Walker Bragman

@walkerbragman.bsky.social

3425

Followers

244

Following

964

Posts

He/Him. Journalist writing on disinformation and dark money. JD and occasional cartoonist.

Co-founder of the OptOut Media Foundation: https://www.OptOut.news

Download OptOut's news app on iOS and Google Play.

Reporting: https://www.importantcontext.news

Posts Replies Media

Reposted by

Walker Bragman

Read FDR’s response to a hostile Supreme Court. www.importantcontext.news/p/biden-v-ro...

Biden v. Roosevelt: How Two Democratic Presidents Handled a Hostile Supreme Courtwww.importantcontext.news How does a president address judicial overreach?

COVID is not over…again.

A seasonal wave of #Covid is sweeping across the U.S., driven by the FLiRT variants, a trio of the latest #SARSCoV2 mutants making the rounds. So no, it's not your imagination. People are getting Covid again www.seattletimes.com/nation-world...

Yep, people are getting COVID againwww.seattletimes.com A seasonal COVID-19 wave appears to be underway with cases growing or likely growing in 39 states.

Left is best. Vive la France!

Read FDR’s response to a hostile Supreme Court. www.importantcontext.news/p/biden-v-ro...

Biden v. Roosevelt: How Two Democratic Presidents Handled a Hostile Supreme Courtwww.importantcontext.news How does a president address judicial overreach?

Save the NHS

It’s a landslide. Labour with 400+ seats. www.bbc.com/news/live/cn...

UK general election results live: Exit poll predicts Labour to win general election landslidewww.bbc.com Keir Starmer is on course to be new UK prime minister with predicted Labour majority of 170, according to the exit poll for the BBC, ITV, and Sky.

Reposted by

Walker Bragman

It’s a landslide. Labour with 400+ seats. www.bbc.com/news/live/cn...

Reposted by

Walker Bragman

Reply to

Don Moynihan

Lmao they just changed the title of the piece from “Why I don’t vote” to “Why I won’t vote” rather than tell readers that the guy actually does vote

In light of this insane decision, Biden should issue executive orders that help the people and then simply disregard the court when it tries to strike it down. Cancel all student debt. Give the Dreamers citizenship. Open abortion clinics on federal land. Say they’re all official acts.

How can the president now have near unlimited power and yet Biden can’t do anything right now?

Reposted by

Walker Bragman

Had to bring this one back

NEW: The Supreme Court handed misinformation spreaders and right-wing dark money groups a big fat L this week. Full story here: www.importantcontext.news/p/online-mis...

Misinformation Spreaders, Dark Money Groups Lament Major Defeat At Supreme Courtwww.importantcontext.news Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s majority opinion in Murthy v. Missouri rejected a dubious legal theory aimed at crippling the government’s ability to combat online misinformation.

Well that was depressing to watch

Reposted by

Walker Bragman

The Supreme Court's most radical move in the past two decades has been to assume power that was historically wielded by other branches and to place absurdly particular limits on the way those branches exercise the power left to them to the extent that the Court effectively takes that power, too

Sotomayor, for the liberals, on the decision that the SEC (and presumably other agencies) can't levy civil penalties on lawbreakers without a jury trial: "Congress had no reason to anticipate the chaos today's majority would unleash after all these years." www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/23p...

“Money may not win every policy battle or every political race, particularly when those races are well-publicized...But while the win rate may not be perfect, money is a good predictor, which is why so much of it is flowing into our political system.” www.optout.news/newsletters/...

Opinion: Democracy For Salewww.optout.news We need to limit political spending.

BlueSky has DMs now? Oh man, game changing.

Reposted by

Walker Bragman

Even before mask bans become law, simply the act of politicians speaking about mask wearers as criminals is stigmatizing a critical public health tool, and encouraging harassment of marginalized groups. That is incredibly reckless and making our cities more unsafe.

Reposted by

Walker Bragman

NEW: Important Context took a look at the trade of Indigenous artifacts and efforts by Indigenous peoples to recover stolen property. This piece from Amanda Magnani is fascinating and a must-read! www.importantcontext.news/p/heritage-f...

Heritage For Sale: Investigating the Business of Selling Indigenous Artifactswww.importantcontext.news In spite of existing laws and efforts by Indigenous Nations for repatriation, Native American artifacts are still sold online and in auction houses as commodities.

Reposted by

Walker Bragman

Adams and Hochul are a truly wretched combo for New Yorkers, and it has me wondering - what are/were some of the worst mayor/governor combos for major American cities?

I'm about to leave on an important work trip and am concerned about getting COVID before I go so I'm masking in public spaces. That would be illegal? And what if you're immunocompromised and need to wear one all the time? We have the worst elected officials. hellgatenyc.com/hochul-and-a...

Hochul and Adams Agree: It's Time for a Mask Ban on the Subway - Hell Gatehellgatenyc.com Prepare to share the air. Plus more links for your weekend.

Reposted by

Walker Bragman

The Supreme Court is doing everything it can to prevent Donald Trump from standing trial before the election.

The Supreme Court’s Blocking Strategyprospect.org America’s top legal authority is doing all it can to prevent Donald Trump from standing trial before the election.

Are you a little confused about the global efforts to establish a framework for dealing with the next pandemic? Important Context interviewed Georgetown University global health law professor Lawrence Gostin about the WHO pandemic preparedness treaty. This is everything you need to know.

What You Need to Know About the WHO Pandemic Treaty With Georgetown Law Professor Lawrence Gostinwww.importantcontext.news Professor Gostin, who has been involved in the negotiations, shares his insights.

Reposted by

Walker Bragman

HEY! I KNOW THEM! Andy is a friend of mine. They're *incredible* and fundamentally changed my life on the day we met. Give it a read!

ICYMI: Important Context published a fantastic profile by @lianademasi about Andy Izenson, one of the people fighting on the front lines for LGBTQIA+ rights. I highly recommend giving this a read. www.importantcontext.news/p/queer-tran...

Queer, Trans Advocate Andy Izenson Wants to Take Us Back to Our Rootswww.importantcontext.news What happens when we go beneath the surface?

Reposted by

Walker Bragman

When dealing with pseudoscience, the devil is in the detail - in this case, narrowing down a specific "Lab Leak" hypothesis. In Dr. Chan's @nytimes.com OpEd there is, however, a very specific hypothesis for COVID-19 origin. It's a prime example of conspiracism vs empiricism, so let's dive in. 🧵

On the day of Dr. Fauci's testimony, @nytimes.com decides to run a deeply unethical OpEd with snazzy graphics and snappy headlines about the Lab Leak. The article itself contains multiple falsehoods and deep mischaracterizations. Let's take every point in turn 👇🧵 www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Opinion | Why the Pandemic Probably Started in a Lab, in 5 Key Pointswww.nytimes.com The world must not continue to bear the intolerable risks of research with the potential to cause pandemics.

Reposted by

Walker Bragman

My magnum opus is done. 🧵

Reposted by

Walker Bragman

More great news on the cancer front.

Trial results for new lung cancer drug are ‘off the charts’, say doctorswww.theguardian.com More than half of patients with advanced forms of disease who took lorlatinib were still alive after five years with no progression

The fact that Jack Dorsey gave up on this place is a pretty big selling point, honestly.

Neoliberalism isn’t an ideology so much as it is an excuse for politicians to suck up to the most powerful interests in America.

Benzene pollution is falling due to... market mechanisms? No, rules. That's right - rules work. Neoliberal mythology does not.

Reposted by

Walker Bragman

NEW: Far-right extremists and pro-Israel Jews may seem unlikely allies, but the overlap is real. For example, a Jewish man who was stabbed at a KKK rally years ago found himself agitating against pro-Palestine student demonstrators with a man who had rallied for white lives with his attacker. Wild.

“I’m Not Sure What to Make of It”: Zionist Jews and Far-Right Rally Togetherwww.importantcontext.news Pro-Palestinian student demonstrations have seen an unlikely alliance between Israel-supporting Jews and far-right extremists.