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Driftless Thinking @mndriftless.bsky.social · 32m

hmmm. I draw the line at Oxford comma haters. They can bite me, eat my shorts, and take a rocket right to the sun.

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Jake Grumbach @jakemgrumbach.bsky.social · 6h

It’s this multiple times a day

They don't even bother to lie badly anymore.
I suppose that's the final humiliation.

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gm0rk.bsky.social @gm0rk.bsky.social · 6h

I really don't think there's any voter who is a coin flip away from voting for either party for whom trans rights are the decider.

I do think there are voters who are indifferent or even mildly hostile to trans folks who nonetheless respond to a spirited call to protect vulnerable people.

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Driftless Thinking @mndriftless.bsky.social · 4h

YUP. “We don’t like bullies and assholes.” is in fact a message we can win on.

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Driftless Thinking @mndriftless.bsky.social · 4h

I like him, I really do. But this kind of work needs to be the blueprint of a *larger* movement. Us demanding that our electeds cut ads like this. Us creating messages that directly pushback against those with the most power harming those with the least.

Zohran Kwame Mamdani @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social · 10h

UNTIL IT’S DONE, Ep. 4: Sylvia Rivera

In the 1970s, queer New Yorkers had been pushed to the margins of NYC. Our trans neighbors faced immense cruelty. But in Sylvia Rivera, they found a champion.

As we combat Trump’s politics of darkness, her legacy can light the path forward.

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Driftless Thinking @mndriftless.bsky.social · 23h

Shit. That is unbelievably heavy and exhausting. You deserve to thrive.

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Driftless Thinking @mndriftless.bsky.social · 1d

Oh, look at the time. www.startribune.com/teacher-plea...

A Northfield teacher admitted in court that she sent nude photos of herself to numerous high school boys, [the remaining text is highlighted] while the school’s resource officer investigating the case allegedly chose to cover up for her and began a romantic relationship with her.

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Driftless Thinking @mndriftless.bsky.social · 1d

I used a gift link, but the strib site is wonky to say the least.

Driftless Thinking @mndriftless.bsky.social · 1d

It’s just a couple of bad apples. Shouldn’t have impacted the quality of the rest of the barrel.

“Oops all bad apples” Cereal with rotten apple pieces and a riot cop.

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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 2d

This is the genius of the Portland protests - they make the claims of lawlessness look not just wrong, but comical

The Daily Show @thedailyshow.com · 2d

The following is REAL footage from Portland, 2025. Viewer discretion is advised.

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Driftless Thinking @mndriftless.bsky.social · 1d

Modern policing is rotten right down to the foundations.

Ex-Minnesota State Patrol trooper pleads guilty to federal child pornography charge

The trooper is seen wearing his uniform in the videos he created, charges said.

www.startribune.com

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Standplaats Kraków @standplaatskrk.pl · 6d

Geordi La Forge Nope/Yes meme, but the yes has laser eyes in the visor:

NOPE:
"Do Not Comply In Advance"
- bossy
- already a cliche
- implies permission to comply later

YES:
"Fuck You, Make Me"
- leads by example
- directs yelling at opposition instead of allies
- easy to chant at a protest or put on a banner

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Haydon is reading The Uncertain Center, Arthur C McGill @haydonmp.bsky.social · 3d

Add it to the tally.

Seems like we’re getting up to 20+ grand jury no true bills just from what I’ve seen. Absolutely remarkable.

Seth Stern @sethstern.bsky.social · 3d

A federal grand jury declined to indict two people charged with assaulting law enforcement agents outside a suburban Chicago ICE facility, an attorney for one of the defendants said, Megan Crepeau and @benjaminpenn.bsky.social report

news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

Grand Jury Declines to Indict Two Chicago-Area ICE Protesters

A federal grand jury declined to indict two people charged with assaulting law enforcement agents outside a suburban Chicago ICE facility, an attorney for one of the defendants said.

news.bloomberglaw.com

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Driftless Thinking @mndriftless.bsky.social · 3d

The function of a system is what it does.

Driftless Thinking @mndriftless.bsky.social · 3d

Trump: “will no one rid me of this meddlesome senator?”

Chuck Schumer: “I’m worrried that the Millers are going to blame us for the shutdown.”

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 3d

Trump posts that Sen. Blumenthal “should be allowed to speak no longer”

Sanctimonious Richard “Da Nang Dick” Blumenthal, perhaps the biggest “joke” in the United States Senate, is at it again! “Dick” lied until the midpoint of his political career, convincing everyone, in particular the Fake News Media, that he was a great “War Hero” who lived on the precipice of death in the jungles of Vietnam. He would talk about his life in the military in almost every speech, in particular the death defying dangers he faced in his many years “fight for freedom” while in Vietnam. He stated that “the battles were violent and long, but there was no going back” - And then it happened, Blumenthal was found out to be a FRAUD. The soldiers in his so-called “platoon” came forward and said that they had no idea who this guy was. He was revealed, broke down and admitted, tears flowing from his eyes, that he LIED, a Whopper, one that lasted 20 year. This guy shouldn’t even be in the U.S. Senate. It should be investigated, and Justice should be sought. Right now there is a Congressman sitting in prison for lying about his past during a campaign. Well, those lies were nothing compared to those of Richard “Da Nang Dick” Blumenthal, perhaps the greatest phony in the history of the United States Senate. He should be allowed to speak no longer!

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Jack Jenkins @jackjenkins.me · 3d

Gonna be thinking about this lede for a minute.

(RNS) — Last month, the Rev. David Black stood in front of a Chicago-area U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility and spread his arms wide. Adorned in all black and wearing a clerical collar, the pastor looked up at a group of masked, heavily armed ICE agents on the roof and began to pray.

“I invited them to repentance,” Black, a minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA), said in an interview. “I basically offered an altar call. I invited them to come and receive that salvation, and be part of the kingdom that is coming.”

But when Black began to lower his arms a few seconds later, the agents responded to his spiritual plea by firing pepper balls, or chemical agents that cause eye irritation and respiratory distress, video footage shows. One struck Black in the head, exploding into a puff of white pepper smoke and forcing him to his knees. Fellow demonstrators rushed to his aid, and as the pastor rubbed his face in pain, the agents continued to fire.

“We could hear them laughing,” Black said.

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Driftless Thinking @mndriftless.bsky.social · 4d

There’s always money in the banana republic stand.

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Jared Holt @jaredlholt.bsky.social · 5d

This really makes it sound like a Border Patrol agent tried to kill an anti-ICE activist in Chicago and DHS lied to cover for him

Chicago Sun-Times @chicago.suntimes.com · 5d

Body-camera video appears to contradict the government’s claim that Marimar Martinez, 30, drove toward officers before one of them opened fire at her late Saturday morning in Brighton Park, her attorney claimed.
trib.al/9Sxu9IN

Attorney for woman shot by Border Patrol claims officer said 'Do something b-----' before shooting

Body-camera video appears to contradict the government's claim that Marimar Martinez, 30, drove toward officers before one of them opened fire at her late Saturday morning in Brighton Park, her attorney claimed. A judge ordered Martinez and a co-defendant released pending trial.

trib.al

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Chanda Prescod-Weinstein 🌌 @chanda.blacksky.app · 6d

I’m sorry WHAT??

LINK HAS BEEN BANNED?

WTAF @jay.bsky.team

Miriam @miriamboosh.bsky.social · 6d

Let me get this straight: Link, a Black user, got banned for calling out the Bluesky CEO for following a racist. That’s not a good look, especially given Bluesky’s historical treatment of Black users here on bluesky.

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ikckckcabod bring back llink 🎃 @katecrane.bsky.social · 5d

Bring AJ Link back.

Banning Link is racist and petulant. I will never be the smartest person in the room on ATproto, but I know mean-spirited retaliation. This is mean-spirited retaliation

Thinking Person's Guide to Autism @thinkingautism.com · 5d

“As a neurodiversity advocate and as an autistic person, I’m really grateful for so much of the work that’s been done that allows me to be myself and to be successful being myself.” Link, who has been *banned*!?!? from this platform?

thinkingautismguide.com/2025/06/spac... #AutisticWhileBlack

Space Law, Race, and Neurodiversity: Autistic Advocate AJ Link

We live in a country & society that is built on racism. The neurodivergent community isn't free of that racism—per Autistic advocate AJ Link.

thinkingautismguide.com

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Claire Willett @clairewillett.bsky.social · 7d

I know we’re resigned after so many years of it but for real, social media giving high-ranking elected government officials the ability to harass individual private citizens by name for an audience of millions as a recreational pastime is actually Caligula shit if you think about it

jenn m. jackson @jennmjacksonphd.bsky.social · 7d

The Vice President of the United States used his social media page to tell Joy Reid, a private citizen with no connection to the government, that she should express "gratitude" for how this country has treated her.

Black women remain the most consistent targets in all of this.

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haunted Je-ride 🎃 grampy radish @naptime.theolive.garden · 10d

it’s forever and always fuck the police and abolish ice around here

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Driftless Thinking @mndriftless.bsky.social · 8d

He also blocked the child tax credit continuation, throwing kids back in to poverty, helping seal the un-electability of Biden/harris because so many families stopped being able to make ends meet. Centrist dems have been popularly ruinous.

Susan Rinkunas @susanrinkunas.com · 11d

It’s actually incredible how wrong Ezra is about “needing” to welcome anti-abortion and anti-trans politicians. Democrats were unable to protect vulnerable people BECAUSE they had conservative lawmakers in their ranks—including one Joe Manchin. Alongside Sinema, he blocked codifying Roe v. Wade

Screenshot 1 of 2 of Ezra Klein speaking to Tim Miller on The Bulwark podcast
27:56
rSo, I've been thinking about the Affordable Care Act. As you mentioned, I used to cover healthcare a lot. When the Affordable
28:02
Care Act passed, there were about 40 pro-life Democrats in the House. 40. Um, Democrats held Senate seats in
28:09
Arkansas, in Louisiana, in North Dakota, in South Dakota, in Ohio, in uh Montana,
28:15
West Virginia, in Montana, you know, in Indiana. I think to a lot of people, I've been
28:22
thinking about this in the email I've been getting recently. I think for a lot of Democrats to twist the old line about capitalism, which you may have heard,
28:28
right? It's easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism. It has become easier to imagine the end of America than Democrats winning a Senate
28:34
seat in Arkansas. Like they just like it's become like a completely inconceivable thing.

Screenshot 2 of 2 of Ezra Klein speaking to Tim Miller on The Bulwark podcast
28:52
have to say politics is about winning power. It's not about only choosing
28:58
strategies I am personally comfortable with. I am very very very pro-choice. My wife had medically horrific pregnancies.
29:06
There's almost nothing that I feel more emotionally intense about as that a woman should be able to a family should
29:13
be able to choose whether or not to go through that. that it would be very dangerous for her to be pregnant again. Have we protected reproductive rights
29:19
sing the political strategies we have employed over he past 15 years? We have not. We have failed. And I think core to
29:25
my view is failure. We are failing. We are failing to protect trans people. We
29:31
are failing to protect immigrants. We are failing to protect everybody we say we are here to protect. And we are failing to protect them because we have lost power.

Screenshot 1 of 2 of Ezra Klein speaking on his own podcast with Ta-Nehisi Coates:

Klein: People got really upset about that. And I get why. But in 2010, when the Affordable Care Act passed, there were 40 House Democrats who were pro-life, at some level. You had to do this whole negotiation with this guy Bart Stupak.
Coates: Yes, I remember.
Klein: On the bright side, you don't have to have those negotiations now.
And on the downside, you can't pass the Affordable Care Act.
And the point is not that one issue. For example, Susan Collins is, in theory, pro-choice, but she votes for Mitch McConnell and John Thune as leader. That's how you build power on some level, right?
Like **Joe Manchin - I wish he were still a senator from West Virginia, as much as I have deep disagreements with him.**
I think that I am a person - and I think that you are a person, whether you admit it or not — who is one of the people with a voice in shaping what our political culture is. And I believe at some level that political strategy is downstream from political culture. I think it means exploring things that are uncomfortable and being pretty disciplined, in a way that maybe I haven't been, about separating the question of what I believe from what I believe will win power.
Because I currently think that the cost of losing power is horrifying and dangerous, and we can't keep doing it. So that's where my head is.

Screenshot 2 of 2 of Ezra Klein speaking on his own podcast with Ta-Nehisi Coates:

Coates: But if you're going to say that, I think you really have to put the data behind it. I think that's really important.

Klein: I will stand behind it. I will say, and I think this is actually the nub of it - I'm glad we're here.
I am saying the thing it sounds like I'm saying. To be very clear. I think in a place like Nebraska, you should try to run some pro-life Democrats. I wish people, **instead of saying that an expressive or strategic question in politics was betraying or abandoning the people we wish to protect, I wish what we said was: We lost power in a way that allowed Donald Trump to drive the Supreme Court to a 6-3 Republican majority, and that majority overturned Roe v.Wade and actually abandoned all these people, actually [expletive] them over.**
Right.

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Driftless Thinking @mndriftless.bsky.social · 8d

Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.

Ghoul-jin Rondo @gaijinrando.bsky.social · 9d

Alice Cooper and Groucho Marx

Groucho was BOTD in 1890

Black and white photo of Alice and Groucho sharing a laugh.

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Driftless Thinking @mndriftless.bsky.social · 8d

Thank you for sharing this. I loathe it deeply. This is a stumbling stone in my path, leading me to the dark side.