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Reposted by Victor Ray

David Roberts @volts.wtf · 7h

Douthat is laundering hard core white Christian supremacy into the mainstream, with the NYT's blessing.

Max Kennerly @maxkennerly.bsky.social · 8h

Ross Douthat treats this guy like they're having some deep conversation about the relationship of Christianity and the government, but the dude is a garden-variety dull, shallow, hateful, worthless bigot with nothing interesting to say, just endless riffs on "God hates everything/everyone I do."

Douthat: So that’s the first purpose of your political project, for America to stop making God angry.

Wilson: Yes. And most people think that when they are confronted with that project, they think that we want to get our tentacles into everything and start controlling everything. I actually think we need limited government. The government should be significantly smaller than it is, and we need to curtail a lot of the busybodyness that we have. That’s why I would call myself a theocratic libertarian. There is a true libertarian element in this, and yet, the transcendent grounding for what we’re talking about means that we acknowledge the authority of God.

We have racked up quite a body count of awful crimes, and I believe the only way out is for us to repent and turn to Christ. This would be things like no more Pride parades, no more drag queen story hours, no more abortion on demand, no more legalized same-sex unions — all of that, done. That’s the repentance part.

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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 7h

RIFs can’t be done without agency leadership so this is RFK Jr extending his purge of CDC scientists to help Vought’s shutdown agenda. Genuine public health risks created by aggrieved men.

Sheryl Gay Stolberg @sherylnyt.bsky.social · 7h

BREAKING: Friday night massacre underway at CDC. Doznes of "disease detectives," high-level scientists, entire Washington staff and editors of the MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report) have all been RIFed and received the following notice:

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Soraya Nadia McDonald @sorayanadiamcdonald.com · 8h

People paid $200 a ticket to listen to Peter Thiel do bog issue antisemitism for four lectures about his belief in the antichrist.

Lots of fools wishing to be relieved of their money, I guess.

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Screenshot text from The Guardian:
He believes the Armageddon will be ushered in by an antichrist-type figure who cultivates a fear of existential threats such as climate change, AI and nuclear war to amass inordinate power. The idea is this figure will convince people to do everything they can to avoid something like a third world war, including accepting a one-world order charged with protecting everyone from the apocalypse that implements a complete restriction of technological progress. In his mind, this is already happening. Thiel said that international financial bodies, which make it more difficult for people to shelter their wealth in tax havens, are one sign the antichrist may be amassing power and hastening Armageddon, saying: “It’s become quite difficult to hide one’s money.”

It’s because the antichrist talks about Armageddon nonstop. We’re all scared to death that we’re sleepwalking into Armageddon. And then because we know world war three will be an unjust war, that pushes us. We’re going hard towards peace at any price.

What I worry about in that sort of situation is you don’t think too hard about the details of the peace and it becomes much more likely that you get an unjust peace. This is, by the way, the slogan of the antichrist: 1 Thessalonians 5:3. It’s peace and safety, sort of the unjust peace.

Let me conclude on this choice of antichrist or Armageddon. And again, in some ways the stagnation and the existential risks are complementary, not contradictory. The existential risk pushes us towards stagnation and distracts us from it.

How does Thiel think Armageddon will happen?
Thiel rarely gives a definitive answer about who exactly the antichrist might be or how Armageddon might come about – a central point across his lectures is that nothing is written in stone or inevitable – but he does give the contours of what a global conflict that could lead to Armageddon might look like.

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Cafecito @speedyrick.bsky.social · 13h

"Whatever we’ve said, or whatever you’ve heard or think you’ve heard about democracy, this is not hyperbole, and it isn’t about an election. It’s about what we do right now to stop our descent into the horrors we were raised to fight." Beutler. An urgent crisis! open.substack.com/pub/brianbeu...

How To Reverse The Tide

It's the gap between what's needed and what we have that keeps us up at night.

open.substack.com

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Nikkolas Smith @4nikkolas.bsky.social · 12h

after millions of views and shares of my Portland Frog art. (thank you all🙏🏾) I got requests to highlight priests, and chickens, and Chicagoans, and T-Rexes, and more… all of us who refuse to bend the knee. so this is for US.
𝚂𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚃𝚊𝚕𝚕.
𝚆𝚎 𝚆𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚆𝚒𝚗.

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Dan Greene @dmgreene.bsky.social · 11h

So the former confederate states are thinking of a new accreditation agency for higher education. Is there any reporting on the existing accreditors and how they're doing with Trump and McMahon?

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Django Wexler @djangowexler.bsky.social · 14h

My boss: so how's our fourth quarter looking?

Me, the sales manager at the company that makes inflatable frog suits: well, you're never going to believe this, but

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Jason Linkins @dceiver.bsky.social · 16h

while the similarities to a Musk "fork in the road" missive are unmistakeable maybe Bari's memo is just a sincere attempt to learn what journalists do

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Prof Gavin Yamey @gavinyamey.bsky.social · 16h

Yes, we argue vociferously, backed by empirical research, that patients’ wellbeing and health outcomes will suffer from the Trump administration’s push to end DEI policies at US medical schools

The BMJ @bmj.com · 16h

The Trump administration and its allies have taken several steps to ensure that medical schools in the US dismantle all diversity, equity, and inclusion policies.

It is patients who will be the victims of this, write @gavinyamey.bsky.social and @michaeldgreen.com
www.bmj.com/content/391/...

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Tita Chico @titachico.bsky.social · 19h

Lisa Moore: "like the medieval monks and nuns who buried precious manuscripts to hide them from the kings who burned their abbeys, we will preserve this knowledge and progress for another time in the future."

Tita Chico @titachico.bsky.social · 19h

www.statesman.com/opinion/colu...

After 35 years at UT Austin, I hardly recognize my university | Opinion

What was once a beacon of access and discovery is now fighting for its soul and mission as political attacks upend norms, rules and rights, Lisa L. Moore writes.

www.statesman.com

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Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · 18h

Every targeted institution (my own very much included) should cut and paste this letter onto their letterhead.

Kathleen Clark @kathleenclark.bsky.social · 19h

A master class from MIT in responding to authoritarian overreach:

Your “premise … is inconsistent with our core belief that scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone.
… America’s leadership in science & innovation depends on independent thinking & open competition for excellence.

Dear Madam Secretary,
I write in response to your letter of October 1, inviting MIT to review a "Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education." I acknowledge the vital importance of these matters.
I appreciated the chance to meet with you earlier this year to discuss the priorities we share for American higher education.
As we discussed, the Institute's mission of service to the nation directs us to advance knowledge, educate students and bring knowledge to bear on the world's great challenges.
We do that in line with a clear set of values, with excellence above all. Some practical examples:
• MIT prides itself on rewarding merit. Students, faculty and staff succeed here based on the strength of their talent, ideas and hard work. For instance, the Institute was the first to reinstate the SAT/ACT requirement after the pandemic. And MIT has never had legacy preferences in admissions.
• MIT opens its doors to the most talented students regardless of their family's finances. Admissions are need-blind. Incoming undergraduates whose families earn less than $200,000 a year pay no tuition. Nearly 88% of our last graduating class left MIT with no debt for their education. We make a wealth of free courses and low-cost certificates available to any American with an internet connection. Of the undergraduate degrees we award, 94% are in STEM fields. And in service to the nation, we cap enrollment of international undergraduates at roughly 10%.

source:
https://orgchart.mit.edu/letters/regarding-compact

• We value free expression, as clearly described in the MIT Statement on Freedom of Expression and Academic Freedom. We must hear facts and opinions we don't like - and engage respectfully with those with whom we disagree.
These values and other MIT practices meet or exceed many standards outlined in the document you sent. We freely choose these values because they're right, and we live by them because they support our mission - work of immense value to the prosperity, competitiveness, health and security of the United States. And of course, MIT abides by the law.
The document also includes principles with which we disagree, including those that would restrict freedom of expression and our independence as an institution. And fundamentally, the premise of the document is inconsistent with our core belief that scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone.
In our view, America's leadership in science and innovation depends on independent thinking and open competition for excellence. In that free marketplace of ideas, the people of MIT gladly compete with the very best, without preferences. Therefore, with respect, we cannot support the proposed approach to addressing the issues facing higher education.
As you know, MIT's record of service to the nation is long and enduring. Eight decades ago, MIT leaders helped invent a scientific partnership between America's research universities and the U.S. government that has delivered extraordinary benefits for the American people. We continue to believe in the power of this partnership to serve the nation.
Sincerely,
Sally Kornbluth

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Mark Copelovitch @mcopelov.bsky.social · 18h

And the not-yet-targeted ones should also be doing this, because loud, public, collective action is the only way to oppose this lawless authoritarian assault on higher education

Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · 18h

Every targeted institution (my own very much included) should cut and paste this letter onto their letterhead.

Kathleen Clark @kathleenclark.bsky.social · 19h

A master class from MIT in responding to authoritarian overreach:

Your “premise … is inconsistent with our core belief that scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone.
… America’s leadership in science & innovation depends on independent thinking & open competition for excellence.

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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 18h

We live in a country where the government honors insurrectionists who sacked the Capitol, and defines peaceful protest, even before it occurs, to be terrorism.
They know their position is weak, they know they are unpopular, which is why they are seeking to stamp out dissent.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 21h

Mike Johnson: "We're so angry about it. I mean, I'm a very patient guy, but I've had it with these people. The theory we have right now -- they have a hate America rally that's scheduled for October 18 on the National Mall. It's the pro-Hamas wing and antifa people ... "

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May-Li Khoe✨ @mayli.bsky.social · 18h

i love this little dig “And MIT has never had legacy preferences in admissions.” 👀👀👀 unwritten “unlike the rest of yall”

• MIT prides itself on rewarding merit.
Students, faculty and staff succeed here based on the strength of their talent, ideas and hard work. For instance, the Institute was the first to reinstate the SAT'ACT requirement after the pandemic. And MIT has never had legacy preferences in admissions.

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Victor Ray @victorerikray.bsky.social · 18h

There are too many quotable in this piece from Lyz. It's hilarious.

Putting your faith in Bari Weiss to uphold journalistic integrity is like hoping Kristi Noem will lose her injectionist’s number, or that the three ghosts of conspiracies past will visit Marjorie Taylor Greene and she will stop believing in Jewish space lasers, or the alien that is using Mitch McConnell’s body as its host will finally go back to the planet from whence it came, or that the Republicans will stop doing a Weekend at Bernies with Chuck Grassley, or that if we ask pretty pretty please Donald Trump will stop using the Constitution as toilet paper, or that RFK Jr. will just leave all that road kill alone. Basically, it’s like hoping that shit will fix the diaper.

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Mark Bray @mark-bray.bsky.social · 1d

Our plane to Spain is in the air!

🙌🙌

Thank you so much to the countless people supporting us in every way and in particular all of the Rutgers students and faculty who have supported us every step of the way.

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Oliver Darcy @oliverdarcy.bsky.social · 19h

News: Bari Weiss just sent a memo to staffers at CBS News asking them to produce a memo explaining "how you spend your working hours—and ideally, what you've made (or are making) that you're most proud of."

One CBS News staffer puts it like this to me: "We just got Elon Musked."

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Angela Pashia, ACC @angelapashia.com · 19h

And also, if you can’t stand on principle, stand on self preservation. Signing won’t stop this regime from attacking. Signing signals weakness, that you’re an easy target.

There is absolutely nothing to be gained by signing this.

Victor Ray @victorerikray.bsky.social · 19h

More of this. Signing this authoritarian devil’s bargain would betray higher education’s independence and the pursuit of knowledge.

Jay D. Aronson @jaydaronson.bsky.social · 19h

MIT rejects "the Compact"
orgchart.mit.edu/letters/rega...

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Victor Ray @victorerikray.bsky.social · 19h

More of this. Signing this authoritarian devil’s bargain would betray higher education’s independence and the pursuit of knowledge.

Jay D. Aronson @jaydaronson.bsky.social · 19h

MIT rejects "the Compact"
orgchart.mit.edu/letters/rega...

Regarding the Compact | MIT Organization Chart

orgchart.mit.edu

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Amanda Marcotte @amandamarcotte.bsky.social · 1d

I'm thinking about writing about the experience of being gaslit by rural and suburban family/friends who tell you that their paranoid fantasies of your city trump your lived experience.

Long way of saying share your stories in comments! I may quote them.

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Reuters @reuters.com · 1d

'When authoritarians seize power, it is crucial to recognize courageous defenders of freedom who rise and resist,' the Norwegian Nobel Committee said as it announced Maria Corina Machado as the winner of the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize

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Noah Berlatsky @nberlat.bsky.social · 1d

I think fascism is best understood as (in part) a transatlantic phenomenon with Europe borrowing ideas from the US and the US borrowing ideas from Europe throughout its history (including now.)

Victor Ray @victorerikray.bsky.social · 1d

When I see this, I wonder if people realize that Jim Crow racism in the American south was a type home-grown fascism. It was not (just) a superficially genteel system of social deference. Refusing to defer was often met with incredible violence designed to terrorize the entire Black community.

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Quinta Jurecic @qjurecic.bsky.social · 1d

the me too administration www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 1d

"30-year-old conservative lawyer and activist who is Trump’s nominee to lead the Office of Special Counsel, which deals with federal employee whistleblower complaints and discrimination" cancelled his colleague's hotel room so she would be forced to stay with him.
www.politico.com/news/2025/10...

In late July, Paul Ingrassia, the White House liaison for the Department of Homeland Security, arrived at a Ritz-Carlton in Orlando with a lower-ranking female colleague and others from their department. When the group reached the front desk, the woman learned she didn’t have a hotel room.

Ingrassia then informed her that she would be staying with him, according to five administration officials familiar with the episode. Eventually the woman discovered that Ingrassia had arranged ahead of time to have her hotel room canceled so she would have to stay with him, three of those officials said.

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Deyasi @deyasi.bsky.social · 1d

You probably know this already, so I’m noting it for others: the great scholar of fascism, Robert Paxton specifically identified the second KKK—which emerged during Jim Crow—as the first fascist movement in the world. See his essential book, The Anatomy of Fascism.

TL;DR: you’re exactly right. 👍

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