Opening Arguments

We begin with a delightful amuse douche from the lawyer of Colorado election tamperer Tina Peters unconditionally demanding her release from state prison because Donald Trump said so before a deep dive into our main story: an absurdly bad take from the New York Times--in both a lengthy print story and an episode of The Daily podcast--on how Joe Biden’s unwillingness to be a border fascist got a border fascist elected. Matt breaks down the real causes of the uptick in asylum seekers to the U.S. during Biden’s term in office (and its many unreported benefits to the economy and the nation) and provides the full context for the domestic and international law which the Times is openly arguing that Biden should have broken.  You can also catch this episode on YouTube! “How Biden Ignored Warnings and Lost Americans’ Faith on Immigration,” The New York Times, Christopher Flavelle (12/7/2025) “Biden Didn’t Cause the Border Crisis” (Part 1 of 4), David Bier, Cato Institute (1/16/2025) “Effects of the Immigration Surge on the Federal Budget and the Economy,” Congressional Budget Office (July 2024) “Job Openings: Total Nonfarm,” U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (Oct. 2025) Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do!

OA1216 - We welcome incarcerated journalist and advocate Christopher Blackwell, calling from his home at the Washington Corrections Center. Chris is the co-founder and Executive Director of Look2Justice, a non-profit which empowers and advocates currently and formerly incarcerated people through an “inside-out” organizing model. He is also a writer whose work has appeared in (among other places) The New York Times, the Washington Post, The Boston Globe, and The Nation, and is a co-author of the new book Ending Isolation: The Case Against Solitary Confinement. Chris joins to share his story and his own deeply personal perspective on the inhumanity of solitary confinement. Look2Justice’s website Ending Isolation: The Case Against Solitary Confinement, Christopher William Blackwell (Author), Deborah Zalesne (Author), Kwaneta Harris (Contributor), Terry Kupers (Contributor) (September 2025) Christopher Blackwell’s published work in the New York Times Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do!  

OA1215 - We examine why the potential merger of Warner Brothers Discovery with either Netflix or Paramount would almost be certainly illegal under better circumstances before mourning the imminent loss of the independence of the one government agency which is supposed to stop this kind of thing. What exactly is the Federal Trade Commission, and why was destroying it a top priority for Project 2025? We then take a closer look at this week’s oral arguments in Trump v. Slaughter, in which the Supreme Court’s MAGA majority is poised to turn the FTC and dozens of other independent agencies into tools for Trump’s corruption and graft. Finally, in today’s footnote: why is an actual government website hawking the Trump Gold Card, and can the President really just make up a completely new way to give anyone with one million dollars a new path to US citizenship? Trump v. Slaughter oral arguments (12/8/2025) Humphrey’s Executor v. US, 295 US 602 (1935) Federal Trade Commission Act (1914) Rebecca Slaughter’s SCOTUS brief Trumpcard.gov Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do!

VR16 - This week on Vapid Response: it’s the Hat and the Hammer, with the return of both New York Times token religious conservative columnist Ross Doot-hat and Newsweek editor-at-large Josh Hammer. We begin with a savory amuse douche in which a Christian influencer preaches against making policy based on “toxic empathy” before reading  Josh Hammer taking her up on the joke by explaining why the U.S. military has the absolute right to kill anyone Josh Hammer wants dead. Finally, Ross Douthat stops in from whatever planet he has been living on with some advice for the Trump administration on how to be better Christians.

OA1214 - As the end of 2025 approaches, we are finding real cause for hope in how federal courts have been handling the Trump administration’s unprecedented assault on the rule of law. In the first of what will be at least two parts, Matt and Thomas speedrun through just a few of the many wins--both big and small--that we have seen in a wide range of categories. Just Security’s Litigation Tracker  Farewell Messages by Recent DOJ Alumni “The Unraveling of the Justice Department,” Emily Bazelon, The New York Times (11/16/25) Docket for J.G.G. v. Trump (Alien Enemies Act and related contempt litigation) Judge William Young’s decision in AAUP v. Rubio (9/30/25) Injunction blocking Trump asylum EO in RAICES v. Noem (7/2/25)  Injunction blocking ICE from enforcement in certain churches in Philadelphia Yearly Meeting v. Noem (2/24/25) Injunction in Center for Taxpayer Rights v. IRSblocking IRS from sharing taxpayer information with ICE (11/21/25) Injunction in Rhode Island v. Trump blocking EO which would have dismantled the Institute for Museums and Libraries and several other federal agencies (11/21/25) Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do!