Dr. Ashok Karra
@akarra.bsky.social
Political philosophy and ethics. Currently working on Nietzsche, Heidegger, and problems of freedom & authenticity. I teach community college & you'll hear plenty about it.
Let me know how you are and how I can help.
https://www.ashokkarra.blog/
Let me know how you are and how I can help.
https://www.ashokkarra.blog/
Pinned
Dr. Ashok Karra
@akarra.bsky.social
· Nov 21
while we're doing introductions, i'm dr. karra. i think about how political philosophy works for us -- what do we do with words like "freedom," "authenticity," or "nobility?" i also read a lot of lyric poetry because that tends to illustrate philosophical problems in miniature. links below:
god if i were at the eagles game right now and watching this offense i'd get arrested
November 28, 2025 at 9:46 PM
god if i were at the eagles game right now and watching this offense i'd get arrested
Reposted by Dr. Ashok Karra
Trump, Bill Mahar, Ted Cruz -- I kept hearing right wing MAGAs claim genocide of Nigerian Christians.
So I investigated, and here's what I found: There's no alleged genocide—but there's definitely an oil & profit interest in claiming their is. Here are the facts:
www.qasimrashid.com/p/nigeria-ch...
So I investigated, and here's what I found: There's no alleged genocide—but there's definitely an oil & profit interest in claiming their is. Here are the facts:
www.qasimrashid.com/p/nigeria-ch...
Nigeria, "Christian Genocide" and the Right Wing Attempt To Create More War
Addressing the MAGA claim that Christians are suffering genocide in Nigeria
www.qasimrashid.com
November 28, 2025 at 9:39 PM
Trump, Bill Mahar, Ted Cruz -- I kept hearing right wing MAGAs claim genocide of Nigerian Christians.
So I investigated, and here's what I found: There's no alleged genocide—but there's definitely an oil & profit interest in claiming their is. Here are the facts:
www.qasimrashid.com/p/nigeria-ch...
So I investigated, and here's what I found: There's no alleged genocide—but there's definitely an oil & profit interest in claiming their is. Here are the facts:
www.qasimrashid.com/p/nigeria-ch...
Reposted by Dr. Ashok Karra
I just subscribed to The Onion because our dumbass President just announced a White Nationalist Ethnostate and all of my "serious" news apps are giving me push notifications about edible dining table centerpieces and fart walks.
November 28, 2025 at 4:49 PM
I just subscribed to The Onion because our dumbass President just announced a White Nationalist Ethnostate and all of my "serious" news apps are giving me push notifications about edible dining table centerpieces and fart walks.
Reposted by Dr. Ashok Karra
Bro I don’t want the FBI knocking on my door
I want to hear her opinion on patullo
November 28, 2025 at 9:38 PM
Bro I don’t want the FBI knocking on my door
Reposted by Dr. Ashok Karra
i do love costco's whole thing though. do you need 240 napkins and/or a haptic vest
November 28, 2025 at 9:29 PM
i do love costco's whole thing though. do you need 240 napkins and/or a haptic vest
Reposted by Dr. Ashok Karra
I can give you my loneliness,
my darkness,
the hunger of my heart.
~Jorge Luis Borges
my darkness,
the hunger of my heart.
~Jorge Luis Borges
November 28, 2025 at 5:23 AM
I can give you my loneliness,
my darkness,
the hunger of my heart.
~Jorge Luis Borges
my darkness,
the hunger of my heart.
~Jorge Luis Borges
Reposted by Dr. Ashok Karra
It boggles my mind that parents in these situations are not charged with negligence and child endangerment at the minimum.
Your child dying from a preventable disease because you fell for an internet hoax should have consequences. That is a life lost.
Your child dying from a preventable disease because you fell for an internet hoax should have consequences. That is a life lost.
Third unvaccinated Kentucky baby dies of whooping cough • Kentucky Lantern
A third unvaccinated infant in Kentucky has died of pertussis as public health officials urge Kentuckians to get vaccinated against the disease.
kentuckylantern.com
November 27, 2025 at 4:19 PM
It boggles my mind that parents in these situations are not charged with negligence and child endangerment at the minimum.
Your child dying from a preventable disease because you fell for an internet hoax should have consequences. That is a life lost.
Your child dying from a preventable disease because you fell for an internet hoax should have consequences. That is a life lost.
Reposted by Dr. Ashok Karra
i don't have a blog or newsletter but i think people should know that if they go to costco right now and find a half-off costco thanksgiving dinner for 8 and some souper cube freezer trays they could theoretically turn the holiday into a very affordable monthly or even biweekly affair
November 28, 2025 at 9:08 PM
i don't have a blog or newsletter but i think people should know that if they go to costco right now and find a half-off costco thanksgiving dinner for 8 and some souper cube freezer trays they could theoretically turn the holiday into a very affordable monthly or even biweekly affair
Reposted by Dr. Ashok Karra
Decided instead of promoting my own crap today I’d like to help others instead. Feel free to share your newsletters and independent gigs or even some story you wrote and I’ll repost some
November 28, 2025 at 8:59 PM
Decided instead of promoting my own crap today I’d like to help others instead. Feel free to share your newsletters and independent gigs or even some story you wrote and I’ll repost some
Reposted by Dr. Ashok Karra
h/t @adamwren.bsky.social
Michael Bohacek, a Republican state senator from Indiana who has a daughter with down syndrome, says he will vote against redistricting in Indiana after Trump used the word "retarded."
Michael Bohacek, a Republican state senator from Indiana who has a daughter with down syndrome, says he will vote against redistricting in Indiana after Trump used the word "retarded."
November 28, 2025 at 8:57 PM
h/t @adamwren.bsky.social
Michael Bohacek, a Republican state senator from Indiana who has a daughter with down syndrome, says he will vote against redistricting in Indiana after Trump used the word "retarded."
Michael Bohacek, a Republican state senator from Indiana who has a daughter with down syndrome, says he will vote against redistricting in Indiana after Trump used the word "retarded."
Reposted by Dr. Ashok Karra
A reminder that this wildly illegal & incredibly authoritarian statement from the Department of Homeland Security is ~exactly the same view about immigration as the "deportation abundance" folks that Ezra Klein gladly pals around with at fancy conferences:
bsky.app/profile/mcop...
bsky.app/profile/mcop...
A reminder for those who are not aware: "remigration" is the process of deporting all non-white people from a country. It includes citizens and is, by definition, ethnic cleansing.
And to be clear: this is not fake. I just screenshot it myself.
And to be clear: this is not fake. I just screenshot it myself.
November 28, 2025 at 8:52 PM
A reminder that this wildly illegal & incredibly authoritarian statement from the Department of Homeland Security is ~exactly the same view about immigration as the "deportation abundance" folks that Ezra Klein gladly pals around with at fancy conferences:
bsky.app/profile/mcop...
bsky.app/profile/mcop...
Reposted by Dr. Ashok Karra
Dunno about that. TechBro/VC culture love making heroes out of grifters.
November 25, 2025 at 1:05 PM
Dunno about that. TechBro/VC culture love making heroes out of grifters.
Reposted by Dr. Ashok Karra
If the U.S. was at war, Pete Hegseth's order would be a war crime, a military lawyer said. Instead, it might just be murder. wapo.st/49KbUJ1
Hegseth order on first Caribbean boat strike, officials say: Kill them all
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a verbal order to kill all crew members in the Sept. 2 strike on a suspected drug boat. Navy SEALs fired a second missile.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 28, 2025 at 6:07 PM
If the U.S. was at war, Pete Hegseth's order would be a war crime, a military lawyer said. Instead, it might just be murder. wapo.st/49KbUJ1
Reposted by Dr. Ashok Karra
My one-and-only mother was hit & killed by a car on Wednesday. I am all the adjectives you can imagine: shattered, devastated, bereft.
And no hour has passed in the last 48 where I have not felt unbelievably lucky, overwhelmed with gratitude for all the time I got to be her daughter.
And no hour has passed in the last 48 where I have not felt unbelievably lucky, overwhelmed with gratitude for all the time I got to be her daughter.
November 28, 2025 at 6:47 PM
My one-and-only mother was hit & killed by a car on Wednesday. I am all the adjectives you can imagine: shattered, devastated, bereft.
And no hour has passed in the last 48 where I have not felt unbelievably lucky, overwhelmed with gratitude for all the time I got to be her daughter.
And no hour has passed in the last 48 where I have not felt unbelievably lucky, overwhelmed with gratitude for all the time I got to be her daughter.
Reposted by Dr. Ashok Karra
Hello, YouTube has shown me a video of a guy teaching an octopus from the fish market to play piano
www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcWn...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcWn...
I taught an octopus piano (It took 6 months)
YouTube video by Mattias Krantz
www.youtube.com
November 28, 2025 at 6:07 PM
Hello, YouTube has shown me a video of a guy teaching an octopus from the fish market to play piano
www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcWn...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcWn...
Reposted by Dr. Ashok Karra
Exclusive: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gave an order to “kill everybody” in the first strike on suspected drug boats in the Caribbean. After two men survived, the mission commander ordered a second strike to comply with Hegseth’s instructions, according to two sources.
Hegseth order on first Caribbean boat strike, officials say: Kill them all
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a verbal order to kill all crew members in the Sept. 2 strike on a suspected drug boat. Navy SEALs fired a second missile.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 28, 2025 at 6:05 PM
Exclusive: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gave an order to “kill everybody” in the first strike on suspected drug boats in the Caribbean. After two men survived, the mission commander ordered a second strike to comply with Hegseth’s instructions, according to two sources.
Reposted by Dr. Ashok Karra
Islamophobia is skyrocketing. I'm *finally* seeing some US news outlets mention it. Yet, even now, zero Muslim American voices on their panels.
I'm an American Muslim, a well published human rights lawyer of 15+ years w/2.1M followers & my substack gets 2M+ reads per month.
We exist. Bring us on.
I'm an American Muslim, a well published human rights lawyer of 15+ years w/2.1M followers & my substack gets 2M+ reads per month.
We exist. Bring us on.
November 28, 2025 at 6:07 PM
Islamophobia is skyrocketing. I'm *finally* seeing some US news outlets mention it. Yet, even now, zero Muslim American voices on their panels.
I'm an American Muslim, a well published human rights lawyer of 15+ years w/2.1M followers & my substack gets 2M+ reads per month.
We exist. Bring us on.
I'm an American Muslim, a well published human rights lawyer of 15+ years w/2.1M followers & my substack gets 2M+ reads per month.
We exist. Bring us on.
Reposted by Dr. Ashok Karra
Last year, I recommended 10 perfect gifts for the single, childless women in your life. It truly included everything your daughter or ex-girlfriend (please don’t text her!!!) needed to babysit her nephews and save the world. This year, I’m thinking bigger.
thebarbedwire.com/2025/11/26/t...
thebarbedwire.com/2025/11/26/t...
The Most Thoughtful, Unusual Gifts We Received This Year
I asked folks at The Barbed Wire and online what they absolutely loved receiving in 2024 and 2025 — and why.
thebarbedwire.com
November 28, 2025 at 5:25 PM
Last year, I recommended 10 perfect gifts for the single, childless women in your life. It truly included everything your daughter or ex-girlfriend (please don’t text her!!!) needed to babysit her nephews and save the world. This year, I’m thinking bigger.
thebarbedwire.com/2025/11/26/t...
thebarbedwire.com/2025/11/26/t...
Reposted by Dr. Ashok Karra
little-known fact outside the beltway but this past year The Handbasket has become THE outlet read by (and leaked to by) civil servants who have something to say, please kick some $ or get a subscription if you haven't already
today instead of buying barely discounted crap, get a paid subscription to an independent media outlet! a little $ goes a long way towards supporting a free press. 🗞️
drop links to your own or your faves in the replies so ppl can easily sign up (bonus if you add a couple words about why it’s good!):
drop links to your own or your faves in the replies so ppl can easily sign up (bonus if you add a couple words about why it’s good!):
November 28, 2025 at 5:20 PM
little-known fact outside the beltway but this past year The Handbasket has become THE outlet read by (and leaked to by) civil servants who have something to say, please kick some $ or get a subscription if you haven't already
Thread
The "Larry Summers complained to Jeffrey Epstein that MeToo went too far" and "Olivia Nuzzi committed crimes on behalf of the fascist she masturbated with while reporting on him" are the same story: American elites have no ideology other than "I should be untouchable." Society is run by empty husks
November 28, 2025 at 5:27 PM
Thread
Reposted by Dr. Ashok Karra
Again, you cannot unplug 1/4-1/5 of an R1 university's budget & expect the same quantity or quality of "things" on campus. The math simply doesn't work. And pretending it does & we can uphold our "core values," & not talking loudly & publicly about how it doesn't, is not a strategy. It's madness.
Here is UW - Madison's budget. Our <largest> funder is the federal government. 25%. It used to be the state. Either way, the university in its current form ceases to exist if these federal cuts really happen. But The. Public. Doesn't. Know. This. And our leaders are absent from the public debate.
August 8, 2025 at 6:41 PM
Again, you cannot unplug 1/4-1/5 of an R1 university's budget & expect the same quantity or quality of "things" on campus. The math simply doesn't work. And pretending it does & we can uphold our "core values," & not talking loudly & publicly about how it doesn't, is not a strategy. It's madness.
Reposted by Dr. Ashok Karra
🎁 link to the WSJ editorial that made Stephen Miller so mad.
"It would be a shame if this single act of betrayal became the excuse for deporting all Afghan refugees...
"Thousands are building new lives here in peace. Collective punishment won’t make America safer."
www.wsj.com/opinion/the-...
"It would be a shame if this single act of betrayal became the excuse for deporting all Afghan refugees...
"Thousands are building new lives here in peace. Collective punishment won’t make America safer."
www.wsj.com/opinion/the-...
Opinion | The Ambush on the National Guard
The alleged shooting by an Afghan ‘partner’ shouldn’t condemn all who assisted the U.S. and now live here.
www.wsj.com
November 28, 2025 at 3:10 PM
🎁 link to the WSJ editorial that made Stephen Miller so mad.
"It would be a shame if this single act of betrayal became the excuse for deporting all Afghan refugees...
"Thousands are building new lives here in peace. Collective punishment won’t make America safer."
www.wsj.com/opinion/the-...
"It would be a shame if this single act of betrayal became the excuse for deporting all Afghan refugees...
"Thousands are building new lives here in peace. Collective punishment won’t make America safer."
www.wsj.com/opinion/the-...
Reposted by Dr. Ashok Karra
Worried about Eritrean friends and anyone else who’ll be harmed by Trump’s latest madness.
November 28, 2025 at 5:11 PM
Worried about Eritrean friends and anyone else who’ll be harmed by Trump’s latest madness.
Reposted by Dr. Ashok Karra
Guess who’s finally dropping some merch next week 🥹🥹🥹
November 28, 2025 at 5:12 PM
Guess who’s finally dropping some merch next week 🥹🥹🥹
Reposted by Dr. Ashok Karra
i’m not gonna insult us both by trying to write a little black friday pitch to you. my newsletter is good and it’s dirt cheap (as little as $1/month!). it’s rarely about the Horrors. we have fun over there! remember when little essays were fun?
November 28, 2025 at 5:12 PM
i’m not gonna insult us both by trying to write a little black friday pitch to you. my newsletter is good and it’s dirt cheap (as little as $1/month!). it’s rarely about the Horrors. we have fun over there! remember when little essays were fun?