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jon ben-menachem

@jbenmenachem.com

18K followers 860 following 7.4K posts

criminalization, abolition, labor, politics, journalism—social science theory & methods too. sociology phd candidate @ columbia. @swcolumbia.bsky.social

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jon ben-menachem @jbenmenachem.com · Apr 17

It shouldn't matter if Trump’s victims have criminal records. If we only defend the “innocent,” the fascists will argue that their victim “was no angel.” An anti-fascist rhetoric that carves out exceptions for imperfect victims is a gift to our opponents.

New from me for @us.theguardian.com:

What is a ‘criminal’ immigrant? The word is an American rhetorical trap | Jonathan Ben-Menachem

Labels like ‘gang members’ and ‘terrorist supporters’ are an easy way to make humans disposable

www.theguardian.com

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Michael Sainato @msainato.bsky.social · 5h

Many employees don't know if they've because they have no email access while furloughed during the shutdown

Michael Sainato @msainato.bsky.social · 5h

RIF notice at Department of Education claiming firings are necessary due to government shut down

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Reposted by jon ben-menachem

Gillian Brockell @gbrockell.bsky.social · 13h

NEW: The private jet that flew 10 shackled migrants to an Eswatini prison last weekend is owned by Israeli-American billionaires with close ties to Trump.

It’s oligarchs all the way down.

My first for @zeteo.com:

zeteo.com/p/this-famil...

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Alyssa Katz @alykatzz.bsky.social · 13h

Cuomo has, shall we say, baggage when it comes to Letitia James. Hence his conspicuous reaction to her indictment: calling out law enforcement politicization "whether it comes from the right or the left." @gwynnefitz.bsky.social

Tish James Indictment Reverberates in Cuomo-Mamdani Fray

Trump’s prosecution triggers the former governor to decry “politicization of law enforcement” in nod to his own probe by the dogged state AG.

www.thecity.nyc

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Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · 14h

“FPS could even enter a private residence containing an identified sniper blocks away from a federal facility in order to eliminate that exigent threat…we do not live in a world of sticks and stones, but Mausers and Winchesters.”

DHS top lawyer says 'no legal barrier' to actions officers can take to defend federal property

In a memo obtained exclusively by The Handbasket, Federal Protective Service (FPS) officers were given free rein.

www.thehandbasket.co

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jon ben-menachem @jbenmenachem.com · 15h

did poli sci also have a big decline 2023 -> 24 ?

www.asanet.org/wp-content/u...

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jon ben-menachem @jbenmenachem.com · 15h

the sociology version of this is more ad hoc lol

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Micah @rincewind.run · 16h

this is a recipe for a four year government shutdown

you simply cannot make deals with people who are telling you up front they are going to break those deals and claw back everything you won in them

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 17h

Q: Rescission are something Dems have said is a reason for a lack of trust. What rescissions are you discussing?

JOHNSON: We have more than $37t in debt. We're doing everything we can to get us back to sound fiscal responsibility. What does that include? A rescission package is part of our process

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Conrad Hackett @conradhackett.bsky.social · 4d

International student arrivals to the US dropped 19% this year, the biggest drop on record aside from the 2020 pandemic low.

The Upshot @upshot.nytimes.com · 4d

The decline is occurring as the Trump administration has delayed visa processing, instituted travel bans or restrictions for 19 countries, threatened to deport international students for pro-Palestinian speech, and heightened the vetting of student visa applicants.

www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Nearly 20 Percent Fewer International Students Traveled to the U.S. in August

The data shows the steepest decline in August international student arrivals since the pandemic.

www.nytimes.com

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Eman Abdelhadi @emanabdelhadi.bsky.social · 16h

Today a street vendor I’ve seen every day for two years was abducted from our neighborhood by masked thugs too cowardly to identify themselves. Her crime? Selling Tamales. What are you doing to stand up to the Gestapo?

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jon ben-menachem @jbenmenachem.com · 16h

overheard: "My boss asked me if I could just automate all of social science, so I did. Then she was surprised that I actually did it. I guess she thought it would take me longer than a week"

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jon ben-menachem @jbenmenachem.com · 17h

In the context of New York City jails, we are pretty much living through the consequences of ahistorical praxis.

brooklynrail.org/2020/02/fiel...

All Jails Fit to Build | The Brooklyn Rail

“Borough-based” jails are nothing new in New York City. The original incarnation of Lower Manhattan’s notorious Tombs facility, opened in 1838, replaced the British colonial jail built before the Revo...

brooklynrail.org

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jon ben-menachem @jbenmenachem.com · 17h

I think reading without praxis is insufficient, but praxis without reading is probably doomed to repeat past mistakes or misdiagnose the present.

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Radley Balko @radleybalko.bsky.social · 17h

Immigration raids in Nashville have made crime victims afraid to cooperate with police and seek counseling.

tennesseelookout.com/2025/10/08/i...

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jon ben-menachem @jbenmenachem.com · 18h

This election = extreme brain damage for anyone who worked in state or local politics in the 2010s. If you could think of a single good policy change that people were fighting for, Cuomo was the reason why it hadn't happened yet.

jon ben-menachem @jbenmenachem.com · 18h

I know hahah, I have used 'em. I also don't love harmon + trombone but it isn't grating in the same way

jon ben-menachem @jbenmenachem.com · 18h

That's right. Abolition except for harmon mute utilizers

jon ben-menachem @jbenmenachem.com · 18h

Also a huge meme because Governor Andrew Cuomo is the single largest reason why "working families who take the subway" need relief in the first place.

Second Ave. Sagas @2avesag.as · 18h

You can tell Cuomo's campaign has cooked its brain on Twitter because it's repeating nonsense talking points from people like Andrew Fine and Reza who claim only rich people use transit.

As of 2017, bus riders in NYC earn an average salary of $28K, well under subway riders ($40K).

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jon ben-menachem @jbenmenachem.com · 18h

Trombones don't have this issue, typical tenor W (I learned most charts on 2nd trombone in high school)

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jon ben-menachem @jbenmenachem.com · 18h

I can agree that It Never Entered My Mind is amazing, but I don't think the harmon is essential

jon ben-menachem @jbenmenachem.com · 18h

It was this one that did me in www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fHU...

Miles Davis - Will O' the Wisp

YouTube video by jazzhole13

www.youtube.com

jon ben-menachem @jbenmenachem.com · 18h

a miles davis track came up on shuffle and i was like bro please take the mute off

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jon ben-menachem @jbenmenachem.com · 18h

potentially a hot take: harmon mutes really accentuate all the most grating elements of a trumpet's sound profile

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unraveled @unraveledpress.com · 20h

Several Illinois state troopers out here now with pepper ball launchers of their own.

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jon ben-menachem @jbenmenachem.com · 19h

100% chance that these memos are just getting fed into chatgpt.

Oliver Darcy @oliverdarcy.bsky.social · 20h

Here's the full memo.

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jon ben-menachem @jbenmenachem.com · 20h

Oh wow. I think a previous estimate was around 6%.

The Washington Post @washingtonpost.com · 2d

Breaking news: Nearly a quarter of FBI agents across the country are currently reassigned to immigration enforcement.

The large number of reassignments reflect a vast reshaping of the agency and could put other priorities at risk.

A quarter of FBI agents are assigned to immigration enforcement, per FBI data

Nearly a quarter of FBI agents are currently reassigned to immigration enforcement, with the number climbing above 40 percent in the bureau’s largest field offices.

wapo.st

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