Ashton Pittman
@ashtonpittman.bsky.social
Today my family unexpectedly had to say goodbye to our baby Jackson after 9 years.
I'll miss the sound of him excitedly playing with his squeaky balls and him pawing at me to run under his neck, and wanting to join me on the porch in a warm breeze.
He was the goodest boy. ❤️🐾
NEW: Former Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant is suing Sports Illustrated’s former publisher and a reporter of defaming him in a new lawsuit over a May 2023 report about Mississippi’s sprawling welfare scandal and his connection to Brett Favre.
www.mississippifreepress.org/42158/ex-gov...
Bryant Sues Sports Illustrated Over Welfare Scandal Reporting
Former Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant is accusing Sports Illustrated’s former publisher and a former reporter of defaming him in a new lawsuit over a May 2023 report about Mississippi’s sprawling welfar...
www.mississippifreepress.orgIt worries me that, 9 years in, there's a whole generation of young voters coming up who have only ever known Trumpian dysfunction as normal, ordinary, everyday politics.
I will say one thing, RFK is definitely an ivermectin candidate.
Dear God, this is a real tweet from a real congressman. I was making fun of RFK Jr.'s brain works too, but...
Netanyahu is a monster.
Why are we funding this slaughter of innocents?
Congressman Mike Collins, R-Ga., praised the video in which a white fraternity student made monkey noises and gestures toward a Black woman who was protesting in support of Palestine.
"Ole Miss taking care of business," he wrote.
www.mississippifreepress.org/41943/congre...
Congressman Praises Clip of UM Frat Student’s Monkey Gestures
U.S. House Rep. Mike Collins, R-Georgia, praised a video that showed a University of Mississippi student making monkey gestures at a Black woman.
www.mississippifreepress.org
The University of Mississippi student who made the monkey noises at a Black woman has been kicked out of his fraternity.
Phi Delta Theta announced his removal today.
Earlier, the UM NAACP called on UM to expel Phi Delta Theta member JP Staples.
NEW: As students protested for Palestine, the ghosts of the Ole Miss's racist past rose again.
One white man made monkey-like sounds at a Black woman who supported Palestine while his compatriots chanted, “Lock her up!” and "Lizzo! Lizzo! Lizzo!" at her.
www.mississippifreepress.org/41910/as-stu...
As Students Protest For Gaza, Ghosts of UM’s Past Rise Again
A styrofoam cup full of icewater flew out of the hands of a counterprotestor and across the partly cloudy sky toward a group of pro-Palestine protesters at the University of Mississippi on Thursday, m...
www.mississippifreepress.org
NEW: As students protested for Palestine, the ghosts of the Ole Miss's racist past rose again.
One white man made monkey-like sounds at a Black woman who supported Palestine while his compatriots chanted, “Lock her up!” and "Lizzo! Lizzo! Lizzo!" at her.
www.mississippifreepress.org/41910/as-stu...
As Students Protest For Gaza, Ghosts of UM’s Past Rise Again
A styrofoam cup full of icewater flew out of the hands of a counterprotestor and across the partly cloudy sky toward a group of pro-Palestine protesters at the University of Mississippi on Thursday, m...
www.mississippifreepress.org
BREAKING: Medicaid expansion won't happen this year in Mississippi.
Senators rejected the House GOP's proposal to put it on the ballot before voters.
The GOP Senate still demands expansion be tethered to work requirements that the federal government likely won't approve. #MSLeg
NEW: Mississippi Democrats could tank the Medicaid expansion bill, which they call "Medicaid expansion in name only."
GOP senators say expansion may only happen if Trump wins because the bill ties expansion to federal approval of work requirements.
www.mississippifreepress.org/41822/missis...
Democrats Could Tank Medicaid Expansion Bill, Leader Warns
Mississippi Democrats could kill a Republican-led Medicaid expansion plan that may not pass federal muster, the Senate minority leader warned.
www.mississippifreepress.org
NEW: Mississippi Democrats could tank the Medicaid expansion bill, which they call "Medicaid expansion in name only."
GOP senators say expansion may only happen if Trump wins because the bill ties expansion to federal approval of work requirements. msleg
www.mississippifreepress.org/41822/missis...
Democrats Could Tank Medicaid Expansion Bill, Leader Warns
Mississippi Democrats could kill a Republican-led Medicaid expansion plan that may not pass federal muster, the Senate minority leader warned.
www.mississippifreepress.org
NEW: Mississippi lawmakers killed two anti-trans bills after failing to reach an agreement.
That includes a bill that would have banned trans people from using bathrooms that match their gender identity and a bill codifying binary sex as defined at birth.
Anti-Trans Bathroom, Sex Bills Die in Mississippi Legislature
Efforts to curtail the rights of transgender Mississippians died, including bathroom restrictions and a bill to define sex as binary under state law.
www.mississippifreepress.org
So they removed some college students from Columbia's campus.
But guess what?
Israel's government is still carrying out a genocide in Gaza and American taxpayers are helping fund it.
One thing the responses to these campus protests make clear is that a lot of liberals are quite illiberal.
If your university campus never has protests, then it's a corporate mill for churning out obedient little worker bees—not an institution of higher learning.
NEW: Medicaid expansion in Mississippi could hinge on former President Donald Trump winning the November 2024 election despite dozens of criminal charges under a Senate compromise plan, a Mississippi Senate GOP leader says.
The plan requires work requirements, which the Biden admin won't approve.
Medicaid Expansion Could Hinge on Trump Win Under Senate Plan
The fate of health care for thousands of Mississippians could depend on former President Donald Trump winning November’s presidential election despite dozens of felony charges under a Medicaid expansi...
www.mississippifreepress.org
I love that Taylor Swift wrote songs criticizing obsessive fans who get up on a moral high-horse trying to control her personal life and her personal choices... and a lot of fundamentalist Christians and evangelicals mistook it as an attack on them. 💀
www.christianpost.com/news/taylor-...
Taylor Swift's new album draws criticism from Christian leaders who say it mocks God, Christians
Taylor Swift s new album, The Tortured Poets Department, has garnered criticism from faith leaders who have taken to social media this week to express their distaste with the lyrical content that ...
www.christianpost.comI WOULD LOVE IF NETANYAHU WOULD STOP TRYING TO SPARK WORLD WAR III.
If any jury should ever be sequestered, surely it should be the jury in the first presidential trial in history? #TrumpTrial
Thanks! Really interested in accounts live posting on court news live and about courts generally. Trump's trials for sure, but also circuit courts, the Supreme Court, etc.
The mainstream media's obsession with finding balance in inherently unbalanced things fails people and fails democracy.
There are not two equal sides to every story. We must prioritize truth over false false balance. Our job is to inform, not to offer both sides a choose-your-own-adventure buffet.
At NPR... "I and a couple of other editorial leaders were encouraged to make sure that any coverage of a Trump lie was matched with a story about a lie from Hillary Clinton. Another colleague asked what to do if one candidate just lied more than the other."
Silence. slate.com/business/202...
NPR Is a Mess. But “Wokeness” Isn’t the Problem.
The real story behind the public broadcaster’s woes.
slate.com
I don't post on BlueSky enough and need to rectify that.
So follow me if you're here for news, and recommend me the best news accounts to follow please.
Really interested in accounts that live-skeet news on here. (We still skeet here, right?)
This thread is amazing.
More Manhattan nightmares in Trump jury selection: Potential juror B354 lives in NoMad, his friends all work in finance, and he's an occasional Barstool Sports listener (via Tyler McBrien, Lawfare)
Trump gets in trouble for muttering audibly at a juror.
NEW: Brett Favre questioned the legality of $1.1 million he received in TANF welfare funds, new texts show.
“Is the money I was paid 100% legal for the radio commercials?” he wrote in May 2020.
"Yes, it was," indicted nonprofit director Nancy New assured him.
Texts: Favre Questioned Legality of Welfare Funds He Received
Retired NFL star Brett Favre questioned the legality of $1.1 million in payments he received from a state-affiliated nonprofit, texts show.
www.mississippifreepress.org
NEW: Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves declared April 2024 as Confederate Heritage Month in Mississippi, keeping alive a tradition that began in 1993.
Beauvoir, the historic home of Confederate President Jefferson Davis, announced this year's proclamation.
www.mississippifreepress.org/41270/govern...
Reeves Proclaims Confederate Heritage Month in Mississippi
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves declared April 2024 as Confederate Heritage Month in Mississippi, keeping alive a tradition that began in 1993.
www.mississippifreepress.org
Trump's criminal trial has begun in New York.
Here's what to know so far about the first day of the first criminal trial of an ex-president in U.S. history.
www.mississippifreepress.org/41266/trumps...
Trump’s Criminal Hush-Money Trial Begins in New York
Donald Trump arrived in New York for jury selection in his hush-money trial, the start of the first criminal trial of an ex-president in U.S. history.
www.mississippifreepress.orgOk but where can I buy the records they were selling? That's one 🔥 playlist.
NEW: Nearly a year after a police officer shot 11-year-old Aderrien Murry, a Sunflower County prosecuting attorney is citing the shooting as a reason to terminate his mother's custody rights to him and his two siblings.
A grand jury declined to indict the officer in December.
Mother’s Custody In Danger After Officer Shot 11-Year-Old Son
A Sunflower County, Miss., woman could lose custody rights to her children nearly a year after an Indianola police officer shot her 11-year-old son.
www.mississippifreepress.orgNEW: After discovering that some officials in Mississippi and across the country were keeping unidentified bodies for "personal collections" and refusing to return them, Pascagoula Lt. Darren Versiga began pushing for a law to regulate how remains are handled.
Cold Cases, Officials Keeping Bodies Spurred Push For New Law
Pascagoula Police Lt. Darren Versiga said he began pushing for a new law to regulate how officials handle bodies after digging into cold cases.
www.mississippifreepress.org
NEW: The Mississippi Senate stripped out the House Medicaid expansion bill and replaced it with one that could cost the State millions more while covering less people.
"This is not Obamacare" but "a very responsible and conservative bill," a senator said.
Senate Medicaid Expansion Plan Could Cost More to Cover Fewer
The Mississippi Senate’s Medicaid expansion plan, which passed Thursday, could cost the State more money to cover fewer people.
www.mississippifreepress.orgWhen fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and selling a $60 Bible.
Kadarius Smith, 17, died after a Leland, Mississippi, police officer chased and ran him over in a police crusier, his family is alleging through attorney Ben Crump.
The family says he was walking home with friends when it happened.
www.mississippifreepress.org/40860/black-...
17-Year-Old Dies After Officer Ran Him Over, Family Alleges
Kadarius Smith, a Black 17-year-old, died after a Leland, Miss., police officer ran him over in a police cruiser, attorney Ben Crump says.
www.mississippifreepress.org
Donald Trump's first criminal trial will begin on Tax Day—April 15, 2024.
www.mississippifreepress.org/40795/trumps...
Trump's New York Hush Money Trial Set for April 15 - Mississippi Free Press
Former President Donald Trump will stand trial starting April 15 on charges related to hush money payments to cover up claims of marital infidelity.
www.mississippifreepress.org
A Mississippi sheriff's deputy who was involved in the hours-long torture of two Black men, including one he shot in the mouth, was sentenced to 20 years in prison in a Jackson court this morning.
The other five members of the Rankin County "goon squad" will be sentenced between today and Thursday:
Rankin Deputy Who Shot, Tortured Black Men Gets 20 Years
A judge sentenced former Rankin County deputy Hunter Elward for his role in the torture of two Black men, including one he shot in the mouth.
www.mississippifreepress.org
Russia is not having an election.
Russia is having a coronation dressed up as an election to give it a thin veneer of democratic legitimacy.
But it is not an election.
And this could soon be America's future, too.
Russia is not having an election.
Russia is having a coronation dressed up as an election to give it a thin veneer of democratic legitimacy.
But it is not an election.
And this could soon be America's future, too.
These rulings affect real lives and take rights away from real people.
What a bubble these people live in.
Liberal Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor and conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett are headlining joint public appearances to make the case for disagreeing more agreeably at a time when the country is more polarized than ever and public opinion of the Supreme Court is at historic lows.
The Supreme Court seems bitterly divided. Two justices say otherwise.
Liberal Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor and conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett have taken their friendship onstage to encourage civil public discourse.
wapo.st
NEW: Mississippi voters in dozens of precincts could be sent to the wrong polling place for Tuesday's primaries.
We found that the State had incorrect, missing or incomplete information for the locations and addresses of 90 polling places in the database the polling place locator relies on.
Mississippi Election Officials Move 10 Voting Precincts
Mississippi election officials moved at least 10 voting precincts ahead of the Tuesday, March 12, 2024, primaries.
www.mississippifreepress.orgNEW: Jackson Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba is blasting efforts for the State of Mississippi to take over Jackson's water system once federal oversight ends, calling it part of "an effort to seize control of a Black city."
Jackson Water Takeover ‘Should Be Shut Down,’ Mayor Says
Jackson Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba called renewed efforts for a state takeover of Jackson’s water system an “effort to seize control of a Black city.”
www.mississippifreepress.org