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ReluctantCynic

@reluctantcynic

Centrist, but not a moderate. Husker by birth, Beaver believer by practice. Based in the PacNW. Occasionally plays in Peoria. NASCAR fan. TTRPG nerd. Lawyer, fixer, part-time adventurer.

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06.10.2023
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Latest posts by ReluctantCynic @reluctantcynic

The reason we have “stupid rules of engagement” is to make sure we don’t bomb elementary schools.

05.03.2026 23:15 👍 20334 🔁 4949 💬 550 📌 142
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06.03.2026 07:52 👍 10460 🔁 3303 💬 470 📌 164
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WAPO: “.. Since the war began Saturday, Russia has passed Iran the locations of U.S. military assets, including warships and aircraft, said the three officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the matter’s sensitivity.”

@washingtonpost.com
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

06.03.2026 11:14 👍 1822 🔁 1004 💬 206 📌 164
The Head and The Heart - "Rivers & Roads" (The Doe Bay Sessions)
The Head and The Heart - "Rivers & Roads" (The Doe Bay Sessions) YouTube video by soundonthesound

Funny thing about nights like this.

You start thinking about those who used to be part of the room. Not gone exactly… just someplace else now. Different streets. Different lives. But every once in a while something comes on the radio and suddenly they’re with you again.

Mm-hmm.

Let it ride.

06.03.2026 10:52 👍 584 🔁 65 💬 39 📌 11

Hegseth: Media focus on troop deaths is to make Trump “look bad”.

No dude, Americans dying in a war we didn’t want is bad.

Really bad.

05.03.2026 12:18 👍 3204 🔁 768 💬 122 📌 28
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Calling in the Clinton’s in for a closed-door testimony while ignoring other widely implicated individuals is no mistake. This is an active, and massive, cover-up.

05.03.2026 15:18 👍 8140 🔁 2383 💬 239 📌 75

If Trump wants Zelenskyy’s help against drones, I think JD Vance to have to fly to Kiev, and sit in the Ukrainian equivalent of the Oval Office and say, “Thank you.”

05.03.2026 14:08 👍 3089 🔁 643 💬 178 📌 41
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‘Nazi heaven’: Inside Miami campus Republicans’ racist group chat The chat is the subject of a Florida International University police investigation.

Weird how this keeps happening! www.miamiherald.com/news/politic...

05.03.2026 12:59 👍 2701 🔁 638 💬 50 📌 62
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There may be something wrong with me. I find myself agreeing with Marjorie🤪

04.03.2026 20:31 👍 2861 🔁 557 💬 352 📌 37
Moody's Mood For Love (I'm In The Mood For Love)
Moody's Mood For Love (I'm In The Mood For Love) YouTube video by Quincy Jones - Topic

Alright… I’m stepping out.

A few songs tonight started louder than they needed to. Didn’t say sorry for it either. Funny, after a while the room caught up.

Sometimes that’s how it goes. One bold note, and the rest of the band follows.

I’ll leave the last one spinning a few minutes longer.

05.03.2026 10:05 👍 58 🔁 5 💬 1 📌 0

BREAKING: DOJ confirms that 47,635 Epstein files have been removed, per The Independent.

04.03.2026 18:48 👍 4242 🔁 1941 💬 239 📌 100
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Balint to Noem: "You're the secretary of DHS -- for now. And you think you're immune from accountability. But I promise you this: one day he is not gonna be president anymore. And when that day comes, we will still be here. And in hearings like this, we are going to continue to prove your guilt."

04.03.2026 19:13 👍 28114 🔁 7488 💬 1135 📌 677
Tweets about people asking Grok which president told the most lies.

Tweets about people asking Grok which president told the most lies.

Bahahaha. 😁😏

#DJT #DJ6T #FDJ6T #PantsOnFireDJ6T

04.03.2026 20:48 👍 13467 🔁 3444 💬 378 📌 200

James Talarico’s victory in the Texas Democratic Senate primary shows the power of a class-focused political message. His campaign emphasized economic populism and working-class unity rather than traditional Democratic Party messaging or identity politics.

Hopefully, the system doesn't crush him.

04.03.2026 15:10 👍 6328 🔁 728 💬 593 📌 79
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Time-lapse of various species of mushrooms growing

Original post

04.03.2026 04:17 👍 2205 🔁 533 💬 103 📌 59
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NANCY MACE: What is a woman? Have you learned that lesson?

WALZ: I'm the governor of Minnesota. I'm not here to be a prop for your obsession.

04.03.2026 15:50 👍 23544 🔁 4390 💬 2154 📌 811
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A cartoon from the 1950’s that’s more relevant than ever 💔

04.03.2026 14:40 👍 19806 🔁 8386 💬 344 📌 322

I don't expect the President to do only things that are popular. Sometimes its necessary to do things that are unpopular. But you can at least try to lay out your reasons to persuade the public, instead of just telling them they must hate America or something.

02.03.2026 21:58 👍 506 🔁 55 💬 58 📌 5

I miss the good old days, when people said that Trump couldn't be a fascist because a defining feature of fascism is that its leaders inevitably start wars.

03.03.2026 12:41 👍 1085 🔁 179 💬 31 📌 5
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Former Middle East adviser at the US Department of Defense, Jasmine El-Gamal, has it exactly right.

03.03.2026 13:28 👍 5955 🔁 2505 💬 229 📌 182
Screenshot of excerpt from opinion that reads:

"Despite this, the New York courts refused to stay the trial court’s order. After that highly questionable injunction was issued, the applicants filed appeals in both the Appellate Division (the State’s intermediate appellate court) and the Court of Appeals (its highest court) challenging the trial court’s order on federal constitutional grounds. At the same time, applicants asked both courts to stay the trial court’s order. The Appellate Division refused to issue a stay, and by order issued on February 11, the Court of Appeals sent the appeal filed in that court to the Appellate Division and dismissed applicants’ motions for a stay."

Screenshot of excerpt from opinion that reads: "Despite this, the New York courts refused to stay the trial court’s order. After that highly questionable injunction was issued, the applicants filed appeals in both the Appellate Division (the State’s intermediate appellate court) and the Court of Appeals (its highest court) challenging the trial court’s order on federal constitutional grounds. At the same time, applicants asked both courts to stay the trial court’s order. The Appellate Division refused to issue a stay, and by order issued on February 11, the Court of Appeals sent the appeal filed in that court to the Appellate Division and dismissed applicants’ motions for a stay."

With nowhere else to turn, the applicants asked us to issue a stay, and we have jurisdiction to entertain their application. Title 28 U. S. C. §1257(a) gives us jurisdiction to review “[f]inal judgments or decrees” that are rendered by a State’s highest court and adjudicate federal constitutional claims, and the Court of Appeals’ February 11 order falls
within that category.

With nowhere else to turn, the applicants asked us to issue a stay, and we have jurisdiction to entertain their application. Title 28 U. S. C. §1257(a) gives us jurisdiction to review “[f]inal judgments or decrees” that are rendered by a State’s highest court and adjudicate federal constitutional claims, and the Court of Appeals’ February 11 order falls within that category.

1/9: In the New York redistricting case, Justice Alito's justification for why #SCOTUS even had *jurisdiction* to issue a stay is based upon a remarkably misleading portrayal of the state court proceedings.

I realize this is technical, but I wanted to write a short thread to explain the shadiness:

03.03.2026 13:59 👍 1495 🔁 525 💬 39 📌 75

The Epstein class would have you believe that it is necessary to strip away services from 99% of Americans in order to help them gain more wealth. Because somehow that’s good for America? 🤔

03.03.2026 05:50 👍 528 🔁 131 💬 17 📌 5
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New addition to the bookshelf (hi randy)

02.03.2026 18:40 👍 8349 🔁 698 💬 381 📌 101
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Ted Lieu is correct. Our lawmakers should go & look at the unredacted information. Only a very small amount is available yet it horrified him. He is astounded. Our politicians should HAVE to view. Maybe they’d be pushing to investigate & prosecute individuals no matter what their status.

03.03.2026 07:24 👍 99 🔁 56 💬 5 📌 1
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By Tesla's own math, it reveals that its robotaxis are 4x worse at driving than humans, with redactions hiding even more details | Fortune By NHTSA standards, the Tesla Robotaxis are 8x worse than human drivers.

But we were assured* that robo cars were so much safer!!

*by people who would profit from the implementation of robo cars

02.03.2026 19:20 👍 1822 🔁 704 💬 6 📌 53
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Once again, a single cartoon tells more truth that the entire US Congress.

Thanks to Rick McKee for making our current situation easy to understand.

03.03.2026 02:55 👍 8194 🔁 2770 💬 135 📌 76
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Pardoned Jan 6 rioter and Proud Boys member wanted for taking videos of himself touching women’s hair aboard DC trains (New York Post) Authorities are searching for a pardoned Jan. 6 rioter and self-proclaimed white supremacistfrom Maryland who allegedly livestreamed himself touching the hai...

Authorities searching for a pardoned Jan. 6 rioter. He allegedly livestreamed himself touching several unsuspecting women on Metro trains. Bryan Betancur,has an arrest warrant for an assault & battery offense that took place aboard a Silver Line train Sunday evening,
l.smartnews.com/p-7gIwUAgN/Q...

03.03.2026 14:02 👍 24 🔁 16 💬 3 📌 2

Hey.

There’s a coffee ring on my console. It’s by a stack of records with sleeves that don’t match. One’s in the wrong jacket. Keep meaning to fix it.

Yeah...

Some nights feel better a little out of order. A little lived in.

Everything don’t gotta line up tonight.

Needle’s down.

Let it be.

02.03.2026 16:53 👍 839 🔁 53 💬 52 📌 4
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Maybe it’s a bad idea to put people in charge of government who are eager for the rapture.

03.03.2026 12:04 👍 9190 🔁 3883 💬 829 📌 518

FYI Markwayne Mullin is not
A war veteran and never served

03.03.2026 13:05 👍 9680 🔁 2171 💬 632 📌 103