Skotty Skeets
@erstwhilecon.bsky.social
720 followers 830 following 2.4K posts
"The greatest mistake is to imagine that the human being is an autonomous individual. The secret freedom which you can supposedly enjoy under a despotic government is nonsense, because your thoughts are never entirely your own." — Orwell, April 28, 1944
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erstwhilecon.bsky.social
This is an older post. But it is vital that you understand a little about autism—especially as the lunatics running the country are spreading dangerous disinformation and ignorance.
zingherpolisci.bsky.social
Autistic traits are genetic and exist across every single human population, which means they had already evolved before Homo Sapiens migrated out of Africa. Autistic traits exist because they conferred our ancestors an evolutionary advantage due to its association with systematic thinking. 1/x
atrupar.com
RFK Jr: "By September we will know what has caused the autism epidemic and we will be able to eliminate those exposures."
erstwhilecon.bsky.social
People can keep saying this or that move by Tr-mp is "illegal," but what is legal and illegal is underdetermined--and it may not matter anyway, ultimately.

Because these fascists will soon be making their own laws as they go along.
citizensforethics.org
Permanently cutting funding that Congress has allocated is illegal under the Impoundment Control Act—whether it's during a government shutdown or not.
atrupar.com
Trump: "We'll be making cuts that will be permanent. And we're only going to cut Democrat programs. I hate to tell you."
erstwhilecon.bsky.social
Or any day, unless you have a plan to bring down the developing fascist regime.
Reposted by Skotty Skeets
emptywheel.bsky.social
One thing @govpritzker.illinois.gov does here, which WE ALL need to do more often, is lead with Trump's crimes.

A sex assaulted fraudster serial felon who freed HUNDREDS of cop assailants--and some terrorists--on his first day is trying to claim Democrats are criminals.
govpritzker.illinois.gov
If you come for my people, you come through me.
erstwhilecon.bsky.social
I love me some Bernie most of the time. But, damn, this seems way too respectful for the moment.
sanders.senate.gov
Adelita Grijalva won her election fair and square.

Now House Speaker Mike Johnson is refusing to swear her in because she would be the final signature to release the Epstein files.

Mr. Speaker, respect democracy. Obey the law. Swear Representative Grijalva in immediately.
erstwhilecon.bsky.social
It doesn't make it easier now that they identify themselves as stupid ass fascists, but it could come in handy when--if--we ever get the government back.
erstwhilecon.bsky.social
The stupidest fascists in history.
erstwhilecon.bsky.social
If he ain't talking or tweeting or stealing, he has no reason to stay awake.
atrupar.com
Trump is fighting sleep during this antifa roundtable and sleep is gaining the upper hand
erstwhilecon.bsky.social
THIS is the way Democrats ought to be talking, goddamit.
acyn.bsky.social
McGovern: Republicans love to advocate for more work requirements for poor people… Let's have a work requirement for Republicans to show up to congress and do your god damn job.
erstwhilecon.bsky.social
Governor Pritzker says this frequently: the reason Tr-mp is sending troops into cities is to normalize their presence and STEAL elections.

And he should say it more often.

And every elected Democrat should say the same thing.

Every day.
Every event.
Every interview.
atrupar.com
Pritzker: "He wants to militarize major cities because he wants us to get used to the idea of troops on the streets. I believe he's gonna post people outside of polling places and if he needs to in order to control those elections, he'll assume control of the ballot boxes & count the votes himself"
erstwhilecon.bsky.social
Just turned on MSNBC and it was 36 minutes into the hour before this fascist statement came up--and that was because a nutty John Kasich said Democrats in Oregon and Illinois simply needed to "talk" to Tr-mp.

Fascist talk of arrests and jailing of political opponents are 3rd segment stories now.
erstwhilecon.bsky.social
"What will it take for Republicans in Congress to speak out?"

What will it take for Democrats to stop waiting on "Republicans in Congress to speak out?"

THEY WON'T.

How about getting pissed off during hearings? How about telling Pam Bondi to her face that she's the most corrupt AG ever? Come on
schiff.senate.gov
Another day.

Another presidential threat to jail two of his political opponents.

What will it take for Republicans in Congress to speak out?

While we still have a democracy left.
erstwhilecon.bsky.social
Starving kids in Myanmar, sadly, are no match for the delusion that MAGA voters have about their own grievance-based hatred: THEY are the real victims in all this.
erstwhilecon.bsky.social
This is true, of course. And there appears to be no way to combat it.

The splintering of news outlets and the advent of "independent" journalism cannot solve this problem partlybbecause it appears impossible to coordinate some kind of "you take this issue and I'll take this issue" response.
joycewhitevance.bsky.social
This administration is flooding the zone so furiously that people have largely lost track of the lethal attacks on boats in the Caribbean, the gov’t shutdown, the economy, failed release of the Epstein files & so much else. It’s a tactic of would-be strongmen.
erstwhilecon.bsky.social
This is unfuckingbelievable. JFC.
erstwhilecon.bsky.social
The sad thing about it is that there are a large number of teachers who want to help him.

One thing we have to admit is that moneyed and reactionary actors in our country have successfully turned a crucial number of workers against unions.
erstwhilecon.bsky.social
Lying Josh Hawley knows Catholic Joe Biden and the FBI don't hate Catholics.

But he knows the MAGA base will believe his lies because they want to believe them.

A more cynical/dishonest "Christian" you will not find--because he's not a sick man like Tr-mp; he's just a lying, scheming opportunist.
juliedicaro.bsky.social
I’m just now catching up on Josh Hawley, whose existence I try to forget daily, but ….what??
As Hawley told Bondi, “This isn't hypothetical. This isn't maybe. What will you do in the future? This isn't ‘Oh, gee, can you imagine a situation?’ This happened. This happened and this happened. The targeting of Catholics in this country, because Joe Biden and his FBI didn't like Catholics,” MSNBC host Anna Cabrera cut in.
erstwhilecon.bsky.social
My senator, Josh Hawley, of course knows what tapping a phone actually means.

But he also knows that MAGA voters don't know--and will believe him because they're primed to believe the worst about Biden and Democrats.

This dishonest bastard is, though, a Christian in good standing, apparently.
dbernstein.bsky.social
Josh Hawley, Yale Law School ‘06, Missouri Attorney General 2017-2019, pretending he doesn’t know what tapping a phone means
Reposted by Skotty Skeets
gtconway.bsky.social
Love this. Superbly done. Please send this far and wide. @donwinslow.bsky.social
erstwhilecon.bsky.social
These people profoundly misunderstand human nature.

If the idea starts circulating widely that furloughed workers will get fcked, in time more critical workers like air traffic controllers will assume they may get fcked, too.

At that point, you should probably drive everywhere you go.
atrupar.com
Johnson: "It's true that in previous shutdowns, many or most furloughed employees have been paid for the time they were furloughed, but there is new legal analysis - I don't know the details, I just saw a headline - but there are some legal analysts saying that might not be appropriate or necessary"
erstwhilecon.bsky.social
1. Media outlets will fail again.

2. State govts have no recourse but the courts, ultimately our reactionary Sup Court, which we have reason to believe will side w/ him.

3. Thus, activists must organize collective action like work stoppages, which need a critical mass of folks to work. Good luck.
sethabramson.bsky.social
It seems clear—I think to everyone, now—that a false and illegal invocation of the Insurrection Act is coming before the end of the year. Media outlets should be telling us how they will prepare for this potential Treason. State governments should be telling us. Activists should be developing plans.
Reposted by Skotty Skeets
jeremymberg.bsky.social
My quote of the day

In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.

Martin Luther King, Jr.
erstwhilecon.bsky.social
Our Whites' House press is so, uh, bad. And scared of him.
erstwhilecon.bsky.social
Bears repeating endlessly:

Republican officials are liars.

Every single one of them.
carlquintanilla.bsky.social
“.. On closer inspection, however, it turned out that the image was not a photograph of a real event in Portland, but instead a fabrication created by combining two photographs of scenes that unfolded in South America nearly a decade apart ..”

@theguardian.com
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
erstwhilecon.bsky.social
Every single one of them are either pathological or opportunistic liars.

Every single one.
atrupar.com
Harrigan defends Trump's deployment of troops to cities: "I don't think it's wrong for members of the administration to characterize places like Chicago & Portland as war zones when they're putting up stats up about 50 murders a weekend." (There have been 58 murders in Portland all year as of Oct 1)
erstwhilecon.bsky.social
MAGA farmers will soon be the biggest welfare queens on the planet.
atrupar.com
Hassett: "China has stopped buying US soybeans. The silos are full and there are soybeans sitting on the ground w/tarps over them. That's unacceptable to POTUS. We're calling up our soybean customers around the world as part of our trade negotiations & we'll strong policies to support our farmers"