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James Downie

@jamescdownie

Columnist and editor at MS NOW (formerly MSNBC). WGAE member. Ex-Washington Post Opinions. DC born and raised. D.C. United and Montreal Canadiens fan. jim.downie@nbcuni.com; jdow.92 on Signal

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Latest posts by James Downie @jamescdownie

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Perry: This St. Patrick’s Day, don’t forget Irish music’s anti-fascist roots Dropkick Murphys, the iconic Irish American punk band, are headlining a free block party March 6 near where Alex Pretti was killed by immigration agents, contributing columnist David M. Perry writes.

NEW “We’re celebrating a tradition that is at its core about resisting occupation and maintaining community in the face of horrors. You can’t keep politics out of Irish music. No one should try, for two reasons. First, it’s ahistorical. Second, Minnesotans are ready for a big anti-fascist party.”

05.03.2026 23:24 👍 1082 🔁 363 💬 21 📌 23

Need to reinforce: These documents contain unsubstantiated allegations against Trump.

Notable: These documents were posted the day after Pam Bondi was subpoenaed by the House Oversight Committee.

06.03.2026 00:07 👍 1225 🔁 227 💬 50 📌 9

I continue to be gobsmacked at 1) how common this formulation is 2) how antisemitic and generally bigoted it is 3) and how for all the talk of anti-semitism this is never cited as an example even though it’s quite literally the original incarnation.

05.03.2026 23:26 👍 7179 🔁 1751 💬 293 📌 52

Getting real rolling thunder vibes from this

06.03.2026 00:07 👍 233 🔁 30 💬 9 📌 0

Trump keeps saying "some people will die" like it's some deep insight, as opposed to the reason he pretended to have bone spurs.

06.03.2026 00:11 👍 30 🔁 9 💬 0 📌 1
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Scoop: FEMA Cancels All Emergency Manager Trainings Except for those related to the FIFA World Cup.

@jeva.bsky.social reports that, amid the DHS shutdown, "the Federal Emergency Management Agency has suspended all of its training and education programs for emergency managers across the country — except for those 'directly supporting the 2026 FIFA World Cup.'"

05.03.2026 23:17 👍 4 🔁 4 💬 1 📌 0
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Proton Mail Helped FBI Unmask Anonymous ‘Stop Cop City’ Protestor A court record reviewed by 404 Media shows privacy-focused email provider Proton Mail handed over payment data related to a Stop Cop City email account to the Swiss government, which handed it to the ...

New from 404 Media: Proton Mail, the privacy-focused email service, gave authorities data that let the FBI unmask an anonymous 'Stop Cop City' protester. It was payment data linked to the anonymous email account. From that, FBI ID'd them, then tracked their movements www.404media.co/proton-mail-...

05.03.2026 20:39 👍 2201 🔁 1256 💬 78 📌 305

Turns out lawlessness is not a winning strategy. See you at Nuremberg 2.0

05.03.2026 19:12 👍 12469 🔁 2401 💬 483 📌 330

This is an old soft firing tactic. During the halloween massacre for example Ford tried to save face by offering Colby the NATO ambassadorship, while giving his job to Pappy Bush.

05.03.2026 19:48 👍 32 🔁 4 💬 2 📌 0
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Don’t let the door hit you on the way out, Kristi Noem.

05.03.2026 19:11 👍 20077 🔁 4504 💬 678 📌 372

If Mullin became DHS Secretary shortly, the (Republican) governor would appoint his (Republican) successor.

Mullin would also presumably drop his reelection campaign this year; the filing deadline is next month.

05.03.2026 19:05 👍 338 🔁 88 💬 20 📌 14
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NBC's top climate reporter quits In an exclusive interview, veteran NBC meteorologist Chase Cain opens up about burnout, suppression, and why he's going independent.

“It just felt like I was just constantly....having to stay back at arm’s length and hold up this supposed objectivity....But for me, it’s really hard to be objective about all life on planet.“

@chasecain.bsky.social talks to @emorwee.bsky.social and @tracywholf.bsky.social about leaving NBC:

05.03.2026 19:10 👍 4 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Any time this guy runs his mouth I think about the time he claimed that being drunk on the job is no big deal for a senator.

03.03.2026 03:36 👍 14 🔁 5 💬 0 📌 0

Noem out. www.ms.now/news/kristi-...

05.03.2026 18:52 👍 193 🔁 54 💬 18 📌 5

I was wondering where CENTCOM was getting their “terminate conflict by September” guesstimate

05.03.2026 18:40 👍 156 🔁 22 💬 9 📌 2
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There it is: Noem out, Mullin in

05.03.2026 18:42 👍 2510 🔁 842 💬 742 📌 954

To flip this around slightly, the old political chestnut of "he's rich, so he must know what he's doing" vs. Dan Snyder, Jerry Jones, Woody Johnson...

Most NFL owners, actually.

05.03.2026 18:40 👍 2 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
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JACOBS: Are we at war with Iran?

COLBY: We're in a military action

JACOBS: Yesterday, Trump said 'we're doing very well on the war front' and previously he said, 'we should expect casualties because that often happens in war.' So is he wrong?

COLBY: I'm not the right person to weigh in

05.03.2026 17:12 👍 1642 🔁 448 💬 152 📌 101
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MAGA Unreality vs the World The U.S. government is in the hands of people who are fully detached from reality. That is a major weakness for the regime – but also a source of further radicalization.

"This is where the gravest danger lies: Delusion, ideology, and ineptitude are conspiring to make escalation almost inevitable." – @thomaszimmer.bsky.social steady.page/en/democracy...

05.03.2026 18:29 👍 10 🔁 2 💬 0 📌 1
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MAGA Unreality vs the World The U.S. government is in the hands of people who are fully detached from reality. That is a major weakness for the regime – but also a source of further radicalization.

I believe MAGA will ultimately fail to consolidate authoritarian rule. But for the time being, the powers of the U.S. government are in the hands of a regime that is hellbent on imposing its unreality on America and the world.

And that is truly frightening.

Please consider subscribing:

04.03.2026 14:37 👍 173 🔁 37 💬 2 📌 4
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Blumenthal: "I have emerged from classified briefings deeply concerned and very fearful that we're on the precipice not only of an escalating conflict that in region, but also putting troops on the ground b/c that is almost inevitably the path the admin has chosen by its current tactical approach"

05.03.2026 13:11 👍 4407 🔁 1576 💬 201 📌 90
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B of A:

“.. consumer stimulus from the OBBBA is so far getting reflected more in smaller-than-usual tax payments, vs. larger-than-usual refunds.” 😞

05.03.2026 13:28 👍 190 🔁 48 💬 15 📌 4

it must've felt so fucking good to say this to the trump admin lawyer

05.03.2026 12:09 👍 224 🔁 20 💬 0 📌 0
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SpaceX: the final frontier of IPOs Can Elon Musk’s moonshot deliver the mooted $1.75tn valuation?

SpaceX probably has revenues of less than $20bn and loses money after the merger with xAI, but is targeting a $1.75 TRILLION IPO.

So Alphaville got two experts to go through how Musk will probably try to pull off what could be the biggest bagholder operation in history. www.ft.com/content/5bf1...

05.03.2026 10:51 👍 313 🔁 125 💬 15 📌 23
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FT comments section this morning - saying what everyone else is thinking, right?

05.03.2026 07:15 👍 16838 🔁 5881 💬 507 📌 488


Trump was said to be especially
upset about Noem's response
when Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.
pressed her Tuesday about a
government-funded ad campaign
that Kennedy said only served ta
boost her own personal name
recognition nationally.

The $220 million contract for the
ad campaign was awarded to a
firm run by the husband of former
DHS spokesperson Tricia
McLaughlin. The ads were filmed
in October at Mount Rushmore.

Under questioning from Kennedy,
Noem said repeatedly that Trump
personally approved the
controversial ad blitz featuring
her in the lead role. This has so
angered Trump that Noem's
future at DHS may be at risk
we're told.

<

Trump was said to be especially upset about Noem's response when Sen. John Kennedy (R-La. pressed her Tuesday about a government-funded ad campaign that Kennedy said only served ta boost her own personal name recognition nationally. The $220 million contract for the ad campaign was awarded to a firm run by the husband of former DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin. The ads were filmed in October at Mount Rushmore. Under questioning from Kennedy, Noem said repeatedly that Trump personally approved the controversial ad blitz featuring her in the lead role. This has so angered Trump that Noem's future at DHS may be at risk we're told. <

Punchbowl: After Noem's appearances before Congress earlier this week, "Trump has quietly asked Hill Republicans if he should fire Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem,...according to multiple Republicans who have spoken with the president." punchbowl.news/archive/3526...

05.03.2026 10:23 👍 14 🔁 1 💬 2 📌 0
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Quietly, calmly and forensically, BBC just dismantled the Trump communications shitshow on Iran.

No hyperbole, just laying out an unprecedented military, diplomatic and reputational shambles.

Worth a watch.

(🎥 BBC News/BBC Verify)

05.03.2026 08:46 👍 3694 🔁 2005 💬 95 📌 176
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The most amazing thing about the latest GOP Nazi group chat story is that the ending is *exactly the same* as the ending of a different story by a different publication about an entirely different GOP Nazi group chat!

05.03.2026 04:23 👍 198 🔁 54 💬 3 📌 2

This is almost verbatim what Montreal fans said when he was *five* years younger.

05.03.2026 02:55 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

It rules that the biggest name in conspiracy mongering about propaganda and shadowy elites is the son of the former head of Voice of America, tried to join the CIA, and is on the record in multiple legal cases admitting that his viewers shouldn't trust him.

05.03.2026 02:51 👍 77 🔁 19 💬 1 📌 1