Social Scientist (Mostly) in Exile
@exiledsocscientist.bsky.social
Exiled Political Economist, Silicon Valley's Public Finance Attorney, Lecturer in Political Economy, Comic Book Character, Corporate and Private Equity Lawyer, Startup Attorney, Advisor, Dad, Husband, Teacher, Former Europeanist.
Opponent of Fascism.
Opponent of Fascism.
February 11, 2026 at 8:04 AM
Reposted by Social Scientist (Mostly) in Exile
This was a failed coup by the Trump administration against Democratic members of Congress. Everyday Americans on the grand jury stopped it. The 6 targets were right all along—don’t follow illegal orders. Speak truth to power. Because it will prevail.
February 11, 2026 at 3:24 AM
This was a failed coup by the Trump administration against Democratic members of Congress. Everyday Americans on the grand jury stopped it. The 6 targets were right all along—don’t follow illegal orders. Speak truth to power. Because it will prevail.
I'm going to keep saying "Tocqueville's Aristocracy" in response to the revolt of the legal profession until either fascism is defeated or the legal profession is crushed.
Corrupt, patrimonial personalism is antithetical to the education and interests of American lawyers.
bsky.app/profile/ecmc...
Corrupt, patrimonial personalism is antithetical to the education and interests of American lawyers.
bsky.app/profile/ecmc...
Holy shit. The prosecutor who just resigned from the D Minn in revolt against orders to investigate Renee Good after her murder is local counsel for Don Lemon now in Minnesota. Wow.
Look at who is PHVing Abbe Lowell and team into MN to represent Don Lemon.
February 11, 2026 at 6:04 AM
I'm going to keep saying "Tocqueville's Aristocracy" in response to the revolt of the legal profession until either fascism is defeated or the legal profession is crushed.
Corrupt, patrimonial personalism is antithetical to the education and interests of American lawyers.
bsky.app/profile/ecmc...
Corrupt, patrimonial personalism is antithetical to the education and interests of American lawyers.
bsky.app/profile/ecmc...
Trump to direct Pentagon to buy coal to revive industry, Bloomberg News says reut.rs/46vkQiO
Trump to direct Pentagon to buy coal to revive industry, Bloomberg News says
U.S. President Donald Trump is set to direct the Pentagon to use government funding and Pentagon contracts to sustain U.S. coal-fired power plants, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday, citing a White House official.
reut.rs
February 11, 2026 at 5:59 AM
Not that I would question your knowledge or your honesty, sir, but may I please see the rule that you are citing here?
bsky.app/profile/atru...
bsky.app/profile/atru...
Garbarino: "It is a clear violation of the rules of the House to make statements that might be personally offensive to the president or vice president."
February 10, 2026 at 5:59 PM
Not that I would question your knowledge or your honesty, sir, but may I please see the rule that you are citing here?
bsky.app/profile/atru...
bsky.app/profile/atru...
Tocqueville continues his guerrilla war against despotism from the jungle terrain of the federal judiciary.
bsky.app/profile/carl...
bsky.app/profile/carl...
JUDGE JOHNSTON: “Today, immigrants are being detained without due process. Tomorrow, under the Government’s interpretation of the law, American citizens could be subject to the same .. This Court will not allow such an unraveling of the Constitution.”
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
February 10, 2026 at 5:49 PM
Tocqueville continues his guerrilla war against despotism from the jungle terrain of the federal judiciary.
bsky.app/profile/carl...
bsky.app/profile/carl...
Growing up during the Cold War and reading obvious, Orwellian lies from Moscow, I assumed that the habit of public deception was a hallmark of communism - lies justified by their service to an ideology.
Turns out that it was just kind of a Russian thing. Who knew?
bsky.app/profile/maks...
Turns out that it was just kind of a Russian thing. Who knew?
bsky.app/profile/maks...
🤡🐴 Lavrov: Russia will complete the process of returning the original Russian lands to their "homeland" in accordance with the aspirations of all Russian people in Ukraine.
February 10, 2026 at 5:46 PM
Growing up during the Cold War and reading obvious, Orwellian lies from Moscow, I assumed that the habit of public deception was a hallmark of communism - lies justified by their service to an ideology.
Turns out that it was just kind of a Russian thing. Who knew?
bsky.app/profile/maks...
Turns out that it was just kind of a Russian thing. Who knew?
bsky.app/profile/maks...
Look who has filed SBF's pro se motion for a new trial: Professor Barbara H. Fried of Stanford. Inner City Press story coming with 35 page motion
February 10, 2026 at 5:42 PM
This is the only morally acceptable response of a legislator to concentration camps.
bsky.app/profile/mark...
bsky.app/profile/mark...
I will not support any funding deal that puts money in the hands of Stephen Miller, Kristi Noem, and this violent agency. Defund and abolish ICE now.
February 10, 2026 at 5:36 PM
This is the only morally acceptable response of a legislator to concentration camps.
bsky.app/profile/mark...
bsky.app/profile/mark...
NEW: Federal judges are increasingly furious at what they see as a pattern / playbook of defiance by the Trump administration to court orders in immigration cases — in Minnesota and around the country.
Here’s a look at what they’re seeing: www.politico.com/news/2026/02...
Here’s a look at what they’re seeing: www.politico.com/news/2026/02...
How the Trump administration skirts — and defies — court rulings on ICE detentions
A POLITICO review of hundreds of cases brought by ICE detainees shows a pattern of noncompliance that has frustrated judges across the country.
www.politico.com
February 10, 2026 at 5:14 PM
Reposted by Social Scientist (Mostly) in Exile
[frantically raising hand] ooh, ooh. I know. Because Americans have a constitutional right to vote but don't have a right to open a bank account or drive a car.
Mike Johnson: "Americans need an ID to drive, to open a bank account, to buy cold medicine, to file govt assistance, even to attend the DNC. So why would voting be any different? They can't answer that question."
February 10, 2026 at 3:32 PM
[frantically raising hand] ooh, ooh. I know. Because Americans have a constitutional right to vote but don't have a right to open a bank account or drive a car.
What?
I would like to reiterate my question: why it is that Merrick Garland did nothing to investigate or prosecute any of the crimes revealed in documents that were held by the FBI and DoJ during his tenure?
None of this falls under legitimate prosecutorial discretion.
bsky.app/profile/esgh...
I would like to reiterate my question: why it is that Merrick Garland did nothing to investigate or prosecute any of the crimes revealed in documents that were held by the FBI and DoJ during his tenure?
None of this falls under legitimate prosecutorial discretion.
bsky.app/profile/esgh...
Thomas Massie is cooking right now and explicitly states that UAE Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem was sending torture videos to Epstein
February 10, 2026 at 6:21 AM
What?
I would like to reiterate my question: why it is that Merrick Garland did nothing to investigate or prosecute any of the crimes revealed in documents that were held by the FBI and DoJ during his tenure?
None of this falls under legitimate prosecutorial discretion.
bsky.app/profile/esgh...
I would like to reiterate my question: why it is that Merrick Garland did nothing to investigate or prosecute any of the crimes revealed in documents that were held by the FBI and DoJ during his tenure?
None of this falls under legitimate prosecutorial discretion.
bsky.app/profile/esgh...
Only the most nihilistic ghouls who believe that they will be dead before their crimes claim enough obvious victims and who care nothing for leaving a poisoned world to their children would do this, and it is shameful that my country is captured and ruled by such monsters.
February 10, 2026 at 6:11 AM
Only the most nihilistic ghouls who believe that they will be dead before their crimes claim enough obvious victims and who care nothing for leaving a poisoned world to their children would do this, and it is shameful that my country is captured and ruled by such monsters.
Stupid and self-destructive - even from the perspective of most industries. They will burn themselves & the world to the profit of only a small number of investors & firms with insanely short time horizons, while the rest of the world adopts the technologies of the future.
bsky.app/profile/kvco...
bsky.app/profile/kvco...
🎁Trump Allies Near ‘Total Victory’ in Wiping Out U.S. Climate Regulation
A small group of conservative activists has worked for 16 years to stop all government efforts to fight climate change. Their efforts seem poised to pay off.
By Lisa Friedman and Maxine Joselow www.nytimes.com/2026/02/09/c...
A small group of conservative activists has worked for 16 years to stop all government efforts to fight climate change. Their efforts seem poised to pay off.
By Lisa Friedman and Maxine Joselow www.nytimes.com/2026/02/09/c...
Trump Allies Near ‘Total Victory’ in Wiping Out U.S. Climate Regulation
www.nytimes.com
February 10, 2026 at 6:11 AM
Stupid and self-destructive - even from the perspective of most industries. They will burn themselves & the world to the profit of only a small number of investors & firms with insanely short time horizons, while the rest of the world adopts the technologies of the future.
bsky.app/profile/kvco...
bsky.app/profile/kvco...
You know, just to be on the safe side.
February 10, 2026 at 2:41 AM
You know, just to be on the safe side.
Yeah, so we kidnapped this guy and kept him in a secret prison until he confessed to rigging the 2020 election. The details are complicated and Maduro killed himself right after admitting it.
But anyway, we figure this all justifies having the CIA run the 2026 election.
bsky.app/profile/asel...
But anyway, we figure this all justifies having the CIA run the 2026 election.
bsky.app/profile/asel...
So I just listened to @ariberman.bsky.social articulate the same theory @jvl.bsky.social has: that there’s a real chance the Trump admin is going to lean on Maduro or offer him some sort of deal to say Venezuela did interfere in the 2020 elections.
open.spotify.com/episode/1cPG...
open.spotify.com/episode/1cPG...
Trump Starts the Steal
open.spotify.com
February 10, 2026 at 2:41 AM
Yeah, so we kidnapped this guy and kept him in a secret prison until he confessed to rigging the 2020 election. The details are complicated and Maduro killed himself right after admitting it.
But anyway, we figure this all justifies having the CIA run the 2026 election.
bsky.app/profile/asel...
But anyway, we figure this all justifies having the CIA run the 2026 election.
bsky.app/profile/asel...
But he's moved on to focus on defrauding investors rather than killing children, so who has time to look backward and count the corpses?
Perhaps life can't just be one sad thing after another, but with enough money it seems possible to make it about one crime after another
bsky.app/profile/pale...
Perhaps life can't just be one sad thing after another, but with enough money it seems possible to make it about one crime after another
bsky.app/profile/pale...
February 10, 2026 at 2:07 AM
But he's moved on to focus on defrauding investors rather than killing children, so who has time to look backward and count the corpses?
Perhaps life can't just be one sad thing after another, but with enough money it seems possible to make it about one crime after another
bsky.app/profile/pale...
Perhaps life can't just be one sad thing after another, but with enough money it seems possible to make it about one crime after another
bsky.app/profile/pale...
"Modelling conducted by Boston University epidemiologist Brooke Nichols suggests the lapsed programs have already caused roughly 750,000 deaths, mostly among children."
DOGE was illegal - Elon Musk broke the law to kill 750k people. And he will likely never face justice.
bsky.app/profile/drgo...
DOGE was illegal - Elon Musk broke the law to kill 750k people. And he will likely never face justice.
bsky.app/profile/drgo...
HORRIFYING -
Dismantling USAID & cancelling >80% of aid caused ~750,000 deaths by mid-2025
🧸Most were children
⌛️ Many died within the first year
😰 Preventable deaths were mainly from:
- HIV, TB, malaria
- Maternal & fetal deaths
- Malnutrition
news.westernu.ca/2026/01/u-s-...
Dismantling USAID & cancelling >80% of aid caused ~750,000 deaths by mid-2025
🧸Most were children
⌛️ Many died within the first year
😰 Preventable deaths were mainly from:
- HIV, TB, malaria
- Maternal & fetal deaths
- Malnutrition
news.westernu.ca/2026/01/u-s-...
Expert insight: U.S. withdrawal from WHO could affect global health - Western News
History professor Mitchell L. Hammond explains how the U.S. withdrawal from the World Health Organization could affect global health and disease threats.
news.westernu.ca
February 10, 2026 at 2:03 AM
"Modelling conducted by Boston University epidemiologist Brooke Nichols suggests the lapsed programs have already caused roughly 750,000 deaths, mostly among children."
DOGE was illegal - Elon Musk broke the law to kill 750k people. And he will likely never face justice.
bsky.app/profile/drgo...
DOGE was illegal - Elon Musk broke the law to kill 750k people. And he will likely never face justice.
bsky.app/profile/drgo...
Life shouldn't just be about cutting off nutrition & medical aid for people around the world, resulting in hundreds of thousands of preventable deaths.
It should also be about getting obscenely rich by defrauding investors with false promises a of moon colony!
Excelsior!
bsky.app/profile/pale...
It should also be about getting obscenely rich by defrauding investors with false promises a of moon colony!
Excelsior!
bsky.app/profile/pale...
February 10, 2026 at 1:47 AM
Life shouldn't just be about cutting off nutrition & medical aid for people around the world, resulting in hundreds of thousands of preventable deaths.
It should also be about getting obscenely rich by defrauding investors with false promises a of moon colony!
Excelsior!
bsky.app/profile/pale...
It should also be about getting obscenely rich by defrauding investors with false promises a of moon colony!
Excelsior!
bsky.app/profile/pale...
Wait, I remember 2020 - I thought that his campaign lawyer was either Rudy Giuliani or Sidney Powell.
Honestly, I wish they would show up again to bring a much-needed dose of absurdist levity and sweat-soaked, motor-oil leaking incompetence to the attempt to end democracy.
bsky.app/profile/adam...
Honestly, I wish they would show up again to bring a much-needed dose of absurdist levity and sweat-soaked, motor-oil leaking incompetence to the attempt to end democracy.
bsky.app/profile/adam...
DISTURBING: "Trump has directed top U.S. spy agencies to share sensitive intelligence about the 2020 election with his former campaign lawyer...Kurt Olsen—now a temporary government employee in the White House."
www.politico.com/news/2026/02...
www.politico.com/news/2026/02...
Trump’s ‘Stop the Steal’ lawyer probing 2020 election fraud has access to sensitive US intel
Top U.S. intelligence agencies are cooperating with Kurt Olsen, who worked with Trump to undermine the results of the 2020 election.
www.politico.com
February 10, 2026 at 12:45 AM
Wait, I remember 2020 - I thought that his campaign lawyer was either Rudy Giuliani or Sidney Powell.
Honestly, I wish they would show up again to bring a much-needed dose of absurdist levity and sweat-soaked, motor-oil leaking incompetence to the attempt to end democracy.
bsky.app/profile/adam...
Honestly, I wish they would show up again to bring a much-needed dose of absurdist levity and sweat-soaked, motor-oil leaking incompetence to the attempt to end democracy.
bsky.app/profile/adam...
Violating his obligation to faithfully execute the law and impounding funds that would save lives in blue states - literally killing Americans in jurisdictions that did not vote for him - is so vile that it has no parallel in the Declaration of Independence.
Impeach.
bsky.app/profile/apoo...
Impeach.
bsky.app/profile/apoo...
The Trump administration plans to rescind $600 million in public health funds from four states led by Democrats because it finds the grants “inconsistent with agency priorities,” according to documents reviewed by the NYT
Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2026/02/09/h...
Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2026/02/09/h...
Trump Administration to Cut $600 Million in Health Funding From Four States
www.nytimes.com
February 9, 2026 at 11:45 PM
Violating his obligation to faithfully execute the law and impounding funds that would save lives in blue states - literally killing Americans in jurisdictions that did not vote for him - is so vile that it has no parallel in the Declaration of Independence.
Impeach.
bsky.app/profile/apoo...
Impeach.
bsky.app/profile/apoo...
The message implicit in "democracy is safe because we will spontaneously have a color revolution if something bad happens" seems as though it should be a call to organization, preparation, and vigilance rather than "so you're crazy for worrying about the President trying to steal the election."
February 9, 2026 at 10:06 PM
The message implicit in "democracy is safe because we will spontaneously have a color revolution if something bad happens" seems as though it should be a call to organization, preparation, and vigilance rather than "so you're crazy for worrying about the President trying to steal the election."
This analysis may be completely correct, but if the load-bearing part of your causal argument as to why this plan couldn't work is "riots in the streets," then (i) you are already contemplating a nightmare scenario and (ii) you should be preparing for riots on the streets.
bsky.app/profile/kevi...
bsky.app/profile/kevi...
Control of the House isn't going to come down to a small number of close races; the military seizing ballots would lead to riots in the streets; the "incumbent Republican majority" will be dissolved on January 3rd so it won't be there to do anything.
It's a nightmare in that it's entirely made up.
It's a nightmare in that it's entirely made up.
Over the past three weeks, the "nightmare scenario" for November's midterms has grown more plausible www.vox.com/politics/478...
February 9, 2026 at 10:06 PM
This analysis may be completely correct, but if the load-bearing part of your causal argument as to why this plan couldn't work is "riots in the streets," then (i) you are already contemplating a nightmare scenario and (ii) you should be preparing for riots on the streets.
bsky.app/profile/kevi...
bsky.app/profile/kevi...
“The distance between what is said and what is known to be true has become an abyss. [...] When truth leaves us, when we let it slip away, when it is ripped from our hands, we become vulnerable to the appetite of whatever monster screams the loudest.“
-Senator Mon Mothma
bsky.app/profile/thei...
-Senator Mon Mothma
bsky.app/profile/thei...
In one 30-minute stretch, three legal observers were arrested — as Trump’s Border czar Tom Homan calls on locals to “end the resistance.”
“Uptick In Abductions”: ICE Ramps Up Targeting of Minneapolis Legal Observers
In one 30-minute stretch, three Minneapolis legal observers were arrested as ICE ramped up its targeting of community volunteers.
interc.pt
February 9, 2026 at 9:49 PM
“The distance between what is said and what is known to be true has become an abyss. [...] When truth leaves us, when we let it slip away, when it is ripped from our hands, we become vulnerable to the appetite of whatever monster screams the loudest.“
-Senator Mon Mothma
bsky.app/profile/thei...
-Senator Mon Mothma
bsky.app/profile/thei...
So here we are, with a few judges and the laziness, corruption, and cowardice of Trump and the people he has appointed being our best hopes to avoid a bloody and doomed attempt at an American genocide.
It is harder to fight against it now, but fight we must. And at least it's harder to deny.
It is harder to fight against it now, but fight we must. And at least it's harder to deny.
February 9, 2026 at 7:13 PM
So here we are, with a few judges and the laziness, corruption, and cowardice of Trump and the people he has appointed being our best hopes to avoid a bloody and doomed attempt at an American genocide.
It is harder to fight against it now, but fight we must. And at least it's harder to deny.
It is harder to fight against it now, but fight we must. And at least it's harder to deny.