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.
Um . . . they refused to be propagandists but you would?
Dude, really crossed your own T there. Maybe a journalism degree might have helped you to see that coming.
bsky.app/profile/drew...
Dude, really crossed your own T there. Maybe a journalism degree might have helped you to see that coming.
bsky.app/profile/drew...
"You can criticize me for not having a journalism degree…
But what does it say about the folks with degrees that I replaced them at the Pentagon?"
But what does it say about the folks with degrees that I replaced them at the Pentagon?"
December 3, 2025 at 4:09 AM
Um . . . they refused to be propagandists but you would?
Dude, really crossed your own T there. Maybe a journalism degree might have helped you to see that coming.
bsky.app/profile/drew...
Dude, really crossed your own T there. Maybe a journalism degree might have helped you to see that coming.
bsky.app/profile/drew...
Strange watching the engineering of a Dark Age. Hopefully the Enlightenment - to the extent that it is manifest in and carried by institutions of higher education - is a fire that cannot be smothered by academic administrators and political cowardice.
crookedtimber.org/2025/12/03/t...
crookedtimber.org/2025/12/03/t...
The Pub at the End of the University — Crooked Timber
crookedtimber.org
December 3, 2025 at 4:06 AM
Strange watching the engineering of a Dark Age. Hopefully the Enlightenment - to the extent that it is manifest in and carried by institutions of higher education - is a fire that cannot be smothered by academic administrators and political cowardice.
crookedtimber.org/2025/12/03/t...
crookedtimber.org/2025/12/03/t...
Not that I would presume to second guess the evolution of Leo XIV's moral and theological reasoning, but I would bet that the Pope isn't going to be talked into supporting the principle of aggressive war at the whim of Donald Trump.
bsky.app/profile/meid...
bsky.app/profile/meid...
Lindsey Graham says the Pope better get on the “right side of history” and support Trump’s push to use military force to overthrow the government of Venezuela
December 3, 2025 at 3:37 AM
Not that I would presume to second guess the evolution of Leo XIV's moral and theological reasoning, but I would bet that the Pope isn't going to be talked into supporting the principle of aggressive war at the whim of Donald Trump.
bsky.app/profile/meid...
bsky.app/profile/meid...
This story is perhaps the closest I have come to experiencing 'existential horror' in my life.
www.science.org/content/arti...
www.science.org/content/arti...
Headless bodies hint at why Europe’s first farmers vanished
Wave of mass brutality accompanied the collapse of the first pan-European culture
www.science.org
December 2, 2025 at 11:40 PM
This story is perhaps the closest I have come to experiencing 'existential horror' in my life.
www.science.org/content/arti...
www.science.org/content/arti...
It's weird, but every time I see Pete Hegseth puffing himself up like an angry lower primate, the words "Surf Nazis Must Die!" pop, completely unbidden yet inevitable, into my head like a thunderclap of revelation.
bsky.app/profile/atru...
bsky.app/profile/atru...
Q: So you didn't see any survivors after that first strike?
HEGSETH: I did not personally see survivors. The thing was on fire. This is called the fog of war. This is what you in the press don't understand. You sit in your air conditioned offices and plant fake stories in the Washington Post
HEGSETH: I did not personally see survivors. The thing was on fire. This is called the fog of war. This is what you in the press don't understand. You sit in your air conditioned offices and plant fake stories in the Washington Post
December 2, 2025 at 11:27 PM
It's weird, but every time I see Pete Hegseth puffing himself up like an angry lower primate, the words "Surf Nazis Must Die!" pop, completely unbidden yet inevitable, into my head like a thunderclap of revelation.
bsky.app/profile/atru...
bsky.app/profile/atru...
The who family is planning to what, exactly?
This is like Crown Prince Wilhelm announcing in 1939 that his family plans on taking a major role in German politics again once someone else has dealt with the unpleasant Hitler issue.
bsky.app/profile/smot...
This is like Crown Prince Wilhelm announcing in 1939 that his family plans on taking a major role in German politics again once someone else has dealt with the unpleasant Hitler issue.
bsky.app/profile/smot...
December 2, 2025 at 6:29 PM
The who family is planning to what, exactly?
This is like Crown Prince Wilhelm announcing in 1939 that his family plans on taking a major role in German politics again once someone else has dealt with the unpleasant Hitler issue.
bsky.app/profile/smot...
This is like Crown Prince Wilhelm announcing in 1939 that his family plans on taking a major role in German politics again once someone else has dealt with the unpleasant Hitler issue.
bsky.app/profile/smot...
I, um, honestly didn't know that you could be disbarred from being an economist.
bsky.app/profile/aeai...
bsky.app/profile/aeai...
The AEA has imposed a lifetime ban on Lawrence H. Summers’ membership and participation in AEA activities. See the full statement here. www.aeaweb.org/news/aea-sta...
Statement from the American Economic Association
www.aeaweb.org
December 2, 2025 at 6:07 PM
I, um, honestly didn't know that you could be disbarred from being an economist.
bsky.app/profile/aeai...
bsky.app/profile/aeai...
No excuse whatsoever for doing so, but I had actually forgotten that Al Gore was from Tennessee.
Glad you're still in the fight, even if only as a citizen (and, if I recall the Silicon Valley lore, successful Green energy private equity fund founder).
bsky.app/profile/thet...
Glad you're still in the fight, even if only as a citizen (and, if I recall the Silicon Valley lore, successful Green energy private equity fund founder).
bsky.app/profile/thet...
🔥 AL GORE: “We already have way too many subservient cowards in Congress, the last thing we need is to send another one (Van Epps 🤖) — you can make tomorrow the turning point for our country by getting out and voting for Rep. @aftynbehn.bsky.social .” #TN7
Full: www.threads.com/@thetnholler...
Full: www.threads.com/@thetnholler...
December 2, 2025 at 8:40 AM
No excuse whatsoever for doing so, but I had actually forgotten that Al Gore was from Tennessee.
Glad you're still in the fight, even if only as a citizen (and, if I recall the Silicon Valley lore, successful Green energy private equity fund founder).
bsky.app/profile/thet...
Glad you're still in the fight, even if only as a citizen (and, if I recall the Silicon Valley lore, successful Green energy private equity fund founder).
bsky.app/profile/thet...
The Portland Resistance has retaken frogs from the fascists.
Now it's time for the Canadians to defend turtles from war criminals.
bsky.app/profile/phil...
Now it's time for the Canadians to defend turtles from war criminals.
bsky.app/profile/phil...
Canadian publisher Kids Can Press "strongly condemns any denigrating, violent, or unauthorized use of Franklin's name or image" following Pete Hegseth's post:
December 2, 2025 at 4:54 AM
The Portland Resistance has retaken frogs from the fascists.
Now it's time for the Canadians to defend turtles from war criminals.
bsky.app/profile/phil...
Now it's time for the Canadians to defend turtles from war criminals.
bsky.app/profile/phil...
Fungus evolves to generate biologically useful energy from hard radiation in war zone.
Life doesn't just "find a way," it rips the way open like an axe murderer in a horror movie.
www.sciencealert.com/chernobyl-fu...
Life doesn't just "find a way," it rips the way open like an axe murderer in a horror movie.
www.sciencealert.com/chernobyl-fu...
Chernobyl Fungus Appears to Have Evolved an Incredible Ability
The Chernobyl exclusion zone may be off-limits to humans, but ever since the Unit Four reactor at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant exploded nearly 40 years ago, other forms of life have not only move...
www.sciencealert.com
December 2, 2025 at 3:15 AM
Fungus evolves to generate biologically useful energy from hard radiation in war zone.
Life doesn't just "find a way," it rips the way open like an axe murderer in a horror movie.
www.sciencealert.com/chernobyl-fu...
Life doesn't just "find a way," it rips the way open like an axe murderer in a horror movie.
www.sciencealert.com/chernobyl-fu...
Or Trump can just pardon Bradley, Hegseth, and every last person in Joint Special Ops Command for any criminal charges related to Operation Hard Shaft or whatever they are calling it. He can even act proud of it and say that he's protecting the warriors that keep us safe.
bsky.app/profile/ronf...
bsky.app/profile/ronf...
If Admiral Bradley didn’t realize before that these cowards were setting him up to take the fall, he knows it now. Time to hire a good lawyer.
December 2, 2025 at 2:27 AM
Or Trump can just pardon Bradley, Hegseth, and every last person in Joint Special Ops Command for any criminal charges related to Operation Hard Shaft or whatever they are calling it. He can even act proud of it and say that he's protecting the warriors that keep us safe.
bsky.app/profile/ronf...
bsky.app/profile/ronf...
Basic rule of politics: never make it easy for your opponent.
1.) Make Republicans defend an unknown number of murders performed by an overcompensating alcoholic fascist.
2.) Drive a wedge between Trump and the military that may be needed for the Color Revolution.
www.axios.com/2025/12/01/j...
1.) Make Republicans defend an unknown number of murders performed by an overcompensating alcoholic fascist.
2.) Drive a wedge between Trump and the military that may be needed for the Color Revolution.
www.axios.com/2025/12/01/j...
Jeffries says not to expect Democrats to pursue Hegseth impeachment over boat strikes
"Republicans will never allow articles of impeachment to be brought to the floor," he said.
www.axios.com
December 2, 2025 at 2:20 AM
Basic rule of politics: never make it easy for your opponent.
1.) Make Republicans defend an unknown number of murders performed by an overcompensating alcoholic fascist.
2.) Drive a wedge between Trump and the military that may be needed for the Color Revolution.
www.axios.com/2025/12/01/j...
1.) Make Republicans defend an unknown number of murders performed by an overcompensating alcoholic fascist.
2.) Drive a wedge between Trump and the military that may be needed for the Color Revolution.
www.axios.com/2025/12/01/j...
Remember the Trump immunity case before the Supreme Court when lawyers and other people who care about laws were saying that under Roberts' decision, Trump could just randomly murder people and say it was an "official act" and face absolutely no consequences?
www.commondreams.org/news/trump-b...
www.commondreams.org/news/trump-b...
White House Claims Trump 'Has the Authority to Kill' Survivors of Boat Strikes | Common Dreams
"The president has made it quite clear that if narco-terrorists... are
trafficking illegal drugs toward the United States, he has the authority
to kill them, and that's what this administration is d...
www.commondreams.org
December 2, 2025 at 1:55 AM
Remember the Trump immunity case before the Supreme Court when lawyers and other people who care about laws were saying that under Roberts' decision, Trump could just randomly murder people and say it was an "official act" and face absolutely no consequences?
www.commondreams.org/news/trump-b...
www.commondreams.org/news/trump-b...
December 1, 2025 at 7:05 PM
Reposted by Social Scientist (Mostly) in Exile
The inscription on the Statue of Liberty disagrees - America aspires to be a safe haven.
Thankfully, unlike deranged, self-hating or stone stupid child of refugees Elina Habba, I learned what America was all about from Schoolhouse Rock.
bsky.app/profile/acyn...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQ28...
Thankfully, unlike deranged, self-hating or stone stupid child of refugees Elina Habba, I learned what America was all about from Schoolhouse Rock.
bsky.app/profile/acyn...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQ28...
December 1, 2025 at 7:50 AM
The inscription on the Statue of Liberty disagrees - America aspires to be a safe haven.
Thankfully, unlike deranged, self-hating or stone stupid child of refugees Elina Habba, I learned what America was all about from Schoolhouse Rock.
bsky.app/profile/acyn...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQ28...
Thankfully, unlike deranged, self-hating or stone stupid child of refugees Elina Habba, I learned what America was all about from Schoolhouse Rock.
bsky.app/profile/acyn...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQ28...
Wow. This is bad in ways that we don't even have an adequate theoretical apparatus to analyze.
The entire centuries-long evolution of professional militaries suggests that this will produce terrible outcomes.
www.wsj.com/finance/stoc...
The entire centuries-long evolution of professional militaries suggests that this will produce terrible outcomes.
www.wsj.com/finance/stoc...
Top Gun Traders: Stock Bets and Crypto Culture Take Over the Military
Troops are hooked on investing. They’re trading tips from cockpits and the decks of aircraft carriers, and making fortunes.
www.wsj.com
December 1, 2025 at 8:21 AM
Wow. This is bad in ways that we don't even have an adequate theoretical apparatus to analyze.
The entire centuries-long evolution of professional militaries suggests that this will produce terrible outcomes.
www.wsj.com/finance/stoc...
The entire centuries-long evolution of professional militaries suggests that this will produce terrible outcomes.
www.wsj.com/finance/stoc...
The inscription on the Statue of Liberty disagrees - America aspires to be a safe haven.
Thankfully, unlike deranged, self-hating or stone stupid child of refugees Elina Habba, I learned what America was all about from Schoolhouse Rock.
bsky.app/profile/acyn...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQ28...
Thankfully, unlike deranged, self-hating or stone stupid child of refugees Elina Habba, I learned what America was all about from Schoolhouse Rock.
bsky.app/profile/acyn...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQ28...
December 1, 2025 at 7:50 AM
The inscription on the Statue of Liberty disagrees - America aspires to be a safe haven.
Thankfully, unlike deranged, self-hating or stone stupid child of refugees Elina Habba, I learned what America was all about from Schoolhouse Rock.
bsky.app/profile/acyn...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQ28...
Thankfully, unlike deranged, self-hating or stone stupid child of refugees Elina Habba, I learned what America was all about from Schoolhouse Rock.
bsky.app/profile/acyn...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQ28...
That insane, surreal moment in the adventure when you suddenly realize that, against all the odds, you should have included a bard in the party.
bsky.app/profile/rach...
bsky.app/profile/rach...
December 1, 2025 at 6:21 AM
That insane, surreal moment in the adventure when you suddenly realize that, against all the odds, you should have included a bard in the party.
bsky.app/profile/rach...
bsky.app/profile/rach...
Pete Hegseth orders that no survivors be left after his illegal strikes in the Caribbean.
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
November 30, 2025 at 6:47 AM
Pete Hegseth orders that no survivors be left after his illegal strikes in the Caribbean.
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
I certainly hope for prosecutions and will demand that any candidate I vote for push for them.
But what in any aspect of the law or politics of the United States since 2001 would possibly lead any rational observer to "expect prosecutions?"
Democrats have never done this.
bsky.app/profile/jose...
But what in any aspect of the law or politics of the United States since 2001 would possibly lead any rational observer to "expect prosecutions?"
Democrats have never done this.
bsky.app/profile/jose...
Here are US military lawyers stating clearly that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth's "kill everybody" orders are either (1) war crimes or (2) murder.
Either way, expect prosecutions in the future.
www.justsecurity.org/wp-content/u...
Either way, expect prosecutions in the future.
www.justsecurity.org/wp-content/u...
November 30, 2025 at 6:43 AM
I certainly hope for prosecutions and will demand that any candidate I vote for push for them.
But what in any aspect of the law or politics of the United States since 2001 would possibly lead any rational observer to "expect prosecutions?"
Democrats have never done this.
bsky.app/profile/jose...
But what in any aspect of the law or politics of the United States since 2001 would possibly lead any rational observer to "expect prosecutions?"
Democrats have never done this.
bsky.app/profile/jose...
I'm a liberal now because I … {checks notes} … oppose cold-blooded murder
www.mrctv.org/videos/after...
www.mrctv.org/videos/after...
November 30, 2025 at 4:21 AM
It certainly would not appear so to the relatives and friends of those disappeared by ICE in each of those cities, but in terms of public perception (which is Trump's game) the score after LA, Portland, Chicago, and NYC is starting to look like Tocqueville/American communities 4, ICE/state terror 0.
November 30, 2025 at 3:48 AM
It certainly would not appear so to the relatives and friends of those disappeared by ICE in each of those cities, but in terms of public perception (which is Trump's game) the score after LA, Portland, Chicago, and NYC is starting to look like Tocqueville/American communities 4, ICE/state terror 0.
Unfortunately, this is literally correct. It is neutral and perfectly proper to report that a certain person said something. To judge whether that statement is true or false is to analyze rather than report. And, our fascists nihilistically argue, all analysis is bias.
bsky.app/profile/gild...
bsky.app/profile/gild...
Unfortunately, in US journalism it is considered neutral to spread a lie, but it is considered "biased" to call out a lie. So, there is a structural asymmetry that rewards colorful lies with virality.
November 30, 2025 at 3:34 AM
Unfortunately, this is literally correct. It is neutral and perfectly proper to report that a certain person said something. To judge whether that statement is true or false is to analyze rather than report. And, our fascists nihilistically argue, all analysis is bias.
bsky.app/profile/gild...
bsky.app/profile/gild...
"When I left you, I was but the learner; now I am the master."
"Only a master of normalizing evil, Sulzberger."
bsky.app/profile/mike...
November 30, 2025 at 2:38 AM
"When I left you, I was but the learner; now I am the master."
"Only a master of normalizing evil, Sulzberger."
bsky.app/profile/mike...
It is almost certainly true that these financial instruments were intended only as vehicles to facilitate bribing Trump at the inflated issuance price - it was never "worth" that price. Sad that some people did not understand this and purchased them as investments.
bsky.app/profile/bgru...
bsky.app/profile/bgru...
Since inauguration:
—Shares in the company that operates Truth Social: ⬇️ 75%
— Meme coin named for Trump: ⬇️ 86%.
— Meme coin named for Melania: ⬇️ 99%.
“When do I give up on this and move on?” asked one investor, whose chat name is SimpleMindHatter.
www.wsj.com/finance/stoc...
—Shares in the company that operates Truth Social: ⬇️ 75%
— Meme coin named for Trump: ⬇️ 86%.
— Meme coin named for Melania: ⬇️ 99%.
“When do I give up on this and move on?” asked one investor, whose chat name is SimpleMindHatter.
www.wsj.com/finance/stoc...
Since Trump’s Return, Bets on His Brand Have Soured
Stocks and cryptocurrencies tied to the president and his family have tumbled amid a broader rout of riskier assets.
www.wsj.com
November 30, 2025 at 12:06 AM
It is almost certainly true that these financial instruments were intended only as vehicles to facilitate bribing Trump at the inflated issuance price - it was never "worth" that price. Sad that some people did not understand this and purchased them as investments.
bsky.app/profile/bgru...
bsky.app/profile/bgru...