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Posts by Brian Mackey

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A staggering statement from former Washington Post editor Marty Baron: "This ranks among the darkest days in the history of one of the world's greatest news organizations."

2 months ago 7500 2655 232 227
Surviving CECOT (full documentary) | Deported to a Maximum-Security Prison | FRONTLINE + ProPublica
Surviving CECOT (full documentary) | Deported to a Maximum-Security Prison | FRONTLINE + ProPublica YouTube video by FRONTLINE PBS | Official

Now seems like a swell time to point out that Frontline just released this excellent 11-minute mini-documentary about what happened inside CECOT.

3 months ago 12933 7014 98 242
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Jared Golden: I won’t seek reelection. Here’s why. "What I could accomplish in this increasingly unproductive Congress pales in comparison to what I could do in that time as a husband, a father and a son."

"I don’t fear losing. What has become apparent to me is that I now dread the prospect of winning."

5 months ago 0 0 0 0
A black and white pic of a tall domed courthouse

A black and white pic of a tall domed courthouse

Fulton County Courthouse in Lewistown, not far from one of our state’s more famous cemeteries. I had the great honor speaking with @brianmackey.com on @21st.show yesterday about some central Illinois gravesites. Link below!

5 months ago 10 1 1 0
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At Broadview ICE facility, federal agents hurl tear gas and pepper spray at protesters blocking vans Federal agents hurled tear gas and pepper spray into a crowd of about 100 protesters who attempted to block vans from entering and exiting a U.S. Immigration and Customs holding facility in Broadvi…

At Broadview ICE facility, federal agents hurl tear gas and pepper spray at protesters blocking vans www.chicagotribune.com/2025/09/19/t...

7 months ago 2543 920 61 201
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Hostile government takeover: D.C. edition President Donald Trump's police takeover and surge of federal forces is disrupting life in big ways and small for District residents. He wants the same thing for people in other cities too.

Stark dispatch from Washington by my friend @danvock.bsky.social:

7 months ago 3 1 0 0

it does feel like a rubicon being passed today but does anyone remember the arson at the house of the most prominent jewish elected leader in america

like

two months ago

10 months ago 436 85 9 2

Tuned into the White Sox game in the bottom of the 8th. Score was 2–2, and within a few minutes the Sox were up 7–2.

Last night I tuned into the end of the NBA Finals, and Indiana went up for the first time in the entire game with 0.3 seconds to go.

Any other sports teams I can help out tonight?

10 months ago 1 0 0 0
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This is shocking.

I directly worked on designing the integration and protections of CityKey. It was designed to provide an ID, be a transit card, library and discount card.

It was to *never* create a digital record while being compatible with state and city laws. Subpoena-proof.

10 months ago 88 37 4 1
The sole question presented here is whether
Petitioners, as federal candidates, have pleaded
sufficient factual allegations to show Article III
standing to challenge state time, place, and manner
regulations concerning their federal elections.

The sole question presented here is whether Petitioners, as federal candidates, have pleaded sufficient factual allegations to show Article III standing to challenge state time, place, and manner regulations concerning their federal elections.

And finally (for now), SCOTUS will consider Bost v. Illinois whether federal candidates have standing to challenge state laws that count late-arriving ballots postmarked by Election Day. Not the merits (yet), just the standing question. www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/24...

10 months ago 80 24 4 2

This is such a good example of "turn every page" journalism - nothing less fun/glam than clicking through every footnote.

And it's roughly 10,000x more newsy than the thumbsucker RFK profiles reported with big travel budgets.

10 months ago 4352 944 87 29
A New Yorker cartoon by Bruce Eric Kaplan shows a man alone in a living room, talking on the phone. The caption reads: “Just sitting here waiting for Facebook to go away.”

A New Yorker cartoon by Bruce Eric Kaplan shows a man alone in a living room, talking on the phone. The caption reads: “Just sitting here waiting for Facebook to go away.”

11 months ago 4 0 0 0

Update: Journalism has been purchased by a hedge fund which announced multiple amputations

11 months ago 431 54 6 0

Good question and fair points. Thanks for the detailed (and sincere!) response.

11 months ago 1 0 0 0
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No Evidence Rahm Emanuel Covered Up Police Murder of Laquan McDonald: Former Watchdog The full U.S. Senate is set to consider Rahm Emanuel’s nomination to serve as President Joe Biden’s ambassador — but if the former Chicago mayor is confirmed, it will happen without the support of at ...

Sincere question: Do you think former Inspector General Joe Ferguson lied to the Senate on behalf of Emanuel?

“There is a complete absence of factual basis to support the claim that Mayor Emanuel was involved directly or indirectly in a ‘cover-up’ of the McDonald shooting videos,” he wrote.

11 months ago 0 0 1 0
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Pope Leo spotted on the 2005 World Series broadcast

11 months ago 8557 1603 148 497
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So the pope is a White Sox fan - Sox Machine In his autobiography, Bill Veeck wrote, “If there is any justice in this world, to be a White Sox fan frees a man from any form of penance.” Now that a White Sox fan is literally the pope, I guess we’...

Great short essay on Pope Leo, the White Sox, and the Beatitudes, by @soxmachine.com:

"While I'd known at some level that every pope is a person [...] it didn't resonate like seeing a picture of the person who is now pope wearing a White Sox jersey in the stands of U.S. Cellular Field."

11 months ago 4 1 0 0
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So the pope is a White Sox fan - Sox Machine In his autobiography, Bill Veeck wrote, “If there is any justice in this world, to be a White Sox fan frees a man from any form of penance.” Now that a White Sox fan is literally the pope, I guess we’...

Wrote about the pope being a White Sox fan. It's pretty crazy! soxmachine.com/2025/05/so-t...

11 months ago 33 13 4 5
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Cardinal Robert Prevost (center, blue shirt) visited the flagship @AureliosPizza location in Homewood in August with friends and family. Who could've imagined what would happen less than a year later! wgntv.com/news/robert-...

11 months ago 301 50 7 37
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"This is Hawk Harrelson with Ed Farmer and the Pope at US Cellular and this is the 2005 World Series..."

11 months ago 375 44 25 5
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The White Sox, Aurelio's Pizza and St. Mary's Mass: A South Sider becomes pope Robert Prevost’s Catholic roots were planted in Chicago’s south suburbs, where he lived in Dolton and attended St. Mary’s parish before becoming Pope Leo XIV.

Please have your first draft of history here, via half the Tribune and captained by @stacystclair.bsky.social
That was a fun day at work. www.chicagotribune.com/2025/05/08/r...

11 months ago 14 5 1 0

Anyway, Illinois' only statewide public radio talk show will be talking about Illinois' only pope — so be sure to join us at 11 a.m. Friday on the @21st.show (or wherever you get your podcasts).

11 months ago 3 6 0 1

And here I thought Chicago media reached peak “area man” stories in the Obama era.

11 months ago 5 3 1 0
Shortfilm Wim Wenders: The Keys to Freedom
Shortfilm Wim Wenders: The Keys to Freedom YouTube video by AuswaertigesAmtDE

"It is now up to us to take the keys to freedom into our own hands."

11 months ago 2 0 0 0

Implement a 100% tariff and ruin a movie.

The Cook, the Thief, His Wife, Her Lover, Their Accountant, His Shipping Agent, Our Trade Representative, & an Unemployed Longshoreman (1989)

11 months ago 13 1 2 1

Also worth noting the wisdom in one of the comments:

“Don’t accept criticism from someone that you wouldn’t accept advice from.”

11 months ago 2 0 0 0
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‘I Have Cancer,’ the TikTok Star Said. Then Came the Torrent of Hate. Sydney Towle’s videos have drawn an enormous audience on TikTok, where her followers praise and support her. On Reddit, an army of skeptics was determined to paint her as a fraud.

One heck of a fact-check story by @katierosman.bsky.social. Somehow manages to be heartwarming, heartbreaking, affirming and dispiriting — often in adjoining paragraphs. Be prepared for a rollercoaster.

11 months ago 0 0 1 0
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Driver of deadly crash at after-school camp is a former State Police employee Four children died and six were injured after a car crashed into a Chatham after-school center on Monday.

Thorough follow-up reporting from @capitolnewsil.bsky.social.

Illinois State Police says “this does not appear to be a targeted attack,” but we’re still waiting for an explanation of what it was.

11 months ago 4 0 0 0

Update from the Illinois State Police, 5:16 a.m.:

“The driver and sole occupant of the vehicle was uninjured and transported to an area hospital for evaluation. ​ Toxicology reports are pending. ​ The cause of the crash remains under investigation, but this does not appear to be a targeted attack.”

11 months ago 1 1 1 0

Update from the Illinois State Police, 5:16 a.m.:

“The driver and sole occupant of the vehicle was uninjured and transported to an area hospital for evaluation. ​Toxicology reports are pending. ​The cause of the crash remains under investigation, but this does not appear to be a targeted attack.“

11 months ago 2 1 0 0