Seth Kahn (he/him)
@badpacifist.bsky.social
Writing/rhetoric prof in PA. Write about higher ed organizing. Teach about demagoguery. Spurs/Union/Phillies/UGA fan. Read sci-fi, police procedurals, and horror fiction. No DMs with strangers.
My employer says I have to tell you I don't represent them.
My employer says I have to tell you I don't represent them.
Pinned
I've been harping on the idea of *preparing* for a general strike for months, so I decided it's time to do some thinking about what that actually entails for people who are riled up enough to go tomorrow but may not be thinking about how to protect yourselves and each other if we do this.
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The central struggle of my academic writing existence is how inductively I think v how we're expected to present the things we thought. This chapter proposal is almost literally backwards, and I know that, but rearranging it is proving way more challenging than it should.
November 26, 2025 at 1:28 PM
The central struggle of my academic writing existence is how inductively I think v how we're expected to present the things we thought. This chapter proposal is almost literally backwards, and I know that, but rearranging it is proving way more challenging than it should.
I try to avoid psychologizing people, but it's been pretty clear for years that one of Musk's animating motivations is "Being the cool-kid-at-the-party he never actually was." And this is the upteen-gazillionth reminder of why. Because he's about as much fun as food poisoning.
Elon Musk Said Grok’s Roasts Would Be ‘Epic’ at Parties—So I Tried It on My Coworkers
It went about as well as you’d expect.
www.wired.com
November 26, 2025 at 1:09 PM
I try to avoid psychologizing people, but it's been pretty clear for years that one of Musk's animating motivations is "Being the cool-kid-at-the-party he never actually was." And this is the upteen-gazillionth reminder of why. Because he's about as much fun as food poisoning.
Along with the obvious vileness of this story, it's another chapter in the long book of Trumpers Think They Own the Country and All Our Resources Exist Just for Them to Get Whatever They Want.
This article heavily implies that ICE is being used in a custody dispute to help Karoline Leavitt's brother get his son and have the mother locked up in ICE detention
"A woman with a family connection to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has been arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Revere, Massachusetts."
www.wcvb.com/article/karo...
www.wcvb.com/article/karo...
November 26, 2025 at 1:00 PM
Along with the obvious vileness of this story, it's another chapter in the long book of Trumpers Think They Own the Country and All Our Resources Exist Just for Them to Get Whatever They Want.
Reposted by Seth Kahn (he/him)
RFK Jr. is neither a joke nor a well-intentioned proponent of public health with a few kooky beliefs. He's a menace, evil even by the standards of Trump's inner circle, and the failure of the political press to convey this is maddening
I actually think it’s okay to take a ridiculous scandal seriously when it involves a wingnut conspiracy theorist in charge of things like vaccine policy and pandemic preparedness
Sorry to be a wet blanket 🤷🏻♀️
Sorry to be a wet blanket 🤷🏻♀️
She never misses a beat, of course, but Marina's first paragraph this week is *chef's kiss*
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
November 25, 2025 at 11:44 PM
RFK Jr. is neither a joke nor a well-intentioned proponent of public health with a few kooky beliefs. He's a menace, evil even by the standards of Trump's inner circle, and the failure of the political press to convey this is maddening
For the gazillionth time, you fuckwit: I meet all those standards and still have an expensive chronic illness. You're willfully stupid about this.
Markwayne Mullin on healthcare: "What the president would like to do is say, hey, if you take care of yourself -- you don't smoke, you don't dip, you're not drinking, you're not overweight, you're working out -- then you should pay less than the guy that obviously is not taking care of himself."
November 25, 2025 at 9:28 PM
For the gazillionth time, you fuckwit: I meet all those standards and still have an expensive chronic illness. You're willfully stupid about this.
Watching GAL v USG game while I'm eating lunch, and I have to say, as frustrating as Spurs have been for the last few years, not having to worry about Davinson Sanchez might do at any given moment is a welcome relief. #perspective
November 25, 2025 at 7:26 PM
Watching GAL v USG game while I'm eating lunch, and I have to say, as frustrating as Spurs have been for the last few years, not having to worry about Davinson Sanchez might do at any given moment is a welcome relief. #perspective
See ya Monday, campus! It's break [sic] time! Well, flex time for a few days anyway.
a cartoon of a man standing in front of an office sign
Alt: GIF of Fred Flinstone leaving work when the whistle blows, sliding down the tail of a dinosaur into his foot-powered car.
media.tenor.com
November 25, 2025 at 6:04 PM
See ya Monday, campus! It's break [sic] time! Well, flex time for a few days anyway.
Got talked into proposing for an edited collection that I'd thought about and passed on. The editor asked for something that's a pretty direct extension from something I've already worked out for the almost-a-bleeping-book, but I can't quite get the proposal to hang together the way I want.
November 25, 2025 at 5:44 PM
Got talked into proposing for an edited collection that I'd thought about and passed on. The editor asked for something that's a pretty direct extension from something I've already worked out for the almost-a-bleeping-book, but I can't quite get the proposal to hang together the way I want.
Current soundtrack since no students are here for consultations. A few years ago I posted a single from this band on FB and said, "If you like the Fastbacks, you'll like this too." New record is a little slicker, but otherwise, still true.
The Day Job Gets in the Way, by Nervous Twitch
13 track album
nervoustwitch.bandcamp.com
November 25, 2025 at 4:42 PM
Current soundtrack since no students are here for consultations. A few years ago I posted a single from this band on FB and said, "If you like the Fastbacks, you'll like this too." New record is a little slicker, but otherwise, still true.
New stuff for the #Solidarity Wall from the Faculty Affairs Council at the U of Scranton. They're up to about 90 days working on an expired contract and getting...annoyed at management's unwillingness to bargain in good faith. Raise a fist for them!
November 25, 2025 at 3:56 PM
New stuff for the #Solidarity Wall from the Faculty Affairs Council at the U of Scranton. They're up to about 90 days working on an expired contract and getting...annoyed at management's unwillingness to bargain in good faith. Raise a fist for them!
On campus for optional class time, then 2 Student Consultation Hours. Then somewhere for lunch, then officially on flex time for the rest of the week. Main goal over the break is to get revision plan for the almost-a-book worked out so I can hit the ground running when the semester is over.
November 25, 2025 at 2:36 PM
On campus for optional class time, then 2 Student Consultation Hours. Then somewhere for lunch, then officially on flex time for the rest of the week. Main goal over the break is to get revision plan for the almost-a-book worked out so I can hit the ground running when the semester is over.
This is what I wondered as soon as I saw Hegseth's post. Seemed highly likely to me, but that also requires paying the teeniest bit of attention to anything besides his own Nazi masturbation fantasies of murdering Trump's enemies.
November 25, 2025 at 1:30 PM
This is what I wondered as soon as I saw Hegseth's post. Seemed highly likely to me, but that also requires paying the teeniest bit of attention to anything besides his own Nazi masturbation fantasies of murdering Trump's enemies.
Nuzzi's real victims: anyone who cares about reality.
Not a lot of new info in here, but the point is important and well made.
Not a lot of new info in here, but the point is important and well made.
You won't believe the CRAZIEST part of the Olivia Nuzzi scandal! (My latest) newrepublic.com/article/2035...
Olivia Nuzzi’s Real Victims
More than her fiancé, or fellow female journalists, the public will pay the price for these misdeeds. RFK Jr. will see to that.
newrepublic.com
November 25, 2025 at 12:50 PM
Nuzzi's real victims: anyone who cares about reality.
Not a lot of new info in here, but the point is important and well made.
Not a lot of new info in here, but the point is important and well made.
Absolutely. And the vacuousness of the GOP response makes this a lot worse. But every Dem should be screaming about this. Nobody told anyone to follow legal orders. Nobody told anyone to disobey the president. It's really not complicated.
Again, every elected Democrat needs to put out a video stating exactly what Kelly and the others said. If ever there were a line to draw in the sand, it’s here. The military is not the president’s Praetorian Guard.
“Within the White House, Trump and his lieutenants aren’t planning on letting up…Trump has told some advisers that he wants RICO prosecutions and conspiracy charges leveled against the six Democrats, a source with direct knowledge of the matter tells Zeteo…
zeteo.com/p/how-we-gre...
zeteo.com/p/how-we-gre...
November 25, 2025 at 11:54 AM
Absolutely. And the vacuousness of the GOP response makes this a lot worse. But every Dem should be screaming about this. Nobody told anyone to follow legal orders. Nobody told anyone to disobey the president. It's really not complicated.
I'm in on this. You should be too, as much as you can. The point isn't to starve yourself or lose access to meds you can only get from a big corporate pharmacy in a hurry; it's to stop shopping as much as possible at those places to let them know they don't get to call all the shots.
We’re done letting billionaires script our holidays. This week, we use our dollars like power and we spend with intention. If they fund cruelty or cave to pressure, they don’t get our money.
Read the full call to action and join us because #WeAintBuyingIt
www.digitaldrumbeat.com/p/tell-the-b...
Read the full call to action and join us because #WeAintBuyingIt
www.digitaldrumbeat.com/p/tell-the-b...
Tell the Billionaires We Ain’t Buying It
This week, we use our wallets like a weapon and remind every corporate giant that people—not profits—set the terms.
www.digitaldrumbeat.com
November 24, 2025 at 10:44 PM
I'm in on this. You should be too, as much as you can. The point isn't to starve yourself or lose access to meds you can only get from a big corporate pharmacy in a hurry; it's to stop shopping as much as possible at those places to let them know they don't get to call all the shots.
Psst. Reagan was also morally bankrupt. Sorry, Mr Elephant.
“Moral Bankruptcy is a wild ride. One day you’re voting for Regan and smaller government, and the next you’re condoning pedophilia and pretending vaccines don’t work”
November 24, 2025 at 10:41 PM
Psst. Reagan was also morally bankrupt. Sorry, Mr Elephant.
As an IRB member, I'm really committed to avoiding overreach. Sometimes a problem isn't *my* problem (i.e., a legal compliance problem), and I don't say anything about it. This one, which happens to be about a topic I know quite a bit about, is testing my capacity for keeping my trap shut.
November 24, 2025 at 10:22 PM
As an IRB member, I'm really committed to avoiding overreach. Sometimes a problem isn't *my* problem (i.e., a legal compliance problem), and I don't say anything about it. This one, which happens to be about a topic I know quite a bit about, is testing my capacity for keeping my trap shut.
Well, that's got to be one of the best wins for Everton in quite some time. Down a player for 77 minutes on one of the dumbest red cards ever, and still manage to yank out a 0-1 win at Old Trafford.
November 24, 2025 at 9:57 PM
Well, that's got to be one of the best wins for Everton in quite some time. Down a player for 77 minutes on one of the dumbest red cards ever, and still manage to yank out a 0-1 win at Old Trafford.
Quiet, Karoline.
I won't dehumanize her, and I won't insult pigs comparing her with one.
I won't dehumanize her, and I won't insult pigs comparing her with one.
Leavitt: "The White House is supportive of the Dept of War's investigation into Sen. Mark Kelly, and I think what Sen. Mark Kelly was actually trying to do is intimidate the 1.3 million active service members."
November 24, 2025 at 8:38 PM
Quiet, Karoline.
I won't dehumanize her, and I won't insult pigs comparing her with one.
I won't dehumanize her, and I won't insult pigs comparing her with one.
Reposted by Seth Kahn (he/him)
The No Kings Alliance stands with the Starbucks baristas on strike. Don’t shop at Starbucks while workers fight for fair pay, better staffing, and an end to union-busting. Power still belongs to the people who make this country run: nocontractnocoffee.org/#pledge
November 24, 2025 at 8:05 PM
The No Kings Alliance stands with the Starbucks baristas on strike. Don’t shop at Starbucks while workers fight for fair pay, better staffing, and an end to union-busting. Power still belongs to the people who make this country run: nocontractnocoffee.org/#pledge
Today's DoublePlusUnshocking news! Of course McFascist doesn't really care; the political value was all in the indictment, and this just enables his "Deep State" nonsense. But any time the legal system holds against his bullshit is better than not.
BREAKING: The indictment of Comey has been DISMISSED because Halligan was unlawfully appointed. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
#213 in United States v. Comey (E.D. Va., 1:25-cr-00272) – CourtListener.com
ORDERED AND ADJUDGED as follows: (1) The appointment of Ms. Halligan as Interim U.S. Attorney violated 28 U.S.C. § 546 and the Appointments Clause of the U.S. Constitution. (2) All actions flowing fro...
storage.courtlistener.com
November 24, 2025 at 6:56 PM
Today's DoublePlusUnshocking news! Of course McFascist doesn't really care; the political value was all in the indictment, and this just enables his "Deep State" nonsense. But any time the legal system holds against his bullshit is better than not.
OMFG
Excuse Me While I Felch
A floozy newsie named Nuzzi got all boozy and told RFK Twosie he could suck something oozy from where she goes number twosie. The mere thought makes me woozy.
by Maureen Dowd
A floozy newsie named Nuzzi got all boozy and told RFK Twosie he could suck something oozy from where she goes number twosie. The mere thought makes me woozy.
by Maureen Dowd
November 24, 2025 at 5:20 PM
OMFG
Amazing, and yet not.
Amazing story, state legislator and Turning Points USA leader who crusaded against bogus voter fraud claims pleads guilty to attempted election fraud. azmirror.com/briefs/turni...
Turning Point leader, former GOP Rep pleads guilty to attempted election fraud | Arizona Mirror
Austin Smith election fraud guilty plea: Former GOP Rep admits forging 100+ signatures on ballot petitions in Arizona
azmirror.com
November 24, 2025 at 1:02 PM
Amazing, and yet not.
I really want Amanda Marcotte to be right about this. She points out it's not the first time we've hoped so, so let's see.
When Charlie Kirk died, MAGA leaders promised it would unify the base, while rallying millions of previous skeptics to the fascist cause.
Neither has happened.
Even better, Kirk's death is causing MAGA infighting that is tearing at the seams.
www.salon.com/2025/11/24/c...
Neither has happened.
Even better, Kirk's death is causing MAGA infighting that is tearing at the seams.
www.salon.com/2025/11/24/c...
Charlie Kirk's death is tearing MAGA apart - Salon.com
The killing of the Turning Point USA founder didn’t unify the base — it triggered infighting
www.salon.com
November 24, 2025 at 12:29 PM
I really want Amanda Marcotte to be right about this. She points out it's not the first time we've hoped so, so let's see.
The @philadelphiaunion.com look terrible so far. Giving away turnovers like Halloween candy. Defenders making completely boneheaded mistakes. Attackers passing balls to nowhere like they've never met their teammates. Still plenty of time but they look utterly clueless right now.
November 24, 2025 at 1:26 AM
The @philadelphiaunion.com look terrible so far. Giving away turnovers like Halloween candy. Defenders making completely boneheaded mistakes. Attackers passing balls to nowhere like they've never met their teammates. Still plenty of time but they look utterly clueless right now.