Michael Benton

Michael Benton

@mdbento.bsky.social

Native San Diegan. Humanities professor Kentucky (Film Studies, Peace/Conflict Studies, and Writing/Rhetoric). Think, share & live fully - stay awake, stay wild, inspire others! Anti-Authoritarian, Dialogic, Nemophilist, Radical Democracy, Wanderer/Wondere

1K followers4K following627 posts

Michael Benton reposted

Ross Sayers
@rosssayers.bsky.social

[James Stewart as Odysseus] now listen here, Agamemnon, I'm going home, y'see. You keep your fancy armour, I'm getting off this crummy ol' beach. [Spotting the Cyclops] now here's a curious fella, he's only got one peeper

Michael Benton reposted

Robert Reich
@rbreich.bsky.social

Under Trump, labor force participation is collapsing as stable, well-paying jobs become harder and harder to find. Meanwhile, inflation keeps surging and wiping out wage growth. He's running the economy just like he ran his businesses — right into the ground.

cnbc.comU.S. economy unexpectedly lost 23,000 jobs in July Nonfarm payrolls were projected to increase by 83,000 in July while the unemployment rate would hold steady at 4.2%, acc

Michael Benton reposted

Rep. Ro Khanna
@khanna.house.gov

Today, I'm introducing the first-ever Data Center Bill of Rights. Communities deserve the right to reject data centers, protect their water, keep electricity bills down, and prevent states from shoving data centers down their throats.

Michael Benton reposted

Bill Kristol
@billkristolbulwark.bsky.social

An important and infuriating report on the mistreatment of transgender service members who have served our country honorably, because Trump and Hegseth are bigots, because Congress won't stand up for these troops, and because the rest of the military follows orders. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/03/u...

nytimes.comInside the Secretive Boards Deciding Trans Troops’ FateThe Pentagon is relying on closed-door hearings to kick out transgender service members. An Army Reserve lawyer is one of the few who have seen how they really work.

Michael Benton reposted

Sophie's Friends
@aurawellnesscenter.bsky.social

🤣The Enemy Within! 🐸 Secret ANTIFA training video of Ferret Team 6 preparing for the reflective pool. Who hired them? Did they get paid in crypto? 💰 Where are they training now? 😼

Michael Benton reposted

@NewsJennifer (Jennifer Schulze)
@newsjennifer.bsky.social

On the same day that David Ellison claims he's not putting his finger on the scale, there's this: "CBS’s 60 Minutes had the scoop on Jeffrey Epstein’s sketchy financials—before the Bari Weiss–run network fired the reporter fronting the investigation."

The New Republic@newrepublic.com

Banks permitted millions in suspicious transactions tied to Epstein—and former 60 Minutes correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi had the story months ago. But the report would never air. trib.al/ZShZlIS

Michael Benton reposted

MeidasTouch
@meidastouch.com

Trump threatens to pull Todd Blanche’s nomination rather than give up provisions shielding him from IRS audits and giving away billions in taxpayer funds to insurrectionists and fraudsters

meidasnews.comTrump Threatens to Pull Blanche Nomination Rather Than Give Up IRS Immunity and “Slush Fund”The president lashed out at Republican senators blocking Todd Blanche’s confirmation as attorney general, as the fight increasingly centers on demands that the White House put in writing that Trump ca...

Michael Benton reposted

Senator Patty Murray
@murray.senate.gov

If you're wondering what party will help you keep your Social Security benefits and which one is trying to take them away, this is a Republican on the Senate floor TODAY:

Michael Benton reposted

Micah
@rincewind.run

there remains no subject on which elite consensus is so incredibly behind the voters than views of Israel and Bibi this is I think actually worse in punditry than in Dem electeds, who are at least starting to get the message via primary signaling

Prem Thakker ツ@premthakker.bsky.social

New poll: Americans believe the U.S. should arrest Benjamin Netanyahu by a +22 margin Total: 49-27 Black: 53-13 Hispanic: 52-15 Ages 18-29: 58-17 Harris voters: 74-10 Independents: 55-20 23% of Trump voters agree as well Economist/YouGov:

Michael Benton reposted

Noah Shachtman
@noahshachtman.bsky.social

NEW: DHS' top number-cruncher just left the department -- and blasted the administration's "war on immigrants" on the way out. He's one of the very few DHS officials to step down and speak out publicly against this White House. Me in @wired.com ... www.wired.com/story/dhs-of...

wired.comDHS Official Resigns, Citing ‘War on Immigrants’The outgoing executive director of the Office of Homeland Security Statistics is one of very few federal officials to speak out against the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
Michael Benton
@mdbento.bsky.social

Daniel Kraus' new book arrived today - I'm looking at it as a starter text for a course on milestone genre films from this film to the present: letterboxd.com/journal/part...

letterboxd.comPartially Devoured: Daniel Kraus on digging into Night of the Living Dead and unearthing the legacy of an undead classic • Journal • A Letterboxd MagazinePulitzer Prize-winning author Daniel Kraus tells Dan Mecca why the enduring horror film at the center of his new book was so deserving of his deeply personal, frame-by-frame analysis.

Michael Benton reposted

Ronda Kaysen
@rondakaysen.bsky.social

I’ve been covering housing legislation since January. It seemed unlikely that Congress could muscle through the biggest piece of housing legislation in 36 years, and yet it did. This is the story of how it happened. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/25/u...

nytimes.comHow a Housing Bill Trump Spurned Became Law (Gift Article)Despite partisan differences, intraparty feuds and the president’s lack of interest, Congress delivered the first major housing bill in a generation.