Chris

washingtonpost.comTrump fires at least 12 independent inspectors general in late-night purgeThe dismissals could clear the way for the president to install loyalists in the crucial role of identifying fraud, waste and abuse in the government.

25 Jan 2025

I just donated some $$ to folks I thought were doing the best at pushing back lately. If you can, maybe think about doing the same? Each day brings more news -- where will we be at in a month or two? Those doing the most now need the most resources -- so they can lead when things are more dire

David Nakamura@davidnakamura.bsky.social

Breaking: Trump fires at least 12 independent inspectors general in late-night purge www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

40m

did a coffee spit-take -- how is this not a plotline on silicon valley

Dan Kaszeta FRHistS@dankaszeta.bsky.social

Bryan Johnson is a tool

Wow -- MN Center for Fiscal Excellence to shut down after coming session

While their work was sometimes comically bad (eg the 50-state property tax survey), it was one of the few remaining conservative organizations actually doing policy work -- it's a bummer it's no longer a priority Will definitely not miss MN media failing to note their ideological bent / funding tho

Chris reposted

Taniel

@taniel.bsky.social

11h

So far, remarkably high turnout by young Black voters in Georgia. Eye-popping chart.

Dj@djsoke.bsky.social

18k 18-29 voters in GA today, 53% of the same day in 2024, by far the highest %24 day so far. Today only: Black 18-29: 77.3% of 2024 White 18-29 voters in blue ATL counties: 51.9% White 18-29 in the rest of the state: 31.3% Cumulative numbers below

15h

I think about this Tom Tomorrow comic a lot (You should go support him here! thismodernworld.com)

Chris reposted

Marisa Kabas

@marisakabas.bsky.social

18h

Beyond disgusted by even more rape allegations against the President of the United States. "In total, more than 25 different women...have independently accused Donald Trump of rape, sexual assault, or other sexual misconduct." Report w/ new details: democrats-judiciary.house.gov/sites/evo-su...

Chris reposted

hammancheez but spooky

@hammancheez.bsky.social

22h

“Pay no attention to the fascist strongman governments ascending around the world it has nothing to do with us” said the well read well informed scholar of history

flyingrodent@flyingrodent.bsky.social

I think this becomes quite understandable in the context of an international fascist movement that has swept much of the planet in a decade, with horrifying and very extreme consequences for the entire species

theatlantic.comThe DEI Language That’s Doing More Harm Than GoodThose committed to the fight for equal opportunity in hiring should reconsider the movement’s rhetoric, but not the principle that everyone should get a fair shot.

"To meaningfully reduce resentment, grievance, and reactionary identitarianism among young white men, Democrats should adopt rhetoric that unambiguously clarifies a commitment to equal opportunity." is a bonkers sentence www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/...

That's been tough as conservatives repeatedly use law and other means to disempower non-white/male/straight folks (over the past 250 years!). So, it's necessary to affirmatively say "we're committed to folks who've faced this, then and now)

being reactionary to beat reactionarism just helps both. they'll always keep pushing because it's never enough.

Many businesses and organizations want everyone to feel included -- because most generally serve all sorts of ppl (it's good business!) and because a diverse organization has better judgment Sure, there's a morality to it, but there's also a business case

oligarchwatch.substack.comAmazon’s “digital pacifier” for toddlersAmazon released new touchscreen tablets last week marketed specifically for toddlers to use, even as a growing body of pediatric research links such devices to developmental problems, emotional dysreg...

"Kids want a real tablet, not a toy" sounds like a threat oligarchwatch.substack.com/p/amazons-di...

Brett "Solidarity 2026" Banditelli

Ignoring the rule of law destroys democracy, *regardless of motive* Criminal fascists depend on folks wanting to “turn the page" because it weakens the latter's credibility re democracy

Adam Bonica@adambonica.bsky.social

One benefit of holding leaders accountable for crimes is that if Flávio Bolsonaro tries to overturn this election, he knows exactly where he’d end up. In prison, next to his father.

Chris reposted

@banditelli.org

We win when we seek vengeance. www.nytimes.com/live/2026/10...

As a nonprofit focuses less on systemic solutions, wealthy donors will feel more comfortable giving, more conservative DFLers will support your contracts and support, and galas will become almost comically ostentatious

Re the NAZ thing on Saturday: there's a weird irony in making wealth, celebrity, and exclusivity the centerpiece of a celebration devoted to overcoming the consequences of economic inequality Like, it almost seems like a flavor of poverty tourism -- benevolence is not the same as solidarity

ggd.worldRomantic Love is an Under-Rated Driver of Gender EqualityPatriarchy is reinforced by fraternal solidarity. The Athenian demos, German guilds, Tswana kgotla, Chinese imperial dynasties, Muslim Brotherhood and Indian caste panchayats all reinforced male domin...

This is interesting, paired with the misogyny of MAGA + their whole anti-empathy thing www.ggd.world/p/romantic-l...

Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News

It's as if authoritarians deeply intuit that art -- and love -- is a threat because it is inherently uncontrollable

Chris reposted

@froomkin.bsky.social

Foreshadowing the midterms https://apnews.com/article/brazil-election-lula-bolsonaro-runoff-vote-president-e2c9fe8fc4aa3e3675b9a8ec15405d93

apnews.comLula is declared winner of Brazil's election as Bolsonaro rejects resultsFlavio Bolsonaro is refusing to concede defeat to incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who bested him by nearly 4.4 million votes, following a chaotic delay in poll closing times ordered by ...

"We then, at last, will be restored to the primordial American state of nature—free to consume, to pillage, to destroy, to wall out our neighbors, and to hate people for living in shitholes." ~ Gary Greenberg in a 2018 @thebaffler.com piece thebaffler.com/outbursts/am...

The Bulwark@thebulwark.com

Rally speaker: "Mike Rogers is an American. Abdul has a birth certificate. The birth certificate says he's a citizen of America. You know what? a birth certificate doesn't make you an American."

Prophetic stuff. These folks don't care about law and order; order is merely the hook for authoritarianism It's wild how little MAGA talks about policy to improve people's lives -- it's all violence that ensures the precarity of the powerless

if Dems say anything about X in 2028, they will say it on X

Rafa Sales Ross@rafiews.com

In his acceptance speech, Lula says he will work to regulate digital platforms in Brazil. “Digital crimes must be dealt with like real-life crimes.” This comes after Meta directly interfered with the Brazilian elections, favouring Flávio Bolsonaro.

I *really* miss the Soap Factory's Haunted Basement in Minneapolis this time of year It was such a uniquely cool, weird thing ... Part haunted house, part immersive art, and genuinely scary in ways that most haunted houses aren't --

He flatlines and the machine was so damn loud. The nurses blame you because you were late, again I specifically remember them telling me: "His blood is on your hands"

I was taken from the line (and my group) because a VIP experience person didn't show up (or that's what they said?) and probably looked a lot like this as they led me straight into this nightmare

Or my favorite one: you're led onto a dark platform Suddenly, bright floodlights come on & you realize you're on a stage, facing an audience of creepy clowns They point at you in unison & laugh maniacally. The laughter is ear-piercing. You just stand there, not knowing how to leave or make it stop

apparently got this one mostly right. also how was this 16 years ago 🧓 www.fivesenses.com/olfactory-ar...

Ironically, I screamed like a little girl

Anyway, apparently some of the artists are doing something at Crowbar so go check them out hauntedbasement.org

Another one: you enter a study & a telephone starts ringing. You follow a winding, circular path toward an old red phone in the center of a libraryish room It keeps ringing, louder. You finally answer & hear someone say "I'm here." You turn around to find a terrifying little girl right in your face

It was cool because it played on more adult fears -- I probably have some of the details wrong, but I still remember a few of the rooms you'd find yourself in. Here were a couple favs ......

You're led into a room and realize you're in an blindingly bright emergency room -- you see a patient is lying there, and they're bleeding badly Everyone expects you, the doctor, to save him. You're handed way too many surgical tools and have absolutely no idea what you're doing

Chris reposted

Scott Colom

@scolom.bsky.social

Seven months ago, we shocked the world in the primary. In just 10 days, we are going to do it again. It’s winning time.

Chris reposted

Jon Collins

@jcollins.bsky.social

Replying to @atrupar.com

I was just looking at these Census stats. Workforce participation among Somali-American adults in Minnesota is actually higher than the rest of the population.

cambridge.orgStrategic Politicians and the Dynamics of U.S. House Elections, 1946–86 | American Political Science Review | Cambridge CoreStrategic Politicians and the Dynamics of U.S. House Elections, 1946–86 - Volume 83 Issue 3

If you're a politics nerd, this 1989 study is a "fun" read "More high-quality candidates run when prospects appear to favor their party" www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

takeout music discovery paying for someone to take you somewhere democrats

Michael Druker 🇨🇦@mdruker.app

Social media loves talking about how everything is getting worse. But what’s something that you’ve seen get _better_ in your lifetime?

Chris reposted

jamelle

@jamellebouie.net

on some level, this is just a form of anti-politics.

Jake Grumbach@jakemgrumbach.bsky.social

A helpfully clear exchange here Hasan: "So your argument is that [Minnesota ICE protesters] should stay at home because immigration is a salient issue for Donald Trump. Opposing ICE is only going to help Trump. Wait until we win the election in 2028." Yglesias: "Yes that is what I would have said"

Say the US is overthrown by ICE and MAGA in 2028 -- it's interesting how little some publications would actually change under a new regime Axios, Politico, etc would still run similar stories to today

vanityfair.comThe Art of the Deal: Jared Kushner’s Hacked Phone Revealed More Than $700 Million in TransfersAn exclusive excerpt from ‘Princes and Thieves: Jared Kushner and Mohamed bin Zayed’s Secret Plot to Remake the Middle East’ examines how bank accounts linked the president’s son-in-law—and former sen...

Instructive what publications would be most threatened, too -- ProPublica, etc

Chris reposted

Chris Hayes

@chrislhayes.bsky.social

This is one of the most holy sh*t stories I’ve ever read in my life. www.vanityfair.com/story/jared-...

run these sorts of posts as ads, please

Radley Balko@radleybalko.bsky.social

Democrats should really feature these creeps their extensive ties to this administration.

ft.com‘I don’t lose’: Rahm Emanuel makes an early pitch for the White HouseBarack Obama’s famously foul-mouthed former chief of staff thinks he has a message to win over America

He really knits together several constituencies People writing these articles + Third Way and that's about it

Heather Cherone@heathercherone.bsky.social

Ctrl-F “Laquan McDonald” <Not found>

semafor.comExclusive: Elon Musk makes $1 billion investment in Ellison’s SkydanceSkydance has tapped equity investments from an array of sources, including Middle East sovereign wealth funds.

Dems need to take social media and media policy seriously. Without it, nothing else can get done.

Justin Baragona@justinbaragona.bsky.social

What we all knew was coming has finally begun www.semafor.com/article/10/2...

Chris reposted

functional moron

@fiveburger.bsky.social

well i have a sickness so i made a thing

Chris reposted

Jared Holt

@jaredlholt.bsky.social

The head of TPUK, the British offshoot of TPUSA, was caught on undercover video talking about hiring a hitman to carry out violence against opponents. That hitman met with undercover reporters to show them guns and talk about ways of hurting people. Insane story. www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/10...

aljazeera.comParamilitary hitman linked to British right-wing group Turning Point UKAl Jazeera exposes Turning Point UK, a far-right British group to criminal underworld, including member of the Ulster Volunteer Force.

The second link re Neil Bush is ... worth a read

Chris@chris-hhh.bsky.social

His online record has been scrubbed a bit since then, but he was absolutely known as the quirky Billy Carter/Roger Clinton-like brother back in the early 2000s www.washingtonpost.com/archive/life... This story is ... odd www.theguardian.com/world/2003/n...

Crazy how 1980s nostalgia AI videos are already targeted at millennials (the "come join us" ones) & are reactionaryish ("we didn't need screens," etc) I asked ChatGPT what our version of boomer reactionary AI stuff might be in 2050, suggesting some issues. The framing's okay; still looks terrible

This post is unavailable.