426a–429a,
431a–433a, 437a–439a. The Secretary of the Army, for ex-
ample, represents that “[t]he height and mass” of the
planned above-ground ballroom are “crucial” to shield the
planned underground military installation “from kinetic
impacts,” and that, without such height and mass, “engi-
neers would need to dig impractically deep.” Id., at 247a](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:bpna2qi2e44fafbhhtqjak3x/bafkreigqioxqy32o53e227pykdrfj7qvtg42bzjb6uu4wl2ihyqzytkdja)
August 31, 2026 at 8:24 PM
Laughed out loud at the section of the Supreme Court opinion upholding Trump's ballroom that's like, "And would you doubt the veracity of these SWORN DECLARATIONS that the ballroom is ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY from a BUNCH OF PEOPLE WHO ARE IN TRUMP'S CABINET???" www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25p...
Reposted by John M. Baker
For this week's Substack, I wrote about the phenomenon of "gradual escalation" as illustrated by the Milgram experiment, and why we are already well into the high-voltage shocks asharangappa.substack.com/p/will-todd-...
Will Todd Blanche Get Confirmed? Ask Stanley Milgram
What the psychology behind "just following orders" tells us about changing course once you've already started down the wrong path.
asharangappa.substack.com
July 25, 2026 at 2:45 PM
For this week's Substack, I wrote about the phenomenon of "gradual escalation" as illustrated by the Milgram experiment, and why we are already well into the high-voltage shocks asharangappa.substack.com/p/will-todd-...
Reposted by John M. Baker
In his 2004 book, The Anatomy of Fascism, historian Robert Paxton identified the passions that had animated fascistic political cultures over the previous 80 years. These may sound familiar.
July 21, 2026 at 10:24 PM
In his 2004 book, The Anatomy of Fascism, historian Robert Paxton identified the passions that had animated fascistic political cultures over the previous 80 years. These may sound familiar.
Reposted by John M. Baker
The SAVE America Act mandates that all voters must bring to the polls specifically a photo ID which has proof of citizenship “on the front of the document.” So REAL IDs don’t count.
If the ID does not precisely conform to that standard, you must also bring separate proof of citizenship.
If the ID does not precisely conform to that standard, you must also bring separate proof of citizenship.
July 21, 2026 at 3:46 PM
The SAVE America Act mandates that all voters must bring to the polls specifically a photo ID which has proof of citizenship “on the front of the document.” So REAL IDs don’t count.
If the ID does not precisely conform to that standard, you must also bring separate proof of citizenship.
If the ID does not precisely conform to that standard, you must also bring separate proof of citizenship.
Reposted by John M. Baker
Not a single word about how these tariffs violate both our WTO & USCMA obligations. Every time Trump does this, the NYT & other outlets simply write as if we live in an international vacuum, where the US has no obligations under signed, ratified international treaties. It's journalistic malpractice.
President Trump signed an order imposing a 50% tariff on a wide range of goods from Canada, including hockey sticks, wine and cement.
Trump to Impose 50% Tariff on Many Canadian Goods
The administration will use an untested legal provision to put significant duties on Canadian exports, reigniting a clash with one of America’s biggest trading partners.
nyti.ms
July 20, 2026 at 11:22 PM
Not a single word about how these tariffs violate both our WTO & USCMA obligations. Every time Trump does this, the NYT & other outlets simply write as if we live in an international vacuum, where the US has no obligations under signed, ratified international treaties. It's journalistic malpractice.
Reposted by John M. Baker
Vandals? Of course not. 99 years and 11 months ago in the Reflecting Pool. www.shorpy.com/node/3463?si...
June 20, 2026 at 8:00 PM
Vandals? Of course not. 99 years and 11 months ago in the Reflecting Pool. www.shorpy.com/node/3463?si...
It's Dombrowski v Pfister time (because of "the impropriety of appellees' invoking the statute in bad faith to impose continuing harassment in order to discourage appellants' [constitutionally-protected] activities").
May 29, 2026 at 2:30 PM
It's Dombrowski v Pfister time (because of "the impropriety of appellees' invoking the statute in bad faith to impose continuing harassment in order to discourage appellants' [constitutionally-protected] activities").
Reposted by John M. Baker
This is the best indicator of Trump's declining cognition. He used to phrase these racist statements carefully to make it sound like he was only against the crooked members of his hated minority groups. He's been gradually losing the qualifiers and keeping the racism.
Trump: "They're all crooks. The Somalians. What they've done to Minnesota. The Somalians. They're crooked as hell. They're all crooks."
May 27, 2026 at 6:12 PM
This is the best indicator of Trump's declining cognition. He used to phrase these racist statements carefully to make it sound like he was only against the crooked members of his hated minority groups. He's been gradually losing the qualifiers and keeping the racism.
A conversation that happened far too often in 1945 and 1946: "Dear, I've got an idea! Let's pick 'Veda' as the name for new daughter!" #MildredPierce #TCMParty
May 10, 2026 at 8:26 PM
A conversation that happened far too often in 1945 and 1946: "Dear, I've got an idea! Let's pick 'Veda' as the name for new daughter!" #MildredPierce #TCMParty
The actor playing the sailor in the passenger seat in Sam's crunched car? Blake Edwards.
#TheStrangeLoveOfMarthaIvers
#TCMParty
#NoirAlley
#TheStrangeLoveOfMarthaIvers
#TCMParty
#NoirAlley
May 10, 2026 at 2:24 PM
The actor playing the sailor in the passenger seat in Sam's crunched car? Blake Edwards.
#TheStrangeLoveOfMarthaIvers
#TCMParty
#NoirAlley
#TheStrangeLoveOfMarthaIvers
#TCMParty
#NoirAlley
I think Bernie Taupin read the book ("Love Lies Bleeding") or watched the movie: "Oh, it kills me to think of you with another man . . ." #noiralley #tcmparty #ThestrangelovesofMarthaIvers #GoodbyeYellowBrickRoad
May 10, 2026 at 5:55 AM
I think Bernie Taupin read the book ("Love Lies Bleeding") or watched the movie: "Oh, it kills me to think of you with another man . . ." #noiralley #tcmparty #ThestrangelovesofMarthaIvers #GoodbyeYellowBrickRoad
That discussion at the local paper's morgue triggered a Model Code of Prof. Conduct Rule 3.7 (Advocate as Witness) moment. #thestrangeloveofmarthaivers #noiralley #tcmparty
May 10, 2026 at 5:30 AM
That discussion at the local paper's morgue triggered a Model Code of Prof. Conduct Rule 3.7 (Advocate as Witness) moment. #thestrangeloveofmarthaivers #noiralley #tcmparty
Doesn't it seem odd that - 48+ hours after it was first reported - the operative complaint filed by an ABC-TV affiliate against the FCC arising from retaliatory measures, is still not available, even when the complainant is a media company and the FCC has an online site for electronic comments?
May 10, 2026 at 4:14 AM
Doesn't it seem odd that - 48+ hours after it was first reported - the operative complaint filed by an ABC-TV affiliate against the FCC arising from retaliatory measures, is still not available, even when the complainant is a media company and the FCC has an online site for electronic comments?
Reposted by John M. Baker
The Trump regime keeps citing things that require an ID that do not, in fact, require an ID. They’re elitists who are out of touch with the lives of everyday Americans.
Blanche: "There's a lot of things we can be doing, like voter ID. Every time you walk into a restaurant you have to show ID. How about you have to show your idea to vote? That's not anything that's crazy."
May 3, 2026 at 3:08 PM
The Trump regime keeps citing things that require an ID that do not, in fact, require an ID. They’re elitists who are out of touch with the lives of everyday Americans.
Reposted by John M. Baker
Every splashy New York Times profile of a right wing influencer.
May 3, 2026 at 2:16 PM
Every splashy New York Times profile of a right wing influencer.
This is my favorite excerpt from a U.S. Census log. The year is pretty easy to guess. But who can name the address?
April 16, 2026 at 1:46 AM
This is my favorite excerpt from a U.S. Census log. The year is pretty easy to guess. But who can name the address?
So which chapter of the contracts law hornbook is most relevant: Formation (there never was a cease fire agreement)? Breach (someone broke the cease fire agreement)? Discharge (we no longer have to obey the cease fire agreement)? Or rescission (there should no longer be a cease fire agreement)?
April 8, 2026 at 6:18 PM
So which chapter of the contracts law hornbook is most relevant: Formation (there never was a cease fire agreement)? Breach (someone broke the cease fire agreement)? Discharge (we no longer have to obey the cease fire agreement)? Or rescission (there should no longer be a cease fire agreement)?